Swingers Crazy Golf in Shoreditch, London

Playing the new Swingers Crazy Golf course in Shoreditch.

A view of the Swingers Crazy Golf course in Shoreditch

Ahead of its full launch today (25 September) Emily and I visited the new Swingers Crazy Golf course in London on Wednesday 24 September.

Swingers - a part of The Institute of Competitive Socialising

It's a really good layout, with some good solid borders, good hole-in-one opportunities

Holes 2 and 3

Playing hole 2 - a couple of ways to play the hole, but watch out for over-hit shots

The course has a par of 21 - with some real par-3 holes, especially the 8th, which features a bridge, dogleg, elevated green and two pipes!

Emily on the tee at hole 8

There's a real party atmosphere at the venue too, with DJ's playing music throughout the night and 'The Royal Shoreditch Golf Club' clubhouse has plenty of alcohol available - with drinking on the course encouraged!

A sand-trap hole!

The 7th hole at Swingers Crazy Golf

Swingers Crazy Golf was the 581st miniature golf course we've visited and 347th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006.

Emily playing a shot on hole 2 as one of the Royal & Awesome bedecked course guides/umpires/caddies looks-on. This hole has a tiered green and three routes to the hole

In our match-up Emily won with a score of 21 to my 23 after I scored a dreadful six on the tough water hazard last hole.

I 'decided' to wash my ball on the last hole. For a 6

The current course record is 20(-1) and is held by the course creator - Josh Ford, founder of the Winterwell Festival. We'll be back to have a crack at bettering that score.

Playing hole 6. Noticed the Windmill on the drinks table - there's one for each of the nine holes

In addition to the Crazy Golf course there are two very well-stocked bars - the main Clubhouse and a Freixenet bar - and street food from Patty & Bun and Pizza Pilgrims. Emily tells me the burgers from Patty and Bun are very good. I enjoyed sampling the Freixenet during the round and drowning my sorrows after my loss to Emily with a Gentleman Jack cocktail.

A view of the course from the Clubhouse

There will also be further pop-up food vendors including When Mac Met Cheese, Butchies and Hix Fishdogs heading to Swingers in the coming months.

There's a unique 'Lucky Last Hole' at the course too. The Freixenet challenge offers the winner a prize if they can knock down the six-pins on the Bowling Alley lane! The closest we got was leaving just one-pin. It's a really nice touch having the hole there as an extra challenge.

The Freixenet Challenge Lucky Last Hole

Emily playing a shot on the Freixenet Top Hole

The six wooden Freixenet bottles you have to knock down to win

Advance booking is necessary to guarantee a round of Crazy Golf at Swingers. The club has seen a huge amount of bookings made already and have already announced that they will be open beyond December, with tickets now available for January, and also for Saturday afternoons.

Emily playing the loop-di-loop hole

If you can't get an advance ticket then there are tickets available on the door for walk-ups. You can also make bookings for large groups and events. More details on the three options for entry to the Swingers Crazy Golf club can be found on the booking section of the website. 

Swingers - the Crazy Golf Club - can be found at 7-11 Hearn Street, London, EC2A 3LS. Doors open at 6.15pm and the venue is open to 12.30am.

More information on the course, bookings and prices are available on the Swingers Crazy Golf website. You can also sign-up to the enewsletter online for regular news and information.

Links:
- Swingers Crazy Golf website
- Swingers Crazy Golf on Twitter
- The Institute of Competitive Socialising on Facebook

Related blog posts:
- Swingers Crazy Golf to open in Shoreditch, East London
- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London
- Indoor Minigolf, Crazy Golf and Adventure Golf courses
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- New Mini Golf course played in Las Vegas - The Swingers Club

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

KISS Monster Mini Golf in Las Vegas

A visit to the KISS Glow-in-the-Dark Indoor Minigolf course in Las Vegas, USA.

The entrance to KISS Monster Mini Golf in Las Vegas

Back in 2011 we heard about the unique KISS Rock n’ Roll-themed attraction that would be opening in fabulous Las Vegas in 2012 and on Emily's recent trip to the city she went along for a round. She tells me it was amazing.

And by the look of the great photos she took it certainly does!

The tee-off area for hole 1 at the 18-hole KISS Monster Mini Golf course 

The course is in a nice wide-open space and filled with some BIG minigolf obstacles

Emily putting into The Demon's mouth at KISS Monster Mini Golf

Janie about to putt in the nicely themed course

A view of the KISS Monster Mini Golf course

This hole had a sneaky shortcut to the cup

During your round the course's own DJ gives your group a shout-out!

Playing the right shot on this hole makes 'KISS' perform on stage!

Emily lining up a putt at KISS Monster Mini Golf

It's always great to wear white clothes when playing indoor black light minigolf courses

One of the BIG minigolf obstacles on the KISS Monster Mini Golf course

This hole had a small volcano obstacle on it

The fiery volcano

Indoor black light courses do look great with their contrast of colours

Playing against her international tournament rival Janie Peace, Emily won in a very close contest with a score of 46 to Janie's 48.

In addition to the 18-hole blacklight Mini Golf course the venue has an amusement arcade, Wedding Chapel, KISS Cafe, KISS Gallery and the largest KISS Gift Shop in the World!

KISS Monster Mini Golf is much more than just a minigolf course!

You can get married at the KISS Monster Mini Golf course's own KISS-themed Wedding Chapel!

The huge fish tank made for the course by the team from Fish Tank Kings

There looks to be an air hockey table in the large amusement arcade at the course

Emily got me some great merch from the KISS Gift Shop - including a t-shirt and four minigolf balls.

The HUGE KISS Gift Shop

The course can be found at 4503 Paradise Road (near to the Hard Rock Hotel) and is open seven days a week from 10am until midnight. For more information and prices check out the KISS Monster Mini Golf website.

KISS Monster Mini Golf looks great and has some HUGE obstacles and decorations around the course. I've enjoyed playing the indoor black light courses we've visited over the years. In the UK you can find two in Castleford and our friend Jam tells us there's one in Paignton too. I can't wait to play at the KISS course.

Monster Mini Golf create themed indoor glow-in-the-dark 18-hole minigolf courses. Each location is unique and custome designed and there are around 30 Monster Mini Golf courses in the USA and Canada. You can find out more about the courses, franchising and locations on the Monster Mini Golf website.

The course was the 580th visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 346th played.

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Las Vegas
- New Indoor Minigolf Course Opening in Las Vegas - KISS Minigolf by Monster Mini Golf

Links:
- Monster Mini Golf website
- KISS Monster Mini Golf website
- Monster Mini Golf on Twitter
- KISS Monster Mini Golf on Twitter
- Monster Mini Golf - KISS, Las Vegas on Facebook
- Las Vegas 'tagged' Blog Posts on The Ham & Egger Files
- Merchandise

Ohana Mini-Golf in Las Vegas

Spotting a new miniature golf course in Las Vegas!

While travelling off-strip in Las Vegas, Emily spotted a Mini Golf course that we didn't know about!

The Ohana Mini-Golf course is inside this building

En route to the Grand Canyon on the 14 September Emily's eagle eyes saw the location of the Ohana indoor Mini-Golf course on East Bruner Avenue, opposite the M Resort Hotel & Casino, but as it was 6am the course was closed.

Great to know there's another minigolf course to play on our next visit to Vegas.

For more information on Ohana Mini-Golf visit the course website, and social media links below, where you can see photos of the interesting looking course.

Check out the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour page for details of other courses we've played in Las Vegas.

Links:
- Ohana Mini-Golf website
- Ohana Mini-Golf on Twitter
- Ohana Mini-Golf on Facebook

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Las Vegas

Minigolf Rankings Update following the BMGA British Open

Latest national ranking lists from the British Minigolf Association.

The official BMGA rankings have been updated following the BMGA Players Championship and BMGA British Open at the Pirate Golf course in Hastings.

Playing hole 12 of the Pirate Golf course in Hastings

Richard Gottfried's rankings in the Strokeplay Order of Merit for the 2013/14 season:
- Following the BMGA Star City Open - 12th of 74 places (135 players)
- Following the BMGA Star City Open & AGM changes - 11th of 79 places (135 players)
- Following the BMGA British Masters - 7th of 84 places (137 players)
- Following the BMGA British Championships - 10th of 85 places (138 players)
- Following the Splash Point Open - 11th of 85 places (138 players)
- Following the Midlands Open - 10th of 86 places (140 players)
- Following the BMGA Players Championship and BMGA British Open - 8th of 88 places (142 players)

Emily in action at the 2013 WMF World Adventure Golf Masters played at the Pirate Golf course in Hastings

Emily Gottfried's rankings in the Strokeplay Order of Merit for the 2013/14 season:
- Following the BMGA Star City Open - 42nd of 74 places (135 players)
- Following the BMGA Star City Open & AGM changes - 34th of 79 places (135 players)
- Following the BMGA British Masters - 26th of 84 places (137 players)
- Following the BMGA British Championships - 21st of 85 places (138 players)
- Following the Splash Point Open - 21st of 85 places (138 players)
- Following the Midlands Open - 21st of 86 places (140 players)
- Following the BMGA Players Championship and BMGA British Open - 26th of 88 places (142 players)

In the BMGA Season Only Rankings I am 25th of 57 players, Emily is in 29th place.

In the BMGA Matchplay Order of Merit Rankings Emily is in tied 20th place of 55 players, I am in 38th position.

We are both ranked in the World Minigolf Sport Federation's General Class ranking lists. In the women's rankings Emily is in tied 120th position of 128 places (132 players). In the men's rankings I am ranked in tied 397th place of 413 places (419 players).

Links:
- British Minigolf Association (BMGA)
- BMGA on Facebook
- BMGA on Twitter

Related blog posts:
- World Minigolf Rankings for 2014
- Rankings
- Richard Gottfried's Minigolf Player Profile
- Emily Gottfried's Minigolf Player Profile

Minigolf Report from Hastings

22nd September 2014
Press Information
For Immediate Release

Minigolf Report from Hastings

Luton Minigolfer Richard Gottfried competed in three Minigolf competitions on the 18-hole Pirate Golf course at the Hastings Adventure Golf Complex from the 19th to the 21st of September.

Richard Gottfried putting at hole 11 in the BMGA British Open in Hastings

In the BMGA Players Championship Richard finished in tied 14th place alongside Derek Bentall in the 22-player field having scored a round of 33(-3).

In the two-day BMGA British Open tournament Richard was 23rd in a 50-strong field that included players from Great Britain, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Kosovo and the Czech Republic.

Richard scored rounds of 33, 34, 31, 27, 38, 32, 30 and 36 for a total of 261(-27).

Richard Gottfried playing hole 12 at Pirate Golf in Hastings

In the eight-round BMGA British Open Team Championship the Midlands Minigolf Club’s 1st team of Michael Smith, Chris Harding, Chris Smith and Richard were runners-up to the Kent Minigolf Club’s 1st team. The event saw eleven club and national teams competing. The Germany 1 team were third in the event.

The BMGA British Open Team Championship runners-up - Midlands MGC 1 from l-r Chris Smith, Michael Smith, Richard Gottfried, Chris Harding

Richard said “I’m really glad that the Midlands 1 team finished on the podium and won the silver medal defeating some very strong teams. It’s a shame I had two relatively bad rounds over the two days of the British Open, but my round of 27 was my all-time personal best score on a UK Minigolf course which is great.”

Michael Smith of Oxford won the BMGA British Open and BMGA Players Championship.

Ends

The first gluten free Mince Pie of the season

Seeing in the start of the festive season quite a bit earlier than before!

We Love Cake Gluten-free Mince Pies

For the past two years I've blogged about the first gluten free Mince Pie I've seen on sale and this year it's even earlier!

Gluten Free Mince Pies come in packs of 4, rather than packs of 6 like 'normal' people generally get the choice to buy. These Mince Pies cost £1.99 a box

On Saturday 20th SEPTEMBER I was shopping for some provisions in Hastings while in town for some minigolf tournaments and spotted the 'We Love Cake' Gluten-free Mince Pies from Bells of Lazenby in the Free From section of the town's Morrisons.

The Mince Pies are Best Before Christmas 2014

The Mince Pies are fairly full of filling and not too crumbly. They didn't taste dry either, so get a thumbs-up from me

I hadn't heard of Bells of Lazenby before, but looking at their website they have some sub-brands and also produce a number of products for supermarket own labels. Their free from products are made in a dedicated Gluten Wheat and Dairy Free site.

In 2012 the first Mince Pies I found were the Genius Gluten Free Mince Pies in Asda on the 5th October, while last year I bought some of Udi's Gluten Free Mince Pies in Tesco on the 10th October.

Merry Christmas all.

Links:
- Bells of Lazenby
- Morrisons

Related blog posts:
- My first gluten free Mince Pie of the festive season
- Seeing in the start of the 'festive season' with a gluten free Mince Pie

Miniature Golf Day 2014!

Sunday 21 September is a BIG day for minigolf.

Richard lining up a putt on the Pirate Adventure Golf course in Hastings

Miniature Golf Day 2014 is an 'unofficial' holiday and the third day of the year marked in the calendar to celebrate the great game.

The others are 'National Miniature Golf Day' (held annually on the second Saturday of May) and 'Minigolf Tag' (Minigolf Day in Austria).

Emily playing the 18th hole at the Pirate Adventure Golf in Hastings

This year the 18-hole Pirate Adventure Golf course in Hastings, East Sussex is the host venue for the BMGA British Open which concludes on Sunday 21 September - aka Miniature Golf Day.

The Hastings Pirate Golf course was the 219th played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in 2011.

Richard on the 16th hole at the Pirate Adventure Golf course in Hastings

Read more about Miniature Golf Day on the Holiday Insights website where there is the reminder that the day is ALWAYS September 21st!

The quasi-official holiday day - National Miniature Golf Day 2014 - was on 10 May this year, the same day as Day 1 of the BMGA British Minigolf Championships held at Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate, Kent.

A view of the 18-hole Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate

For ideas and inspiration on where to play please check out the links below (and on the right hand side of the blog) for a range of Mini Golf websites from around the world.

Happy Putting!

Related blog posts:

- Mini Golf days in 2014
- Happy National Miniature Golf Day 2014!

- British Minigolf Association Tournament Calendar for 2014

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - List and links for Miniature Golf courses visited to date
- Hastings Seafront - 18-Hole Pirate Adventure Golf Course - Minigolf Played #219

Links:

- Miniature Golf Day on the Holiday Insights website

- Mini golf, crazy golf, miniature golf and adventure golf courses worldwide on MiniatureGolfer.com

- The Putting Penguin - Minigolf reviews from around the world

- A Couple of Putts - Minigolf blog from the USA

- British Minigolf Association

- World Minigolf Sport Federation
- Hastings Adventure Golf

Scott's Gluten Free Raspberry Butterfly Cakes

Spotting a new gluten free product in Asda.

While stocking up on gluten free supplies in Asda Dunstable I noticed an interesting box on the shelf containing a product I hadn't seen before - Gluten Free Raspberry Butterfly Cakes!

New in Asda! Gluten Free Raspberry Butterfly Cakes

They looked enticing and I had to grab a box to give them a try. After checking, and double checking, to make sure they were gluten and wheat free I put them in my basket.

The Gluten Free Raspberry Butterfly Cakes cost £2 for six - a bit of a gluten free bargain, granted I could make some (and Emily does make some delicious cakes), but 33p each for some very tasty cakes, with great consistency (that are quick & easy to scoff too) is brilliant to see. I'll definitely be buying them again.

The tasty gluten free Raspberry Butterfly Cake from Scott's Bakery. Note that this is the third one about to be wolfed down

There's a question on the label that says "Have you tried our gluten free Chocolate Chip Muffins?" - the answer is no, no I haven't. But I'll be keeping an eye out for them.

A nice touch is that the cake cases have the words 'Gluten Free' printed on them in a diagonal pattern. It's not overly in your face, and while it can be annoying to be reminded when eating that your food is GF, it's better to be safe than sorry.

Intriguingly, despite searching online, all the usual social media channels and the Asda Free From section I can't find any sign of a website for Scott's Bakery!?

Yesterday Coeliac UK announced that Asda is the first supermarket to sign up to the 'Coeliac UK Gluten-free Guarantee'. This means Asda will be stocking a core range of eight gluten-free items in all their stores to help people with Coeliac Disease manage their condition. Good news indeed.

This week is also National Cupcake Week - check out the website for more on the event.

Related blog posts:
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac
- National Cupcake Week 2014 and a Cupcake ATM

Links:

- Asda

- Coeliac UK

Crazy Golf on Paignton Pier in Devon

A Crazy Golf course visit from the Gottfried family archives.

My brother Christopher travels around the country a fair bit and while on the pier in Paignton, Devon he spotted a Crazy Golf course!

The 9-hole Crazy Golf course on Paignton Pier. Photo by Christopher Gottfried (12 October 2012)

Emily and I are yet to reach that part of the UK - we've been as far as Weymouth* on the south coast and Weston-super-Mare** on the north coast of the south west of England. We're hoping to get down there soon though as there are stacks of great places to explore.

Other courses visited, but not played, by Christopher include Brighton (Crazy Golf), Margate (Cliftonville, Little Oasis Crazy Golf), Herne Bay (Mini Golf), Newquay (Mini Golf) and Mundesley (Adventure Island Golf).

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Christopher Gottfried's Minigolf Player Profile
- Christopher Gottfried on The Ham and Egger Files

Link:
- Paignton Pier

* On the way back from the first-ever Weymouth Open tournament in 2008 I did however take a wrong turn and ended up in Bridport.
** In our pre-Crazy World of Minigolf Tour days we did have a holiday in Minehead.

Funny things about being a Coeliac #10 - Play-Doh is NOT gluten free

It's not just food that contains gluten - toys do too!

As today - 16 September - is National Play-Doh Day it's worth noting that Play-Doh is not gluten free as it contains dreaded Wheat!

The mind boggles!

Obviously Play-Doh is NOT a food product and is NOT meant to be eaten, but there are cross-contamination risks if Coeliacs touch/use/play with Play-Doh.

A big barrel of Play-Doh. This was as close as I dared get to it

Hasbro, the manufacturers of Play-Doh in the UK, have helpfully put together a warning on the product packaging and also on the Ingredients section of the Play-Doh FAQ & Tips website. Although rather than mentioning the autoimmune reaction - or gluten intolerance - it say that an 'allergic' reaction may occur with use of the product.

The Coeliac UK website has some further information on play dough products and even has a recipe for making your own Gluten-free play dough.

Related blog posts:

- Funny things about being a Coeliac #1 - The labels you get on gluten free prescriptions

- Funny things about being a Coeliac #2 - I live in Luton, but I can't eat Gluten

- Funny things about being a Coeliac #3 - Howard the Celeriac comic strips

- Funny things about being a Coeliac #4 - The look of horror in the faces of waiting staff when you use the word 'disease'

- Funny things about being a Coeliac #5 - Menu fails

- Funny things about being a Coeliac #6 - The different things you get called!
- Funny things about being a Coeliac #7 - Disappearing flight attendants!
- Funny things about being a Coeliac #8 - Being scared of bread!
- Funny things about being a Coeliac #9 - Menu disclaimers

- Coeliac-related blog posts

- Gluten Free-related blog posts

National Cupcake Week 2014 and a Cupcake ATM

National Week to celebrate Cupcakes runs from 15 to 21 September.

Earlier today I spotted a Facebook post by Coeliac UK about how to celebrate National Cupcake Week with a gluten-free cupcake - almost at the same time as Emily sent me a photo of a Cupcake ATM in Las Vegas!

The Cupcake ATM is at Sprinkles Cupcakes on South Las Vegas Boulevard

On holidays to Amsterdam I remember the great Febo automated food vending machines, but I've never seen a cake ATM before. Looking at the Sprinkles website the one Emily saw is the world's first Cupcake ATM!

National Cupcake Week runs from 15 to 21 September 2014 and is organised by British Baker magazine to celebrate the sweet bakery product.

I had a look on the National Cupcake Week website and there are some gluten free recipes, which is good to see. These include White Chocolate & Raspberry Cupcakes and Sticky Toffee Pudding Cupcakes, along with a guest blog about starting a cupcake business - with gluten free as a niche.

Check out the Gluten-free cake making page on the Coeliac UK website for more information about cake catering for Coeliacs/Celiacs.

Related blog posts:
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac
- Celiac
- Las Vegas

Links:
- National Cupcake Week
- Coeliac UK
- Sprinkles Cupcakes Las Vegas