A visit to Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City in London.
We celebrated my birthday with a game of super tech mini golf at Puttshack while down in London. It was the first time we've played a course using technology-enabled balls.
A Puttshack ball
Waiting for take-off!
We played a round on the Emerald course - one of four 9-hole layouts at Puttshack.
I'm always ready for minigolf
Once you place your ball on the tee you have to wait until the lights go green before teeing-off. You've then got one minute to play the ball.
Two apiece on hole one, but Emily was slightly quicker on her putting
Time is against you on each subsequent putt and the quicker you play, the more points you'll pick up. However, accuracy is required and so you still need to get the ball in the hole in the least shots possible.
There are also 'Super Tube' holes on the course which give you a nice route to the cup and are the best chance for a hole-in-one. Emily managed to hit two aces during our game.
Emily about to shoot an ace
Hole 8 was interesting as there were three routes to the cup - the tricky Super Tube, a tunnel to the left and a tunnel to the right. Which tunnel you putted through depended on whether you knew the answer to a question that appeared on the screen when you placed the ball on the tee. Luckily I got my question right and picked up some extra points, while Emily was incorrect and dropped ten points.
The question hole
Spin the wheel...
...to win a prize or points...
...or not as was the case in our game
Minigolf roulette
Sgt Putters Club Band
Emily hit an ace on hole 7
Emily picked up the win in our match-up with a score of 390 points to my 376.
I lost
Unfortunately there aren't any scorecards to take away with you after playing at Puttshack, nor are your scores emailed to you. It's a real shame as we didn't take note of the number of strokes on each hole, or the points we picked up along the way. According to the screens Emily took 17 shots while I played 19 strokes.
After our game we had some drinks and Emily enjoyed some food at the venue. It was nice to see branded wet-wipes at the course, one of which is now in the Crazy Golf Museum's vaults.
Puttshack White City was the brand's first location and opened at Westfield London in 2018. The second Puttshack opened at intu Lakeside in August this year. The new Puttshack at Bank is due to open on Saturday 23rd November. There are also plans for a new Puttshack to open in Watford next year. For more information visit the Puttshack website.
A new Birdies Crazy Golf course is opening in Battersea, London.
The team at Birdies are opening a new Crazy Golf course in Battersea later this year.
The new indoor Birdies Crazy Golf course will be housed inside a tunnel at Battersea Power Station. As well as the minigolf course the venue will offer street food and a bar.
For the last few years you've been able to play Birdies rooftop Crazy Golf at the SFG Club at Roof East in Stratford.
Our friends Tom and Robin over at A Couple of Putts have been posting their favourite scary miniature golf holes and obstacles on social media this month using the hashtag #Puttober.
A look at some of the stranger miniature golf and cue-sports crossover games we've played.
On our travels we've seen quite a few variations of hybrid minigolf / golf / pool / snooker / billiards games including Crazy Golf Pool and Pit-Pat, as well as some Crazy Golf obstacles that have used pool and snooker tables.
A look back at Gorleston Putting Green in Norfolk.
Back in May 2009 we visited Gorleston-on-Sea in Norfolk for the first time and swung by the Putting Green on the seafront.
It was late in the day when we arrived at the course
When we returned to the seaside town in June 2010 we were able to play the nearby Pops Meadow Putting Green but didn't have time to revisit the Putting Green.
There was also a sign for the Bure Park Pitch & Putt at the Putting Green. That's a course we've got to check out the next time we're in the area.
