Wardown Park in Luton - Changes to the Crazy Golf Course & Ducks Fighting

On the 26th March 2011 we went for a leisurely stroll around Luton's Wardown Park. While there we popped along to check out the Crazy Golf and Mini Golf courses before they re-open for the summer season next weekend.

We noticed that the car park next to the course has been worked on and slightly extended, and the 9th hole of the Crazy Golf course is now very very close to the curb! It used to look like this.

We first played the 9-hole Crazy Golf course on the 5th of May 2007.

More photos of the Crazy Golf and Mini Golf courses on the 26th March 2011.


















We first played the Mini Golf course on the 19th May 2007.






An interesting fact about Miniature Golf in Luton is that there has been a course in the same location in Wardown Park since the 19th June 1934!

Wardown Park is always a great spot for some Bird Watching too, and yesterday we spotted some Ducks chilling out on one of the Bowling Greens!


There was also some Duck 'Fighting' going-on on the lake itself!

While in the park we also headed to the Town's Wardown Park Museum to have a look at the 'Luton Photographs' exhibition. It's well worth a look.

Links to more Crazy Golf and Minigolf Course Visits can be found on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour page.

The Laser Tag Rankings - An Update

Here is the update to the Laser Tag Rankings (since January 2011 to 20th March 2011):

Click to enlarge ranking list

In the Ongoing Laser Tag War that rages between the forces of the REDS, BLUES, GREENS, and YELLOWS we've all taken part in Laser Battles in 'laser-war-torn' places including Birmingham, Hemel Hempstead, Bristol, London, Peterborough, Crawley, New Brighton and Cannock.

Laser Tag Arena in Cannock - Gottfried vs. Gottfried

On our way home from our weekend away in Liverpool last week, we headed back via Cannock in the Midlands, as on the way up North we had spotted a Laser Tag Arena at Fun City!

Having had exclusive use of the Laser Quest in New Brighton (with a Party group not turning up) we once again found ourselves in the position of being able to play a game of Laser Tag in a one-on-one format!


This Laser Tag also had 'Aliens' inside, which were able to shoot you and also explode mines which would completely destroy you - requiring a total re-energise!

The final result, with me and Emily having a 'Civil War' as the YELLOW Team, was a win to me - 206 points to 113. Emily was unfortunate to have been hit by the Mines 4 times, compared to me getting hit twice.







Richard Gottfried takes on Emily Gottfried in a one-on-one Laser Tag Battle in Cannock!

"Laser Quest" Laser Tag in New Brighton

While in New Brighton we headed to the Riverside Bowl & Lazer Quest!


We booked in for a Laser Tag battle and were expecting to be playing in a group in a usual team based battle - perhaps pitting the REDS vs. the BLUES, the BLUES vs. the GREENS, the GREENS vs. the REDS, or even a battle involving the seldom seen YELLOWS!

However, the Party that was also due to play in the next game were 'stuck in traffic', which meant for the first time ever we were able to play a one-on-one battle against each other!

It was brilliant!


The Riverside Laser Quest is a two floor arena and as there were only two of us playing, the staff pumped the battlefield full of smoke to help add to the atmosphere, and aide hiding!





Richard Gottfried takes on Emily Gottfried in a one-on-one Laser Tag Battle in New Brighton!


In the battle between me and Emily (both playing as the mighty REDS) I won with 228 points to Emily's 201. Emily had a much better "% of shots on Target" score, with 6%, compared to my 3%. In total I blasted 689 shots!!!

Happy National Laser Tag Day!

As we've recently got back into playing the great game of Laser Tag I was doing some searching online and found out that today - Saturday 26th March 2011 - is National Laser Tag Day!

The day has been created by the International Laser Tag Association (ILTA) to celebrate the opening of the first-ever Laser Tag Centre in 1984!

I wish every Laser Tag Warrior a Happy National Laser Tag day. Whether you're a RED, GREEN, BLUE, or even a YELLOW, have a good one :-)

Aintree Crazy Golf Ain't There Any More

While in Liverpool for the BMGA National Open minigolf tournament last weekend, we were going to head to the Harrow Drive Playing Fields in Aintree to check out the Crazy Golf course there.

However, a quick Google search before we set off to find it showed that the course had been dug up ready to be replaced as part of a 'Playbuilder' scheme to improve the recreation facilities in the park.

However, further searching found out that this scheme has since been cancelled due to the withdrawal of government funding! Meaning the Park has removed the Crazy Golf and is left with a patch of bare ground :-(

Two New Adventure Golf Courses Played in Liverpool

On Friday 18th March 2011 we played two new courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, as we headed to Liverpool and the brand new two-course Jungle Rumble Indoor Adventure Golf course, at the city's Liverpool ONE Shopping Centre.



The courses were the 212th and 213th played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since 2006.



The courses are good fun to play, have very friendly and helpful staff, and a nice bar area to relax before and after you've played.

There's also an 'Active' Volcano to watch out for as you play too!













In our Irregular Mini Golf Tour contest I defeated Emily 38-42 on the Volcano Course, and 38-44 on the Swamp course.

The Jungle Rumble Indoor Adventure Golf course was the host venue for the British Minigolf Association's 2011 National Open tournament.

For details of other courses visited and played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour please click here.

Check out the Jungle Rumble Indoor Adventure Golf course website for more information.

New Brighton's 'Pier'

While in New Brighton, Wirral on Saturday 19th March 2011 we noticed there used to be a Pier there.


Coast Magazine is currently running a campaign that is encouraging people to walk as many of Britain's Piers as possible so they can raise funds to help restore the Grade II-listed pier in Hastings - which was almost all destroyed by fire in October 2010. On our last look at the Coast Magazine 'Pier Prom Tick List', of the 51 surviving Piers in the UK, we had visited 32 of them on our travels around the UK and the Coast! More details of our Piers-Visited-List.

Scrap Iron Cup #8 - Richard Gottfried Regains Title in Liverpool

Eighth Scrap Iron Cup Minigolf Competition - Results and Report

'Squire' Richard Gottfried defeated Peter 'The Crazy Aced Assassin' Jones to regain the Scrap Iron Cup title. A five-player field competed in the Eighth Scrap Iron Cup minigolf competition, with defending champion Seth ‘Clockwork Orange’ Thomas, having retained the title on the Saturday, putting the title up for grabs again on Sunday 20th March.


Paul 'The Overtaker' Johnson and former Scrap Iron Cup champion Owen 'Jackpot' Johnson were the other competitors at the tournament played on the Volcano course at the Jungle Rumble Indoor Adventure Golf course in Liverpool.

Scrap Iron Cup
20/03/2011
Venue: Jungle Rumble Adventure Golf, Liverpool

Round One - Strokeplay
Rank Player
1. Richard Gottfried - 16
2. Peter Jones - 17
2. Paul Johnson - 17
4. Owen Johnson - 19
5. Seth Thomas - 20

A play-off was required between Peter Jones & Paul Johnson to decide the second finalist. This was played on the Swamp Course and was decided at the second-hole (the 17th!) as Peter Jones hit a two, to Paul's three, to qualify for his first-ever Scrap Iron Cup Final. Both players had scored twos on the opening hole of the sudden-death head-to-head (the 18th!).

Round Two – Matchplay

Richard Gottfried vs. Peter Jones

Result - Richard Gottfried wins 1up

Scrap Iron Cup - Hall of Fame
2011 - #8 - Richard Gottfried beat Peter Jones - Liverpool
2011 - #7 - Seth Thomas beat Paul Johnson - Liverpool
2011 - #6 - Seth Thomas beat Owen Johnson - Hither Green
2011 - #5 - Seth Thomas beat Richard Gottfried - Bristol
2011 - #4 - Richard Gottfried beat Cindy Kukielka - Birmingham
2010 - #3 - Owen Johnson beat Richard Gottfried - Birmingham
2010 - #2 - Richard Gottfried beat Paul Johnson - Weymouth
2010 - #1 - Richard Gottfried beat Paul Johnson - Sandbanks

Video of the Final Hole of Round One - Strokeplay


Photos from the Competition






Rules of the Scrap Iron Cup
• Played between members of the Midlands Minigolf Club
• Played in either groups of two, or one group, in round one
• Groups are drawn at random (often using the 'balls in a hat' technique)
• Round one is a strokeplay match played over 7, 9, 11, 12 or 18 holes
• The two players with the top scores after round one qualify for the second round/final
• Round two is a matchplay match played over 7, 9, 12 or 18 holes
• The winner of the matchplay match becomes the Scrap Iron Cup* Champion**

* The Johnson's Scrap Iron Cup (aka the 'NABBA ENGLAND 95 CLASS TWO WINNER' Trophy) remains the property of Owen and Paul Johnson
** The Reigning Scrap Iron Champion retains the cup until the next defence whereupon it is given up until the next Scrap Iron Cup tournament has been completed

Scrap Iron Cup #7 - Seth Thomas Retains Title in Liverpool

Seventh Scrap Iron Cup Minigolf Competition - Results and Report

Seth ‘Clockwork Orange’ Thomas retained the Scrap Iron Cup to become a three-time SCI Minigolf Champion as he defeated Dudley’s Paul 'The Overtaker' Johnson 2&1 in the final of the seventh Scrap Iron Cup minigolf tournament at the Jungle Rumble Adventure Golf course in Liverpool on Saturday 19th March.


In the three-player field Owen 'Jackpot' Johnson was the bronze medallist.

Scrap Iron Cup
19/03/2011
Venue: Jungle Rumble Adventure Golf, Liverpool

Round One - Strokeplay
Rank Player
1. Seth Thomas
2. Paul Johnson
3. Owen Johnson

Round Two – Matchplay

Seth Thomas vs. Paul Johnson

Result - Seth Thomas wins 2&1

Scrap Iron Cup - Hall of Fame
2011 - #7 - Seth Thomas beat Paul Johnson - Liverpool
2011 - #6 - Seth Thomas beat Owen Johnson - Hither Green
2011 - #5 - Seth Thomas beat Richard Gottfried - Bristol
2011 - #4 - Richard Gottfried beat Cindy Kukielka - Birmingham
2010 - #3 - Owen Johnson beat Richard Gottfried - Birmingham
2010 - #2 - Richard Gottfried beat Paul Johnson - Weymouth
2010 - #1 - Richard Gottfried beat Paul Johnson - Sandbanks

Rules of the Scrap Iron Cup
• Played between members of the Midlands Minigolf Club
• Played in either groups of two, or one group, in round one
• Groups are drawn at random (often using the 'balls in a hat' technique)
• Round one is a strokeplay match played over 7, 9, 11, 12 or 18 holes
• The two players with the top scores after round one qualify for the second round/final
• Round two is a matchplay match played over 7, 9, 12 or 18 holes
• The winner of the matchplay match becomes the Scrap Iron Cup* Champion**

* The Johnson's Scrap Iron Cup (aka the 'NABBA ENGLAND 95 CLASS TWO WINNER' Trophy) remains the property of Owen and Paul Johnson
** The Reigning Scrap Iron Champion retains the cup until the next defence whereupon it is given up until the next Scrap Iron Cup tournament has been completed

Irregular Mini Golf Tour - T&G Classic 2011 - James 'The Rocket' Rutherford Propels himself to Victory

Minigolf Results and Report Irregular Mini Golf Tour - T&G Classic 2011 - James 'The Rocket' Rutherford Propels himself to Victory

On Friday 19th March 2011 two new players joined the Irregular Mini Golf Tour, with Lewisham's James 'The Rocket' Rutherford and Oxford's Chris 'WMD' Smith competing in the 'IMGT T&G Classic' at the Jungle Rumble Indoor Adventure Golf Course in Liverpool.

The 18-hole competition took place on the Swamp Course at Jungle Rumble and was won by 'The Rocket' with a score of 34(-2), 'Squire' Richard Gottfried was runner-up with a 35(-1), with 'WMD' third with a score of 38(+2).

Rutherford scored a great four Aces in a row between holes 12 and 15 and narrowly missed out on recording a run of six Hole-in-Ones.

Photo: From l-r Richard Gottfried, James Rutherford, Chris Smith

BMGA Minigolf Ranking List Updates for Richard & Emily Gottfried

Following the latest BMGA Tour event - the BMGA National Open in Liverpool - the latest minigolf ranking lists have been published.

BMGA Order of Merit Rankings for 2010-11:
Richard Gottfried - 14th of 84 players
Emily Gottfried - 43rd of 84 players

BMGA Season Only Rankings 2011:
Richard Gottfried - 11th of 37 players
Emily Gottfried - 27th of 37 players

Minigolf Report - BMGA National Open

23rd March 2011
Press Information
For Immediate Release

Minigolf Report – BMGA National Open in Liverpool

Luton Minigolfers Richard and Emily Gottfried teed-off at the British Minigolf Association National Open on Sunday 20th March at the brand new Jungle Rumble Adventure Golf course at the Liverpool ONE shopping centre.

Richard finished in 16th place in the 19 player field, with Emily in last place, with both players struggling on the 36-hole, two course ‘Swamp’ & ‘Volcano’ layout.

Richard scored rounds of 39, 39 and 39 for a 54-hole of 119(+11).

Emily scored rounds of 37, 43 and 45 for a total of 125(+17).


The tournament was played over three 18-hole rounds at the Jungle Rumble venue, and was won by Oxford’s Michael Smith with a score of 92(-16). Cambridge’s Adam Kelly was runner-up, with Lewisham’s Nick Sandqvist third.

Following the main-event Richard competed in the five-player Scrap Iron Cup competition played between members of the Midlands Minigolf Club. In the 18-hole event Richard qualified for the matchplay final against Flintshire’s Peter Jones. The final result saw Richard seal a one-hole victory to win the cup for a fourth time.

Richard said “To be honest the tournament was a disappointment and with a niggling back injury I didn’t feel that comfortable in practice either. The two Jungle Rumble courses were fun to play and very testing, but I just couldn’t find the holes-in-one out there in the tournament itself, I had a lot of close twos, but then picked up some ugly threes. But it was some consolation to regain the Scrap Iron Cup, and great to have a new city stop on the BMGA Tour.”

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A bumper weekend of Ham & Egger action and plenty of posts to follow...

After a cracking long weekend of Minigolf and Laser Tag up in Liverpool, New Brighton, and Cannock(!?) there are many blog posts lined up about the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and our Ham & Egging, and ready to roll in the coming week :-)

Adventure Golf at Watford TopGolf - 16th March 2011

I headed to the 18-hole Adventure Golf course at Watford's TopGolf Game Centre on Wednesday 16th March for a couple of rounds of minigolf.

I had been scheduled to meet with former Dodgeball UK rivals 'Rowdy' Russell Fenner, Paul 'Wobble' Harvey and Maney 'MVP' Ullah for a Dodgeball Invasion Minigolf Classic tourney. However due to unforeseen circumstances I was left having to play a match against myself.

Thankfully I won. Although I did lose the first round.

Photos from the course:

Indoors the old Putting Course has now been totally removed, as a new bar/restaurant area is under construction! When we first visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in 2006 the indoor Putting Course was a great little 9-hole set-up.

Interestingly the course has a Corporate Competition coming up soon, where players can WIN A VW GOLF!!!

Previous Blog Posts About Visits to Watford TopGolf.

Richard & Emily Gottfried selected for the Great Britain Minigolf Sport Squad

16th March 2011
Press Information
For Immediate Release

Luton’s Richard & Emily Gottfried selected to play for the Great Britain Minigolf Sport Team in the WMF Nations Cup tournament in Stockholm, Sweden

Luton Minigolfers Richard & Emily Gottfried have received call-ups to the Great Britain Minigolf Sport Squad for the 2011 International Minigolf Season.

They have both been selected to represent Great Britain at the highest level of International Minigolf Sport and will be competing at the 2011 WMF Nations Cup tournament in Stockholm, Sweden in June. Richard, 30, and Emily 29, play regularly on the British Minigolf Association Tour, which sees minigolf, crazy golf and adventure golf competitions played at Miniature Golf courses around the UK.

This will be the pairs second appearance for the Great Britain Minigolf Sport Team, having both previously played in the 2008 WMF Nations Cup competition in Tampere, Finland. The 2011 WMF Nations Cup event will be played on the two 18-hole minigolf courses at the Tantogårdens BGK Miniature Golf Club in Stockholm, Sweden.

Richard said “It’s great to have been picked for the Great Britain Squad for 2011 and brilliant news to be in the team for the Nations Cup tournament in Sweden. I can’t wait to get into international action again.”

Emily said “I am thrilled to be playing for Great Britain again. It is a real honour and I am confident that I have learnt a lot since 2008. I am hoping for a better finish and will be putting in my full effort to do as well as possible.”

In the latest World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF) Rankings Great Britain has moved up from 24th position of 30 Nations, to be ranked 20th of 31 Countries in the WMF World Rankings. The top three places are taken by Sweden, Germany and Switzerland.

Great Britain’s Team Manager Marc Chapman added “National Team players have been selected on ability and performances on the British circuit over the past two seasons of competitive play. The standard of our elite players has improved dramatically over the last season, therefore, I can say with confidence that this is the strongest British squad ever assembled in this, a World Championship year.”

Sean Homer, BMGA chairman, said “The experience of playing internationally will not only benefit Richard and Emily in further developing their minigolf skills and techniques but also helps to raise the profile of our players and the Association both home and abroad, all of which is very positive and encouraging for us as an organisation. I am sure that Richard and Emily will thoroughly enjoy the experience of representing their country and in the process develop some great links with the foreign players taking part. On behalf of the BMGA and all of our members I would like to wish Richard and Emily the very best of luck at the Nations Cup competition in Sweden and look forward to following their progress this season.”

The Great Britain kit for the competition will be supplied by UrbanCrazy. Based in London, UrbanCrazy is an innovative and exciting company, designing and building permanent and portable crazy golf, mini golf and adventure golf courses. Their permanent courses are ideal for parks, leisure centres and back gardens - and their portable courses are available to rent for corporate events and parties. They also supply a wide range of high grade miniature golf equipment and accessories. UrbanCrazy have sponsored the Great Britain team in a number of International tournaments since 2007.

Jon Angel of Great Britain Minigolf Team sponsor UrbanCrazy said “We are delighted to be sponsoring the Great Britain Minigolf Team in 2011. We wish the best of luck to all our players taking part in this year’s international minigolf events.”

In 2011 the British Minigolf Association (BMGA) will be sending teams to the WMF World Adventure Golf Masters in Hastings, England; and the WMF Nations Cup and WMF World Minigolf Championships in Stockholm, Sweden.

Support from local businesses would be very welcome to the players and Great Britain Team taking part in the international minigolf events in 2011. Interested parties are encouraged to make contact with the BMGA before the International season gets underway in Hastings at the World Adventure Golf Masters in May.

To date 31 BMGA Tour Players have made a total of 62 appearances representing Great Britain in World and European Championships (both Youth and Adult), Nations Cup competitions, the Asia Open and the Czech Open since 1999. Peter Parr was the first GB International and made his debut in a WMF Minigolf Tournament at the 1999 World Minigolf Championships, in Papendal, The Netherlands.

The BMGA Tour consists of Minigolf ranking events that take place at Minigolf, Crazy Golf and Adventure Golf courses across the UK. Last year there were 22 BMGA Tour competitions and a total of 15 players lifted BMGA Tour titles.

For further details about the BMGA and UK Minigolf and Crazy Golf please email mail@minigolf.org.uk, or visit http://www.minigolf.org.uk/.

Ends