Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Swingers West End Crazy Golf in London

Playing at Swingers West End Crazy Golf in London.


Swingers West End Crazy Golf in London

We played the superb Big Wheel course at Swingers West End Crazy Golf in London on Saturday morning.


Swingers West End Crazy Golf in London
Playing the Big Wheel on hole 9

The indoor Crazy Golf layouts at Swingers have a seaside theme and are set inside a very nice environment to spend a few hours.


Swingers West End Crazy Golf in London
Emily about to ace hole 4

We both scored 22 over 9-holes, but as it was my birthday I won.

Swingers West End Crazy Golf in London
Top of the podium

There were some quite tricky holes, although with a bit of practice most could be aceable. Emily shot holes-in-one on holes 4 and 9.

Swingers West End Crazy Golf in London
Emily with a tricky second putt on hole 8

We've always found Swingers Crazy Golf courses to be extremely well done. From first entering the venue until the point you leave it's a pleasure to be there. The obstacles and greens are well designed and are very pleasing to look at. The putters and balls are high quality and the scorecards are incredibly well done.

Swingers West End Crazy Golf in London
When you see the full fold out scorecard it's a thing of beauty

Swingers West End Crazy Golf in London
There's always a BIG loop-di-loop at Swingers Crazy Golf

During our round we enjoyed some drinks on the course. Each hole has a little table to hold your drinks which is a very nice touch.

Swingers West End Crazy Golf in London
Hole 1

Swingers West End Crazy Golf in London
Hole 2

Swingers West End Crazy Golf in London
Hole 3

Swingers West End Crazy Golf in London
Hole 4

Swingers West End Crazy Golf in London
Hole 6

Swingers West End Crazy Golf in London
Hole 7

Swingers West End Crazy Golf in London
Hole 8

Swingers West End Crazy Golf in London
Hole 9

Swingers West End Crazy Golf in London
The green of hole 9

After our round Emily ordered some delicious food from Breddos Tacos and had a very nice Old Fashioned with it.

Swingers West End Crazy Golf in London
There's a private bar area between the two courses

Swingers West End Crazy Golf in London
Having a nice sit down

We played the first Swingers pop-up Crazy Golf course in Shoreditch back in September 2014. The brand has grown since then, with Swingers in The City opening next to the Gherkin in 2016, a course I played in 2017.

We're looking forward to playing at Swingers Crazy Golf again in the future.

Swingers West End Crazy Golf in London
The Helter Skelter course at Swingers

Swingers West End Crazy Golf in London
Hole 2 and 3 on the Helter Skelter course

Swingers West End Crazy Golf in London
Hole 9 - the Helter Skelter

Some of the merch available at Swingers Crazy Golf
Some of the merch available at Swingers

For more information visit the Swingers Crazy Golf website.

Halloween in the USA - Part IV

A look at some brilliant Halloween decorations from the USA.


Emily was recently in the US and while there spotted some superb Halloween decorations.


A headless horseman at Home Depot
A headless horseman at Home Depot

Unfortunately there wasn't enough room in her luggage to bring any back for us to decorate our house with.


There are now only 9 days to Halloween!

Our friends at A Couple of Putts have created the hashtag #Puttober to share all things Halloweeney at miniature golf courses.

Check out my blog post about Halloween-themed minigolf courses and events to see what's happening.

Monday, October 21, 2019

St Mark's Community Association Crazy Golf course in Sunderland

A look at the Crazy Golf course at St Mark's Community Association in Sunderland.


Crazy Golf course at St Mark's Community Association in Sunderland

While in the North East during a road-trip to Scotland in April 2012 we swung by St Mark's Community Association in Sunderland as we'd heard about the then new Crazy Golf course there.


St Mark's Community Association in Sunderland

Unfortunately we couldn't find anyone to hire clubs and balls from so were unable to play the very nice looking 7-hole course.


Crazy Golf course at St Mark's Community Association in Sunderland

Crazy Golf course at St Mark's Community Association in Sunderland

During that trip north we visited a total of 49 courses, playing 13 of them.

The Crazy Golf course at St Mark's Community Association in Sunderland was the 495th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We've now been to 933 courses since September 2006.

Playing Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City

A visit to Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City in London.


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.


Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City in London
A Puttshack ball

Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City in London
Waiting for take-off!

We played a round on the Emerald course - one of four 9-hole layouts at Puttshack.


Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City in London
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.

Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City in London
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.

Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City in London

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.

Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City in London
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.

Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City in London
The question hole

Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City in London

Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City in London
Spin the wheel...

Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City in London
...to win a prize or points...

Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City in London
...or not as was the case in our game

Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City in London
Minigolf roulette

Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City in London

Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City in London
Sgt Putters Club Band

Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City in London
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.

Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City in London
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.

Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City in London

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 super tech mini golf at White City in London

Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City in London

I first visited Puttshack while in London last December. The Christmas party season was in full swing and the courses were heaving!

Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City in London
One of the three courses was asleep when we arrived, but was busy by the time we left

Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City in London
The Sapphire course

Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City in London
A view of the Sapphire course

Puttshack super tech mini golf at White City in London
A pool-themed hole on the Sapphire course

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.

Pitch and Putt at Walton Hall and Gardens in Warrington

A look at the Pitch and Putt course at Walton Hall and Gardens in Warrington.


Pitch and Putt at Walton Hall and Gardens in Warrington

We've visited Walton Hall and Gardens in Warrington a couple of times on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.


The first time was to play the old Crazy Golf course and Putting Green back in 2009.


The second time was in 2016 when we played the new Adventure Golf course.

Next time we'll have to have a go on the Pitch and Putt course there.

Pitch and Putt at Walton Hall and Gardens in Warrington

New Birdies indoor Crazy Golf course opening in London

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.


There's a new indoor Birdies Crazy Golf course opening in Battersea, London

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.

For more information visit the Birdies website.

We played the first Birdies pop-up crazy golf course when it was in The Vaults underneath Waterloo station in 2015. Back then it was among the first wave of new-style of 'competitive socialising' miniature golf venues in London.

Birdies Crazy Golf Club
Playing at Birdies Crazy Golf Club in 2015

That course became the 672nd visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 390th we played.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

The Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in Great Yarmouth

A look at the lost Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in Great Yarmouth.


On our last visit to Great Yarmouth in Norfolk back in July 2016 we swung by Castaway Island Mini Golf.


Castaway Island Mini Golf in Great Yarmouth
The entrance to Castaway Island Mini Golf

The new course replaced the 9-hole and 18-hole Arnold Palmer Putting courses on the promenade.


Hole 1 of the Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Great Yarmouth
Hole 1 of the 18-hole Arnold Palmer Putting Course

Those old courses were the 22nd and 23rd courses played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in June 2007.

We're looking forward to our next visit to the seaside resort. It'll be brilliant to be back to see what's changed and what's stayed the same.