Picture Postcard Magic - Bournemouth

Check out my guest post about minigolf postcards from Bournemouth on the Picture Postcard Magic blog from Reflections of a Bygone Age.

Guest blogger Richard Gottfried, King of mini-golf with a postcard collection to match, makes his debut in Picture Postcard Magic. What do you think of this theme for collecting? ⛳️https://t.co/H8hYRTKGei#MiniGolf pic.twitter.com/d2AldN0zOO

— Brian Lund (@Postcard_World) April 28, 2020

The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing ebook

My ebook to help minigolf players better market themselves, their clubs, tournaments and courses is available to purchase from Amazon and Kobo.

A BIG thank you to everyone who has bought a copy of the book since I published it in May 2017. It's very much appreciated.

I've been really pleased to see the ebook bought and used by a number of minigolf associations and federations, course owners and managers, bloggers, course reviewers and competition players around the world.

As a minigolfer with over a decade of experience as a tournament competitor and years of experience in marketing and communications I designed the guide so that anyone interested or involved in minigolf could help promote the game. It's a niche title, but an audience and subject I know a lot about.

Playing in the World Crazy Golf Championships

Writing the book was brilliant and enabled me to bring two areas of my life together. I've worked in marketing since 2003 and have played minigolf since I was a child. Stepping up to compete on the national minigolf tour circuit and in international tournaments opened my eyes to the potential of the game. I’ve also had the honour of serving on the committees of the British Minigolf Association (BMGA) and the World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF).

Minigolf is a sport for all. People of all ages, sexes, backgrounds and abilities can pick up a putter and play the game.

When Emily and I began travelling around the country on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour there were around 600 courses in the UK. We've now visited 948 courses, including 39 overseas.

There are a huge amount of interesting and fun stories to tell and positive aspects to highlight to potential players, the media, sponsors and the wider sporting community. The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing should give federations, associations, clubs and our fellow players ideas, inspiration and support in their marketing efforts.

Much of the guidance could also be applied to a number of other sports clubs and organisations to help raise their profile and boost memberships.

Buy The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing ebook on Amazon.

Buy The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing ebook on Kobo.

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 competitive socialising, minigolf, marketing, or minigolf marketing do get in touch.

May is Celiac Awareness Month

This month is Celiac Awareness Month.

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, in the USA the figure is 1 in 133.

It's important to know and remember that Celiac/Coeliac is NOT an allergy, it's NOT a preference, it's NOT a fad, it's NOT a diet, it's NOT an intolerance, it's NOT a choice - it's an AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE.

Visit the Beyond Celiac website for more information.

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.

This year marks my 12th year living gluten free. I was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease in June 2008.

Check out my gluten free, celiac and coeliac disease blog posts.

Luckily I've found some 100% gluten free places that are safe for people with Coeliac Disease. I'm really looking forward to visiting them again once the coronavirus pandemic is over.

A Putting Green postcard from Butlin's Pwllheli

A look at The Putting Green at Butlin's Pwllheli.

Butlin's Pwllheli Putting Green. Real Butlin's photograph numbered P8. Postally used on 10th August 1966

The Putting Green looks a little more makeshift than on later Butlin's postcards.

I have another postcard showing the Putting Greens and Lawns at Butlin's Pwllheli holiday camp in my collection.

The next normal rules of minigolf

A look at how minigolf will be played after lockdown.

With social distancing in place for the foreseeable future the way we access goods, services and experiences will continue to be quite different to pre-pandemic times.

Minigolf was among the fun leisure experiences that were previously very easy to pay to access, pick-up and play.

The rules of indoor minigolf at Lane7 (2018)

In recent times some of the newer more 'wet led' indoor miniature golf courses such as Swingers, Junkyard Golf, Ghetto Golf, Lane7, Caddies, Puttshack, Birdies, Caddyshackers, House of Holes, BCK YRD GOLF, Teezers, Fore Play Crazy Golf, Puttstars etc. have required or encouraged online bookings and payment online and in advance, although most still 'hold back' a set number of tee-off times for walk in customers.

Many of these new style of competitive socialising courses are 18+ venues and more of a bar with a minigolf course-attached, rather than the traditional minigolf course with snack & drink kiosk found at the seaside or in public parks. As these venues will have capacity limits for people inside the venue online booking tools are essential in managing peak times, as well as being a great way to promote the business through digital channels.

Quite a few of the newer Adventure Golf courses, both indoor and outdoor, have been created with a strong online element to the business, with online bookings seen as the norm for a lot of players, rather than encouraging 'walk up' players as was traditionally the way to participate.

Interestingly those new indoor courses could be better equipped to handle business through the next phases of the easing of lockdown restrictions, as they already have the infrastructure in terms of websites, booking functions and mobile apps to ensure courses are not overwhelmed and that queues are properly managed.

Virtual queuing

There's a long-held view that the British love nothing more than queuing. That and talking about the weather, whilst complaining about queues.

It's quickly become a familiar sight to see lines of people queuing to enter a supermarket or other key store for essential goods. A few months ago such scenes were only seen on TV news and we all thought 'it'll never happen here'. But it has.

As lockdown restrictions are eased some venues will begin to reopen, albeit with restrictions on the size of playing groups, timings and how bookings are made.

With gatherings of groups of 10 people or more likely to be banned for quite some time a lot of courses are introducing strict limits of only 2-4 players per group. These groups will also play with a large gap from the group ahead of, and behind, them.

We'll be seeing virtual queuing in place for a long time to come. In fact it could be one of the real positives to come out of the necessary changes of how we live and socialise.

Virtual queuing has been a thing at a lot of bars, restaurants and competitive socialising venues for a while, where you place your order and then receive a handset to take to your own table to wait for your order, rather than standing in line.

The virtual queue is being introduced in theme parks and retailtainment venues in the parts of Asia that have begun to re-open in recent weeks and it looks like they are here to stay.

Keeping in touch

While most minigolf courses around the world are still closed, during the last month or so we've seen a mixture of messages, communications and promotions from those venues.

In the early days of the pandemic and before lockdown some sites were holding out and promoting fresh air and sanitised equipment as a safe way to have safe fun, while others took the precaution of temporarily closing their doors.

Once lockdown was announced there was a flurry of coronavirus-themed messages about the unfortunate closures and the hopes of the courses in 'getting back to normal' as soon as possible.

It's been very interesting to see that some courses have done little beyond this initial activity and have not kept in touch with customers during the lockdown.

Others have been more active during the downtime and some have arranged competitions around designing minigolf holes and obstacles whilst playing at home.

The team at Strokes Adventure Golf have a regular weather update when the course is open, which they have kept up during the lockdown and it brings a smile to my face when I see it each morning. I've been sharing it across my Facebook Pages every day.

Now is an ideal time for minigolf course businesses to be looking at the way they market their business. While the outside game has always tended to be weather dependent and seasonal there has always been an opportunity to regularly keep in touch with players throughout the year.

There are a number of channels to use and as people spend more time online now is a good time to be looking at digital marketing methods in addition to more traditional promotional activity.

There are so many ways to market a business. It's important not to just revert to a standard default in promotion or jump on the bandwagon of the 'next big thing'.

It's essential to look at the overall strategy of the business, identify customer needs and then meet those needs.

Examples from around the world

Two countries beginning to ease lockdown restrictions and see miniature golf courses reopen are the USA and Australia.

The courses I have seen opening up have been highlighting in advance that there were will be new rules and restrictions in place.

Social distancing is always prominent in the communications.

One of the offers we've seen at a few courses is a discount if you bring your own putters and balls when you play.

Minigolf tournaments

As with all sporting events minigolf competitions have also been postponed or cancelled around the world.

There are a number of efforts to keep competitive spirits up with putt at home and isolation minigolf events taking place, as well as tournaments on relatively new formats of the game such as Putt18.

The World Minigolf Sport Federation has postponed all international championships in 2020, with all events now to take place next year. The first tournaments will be held in Germany, with the Under-23 Nations Cup in Murnau and the Seniors Nations Cup in Wanne-Eickel next May .

The first miniature golf tournament I've seen that will go ahead is from the Professional Putters Association, with their South West Putting Tour's weekend scheduled to take place in Tyler, Texas on the 16th and 17th May.

As expected, there are a number of additional rules and restrictions in place for anyone taking part in the event.

Minigolf apps

Before the pandemic there were some minigolf courses that had taken a look at how they marketed themselves and how they offered customers a better experience. Some venues had introduced apps.

We've found a real mixed bag of apps in use.

Most offer a scorecard function, some of which are more basic than others. Those such as the Paradise Island Adventure Golf app had gone a step further than scorecard and loyalty card elements and had fairly recently added a fun interactive augmented reality feature.

The Hastings Adventure Golf app is one of the best we've used and offers a wide-range of functions, from a scorecard with a course 'caddy' offering tips on how to play a hole, to offering discounts on food and drink before or after a game.

The excellent Hastings Adventure Golf App and hole 2 in real-life - it's the trickiest hole on the Crazy Golf course in Hastings. This was me playing it during a previous edition of the World Crazy Golf Championships

While we hope the traditional way of keeping score with pencil and paper doesn't become extinct we do envisage more courses opting for a mobile app based scorecard.

One of the pain points as a user in the past has been the length of time to input the scores into a phone versus the quickness to scribble down the scores on a piece of paper. Now with more time between playing groups and an extended time to play a round there is less need to be quick about entering the scores.

'Experience minus' and 'Experience plus'

When seeking out new places to visit and minigolf courses to play Emily and I look to have the best experience possible.

It's always incredibly pleasing when we visit a business and receive a really positive experience.

It's also disappointing when a business fails to deliver.

With minigolf courses re-opening for business, it looks likely that while they will be offering a chance for people to get out and enjoy some fresh air and friendly competition, they will unfortunately have to offer their gaming experiences with additional rules, restrictions and changes to the way people are used to playing.

In the times of coronavirus it looks like playing minigolf will be a sterile experience, both in real terms of the sanitisation of clubs and balls, and the wearing of gloves and masks by players and staff. As well as in terms of the fun of getting together with a group of friends, playing a competition, or even just having a chat to the people in the group behind as you watch the group in front struggle with a particularly tricky hole or obstacle.

In the world of 'regular' golf I've seen a number of players upset that they can't get a round in even though a golf course is a 'perfect' place to social distance because of the physical space available.

There are a number of issues that they, and a number of other people also pushing for an easing of lockdown restrictions, are not necessarily considering.

It could very well be that there are some players of sports and games who play purely for the game itself and don't consider a drink at the 19th hole, a bite to eat in the restaurant, or an ice cream from the kiosk an essential part of the experience.

This is obviously not the case for everybody and there have been examples of miniature golf and big golf courses being played by people during lockdown. Even when cups, flags and obstacles have been removed, and the clubhouse closed, some people will do anything to grab a free game.

I, like a lot of people I know, am in the other camp where I want, and in some cases expect, to have a number of other 'things' available to enhance my experience before, during and after playing a round of minigolf or pitch & putt. Or indeed when I'm doing anything. I like having multiple options of when and how I access a service or product as well as the opportunity to purchase further memory enhancing things related to the experience.

If you're just pushing the basic option it will soon become clear that it's not something people will necessarily be keen to return to again and again.

Next and new norms?

It will continue to be of interest to monitor the systems and processes put in place at minigolf, entertainment and competitive socialising venues around the world in the coming months. There will be restrictions and changes, but there will also be renewals, innovations and improvements as we head from now, to the next normal and the new normal beyond that.

It's highly unlikely we'll see a return to how the game was played, or indeed how life was lived in general, pre-February 2020. Thankfully, some of the changes look likely to be short-term, while hopefully some of the positive changes are kept in the long-term.

In the meantime and while the UK remains in lockdown I'll be putting at home and reminiscing about the times we were able to get out and play minigolf with no restrictions.

Minigolf consulting

With twenty years of marketing and sales experience each we offer consultancy services to people and businesses looking to set-up courses, review their operations, hole designs, contests, tournaments and more.

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 competitive socialising, minigolf, marketing, or minigolf marketing please do get in touch.

The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing

I've been so pleased to see my book bought and used by a number of competition players, course owners and managers, bloggers, course reviewers, minigolf associations and federations around the world.

You can buy The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing ebook on Amazon and Kobo.

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Monorail at Butlin's Minehead

A look at an old Butlins postcard from Minehead.

What a view of two monorails crossing above the swimming pool at Butlin's Minehead.

Butlin's Minehead - Monorail over Outdoor Swimming Pool by John Hinde Studios. Postally unused. Undated

My holidays at Butlin's

My parents met at the Butlin's holiday camp in Clacton-on-Sea in the 1970'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.

We used to ride the monorail at Butlin's Minehead all the time.

Riding the monorail with my brother Jon at Butlin's Somerwest World in Minehead

It's National Gardening Week

Happy National Gardening Week.

To mark the occasion here's a look at a garden minigolf course in East Finchley, London.

The innovative back garden minigolf course was created by the team at UrbanCrazy

Smugglers Bay Adventure Golf at Stonham Barns

A look at the Smugglers Bay Adventure Golf course at Stonham Barns.

Last April we revisited Stonham Barns in Suffolk to play the new Smugglers Bay Adventure Golf course.

In 2018 we'd called in to Stonham Barns Golf Park and seen the course under construction.

We've been to Stonham Barns a number of times before when visiting family in nearby Ipswich.

The old Crazy Golf course there was the 33rd played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in August 2007.

Playing the old Stonham Barns Crazy Golf course in 2013

The new Smugglers Bay Adventure Golf course at Stonham Barns Golf Park became the 506th we've played and was the 815th visited overall.

Happy National Gardening Week

This week is National Gardening Week.

A look at garden centre minigolf courses.

A look at some of the garden centre minigolf courses we've played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

When lockdown is lifted and minigolf courses reopen there are some really good layouts to check out at garden centres.

Minigolf in Traben-Trarbach, Germany

Traben-Trarbach is home to Germany's first minigolf course.

The Beton Concrete Mini Golf layout was built in 1955. You can find it at MGC Traben-Trarbach.

We've played a few Beton Concrete Mini Golf courses on our travels, notably in Nations Cup tournaments in Finland and Sweden.

Spotting a Miniature Golf course in Traben-Trarbach 

In 2018 my brother Christopher was on a cycling trip in Luxembourg and Germany and spotted a minigolf course in Traben-Trarbach. That one was an Eternit Miniature Golf layout.

He did see a Beton Concrete Mini Golf course while in Zeltingen-Rachtig.

Beton Minigolf

Paul Bongni standardised the game with the Beton type of minigolf courses in 1953. The first Beton course was opened in Locarno, Switzerland.

Dr Walter Spier introduced minigolf to Traben-Trarbach two years later. The first German Minigolf Championship was held on the course in 1956.

Eternit Miniature Golf

The first Eternit Miniature Golf course opened at the 'Planten un Bloomen' Leisure Park in Hamburg, Germany in 1958.

Swedish Felt Minigolf at the Askoe Wien Wasserpark in Vienna, Austria

A look at the Swedish Felt Minigolf course at the Askoe Wien Wasserpark in Vienna, Austria.

In March 2010 I visited the Askoe Wien Wasserpark in Vienna, Austria and got to play one of the toughest - and longest - Swedish Felt Minigolf courses in Europe.

The layout was the 163rd course played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Pit-Pat

The Askoe Wien Wasserpark was also the first place I spotted a Pit-Pat course (a cross between Billiards/Pool/Snooker and Minigolf!).

Minigolf Tag

On this day in 2013 it was Minigolf Tag (Minigolf Day) in Austria. The event was organised by the Austrian Minigolf Federation (Österreichischer Bahnengolf-Verband - OBGV).

Each year around 550,000 Austrians (15% of the country's population) play Miniature Golf.

It was an out-of-season visit so I didn't get to play the Miniature Golf course there

Posted from Skegness

A look at a minigolf stamp from the Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Skegness.

Playing the course in May 2011

Playing the Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Skegness as part of our Minigolf Weekender in 2015

Of the places we've visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Skegness is the town with the most minigolf courses in the UK. Skeggy has 120-holes spread across ten seafront courses.

Posted from Worthing to Worthing

A look at a minigolf stamp of Splash Point Mini Golf in Worthing.

The stamp shows me playing hole 13 of the course in 201. It looks a lot different there now

Hole 13 in 2010

Hole 13 in 2019

Tantogårdens Miniature Golf at Tantolunden Park in Stockholm, Sweden

A look at the Eternit Miniature Golf course at Tantogårdens Bangolf in Stockholm, Sweden.

Hole 5

In June 2011 we traveled to Stockholm, Sweden to play for Great Britain in the WMF Nations Cup international minigolf tournament played at Tantogårdens Minigolf at Tantolunden Park.

Hole 8

The Eternit Miniature Golf course was the 251st we played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Fantasia Adventure Golf on Sea Road in Felixstowe, Suffolk

A look at the Fantasia Adventure Golf course in Felixstowe a year ago.

The course is one of our most visited layouts. We've been there around three times a year for the last 14 years.

It's looking likely that we won't be going there at all in 2020.

The 9-hole layout was the 7th course we visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Minigolf postcards from Bournemouth

Check out my guest post for the Picture Postcard Magic blog from Reflections of a Bygone Age.

An old postcard from Worthing's Denton Gardens Putting Green

A look at an old postcard from Denton Gardens in Worthing, West Sussex.

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

Worthing, Denton Gardens, Putting Green. The Photochrom Co Ltd. Posted to Birchington, Kent on 30 July 1928

You can still enjoy a round of miniature golf on the Splash Point Mini Golf course there.

The 18-hole course was the 181st played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Related blog posts:
- A Putting Green postcard from Denton Park in Worthing
- Worthing
- Splash Point Mini Golf

InterFun Expo 2021

A look ahead to next year's InterFun Expo.

With the coronavirus pandemic affecting all areas of daily life and businesses around the world, the team at the InterFun Expo have moved the event to April 2021.

InterFun Expo is open to anyone in the business of providing fun activities for families and friends. The event has a wide-range of trade exhibitors and expert speakers from the industry including family entertainment centres, arcade games, aerial adventures, minigolf, VR, tenpin bowling, interactive surfaces, edutainment, laser tag, table games and more a lot more.

I'm really looking forward to attending and speaking about minigolf and competitive socialising at the InterFun Expo next year.

I was due to be speaking at the event this week. I can't wait for the 2021 event

The InterFun Expo takes place at New Dock Hall in the Royal Armouries complex in Leeds on the 27th and 28th April 2021.

You can find out more and register for your free ticket on the InterFun Expo website.

You can read my blog about keeping active, social and competitive in the new world of physical distancing at 'Competitive socialising in isolation'.

Tantogårdens Minigolf at Tantolunden Park in Södermalm, Stockholm, Sweden

A look at the Beton Concrete minigolf course at Tantogårdens Bangolf in Stockholm, Sweden.

In June 2011 Emily and I traveled to Stockholm, Sweden to play for Great Britain in the WMF Nations Cup international minigolf tournament played at Tantogårdens Minigolf at Tantolunden Park.

The Beton course was the 250th we played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Crazy Golf at The Grove Park in Carshalton, Surrey

A look at the Crazy Golf course at The Grove Park in Carshalton.

Many thanks to my friend and minigolf rival Seth Thomas for sending me a snap of the Crazy Golf course at The Grove Park in Carshalton, Surrey. He photographed the course while he was out on his daily exercise.

Crazy Golf course at The Grove Park in Carshalton

Obviously the course is closed during the lockdown.

We visited the 9-hole course late in the day on a Sunday in March 2013. It was closed then too.

It was the 527th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We've now been to 948 courses since September 2006.

The course was home to a Humpty

The course once appeared in an episode of British police procedural drama The Bill.