New Pirate Crazy Golf course at Berry Hill Park in Mansfield

There's a new Pirate Crazy Golf course at Berry Hill Park in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.

A new Pirate Crazy Golf course has opened at the Berry Hill Park Café in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. It's open at weekends and during school holidays.

We've yet to visit Mansfield and are looking forward to a round on the new Pirate-themed course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Putting Green at the Hotel Miramar in Bournemouth

Among the old minigolf postcards we found at a collector's fair in Stockport on Sunday was this one of the Hotel Miramar in Bournemouth.

You can see the flag for hole 3 on the far left of the postcard

We've been to Bournemouth a number of times over the years and are due a Crazy World of Minigolf Tour revisit to the town as some new courses have opened since our last trip to the south coast resort in 2013. I can't believe it's been six years since we were last down there!

Looking on the Hotel Miramar website it doesn't appear to have a minigolf course there anymore.

We've played and visited a few miniature golf courses at hotels on our travels, including those at The Imperial Hotel in Torquay, the Sutton Staithe Hotel in Norfolk, The Riviera Hotel in Weymouth, the Thorpeness Golf Club & Hotel, The Imperial Hotel in Exmouth, The Victoria and The Belmont hotels in Sidmouth and the Merlewood Hotel in Saundersfoot.

I wonder how many other hotels have minigolf or crazy golf courses 'hidden' in their grounds that we don't know about?

Pat Regan and Jack Nunn's Putting Green in Broadstairs

A look at postcards of Pat Regan and Jack Nunn's Putting Green in Broadstairs.

Since I first wrote about Pat Regan's Putting Green in Broadstairs, Kent last December I've found two more cards showing the course.

The first postcard I found of Pat Regan's Putting Green in Broadstairs

The postcard is postally unused, but interestingly is signed by Pat Regan himself

The postcard I have of Jack Nunn's Putting Green shows the same photo as the Pat Regard cards, albeit slightly larger

The second copy of the Pat Regan Putting Green postcard is in better condition that the one I bought last year

This time the card is signed by Pat Regan and certifies that a Mr David Somebody scored a hole-in-one o the 18th hole. It looks to be dated the 6th September 1969

The Putting Green in Broadstairs that once bore Pat Regan and Jack Nunn's names was in the same spot that is now Lillyputt Minigolf.

The Lillyputt Minigolf course in Broadstairs is a nice Arnold Palmer Putting Course layout

We visited and played the Lillyputt Minigolf course back in September 2007. It was the 35th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We've now been to 911 courses.

You can find out more about the course on the Lillyputt Minigolf website. One of the photos in the gallery section shows the area as Jack Nunn's Putting Green.

I still haven't been able to find out anything further about Pat Regan or Jack Nunn or their tenures at the Broadstairs Putting Green. I would guess that they were the course owners. I'd love to know for sure.

Related blog posts:
- Postcard
- Postcards
- Broadstairs

Putting course at the Cober Hill Hotel in Scarborough

We bought some nice old minigolf postcards at a collector's fair in Stockport on Sunday, the first of which was found by Emily who spotted this card of the Cober Hill Guest House in Scarborough.

Cober Hill Guest House, Scarborough. E.T.W. Dennis & Sons Ltd. Undated and postally unused

It's now called the Cober Hill Hotel and look on the website they still have a grass Putting course there.

We were recently in Scarborough and visited all of the minigolf courses we knew about in the North Yorkshire seaside resort. The North Bay Mini Golf course was the 900th we've visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

We'll have to swing by the Cober Hill Hotel on a return visit to Scarborough to see if we can have a game there too.

It's really fun and interesting to find new, old and forgotten courses and the multi-view postcard of the Cober Hill Guest House was a great way to find out about the Miniature Golf course.

The Metropole Hotel in Blackpool

A look at the Metropole Hotel in Blackpool.

We bought some superb old postcards at a collector's fair in Stockport yesterday. Among them was this card of the Metropole Hotel in Blackpool back when it was owned by Butlin's.

The Metropole Hotel in Blackpool is now operated by Britannia Hotels, the owners of Pontin's!

How the Metropole Hotel looked on my visit to Blackpool in May. Note the Pontin's flag to the right of the hotel

Originally built in 1776, the hotel was owned by Butlins from 1955 until 1998 when it was purchased by Grand Hotels. In 2004 the hotel was sold to Britannia Hotels.

I was recently at the seaside resort to visit the Crazy Golf course behind the hotel as part of the project to reopen the minigolf layout.

Mini Golf at Hotel Palma Nova, Mallorca

We found some old miniature golf postcards at a collector's fair in Stockport yesterday, including this very nice one showing the minigolf course at the Hotel Palma Nova in Mallorca.

Hotel Palma Nova, Mallorca. Postally used. Date unknown

Emily and I haven't been to Mallorca yet, but fellow Crazy World of Minigolf Tour member Christopher Gottfried has. He visited the minigolf course at Vista Alegre in Porto Cristo in 2015.

Looking at maps of the area it doesn't look like the hotel's course is still there. However, there is a large minigolf course at Golf Fantasia in Palma Nova.

Greetings from Pontin's Holiday Village, Camber Sands

We found this nice old Pontin's postcard at a collector's fair in Stockport yesterday.

Greetings from Pontin's Holiday Village, Camber Sands. Photo Precision Limited. Posted on 14 July 1975

The July 2019 issue of Picture Postcard Monthly magazine contains an article I wrote about Pontins postcards.

The Crazy Golf course at Pontin's Camber Sands is where the playground and grass is in the top left image of the postcard above

My family stayed at Pontin's Camber Sands in the 1990's and we swung by the holiday camp to play the Adventure Golf there in 2014.

The course was the 585th visited and 351st played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Putting Green at the North Wales Crown Green Bowls Centre in Rhyl

A revisit to the Putting Green at the North Wales Crown Green Bowls Centre in Rhyl.

Llain bytio o 9 twll

Last week I swung by the Putting Green at the North Wales Crown Green Bowls Centre in Rhyl.

The bowls green next to the RNLI centre was the Putting Green when we first visited

Back in September 2014 the course became the 349th played and 583rd visited overall on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

How the course looked in 2014

We've now been to 911 courses.

The sign at the course said 9 Hole Putting Green / Llain bytio o 9 twll. There are a number of ways to say Miniature Golf in Welsh.

Related blog posts:
- Rhyl
- Wales
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Mini Golf Putting Green in Rhyl
- Minigolf etc. - English to Welsh translations

2019 Cardiff Open and Welsh Open minigolf tournaments

Minigolf tournament double-header in Cardiff this October.

The Cardiff Open minigolf competition is taking place at the Tee-Rex Adventure Golf course on Saturday 5th October.

The three-round tourney is organised by the Welsh Minigolf Club and carries points in the British Minigolf Association tour rankings. The event tees-off off at 2pm.

For more information about the 2019 Cardiff Open check out the event page, entry list and the Welsh Minigolf Club website.

The Cardiff Open is part of a tournament double-header weekend as the British Minigolf Association Welsh Open tournament takes place at Treetop Adventure Golf in Cardiff city centre on Sunday 6th October.

We haven't been to Cardiff for a while and so Tee-Rex Adventure Golf and Treetop Adventure Golf are new courses for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Crazy Golfing in Prestatyn

Revisiting the Crazy Golf course in Prestatyn.

The 18-hole course just after closing time. It's such a nice course

Last week I replayed one of my favourite miniature golf courses, the Crazy Golf course on Bastion Road in Prestatyn, Wales.

Back in Prestatyn

The 18-hole layout was originally an Arnold Palmer Putting Course and still retains many of the original obstacles and design elements. It's one of the best courses in the UK.

Hole 7 - a nice ace opportunity, but it can be very tricky if you over hit your tee shot

The course was originally the 147th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in 2009. We've replayed it a number of times in the years since.

Hole 10 has a new obstacle. It used to be a lighthouse

This time I played four games on the course in excellent conditions and scored rounds of 34, 39, 35 and 37.

I didn't win a free game on the lucky last hole this time

Related blog posts:
- Prestatyn
- Wales
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

The 2019 Sussex Wasps Open minigolf tournament

The third edition of the Sussex Wasps Open minigolf competition is taking place at the Peterborough Minigolf course at Dobbies Garden Centre in Peterborough on Sunday 1st September.

Hole 12 of the Peterborough Minigolf course

More information on the tournament can be found on the competition's Facebook Event.

Playing hole 7

We visited the Peterborough Minigolf course at Dobbies Garden Centre just after it opened in July 2015. The course was the 382nd played and 662nd visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. Time has flown by since then - we're now up to 911 course visits!

Emily playing hole 8

The superb 12-hole Peterborough Minigolf course was designed and built by the team at UrbanCrazy and it's a real test of putting skill.

Hole 11 of the Peterborough Minigolf course

If you're playing along with our Summer Mini Golf Checklist a visit to Peterborough Minigolf and playing in the Sussex Wasps tourney could tick off a few of the activities on the list.

The Peterborough Minigolf course has a lucky last hole where you can try to win a free game too

Drift Park Crazy Golf in Rhyl

Revisiting the Crazy Golf course at Drift Park in Rhyl.

Last week I swung by the Drift Park Crazy Golf course in Rhyl, Wales.

We first played the course on our trip around the coast of Wales in the summer of 2009. Back then it became the 145th course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

We also visited the course in September 2014, September 2017, September 2018, January 2018, December 2018 and March 2019.

 

Related blog posts:
- Rhyl
- Drift Park
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Happy third birthday to Holeymolies Miniature Golf in Skelton-in-Cleveland

The indoor minigolf course opened on the 4th July 2016.

Last year it became the 500th course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, the 845th visited overall and the 807th we've been to in the British Isles.

Getting a hole-in-one on hole 17

The indoor minigolf course at Holeymolies Leisure Complex boasts the 'World's Longest Mini Golf Hole' - measuring in at a whopping 264 feet!

Hole 1 - the longest minigolf hole in the world. You have to start off upstairs, teeing-off up a ramp and then the ball is carried along the long viaduct before being deposited on the green

Next week the Holeymolies course will be closing for a major refurbishment. We look forward to seeing what it'll look like after.

Check out the Holeymolies website and Facebook Page for more information.

The 2019 Worthing Open minigolf tournament

The Worthing Open miniature golf competition is taking place on Saturday 6th July.

This Saturday evening the Splash Point Mini Golf course in Denton Gardens, Worthing is hosting the 2019 Worthing Open minigolf competition.

The three round strokeplay format event presented by the Worthing Mini Golf Club tees-off at 5pm.

Entry is open to all. Sign-up is required by 3pm on the day.

Email clubhouse@splashpointminigolf.co.uk for more info.

A view of hole 16 at Splash Point

Minigolf was first played in Denton Gardens on Tuesday 1st July 1924!

95 years later and the relatively new course there is going strong and is popular with locals, tourists, enthusiasts and the characters of the British Minigolf Association tour.

You can see photos of the 18-hole Splash Point Mini Golf course from our visit in April this year.

Stockport's Giant Leap

There's a new Frog Art Trail to follow around Stockport town centre.

Edgeleap, the Stockport County frog

Totally Stockport, the team behind Stockport's Business Improvement District (BID), rolled out a new art trail at the weekend, with Stockport's Giant Leap consisting of 19 decorated giant frog sculptures dotted around the town centre.

A frog decorated by Girlguiding Stockport

Each of the frogs has a different Stopfordian theme and have been designed by local artists, schools, businesses and community groups.

Stagecoach's 192 bus frog

I've managed to find 15 of the frogs in my two most recent wanders around town.

Sir Norman Frogster at the bottom of the infamous and historic Mealhouse Brow

Frog's were chosen as the 'things' to follow as they highlight the £1bn programme of investment and development that is regenerating Stockport, a giant leap forward for the town.

Strawberry Fields the frog, celebrating Strawberry Studios home in Stockport

The froggy art trail ends on the 28th September. Check out Stockport's Giant Leap website for more information.

Sir Hopsalot

  

Cornelius, the pyjamas wearing Holiday Inn frog

We're big fans of tickable lists and also followed the Totally Stockport Ice Trail last December. We're also ticking off the Invader pixel mosaic tile art in Manchester (and in London and Newcastle), as well as the Stockport green space list and the railway stations in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport (two left to visit) and Greater Manchester (lots to go). There is one Stockport tickable list we won't be attempting to complete though!

This froggy character by Totally Stockport was part of the Ice Trail last December

Our main tickable list challenge is our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - where we've now visited 911 courses. When we began there were around 600 in the UK!

Links:
- Totally Stockport
- Marketing Stockport

Welsh Dragon Adventure Golf in Rhyl

Revisiting the Welsh Dragon Adventure Golf course in Rhyl.

Last week I swung by the Welsh Dragon Adventure Golf course in Rhyl, Wales.

We first played the course on our trip around the coast of Wales in the summer of 2009. Back then it became the 146th course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

We revisited the course in September 2014, September 2017 and January 2018.

Related blog posts:
- Rhyl
- Welsh Dragon
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour