Happy birthday Putt-Putt

Today marks the 64th anniversary of the first Putt-Putt course, set-up by Don Clayton in Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA back in 1954.

To mark the occasion I've spoken to a number of my fellow miniature golf enthusiasts and bloggers and they've shared photos of some of their favourite Putt-Putt courses.

Putt Putt in Richmond, Indiana. Photo by Tom & Robin at A Couple of Putts

Putt-Putt is the only patented game of miniature golf and began in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1954. In the 1960's Putt-Putt franchises began opening outside of the US, in locations such as the one on the postcard shown below, as well as Australia and Japan. You can read the Putt-Putt story on the Putt-Putt Fun Centres website.

The Putt Putt Fun Center course in Hickory, North Carolina photographed by Pat Sheridan of The Putting Penguin minigolf website

Putt Putt Pro Matt Bellner playing the course in Arlington, TX

Matt Bellner playing the Putt Putt course in Lake Charles, LA, USA

On the competitive side of the game, Putt-Putt tournaments have been played since 1959. You can read about the history of the PPA and APA on the Professional Putters Association website.

Putt Putt Fun Center in Richmond, Indiana. Photo by Tom Loftus and Robin Schwartzman at A Couple of Putts

Unfortunately the closest Emily and I have got to playing a Putt-Putt course is a postcard, some game tokens, a jigsaw puzzle and a photo one of my family took while in South Africa!

A Putt-Putt postcard from South Africa

I do have a lot of Putt-Putt tokens in my collection

The Putt-Putt course at Three Anchor Bay in Moullie Point/Sea Point in Cape Town, photo by Adam Trigg

A Putt-Putt Puzzle of a very crazy Miniature Golf course. Published by Hallmark Cards Inc. Many thanks to our friend 'Hacksaw' Jon Drexler for sending it across the pond to live in the Crazy Golf Museum

There used to be Putt-Putt brand minigolf courses in the UK, but they're long gone.

Check out the Putt-Putt website for more information on Putt-Putt brand minigolf. You can find out more information about Putt-Putt tournaments on the Professional Putters Association website.

Between 1958 and 2000 there were a number of newsletters and magazines produced and the online archive is a mine of information. My favourite Putt-Putt World cover is definitely that of the Summer 1982 edition (volume 24, number 3)!

Related blog posts:
- A Putt-Putt Postcard from South Africa
- Putt-Putt at Three Anchor Bay in Moullie Point/Sea Point in Cape Town
- A token blog post

Links:
- Putt-Putt
- Professional Putters Association (PPA)

Google Home Mini Golf

Google has created a miniature golf course!

The Google Home Mini Golf course is currently touring the US. I hope it comes to the UK at some point too. Check out the video of the course.



Top marks to Google for choosing minigolf in the campaign. The Google Home Mini Golf course looks great fun.

The course has been to New York and is currently in Chicago (until 17th June) before it moves on to Los Angeles (30th June to 5th July) and Atlanta (26th - 29th July).

Check out the Google Home Mini Golf website for more info.

New World Crazy Golf Champion crowned

Congratulations to Marc 'The Force' Chapman - the new World Crazy Golf Champion.

Marc Chapman has won his first World Crazy Golf Championship title. The championships took place at Hastings Adventure Golf on the 9th and 10th June, with the largest number of competitors in the field since 2005.

Marc 'The Force' Chapman - the new World Crazy Golf Champion

Marc took the world title and £1,000 prize money in the two-day event. His score was 226, 26 under par, beating last year’s top score by the Czech Republic’s Olivia Prokopova who took the 2017 title with a score of 235, 17 under par.

This is the ninth time the 32-year old from Canterbury, Kent has entered the tournament and said he was thrilled to win the title. Marc said “It feels amazing to finally become the World Crazy Golf Champion! It’s been a great personal ambition of mine to win this event and I have been close to it a few times before. I’ve only played in a few events in the last five years, which makes this win even more amazing to believe!”

Adam Kelly took runner-up prize of £750 and Michael Smith, former World Champion, took home £500 for third place.

Playing along side the seasoned crazy golf professionals was a separate novice category with a dedicated prize fund of £1,500.

The novice title and £500 went to Russell Smith from Tunbridge Wells. The runner-up Chris Horn took home £300, while third place went to Italian Mark Berezicki who won £200.

Russell said “It was a really fun day. The atmosphere at the course was fantastic and I am so pleased to have won the amateur title.”

Simon Tompkins of Hastings Adventure Golf, said “Congratulations to all our winners and a huge well done to everyone for taking part and making this a thoroughly enjoyable event.”

There were several other runner-up prizes. In total eight novices went home with prize money. The World Crazy Golf Championships tournament has been held at Hastings Adventure Golf since 2003.

You can see the full results of the competition online.

Check out the Hastings Adventure Golf website for more information, opening times and prices.

Swingers Crazy Golf in London's West End

A look at Swingers Crazy Golf in the West End of London.

Many thanks to Leland Carlson from the Dull Men's Club for sending me a snap of the A-board outside Swingers Crazy Golf that he spotted while having a wander round London's West End.

Street Food and Crazy Golf - an increasingly popular combination

Check out the Swingers Crazy Golf course website for more info, opening times and prices.

On my last trip to London last year I played at the 'original' permanent Swingers course near The Gherkin. It's a superb venue.

Emily walked past the new Swingers course while it was under construction last November.

Back in September 2014 Emily and I played the Swingers pop-up course in Shoreditch.

Summer Greens at Churchill Square in Brighton

There's a Crazy Golf course on the rooftop car park at Churchill Square shopping centre in Brighton.

The pop-up miniature golf course is part of a summer of fun and players can pick up a putter for a FREE round on Level 7 of the Churchill Square car park in Brighton.

Sounds great to me.

I hope some of my friends down in Brighton get along for a game - and nab me a scorecard and some snaps.

The course is open now and is on the roof until the 15th July. Check out the Churchill Square website for more information and opening times.

This is obviously not the rooftop Crazy Golf course. But I wonder if you can see this course and the pier from Churchill Square's rooftop course?

A Delightfully Dull, Brilliantly Boring Evening in Preston

Last month I was invited to be a speaker at the Dull Men's Club's 'Delightfully Dull, Brilliantly Boring Evening' at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in Preston.

I had a thoroughly enjoyable time as a guest speaker at the Delightfully Dull, Brilliantly Boring Evening at UCLan

The Dull Men's Club is where dull men — and women who appreciate dull men — share experiences of enjoying everyday, mundane things, far from glitz and glam — "Celebrating the Ordinary".

The Dull Men's Club - where dull men, and women who appreciate dull men, share thoughts and experiences about ordinary things

The keynote speaker at the event was Dr Sandi Mann, aka ‘Dr Boredom’, author of The Science of Boredom: The Upside of Downtime, who spoke to the attendees about the benefits of boredom and her research on the Thirty Habits of Boring People.

One of the highlights of the evening at UCLan

The pink post-it notes directing delegates to the lecture theatre were a bit bright for a dull event

We were on the 1st floor

Not far from here

The desk space in the lecture theatre was a lovely shade of grey

Some highlights of my presentation covered my travels on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and how I, along with Emily, had - up to that point - visited 815 miniature golf courses since 2006.

One of the scorecards displayed in my presentation

Some of the intricacies of the sport were also discussed, with the show & tell element on minigolf balls being a particular highlight.

Course #683 - Southend Pier Crazy Golf

Somewhat controversially the 'Delightfully Dull, Brilliantly Boring Evening' was anything but. With a range of characters talking about their hobbies, pursuits and interests the group could've spent a long time sharing stories and ideas. Perhaps next time there'll be a longer Dull Men's Club symposium to spend more time talking about dull and boring matters.

Showing off my Putter

The "Anorak of the Year 2017.4" was also announced one the night (".4" as we were 40% into 2018), with Roundabout enthusiast Kevin Beresford taking the title.

Following the event I visited the 816th course on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour when I swung by the indoor Crazy Golf course at Level Preston.

At Trailer Trash Jim's Crazy Golf course at Level in Preston

Links:
- The Dull Men's Club
- Dr Sandi Mann

Other dull blog posts can be found within the archives of the Ham & Egger Files...

Fantasia Adventure Golf in Felixstowe

A look at the Fantasia Adventure Golf course on Sea Road in Felixstowe.

One of our most visited courses is the Fantasia Adventure Golf course on Sea Road in Felixstowe. We've been going to the seaside town for many many years and always swing by for a look, and more often than not a game on the 9-hole course.

Hole 1 of the course in May 2018

On our recent visit we noticed the felt and signage have recently been replaced and the layout was looking in very good condition. The weather was nice on our Bank Holiday weekend visit and on our return stroll along the prom in the early afternoon the course was proving very popular.

The last time we were there it was snowing!

You can see what it looked like before the new felt was laid in this blog post from 2016.

The course was the 7th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We've now been to 821 courses!

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

Ten years gluten free

Today marks my ten year Coeliac Anniversary - my Coeliacversary.

Ten years ago today I was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease and so I began my journey into the world of all things gluten free.

I'm gluten free, not a glutton (or any number of other misspellings of gluten)

Coeliac Disease is a lifelong autoimmune condition, where the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. In Coeliac Disease the immune system mistakes substances found inside gluten as a threat to the body and attacks them. This can trigger a number of painful, horrible, stressful and uncomfortable symptoms.

Why I avoid gluten at all times!

Having suffered from a range of symptoms for around ten years I finally received a positive diagnosis of Coeliac Disease following some 'interesting' and in-depth tests and procedures in 2008. It came as a relief to finally have a name for the mysterious cause of my illnesses and ailments, but at the time I was only given a brief summary and told that I'd have to "cut down on bread and beer". It was only later when I met with my Gastroenterologist and a dietitian that I found out that the only treatment for people with Coeliac Disease is a strict, life-long gluten free diet.

While having a life-long condition such as Coeliac Disease can be a pain - and horrible if I 'get glutened' - having the disease has had some positives. I've met great people since my diagnosis and have made some brilliant friends who I've met through Coeliac groups. I've also blogged a lot about living with the condition and the great free from food and drink I've found since 2008.

Thank you to everyone for their support, tips, help and recommendations over the years. It's been very much appreciated. I've also found some funny things about being a Coeliac along the way.

And a MASSIVE thank you to Emily for all of her help and support throughout my struggles with the illness.

For more information on Coeliac Disease do check out the NHS Choices and Coeliac UK websites.

You can also view the very first blog post I wrote about gluten free / Coeliac stuff at 'Gluten Free Fish & Chips at Rossi's in Swansea'.

Popeyes Take Away in Blackpool

Emily's spot of the 'Popeye' shops in Edinburgh reminded me of this bootleg takeaway we spotted in Blackpool.

Popeyes Take Away in Blackpool

While 'Popeye' is holding a can of spinach, I don't expect there'll be many greens on the menu

Related blog posts:
- Bootlegs
- Popeye
- Blackpool

Adventure Golf at Stonham Barns in Suffolk

A look at the new Adventure Golf course under construction at Stonham Barns in Suffolk.

Last month we swung by Stonham Barns in Suffolk to take a look at the new Smugglers Bay Adventure Golf course being built at the leisure and retail venue.

The Smugglers Bay Adventure Golf layout replaces the old Crazy Golf course at the site. That course was the 33rd played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in August 2007!

The new Adventure Golf course will certainly be different in style to the old course.

The old Mini Putting course as it was in 2013

We're looking forward to a game on the new Smugglers Bay Adventure Golf course when we next return to Suffolk.

Related blog posts:
- Smugglers Bay Adventure Golf at Stonham Barns in Suffolk
- Course played #33 - Crazy Golf at Stonham Barns in Suffolk
- A Minigolf revisit to Stonham Barns

Link:
- Stonham Barns Golf Park website

Popeye, Bluto and Olive - in Edinburgh

I never knew Popeye, Bluto and Olive lived in Scotland.

What a great pair of bootleg businesses Emily spotted while up in Edinburgh.

It's a good job Station India is in the middle of the two establishments else it'd be all out war

You can find both businesses on Portobello High Street in Edinburgh.

While in Camber Sands back in 2010 we found this legit Popeye Arm Wrestling Machine in the beachside amusement arcade.

Related blog posts:
- Bootlegs
- Edinburgh
- Popeye

Darts in Barrow-in-Furness

Last weekend we had a marvellous time visiting our mate Marc Bazeley in his new home region up in Cumbria. As well as exploring the local area we were up in Barrow-in-Furness to attend a special Darts Exhibition evening starring the 1996 BDO World Professional Darts Champion, 'The Bronzed Adonis' Steve Beaton.

The charity event took place at The Kill One pub in the town, with fund from the night going to the Paul Larkin memorial darts competition and this year's chosen charity Parkinson's Disease.

The hottest ticket in town

We bought a few strips of raffle tickets which, if drawn, would entitle you to face-off against Steve in front of the crowd. As luck would have it my 'lucky' number was called out third from the end of the evening, much to the relief of Marc, Emily and Lauren.

What a venue

It was certainly a brilliant opportunity, but also pretty stressful to get up on stage and try to compete with a world class act.

In action against the 1996 World Darts Champion!

After my nine practice arrows I started the leg off and managed to average around the 40 mark. With the heavily refreshed crowd behind me I managed (Steve let me) get down to a finish of 53, before he ended any hopes of a win for me by shutting out the leg with an exhibition finish.

The night got a big thumbs up

Check out the video to see 3 minutes of sporting action I will never forget. Steve Beaton never stopped smiling. Neither did I. What a superb night.

The Sajwani Army with darts legend Steve Beaton

We had a wonderful time in Barrow-in-Furness and are looking forward to returning. I'm not so sure about returning to the oche against world class opposition anytime soon though!

Check out Steve Beaton's website, as well as The Kill One for more info about the next charity darts event at the pub.

To top it all off Marc and I made it onto Steve's blog post about the night too!

Miniature Golf at Coronation Gardens in Polzeath, Cornwall

A look at the Putting Green at Coronation Gardens in Polzeath, Cornwall.

Many thanks to Dan Paynton for sending over some more photos he's taken of minigolf courses while on his travels.

'Bouncing Castles'!

This time Dan has been in Polzeath, Cornwall where he spotted a couple of minigolf courses "opposite the toilets in Coronation Gardens".

The course was closed when he arrived

Looks like an interesting layout with some ridges and hilly bits

We're looking forward to giving it a play in the future

A sign for the Crazy Golf course, but there was no sign of the course!

Dan was also recently at Flambards Theme Park in Helston, Cornwall where he spotted this 9-hole Adventure Golf course.

We haven't been there. Yet. The closest we got was the nearby service station. We didn't have time to justify buying a ticket to the park

They are three courses we failed to reach on our epic two-week road-trip around the south west coast back in 2015. We did manage to visit 62 others though.

It's the World Crazy Golf Championships in Hastings, East Sussex this weekend

The World Crazy Golf Championships are taking place on the 18-hole Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course at Hastings Adventure Golf this weekend.

All the best to the 98 players and characters competing in this, the 16th edition of the event.

Playing the 2nd hole on Hastings Crazy Golf course in my last tilt at the title back in 2015. In nine attempts I finished in  17th place four times

Once again, I look forward to seeing who finishes in 17th place...

You can follow the results online throughout the weekend.

Minigolfing in Grange-over-Sands

Playing two more courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Crazy Golfing in Grange-over-Sands

We've added two more minigolf courses to our visited list after playing the Crazy Golf and Putting Green at Promenade Recreation Park in Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria.

Emily's best hole saw her score a 2 on hole 2

The visits were numbers 820 and 821 overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. The two layouts were the 485th and 486th we've been able to play during our 12-year journey.

Minigolfing on the grass Putting course

Visit the Grange Promenade Recreation Park website for more information, opening times and prices.

Having a nice sit down outside the course

Our friend and minigolf rival Marc Bazeley visited the course and guest blogged about it on the site last year.

The courses at Grange Promenade Park are the sister courses to those at White Platts Recreation Ground in Ambleside, Cumbria. We visited those during a road-trip in April 2012. The Crazy Golf course in Ambleside was the 463rd we visited.

Roasted Gluten

Many 'thanks' to my mate Paul O'Connor for sending me this snap of a bag of Roasted Gluten he spotted in a Chinese supermarket.

As a Coeliac this is my version of Kryptonite!

They look like croutons to me

It's not the first time Paul has documented his gluten discoveries.

Related blog posts:
- Fried Gluten in a Can
- Gluten - my Kryptonite