Friday, September 23, 2011

Results of the 2011 Las Vegas Minigolf Desert Classic

Between the 8th and 10th of September 2011 Luton Minigolfers Richard 'The Low-Roller' Gottfried and Emily 'Snake Eyes' Gottfried once again competed in the Las Vegas Minigolf Desert Classic tournament following the thrilling event in 2010 which saw Emily defeat Richard in the 72-hole contest by 178(+34) to 182(+38).

Richard & Emily at the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign ahead of the competition
Richard & Emily at the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign ahead of the competition

This time the two players were to compete in a three round 45-hole contest, beginning at the brand new 9-hole indoor (in a Bar!) Mini Golf course at The Swingers Club at the Plaza Hotel & Casino, followed by a revisit to the 18-hole Pike's Pass Miniature Golf course at the Adventuredome at Circus Circus, and with a final round at The Putt Park Mini-Golf course.

Photo: The prizes for the 2011 Las Vegas Minigolf Desert Classic competition
The prizes for the 2011 Las Vegas Minigolf Desert Classic competition

In Round One at The Swingers Club Richard defeated Emily 22-27
In Round Two at Pike's Pass Richard defeated Emily 45-57
In Round Three at The Putt Park Richard defeated Emily 42-53

So Richard became the Irregular Mini Golf Tour's Las Vegas Minigolf Desert Classic Champion for 2011 with a score of 109(+19) to Emily's score of 137(+47).

Video: Richard Gottfried's victory speech


Despite finishing as the runner-up in the tournament, Emily did receive a unique prize as the Silver Medallist as she received a Bicycle Balloon Hat from The Balloon Guy who was at The Putt Park as part of the two-year anniversary special event at the course.

Mini Golf at The Putt Park in Las Vegas - Emily and the Balloon Guy and the Bicycle Hat at The Putt Park
Emily and the Balloon Guy and the Bicycle Hat at The Putt Park

Photos from the final round at The Putt Park

Mini Golf in Las Vegas - The Putt Park

Mini Golf in Las Vegas - The Putt Park

Mini Golf in Las Vegas - The Putt Park

Mini Golf in Las Vegas - The Putt Park


Irregular Mini Golf Tour logo

Richard made it two wins on the day as he also won that afternoon's Putt Park Annual Mini-Golf Tournament

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Boom-A-Rang Crazy Air Squash at Circus Circus in Las Vegas

While at the Circus Circus Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas we spotted a Boom-A-Rang Air Squash table in the Amusement Arcades and as big fans of these games had to give it a go.

Despite my previous poor showings in Crazy Air Squash contests - most notably in the 2010 Undisputed International Worlds Crazy Air Squash Championships - I actually managed to pick up the win, defeating Emily 7-2.




Most of the Crazy Air Squash tables we've found on our travels have been of the 'Air Squash' variety, indeed the Boom-A-Rang table is one of only two that I've played, the other being at LaserForce Laser Tag in Peterborough

Revisit to Pike's Pass Miniature Golf at the Adventuredome, Circus Circus Casino in Las Vegas

On Friday 9th September 2011 Emily and I revisited the 18-hole Pike's Pass Minigolf Course at the Adventuredome at the Circus Circus Hotel in Las Vegas.



We last played the course in 2010 when it became the 176th visited and played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Last time out Emily and I tied on 40 shots apeice.

In our Irregular Mini Golf Tour Match-up this time I defeated Emily 45-57. This match was the second round of the 2011 Las Vegas Minigolf Desert Classic between the two of us.



Link to the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Course Visit #176 - Pike's Pass Miniature Golf - Circus Circus, Las Vegas

Lazer Blast Laser Tag Arena at the Circus Circus Hotel & Casino's Adventure Dome...

...was not open on our visit to Las Vegas.


A shame, as we'd have loved to have had a game or two!


The 18-hole Pike's Pass Miniature Golf course was open so we had a replay of that.

It's not the first Lazer Tag we've visited that has been closed on arrival (much like in our travels on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour). Sometimes we're lucky enough to have a great Laser Tag battle, but on occasions like on trips to Bristol, Milton KeynesColchester, CleethorpesGreat Yarmouth we haven't been able to.

Other blog posts about Laser-related activity on our travels

The Laser Tag Rankings

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Happy Miniature Golf Day 2011

According to the Holiday Insights website Miniature Golf Day is "Always September 21st", so Happy Miniature Golf Day everyone!

Over on twitter today we're trying to get the term #MiniatureGolfDay trending - if you'd like to join in, then simply use the hashtag phrase #MiniatureGolfDay on your tweets today!

There are actually two Miniature Golf Days (if you are to go by what it says on Wikipedia and the Holiday Insights website) the other is National Miniature Golf Day and is held each year in the USA on the second Saturday of May.

Previous Blog Post - Dates for your Diary - National Miniature Golf Day

New Mini Golf course played in Las Vegas - The Swingers Club

On the 8th of September 2011 while on our holiday in Las Vegas Emily and I visited The Swingers Club - which is actually a Bar within the Plaza Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas that is home to a 9-hole Mini Golf course!

The course became the 268th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The Swingers Club miniature golf course in the Plaza Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas



The rather risqué name for the new Music and Mini Golf venue doesn't refer to anything that the double-entendre may suggest. During the day and evening The Swingers Club will feature music by Dueling Pianos!

The course is fun to play and even though the holes themselves are not that long, they are still fairly tricky.

The 6th hole is very crazy too, as it involves a Chip Shot! Haunted Hole 9 is odd too and involves Putting the ball up a haunted Escalator!? This was the only hole I managed to get a hole-in-one on.

The Swingers Club miniature golf course in the Plaza Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas

We'd heard The Swingers Club was open from 11am until 4am, however when we visited at around 4pm it was closed, and when we checked with various staff in the Casino and Hotel we were eventually told it wouldn't be open until 8pm on that day so we had to revisit later in the evening. At least it was open and we were able to play in the end!

The Swingers Club miniature golf course in the Plaza Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas

The Swingers Club is a nice addition to the Las Vegas Entertainment scene and I'd play there again on my next visit to Vegas.

The Swingers Club miniature golf course in the Plaza Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas

In our Irregular Mini Golf Tour Match-up I defeated Emily 22-27. This match was the first round of the 2011 Las Vegas Minigolf Desert Classic between the two of us.



Link to the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour list of courses visited and played to date.

Previous Blog Post - New Las Vegas Mini Golf Course Opening at 'The Swingers Club' at the The Plaza Hotel & Casino

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

The Quest for Excalibur Laser Maze in Las Vegas


While staying at The Excalibur Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada we headed to the hotel's Fun Dungeon for a play on the amusements there. One of which was The Quest for Excalibur Laser Maze! As fans of Laser Games we had to give it a go!



In had two goes in the Laser Maze, the first time I recorded on the 8th of September was 490.7 which, at the time, put me in 2nd place of 4 players and won me a Magic Hat!

On the 10th of September Emily and I both had a go, with Emily scoring a great 232.5, but I bumbled to another 400+ score of 404.3. The competition was much tougher on the 10th and neither of us made the top ten to earn a hat, but we did both win a pair of Dollar Sign Glasses.

The only other Laser Maze we've ever played on our adventures was the one at Weston-Super-Mare's Grand Pier back in July.

Other Blog Posts About Lasers...

Monday, September 19, 2011

The Las Vegas Darts Classic - Richard vs. Emily

Results of The La$ Vega$ Dart$ Cla$$ic - Richard vs. Emily

On Friday 9th September 2011 Emily and I headed to the Queen Victoria Pub at The Riviera Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.


On our flight over to Las Vegas we'd sat next to one of the pub's owners and he'd said we should check it out while we were there. So we did, and what a great spot it is for a Beer and Cider. And a game of Darts!


With our love of competing against each other in many and varied sports and games, Emily and I faced-off in the Las Vegas Darts Classic competition, with the winner of the best-of-3 legs 301-down championship challenge walking away with a cool $72!


The Queen Victoria Pub has eight Dartboards permanently set-up, plenty of tables and chairs for spectators, a wide-ranging menu and lots of different drinks available.


In our Darts match I managed to beat Emily 2-0, although the match was very close indeed.


I finished both of my games with Double-4!



The Queen Victoria Pub is located in The Riviera Hotel & Casino and is well worth a visit if you're in Las Vegas.

You can find the Queen Victoria Pub on twitter and facebook.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

I'm a Raffle Prize at the MacMillan Coffee Morning at Tea Green Golf Club, Wandon End, near Luton

Tea Green Golf Club at Wandon End, near Luton is hosting a MacMillan Coffee Morning at their Club House on Wednesday 28th September between 10am and 12pm.

The event will have a small Bring & Buy sale, a Cake Tasting Competition and a Raffle. One of the prizes in the Raffle is a chance to play a Round of Minigolf with me on Tea Green Golf Club's 9-hole Crazy Golf Course!

Details of the event can be found on the facebook event page.



Link to Tea Green Golf Club's website

Link to MacMillan Cancer Support website

Blog Post - Tea Green Golf Fun Day - Minigolf Lessons

Gottfried's get a 100 Grand in Las Vegas!!!

As well winning big at The Putt Park's Annual Mini-Golf Tournament in Las Vegas last weekend, Emily and I also got a 100 Grand during our holiday there!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Minigolf Report - Gottfried one-two at The Putt Park Annual Mini-Golf Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

15th September 2011
Press Information
For Immediate Release

Minigolf Report – Richard Gottfried wins The Putt Park Annual Mini-Golf Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Emily Gottfried runner-up in second annual event

Luton Minigolfers Richard and Emily Gottfried competed in The Putt Park Annual Mini-Golf Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on Saturday 10th September.

Thirteen players were registered in the 18-hole event at The Putt Park, the city’s only outdoor Mini-Golf course, to celebrate the second anniversary of the course. Richard shot a round of 43 to take the victory by one-shot from Emily after scoring a hole-in-one on the final hole, while Emily could only hit a three.

The New Putt Park Mini-Golf Annual Tournament Champion - Richard Gottfried
The New Putt Park Mini-Golf Annual Tournament Champion - Richard Gottfried

The tournament was played using The Putt Park’s Mini-Golf rules where each player teed-off in turn and then the player whose ball was closest to the hole played out their shots to completion.

Minigolfer Emily Gottfried plays a shot at The Putt Park minigolf course in Las Vegas
Emily plays a shot at The Putt Park

Richard said “I’m so pleased to have won The Putt Park’s Annual Tournament and earned my spot on their Wall of Fame. The competition was intense with Emily and the Canadian player Ryan Cordes pushing for the win and that made me play my best Miniature Golf. The victory for me and Emily’s runner-up spot made the trip to Las Vegas even more special, I’m looking forward to defending my title next year.”

Emily said "I was very pleased to finish runner-up. There was only one shot between first and second and it was a tough competition because it was so close! But Richard deserved to win it after his fantastic ace on the 18th! The Putt Park course and staff are wonderful and I can't wait to play there again next year."

The Players on the 'Podium'. From l-r Ryan Cordes (3rd), Richard (1st), Emily (2nd)
The Players on the 'Podium'. From l-r Ryan Cordes (3rd), Richard (1st), Emily (2nd)

Richard’s winnings included a trophy for first place and other prizes with a $170 value including gift certificates for use at The Putt Park, and competition supporters Rambo’s Kitchen, Khoury’s Mediterranean Restaurant and the Callaway Golf Centre.


Minigolf in Las Vegas - Richard Gottfried putts under a rock at The Putt Park
Richard Putts under a Rock

The Putt Park Miniature Golf Course is located at 6085 South Fort Apache, Las Vegas,  Nevada 89148.

Ends

Monday, September 12, 2011

Stockwood Park Big Mini Golf Match-up - Gottfried vs. Hall

I recently faced-off against fellow Lutonian Simon 'Practice' Hall in a match-up on the 9-hole 'Mini Golf' (Pitch & Putt) course at Stockwood Park in Luton.

In the one-round contest I defeated Simon 35-57 in sunny but slightly windy weather conditions.






One of the Brown Tourist Signs pointing the way to Stockwood Park Golf Centre has taken a bit of a bashing and looks quite different to how it did last week!



The course was the 30th played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in August 2007.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Gottfried vs. Hinton - Healthy Minigolf Competition at Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf

July 29th 2011 saw the beginning of a new minigolf competition series, with players from JML competing against each other for inter-office glory.

Emily “Coach” Gottfried is well-known within the walls of JML’s London HQ for her exploits and achievements in both the Irregular Minigolf Tour with “Squire” Richard Gottfried, and the BMGA Tour where she has competed in a number of Professional Miniature Golf events all over the UK. And a few brave, daring souls have often laid down the gauntlet and challenged Emily to a game of minigolf or two...


So on July 29th, the talking was over and Luton’s Emily Gottfried headed to the new Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf at the A1 Golf Driving Range in Arkley with Stevenage’s Simon Hinton to put the grand-standing to an end.

Whilst being a “big golf” player, Simon regularly talked up his short-game, however on arrival at the course, nerves seemed to take hold, and even a quick cigarette couldn’t dampen the nerves as both players approached the first hole.

This first match-up took place post-work on a beautiful July summers evening, and it proved to be the perfect setting for Emily to prove her minigolfing ability, when she bested Simon 42 to 45 on stroke play, and 2-up on matchplay.

Simon said after his defeat “It was a true pleasure to be able to demonstrate to Emily the finer details of my grip, the precision involved in the setting of the hips in my stance, and the pendulum effect of my in-out-in putting path.”

Hinton added “I know that Emily was extremely pleased as she now knows how not to putt like a complete t**t, and this will hold her in excellent stead in future competitions and the inevitable world rankings. And frankly, it’s all thanks to me.”

Emily said “I enjoyed the game immensely, and as I always knew I would win, it wasn’t much of a surprise, but it was very welcome all the same. Simon does have a certain finesse with a putter, and could definitely be a contender, if he honed his skills in certain areas. He suffered a five out there today, but he can work on that and take me on again in the future. However, having seen Simon’s recent comments, I can see that it will take another few defeats at my hand before he can accept defeat gracefully”.

Following on from these self-aggrandising comments Emily “Coach” Gottfried agreed to a re-match, which took place on August 9th.

In this second match Emily again beat Simon, 40 to 41. The victory was by a smaller margin, but improvements were made by both players, including aces by Emily on the 1st and by Simon on the 14th. The match ended all-square on matchplay. At this point, Simon grudgingly acknowledged that some of Emily’s guidance had helped his game and a second-round was played.

This round showed much improvement again, and with Simon following Emily’s coaching tips he managed to win 38 to Emily’s 41. This included another ace on the 14th for Simon - making it his favourite hole. Simon also won matchplay 2-up.

After the two-rounds were over Simon said “An under par round (course par is 40) equalling the course record came as absolutely no surprise to me. This is testament to my determination, focus, skill and on-course imagination. Oh – and Coach helped a bit too”.

Coach said: “I won the first round and lost the second, but I feel that I can take some credit in Simon’s victory. I saw his potential and some handy advice helped him to his win”.

The JML Irregular tour will hopefully continue later in the year with at least three more colleagues lined up to compete.

Link - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour visit to the Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf Course

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

Saturday, September 10, 2011

The 1st Annual Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt

The 1st Annual Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt has been announced and will run until the 1st of November 2011 (at midday Japan Standard Time) when the contest winner will be announced and awarded the coveted Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt Trophy.

The Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt is taking place on Miniature Golf courses worldwide and invites people to track down and record items and achievements related to all forms of the fine game of Minigolf.

Full details of this great contest can be found on the Putter King website.

Emily and I will be competing in the event and have been busy ticking off and planning our Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt milestones.

Richard & Emily Gottfried in their Putter King kits at the BMGA English Open at Wroxham Barns, Norfolk earlier this season

You can follow contestant's progress on twitter by using the hashtag #pkscavhunt

Friday, September 09, 2011

British Players Performances in Major WMF Minigolf Competitions

Tim 'Ace Man' Davies, webmaster of MiniatureGolfer.com and Crazy Golf Legend, has updated the details of Great Britain Minigolf Sport Team Members Results at major WMF Championships on his website.

You can view the full details at British performances in Major European Competitions.

Emily and I have played for the Great Britain Minigolf Sport Team at two overseas Minigolf Championships - the 2008 WMF Nations Cup in Tampere, Finland and the 2011 WMF Nations Cup in Stockholm, Sweden.

My results in 2008 see me ranked at 61st of 73 performances at major WMF Championships, with Emily's results in Finland ranking her 69th.

We both improved massively in our performances in the 2011 Nations Cup as my performance sees me at 27th and Emily at 40th.

The results in the list include details of major World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF) Competitions including Nations Cups, European Minigolf Championships and World Minigolf Championships.

Thursday, September 08, 2011

Team Entry Now Open for the 2011 UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships in London

Entry for the team tournament at the 2011 UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships has now opened.

Teams of four have been invited to compete in the Wacky Nation organised event that will take place on Saturday 22nd October 2011 at the Knights Templar pub on Chancery Lane.

The team event will be taking place in addition to the individual competition which will see over 200 competitors in action for the national RPS title!

You can get all the details on this great event on the 2011 UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships website.

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Minigolf News - "Emily 'Lemony' Gottfried signs for the Cambridgeshire Mini Golf Club!"

In the latest Minigolf Transfer News Emily 'Coach' Gottfried has signed for the newest Minigolf Club in the UK - the Cambridgeshire Mini Golf Club.


Emily, a former member of the Midlands Minigolf Club and the reigning WMF Women's World Adventure Golf Masters Champion, sealed the deal through a series of texts with CMGC Captain James 'Ruthers' Rutherford while seated at the 'Sheen Sisters Table' during a meal out at PJ's Restaurant in Covent Garden, London.

The CMGC was formed in August 2011 by former Green Mini Golf Club member James 'TheRocket' Rutherford. Surrey-based players Oliver 'The Machine' Florence and Richard 'Gentle Touch' Skeggs are the other two current club members.

Details of how to join the Cambridgeshire Mini Golf Club can be found on the CMGC website.