Bar Billiards at the Marine View Hotel in Worthing

An evening playing Bar Billiards at the Marine View Hotel in Worthing.

While in sunny Worthing for the recent BMGA British Masters Minigolf tournament played at the town's Splash Point Mini Golf we decided to seek out a Bar Billiards table near the seafront for the evening's entertainment.

The Bar Billiards league table at the Marine View Hotel in Worthing

Last year a group of us had played Bar Billiards at The Swan and having looked again on the excellent Bar Billiards table map we spotted that the Marine View Bed & Breakfast on the promenade had a table.

Richard plays a shot in an attempt to score 400-points!

We arrived to a nice welcome and a warm venue to spend the evening playing one of our favourite games. The Marin View hotel bar also has a Dartboard and there is plenty of space around the Bar Billiards to play, little wonder as it's a tournament quality table and part of the Worthing & District Bar Billiards League.

John Moore fires a rocket of a shot against Richard

We had some great matches amongst ourselves and it was all good preparation for the upcoming Minigolfer's Bar Billiards competition and 'do' in London! There were some nice high scores (for us) of over a thousand points and a few really good breaks. These were however unfortunately followed by some calamatous wipe-outs! It's still a great fun pub game and if you've never played it then I do suggest you find your nearest table and give it a go.

Emily begins a game against John Moore

If you're in Worthing then you should definitely give the Marine View hotel bar a visit, it's very close to the town centre, the Bar Billiards table is in great condition and plays very nicely. We'll be heading back for another game there in the future.

Links:
- Bar Billiards-related Blog Posts on the Ham & Egger Files
- The All England Bar Billiards' Association (AEBBA)
- Worthing & District Bar Billiards League
- Marine View B&B
- Worthing Blog Posts

2014 World Alternative Games in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales

Festival of all-sorts of sports and games to take place in Llanwrtyd Wells in August 2014.

The date for the 2014 World Alternative Games has been announced! The eighteen-day festival of sport, fun and games will be taking place in Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys, Wales between Friday 8th and Monday 25th August 2014.

In 2012 more than 50 different wild, weird, wacky, odd and obscure sports took place during the two weeks!

Emily refereeing the Finger Jousting contest between Joachim Davidse (NED) and Alain G (FRA) at the 2012 World Alternative Games

As part of the 2012 World Alternative Games Emily and I ran the first-ever Official Finger Jousting Championships on UK soil and Jas Kukielka and I were victorious in the World Egg Throwing Championships there!

Jas, me and Seve Kukielka with our medal haul for Egg Throwing (and Catching) at the 2012 edition of the World Alternative Games

It's a great (little) town - the smallest in Britain - and well worth a visit and everyone there was so friendly and welcoming. Interestingly the town's Neuadd Arms Hotel is also Headquarters of the Monster Raving Loony Party.

Links:

- World Alternative Games

- World Alternative Game on Twitter

- World Alternative Games on Facebook

- World Finger Jousting Federation

- Wacky Nation

- 'Dame' Julia Galvin, sportswoman extraordinaire

Related Blog Posts:

- Becoming a World Champion in Egg Throwing!

- A new sport or game for 2013?

Minigolf Tournament - County Durham Adventure Golf Open

A new Minigolf tournament at a new Minigolf course in Durham.

Adventure Valley Golf at Adventure Valley farm and play centre will be hosting the first 'County Durham Adventure Golf Open' competition on Sunday 28th April!

There are three categories in the tournament to be held on the 18-hole Adventure Golf course. Further details and entry forms can be found on the Adventure Valley Golf website:  

- Under 16 - lowest overall score after 3 rounds (10am tee-off)

- Over 16 - lowest overall score after 4 rounds (10.30am tee-off)

- Pro - lowest overall score after 4 rounds (11am tee-off)

Winners will receive cash prizes and trophies and there are prizes for runners-up too.

The winners of each player category will be the very first to feature on the new Adventure Valley Golf ‘Wall of Fame’. Each player taking part in the competition will receive a medal and certificate in a presentation ceremony at the end of the day.

Entrants can take advantage of a day rate of £6 to play and practice the course on Saturday 27th April.

Adventure Valley Golf is offering discounted rates of play for British Minigolf Association Tour Pros this season. One round costs £2 or you can receive unlimited daily play for £7.50 on production of a valid BMGA Tour Pro card.

Links:

- Adventure Valley

- Adventure Valley Golf

- Adventure Valley on Facebook

- Adventure Valley on Twitter

- British Minigolf Association April Newsletter

- Adventure Valley Golf Competition Page

- County Durham Adventure Golf Open Poster

Related Blog Posts:

- Join the British Minigolf Association for the 2013 Minigolf Season

Minigolf Postcards from sunny Worthing

Two new Postcards available from Splash Point Mini Golf in Worthing.

As an avid collector of Miniature Golf ephemera I was incredibly pleased to see that the team at Splash Point Mini Golf in Worthing, West Sussex had produced two brand new Minigolf Postcards.

Clearly delighted with the new Splash Point Mini Golf Postcards

Tim 'Ace Man' Davies and I have quite a collection of Mini, Crazy and Adventure Golf Postcards and we wrote an article for the December 2011 edition of the postcard industry magazine Picture Postcard Monthly.

A couple of the Splash Point Mini Golf Postcards heading into a postbox in Findon

It's interesting to note that despite travelling to almost 200 seasides in the UK and numerous inland Minigolf courses there is a dearth of postcards depicting the incredibly popular past-time of Miniature Golf. That's why it was so great that Splash Point Mini Golf has two new designs available for just 30p each.

The two designs of the new Splash Point Mini Golf course Postcards

At the recent BMGA British Masters tournament held at Splash Point Mini Golf I picked up a bunch of the nice Crazy Golf postcards and set about writing a few on the curse ready to post out. 

Scribbling a few lines about my 4th place finish in the BMGA British Masters Minigolf tournament at Splash Point Mini Golf in Worthing

Links:

- Splash Point Mini Golf

- Picture Postcard Monthly

- Postcardese

- MiniatureGolfer.com

- The Crazy Golf Museum

- British Minigolf Association

Related Blog Posts:

- All Postcard-related posts on the Ham & Egger Files

- Ephemera

- Merchandise

Abandoned Shoe Of The Week!

Winning the Abandoned Shoe Of The Week title!

I recently found out that I'd won a 'coveted' internet title, that being the spotter of the "Abandoned Shoe Of The Week" from @abandonedshoes on Twitter!

The Abandoned Shoe of the Week prize winner!

Thanks to my friend and sometimes Minigolf ally Kevin Moseley tipping me off about the mission of @abandonedshoes to have all sightings of Abandoned Shoes reported to them, I've sent in a few photos of any that I have spied around Luton!

In recent weeks Emily and I have spotted a couple of sole items of footwear opposite one another on the building works of the new Luton to Dunstable Guided Busway in the town centre. It was the second, pointy shoe, rather than the original fancy shoe, that was awarded the "Abandoned Shoe Of The Week" prize.

The UK abandoned shoe count currently stands at: 1,336!

Links:

- Abandoned Shoes on Twitter

- Abandoned Shoes on Facebook

Film of the 2013 BMGA British Masters Minigolf Championship in Worthing

Film of the 2013 BMGA British Masters competition by the team behind 'A Year In The Life Of Worthing'.

The 2013 BMGA British Masters national miniature golf tournament won by Adam Kelly and held at Worthing's Splash Point Mini Golf course in the town's Denton Gardens was filmed by the team at 2 Dog Imaging.

Check out the brilliant film of a great event.



Did you see (and hear) my holes-in-one ;-)

Links:

- "British Masters Mini Golf 2013" video
- "British Masters Mini Golf 2012 Worthing" video

- 2 Dog Imaging

- 'A Year In The Life Of Worthing' Facebook page

- Splash Point Mini Golf

- British Minigolf Association
- BMGA British Masters 2013 event page & results

Related Blog Posts:

- Minigolf Report – 2013 BMGA British Masters in Worthing
- Video of the 2012 BMGA British Masters in Worthing
- Splash Point Mini Golf in Worthing - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour course visit #181

Minigolf Report – 2013 BMGA British Masters in Worthing

15th April 2013

Press Information

For Immediate Release

Minigolf Report – BMGA British Masters in Worthing

Richard Gottfried 4th and Emily Gottfried 12th in national Miniature Golf tournament. 

Luton Minigolfers Richard and Emily Gottfried competed in the BMGA British Masters tournament that took place at the 18-hole Splash Point Mini Golf course at Denton Gardens in Worthing, West Sussex on Sunday 14th April. In the four-round, 72-hole tournament Richard finished in 4th place overall in the 27-player field. Emily finished in 12th place overall, and was the winner in the Category 3 event contested by 13 players.

Richard scored a three-round total of 143(-1), having shot a new personal best of 32(-4), followed by rounds of 40(+4), 34(-2) and 37(+1).

Richard Gottfried plays the 12th hole at Splash Point Mini Golf 

Emily scored a total 174(+30) after rounds of 41(+5), 50(+14), 41(+5) and 42(+6). To win Category 3 Emily defeated Wales’ Paul Godding in a sudden-death play-off at the third extra-hole to take the title.

Emily Gottfried in her play-off against Paul Godding at Splash Point Mini Golf 

The winner of the 2013 BMGA British Masters was Cambridgeshire’s Adam Kelly with a score of 132(-12). Splash Point’s Peter Emmerson was runner-up on 135(-9) and Oxford’s Michael Smith 3rd on 142(-2).

Richard said "I was pleased to be in the mix in the British Masters this year and fairly happy to have finished fourth. To score three sub-40 rounds at Splash Point Mini Golf is great as it’s recognised as one of the country’s hardest courses and I only had two bad holes out of 72 during the day which was a massive improvement on my last performance in Worthing. Well done to the new champion Adam Kelly and thanks to the team at Splash Point for hosting a brilliant tournament."

Emily said “My 12th place finish was higher than I anticipated before the tournament, so I was really pleased! I played really well in all but one round and I’m happy with my performance overall. The play-off against Paul was tough, so I was ecstatic to win it and be the top Category 3 player at the British Masters.” 

Richard made his debut in the 2007 BMGA British Masters in Southend-on-Sea, finishing in 24th place. Until his 4th place in Worthing his previous best in the event was a 9th place finish when the competition was held in Margate in 2011.

Ends

Krazy Golf at Quest Merry Hill

Visiting and playing the new 9-hole Krazy Golf course at Quest Merry Hill.

On Saturday 6th of April along with fellow members of the British Minigolf Association and Great Britain Minigolf Sport Team Emily and I were invited along to the grand opening of the new 9-hole indoor Krazy Golf course at the Quest adventure and entertainment zone at Westfield’s Merry Hill shopping centre in Dudley.

Warming up before the Mini Golf Open competition at the Quest Krazy Golf course

The format of the day saw us practice playing the course, coach staff and the public and compete in challenge matches against shoppers! We also contested the Mini Golf Open amongst the six seasoned Tour veterans and GB team members, with former BMGA British Minigolf Champion Jon ‘The Stance’ Angel victorious with a score of 18(par) in his round.

2013 Quest Mini Golf Open competition results:

1. Jon ‘The Stance’ Angel – 18(par)

2. Chris ‘Who’ Harding – 19(+1)

3(T). Paul ‘The Overtaker’ Johnson – 21(+3)

3(T). Emily ‘Lemony’ Gottfried – 21(+3)

5. ‘Squire’ Richard Gottfried – 23(+5)

6. Owen ‘Jackpot’ Johnson – 26(+8)

The course is great fun and interesting to play. The holes are unique and there are plenty of hole-in-one opportunities, along with some tricky shots too!

From l-r 'Squire' Richard Gottfried, Squire' Richard Gottfried and Squire' Richard Gottfried playing hole 2 

The course record before the Minigolf Open Day was held by the course manager Mark Knox with a great score of 17(-1), but by the end of the day two-time World Crazy Golf Champion Chris ‘Who’ Harding had managed to shoot a low of 16(-2) to set the course record.

Chris 'Who' Harding takes the course record

It was nice for us to be able to pass on Minigolf hints and tips through the coaching sessions and challenge matches, and plenty of people were giving the course and game a try.

Hole 4 has a steep hill and camber to deal with

In a challenge match between me and Emily I won with a score of 17(-1) to Emily’s 19(+1). And in a match between me, fellow Minigolf adventurer Owen ‘Jackpot’ Johnson and Chris, I won with a score of 17(-1) to Chris’ 18(par) and Owen’s 24(+6).

Almost an Ace on hole 2

For more information on the Quest Krazy Golf course do check out the Quest website. As well has the Minigolf course the adventure area has a Nerf combat arena, shooting galleries and high ropes activities for all ages!

After we’d played the main Minigolf event we had a go on the Nerf combat game which was fast paced, great fun and a little bit painful if you got hit by a Nerf foam ‘bullet’ at close range!

Nerfed

Emily and Owen also had a go on the High Ropes activity which is situated above the main Quest area – you could easily miss seeing it unless you look up when you enter/exit Quest!

Emily on the High Ropes Extreme

All-in-all it was a great day out. We’ll definitely be back to play the course again and hopefully there’ll be more Miniature Golf tournaments at the course in the future.

A laser effect surrounding the cup on hole 3 at Quest Merry Hill

The course was the 528th Emily and I have visited and the 317th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006.

Hole 1

Hole 2

Hole 3

Hole 4

Hole 5

Hole 6

Hole 6

Hole 7

Hole 8

Hole 9

Hole 9

Links:

- Quest Merry Hill

- Quest Krazy Golf

- British Minigolf Association

- Great Britain Minigolf Sport Team

- UrbanCrazy

- Westfield Merry Hill

Related Blog Posts:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - List and links for all Miniature Golf courses visited to date

- Types and Variants of Miniature Golf visited and played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Join the British Minigolf Association for the 2013 Minigolf Season

Dragon Quest Adventure Golf at World of Golf in Croydon

A visit to the Dragon Quest Adventure Golf course at World of Golf in Croydon.

The second part of the inaugural Will Donnelly Invitational Minigolf Tournament saw us all head from Kelsey Park's Minigolf course in Beckenham to the nearby World of Golf Centre in Croydon which is home to an 18-hole Dragon Quest Adventure Golf course! 

A view of the 18-hole tropical Dragon Quest Adventure Golf. In Croydon!

Emily looks distracted as tournament organiser Will Donnelly plays a tricky second shot

Taking a shot at the Dragon Quest Adventure Golf

The visit to the Dragon Quest Adventure Golf course was number 526 overall on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 316th course played since September 2006!

A view of the course. Note the GIANT catapult to the right of the photo!

After the day of Minigolf we set off on our way to Guildford for an evening of Archery Tag, but before we arrived there we found another Minigolf course, in Carshalton, that we hadn't previously visited or played!

Emily and I have also played the Adventure Golf courses at the World of Golf centres in New Malden and Sidcup. We're yet to visit the World of Golf in Glasgow, but it's on our 'to play' list!

Related Blog Posts:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Courses Visited List

- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London

Links:

- Dragon Quest Adventure Golf at World of Golf, Croydon
- World of Golf

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

Kelsey Park Minigolf in Beckenham

A visit to the Minigolf course in Kelsey Park, Beckenham.

On Saturday 30th March Emily and I headed to Kelsey Park in Beckenham, Kent for the first-ever Will Donnelly Invitational Minigolf Tournament organised by the player himself - Will Donnelly!

Hole 18 - the Labyrinth - sometimes it can be tough, other times a good ace opportunity 

With Will having recently found that the course was near to his house he visited and played there and decided to organise an 'open invite' competition there for him and his fellow 'pro' players. The format of the event saw us all play two rounds on the 18-hole Minigolf course in Kelsey park, followed by one 18-hole round at the Dragon Quest Adventure Golf at World of Golf in Croydon.

En route to the park we'd heard the midday tee-off time was being pushed back a little to accommodate for an Easter Egg Hunt that was taking place in the park and on the course! That's certainly a first that we've come across in the 200+ Miniature Golf events we've competed in over the years!

Emily playing hole 2 - the Volcano - as Brad and Seth look on

We had a wander through the park and found it to be a very pleasant venue for both a Minigolf course and the tournament. The staff at the course were very welcoming and have a very well maintained course and surroundings.

A lovely lot of Minigolf-related signs made for a very happy Squire

The Minigolf course itself was originally of the 'Eternit' Minigolf variety, most often found in Europe, and over the last ten years the course has had various modifications made to it. It was certainly unique!

There are plenty of hole-in-one opportunities on the 18-hole layout, but as with many Eternit courses there were some killer holes there too!

On the day Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd set the best score with an opening round of 34(-2). Brad would go on to win the tournament outright following the final 18-holes in Croydon. The all-time best score was set in August 2003 when a Swedish player called Michael George scored a 28(-8)!

Top Putting from Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd

Kelsey Park and the Minigolf course there are well worth a visit. We'll definitely be back.

A rare photo of the pair of us together! Thanks for taking the snap Sethers

The visit to the Kelsey Park Minigolf course was number 525 overall on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 315th course played since September 2006!

Related Blog Posts:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Courses Visited List

- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London

Links:

- Kelsey Park in Beckenham

- Friends of Kelsey Park

- Kelsey Park Championship Minigolf Course review on MiniatureGolfer.com (2003)

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

Playing Archery Tag in Guildford

Trying out the new sport of Archery Tag.

As a fan of all manner of sports and games, whether old or new, traditional or obscure, I'm always on the lookout for new ones to have a go of. Following my blog post on the 1st of January 2013 where I asked the question "What sport or game that we haven't tried already should we give a go in 2013?" I had some responses via the comments, Facebook and Twitter.

One of these came from fellow sporting polymath Oliver 'Lawrence' Florence who suggested we give Archery Tag a go. He had heard an upcoming event would be taking place in Guildford and so it'd be a chance to have a play of the game for free!

Me, Guy Martin (grey) and Oliver Florence (red) in Archery Tag action

After a busy day of Minigolfing in Beckenham, Croydon and Carshalton Emily and I headed to Guildford and the Spectrum Leisure Complex which was the host venue for the Archery Tag event. Our group had been booked in for the 7pm session so we took some time beforehand to watch the action in the busy sports hall from the spectator's gantry. 

Before we got stuck into the game our group decided to warm-up with some target practice using the specific Archery Tag equipment. The bow and arrows differ from those used in Archery and the main thing you notice is the foam pad on the end of the arrows, these ensure that if (when!) you get hit by a shot it doesn't injure the competitor.

Richard 'Michael Skaggs' Skeggs (left) and Oliver 'The Machine' Florence warming-up before the main-event

Our group was then ready to hit the court (arena, course, battlefield?) and after a briefing by the Archery Tag organiser - Joshua from Discover Archery - we were provided with protective face masks, a bow and two arrows.

The game mixes Archery with rules similar to Dodgeball, Paintball and Laser Tag with two teams of players taking up positions on either side of the battlefield and once the whistle goes it's a free-for-all of arrows firing at the opposing force. In a competitive match we were told that if you get hit you are eliminated from the game for a one-minute period before re-entering the fray. For our have-a-go session we were involved in two seven-minute games, played with 'no outs'. So it gave us a great opportunity to practice our aim and have fun, without the fear and threat of elimination.

The Archery Tag 'battleground'

Once you've used up your initial two arrows you can then collect any arrows from the floor and re-use them - just be careful not to get hit while retrieving them! The arena also had a number of inflatable bases and barriers to hide behind and you certainly needed to use them as the game is non-stop with a constant hail of arrows coming in from the opposing team.

Launching a shot towards the opposition

One of the great things about the game is that you can also get 'catches'! So, if you see an arrow coming towards you and fancy grabbing it from mid-air then that is perfectly allowable - and quite an achievement too! I managed a couple of catches in the two games and hit some of the opposition too. Fellow sports enthusiast Richard 'Richard' Skeggs got really stuck into the sport and planted a perfect shot on my face - thank goodness for the protective face masks! I did get a couple of catches off him to slightly make up for it though.

Richard Skeggs - the 'one man gang' of Archery Tag!

It was great fun and I'd definitely like to play a competitive match. Perhaps a Luton team could travel to Guildford, or vice versa...

Emily models the Archery Tag 'look'

Check out details of Archery Tag on the Discover Archery website.

Links:

- Discover Archery

- Discover Archery - Archery Tag

- Guildford Spectrum Leisure Complex

- Archery Tag

Related Blog Posts:

- A new sport or game for 2013?

- 2012 - A Big Year of Sport
- Behold...
- Underdog Day and meeting an Olympic Archer!