Torre Abbey Pitch 'n' Putt course in Torquay

A look back at our visit to the Torre Abbey Pitch 'n' Putt course in Torquay, Devon.

On our summer holiday around the South West of England back in 2015 we visited 62 miniature golf courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

One of those courses was the Torre Abbey Pitch 'n' Putt course in Torquay, Devon.

The course was the 623rd visited on our travels.

Squeezing 62 course visits into two-weeks was a BIG task and it wasn't possible to stop at, or play all of the Mini, Crazy and Adventure Golf courses, or all the Putting Greens and Pitch & Putts we saw on the trip, or those we'd heard about beforehand.

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Mini Golf in the South West of England

Minigolfnews blog: Bringing an old minigolf course back to life

My latest blog post at Minigolfnews is about the work of Blackpool Fulfilling Lives and Blackpool & the Fylde Street Angels and the project bringing an old Crazy Golf course back to life.

The course wasn't in great condition before the project got underway

The teams at the two organisations in the seaside resort have joined forces to refresh and reopen the Princess Parade Crazy Golf course on Blackpool's North Shore.

You can view my guest blog posts at Minigolfnews.

Lost minigolf courses - the Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Exmouth

A look at the Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Exmouth, Devon.

We stayed in Exmouth, Devon for part of our summer holiday in June 2015 so we could visit the Arnold Palmer Putting Course on the seafront.

Sadly the course wasn't open when we swung by in June 2015

Unfortunately the course wasn't open on the day we visited and even more unfortunate is the fact that the course is now consigned to history as it was demolished in 2016.

A view of the 10-hole course

I'm a BIG fan of Arnold Palmer Putting Courses and the Exmouth layout looked superb.

The classic windmill obstacle was on hole 3 at Exmouth

It was a 10-hole course, with a lucky 11th hole where you could win a free game if you rang the bell with your shot.

Hole 1

Hole 2

Hole 4

Hole 5

The Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Exmouth was the 611th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Hole 10 was a waterwheel obstacle

The venue in Exmouth was also home to a grass Putting course

The first Arnold Palmer Putting Course in the UK opened in Coventry in 1965 and was part of an Arnold Palmer Driving Range. A course was also located at a Driving Range in Sheffield.

A classic Arnold Palmer Putting Course sign

Sadly over the years a number of Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in the UK have been closed, abandoned, demolished or converted beyond recognition.

As well as the loss of the Exmouth Arnold Palmer course, the two Arnold Palmer courses in Great Yarmouth have been replaced by one Adventure Golf course. The two courses in Cliftonville, Margate were closed in 2014 and removed shortly after. The course that was once in Folkestone is no longer playable - as it was used to make an art installation on the promenade.

Luckily you can still find playable examples of Arnold Palmer Putting Courses - in varying conditions and some with modifications - in the following locations:

• Bognor Regis - built in 1993
• Broadstairs - built in 1995
• Caister-on-Sea (Haven Holiday Park)
• Canvey Island (9 holes of an 18 hole course remain)
• Cleethorpes
• Filey (Primrose Valley Holiday Park)
• Gorleston-on-Sea
• Hastings
• Mablethorpe (Haven Golden Sands Caravan Holiday Park)
• Mablethorpe (Hooks Island)
• Prestatyn
• Skegness x2 (9 and 18 hole courses)
• Southend-on-Sea (1 of 2 courses remain - the 'East' course) - upgraded
• Southport
• Weston-Super-Mare
• Whitby

A scorecard from the Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in Skegness - this has a wonderful listing of other courses. Some of these still exist, while others have closed

Lost Arnold Palmer Putting Courses:

• Ayr (Haven Craig Tara Holiday Park, formerly Butlin's)
• Battersea
• Blackpool, Starr Gate
• Bognor Regis (Butlin's)
• Camber Sands - now a Car Park
• Cliftonville, Margate (2 courses)
• Coventry
• Eastbourne
• Exmouth
• Folkestone - now an Art Installation on Beach Huts!
• Goodrington
• Great Yarmouth (2 courses) - turned into Castaway Adventure Golf
• Hornsea Potteries
• Hove
• Ladram Bay
• Leicester
• Manchester
• Minehead (Butlin's)
• Nottingham
• Prestatyn
• Pwhelli (Butlin's)
• Rhyl
• Scarborough
• Sheffield
• South Shields
• Southend-on-Sea ('West' course demolished)
• Tynemouth
• Weymouth
• Whitley Bay
• Withernsea

If you know of any Arnold Palmer Putting Courses missing from the lists above please do get in touch.

Of the 912 courses we've visited since September 2006, 25 have been Arnold Palmer Putting Course locations.

Related blog posts:
- Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in the UK
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Exmouth

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Crazy Golf course on the Promenade in Ilfracombe, Devon

A look back at our visit to the Crazy Golf course in Ilfracombe, Devon.

During our summer holiday around the South West of England back in 2015 we visited 62 miniature golf courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The last of the seaside courses on the trip, and the penultimate course visited, was the 12-hole Crazy Golf course on the Promenade in Ilfracombe, Devon.

The course was the 660th visited on our travels.

 

A rocket hole

What a space ship!

A view of the 'moon' green

The last hole is really long!

A view of hole 12

A look back at hole 12 from the green

For more information check out the Ilfracombe Crazy Golf course website.

Squeezing 62 course visits into two-weeks was a BIG task and it wasn't possible to stop at, or play all of the Mini, Crazy and Adventure Golf courses, or all the Putting Greens and Pitch & Putts we saw on the trip, or those we'd heard about beforehand.

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Mini Golf in the South West of England

Result of the Paradise Island Adventure Golf Open Championship in Manchester

Emily Gottfried from Cheadle Hulme wins the Paradise Island Adventure Golf Open Championship in Manchester.

Emily playing hole 11 of the Paradise Island Adventure Golf course

Emily Gottfried has won the 2019 Paradise Island Adventure Golf Open Championship held at the Trafford Centre.

The annual PIAG Open competition takes place across Paradise Island Adventure Golf's seven venues and is the largest Open miniature golf tournament in the UK with thousands of players competing across three age categories at each venue.

Emily scored a course record of 30 on the Temple Ruins layout to win the competition. The course par is 42. Her round included seven holes-in-one on the 18-hole course.

Emily, 37 said "I am so happy to win the PIAG Open in Manchester. It's a great course that I really enjoy playing, so to get seven aces in my round was really nice. There are a lot of well-designed and aceable holes at the Trafford Centre course, so I'm really pleased I managed to get my best ever round there for the tournament on Sunday. I can't wait to play again already. The trophy is wonderful too!"

Emily and her husband Richard, 38 are minigolf addicts and regularly travel the UK playing courses. Together they have visited 912 Crazy, Mini and Adventure Golf courses since September 2006.

Richard was the defending Paradise Island Adventure Golf Open Champion, but had to settle for third place this year.

Putting course at the Boating Lake in Perranporth, Cornwall

A look back at our visit to the Putting course at the Boating Lake in Perranporth, Cornwall.

During our summer holiday around the South West of England back in 2015 we visited 62 miniature golf courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Perranporth was one of the nicest seasides we've visited on our travels

One of those courses was the Putting Green at the Boating Lake in Perranporth Gardens, Cornwall.

What a setting for a game of miniature golf

The course was the 638th visited on our tour.

A sign for the Putting course

A pair of signs for the boating and putting in Perranporth 

The prices for the Putting course

Fitting 62 course visits into two-weeks was a BIG task and it wasn't possible to stop at, or play all of the Mini, Crazy and Adventure Golf courses, or all the Putting Greens and Pitch & Putts we saw on the trip, or those we'd heard about beforehand.

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Mini Golf in the South West of England

Emily wins the 2019 Paradise Island Adventure Golf Open Championship

Emily Gottfried wins the Paradise Island Adventure Golf Open Championship at the Trafford Centre in Manchester.

The 2019 Paradise Island Adventure Golf Open Champion - Emily Gottfried

Emily is the 2019 Paradise Island Adventure Golf Open Champion after winning the tournament held last weekend.

Emily scored a course record of 30 on the Temple Ruins layout - the course par is 42 - which was enough to fend off the challenge of thousands of other players who competed over the four-day event. Her round included seven holes-in-one on the 18-hole course.

The PIAG champ

As well as the nice trophy Emily received a 6-month free game pass so we enjoyed another round yesterday evening. We're looking forward to our next minigolf match-ups at Paradise Island Adventure Golf.

Emily playing hole 11 of the Temple Ruins course at Paradise Island Adventure Golf

The annual PIAG Open competition takes place across the brand's seven venues and is the largest Open tournament in the UK with thousands of players competing across three age categories at each venue. The 2020 tournament will see players also compete at the new Paradise Island Adventure Golf site in Plymouth.

More details on the PIAG courses in Manchester, Cheshire Oaks, Glasgow, Livingston, Sheffield, Derby, Rushden Lakes and Plymouth can be found on the Paradise Island Adventure Golf website.

Related blog posts:
- Emily Gottfried - Player Profile
- Paradise Island Adventure Golf
- Playing the Paradise Island Adventure Golf courses at the Trafford Centre in Manchester