Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Magical Golf at Manning's Amusements in Felixstowe

A look at the Magical Crazy Golf course at Manning's Amusement Arcade in Felixstowe, Suffolk.


Magical Crazy Golf at Manning's Amusements in Felixstowe

Last Friday we swung by the Magical Crazy Golf course at Manning's Amusements in Felixstowe. It's one of our most visited courses and we've been going there since November 2006.


Magical Crazy Golf at Manning's Amusements in Felixstowe

Back then the indoor Adventure Golf course was known as Golf FX. At that time it was one of only two indoor minigolf courses in the UK.


Magical Crazy Golf at Manning's Amusements in Felixstowe

It's also been known as Magical Golf FX and Harry Putter Crazy Golf. It's currently called Magical Golf.

Magical Crazy Golf at Manning's Amusements in Felixstowe

The course was the fifth visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We've now been to 939 courses.

Magical Crazy Golf at Manning's Amusements in Felixstowe

Visit the Manning's Amusements website for more information.

Magical Crazy Golf at Manning's Amusements in Felixstowe
One of the long minigolf holes at the indoor course

Monday, December 09, 2019

Our 900th minigolf course visit in the British Isles

Visiting our 900th minigolf course in the British Isles.


Last Thursday we played the indoor Pirate Adventure Golf course at the New York Thunderbowl tenpin bowling centre in Kettering, Northamptonshire.


The 9-hole layout was the 900th minigolf course we've been to in the British Isles.


Pirate Adventure Golf course at the New York Thunderbowl tenpin bowling centre in Kettering, Northamptonshire
The Pirate Adventure Golf course at the New York Thunderbowl is a hidden gem in landlocked Northamptonshire

When our minigolfing adventures began in 2006 there were 600 miniature golf courses in the UK. There are now around 1,200 places to play the game. We visited our 600th course at Goodrington Sands in Paignton, Devon.

We've now been to 900 courses in the British Isles and 939 courses overall.

Our 900th course visit, including overseas venues, was at the North Bay Crazy Golf course in Scarborough earlier this summer.

More pics and info from our visit to the New York Thunderbowl to follow.

There's no I in Christmas

Spotted in Cheadle.

What's wrong with this picture?

I don't mind Christmas being shortened to Xmas, but I draw the line at this dropping of the 'i'.

Fantasia Adventure Golf in Felixstowe

A return to the Fantasia Adventure Golf course in Felixstowe.


Fantasia Adventure Golf course on Sea Road in Felixstowe

The Fantasia Adventure Golf course on Sea Road in Felixstowe is one of our most visited courses. We've been playing there since November 2006.


Fantasia Adventure Golf course on Sea Road in Felixstowe
Hole 3

The course was the seventh visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We've now been to 900 courses in the British Isles and 939 overall.


Fantasia Adventure Golf course on Sea Road in Felixstowe
Hole 4

We visited the course on our return to the seaside town last Friday.

Fantasia Adventure Golf course on Sea Road in Felixstowe
Hole 1

Fantasia Adventure Golf course on Sea Road in Felixstowe
Hole 1

Fantasia Adventure Golf course on Sea Road in Felixstowe
Hole 2

Fantasia Adventure Golf course on Sea Road in Felixstowe
Hole 2 

Fantasia Adventure Golf course on Sea Road in Felixstowe
Hole 9

Savage Golf minigolf pop-up in Norwich

A look at the pop-up Crazy Golf course in Norwich.


Savage Golf in Norwich. Photo by Christopher Gottfried, 8th December 2019

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour member Christopher Gottfried played the new 9-hole Savage Golf pop-up in Norwich yesterday.


Savage Golf in Norwich. Photo by Christopher Gottfried, 8th December 2019

The Savage Golf course and cocktail bar is open until Saturday 21st December and can be found on St Stephens Street in Norwich city centre.

Savage Golf in Norwich. Photo by Christopher Gottfried, 8th December 2019

Savage Golf in Norwich. Photo by Christopher Gottfried, 8th December 2019

Savage Golf in Norwich. Photo by Christopher Gottfried, 8th December 2019

Savage Golf in Norwich. Photo by Christopher Gottfried, 8th December 2019

Savage Golf in Norwich. Photo by Christopher Gottfried, 8th December 2019

Savage Golf in Norwich. Photo by Christopher Gottfried, 8th December 2019

Savage Golf in Norwich. Photo by Christopher Gottfried, 8th December 2019

Savage Golf in Norwich. Photo by Christopher Gottfried, 8th December 2019

Visit the Savage Golf website for more information.

Together we've now visited 962 courses on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

New Adventure Golf at Sittingbourne Golf Centre in Kent

A new Adventure Golf course is being built at Sittingbourne Golf Centre in Kent.


A new Adventure Golf course is being built at Sittingbourne Golf Centre in Kent

Sittingbourne Golf Centre in Tonge, Kent will be home to a new Adventure Golf course next year.


Work is underway to create the new minigolf course as part of developments at the golf centre.


We look forward to playing the course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Sunday, December 08, 2019

Pretend to be a Time Traveler Day

Today is Pretend to be a Time Traveler Day.


The first Pretend to be a Time Traveler Day took place in 2007.


In 2017 Emily visited the Time Machine Minigolf course in Warsaw, Poland.


Time Machine Minigolf in Warsaw, Poland
Time Machine Minigolf in Warsaw, Poland

The 18-hole minigolf course takes players through a wonderful time travelling adventure - from the Big Bang, to the Jurassic era, through mankind's achievements and to a vision of the future!

My brother Christopher also visited the time travel themed GlowGolf minigolf course in Amsterdam in January 2017.

GlowGolf indoor minigolf course in Amsterdam by Christopher Gottfried January 2017
A Time Machine at the GlowGolf indoor minigolf course in Amsterdam

The closest I've been to time travel was when I saw my first real-life DeLorean earlier this year.

A DeLorean car in Didsbury, Manchester
My first DeLorean

Although back in 2012 I did play a Time Machine minigolf hole at the Golf Apocalypse in London.


If you could travel to any point in the history of minigolf from 1867 to the present day where would you go?

Thursday, December 05, 2019

New Adventure Golf for Southport Pleasureland

A new Adventure Golf course is planned to open at Southport Pleasureland.


A new Adventure Golf course is planned to open at Southport Pleasureland

A new year-round Dinosaur Adventure Golf course is planned to open at Southport Pleasureland


We've really enjoyed our visits to Southport Pleasureland, especially around Halloween.


Southport is one of our local seasides and we've played minigolf there a number of times over the years.

We first visited Southport back in 2009. At that time the old Pleasure Land theme park had recently closed down and therefore we were unable to play the Moroccan Adventure Golf course there.

The old Moroccan Adventure Golf course at Southport Pleasure Land in September 2009
The old Moroccan Adventure Golf course at Southport Pleasure Land in September 2009

The new Southport Pleasureland is well worth a visit.

Check out the Southport Pleasureland website.

Today is International Ninja Day

Happy International Ninja Day.


Ninja Golf! in Granger, Indiana, USA is one of the miniature golf courses in the USA that we really want to play on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.


Ninja Golf! in Granger, Indiana, USA
One of the pieces of superb merch from Ninja Golf!

I bet our friend Pat Sheridan aka Accounting Ninja from The Putting Penguin will be celebrating.


Pat Sheridan aka Accounting Ninja from The Putting Penguin minigolf website at Putt in the Park, Wandsworth
This is what a Minigolf Ninja looks like

The Day of the Ninja was created by Ninja Burger in 2003.

Wednesday, December 04, 2019

New scorecards in the Crazy Golf Museum

A look at two minigolf scorecards from the USA.


Pat Sheridan from The Putting Penguin minigolf review website has kindly contributed two new miniature golf scorecards to the Crazy Golf Museum's archives.


First is a scorecard from Mountasia Family Fun Center in Santa Clarita, California, USA.

Minigolf scorecard from Mountasia Family Fun Center in Santa Clarita, California, USA


The second is from the Hole 19 pop-up bar and minigolf course in Los Angeles.

Minigolf scorecard from the Hole 19 pop-up bar and minigolf course in Los Angeles, USA

Minigolf scorecard from the Hole 19 pop-up bar and minigolf course in Los Angeles, USA

It's always brilliant to see minigolf scorecards and items from courses around the world.

Check out the The Putting Penguin minigolf review website to see more from Pat's minigolfing travels.

Happy National Dice Day

Today is National Dice Day.


Crazy Golf at Royal Victoria Country Park in Netley, Southampton
Crazy Golf at Royal Victoria Country Park in Netley, Southampton

We've rolled through a few dicey obstacles on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.


All of them made by the team at DK Fibreglass.


Crazy Golf at the Vegas Amusements in Hunstanton
Crazy Golf at the Vegas Amusements in Hunstanton

Crazy Golf course at Ancaster Karting in Grantham
Crazy Golf course at Ancaster Karting in Grantham
  
Crazy Golf at Royal Victoria Country Park in Netley, Southampton
Crazy Golf at Royal Victoria Country Park in Netley, Southampton

Crazy Golf at the Victorian Pavilion in Hunstanton
Crazy Golf at the Victorian Pavilion in Hunstanton

Crazy Golf at the Merrivale in Great Yarmouth
Crazy Golf at the Merrivale in Great Yarmouth

Crazy Golf at Verulamium Park in St Albans
Crazy Golf at Verulamium Park in St Albans

Check out the National Day Calendar website for more information on National Dice Day.

600th blog post of the year

What a year of blogging and minigolf it's been.


This year has been my biggest year of blogging.


This is my 600th blog post of 2019.


October was also my bloggiest month of all-time as I published 101 posts on the site.

Earlier this month the Ham and Egger Files hit 1.6 million page views too!

Thank you to everyone for reading the blog and contributing with photos of courses, tips about where to play and news on new courses opening.

600 is a significant number for us.


When our minigolfing adventures began in 2006 there were 600 miniature golf courses in the UK. There are now around 1,200 places to play the game.


We visited our 600th course overall at the Santa Fe Fun Park in Swanage, Dorset in the summer of 2015.

Jurassic Adventure Golf in Swanage
Jurassic Adventure Golf in Swanage

We visited our 600th course in the UK on that same two-week road-trip when we played Mini Golf at Goodrington Sands in Paignton, Devon.

Mini Golf in Goodrington Sands
Mini Golf in Goodrington Sands

We've now been to 899 courses in the British Isles and 938 courses overall.

It's very very very likely that we'll visit our 900th miniature golf course in the British Isles this week!

enewsletter minigolf round-up

Even though winter has well and truly hit us here in Stockport we've still been busy getting out and about visiting and playing miniature golf courses.


Last weekend we went to Warrington for the first time and played the funfair and circus themed indoor adventure golf course at the Superbowl tenpin bowling fun centre. That was the 899th course we've been to in the British Isles!


Putters Adventure Golf in Warrington
On the Dodgems hole at Putters Adventure Golf in Warrington

Overall we've now visited 938 courses including the 39 overseas courses.


When you factor in the courses in the UK and nine overseas countries that Christopher Gottfried has been to on his own branch of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour we've visited 961 courses overall.

When our travels began back in September 2006 there were around 600 courses in the UK. That number has grown massively in the last eight years and there are now 1,200 or so places to play minigolf. When we first set out to visit all the courses in the country there were only two indoor courses. They have been joined by around 100 other indoor minigolf venues so there are a lot of places you can play minigolf year round.

Check out our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour list of courses for links to the courses we've been to.

You can read the latest issue of our newsletter, subscribe and see past editions online.

Junkyard Golf's new London location is now open

Junkyard Golf is now open on Worship Street in London.


The team at Junkyard Golf have now moved locations in London with four new indoor Crazy Golf courses now set-up at a new site on Worship Street.


Junkyard Golf is now open on Worship Street in London

You can find Junkyard Golf courses in Manchester, London, Oxford, Leeds and Liverpool.


I played the courses at Junkyard Golf's former London location on Brick Lane in 2017.

Find out more on the Junkyard Golf website.

Related blog posts:
- Junkyard Golf
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

A Christmas Frog in Stockport

Stockport's Giant Leap continues...

We were in town yesterday evening to attend a wonderful performance of A Christmas Carol at the Garrick Theatre. On our wander from Redrock to the theatre we spotted there's a new Stockport Frog outside the Merseyway shopping centre!

Christmas frog in Stockport town centre
The new Christmas frog in Stockport town centre

Totally Stockport, the team behind Stockport's Business Improvement District (BID), organised Stockport's Giant Leap art trail consisting of 22 decorated giant frog sculptures dotted around the town centre during the summer.

It was a nice surprise to see the Christmas frog in town.