Foot Pool at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands

Playing another new game on our travels.

We recently stayed at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands for a Holiday on the Buses fanclub event and while there we got to play a new game - Foot Pool!

The Foot Pool / Football Pool table at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Camp

It was great fun and an interesting mix of the two sports.

The Rules

In our match-up I defeated Emily two games to nil.

Emily playing a shot

Booting the footpool football

Link:
- Pontin's Prestatyn Sands

Related blog posts:
- Sports and Games Played
- Holiday on the Buses
- Pontins
- Prestatyn

Halloween minigolf!

With the season of the witch almost upon us it's worth taking a look at the minigolf courses offering scares and frights this year!

- Spooky Golf at Coal Country Miniature Golf in Fairmont, West Virginia, USA - Spooky Golf weekends throughout October.

- Spooky Adventure Golf at Four Ashes Golf Centre in Dorridge, England - October half-term.

- Haunted Holes at Aly's Mini Putt And Fun Centre in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada - throughout October.

- Halloween Minigolf at Jurassic Globalls in Brighton - between Friday the 13th and Halloween night.

- Puttin for Paws, a pawsitively spooktacular event - Halloween Mini Putt Fun Tournament at Aly's Mini Putt And Fun Centre in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada - Sunday 22nd October.

- Trick or treat at Tee Rex Golf at Cardiff Golf Centre, Wales - 28th-31st October.

- Spooktacular Mini Golf at Golfland Sunsplash in Mesa, Arizona, USA - selected dates in October.

- Haunted Mill & Blacklight MiniGolf in Belmont, North Carolina, USA.

One of the more morbid obstacles we've seen on a minigolf course on our travels

Our friends over at The Putting Penguin minigolf review site are also BIG fans of Halloween and their local course at Farmington Miniature Golf & Ice Cream Parlor in Connecticut always does something to celebrate.

- Haunted Miniature Golf at Farmington Miniature Golf & Ice Cream Parlor in Connecticut, USA - Thursday-Sunday throughout October.

If you know of other Halloween events at minigolf, crazy golf or adventure golf courses do let us know via the comments below, or on Twitter and Facebook.

While it's not specifically Halloween-themed you can play miniature golf in a Funeral Parlor at Ahlgrim Family Funeral Services in Palatine, Ilinois, USA.

If you're in or near Southport then Pleasureland is well worth visiting at Halloween as it's the 'Happy Halloween Capital of the UK!' While there's no minigolf there anymore there are a lot of pumpkins and scares to be had. We had a great time there last year.

A few of the pumpkins at Southport Pleasureland last Halloween

Related blog posts:
- Halloween
- Summerween

A revisit to Championship Adventure Golf in New Brighton

Playing minigolf at Championship Adventure Golf in New Brighton.

It was great to recently return to Championship Adventure Golf in New Brighton to take on my friends and minigolf rivals Jon and Cheryl Angel over the two 18-hole miniature golf courses.

A view of the Championship Adventure Golf course in New Brighton

It was Jon and Cheryl's first visit to New Brighton and they were taking in the sights and sounds on a holiday road-trip around the north of England. I was happy to offer up a minigolf challenge to them. We've had some great minigolf battles over the years, with matches played on a variety of courses in Warrington, Luton, Stanmore & Edgware, London, Basingstoke, East Finchley and Arkley. And a few other places too.

Longtime minigolf rivals

First up we teed-off on the Championship minigolf course in a very close match.

Jon with an unconventional second putt

At the 18th I took a 4 which meant Jon needed a 3 to tie or a 2 for a win. He shot a 2 to finish on 51. I was on 52, with Cheryl on 62.

A long putt to a tricky green on the Landmark Adventure Golf course

Next up was the Landmark minigolf course for what was to be another close game.

Playing into Fort Perch

Once again the game went to the wire but Jon was able to score a 2 on the 18th for the win. Jon finished with a round of 53, I was on 54 and Cheryl shot a 68.

Jon playing the 18th of the Championship Mini Golf course

The the two-round contest Jon took the win by two shots, scoring 104 to my 106. Cheryl was third with 130.

Jon 'El Pato' Angel - New Brighton Adventure Golf Champion 2017

Unfortunately none of us managed to score a single hole-in-one in order to claim a badge. It proves how tough the courses are!

All three of us ended up in this situation a bit too often over the 36-holes!

Check out the Championship Adventure Golf website for more details, opening times and prices.

Emily and I first visited Championship Adventure Golf in New Brighton back in May this year. The courses were the 730th and 731st visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The Birkenhead Tram hole didn't have a tram on it when we played there before

Note: Looking through the archives while putting together this post I think the 'Best of 5 Pro Spirit Challenge Tour' between Jon and I is still ongoing!

Crazy Golf in Towyn

No sign of the Crazy Golf course we played in Towyn in 2009.

Back in August 2009 we embarked on a BIG minigolf road-trip around the coast of Wales and while en route to Rhyl we swung by Knightly's Amusement Park in Towyn where we unexpectedly found a Crazy Golf course next to a car park.

One of the holes on the nice 9-hole course in Towyn back in 2009

Fast forward to September 2017 and we were once again heading along the North Wales coast and had the chance to visit Towyn. This time the large sign at the junction listed 'Mini Golf' on it, however when we had a look the great little Crazy Golf course we'd played in 2009 had been turned into a car park!

Mini Golf on a sign

They paved paradise...

Related blog posts:
- Towyn
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Minigolf Course Visit No. 144 - Knightly's Crazy Golf, Towyn
- Playing Minigolf in the towns of Tywyn and Towyn in Wales

Link:
- Knightly's Fun Park

New Swingers Crazy Golf on London's Oxford Street

New Swingers Crazy Golf course opening in the old BHS shop on London's Oxford Street.

The team at Swingers Crazy Golf are opening a brand new course in the old flagship BHS site on London's Oxford Street. The Crazy Golf course will have a seaside-theme and will be complemented by cocktail bars and street food vendors.

Check out my blog post about playing at Swingers Crazy Golf in the City earlier this year.

One of the BIG minigolf obstacles at the first permanent Swingers Crazy Golf venue in London

Keep an eye on the Swingers Crazy Golf website (and sign-up to their newsletter) to keep up-to-date with news about the Oxford Street venue.

Back in 2012 we played Crazy Golf on the rooftop at Selfridges on Oxford Street as part of the Big British Bang celebrating the summer of sport. The pop-up course was created by renowned jellymongers Bompas & Parr also staged a series of tournaments - in which I came out the champion!

Petanque at Beacon Park in Lichfield

Finding a Petanque piste at Beacon Park in Lichfield, Staffordshire.

On our recent Midlands road-trip we visited Beacon Park in Lichfield, Stafffordshire to play the Crazy Golf course. After our game we noticed the park was also home to a Petanque terrain. Good to know as we're fans of the game too.

The Petanque Terrain at Beacon Park in Lichfield

The rules of boules

The area looked in good condition. It was next to the park cafe and also had a nice view of the Crazy Golf, Pitch & Putt, FootGolf and Disc Golf courses too.

As well as Petanque you can play four types of Golf in the park!

Check out the Visit Lichfield and Lichfield Historic Parks websites for more info on Beacon Park and its facilities.

Related blog posts:
- Petanque
- Boules
- Lichfield
- Minigolfing in the Midlands

Pirate Island Adventure Golf at Lyons Robin Hood Holiday Camp in Rhyl

Playing the new Pirate Island Adventure Golf at Lyons Robin Hood Holiday Camp in Rhyl.

On Saturday 23rd September we visited the Pirate Island Adventure Golf course at Lyons Robin Hood Holiday Camp in Rhyl. What a brilliant minigolf course it is!

Dueling pirates and a huge octopus. That's how we roll

At the start of our holiday we'd stayed in Llandudno and while having a walk on the pier we'd spotted a poster advertising the new Pirate Island Adventure Golf course at Lyons Robin Hood Holiday Park. As part of our break would be in Prestatyn we could look forward to adding another course to our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour list.

About to ace the second hole

Emily shooting a hole in one on the second

Over the last eleven years we've visited more than 780 miniature golf courses. While some of these courses look similar they certainly don't all play the same way. Luckily for us the layout at the Robin Hood Caravan Park in Rhyl was a dream to play. It's brilliant that after all the years we've been playing we can still find new and unique courses that are also brilliant FUN to play.

X marks the spot

The 18-hole Pirate-themed Adventure Golf course has some eye-catching features - from a great white shark to a huge octopus and a large pirate ship - and plenty of humps, bumps, lumps and obstacles around each hole. Plus there is great pirate music playing as you make your way around the course.

The holes are long, challenging and reward good tee shots

Emily putting at Pirate Island

One of the things that made the course really playable was the fact that even though it was technically borderless, the high sides of the greens meant you could play some strong shots and rebounds off obstacles without fear that the ball would run out of play.



In our match-up on the course I won with a score of 33 - hitting 5 holes-in-one. Emily shot a round of 40, with 3 holes-in-one. We asked the man in the hut what the lowest score was and he said we were the first to ask (and tell him what we'd got). That means the course record MUST be my 33! Let me know if you can better it...

Happy to top the 'podium'

Our game was very good value at £5 for an 18-hole round and we'll be back to play it again.

The sight that greets you as you approach the 18th green

Always great to see a BIG shark on a minigolf course

Visit the Lyons Robin Hood Holiday Park website for more details, opening times and prices.

Pirate Island Adventure Golf gets a thumbs-up from us

Links:
- Lyons Holiday Parks website
- Lyons Robin Hood Holiday Park website
- Lyons Robin Hood Holiday Camp Facebook

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Adventure Golf
- Holiday Camp
- Rhyl

Video:
- Pirate Adventure Golf at Lyons Robin Hood Holiday Park in Rhyl

The old Crazy Golf course at Starr Gate in Blackpool

A tram's eye view of the old Crazy Golf course at Starr Gate in Blackpool.

Many thanks to our friend Philip Walsh for sending over these great snaps of the derelict Crazy Golf course at Starr Gate in Blackpool. Philip photographed the course while aboard a tram during a recent tram heritage weekend.

The tram at the Starr Gate depot

Emily and I visited the remnants of the minigolf course - formerly an Arnold Palmer Putting Course - last October. Luckily we did get to play it once, back in April 2008.

A sad sight indeed

Mr Mulligan's Adventure Golf opening in Cheltenham this week

Mr Mulligan's latest Adventure Golf course is opening in Cheltenham this week.

Tee-off begins at the new two-course, 36-hole indoor Adventure Golf centre at The Brewery Quarter in Cheltenham on Saturday 7th October.

Emily putting at Mr Mulligan's Adventure Golf course in Stevenage

For more info visit the Mr Mulligan Adventure Golf course website. I'm looking forward to playing the course and I've noticed there's also an interesting facility available at Mr Mulligan's Lost World Golf!

The Stevenage course has a Doomsday Device - check out Mr Mulligan's course in Cheltenham to see what they have there!

You can also check out an interview I did with SoGlos magazine ahead of the launch - Interview with mini golf professional Richard Gottfried.

Last summer we visited Mr Mulligan's other Lost World Golf course, in Stevenage.

Link:
- Mr Mulligan's Lost World Golf
- The Brewery Quarter

Related blog posts:
- Playing Mr Mulligan's Lost World Adventure Golf in Cheltenham
- Mr Mulligan's Adventure Golf in Cheltenham
- Mr Mulligan

Pirate Bay Adventure Golf course in Guernsey

A look at the new Pirate Bay Adventure Golf course at St Peter Port, Guernsey.

That's a BIG minigolf volcano!

Many thanks to fellow Crazy Golf adventurer Simon Dewhurst for sending over some pics from his visit to the new Pirate Bay Adventure Golf course at St Peter Port, Guernsey.

The first guillotine I've ever seen on a minigolf course!

No wonder there's a graveyard on the course!

There's a raft on the layout

One of the pirate characters on the course

Visit the Pirate Bay Adventure Golf website for more information, opening times and prices.

We're looking forward to a future visit to Pirate's Bay Adventure Golf on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Tidal Bay Crazy Adventure Golf in Sherfield on Loddon

A look at the new Tidal Bay Crazy Adventure Golf course in Sherfield on Loddon, Hampshire.

Many thanks to fellow minigolf aficionado Matt Dodd for sending over some snaps from his visit to play at Tidal Bay Crazy Adventure Golf in Sherfield on Loddon near Hook, Hampshire.

It looks like the captain of this boat missed the tide!

What a BIG minigolf volcano!

The 18-hole course is located at the Wyevale Garden Centre in Sherfield on Loddon. Check out the Tidal Bay Crazy Adventure Golf website for more information, opening times and prices.

We're looking forward to a future visit to Tidal Bay Crazy Adventure Golf on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.