Mini Golf at FTW in Chicago

Checking out the indoor minigolf course at FTW in Chicago.

The Water Tower first hole at FTW in Chicago

While in Chicago Emily made course visit #807 on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour when she swung by FTW Chicago at 322 East Illinois Street.

The indoor minigolf course at FTW - known as City Golf - is a 6-hole course themed on the Windy City.

Hole 1 - Water Tower

Hole 2 - Lake Shore Drive

Hole 2

Hole 2

Hole 3 - the Legendary Chicago Theatre

Hole 4

Hole 4 - Museum Campus

Hole 4

Hole 4

Hole 5 - Comiskey Park

Hole 5

Hole 5

Hole 6 - The Willis Tower

Hole 6

As well as the miniature golf course FTW aka For The Win is home to over 130 arcade and prize games, four private party rooms, a 104 sq ft HD LED wall, a full bar and gastropub.

Check out the FTW website for more information, opening times and prices.

There are also For The Win locations in Albany, New York and Denver, Colorado. Back in 2009 I actually played tenpin bowling at FTW's Lucky Strike Lanes!

We've now visited 807 minigolf courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, 38 of them have been overseas.

Link:
- FTW Chicago

Related blog posts:
- USA
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

The start, middle and end of Crazy Golf

A look back at the old Crazy Golf course at King's Parade Gardens in New Brighton.

The start hole of the colourful old concrete Crazy Golf course in New Brighton

I love minigolf history and the stories in the game. While looking back through our photo archive some snaps from a visit to New Brighton caught my eye and I thought the course was worth posting about again.

The 9th

On our 12 year journey around the UK we've seen a lot of minigolf courses, some of which are no longer there. The King's Parade Gardens Crazy Golf course is one of them.

End of the line

There are now two 18-hole Adventure Golf course in King's Parade Gardens, they are certainly worth a play and very different to the old course.

Related blog posts:
- New Brighton
- Crazy Golf
- Kings Parade Gardens - Crazy Golf & Mini Golf - New Brighton

Swing by Golfbaren in Stockholm, Sweden

Visiting our 800th minigolf course on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Swing by Golfbaren

In September 2006 we began what would become our epic quest to visit every miniature golf course in the UK. Back then there were approximately 600 courses. We're now up to 806 course visits, 37 of which have been overseas.

The upstairs main course

The game is booming in the UK and our friends in Sweden are also experiencing a rise in popularity. Our 800th course visit was to the Swing by Golfbaren indoor minigolf course and speakeasy in Stockholm.

Emily in the Art Deco swing of things

Swing by Golfbaren recently celebrated its first anniversary and our friend, minigolf rival and legend of the sport Hans Olofsson invited us to be guests at the party. We had a marvellous time and must say Swing by Golfbaren is one of the best minigolf venues we've visited.

Acing hole 12

The green of the 12th and final hole can be a round wrecker

The course has a 1920's theme and is a truly unique layout. There's an 'upstairs' 12-holes open for all to play, while hidden 'downstairs' are a further 6-holes which can be booked for private events.

Playing minigolf in the 'Living Room'

Throughout the venue you can find out about the history of miniature golf, with displays, ephemera, stories and memorabilia from the 1800's to the modern day.

A fine display of minigolf history

 

A close up look at some of the merch and ephemera

The early years

The 50's

The modern era

More memorabilia in the Living Room

Swing's balls

A nice set of scorecards - and branded pencils

If you like minigolf you will love Swing by Golfbaren.

Holing out for a two

There's a wonderful Wall of Fame at Swing by Golfbaren

Hole 9 in the spotlight

Check out the Swing by Golfbaren website for more information. It really is a must visit course.

Swing by Golfbaren can be found at Surbrunnsgatan

The Swing by Golfbaren branded - and turfed - vans!

While we were in Sweden we managed to visit nine minigolf courses - including another two of Hans' Golfbaren courses in Kristineberg and Aspudden. You can see more in our blog post 'From Stockport to Stockholm on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour'.

Related blog posts:
- Swing by Golfbaren
- Stockholm
- Sweden
- From Stockport to Stockholm on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Links:
- Swing by Golfbaren website
- Golfbaren website

Lupine Travel's most EXTREME tour to date

How would you fancy a holiday to The People's Republic of Wigan?

My friend Dylan Harris runs Lupine Travel, a Wigan-based business that operates holidays and tours to the far flung reaches and hidden corners of our world.

To celebrate their 10th anniversary Lupine Travel are running a very special one-off tour to their most extreme destination to date - The People's Republic of Wigan!

The four-day tour in June will feature trips to Rivington Terraced Gardens, Winter Hill, Wigan Pier, a walking tour of the town and more! You'll also be able to sample local delicacies including the (in)famous Pie Barm!

Last September we revisited Wigan to see the North Korea, An Exploration exhibition at The Old Courts, a showcase of a selection of rare propaganda posters and artifacts collected by Dylan from his travels to the country.

Poster from North Korea's participation in the 2010 World Cup

During our visit to Wigan we enjoyed having a wander and seeing the sights.

The Grand Hotel in Wigan

Emily at Uncle Joe's Mint Balls factory

At Wigan North Weston - one of the towns two railway stations

There are lots of entertainment options in Wigan

On Dylan's 2015 trip to North Korea he and his party competed in the first-ever Pyongyang Minigolf Open Tournament! Check out the blog post Mini Golf in Pyongyang, North Korea for more information and photos of the course, said to have been in Kim Jong Un's personal residence before he gifted it to the North Korean people and had it moved to its current location.

The Pyongyang Minigolf course and red velvet covered bench in the centre where it is claimed Kim Jong Un sat while he directed the workers on where to place each hole

You may be unlikely to ever play the Mini Golf course in Pyongyang, but if you ever do head to Wigan be sure to visit Haigh Woodland Park where you can find two miniature golf courses - a new Adventure Golf and an old Crazy Golf.

Emily playing the Crazy Golf course at Haigh Woodland Park

It's not just North Korea (and Wigan) you can visit with Lupine Travel either, as they operate tours to other far-flung places including Chernobyl, Transnistria, Eritrea, Chad, Iran, Iraqi Kurdistan, Antarctica and more!

Visit the Lupine Travel website for more information on the tours they organise.

Related blog posts:
- Wigan

The best discount shop ever?

Who else would be 'involved' but Quagmire!

The 'How Much? I can't believe my eyes DISCOUNT STORE' in Southsea, Hampshire. What a place

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the shopfront!

Giggidy

Related blog posts:
- Bootleg
- Southsea

Krunchy Fried Chicken in Liverpool

On our recent visit to Stalybridge we spotted a KFC - Krunchy Fried Chicken. But it wasn't actually the first 'branch' we'd seen! Back in 2011 we were in Liverpool and spotted this chicken shop.

A KFC

Related blog posts:

- Krunchy Fried Chicken in Stalybridge

- Bootleg

- KFC

- Liverpool

Visiting two more 'small' pubs

Over the years we've visited quite a few small pubs, each with their own particular claims.

We've had a drink at the Smallest Pub on the Planet (it's in Cleethorpes) and Britain's Smallest Pub (in Southport). While in Blackpool we called in at The Mitre, which is that town's smallest boozer.

Bar Bach - Little Bar - in Caernarfon is the smallest bar in Wales

Recently we popped into Bar Bach in Caernarfon and The Q Inn in Stalybridge.

Bar Bach is the smallest bar in Wales. We've encountered the word 'bach' on our minigolf travels too as we've played a few Golff Bach Cwrs. Bach means 'little'.

Proof

When you get inside you find out that bar is actually split and sits across two addresses!

The second address is for the cafe there.

The Q Inn is the public house with the shortest name in the United Kingdom. As certified by the Guinness Book of Records in 1995. It was a nice pub and worth a look.
 

The Q Inn is quite large

Related blog posts:
- A visit to the Smallest Pub on the Planet
- The Lakeside Inn at Southport, Britain's Smallest Pub
- Blackpool's Smallest Pub - The Mitre
- The Corner Bar in Stockport Market
- Pubs
- Pub

Smugglers Bay Adventure Golf at Stonham Barns in Suffolk

We've heard that Stonham Barns in Suffolk is opening a new Adventure Golf course!

We've played the Mini-Putting course there a few times over the years, as Stonham Barns is close by when we're visiting family in Ipswich.

That course was the 33rd of the 806 we've visited so far on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. The last time we were there was in 2013.

Hole 3 of the Mini-Putting Crazy Golf course at Stonham Barns

It's interesting to hear about the new Smugglers Bay Adventure Golf course. We look forward to swinging by on a future visit to East Anglia.

The Adventure Golf course will be one of eight elements making up the UK's first Golf Adventure Park located at Stonham Barns.

Looking on the Stonham Barns Golf Centre website I also noticed they have a thing called 'Street Golf'. I'm interested in seeing that too.

Related blog posts:
- Stonham Barns
- Suffolk

Miniature Golf Putting at Kapalua Golf & Tennis Resort in Hawaii

A look at a Putting Course in Hawaii.

A look at the Putting Course at the Kapalua Golf & Tennis Resort

My friend and fellow minigolf enthusiast PJ Goedhals sent me over some snaps from his recent trip to Hawaii as he managed to squeeze in a round of miniature golf on the Putting Course at the Kapalua Golf & Tennis Resort.

A tricky looking plateau on the grass putting course

A downhill shot for PJ

Check out the Kapalua Golf & Tennis Resort website for more information. You can see a flyover of the facilities and views on the homepage video.