strange games: Wrong Pong

strange games: Wrong Pong: "Strange Games inbox has been inundated by an email from James Michie who along with his colleagues Joe Kelly and Nicholas Wright run Wrong P..."

The new sport of Wrong Pong - a cross between Ping Pong & Crazy Golf!

I was recently browsing the net and came across the brilliant looking new sport of Wrong Pong!

The governing body of the sport - The International Wrong Pong Association (I.W.P.A.) - describe the sport as "... a game based on ping pong, and is to ping pong what crazy golf is to golf. It uses angled tables, tables with obstacles, and tables with textured surfaces. Matches are fast and fun."

It looks absolutely great fun, and I can't wait to make my I.W.P.A. Debut! Hopefully with my vast experience in Crazy Golf, and my Ranking of '50th in the world at WSPong Ping Pong' I'll do alright (or better).

Links:
The International Wrong Pong Association (I.W.P.A.) website

Wrong Pong Post at the Strange Games Blog

Hitting the 'Top Hole' in Crazy Golf

One of the aims of the game of Crazy Golf (once the 9, 12 or 18-holes of regulation play is done) is to 'WIN A FREE GAME' at the 'Top Hole'.

Not every minigolf course has one of these 'Lucky Last Holes', but those that do come with a variety of obstacles in your way to the hole, and that prized free game!

When you do 'Ace' the Top Hole you may find a cannon is fired, a bell rung, or a voice talking to you!

On our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour (currently standing at 251 courses played) I have only managed to win Free Games at four courses! Emily has won at three courses.

On our very first minigolf course visit on the 30th September 2006 I managed to Fire The Cannon and win a free game at the Treasure Island Adventure Golf in Portsmouth, but then I had to wait until the 4th of September 2009 and my 150th course visit to the Arnold Palmer Masters Putting Course, aka Crazee Golf, in Southport until my next win! After that it was at course played number 222 at the Adventure Golf in Fort Fun, Eastbourne on the 15th May 2011 that I next won a free game.


At one of our most recent minigolf course re-visits, Emily and I both won free games at the Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Great Yarmouth on Sunday 5th June.

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Ephemera

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

Results of Great Britain Minigolf Intra-Team Competitions at the WMF Nations Cup, Stockholm, Sweden

Results of intra-team competitions within the WMF Nations Cup:

- GBR Beton Championship

- GBR Eternite Championship

- BMGA Nations Cup Stockholm Giant Classic

Tampere Reunion Classic II - Stockholm, Sweden

Upon arrival in Stockholm, Sweden on Wednesday 8th June 2011, the four Great Britain Minigolf Sport Team members who had played at the 2008 WMF Nations Cup in Tampere, Finland decided to contest the second-ever Tampere Reunion Classic minigolf title on the Tantogårdens BGK Beton (Concrete) minigolf course.

In the one-round 18-hole contest played using course Balls and Putters Sean 'Freebird' Homer picked up the victory with a score of 38(+2), 11-shots ahead of 2009 TRC Champion 'Squire' Richard Gottfried & Marion 'Mation' Homer, who tied for second place with 49(+13). Emily 'Coach' Gottfried was third on the Podium with a score of 52(+16).

Photo: On th Podium (from l-r) Richard Gottfried, Marion Homer, Sean Homer (winner), Emily Gottfried

Related blog posts:
- Results of the 2009 Tampere Reunion Classic
- Stockholm, Sweden (Tantogårdens BGK, Tantolunden Park) - Beton Minigolf

Coeliac UK - Gluten-free Max Your Snack competition

Coeliac UK, the leading charity working for people with coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis (DH), are currently running a competition on their website and through their magazine calling for people to 'Max' their Snacks!

Back before I was diagnosed as having Coeliac Disease, Emily and I made a 'Super Weiner' Mega Hot Dog for the brilliant website Pimp That Snack! That was way-back in May 2006!

The Pimp That Snack website runs a League Table for the Pimped Out Snacks that users submit to the site, and visitors get to vote for the ones they like (or dislike). The 1Kg, 3,185 Calorie Super Weiner is currently ranked 387 of 421 Pimped Snacks!

I'm currently thinking of ideas of what type of snack food item I should Max Out and Supersize - any suggestions gratefully received. I'm quite tempted to try to 'Max' another Hot Dog, but I'm also thinking of trying something sweet. Decisions, decisions...

Coeliac UK - Gluten-free Max Your Snack competition

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Not Played in Stockholm, Sweden

While we were away in Stockholm, Sweden playing in the 2011 WMF Nations Cup international minigolf tournament, we got to play two new courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

According to the Visit-Stockholm.com website the city is home to six other minigolf clubs/courses (in addition to the two at the Tantogårdens Bangolfklubb). More details can be found here.

Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf at the A1 Driving Range in Arkley

A new Minigolf course spotted in Hertfordshire!

A photo of the Dinosaur Adventure Golf course at the A1 Driving Range in Arkley and one of the 'inhabitants' on our visit in July 2011 

Me, Emily and Brad spotted the building work on a new Adventure Golf course while we were on the On The Buses Event around Elstree & Borehamwood on Saturday 18th June!

The course is not open yet (obviously), but digging around online I found the promotion for it (and the surrounding golf range etc.) has started, and it looks like it is planned to open in early-July 2011.

Fingers crossed all goes well with the rest of the build, we look forward to giving it a go when it opens.

I managed to take one quick photo of the construction site as we were passing, as it's visible from the road.

Dinosaur Safari website (under construction as at 20th June 2011)

A1 Golf Driving Range website (new website 'coming soon')

The address is:
Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf
A1 Golf Driving Range, Rowley Lane
Arkley, Hertfordshire, EN5 3HW

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London

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

Red Name Dead Ends - another way to say Ham & Egger?

Reading the 17th June 2011 Issue of Sport Magazine there was a story on page 10 about the San Marino Football Club 'Tre Fiori' and the fact that most of their players are so unheard of that they are "Red Name Dead Ends" on Wikipedia!

Another new way to describe "Ham & Eggers". Brilliant.

Fellow BMGA Tour Minigolfer Marc 'The Roller' Bazeley and I have decided that if and when we ever team-up as a Minigolf Doubles Team then we will be called "The Red Name Dead Ends".

Now, time to get to work on my Wikipedia entry...

On The Buses Event - 40th Anniversary of the First On The Buses film

Joining the On The Buses Fan Club for a day out to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the first On The Buses film.

Richard & Brad next to the tour bus. The tree to the left is where Blakey gets splashed by the big puddle in the first two On The Buses films!

On Saturday 18th June 2011 me, Emily and Brad Shepherd headed to Elstree & Borehamwood for the On The Buses Fan Club Event to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the first On The Buses film!

It was a great day out, and we took in such sites and locations from the films as 'Stan's house', 'The Cemetary Gates', 'Turnaround Betty's House' and the 'Laundrette', amongst many others!

We also got to meet the writers - Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney, and Producer Stuart Allen!

Unfortunately some of the other guest stars could not attend, including Anna Karen who played Olive in the series and movies.

The day was finished off with a 'Big Screen' viewing of the original On The Buses film! Brilliant stuff.

Photos from the event:

Richard and a tour Bus

Turnaround Betty's House

The Turnaround Point

Richard doing a 'Jack'

The Laundrette where Blakey gets hold of someone elses washing!

At the Cemetary Gates!

The Butler's House

Emily takes a photo of Richard taking a photo of Brad taking a photo of the other On The Buses Fan Club members taking photos of the drain that Olive fell down in Mutiny On The Buses!!!

Reg Varney's Star on the Elstree & Borehamwood Walk of Fame (near the train station)

More details about the On The Buses Fan Club can be found at - On The Buses Fan Club.

Dodgeball in Luton - Back in Action, in a New Organisation!

After about six or so weeks out of Dodgeball action due to injury and a change of training locations the Luton Dodge Ball Club got together for its first meeting in its new home at Leagrave Primary School in Luton, Beds.

In last week's 6-a-side event my team picked up an 11-1 victory (in games), 1,000,092 to 1 (on points)!?

The Luton Dodge Ball Club is now a member of England Dodgeball - the home of Dodgeball experts.

Poster for Luton Dodge Ball Club

The Luton Dodge Ball Club is currently mainly comprised of the 'Alumni' of the local Get Back Into Dodgeball programme, but is always on the look out for new players to come along to play in the friendly weekly sessions.

I have now played Dodgeball in four organisations - Dodgeball UK (2005-2007), Get Back Into/UKDBA 2010-2011) and England Dodgeball (2011-).

My all-time (2005-2010) Dodgeball Win-Loss Record stands at: Played-316, Won-142, Tied-7, Lost-167. Win/Loss % = 44.9%

Happy Birthday to the Miniature Golf Course in Luton's Wardown Park - 77 today!

Happy Birthday to the Miniature Golf Course in Luton's Wardown Park as it is 77 years old today!

Wardown Park is currently home to a 9-hole Miniature Golf (Putting/Pitch&Putt type course) and a 9-hole Crazy Golf course.

New Brighton Crazy Golf, Minigolf & Miniature Golf

Back on the 19th March 2011 our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour took us to The Wirral, and the seaside resort of New Brighton.

We found four courses there, although we didn't get to play any of them!

- New Brighton (Marine Promenade) - Crazy Golf - Summer Only

- New Brighton (Kings Parade Gardens) - Crazy Golf - Out of Season

- New Brighton (Kings Parade Gardens) - Mini Golf (Pitch & Putt) - Out of Season

- Wallasey (Wallasey Beach) - Miniature Golf (Pitch & Putt)

Links to 'old' Brighton Crazy & Mini Golf visits:

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Course Visit #12 - Brighton - East of Palace Pier

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Course Visit #13 - Brighton - Peter Pan's

Crazy Golf spotted on Brighton Pier

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Course Visit #224 - Brighton - Brighton Marina

Crazy Golf in Hove - King Alfred Leisure Centre

Crazy Golf, Mini Golf and Adventure Golf course visits in Brighton

Links to Crazy Golf, Mini Golf and Adventure Golf course visits in Brighton as part of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour:

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Course Visit #12 - Brighton - East of Palace Pier

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Course Visit #13 - Brighton - Peter Pan's

Crazy Golf spotted on Brighton Pier

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Course Visit #224 - Brighton - Brighton Marina

And nearby,

Miniature Golf and Putting in Rottingdean

Mini Golf in Rodean

Crazy Golf in Hove - King Alfred Leisure Centre

Mini Golf in Shoreham By Sea (or Kingsway, Hove if you're a local)


Link to Crazy Golf and Minigolf in New Brighton, Wirral, Merseyside

Minigolf Diary - 5 Days on International Minigolf Duty - WMF Nations Cup 2011 - Stockholm, Sweden

A week in the life of a Great Britain International Minigolfer

A.k.a. You don’t have to be Crazy to be a Pro Minigolfer, but it helps!

From the 8th to the 12th June 2011 Luton Minigolfer and Great Britain International Richard Gottfried was on international duty with seven fellow BMGA Tour players and two Swedish Coaches. This is his dairy of the events from Tuesday 7th June to Monday 13th June 2011.

Tuesday
- Buy a brand new pair of Reebok Classics. I choose a pair that are “not too bling” according to the lady in Sports Direct!
- Pick up our Swedish Currency. It makes you look very rich having so many notes
- During the day – pack and prepare last few bits and bobs to take on the trip to Sweden. A very nice letter from Her Majesty The Queen arrives at Squire Towers wishing the team all the very best at the tournament, and the rest of the season!
- 8.14pm – Receive a last-minute email from the GB ‘Team Manager’ Marc ‘The Force’ Chapman with details of stuff to bring and stuff to print. We are also informed who our team Coaches are!
- 8.31pm – Email from GB team mate Sean ‘Freebird’ Homer who has got plenty of printouts already done for all
- It’s decided that upon landing in Sweden and arrival in Stockholm a Recce of the Tantogårdens BGK course will be done, followed by a team meal

Wednesday
- 8am – Wake-up
- A year ago today Emily and I set off on a nine-day holiday to Las Vegas, USA, that cost us less than a five-day trip to Sweden to play minigolf for Great Britain!
- Set-off for Heathrow Terminal 5. Surprisingly the journey to the junction for long-stay parking takes only takes 30 minutes! The M25 obviously having a good day (that’s a ‘win’)
- The directions taken from the parking company’s website from the junction of the M25 to the actual site of the parking are very misleading, and we take an un-scenic detour
- 10.45am – Arrive at T5
- Check baggage, spot a Carluccio’s (mmm Gluten Free food), head through security and find there is no Carluccio’s on that side
- Have a wander around
- Buy Dave Gorman’s new book ‘Dave Gorman vs. The Rest Of The World’
- Text GB team mate Michael ‘Hole In One Kenobi’ Smith to see if he’s arrived, he has
- Buy a Starbuck’s Gluten Free Chicken & Pesto sanger and a Chocolate Brownie
- 12.30pm – meet-up with Michael and Marc, who are sat by EAT having played a one-sided game of twitter hide-and-seek (Marc won – that’s a ‘win’)
- Marc is excited as they are sat near the England Under-17 Football team! Having chatted with them they are off to Mexico for a month for the U-17 World Cup! Using the power of the internet Marc finds out they won the U-17 European Championships last year, I tell them Marc was 66th in the 2010 Minigolf European Championships. Marc follows Raheem Sterling on twitter
- 1pm – Both Emily and two of the players decline to have their pictures taken with each other. We all wish each other well in our future sporting endeavours and head off to board
- 1.30pm – Board plane – I do an ‘Obama-wave’ nobody sees it
- Get hit on the head by the drunk Swedish passenger sitting down behind me
- 1.45pm(ish) – The Captain (not Richard ‘Michael Skaggs’ Skeggs) informs us the take off is delayed due to weather!
- The view back along the runway is quite a sight, with seven flights stacked up behind us
- Marc tries to whisper something to me across the cabin, I cannot hear. He says it a little louder and I understand, though we get some odd looks from fellow passengers!
- The chief stewardess makes a very nice announcement telling our fellow passengers that the Great Britain Minigolf Sport Team are on board, and she wishes us well for the WMF Nations Cup! A nice touch indeed. That’s a ‘win’. We get a round of applause!
- 2pm(ish) – Take-off. WMF Nations Cup – here we come!
- No Gluten Free food on board the British Airways flight, so everyone else (apart from a few poor vegetarians who miss out on the meagre offering of Veggie Sangers) tucks into a baguette while I don’t. This is puzzling as the BA website doesn’t allow you to make a dietary selection for the flight!? I mention this to the Steward, who says he’ll ask and have a look. I never see him again!
- I do get a kids quiz book from a passing stewardess after I cheekily ask for a colouring book like the kid on the next aisle has – a ‘win’
- 5.45pm (local time) – Land at sunny Arlanda Airport
- 6pm – bags all arrive safely too – a ‘win’
- Meet up with the rest of the team (Sean, Marion ‘Double Trouble’ Homer, Tony ‘TK Maxx’ Kelly and Michael) who flew in on the SAS flight at the very same time. Scott ‘Donkey Gringo’ Lancley arrived at 2pm
- Taxi to Clarion Hotel with Emily ‘Coach’ Gottfried, Sean and Marion – only cost 490SEK, not the quoted (by Marc) 1000SEK! A ‘win’. Told a few Peter Jones minigolf stories (everyone has one) to pass the time on the journey to Södermalm island, our home for the next four days. We also discuss my new trainers
- 7pm – Check-in. Gluten Free breakfast options are available, I’m happy. There’s a Subway eatery next door, Sean is happy. Two ‘away wins’
- Picked up a map ready for our walk to the course
- Head to room, hastily unpack, head back down to Reception to meet Sean and Marion for an amble to the course
- 7.25pm – Amble begins
- 7.27pm – Get lost next to the hotel, a worrying sign points to ‘Swimming’ or ‘Dying’ as the two routes to take!?
- 7.29pm – Back on the right route. A ‘win’
- Discussion of fellow Minigolfer Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd’s new Punk Rock alter-ego – ‘Artie Buming’!
- 8pm(ish) – arrive at the Tantogårdens BGK course at the Tantolunden Park in Stockholm – a ‘win’
- Meet the Swedish National Team Coach Jan Strandberg who welcomes us to Sweden and the course
- The four of us decide to play the Beton course to contest the second ever Tampere Reunion Classic title (one that I’ve held since the first event in 2009 at Wroxham Barns). To qualify you had to have played in the Great Britain Team at the 2008 WMF Nations Cup in Tampere, Finland
- The Beton course at Tantogårdens is the 250th course played on me and Emily’s Crazy World of Minigolf Tour! Interestingly the 50th course we played on our Tour was in Tampere, Finland, and that was Beton too!
- Mid-round the rest of the team meet us at the course and have a few praccy shots too
- Sean wins the Tampere Reunion Classic II with a round of 38(-2), me and Marion/Mation tie for second on 49(+13), with Emily ‘third’ on the Podium with a score of 52(+16)
- After-9pm leave the course (as they want to shut for the night)
- 10pm – Have an amble along one of the main streets looking for somewhere to eat
- Find a Pasta place – Celine’s – that have a blackboard advertising Gluten Free pasta. The team head inside for huge portions of Pasta, Cannelloni and Lasagne – a ‘win’
- 11pm – Walk back to the Clarion Hotel, full of food, and excitement for the next few days
- 11.30pm – head to the 7-11 and find two rude sounding chocolate bars – Plopp and Kex – buy both

Thursday
- 6.10am (5.10am UK time!) – Wake-up
- Down to breakfast, peruse the Gluten Free options, have three boiled eggs (all white shelled) and a banana
- 7.40am – Taxi to course
- 7.50am – arrive at course, and meet team Coaches Björn Dinau and Eirik Seljelid (from the Kungälvs Bangolf Klubb) who are on the Eternite course playing a few shots
- 8am – Sean and Marion arrive following their amble to the course, they decide to get Taxi’s there in future
- 8am-6pm – Official Team Training – Yes, ten hours training!
- Key highlights from the intensive day of training
o I get hit in the nuts with an Allan Schwab Ball of Fame during training on Hole 4 of Beton. My ‘Great Britain 2’ team mates find this hilarious (even Emily, who threw it). Needless to say, I do not.
o Scott starts humming the music from The Running Man every time stuff goes wrong on the Eternite course (the 251st played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour), a discussion of the film ensues. Tony, Emily and Eirik get bored
o We discuss Balls of Fame (Eirik is entitled to create two after two BIG Minigolf victories in his career to date); we ponder when Tony will get one? We then use the Torgny Kjellstrom Ball of Fame on a few practice holes, Tony claims he doesn’t need a Ball of Fame as ‘Tony Kelly’ is spelled ‘Torgny Kjellstrom’ in Swedish!
o In the heat of the Stockholm day, the Festival-style Portaloo toilets get very stinky, so much so that no-one wants to spend too long practicing on Beton Hole 1! I discover from Björn the Swedish for ‘Bangers & Mash’ is ‘Korv med mos’
o 1pm – Lunch – have a wander around the local shops, spot a product called Baconnaise. Buy a big bag of Tyrell’s crisps. Former travel writer Tony tells me about his time spent living in The Sudan and why you don’t eat with your left hand there. Spot a Texas Longhorn restaurant, we’ve heard they can do Gluten Free food
o 2pm – Back to practice
o Discussion of Björn’s balls, fnarr fnarr
o We lend a Karsten Hein Ball of Fame to the Swedish Team for one of the holes!
o Eirik tells us the name of a Ball Sucker Picker Upper Thing is a ‘Suck Prop’ in Swedish
o 4.30pm – 5.45pm – Competitive round amongst the GB2 team on Beton – I score 39, Emily 41, Tony 37 and Scott does well with a 35(-1)
- 6pm – head back to hotel to get ready for the Opening Ceremony back at the course at 7.30pm
- 7.30pm – WMF Nations Cup Opening Ceremony at the course. Meet Hans Bergström for the first time. Have a quick chat with Dr Gerhard Zimmerman from the WMF (my Crazy Air Squash nemesis)
- Nothing Gluten Free at the Buffet
- Photo-call of players from each country. Marc represents GB. Holland are called up to hold their flag, but find it’s actually the flag of the Russian Federation
- Team and individual photos taken
- I give Björn and Eirik each a gift of a Union Flag/George Cross badge as Honorary Brits for the event
- I take pics of both courses for the Ham & Egger Files blog, and Tim ‘Ace Man’ Davies’ site MiniatureGolfer.com
- 9.30pm – Emily and I head to the Texas Longhorn restaurant for dinner. I have a ‘Big Ass’ Steak – 32oz and a Swedish Cider called Briska – very tasty indeed. Although I do get a bit of steak juice on my fresh new GB Kit! Have a chat with our waiter who tells us the minigolf course/club at Tantogårdens used to be on the other side of ‘the mountain’. He’s also too busy to come and watch the tournament on Saturday or Sunday
- 11pm(ish) – Walk back to hotel

Friday
- 6.15am – Wake-up time
- 7am – Breakfast – 3 eggs, one had a feather on it!? No fruit today
- 7.40am – Taxi to the course – interestingly each taxi driver has taken a different route to the course!? The taxis in Stockholm also seem to have a lot of cracked windscreens!
- 8am-6pm – Official Team Training – Yes, another ten hours training!
- Key highlights from the intensive day of training
o Warm-up
o 8.40am – An 18-hole practice round on Beton, followed by a short-break and then an 18-hole round on Eternite – I score 32, Emily 36, Tony 37 and Scott 38 on Beton. With a 32 for me on Eternite and 37 for Emily, 32 for Tony and 33 for Scott
o Around Hole 13 on the Beton course there is an ‘interesting incident’ with the Bricklaying team and a Russian athlete that wouldn’t have been out of place in an episode of On The Buses!
o During the morning break Mation exclaims that the Portaloos have been emptied (a ‘win’) though using far more impolite language than that!!!
o Mation gets stang off of some nettles, but is OK to continue playing
o Amongst the many many many double entendres between the team (notably me and ‘The Man of Question’ Tony) we discuss the idea of a Family Fortunes tournament!
o The GB2 Team decide to vote in a Captain for the team as no-one has been assigned the role. An anonymous vote takes place and I am voted in. My first duty is to install Scott Lancley as my Vice-Captain
o Lunch – Me, Emily and Scott take Michael to the nearest supermarket to stock up on supplies. I then head back to the Deli I spotted on Thursday to purchase a jar of Baconnaise! It costs 670SEK (about £6.70!) so I hope it’s worth it. I also buy Tony a bar of Plopp Salt Liquorice Chocolate as he’d mentioned he was a big fan of liquorice and Sweden was renowned for the stuff. He scoffs the whole bar, although he admits this is unwise due to some of the side-effects/properties of liquorice! I decline a chunk of his Plopp and have a bottle of water for lunch instead.
o 2pm – Back to practice
o Mation finds a lost child using the Net Hole on the Eternite course as a slide, the German coach and the course staff try to find out the kids name, his mum then runs across the park and we find out he’s an Aussie. I tell the course staff that I should have attempted to speak to him as “Australian is my second language”. They believe me!?
o 3.40pm – Another Eternite practice round. I score a new all-time minigolf PB of 26(-10), Emily gets a 37, Tony 33 and Scott a 35. Tony and I chat to a producer for a Swedish Radio Station which has a weekly show in English. He says if he’d have known we were there he would have interviewed us! We’ll get in touch before the return trip in August. The radio guy tells us that week’s show is about’ Park Crime’ – and the Tantolunden Park is renowned for it ‘after dark’!
o 5pm – Despite a decision to ‘not’ have another practice round and end training at 5.30pm, the team believes it would be best it use the time left before the competition starts to have another round – so GB2 completes its third practice round on Beton. I score a 35, Emily a 36, Tony a 44 and Scott a 35. No time left for another go on Eternite, so we head into the tourney having played the course twice in praccy!
o 6pm – A good job we stuck around for another round as the draw for the tournament is posted, I’m out at 8.42am with Fredrik Persson (SWE) and Mike Mann (SUI), Tony is super excited as he’s drawn to play in a group with World Minigolf Champ Jonas Gustavsson (SWE)
- 6.43pm – Leave the course
- 8pm – Taxi to Hans Olofsson’s Flat (that cost over a Million – Krona) for a Team BBQ
- Our taxi driver (a Diego Maradonna look-a-like) gets lost! We yet again get a map out to show him which way to go. We then get stuck in a one-way street as a guy unloads his shopping of Melons and Toilet Roll (seriously, that’s all he had!?)
- Björn and Eirik had already been to a government sponsored alcohol shop and had bought a great selection of beers and ciders. Luckily, amongst the meat purchased there were some Gluten Free sausages, a ‘win’. Tasty too.
- We head up to the balcony to look at the views over the city. Björn takes the Hiss.
- Back to the Millionaire’s flat for Crisps and Sweets for Pudding. Emily and Mation take the Hiss back
- Around the dying embers of the BBQ the team tell tales of the legend of the Stockholm Giant!? All stemming from a Big Chair in Hans’ living room! Supposedly he’s help you on the minigolf course if you say his name three times!
- ?.??pm – back to the hotel in another taxi – this one is quicker. Fall asleep watching Reindeer Games on the telly. Find out ‘Jobbar’ means ‘Works’ in Swedish.

Saturday
- Up early – too bleary eyed to tell the time
- Brekkie of 3 eggs (again) and straight to the taxi and on to the course
- 7.45am – Arrive at the course to see off the two starting players – Tony and Michael. Our team manager, player, captain, kit designer and number one fan Marc is AWOL/MIA. The rest of the team discuss reasons why he should be sacked ‘a la Ted McIver’ in Tampere
- 8.28am – Emily sets off on her round. Starting off on the Eternite course with her two Swedish playing partners
- 8.42am – I begin my tourney on the Eternite course with Fredrik and Mike
- Finish the Eternite with a 38(+2) a new PB but not great. Got a 7 on the flat loop, Fredrik gives me a tip for the next round
- Finish the Beton and I don’t even look at the scores, I think it’s a 46(+10). I later find out it’s actually a 41(+5) so not that bad really. A thought crosses my mind that I could finish last, and maybe it’d be best if I was the player that got stang off of a wasp and couldn’t continue. Emily consoles me and tells me to just have fun.
- Second round of Eternite and score a 29(-7) a new PB, at the 16th Hole Eirik tells me Emily has just scored a 24(-12) – WOW. The Nations Cup Blog posts a story “Emily surprises everybody”. Fredrik gets his ball to stop at the top of the Flat Loop, I challenge him to do it again, he says, will I buy him an ice cream if he manages it?
- Back to the Beton and Fredrik almost hits 7 aces in a row, so just misses out on the elusive ice cream
- Ulf, one of Emily’s playing partners shouts "Ass" instead of "Ace" when he gets a hole-in-one, this becomes the new Ace shout in their group
- No lunch break
- A discussion about wind conditions ensues around the tree at the 7th hole as Player #142 Gunter Inmann (AUS) let’s rip with an air cushion
- Fredrik Persson sets the new course record on Eternite with a Perfect round of 18! I buy him an ice cream
- 7.15pm – Head back to the hotel after six exhausting rounds of international minigolf
- 8.15pm – Taxi to Gamla Stan island with Sean and Marion – again the taxi driver is very confused!?
- Meet up with Björn, Eirik, Michael and Tony by an Italian restaurant
- Have an amble around town while we wait for Marc and Scott, visit some souvenir shops and Tony gets to see some historic buildings and the castle. We book into the Slinger Bulten Restaurang – which serves traditional Swedish food
- Lovely meal with great service and nice cider
- Marc gives his team manager’s speech (after he’d had 40 winks at the table, twice)
- I resign my Captaincy of GB2 and hand it over to Scott, and Tony as VC
- 12am – Bed

Sunday
- 5.45am – Wake-up
- Watch a bit of a Hugh Grant film Did You Hear About The Morgans
- No brekkie, just a Plopp (choc bar) – pre-match nerves and too early to eat much, especially more eggs!
- 7.25am – arrive at the course
- 7.45am – Ominous dark clouds and the rumble of thunder – we all pray for no rain
- 8am – Shotgun start for all players – I’m on Eternite Hole 3 to start, meaning my 36-hole Beternite (Betonernite?) / Eterton (Etoncrete?) round will finish on Eternite Hole-2. Scott gets to play both courses from Hole 1-18
- 8.04am – Delayed start, Scott, Emily, Tony and I (and the Swiss Coach) play some imaginary Cricket on the Eternite course before we begin – according to Tony I’m “out” from the first delivery
- 8.20am – A bit of rain falls! It does not stop play, thankfully
- Much cooler weather conditions, I tell Hans Bergström and Jan Strandberg it’s much like a day in Luton
- 10.29am – I finish up my round for a total of 29 on Eternite and 33 on Beton for a combined 62, and a grand total of 275. I can’t wait to have another crack at these types of courses, especially Eternite. I present my two playing partners with a gift of a Union Flag/George Cross Badge each and wish them all the very best for the rest of the tournament
- 10.34am – Emily finishes her round and promptly retires from playing in International tournaments. Her catalogue of injuries, combined with a great showing and new PBs and the British Women’s Record on Eternite are a good place to leave at. Emily's eight round total is 290
- 10.40am(ish) – GB2’s last player Tony gets a 7 on his final hole – the Flat Loop. Our team finish 5th in the group and 10 of 10 overall. We have a team total of 1,119. Scott is well happy as he’s scored Par. I’m happy because I beat two foreign players (a Finn and a Russian – both women). Tony can’t wait to return to the course for the Worlds
- Björn earns a rest
- Watch the individual players play-off for top spot in the men’s tournament – Fredrik wins, I don’t buy him another ice cream
- The rest of the GB Team sign my Nations Cup Blog and Course Note Book as a memento of the trip – thank you to all of them
- GB1 win a point by tying with the Russian team in a round! The first point in Great Britain Minigolf History at the WMF Nations Cup!!!
- 12.30pm – Back at hotel to pack and then head out for a wander/amble
- Watch the end of a John Travolta film – From Paris With Love – what a violent and crazy film, I must watch it all when I get home
- Me and Emily have a wander around town, nothing is too far away, should we return we’d certainly take less taxis!
- Visit the Pant Bank!?
- Pasta at Celine Bistro again, very tasty
- 3.30pm – Back to the course to watch some of the action from the semi-finals, Marc, Tony and Michael are there too
- I give Scott a medal I have bought for ‘Sista pris’, which according to Björn means second from last/third place for being third in our team. The text on the packet says “For nit och redlighet i allmanhetens tjanst”, which Google tells me means “For zeal and probity in the public's service”!?
- Me and Scott buy some minigolf balls from Sweden’s Coach Jan Strandberg, we both get a BIG Red One, but there is only one Tantogården BGK Special Anniversary Ball left, I let Scott have it, but he says we can share it when we play at The Green Indoor Mini Golf
- 4.50pm – Walk back to the hotel to collect luggage, watch some ducks on the way back and see a boat called The Titanic!?
- 5.30pm – Taxi with the Homer’s to Arlanda Airport. I give Mation her medal for ‘Samst’ – finishing last in the tourney. Another medal for her international trophy cabinet
- 6pm(ish) – Arrive at the Airport
- Meet Tony and Scott wandering around, have a chat, Tony is trying to not buy lots of expensive gourmet Swedish food, he buys a Plopp for son Adam
- Tony tells us the Nations Cup Final hadn't started when he had left the course!
- Meet Marc and have a wander, he’s keen to inspect the prices of Muffins to make sure he’s not ‘had’
- I try to buy a Sverige T-Shirt and a chocolate bar in the Duty Free shop using just a 50SEK note, my brain obviously frazzled from the intensity of the last few days thought it was a 500SEK note!? Not that I’d had a 500SEK note in my possession at all. Do they even exist?
- Head through to the gate for our flight, have a quick chat with the rest of the team getting the SAS flight, Marc misses them as he’s getting a Muffin. Me and Scott decide to pair up for the 2011 BMGA British Doubles Championship
- I have a 450SEK Fruit Salad pot
- Marc gets interviewed by a guy doing an airport survey, me and Emily wonder if he mentioned the Muffins
- I buy another Sweden pin badge
- Board plane
- Sleep on the flight – Richard ‘Michael Skaggs’ Skeggs is not our pilot again
- No Gluten Free food again
- Land after a little delay
- At Arrivals, Scott, Michael and Anna Green welcome the team, or welcome Marc and their Putters to be precise
- The Buttons at Terminal 5 are closed for the night
- Head to M&S for some grub, Gluten Free sangers are reduced. A ‘win’
- 11.34pm – Just miss the last coach to long stay parking. Emily phones the man to come and collect us
- Arrive at car – it’s still there. A ‘win’
- Head for home
- Arrive home
- 1.45am – Bed

Monday
- Lay-in until 10am(ish) – bliss
- Baconnaise for breakfast
- Find out Sweden had won the 2011 WMF Nations Cup, with Sweden 2 runners-up and Austria in third place
- 10.30am-7pm – Do nothing much of note
- 7pm – Go to play Dodgeball in Luton! An 11-1 win. That’s a ‘win’

Ruminations
- While the GB team and players have improved their play at the WMF European-Standard Minigolf courses, so have many other nations, how many years will it be before we’ll be finishing 4th of 5 in our groups?
- Taxis and their drivers – it seems to be the norm in Stockholm that Taxis have cracked windscreens, Sat-Navs that don’t work, drivers who need passengers to provide maps, or as one driver told us he’d only been driving five weeks (we’re not sure if he meant taxis, or just in general!?)
- Films – there are some interesting choices of films shown quite early in the day! It was quite bizarre to turn on the Travolta film From Paris With Love and see the ‘dinner-scene’ in the early afternoon. Family Guy is also shown quite early in the day in Sweden
- I didn’t see another person wearing a pair of Reebok Classics on the whole trip! How odd.

Other Links:
- Results of the WMF Nations Cup 2011
- Website of the WMF Nations Cup and WMF World Minigolf Championships 2011
- Gottfried's WMF Nations Cup 2011 Minigolf Report
- Michael 'HIOK' Smith's WMF Nations Cup Report
- UrbanCrazy - The Great Britain Minigolf Sport Team Kit Sponsors
- Tantogårdens BGK - Host course and club of the WMF Nations Cup 2011
- The World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF)
- The British Minigolf Association (BMGA)

Sweden's Fredrik Persson scores a "Perfect 18" at the 2011 WMF Nations Cup International Miniature Golf Tournament

During the WMF Nations Cup 2011 in Stockholm, Sweden, one of my playing partners - Swedish Minigolfer Fredrik Persson - scored a Perfect Round of 18(-18) and in the process claimed the course record at the Tantogårdens BGK course at the Tantolunden Park in Stockholm, Sweden

Video: Fredrik Persson hits a hole-in-one on the final Hole of his Perfect Round of 18(-18) during round 6 of the 2011 WMF Nations Cup International Minigolf Tournament in Stockholm, Sweden.



European WMF standardised Miniature Golf (Eternit) courses enable players to score perfect rounds of 18(-18) as there is an 'Ace Line' on each hole. The minigolf website Minigolfnews.com holds records of such achievements and states that almost 300 players have achieved perfect rounds of 18 on Eternit Miniature Golf! In the UK our Crazy Golf, Minigolf, Putting and Adventure Golf courses do not allow for such scores due to the design and build of the course.

Webpage of the WMF Nations Cup and World Minigolf Championships 2011.

WMF Nations Cup 2011 Results for Fredrick Persson.

Video of my 'Perfect' Round of 9(-9) on a Crazy Golf course in Lincolnshire!

Minigolf Report - Gottfried’s play for Great Britain in the WMF Nations Cup International Minigolf Tournament in Stockholm, Sweden

16th June 2011
Press Information
For Immediate Release

Gottfried’s play for Great Britain in the WMF Nations Cup International Minigolf Tournament in Stockholm, Sweden

Luton Minigolfers and Great Britain Internationals Richard and Emily Gottfried received their third Great Britain Caps as they played for the GB Team at the WMF Nations Cup in Stockholm, Sweden on the 11th and 12th June.

Photo: The Great Britain Minigolf Sport Team (from l-r Eirik Seljelid, Scott Lancley, Björn Dinau, Michael Smith, Tony Kelly, Emily Gottfried, Marc Chapman, Marion Homer, Sean Homer, Richard Gottfried)

Ten teams from seven countries contested the team tournament; with a total of 46 players from nine countries taking part overall. The Great Britain Team at the event was split into two four-player teams for the ten team contest and the players took on competitors from Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Russia and Sweden in the individual tournament. The tournament was played at the Tantogårdens BGK course at the Tantolunden Park in Stockholm, Sweden.

Richard and Emily were part of the Great Britain 2 team which also consisted of Cambridgeshire’s Tony Kelly and Margate’s Scott Lancley. Richard was voted in as the team captain for the event. GB 2 was drawn to play in Group B and competed against the teams of Austria, Sweden 1, Sweden 3 and Switzerland. The GB 2 team finished fifth in their group and tenth overall. GB 1 fared better and was ninth overall, recording the first point scored by a Great Britain Team at a WMF Nations Cup event.

Photo: Great Britain 2 (from l-r Björn Dinau, Tony Kelly, Richard Gottfried, Emily Gottfried, Scott Lancley, Eirik Seljelid)

Over eight rounds of minigolf played on the two 18-hole courses at the Tantogårdens Club Richard scored a total of 275 (-13), with Emily scoring 290(+2). Emily’s round of 24(-12) on the Eternite-type Miniature Golf course set a new British Women’s Record on the playing surface, and was Emily’s all-time personal best on any type of Minigolf course.

In the female category Emily finished 10th of 11 players, while Richard was 34th of 35 players in the male category. Overall Richard finished 41st of 46 players, while Emily was 45th.

The overall winners of the tournament were Sweden 1, with Sweden 2 runners-up. Austria defeated Germany in the 3rd/4th place play-off match. The best individual players in their category were Fredrik Persson, Sweden and Nicole Warnecke, Germany.

The Great Britain team was coached at the tournament by Swedish players Björn Dinau and Eirik Seljelid, who have both previously competed on the British Minigolf Association Tour. In just two days of available training time, the Coaches were able to train the players to a level that they achieved tremendous personal bests, the British Beton record score was equalled, and two British players achieved scores of 24(-12) on Eternite. Six of the eight players achieved sub-30 rounds, with a total of 16 rounds in the twenties scored. Four members of the WMF Nations Cup side will also be lining up for the GB Team at the WMF World Minigolf Championships in Stockholm in August.

Emily said “The Nations Cup was a great experience for me. I feel that I learned a great deal which really improved my minigolf ability. My round of 24 was the undoubted highlight. To score 12-under par on such a tough course was a real achievement for me. My Great Britain team mates were excellent players, who all put in their best performance in the tournament.”

Photo: Emily Gottfried plays Hole 1 on Eternite

Richard said “The whole trip was excellent, from the training through to the competition days. Emily’s round of 24 was one of many highlights of the event, and I was very happy to have shot new personal bests on the Eternite and Beton European-Standard courses. To have hit three rounds in the twenties was quite an achievement too.”

Photo: Richard Gottfried plays Hole 17 on Beton

Results of intra-team competitions within the WMF Nations Cup:
- GBR Beton Championship
- GBR Eternite Championship
- BMGA Nations Cup Stockholm Giant Classic

Richard & Emily both received their first GB Caps at the 2008 WMF Nations Cup in Tampere, Finland. In May 2011 they both represented Great Britain at the WMF World Adventure Golf Masters in Hastings, where Emily became the WMF World Adventure Golf Masters Women’s Champion.

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.

The Great Britain team sponsor is UrbanCrazy, an innovative and exciting company that designs and builds permanent and portable crazy golf, mini golf and adventure golf courses. UrbanCrazy has sponsored the Great Britain team in a number of International minigolf tournaments since 2007.

Following the 2011 WMF Nations Cup 40 BMGA Tour Players have made a total of 87 appearances representing Great Britain in World and European Championships (both Youth and Adult), Nations Cup competitions, the World Adventure Golf Masters, 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.

Ends

Photos from the WMF Nations Cup 2011

You can view the photos Emily and I took on our trip to Stockholm, Sweden in my Flickr set "WMF Nations Cup 2011 - Stockholm, Sweden"

Almost worth a blog post - Well worth a blog post

My fellow minigolf blogger, and BMGA Tour rival (and sometimes minigolf doubles partner) Oliver 'The Machine' Florence has blogged about our pairing in the recent BMGA English Open. You can real all about it here.

Reports, photos and videos to follow from our spell on International Minigolf Duty in Sweden

Over the next week we'll be posting reports, photos and videos from our latest minigolf adventure and five days away in Stockholm, Sweden training and playing for the Great Britain Team in the World Minigolf Sport Federation's 'Nations Cup' International minigolf tournament!