12 years ago...

I won the Weymouth Open minigolf tournament on this day in 2008.

What a day that was!

The inaugural Weymouth Open minigolf competition was held on the 18-hole Pirate Adventure Mini Golf course at the Weymouth Sea Life Centre at Lodmoor Country Park.

I had a very good record in Weymouth Open events. As well as winning the individual title in 2008 my team-mate Chris Harding and I were the Weymouth Open doubles champions in 2011.

I was also runner-up in the 2009 and 2011 events and seventh in 2010. In the 2009 tournament Kevin Moseley and I were tied after two rounds and it took 4-holes of a sudden-death play-off to separate us.

The course was the 77th played on our travels. We've now been to 956 courses since September 2006.

I've heard that the Pirate Adventure Mini Golf course at the Weymouth Sea Life Centre has undergone some changed in recent few years. It'll be interesting to revisit the layout on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Happy 40th birthday Pac-Man

Pac-Man was first released in North American on this day in 1980.

The 22nd May is considered to be Pac-Man's 'official' birthday as the game was first released in Japan on that date.

I like to celebrate the brilliant video game character as often as possible!

Putt18 World Pro League 2020

Final results of the first ever Putt18 World Pro League.

The inaugural Putt18 World Pro League season has concluded with Matt Ansley of New Zealand taking the title.

Matt was the wire-to-wire winner of the league with a tremendous display on the Putt18 Golf Putting Game Mat.

Putt18

The Putt18 game mat consists of six tee-off boxes and three target score zones. Players must hit their balls from each of the tee boxes in turn aiming at the Par-4, Par-5 and Par-3 targets while avoiding fairways, bunkers and water hazards that carry penalty points. After the 18 shots have been played you tot up your score to see what you've shot for your round.

Putt18 World Pro League

Players from Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain and the USA competed in the seven event series.

Each player had a 20-minute time limit to play four 18-hole rounds for a 72-hole total score in each of the seven events. There were additional points on offer for low scores and the round total.

Results of the 2020 Putt18 World Pro League

20 players competed in the league. Matt Ansley took first place with a score of 866 points. Dave Gomm (GB) was runner-up with 693 points, with John Ansley (NZ) in third place with 655 points.

Also in the prize money were Cameron Couper (NZ) with 578 points and Josh Mars (AUS) with 455 points.

The leading US player was Pat Sheridan in 8th place on 352 points.

During the tournament Matt shot an average score of 63 per round.

As well as being runner-up Dave Gomm shot a world record low round score of 57.

In the team event New Zealand won, with Australia runners-up and Great Britain in third place.

I finished the league in 18th of 20 players with 107 points.

In the strokeplay rankings I finished in 17th place of 20 players with 2,189 shots and an average of 78.18 per round of 18 holes.

2020 Putt18 World Pro League - Points Table

2020 Putt18 World Pro League - Strokeplay Table

Find out more about Putt18

Check out the Putt18 World Pro League Facebook Group and Putt18 website for more information.

Competitive isolation and Putting at Home

The Putt18 World Pro League has been a fun and interesting way to keep on putting and compete during the pandemic. It's also been a first in terms of getting players from around the world to compete on the same putting surface in a league format.

Read more in my blog post about Keeping social and competitive in the new world of physical distancing.

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Pubs of Stockport

Check out the interview in The Viaduct magazine about our mission to visit every pub, club and bar in Stockport during lockdown this year.

The first pub we visited - The Kings Tap in Cheadle Hulme

Pub number 73 - The Crown Inn in Stockport town centre with the viaduct behind it

Pub number 265 - The Nursery Inn in Heaton Norris

Fella's Crazy Golf in Weston-super-Mare

A look at Fella's Crazy Golf course in Weston-super-Mare.

We played the 14-hole Crazy Golf course opposite the Grand Pier in Weston-super-Mare back in July 2011.

It was the 260th course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

We've now been to 956 courses since September 2006.

In a first for us the course charged an extra 30p if you wanted a scorecard and pen to score your game!

Emily won our minigolf match-up with a score of 39 to 43.

We're looking forward to a return trip to Weston-super-Mare in the future.

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Minigolf rules at Hastings Adventure Golf

The team at Hastings Adventure Golf have added details of Covid Secure Miniature Golf to each of the scorecards at the seaside centre.

The Happy Shopper in Sheffield

It was nice to find a Happy Shopper shop with the original branding up and still open. This one is on Page Hall Road in Sheffield.

The two other Happy Shopper shops I've seen this year have both been closed. One of those was also in Sheffield.

I remember seeing the Happy Shopper shops and branded products a lot when I was a kid in the 80's and 90's.

The Happy Shopper branding from the 1970's was changed in the year 2000 and I think it lost a lot of its charm and individuality. Many of the former Happy Shopper stores were rebranded as Premier shops.

Interestingly the social distancing signs on the door showed the original Happy Shopper branding with the smiling blond face appearing before the word 'Happy' rather than in place of the 'o' as seen in the second incarnation of the logo 

The Happy Shopper brand has been part of the Booker Group since 1996. Booker itself is now owned by Tesco.

Related blog posts:

- Happy Shopper

- Happy Shopper in Sheffield

- Happy Shopper in Preston

- Shopfronts

Happy Shopper in Sheffield

I found an old Happy Shopper shop in Sheffield.

It was nice to see the old Happy Shopper branding still up on the signs at what was once Pops Mini Market on Sharrow Lane in the Highfield area of Sheffield.

As the Happy Shopper branding was updated in the year 2000 I didn't think it would still be possible to see it 20 years later. I was glad to be wrong.

Last month I found a Happy Shopper in Preston purely by chance while en route to look for an abandoned Toys R Us.

While in Sheffield I actually managed to find a Happy Shopper that was open and had some of the original branding on the signage. Marvellous.

I remember seeing the Happy Shopper shops and branded products a lot when I was a kid.

The Happy Shopper on Page Hall Road in Sheffield

The Happy Shopper branding was changed in the year 2000 and I think it lost a lot of its charm and individuality. Many of the former Happy Shopper stores were rebranded as Premier shops.

Happy Shopper does still exist, as both convenience stores and own brand food & drink products. It has been part of the Booker Group since 1996. Booker itself is now owned by Tesco.

Related blog posts:

- Happy Shopper

- The Happy Shopper in Sheffield

- Happy Shopper in Preston

- Shopfronts

Covid-19 social distancing signage with 1970s branding

One of the best finds during my 'retail archaeology' expeditions this year is the social distancing signage using the original Happy Shopper branding from the 1970's, 80's and 90's at The Happy Shopper convenience store in Sheffield.

A slightly unexpected sight on a sign of the times in 2020

I remember seeing the Happy Shopper shops and buying their own-branded products a lot when I was a kid growing up in Oxfordshire back in the 80's and 90's.

The Happy Shopper on Page Hall Road in Sheffield

The Happy Shopper branding from the 1970's was changed in the year 2000 and became a lot simpler design. I thing it certainly lost a lot of its character.

The original Happy Shopper branding has the smiling blond haired face appearing before the word 'Happy' rather than in place of the 'o' in the word 'Shopper' as seen in the second, and probably more widespread, incarnation of the logo.

The two other Happy Shopper shops I've seen this year have both been closed. The first was in Preston and the second was also in Sheffield.

Check out my Instagram account for more social distancing signs I've spotted on my urban walks during the coronavirus pandemic.

Castaway Island Mini Golf in Great Yarmouth

A look at the Castaway Island Mini Golf course in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

My brother and Charter Member of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour has sent over some photos of the Castaway Island Mini Golf course in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

Social distancing measures at the entrance/exit to the course

The anchor has been there since it was an Arnold Palmer Putting Course

Castaway Island Mini Golf replaced the 9-hole and 18-hole Arnold Palmer Putting courses on the promenade. We visited in July 2016 and the course became the 693rd on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

At the Arnold Palmer Putting Course on the site in June 2007

How Castaway Island Mini Golf looked in July 2016

The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Christopher and his family have visited 37 courses on their branch of the tour, 26 of those have been unique to them. Emily and I have visited 956 courses on the main tour.

Christopher has been to six courses in 2020. He revisited the indoor adventure golf course at The Windmill Theatre in Great Yarmouth too.

We've been to a total of 46 courses in 2020, with 15 of those being new courses visited. We've swung by eight new courses in the time of coronavirus.

We've got 40 of the original 600 we set out to visit left and a lot of new courses to play at too!

Together we've been to 982 courses since the 30th September 2006.

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Putt18 World Pro League - Week 7 of 7

Results from the final week of the Putt18 World Pro League.

I played my final four rounds in the inaugural Putt18 World Pro League shooting scores of 79, 84, 72 and 74 for a total of 309. My third best weekly score.

Times of the rounds:

Round 1 = 02:44.74

Round 2 = 02:44.71

Round 3 = 03:03.04

Round 4 = 03:13.77

Total = 11:47.72

Scores of the rounds:

Round 1 = 79

Round 2 = 84

Round 3 = 72

Round 4 = 74

Total = 309

 

Putt18 World Pro League

I've been competing against fellow minigolf players from Australia, New Zealand and the USA in the seven event series.

Each player has a 20-minute time limit to play four 18-hole rounds for a 72-hole total score in each of the seven events. There are a variety of points on offer for low scores and total rounds.

Putt18

We first played the Putt18 game format in the Putt18 Home Putting Challenge 4 Nations Cup international event against Australia, New Zealand and the USA back in May.

The Putt18 game mat consists of six tee-off boxes and three target score zones. Players must hit their balls from each of the tee boxes in turn aiming at the Par-4, Par-5 and Par-3 targets while avoiding fairways, bunkers and water hazards that carry penalty points. After the 18 shots have been played you tot up your score to see what you've shot for your round.

Check out the Putt18 World Pro League Facebook Group and Putt18 website for more information.

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Final week of the first Putt18 World Pro League

The inaugural season of the Putt18 World Pro League concludes tomorrow.

I'll be playing my final four rounds in week 7 of the first Putt18 World Pro League at 11am (BST) tomorrow, Sunday 4th October.

You can watch my rounds live on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Facebook Page.

I've been competing against fellow minigolf players from Australia, New Zealand and the USA in the seven event series.

Check out the Putt18 World Pro League Facebook Group and Putt18 website for more information.

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Rolling to course 1,000

Where do you think it'll be?

14 years ago today we began our first full day of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We've now visited a total of 956 miniature golf courses. When we began there were 'only' 600 in the UK!

Terry's Traditional Crazy Golf course in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire. The 483rd course played on our adventures

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