Minigolf Revisit - Treasure Island Adventure Golf in Southsea - Five Years Later...

Minigolf revisit to Treasure Island Adventure Golf in Southsea - Exactly five years since our first visit

On Friday 30th September 2011 Emily and I headed down to Southsea, Hampshire to celebrate the five-year anniversary of the start of our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We were joined by my brother Christopher who was also there at the start of our tour of the UK’s Miniature Golf courses, when we played our Irregular Mini Golf Tour competition on the 9-hole Victory Trail course at Treasure Island Adventure Golf on the seafront in Southsea.

Photo: Emily tees-off on hole 1 of the Victory Trail course as Christopher looks on

Back on Saturday 30th September 2006 a group of us headed to the Treasure Island Adventure Golf course during a weekend away visiting Christopher on one of our seaside trips (Emily and I had made a resolution to visit as many seasides as possible). We played the Victory Trail first, followed by the 9-hole Warrior Trail course on the Sunday.

Photo: Richard plays hole 1 of the Victory Trail course

From there our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour has seen us travel all over the UK and to several other countries too. Following our trip to Southsea’s Treasure Island, a replay of two other courses on Southsea Common, and a roadtrip along the coast to Bognor Regis and Felpham the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour courses played count now stands at 276, with visits made to 430 courses overall.

In our Irregular Mini Golf Tour re-match on the Victory Trail course Emily took the win with a score of 24, followed by me with a score of 25 and Christopher one-shot off with 26. In a nod to nostalgia we played the game under Crazy Golf Rules, as when we first played in 2006 we used very different rules to those we generally use now. Back in 2006 I had scored 31, Emily had hit a 34 and Christopher had managed a 36.

Video: Playing hole 18 of the Victory Trail course

Photo: The Scorecard from our revisit to the two Adventure Golf courses at Treasure Island

After the round we then stepped up to try our luck on the lucky last hole and try to Fire the Cannon to win a FREE GAME. I had managed this feat in 2006 and once again I hit a hole-in-one to earn a FREE GAME pass! Something I very rarely manage despite how often we play minigolf!?

Photo: Richard shows off his Top Hole winnings

With the FREE GAME pass safely tucked away as a memento of the visit, and a future exhibit in the Crazy Golf Museum, we decided to play the Warrior Trail Adventure Golf course too.

The light was beginning to fade but our enthusiasm for playing did not. This time round I managed a 28, with Emily hitting a 29 and Christopher once again just one-shot back on 30. Before the scores were added up we stepped up to try to Fire the Cannon, however none of us managed a hole-in-one the second time around.

Video: Playing the 4th hole on the Warrior Trail (better than we had done in 2006)

Photo: Christopher plays hole 5 of the Warrior Trail course

In the overall Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Victory & Warrior Trail 5-Year Anniversary Tournament there was (as in 2006) a tie for first-place. This time it was Emily and me that were joint winners, with Christopher in third spot.

On the 1st October we headed to revisit and replay the other courses in Southsea at the Southsea Common Castle Mini Golf Centre, and the closed course on Southsea Pier. We also played a new Adventure Golf course at Stokes Bay in Gosport. On Sunday 2nd October we then headed along the coast towards Bognor Regis, west Sussex, where we managed to play a further seven courses in Earnley, Selsey, Hunston, Bognor itself and Felpham (next to Bognor).

We had also planned to visit Littlehampton and play the many Miniature Golf courses there, however we ran out of time which means that they will become some of the first we’ll play when they reopen in 2012 after the winter break.

More photos from our revisit to Treasure Island Adventure Golf in Southsea

Photo: Christopher & Richard on hole 8 of the Victory Trail course

Photo: Christopher plays a tricky second shot on the Victory Trail course

Photo: Emily plays hole 1 of the Warrior Trail course as a Crocodile (or Alligator) looks on

Photo: One of the two Crocodiles (or Alligators) lurking in the water surrounding the two courses

Photo: Richard & Emily outside Treasure Island

Photo: Crazy World of Minigolf Tour & Irregular Mini Golfers Christopher, Emily & Richard Gottfried

Blog Posts:

- Five years on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour!
- From the Vault - Southsea Minigolf 2006
- Southsea Pirate Masters 2010 - Irregular Mini Golf Tour Competition and Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Re-visit
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - courses visited and played list

Video Link:
- Who is the real 'Squire' Richard Gottfried

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

Five years on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour!

Back on the 30th September 2006 we played our first course on what would become the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, when we played the 9-hole Victory Trail Adventure Golf course at Treasure Island in Southsea. The second course we played was the Warrior Trail course at Treasure Island on the 1st of October!

We've since gone on to visit a total of 419 courses in eleven countries to date, playing 268 of them. These 419 courses have gone under various names and guises (not all Miniature Golf courses are the same), in fact we've played the game at courses using a total of 43 synonyms!

The tour itself and the many road trips we've been on since 2006 came about after Emily and I set about visiting as many seasides in the UK as we could. So far we've made it to 149 coastal resorts, towns and villages by the sea. We've played Minigolf in 89 of these places.

Photo: Richard plays Hole 7 of the Oddballs Crazy Golf Course in Cleethorpes, Lincs

Photo: Emily putts through a Rocketship hole at the Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk

So to celebrate the half-decade landmark point of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour we've put together the following facts and stats.

Number of courses played = 268

Number of holes played on the 268 courses = 3,675

Number of courses visited but not played = 151

Number of courses visited overall = 419

Number of courses played that had a Windmill obstacle = 16

1. Brighton #12

2. Southend-on-Sea #16

3. Great Yarmouth #26

4. Broadstairs #35

5. Margate/Cliftonville #36

6. Margate/Cliftonville #37

7. Hastings #39

8. Blackpool #45

9. Bury St Edmonds #71

10. Rhyl #145

11. Prestatyn #147

12. Southport #150

13. Gorleston-on-Sea #173

14. Cleethorpes #226

15. Skegness #234

16. Great Yarmouth #265

- Rottingdean’s Putting Course and Miniature Golf #223 was at an actual Windmill!
- The Extraordinary Golf at Alton Towers has a Windmill on it but the course was flooded on our visit, so we could not play there

Number of countries Emily and I have played Minigolf in = 11 – England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Finland, USA, Austria, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden

Number of Piers that we’ve played Minigolf on = Two – Sandown, Isle of Wight & Clacton-on-Sea

Number of Piers that have got a Minigolf course on, but which wasn’t open on our visit = One – Southsea

Number of Piers that advertise that they have got a Minigolf course on, but haven’t = One – Brighton

Number of Seasides we’ve played Minigolf in = 89

Number of Capital Cities we’ve played Minigolf in = 6 – London, England; Stockholm, Sweden; Auckland, New Zealand; Vienna, Austria; Belfast, Northern Ireland; Edinburgh, Scotland

Islands in the British Isles we’ve played Minigolf on = 7 – Portsea Island, Isle of Wight, Thanet, Isle of Anglesey, Barry Island, Canvey Island, Hayling Island

View the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour courses played and visited list.

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

Writing about a little bit of Britain on the Las Vegas Strip for Smitten by Britain

Please check out the brilliant blog Smitten By Britain to read an article I wrote about a little bit of Britain we found on the Las Vegas Strip at "The Queen Victoria Pub in Las Vegas."

The Smitten by Britain blog is a blog all about the best of British and is run by American Britophile Melissa Stoey and covers subjects including culture, sports, travel, history, food & drinks and books - it's the home of the Britophile and all things British.

Link - Smitten by Britain

Previous Article - "Favorite Minigolf Courses in the UK"

A new Mini Golf course in Milton Keynes - Pirate Island Adventure Golf at the Abbey Hill Golf Centre

A brand new Miniature Golf course is opening up in Milton Keynes on Friday 7th October 2011 as the Abbey Hill Golf Centre launches its brand new 18-hole Pirate Island Adventure Golf course.

According to the website the £775,000 Pirate Island Adventure Golf course will be open 7 days a week, come rain or shine.

Emily and I are looking forward to heading over to Milton Keynes to give the new course a go as part of our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour around all the Minigolf courses in the UK.

Many thanks to Lester at Tea Green Golf Club at Wandon End, near Luton, for the tip.

Fake Crocodiles! Or are they Alligators?

Photos of the fake Alligators (or are they Crocodiles?) that we have spotted on our travels around many Miniature Golf courses in the UK and overseas.

While in Las Vegas I spotted a number of fake Crocodiles (or are they Alligators) and realised that this year I’ve seen a few on my travels, including some real ones at the Crocodile Enclosure at Johnsons of Old Hurst, Cambridgeshire.

A BIG scary fake Crocodile at Fort Fun Adventure Golf in Eastbourne

It got me thinking, as I don’t know the difference between a Crocodile and an Alligator, and as an avid quiz fan I really ought to!

A quick search online led me to some information on the ever reliable Wikipedia, which shows that the main differences are:

• Alligators prefer freshwater
• Crocodiles can better tolerate seawater
• But both Alligators and Crocodiles can survive in either
• Alligators are darker in colour than Crocodiles, often nearly black
• Alligators have wider and shorter heads than Crocodiles
• Alligator’s heads are more u-shaped than a Crocodiles v-shaped head
• Alligator’s upper jaws are wider than their lower jaws
• Alligator’s teeth in the lower jaw fit into small depressions in the upper jaw
• Crocodile’s teeth fit together, as the upper and lower jaws are the same width
• Crocodiles have a jagged fringe on the hind legs and feet
• Alligators have webbed toes on their hind feet
• Crocodiles are more aggressive than Alligators

An animatronic Crocodile (v-shaped head) at the MGM Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas

A big fake Alligator (that looks more like a Crocodile) at the Alligator Bar at The Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas

A fake Crocodile (I think) at the Outback Steakhouse at Casino Royale in Las Vegas

I'm now pretty sure that it was a fake Crocodile that almost 'got me' at the Adventure Golf Course at Fort Fun in Eastbourne!

A fake Crocodile tried to take a bite out of me at the Adventure Golf Course at Fort Fun in Eastbourne!

More photos of Alligators, or Crocodiles, spotted on our travels around and on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The Crocodile at Barry Island's Smuggler's Cove Adventure Golf

A close-up of the Barry Island's Smuggler's Cove Adventure Golf Croc

Getting a bit too close to the fake croc

A very unrealistic and unscary looking Crocodile at Great Yarmouth's Pleasure Beach Adventure Golf

A snap of the Crocodile at Lowestoft's East Point Family Golf

Richard, the Croc and Emily

Not a Crocodile or an Alligator, but a Hippo - oddly this was in the water at Bottons Pleasure Beach Gold Mine Adventure Golf in Skegness, there was no sign of any Crocodiles or Alligators there, but the setting looked like there should've been!

Links:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

- Crocodile-related blog posts

- Alligator-related blog posts

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

How I celebrated Miniature Golf Day 2011

As the Holiday Insights website informed the world, Wednesday 21st September was Miniature Golf Day.

I celebrated this extra special day in the world of Miniature Golf by visiting my local 9-hole Mini Golf course at Tea Green Golf Club at Wandon End, near Luton.

In a challenge match versus Tea Green Golf Club manager Lester Coles I was defeated over 18-holes by a scoreline of 34-36, I did however follow up this loss with a victory against (course record holder) Scott Holmes in an 18-hole match with a score of 33-35.

Next up we hit the very testing 6-hole Putting Green layout for a contest. The three of us began the round, but Lester was conveniently called away to the bar following a 3 and a 4 on the first two holes. Scott and I continued the 12-hole match with Scott hitting a 12(par) on the front 9, and me with a 14(+2). On the back 9 I managed an 11(-1) to Scott's 14(+2) for me to just edge the victory. Scott told me that prior to our rounds no-one had got close to Par on the 6-hole course layout since it was changed round recently.

It's always great fun heading up to Tea Green Golf Club to have a round or two of Putting and Mini Golf and plenty of banter too! A great way to spend Miniature Golf Day!

The 9-hole Mini Golf course was the 111th course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in July 2009, the Putting course was the 113th played.
On the way to Tea Green I had swung by Wardown Park to take a snap of the courses down there. Both the Mini Golf (Putting) #19 and the Crazy Golf #18 were closed (for the season).

Blog Post - Happy Miniature Golf Day

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

Luton Dodgeball Club is One Year Old this Week!

This week sees Luton Dodgeball Club celebrate it's first anniversary!

The very first meeting of what would eventually become the Luton Dodgeball Club took place at Lealands High School in north Luton a year ago. On Monday 27th September 2010 a bunch of players went along for the first of the "Get Back Into...Dodgeball" sessions coached by Rob Norris that took place at the sports hall on Monday nights.

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

The Luton Dodgeball Club is always on the look out for new players to come along to play in the friendly weekly sessions. The sessions for seniors/adults runs from 7pm-8pm every Monday at Leagrave Primary School in Luton. The cost is £4 a session and features warm-ups, competitive games and training drills such as speed, accuracy and dodging!

Luton Dodgeball Club's new poster

"A very British “keep calm and carry on” brown sign…." at the Follow The Brown Signs Blog

One of the Brown Tourist Signs I spotted on the way to play BIG Golf against my rival Simon 'Practice' Hall at Stockwood Park in Luton has made it onto the Follow The Brown Signs Blog.

You can check out the Blog Post at "A very British “keep calm and carry on” brown sign…."

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

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.

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.

Emily and the Balloon Guy and the Bicycle Hat at The Putt Park

Photos from the final round at The Putt Park

Results of the 2010 Las Vegas Minigolf Desert Classic

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

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

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 Keynes, Colchester, Cleethorpes, Great Yarmouth we haven't been able to.

Other blog posts about Laser-related activity on our travels

The Laser Tag Rankings

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 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.

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