Around the world in 9 minigolf holes

A minigolf trip around the world.

While the outdoor playing part of our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour is on hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic it doesn't stop us taking a trip around the world by looking back at the Glo-Golf course in Andover.

Our road-trip to Southampton last May saw us visit 18 more courses, playing eight of them. One of those was the 9-hole indoor Glo-Golf course at the Riverside Bowl in Andover.

Each of the holes on the Glo-Golf course is themed on a certain city or country.

Hole 1 - the Netherlands

Hole 2 - London, England

Hole 3 - Paris, France

Hole 4 - Parts Unknown! What country is this? That looks like the Italian flag. But Leopards aren't native to Italy

Hole 5 - The Great Wall of China

Hole 6 - Where is this? Could it by Thailand? Or is it Japan? Or somewhere else in South East Asia? The flag on the building to the left is part of the Thailand flag, but missing the red lines above the white lines

Hole 7 - Australia

Hole 8 - Brazil

Hole 9 - New York City, USA

Visit the Riverside Bowl website for more information.

Putting at Highcliffe-on-Sea

A look at an old minigolf postcard from Highcliffe-on-Sea.

We bought this nice old postcard showing a Putting Green while we were at the most recent Stockport postcard fair.

The Isle of Wight from Highcliffe-on-Sea. PT3098

We hadn't seen this particular card before and had never heard of Highcliffe-on-Sea.

The town is part of Christchurch borough in Dorset.

The card is postally unused, undated and has no publisher details on it. There is a code of PT3098 on it though. The details on the reverse say "The Isle of Wight from Highcliffe-on-Sea".

It's always nice to see old minigolf postcards. Some give us clues of new places to play, while others show long lost miniature golf layouts.

We had planned to visit Dorset at the end of this month, but that trip has been postponed until after the UK coronavirus lockdown. We'll have to go to Highcliffe-on-Sea and see what's at the same spot now.

I'd be very interested to hear from anyone who remembers the course and knows exactly where it was.

Looking online to see if there's still a course there my eye was drawn to the nearby Hoburne Naish Holiday Park in Barton on Sea where I noticed a minigolf course! Another one to add to our list...

Playing Crazy Golf at Haigh Woodland Park in Wigan

A visit to the Crazy Golf course at Haigh Woodland Park in Wigan.

On Saturday 8th April 2017 we headed to Haigh Woodland Park in Wigan to compete in the Great Northern Minigolf Open tournament played out on the two miniature golf courses in the park.

The second course played was the old Crazy Golf layout operated by the Friends of Haigh Country Park group.

At just £1 per game the course was the lowest price we'd ever found for an 18-hole course on our travels. Amazing value for money. We still haven't anywhere charging less than a quid.

Celebrating an ace on the labyrinth hole

The 18-holes are a real hotch potch as the courses has been added to and refurbished by different people and groups over the years. It certainly made for a fun and challenging round.

It was also nice to see a Humpty on the course.

The Haigh Woodland Park Crazy Golf course was the 728th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 701st in the UK. It became the 428th played on our travels since September 2006.

We've now been to 948 courses overall.

I'd first visited the Country Park back in December 2012 when the course was partially derelict.

Playing Adventure Golf at Haigh Woodland Park in Wigan

Visiting the Adventure Golf course at Haigh Woodland Park in Wigan.

Three years ago we headed to Haigh Woodland Park in Wigan to contest the Great Northern Minigolf Open tournament on the two minigolf courses in the park.

First up was the Adventure Golf course.

It was the 700th course we visited in the British Isles and 727th overall. We've now been to 909 in the British Isles and 948 overall since 2006.

The Adventure Golf at Haigh Woodland Park in Wigan is a very large layout with some long holes and big obstacles.

Visit the Haigh Adventure Golf website for further information about the course.

The layout was designed and built by the team at HM Adventure Golf. Visit their website for more details on their work.

MuseumWeek 2020

MuseumWeek 2020 runs from the 11th to the 17th May.

Running from the 11th to 17th May, MuseumWeek is back for a seventh edition. This year MuseumWeek celebrates togetherness. The theme was adopted earlier this year and with the coronavirus pandemic reaching almost all areas of the world the idea of togetherness has come to take on more meaning in these times of social and physical distancing.



Over the week there are seven different hashtags focusing on a different area, with the overall theme of togetherness.

The hashtags are:
#HeroesMW
#CultureInQuarantineMW
#TogetherMW
#MuseumMomentsMW
#ClimateMW
#TechnologyMW
#DreamsMW
#MuseumWeek

Find out more on the MuseumWeek website.

The Crazy Golf Museum is celebrating it's tenth year in 2020. The worldwide archive of miniature golf memories, histories and ephemera opened it's online doors to the world on the 15th July 2010.

Buccaneer Bay Adventure Golf course in Littlehampton

Playing at Buccaneer Bay Adventure Golf in Norfolk Gardens, Littlehampton.

While we were down on the south coast last year we revisited the seaside town of Littlehampton and called in to Norfolk Gardens for a game on the Buccaneer Bay Adventure Golf course.

Playing hole 4 as 'His Excellency' Anthony Pope looks on

The course was the 381st played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in 2015 and I first visited it in 2012. We've now been to 948 courses since September 2006.

Since our first visits the course has been given a refurb, with fresh felt, new borders and a new pirate-theme.

Hole 9

The 9-hole course is really really big and has some very long holes on it.

Check out the course website for more information.

Splash Point Mini Golf at Denton Gardens, Worthing

A revisit to the Splash Point Mini Golf course in Worthing's Denton Gardens.

A year ago we'd just got back home from a brilliant weekend away down on the south coast. We stayed in sunny Worthing and of course had to have a game at the excellent Splash Point Mini Golf at Denton Gardens.

The hardest hole on the course

As we were up early we were the first to play the course that day. Marvellous.

In 2010 the 18-hole course in became the 181st course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. At this time last year we'd been to 862 courses. We've now visited 948 courses since September 2006.

Visit the Splash Point Mini Golf website and follow the course on Twitter and Instagram for more info.

Miniature Golf was first played in Denton Gardens on Tuesday 1st July 1924.

We've got a number of nice old postcards showing the park over the years.

A postcard from Butlin's Bognor Regis

The most recent Stockport postcard fair was a goldmine of nice old miniature golf postcards.

One of which was this John Hinde Ltd multi-view card showing The Putting Green at Butlin's Bognor Regis.

Butlin's Bognor Regis. John Hinde Ltd. Posted on 3 Aug 1981

The card was posted from the camp on 3rd August 1981 by Babs & Fred who were "Having a nice time." It was sent to Brightlingsea in Essex.

I always keep my eye out for old holiday camp postcards. They're fairly easy to spot as they tend to be nice and brightly coloured. There's also a good chance that minigolf or crazy golf will feature on them.

I wrote an article about Butlin's postcards in the November 2016 issue of Picture Postcard Monthly magazine. That piece was to celebrate the 80th birthday of Butlin's.

My family often went on holiday to the Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead. We also had one stay at the Bognor Regis and Ayr camps. I spent many summers in the 80's and 90's at the Barry Island Holiday Camp, itself a former Butlin's camp.

Dates for your (gluten free) diary

National Coeliac awareness days, weeks and months in 2020.

Upcoming important dates for your (gluten free) diary:

• May is Celiac Awareness Month.
• In the UK Coeliac Awareness Week 2020 (aka Gluten Free Community Week) runs from the 11th to the 17th May.
• International Coeliac Day is on Saturday 16th May.
• National Celiac Disease Awareness Day is on the 13th September this year.
• The week before Christmas is Gluten Free Baking Week.

Coeliac Disease (Celiac in the US and Canada) is a lifelong autoimmune disease caused by intolerance to gluten and the only treatment is to adhere to a strict lifelong gluten free diet.

In the UK it's estimated that 1 in 100 people have the condition.

Miniature Golf at Thermal Hotel Guayarmina on Gran Canaria

Who would like to be on holiday in the Canary Islands right now?

I found this old postcard of the Thermal Hotel Guayarmina in the Agaete Valley in the Canary Islands while looking for minigolf postcards at the most recent Stockport Town Hall postcard fair.

In among the advertised health and tranquility benefits of staying at the Thermal Hotel on Gran Canaria is Miniature Golf! I wonder what the course was like?

Emily was actually due to go on holiday to the Canary Islands this summer, with a trip to Lanzarote booked and now cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Check out the blog posts below for photos and details of courses friends and family have sent to us from their travels to the Canary Islands.

Mini Golf in Puerto del Carmen, Lanzarote by Jo Tubby

Rooftop Mini Golf in Puerto Del Carmen, Lanzarote by Steve Lovell and Brian Butterworth

Mini Golf in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote by Richard Rochester

Mini Golf Aquarium in Lanzarote by Les Tubby

Minigolf San Antonio in Lanzarote by Les Tubby

Mini Golf at the Mediterranean Palace Hotel in Tenerife by Jason Mayne 

Mini Golf course in Puerto Colón, Tenerife by Philip Walsh  

Billiard Golf tables in Puerto Colón, Tenerife by Philip Walsh

Competing in the American Golf National Adventure Golf Championship

A look back at the American Golf National Adventure Golf Championship.

A long second putt on the first hole at Clays Golf Centre in Wrexham

Three years ago today Peter Jones & I won the Welsh Qualifying Tournament at Clays Golf Centre in Wrexham to enter the grand final of the American Golf National Adventure Golf Championship.

With Peter Jones at the American Golf National Adventure Golf Championship Welsh Regional Qualifier in Wrexham

The televised final was played on the Ryder Legends Mini Golf course at The Belfry in Sutton Coldfield.

The Ryder Legends Mini Golf course at The Belfry

It was the first miniature golf tournament to be televised in the UK.

The qualifying event took place on the 9-hole Miniature Golf course at Clays Golf Centre in Wrexham. Each of the holes on the course are based on famous holes from regular golf.

Playing the par-5 fifth hole at Clays Golf Centre in Wrexham

Players earned their places in the final by competing in qualifying events at courses in England, Scotland and Wales:

• Great Western Golf Clydebank
• World of Golf Croydon
• Top Golf Watford
• Bristol Golf Centre
• Trent Lock, Long Eaton
• Clays Farm Golf Centre, Wrexham

The grand final of the tournament was a televised event and the competition was shown on Sky Sports Golf in November 2017. The National Adventure Golf Championships can be seen in the video below from 26m 55s.

Each of the 12-holes on the Ryder Legends Mini Golf course is based on a famous hole from 'big' golf. It's a tricky layout with some very long holes.

Peter Jones in action on the 3rd hole in the semi-final at The Belfry

Playing hole 3 in the final game at The Belfry

The American Golf Championship Tour Season Review programme can also be watched on the American Golf YouTube Channel with the Adventure Golf competition starting at 31m 33s.



The American Golf National Adventure Golf Championship was a brilliant event to compete in and to see ourselves in a televised event was superb. The matchplay format in the grand final was well suited for television.

A pre-final interview with Gemma Care from Sky Sports 

Qualifiers

Finalists

Fingers crossed we get to compete in another televised tournament in the future.

Links:

• American Golf
• Clays Golf Centre
• Sky Sports Golf
• The Belfry

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour update - April 2020

Out-of-Home Putting Paused by Pandemic.

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic we were closing in on visiting the final 40 courses of the original 600 we set out to play in 2006. We're also very close to hitting 1,000 course visits overall.

We've been to a total of 948 courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour travels since September 2006.

In recent years the minigolf and wider competitive socialising sectors have booming. Something we're very keen to continue once the world gets back to a semblance of normality.

Just because your local minigolf course may be closed over the coming few months doesn't mean you can't keep up with your putting practice and have some crazy golf fun at home.

As we're practicing safe social distancing we won't be heading out to a minigolf course until given the all clear to do so, but in the meantime we've put together a minigolf bucket list with ideas and suggestions of things to do in the world of miniature golf.

The Big Mini Golf Bucket List

In the meantime if you have any minigolf course news, ideas, suggestions or information, or if you would like to guest blog on the Ham & Egger Files please do get in touch.

Garden Minigolf

A look at Putting at Home.

We visited our 250th minigolf course ten years ago and it was one of the most unique layouts we've played.

The first, and to date only, garden shed I've putted into

We've now been to 948 miniature golf courses since 2006.

The 9-hole minigolf course was tailor-made and features some challenging obstacles and changeable holes!

It was built so games can vary from round to round and range from a 6-hole to a 9-hole course.

In 2011 I was runner-up in the London Invitational Tournament held at the course.

The marvellous back garden minigolf course was designed and built by UrbanCrazy, a UK-based minigolf business that designs and builds permanent miniature golf courses, provides portable layouts, supplies equipment and more.

Are you putting at home during the lockdown and isolation of social distancing?

We've seen quite a few indoor and garden crazy golf courses created over the last few weeks.

Our friends Pat and Mandy at The Putting Penguin were quick to organise the Putting Penguin Pandemic Putt Off – a stay-at-home putting competition with entries being submitted from around the world.

Our pals Tom and Robin at A Couple of Putts have also been logging all manner of isolation minigolf courses on their social media.

We've got plans for some indoor minigolf layouts too. We've also got quite a few minigolf games in the Crazy Golf Museum.

While a lot of the minigolf world is out of action, plans are still being drawn up for new courses, work is ongoing to finish courses where permissible, and ideas formulated for when it's safe to get back out on the course. If you'd like to have a chat about minigolf, marketing, minigolf marketing, or competitive socialising please do get in touch.

Winning the DinoFalls Adventure Golf Masters in Manchester

Looking back at the 2018 DinoFalls Adventure Golf Masters.

Two years ago today I won the DinoFalls Adventure Golf Masters competition at the Trafford Golf Centre in Manchester.

The 18-hole DinoFalls Adventure Golf course is a nice layout and is an eye-catching sight from the M60. It's recently been joined by another 18-hole course, that one has a volcano theme.

I've won four tournaments at the Trafford Golf Centre site. In addition to the DinoFalls Masters and the MMGC Invitational I won the 2009 Mini Masters and Mini Open on the 9-hole Championship Miniature Golf course which used to be at the venue. That course was the 84th played on our tour.

Check out the DinoFalls Adventure Golf website for more information.

A look back at the Krazy Golf course at Quest Merry Hill

Seven years ago today we headed to Dudley to play the Krazy Golf course at Merry Hill shopping centre.

The colourful and challenging 9-hole course was the 528th we visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. Sadly it's no longer there.

As people look for extra entertainment options while shopping there has been an increase in shopping centre minigolf courses, both in the UK and around the world.

The Lost Valley Adventure Golf at Amazonia

A look at The Lost Valley Adventure Golf at Amazonia in the Market Place shopping centre in Bolton.

It was the last course we visited before the social distancing lockdown commenced.

Back in December 2016 it became the 420th course played and 720th visited overall on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

We've now been to 948 courses since September 2006.

I wonder where number 949 will be?

A postcard from Pontins Prestatyn Holiday Centre

A look at an old postcard from Pontins Prestatyn Holiday Centre.

One of the old postcards I bought at the recent Stockport postcard fair was this one sent to Chester in 1987.

Pontin's Prestatyn Holiday Centre. Bamforth & Co. Ltd. Postally used in 1987

The Bamforth & Co. Ltd. card gives a nice view of the holiday camp.

Pontins Prestatyn Sands

Pontins Prestatyn Sands was the setting for the film Holiday on the Buses and we've stayed there twice for special events. The excellent swimming pool and main building on the card are still instantly recognisable today.

Outside the main building at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands holiday camp in 2014

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

One of my prized minigolf possessions is from the Pontins Holiday Village. It's something of a crazy golf postcard holy grail as the sender wrote about the course depicted on the card.

Pontin's Prestatyn Holiday Village. Photo Precision Limited R5605. Postally used 8 July 1977