Skegness Minigolf Championship 2015

Report from the Skegness Minigolf Weekender.

The Crazy Mini Golfers in Skegness

Over the weekend of the 9th and 10th of May 2015 we headed to Skegness in Lincolnshire for a seaside outing full of traditional British seaside fun and games.

Four Jolly Fishermen in Bracing Skegness

Part of the trip involved the Skegness Minigolf Championship that saw ten players compete across five-rounds on five courses in the town.

Emily playing one of the hardest holes on the Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course

Starting at the Arnold Palmer Putting Courses on Saturday 9th May (which also happened to be National Miniature Golf Day) six of the competitors lined-up on the 18-hole Crazy Golf course.

Alan playing the classic Windmill hole

During round one John 'Big Al' Moore arrived to take over on scoring duties and was ready to compete in round two.

Alan putting on hole 6. The Big Wheel is especially tricky if you don't plan your tee-shot properly. As Chris found out

Brad Shepherd had scored a very good two over par 38 in the first round to take the lead. There was a three-way tie for second place with Emily Gottfried, Richard Gottfried and Seth Thomas all scoring 42. Alan Norman was one-shot further back on 43, with Chris Jones shooting a 45.

Richard playing the Rocket Ship hole

After winning a free game on the lucky last hole, tournament leader Brad led out the groups on the 9-hole Crazy Golf course.

Brad about to Ring The Bell on the Lucky Last Hole

Brad and his winnings

Following the second round there was a tie for first place, with Brad and Seth on 62. Emily was one-shot back on 63.

Seth putting

The grass Putting course at the Arnold Palmer centre would be the final course played in the tournament on the Sunday, so the players then made their way along the prom to course number three - the Pebble Beach Adventure Golf course.

John Moore making a cameo appearance on the Pebble Beach Adventure Golf course

Once again seven players teed-off, with Brad just about arriving in time to play having been waylaid en route between the North Parade and the Pleasure Beach.

Chris playing the tough last hole

The 9-hole Pebble Beach Adventure Golf saw some more close scores and Brad was able to extend his lead by one-shot having scored par. Seth remained in second place after a 19, with Emily, Alan and Richard all scoring 20. John and Chris had disappointing rounds of 24 and 25 respectively.

Richard at Pebble Beach

With a break scheduled, the group played the two shooting shacks in the Pleasure Beach before part of the contingent headed to the town's charity shops, while others went to play some Bingo and have a spot of lunch.

A face full of manky water at the Faulty Repair Shop shooting shack at the Pleasure Beach

The Hill Billy shooting shack fun

Emily with her one and a half wins worth of Bingo prizes - a cheese knife and a building block type toy kit

During the break in play the group was joined by Rhyl's #1 minigolfer Peter 'The Crazy Aced Assassin' Jones who warmed-up for the next round proper in an impromptu Aces Competition on the Original Crazy Golf course on South Parade.

The Crazy Aced Assassin scoring an Ace

The event saw four-players play the 12-hole course using an 11-Wood that Chris had bought in a charity shop as the course was not open (it hadn't been open on the Friday either. It was however open on the Sunday).

A well struck shot from Seth manages to hit Brad

The tied winners of the Aces contest were Peter and Richard who both scored one hole-in-one. In a play-off on hole two Richard managed to score another ace to take the overall victory. Alan and Chris finished in tied second-place after regulation play.

Richard managing to get the ball through the dolphin

With John's stay in Skegness a short one as he had an athletics meeting to attend in Coventry, seven-players continued to the Gold Mine Adventure Golf course at the Pleasure Beach for round four.

Seth putting at the Gold Mine

The Gold Mine would prove a happier hunting ground for Alan and Richard as they tied for the half-win after scoring rounds of 19 on the 9-hole layout.

Richard playing his second shot through a pipe

Brad once again held onto the lead by one-shot from Alan, with Seth a shot further back having scored a 23 at the Gold Mine. Peter Jones scored a 25, with Chris scoring 25, while Emily hit a 29.

Alan playing at the Gold Mine Adventure Golf course

At the end of day one the rankings were:
1. Brad Shepherd = 102
2. Alan Norman = 103
3. Seth Thomas = 104
4. Richard Gottfried = 106
5. Emily Gottfried = 112
6. Chris Jones = 116
7. John Moore = DNS & DNF, but played 18-holes
8. Peter Jones = DNS & DNF, but played 12-holes
Note: These results were also the final rankings of the 2015 National Miniature Golf Day Championship.

After a great night out in Skegness the players awoke ready to play the final of the Skegness Championship. The first round of day two was planned to take place at the Lost World Adventure Park on North Parade. However this was cancelled as the theme park was found to have closed down! The final 18-holes would be played out on the grass Putting course at the Arnold Palmer Putting Centre.

Seth teeing-off on hole 2 of the Arnold Palmer Putting Course

Joining the six players left standing were local competitors Eric Huckle, the 2014 Butler Cup Champion, and Steven Huckle. The round would also constitute the Holiday on the Buses Reunion Mini Golf Competition.

Brad putting

In the Mini Golf Putting course round Richard won with a score of 42. Brad and Alan tied for second-place with rounds of 45. Chris and Seth both hit 46, with Emily on 49. Eric scored 58 and Steven shot a 74.

The podium of the Skegness Minigolf Championship

The overall event went to the wire, with Brad managing to hold off a late challenge from Richard, while Alan narrowly missed forcing a play-off, as Seth's challenge slipped on the grass playing surface.

Brad receives the Skegness Minigolf Championship trophy from reigning Holiday on the Buses Butler Cup Champion Eric Huckle

The final Skegness Minigolf Championship results were:
1. Brad Shepherd = 38+24+18+22+45 = 147
2. Alan Norman = 43+21+20+19+45 = 148
2. Richard Gottfried = 42+25+20+19+42 = 148
3. Seth Thomas = 42+20+19+23+46 = 150
4. Emily Gottfried = 42+21+20+29+49 = 161
5. Chris Jones = 45+19+25+27+46 = 162
6. John Moore = DNS & DNF, but played 18-holes scoring 48
6. Eric Huckle = DNS but played 18-holes scoring 58
6. Steven Huckle = DNS but played 18-holes scoring 74
7. Peter Jones = DNS & DNF, but played 12-holes scoring 25

The Crazy Mini Golfers at the Arnold Palmer Putting Course

All of the players agreed the seaside resort was a marvellous place for a weekend away. With plenty of things to see and do, great places to eat and drink, and a nice pier and beach.

Emily and Seth cleaned up at the Arabian Camel Derby on Skegness Pier

Richard and another mascot

Skegness is the town with the most miniature golf courses in the UK - with a current count of 110-holes, spread over ten Crazy, Mini, Adventure, Putting and Pitch & Putt courses!

Related blog posts:
- Minigolf, Crazy Golf and Adventure Golf Courses on the Lincolnshire Coast

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

- Skegness
- National Miniature Golf Day Championship report
- Holiday on the Buses Reunion Mini Golf Competition report

Swingers Crazy Golf in London

Swingers Crazy Golf is re-opening later this year.

With a relaunch of the indoor mini golf and street food pop-up planned for December the new layout will include two 9-hole Crazy Golf courses and four street food stands. The Swingers site will also have a two-storey clubhouse and other games and activities in addition to the Crazy Golf.

The Swingers Crazy Golf course in Shoreditch in September 2014

Last September we played the Swingers Crazy Golf course when it was located in Shoreditch, East London. Check out the blog post from our visit.

For more information check out the Swingers Crazy Golf website.

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

Link:
- Swingers Crazy Golf website

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

Mini Golf at Rutland Water Visitor Centre

A round of Mini Golf at Rutland Water.

The Rutland Water Mini Golf course

On Friday 8 May 2015 we went to Rutland Water to play the 12-hole Mini Golf course at the Visitor Centre.

Emily on hole 3

The course was the 597th visited and 361st played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006.

Hole 5

It's a great layout with some good hole-in-one opportunities and nice obstacles including a big loop-di-loop.

A BIG minigolf loop-di-loop

The cups on the holes are quite wide and very shallow!

Hole 1

Hole 7

Hole 11

 

Emily playing the incredibly difficult last hole

Emily won our contest, shooting a 27 to my 29 in round one, followed by a 27 to my 25 in round two. We both had four aces across the two games.



The Mini Golf course is located at the Rutland Water Visitor Centre on Sykes Lane, Empingham, Rutland, Leicestershire, LE15 8QL.

The sign for the course on the entrance road

For more information, opening times and prices please visit the Rutland Water website.

A view of the course from hole 1

We enjoyed our visit to Rutland Water and would go back. It's a pleasant spot and a very good Crazy Golf course.

Crazy Minigolfers at Rutland Water Mini Golf

Rutland Water

Link:
- Rutland Water website

Video:
- Minigolf Hole-in-One at Rutland Water

Related blog post:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - list and links for all courses visited to date

Gluten free at Yorkies in Skegness

While in Skegness for a weekend away at the seaside it was great to have some gluten free options for dining out. In advance of my trip I'd received tips about gluten free places on Twitter and Facebook and found that Yorkies Cafe in the town centre had a really good gluten free menu, with lots of options. It was so good I dined there twice.

On my first visit I had a burger and chips. It was brilliant. The chips were delicious. For my second meal I had a Sunday Dinner - a real rarity. It was especially good as nothing was missing from the plate. I had lamb, roast potatoes, boiled potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, cabbage, a yorkshire pudding and gravy! A proper dinner

There are plenty of gluten free options at Yorkies. I was very impressed with the responses to my questions about the preparation and cooking of the gluten free food. It's always reassuring to have accurate and confident responses to your queries 

On both visits there were other diners choosing gluten free options. That was reassuring to see and hear. Yorkies is well worth a visit 

Related blog posts:
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac
- Funny things about being a Coeliac
- Skegness

Links:
- Coeliac UK
- Lincolnshire Coeliac Group

Mini Golf in Windsor

A round of Mini Golf on the Extreme Motion Adventure Golf course in Windsor, Berkshire.

Hole 11 at the Adventure Golf course in Windsor - the Castle. With Windsor Castle in the distance

On Saturday 2 May we had a nice day out in Windsor. On our last visit to the town in May 2009 Emily and I played the Eternit-style Miniature Golf courses in the park. Last June I was flying solo and played a round on the new Adventure Golf course.





The 18-hole course can be found in Alexandra Park and is good fun. It's £5.50 a round for adults and £4.50 for children and senior citizens.

Playing hole 1

I scored 40(+4) this time.

Hole 4

Hole 10

Hole 17 - a nice and terrifying volcano

Visit the Extreme Motion website for more information and check out the post from last year for more photos of the course.

Mini Golf in Alexandra Park, Windsor

The old courses were numbers 98 and 99 on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, while the new course was the 562nd visited and 338th played.

Links:
- Extreme Motion website
- Extreme Motion on Facebook

Videos:
- Hole in One on hole 5
- Hole in One on hole 13
- Hole in One on hole 17

Related blog posts:
- Windsor Adventure Golf course
- Minigolf Course Visits 98 & 99 - Alexandra Gardens, Windsor
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - list and links for all courses visited to date

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

Gluten free Primula dips

As a big fan of snacks and nachos it's great to see Primula have Nacho Cheese Dips that are gluten free.

Primula's dips have a new look - the cheese dip has a macho nacho man. I've had the Nacho Cheese Dip before. It's great, and something I've really missed being able to have since diagnosis as a Coeliac 

Looking on the Primula website the other dips in the range are also gluten free. Other Primula products are gluten free too.

Related blog posts:
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac
- Funny things about being a Coeliac

Link:
- Primula

Gluten free from New Zealand and Australia

Emily recently returned from our antipodes and brought me back some great gluten free goodies.

Bakeworks gluten free Triple Chocolate Cookies

Ernest Adams gluten free Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Kez's gluten free Vienna Eclair biscuits

The gluten free biscuits were all bought from a Countdown supermarket at the Westfield Albany shopping centre in Auckland, New Zealand.

While at the Southgate Melbourne shopping mall Emily also noted that there were 24 places offering gluten free options for diners!

Searching for dining options in the Southgate Melbourne mall Emily found 24 gluten free choices

On her trip to Spain earlier this year I also got a lot of interesting gluten free snack and treats.

It's always brilliant finding (and eating) different gluten free food as the strict and lifelong gluten free diet can get a bit samey.

Links:
- Bakeworks
- Ernest Adams
- Kez's
- Coeliac New Zealand
- Coeliac Australia

Related blog posts
- New Zealand
- Australia
- Gluten Free

- Coeliac
- Funny things about being a Coeliac
- Coeliac Awareness Week in Australia
- Sin Gluten

Happy Minigolf Tag (Minigolf Day) 2015

National Day of Minigolf celebrated in Austria.

Happy 'Minigolf Tag' to my fellow minigolfers in Austria!

Playing the Swedish Felt Minigolf course at the Askoe Wien Wasserpark in Vienna, Austria

The event is organised by the Austrian Minigolf Federation (Österreichischer Bahnengolf-Verband - OBGV) and the 2015 event is the sixth edition.

Each year around 550,000 Austrians (15% of the country's population) play Miniature Golf and today is a celebration of the great game.

The Eternit Miniature Golf course at the Askoe Wien Wasserpark in Vienna, Austria

In March 2010 I visited the Askoe Wien Wasserpark in Vienna, Austria and got to play one of the toughest (and longest) Swedish Felt Minigolf courses in Europe. The layout was the 163rd course played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. It was also the first place I spotted a Pit-Pat course (a cross between Billiards/Pool/Snooker and Minigolf!).

The Pit-Pat Hindernis Billard course at the Askoe Wien Wasserpark in Vienna, Austria

There are two more 'Mini Golf Days' coming up in 2015 - National Miniature Golf Day is on Saturday 9 May and Miniature Golf Day is on Monday 21 September.

And of course every Monday there's #MinigolfMonday on Twitter!

Links:
- Askoe Wien website
- Askoe Wien on Facebook
- Austrian Minigolf Federation (Österreichischer Bahnengolf-Verband)
- Minigolf Tag (Minigolf Day)
- World Minigolf Federation

Related blog posts:
- Austria
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Pit-Pat
- Minigolf Tag
- Minigolf Course Played #163 - Vienna, Austria (Askoe Wien Wasserpark) - Swedish Felt
- Minigolf Course Visit #210 - Vienna, Austria (Askoe Wien Wasserpark) - Eternit Miniature Golf
- Minigolf Course Visit #210(a!?) - Vienna, Austria (Askoe Wien Wasserpark) - pit-pat "Hindernis Billards"!
- Mini Golf Days in 2015

Special May Days

Details of special awareness and celebration days for Coeliac Disease, Miniature Golf and Golf in May 2015.

During last year's Coeliac Awareness Week I was Mini Golfing Gluten Free at Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate, Kent

What a month May is! There are lots of special 'days' and 'weeks' and the whole month is both Celiac Awareness Month in the USA and Canada, and National Golf Month here in the UK.

Sunday 3 May (Sonntag 3 Mai) is Minigolf Tag (Day) in Austria.

Saturday 9 is National Miniature Golf Day (a quasi-official US holiday).

The 11 to 17 May is Coeliac UK's annual Coeliac Awareness Week. It's also the Coeliac Society of Ireland's Coeliac Awareness Week.

The 16 May is International Coeliac Day. Visit the Association of European Coeliac Societies (AOECS) for more information.

Over the weekend of 16 and 17 May Hastings Adventure Golf will play host to the British Minigolf Association for the BMGA British Championships.

In New Zealand Coeliac Awareness Week is running from 18 to 24 May.

A happy Coeliac with his lunch. I had some special gluten free deliveries to the course from Annie's Larder while in Margate for the BMGA British Minigolf Championships last year

Check out the blog posts and links below for more info on the different things happening in the gluten free and minigolf worlds this month.

Related blog posts:
- Mini Golf Days in 2015
- May is National Golf Month
- UK Mini Golf Competitions in 2015
- Celiac Awareness Month 2015
- Coeliac Awareness Week 2015
- Minigolfing Gluten Free

Links:
- Coeliac UK
- National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) / Celiac Central
- Coeliac Society of Ireland
- Coeliac New Zealand
- National Golf Month
- Minigolf Tag
- British Minigolf Association
- World Minigolf Sport Federation
- Hastings Adventure Golf
- Read my Gluten Free Journey blog on the Udi's gluten free website

Luton Petanque Club

Details of Luton Petanque Club.

Spot the boule

I've heard there are two upcoming open days at Luton Petanque Club where you can play for free. Boules will be provided. The open events are on:
- Saturday 2 May between 2 and 5pm
- Saturday 20 June

Petanque (or Boules as it's also known) is a great game. I've played a few ends with Alan and some of the other club members. Very good fun indeed.

Luton Petanque Club also play informal games every Tuesday afternoon at 1pm, Thursday at 7.30pm and Sundays at 11am. The club is based at Play Football on St Thomas Road, Stopsley, Luton. Check out the Luton Petanque Club website and Twitter for news and events.

Playing Boules with Luton Petanque Club at the 2012 Community Games

Links:
- Luton Petanque Club
- Chiltern Region Petanque
- The English Petanque Association

Related blog posts:
- Petanque
- Pétanque
- Boules