Shooting Shacks – Hayling Island

After a fruitless search in Portsmouth, Southsea, Shanklin, Sandown and Ryde on the Isle of Wight two Shooting Shacks were found in Hayling Island’s Funland.

They were:

The Hillbilly Shooting Gallery




And The Spooky Shoot (which seems to be a Japanese Import!)

Hayling Island Scarecrow Festival

Following the completion of the Minigolf Tour of Hampshire & the Isle of Wight we explored the excellent Seaside resort of Hayling Island which was holding a Scarecrow Festival.

In our Scarecrow searching, in-between rides at Funland, Crazy Golf, Stone Skipping and Steam Train Riding, we managed to spot 30 of the potential 246 that have been created and listed in the Scarecrow Trail Sheet.

The Hayling Island Scarecrow Festival is running from 26th July to 9th August.

See www.haylingscarecrows.co.uk for more information.

Overseas Minigolf Tours

Setting off to Hayling Island or the Isle of Wight? Then don’t forget:
- Your passport
- Duty Free Allowance
- To check if your mobile phone will work
- Travel Insurance
- To check local times
- A phrase book

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Invitational Tournament 2008

Three days…
Five towns…
Two (Three?) Islands…
Nine courses…
125 holes…

…The Hampshire & Isle of Wight Invitational Tournament 2008!

New Adventure Golf Course at Wroxham Barns, Norfolk

Minigolfers Richard & Emily Gottfried have been invited to the launch of a brand new 18 hole Adventure Golf course at Wroxham Barns, Norfolk.

According to the organizers lots of exciting things will be going on, including a challenge match between the reigning World Crazy Golf Champion, Chris Harding, and a top local golfer!

The course has been built by UrbanCrazy, sponsors of the Great Britain Minigolf Sport Team.

More details on Wroxham Barns can be found here:
www.wroxhambarns.co.uk

Full details of the event and photos of the course are to follow.

New Minigolf League!

The first 36 hole Minigolf course in the UK, at Birmingham’s Star City Leisure Complex, is due to start a League night in August, starting with a singles Invitational tournament in early August.

More details can be found here:
www.adventureminigolf.co.uk

Ham & Eggers – Quiz Champions of the George II Pub!

The Ham & Egger Sports and Social Club entered its first Pub Quiz in many years at the George II pub in Luton’s Bute Street yesterday evening and ended as the winning team.

With a total of 39 points out of 50 over five rounds, the quiz went to a tie breaker after another team gained two extra points on top of their score of 37 for having the funniest team name (CFLR).

The tie breaker question was “The author of Jeeves & Wooster is known by his initials P.G., what is his surname?” and without any hesitation the answer “Wodehouse” was given by the Ham & Eggers team to win the quiz.

One question that did outfox the Ham & Eggers was:
“LARGE FAT NOISE is an anagram of which 80’s pop star?”

Night Crazy Golf and the Irregular Mini Golf Tour Emu Open

The Seafront Crazy Golf Complex in Hastings is open until 11pm at weekends!

Eastbourne - Treasure Island Adventure Golf

A top notch course and a true test of Putting skill.

Related blog posts:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

- Eastbourne

Link:

- Treasure Island Pirate Adventure Golf

Blackbeard's Treasure Island

Another seaside town, another Shooting Gallery!

This time in Eastbourne.

Related blog posts:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

- Eastbourne

A quest is over

After two years and countless attempts to win an Emu hand puppet from a seaside amusement arcade 'Grabber' I finally won one last Saturday.

Here he is in 'The Smuggler's' pub on Saturday night.


And here he is guarding the Putter Bags on Day 2 of the BMGA British Championships.



Related blog posts:
- Emu

Swing and a Miss!

Quality Batting Cages at Northwick Park in Harrow.

Practice Softball or Baseball - £2.50 for 15 balls!

Also home to a BIG Golf course and a 'Mini Majors' Crazy Golf course!

"Emily is third in the country"

The Luton News and Dunstable Gazette wrote a story on 16th July about Emily's first podium place after she finished 3rd in the BMGA British Women's Minigolf Championships.

BMGA Order of Merit Rankings 14 July 2008

Ryanair Magazine follows the British Minigolf Team

http://ryanairmag.com/2008/07/01/mini-masters

Minigolf Report – BMGA British Championships 2008

14th July 2008
Press Information
For Immediate Release

Minigolf Report – BMGA British Championships 2008

Luton Minigolfers Emily and Richard Gottfried travelled to Hastings, East Sussex on the 12th and 13th July to compete in the first Minigolf Major of the 2008 Season, the BMGA British Championships. Over two days 33 competitors played 126 holes, in seven 18-hole rounds at the Planet Hastings Minigolf Course at White Rock Gardens.

The tournament was won by Hastings own Tim ‘Ace Man’ Davies who carded a new course record score of 26 (-10) to finish with a total score of 226 (-26). The 26 scored was also the best ever round of Minigolf recorded on British Soil. In second place was Andy Exall of Tunbridge Wells, who had led the tournament from round one but carded a 35 (-1) in the final round for a total of 230 (-22). Third was John McIver of Hastings with a score of 243 (-9).

Emily finished in 26th place with scores of 41, 56, 42, 46, 46, 41, 48 for a total of 320 (+68). Emily also achieved a new personal best score on the Planet Hastings course, with her pair of 41’s besting the score of 48 she recorded in March 2008.

In the BMGA Women’s Championships Emily achieved her best result to date and a spot on the podium after finishing in third place, behind five-times Women’s champion Ruth Bullin of St Leonards-on-Sea and Jo Williamson of the Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club.

Emily said “I am really thrilled to be Britain’s number three Female Minigolfer. It was a really tough tournament and on a difficult course, and the competition was close right up to the final round, so it is really satisfying to achieve third place.”

In the main BMGA British Championship tournament Richard finished in 18th place with a seven round total of 284 (+32) carding scores of 37, 46, 40, 39, 42, 41, 39. His score of 37 (+1) is a new personal best on the Planet Hastings course (having previously achieved a best score of 51 (+15) in March 2008).

Richard said “I am fairly pleased with my scores, and I was happy to have set myself a new personal best. I’ll be looking to go under par when I return to this course again in March for the Hastings Open.”

Ends

Crazy Golf spotted on Brighton Pier...

...but too good to be true!


Not a 'New' Sideshow at all! The Crazy Golf Game has been closed for two years and is now a Coconut Shy.

Like the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on Facebook, check out our YouTube channel and follow me and Emily on Twitter.

BMGA Brighton Open Report

22nd June 2008

Minigolf Tournament Report – BMGA Brighton Open

In his second tournament of the week Richard Gottfried was unable to make it three in a row after wins in the BMGA British Club Championship and Adventure Island/Heart FM Open, when he competed in the BMGA Brighton Open at Peter Pan’s 12-hole Peter Adventure Golf course on Madeira Drive, Brighton on Saturday 21st June.

In a field of 33 players, which included 9 local players, Richard finished in 19th place with a four round total of 115 (+15) after rounds of 27, 34, 28 and 26.

The competition was won for the second year in a row by Brighton’s Jacob Stevenson who held on to a wire-to-wire lead with rounds of 23, 24, 24, 25 for a four round total of 96 (-4).

Richard said of his performance in the BMGA Brighton Open “I was in 11th place after the first round but after my disastrous second round where I took a 6 on the 12th hole I couldn’t seem to make up much ground on the leaders. My problem was hitting too many threes and only managing two Aces, and they came along too late to be of any help.”

Richard has moved up one place in the BMGA Order of Merit and is now currently ranked 15th in Great Britain.

The next tournament on the British Minigolf Association (BMGA) Tour will see Richard and Emily Gottfried heading to Hastings for the BMGA British Championships in mid-July.

End

Gottfried wins the Adventure Island/Heart FM Open

18th June 2008

Minigolf Tournament Result – Adventure Island/Heart FM Open

On Tuesday 17th June Luton Minigolfer Richard Gottfried was invited to take part in the Adventure Island/Heart FM Open at the new 36-hole Indoor Adventure Minigolf Complex at Star City, Birmingham, as it played host to its first Minigolf Tournament.

The Exhibition tournament was ultimately decided in a play-off between Gottfried and reigning Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Champion Chris Harding.

In the competition both players had achieved scores of 35, with Harding setting a new course record on the Lost Hut Trail course, and Gottfried equalling the course record on the Hidden Cove Challenge course. Course owner John Whitehead presided over the tournament and decided that a play-off at the tricky 8th hole on the Hidden Cove Challenge course would decide the trophy winner.

However, after three attempts to win the hole both players were still even and so the play-off moved to the 8th hole on the Lost Hut Trail course. Here Harding played first and recorded a score of 3, which proved to be one stroke too many as Gottfried stepped up and holed out in 2 shots to take the play-off victory.

Richard Gottfried said, “It’s great to get a tournament win, and the play-off was very tense. The Adventure Island course at Star City is a top course and good fun to play, there are also some very tricky holes and I am looking forward to returning for more tournaments in the future.”

Ends

16th best Minigolfer in Great Britain

Following my tournament win in the BMGA British Club Championships and 4th place in the BMGA English Open I have moved up from 25th to 16th place in the BMGA Order of Merit rankings - my highest rank to date!