Happy National Pencil Day

Today is National Pencil Day.

Minigolf pencils from our travels

Here's a selection of minigolf pencils we've collected over years.

We enjoy visiting courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and it's marvellous when we find one that has a branded pencil to score the game with.

Pencils and promotional scratchcards from Congo River Golf in Orlando, Florida, USA

It's a superb bit of minigolf marketing too.

A minigolf pencil from Christopher Gottfried's Crazy World of Minigolf Tour trip to Magic Carpet Golf in Galveston, Texas, USA

We've seen several minigolf courses switching to virtual scorecards (and scoreboards), and app-based scorecards. Others are using a mixture.

We think, and hope, there's space and a place for all methods of scoring to continue in the game.

Our friend Pat Sheridan from The Putting Penguin minigolf review website (among his many other hats in the game) has contributed quite a few pencils and scorecards to the Crazy Golf Museum that he's picked up on his own minigolf adventures.

One of the most peculiar minigolf pencils we've seen is this one Pat sent a snap of, as it's a real life pencil for a virtual minigolf game!

A pencil from the Walkabout Mini Golf VR game

If you'd like your minigolf course pencil (or other items of merch and ephemera) displayed and archived in the Crazy Golf Museum please do get in touch.

Just one of the many minigolf pencils in the Crazy Golf Museum - from the Wye Valley Miniatvre Golf course in Symonds Yat West

You can see more miniature golf course pens and pencils on the Crazy Golf Museum website.

A scorecard and pencils from Disney's Winter Summerland Miniature Golf in Orlando, Florida, USA from our friend Shelley Barrett

Arnold Palmer Putting Courses Crazy Golf pencils from the course in Prestatyn

A pencil from Lumberjax Mini Golf in New Zealand from our friend James Astrop

A pencil from Urban Putt in San Francisco from our friend and minigolf rival (and sometimes team-mate) Kevin Moseley

A pencil from Doug Fishbone's Leisure Land Golf

A minigolf pencil from Swing by Golfbaren in Stockholm, Sweden 

A pencil from Swingers Crazy Golf in London

A pencil from the CLUB GOLF crazy golf pop-up at Coal Drops Yard in King's Cross, London. This was the last course I played before the UK went into coronavirus pandemic lockdown / quarantine

A pencil from the Putt 18 indoor putting game - we played a lot of this during the pandemic

Mini Golf at Hollywood Bowl Stockton

A new Mini Golf course is now open at the Hollywood Bowl at Teesside Park in Stockton-on-Tees.

The 12-hole indoor Mini Golf course has opened as part of an expanded Hollywood Bowl centre.

Visit the Hollywood Bowl website for more information.

We've played one of the Hollywood Bowl mini golf courses before, and been to Teesside Retail Park - but not done both together. We visited the old Toys R Us store there in April 2021.

It's another new course for us to check out on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Mini Golf at Wingham Wildlife Park in Kent

There's a minigolf course at Wingham Wildlife Park in Kent

Many thanks to our friend, minigolf rival, and sometimes team-mate Scott Lancley for sending us these photos of the 18-hole Mini Golf course at Wingham Wildlife Park in Wingham, Kent.

Mini Golf at Wingham Wildlife Park in Kent. Photo by Scott Lancley, March 2024

The course opened in 2022.

Mini Golf at Wingham Wildlife Park in Kent. Photo by Scott Lancley, March 2024

Visit the Wingham Wildlife Park website for more information.

It's another new course we'll have to add to our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour one day!

New Adventure Golf course at The Railway Inn in Westerfield

The Railway Inn in Westerfield, near Ipswich, Suffolk is home to a new Adventure Golf course.

The course is planned to open on Friday 29th March.

Check out The Railway Inn's website and Facebook Page for more information on the 9-hole outdoor pub beer garden adventure golf course.

It'll be a new course for us to check out on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour when we're back in Ipswich.

New mini golf course planned for Tranent

A new indoor mini golf course is planned for Tranent in East Lothian, Scotland.

The indoor mini golf course would be part of a new entertainment venue in the town.

It'll be a new course - and town - for us to check out on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

New Crazy Golf course opening at Claremont Pier in Lowestoft

Claremont Pier in Lowestoft, Suffolk is home to a new pirate-themed crazy golf course.

A new pirate crazy golf course is opening at Claremont Pier in Lowestoft on Friday 29th March.

The 18-hole indoor crazy golf course will be called Pirates at the Clarement and is planned to open before Easter this year.

Visit the Claremont Pier website for more information.

We've been to Lowestoft several times on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour over the years. It's a nice seaside town and we're looking forward to revisiting.

When it opens, the new course in Lowestoft will become the easternmost crazy golf course in the British Isles.

New Adventure Golf course at The Pumpkin House at Brookhill Farm in Thursford

The Pumpkin House at Brookhill Farm in Thursford, Norfolk will have an Adventure Golf course this year.

The 9-hole farm-themed minigolf layout will open from the 25th May. Opening days/times will vary so please check the farm's website for more information.

It'll be a new course for us to check out on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. 

New Adventure Golf course planned for South Shields

A new dinosaur-themed Adventure Golf course is planned to open in South Shields, Tyneside.

It'll be a new course for us to check out on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

South Shields was the location of the 100th course I played on our travels way back in June 2009.

It'll be nice to return to the seaside town.

Container Golf at Ffolkes

A visit to the Container Golf course at the Ffolkes Pub and Hotel in King's Lynn, Norfolk.

My brother Christopher, a charter member of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, and his family recently stayed at the Ffolkes Pub and Hotel in King's Lynn, Norfolk. While there they played the 9-hole Container Golf course.

Check out the Ffolkes website for more information on the Container Golf adventure golf course.

We've now visited a combined total of 1,091 courses on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The Minigolf-Atlas

Check out the Minigolf-Atlas - a map listing miniature golf courses in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg.

I recently found out about the Minigolf-Atlas, a project to map all of the minigolf courses in Germany and surrounding countries!

The project is run by the team at Miniatur-Golf-Club Wetzlar eV. They are based in central Germany and created the project to record all the minigolf facilities throughout Germany. This includes locations where clubs are based and tournaments take place, as well as the many course locations where no competitions are held.

It's brilliant to see the efforts put into the project, and it'll be an excellent resource for people to get out and play for leisure, fun, and for competition and club play.

The Minigolf-Atlas team are putting together lists of courses in other countries, and it'll be interesting to see the website develop over time.

Take a look at the Minigolf-Atlas website for more information.

It'll be a handy resource if we can find the time to visit Germany again in the future! There are still some minigolf systems, including Cobi Golf and Star Golf that we haven't yet played, and these are localised in Germany (Cobi Golf) and Germany & Austria (Star Golf).

I've played Felt Golf in Vienna, Austria at the Askoe Wien Wasserpark. That was an incredibly tough course, and the longest Swedish Felt course in Europe!

The Askoe Wien Swedish Felt Minigolf course in Vienna, Austria

I didn't get a chance to play the 'Eternit' aka Miniature Golf course there as it was out of season.

The Askoe Wien Eternit Miniature Golf course in Vienna, Austria

It was also the first place I saw the minigolf/snooker hybrid game of Pit-Pat.

Pit-Pat in Vienna, Austria

My brother Christopher, a charter member of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, and his family have visited a few courses in Germany and one in Luxembourg on their branch of the tour:

• Nittel, Germany - Minigolf
• Zeltingen-Rachtig, Germany - Beton Minigolf

Minigolf in Zeltingen-Rachtig, Germany. Photo by Christopher Gottfried

• Traben-Trarbach, Germany - Eternit Miniature Golf
• Kobern-Gondorf, Germany - Abenteuergolf
• Kobern-Gondorf, Germany - Eternit Miniature Golf

Miniature Golf in Kobern-Gondorf, Germany. Photo by Christopher Gottfried

• Bernkastel-Kues, Germany - Minigolf

Minigolf in Bernkastel-Kues, Germany. Photo by Christopher Gottfried

• Gutach, Germany (Adventuregolf Gutach) - Adventure Golf
• Sasbachwalden, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany (Höfner Stübl Minigolf) - Eternit Miniature Golf

Höfner Stübl Miniature Golf in Sasbachwalden, Germany. Photo by Christopher Gottfried

• Remich, Luxembourg - Eternit Miniature Golf

Miniature Golf in Remich, Luxembourg. Photo by Christopher Gottfried 

To date, we've visited 1,044 miniature golf courses. 997 of those have been in the British Isles, while 47 have been in overseas countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain (& Lanzarote, Canary Islands), Sweden and the USA. When we began our travels there were around 600 courses in the UK. There are now more than 1,000, with new courses opening all the time.

The Hole In Wand mini golf in Chester

A new magical minigolf course is opening in Chester, Cheshire.

The Hole In Wand mini golf

The team at the Potions Cauldron Group will be creating their third indoor crazy golf course as The Hole In Wand is set to open in Chester this year.

The Hole In Wand mini golf

The Hole In Wand Chester is scheduled to open in May.

The first of The Hole In Wand indoor minigolf courses opened in York, with a second venue opening in Blackpool.

The Hole In Wand mini golf

Emily played The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf in York on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour last year. We haven't been to Blackpool for a while so haven't had a game at that venue yet.

Visit The Hole In Wand mini golf website for more information.

Japanese-themed mini golf course planned for London

A new indoor mini golf venue could be opening on Fleet Street in London.

Tokyo Hit is planned to be a Japanese-themed mini golf course, complete with bars and food served in an immersive Tokyo environment.

Emily has been to Japan before and I'm hoping to visit one day too. In the mean-time Tokyo Hit sounds like it could be really cool.

It'll be interesting to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

A minigolf move in Basingstoke

There are plans for a new Great Wolf resort in Basingstoke, Hampshire.

The proposed Great Wolf resort in Basingstoke would be created on the site of Basingstoke Golf Centre.

The new Great Wolf resort is an indoor water park - that would also feature a mini golf course as one of the activities.

Basingstoke Golf Centre is home to a Knights Realm Adventure Golf course. We haven't played the Knights Realm course yet, but did play the course it replaced several times, including some tournaments.

Visit the Basingstoke Golf Centre and Great Wolf Lodge resort websites for more information.

Hopefully we get back to Basingstoke to play the Knights Realm Adventure Golf course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour before it is removed. And we'll have to return again to have a game on the new Great Wolf mini golf course when that opens in the future.

Work is underway on the first Great Wolf Lodge in the UK that is set to open in Chesterton, Bicester, Oxfordshire. Like the US locations, that site looks set to be home to a miniature golf course too.

Pop-Up Crazy Golf in Bishop's Stortford

A free Crazy Golf course will be available to play in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire this Easter.

The 9-hole layout is free to play, but donations to the East Herts Chairman’s chosen charity, Isabel Hospice, are welcome.

You can play a game of Crazy Golf on Thursday 4th, Friday 5th and Saturday 6th April.

Visit the East Herts Council website for more information.

The Putting Shed Mini Golf at Twenty Pence Garden Centre in Wilburton

There's a mini golf course at the Twenty Pence Garden Centre in Wilburton, Cambridgeshire.

Many thanks to our friend and minigolf rival Steve 'Sheila' Lovell for letting us know about the The Putting Shed Mini Golf course at Twenty Pence Garden Centre in Wilburton, Ely, Cambridgeshire.

Looking at the garden centre's website and YouTube video of the course it opened around 2021.

 

It's another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.