The Himalayas Miniature Golf course at St Andrews

A look at The Himalayas putting course in St Andrews, Scotland - the world's first Miniature Golf course.

Emily playing The Himalayas course at the St Andrews Ladies' Putting Club back in 2012

Playing The Himalayas course at the St Andrews Ladies' Putting Club

The layout was created in 1867 and is the world's first Miniature Golf course.

When we visited there were two courses to play, an 18-hole course and a 9-hole layout. They were an absolute pleasure to play and one of my very best putting experiences.

The two courses at The Himalayas became the 292nd and 293rd miniature golf courses played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Visit the St Andrews Ladies' Putting Club website for more information.

Miniature Golf in Denton Gardens, Worthing through the years

Denton Gardens in Worthing, West Sussex has been home to miniature golf for 100 years.

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

The gardens next to the seafront are now home to the 18-hole Splash Point Mini Golf course.

The 18-hole Splash Point Mini Golf course was the 181st played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in 2010 and we've returned several times since that first visit. It's one of my favourite courses to play as it's areal test of putting skill and a unique set of holes and obstacles to tackle.

Playing Splash Point Mini Golf in 2019

Playing the course in 2010

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

Putting Green, Denton Gardens, Worthing. Photogravure by S. & E. Ltd., Hastings. Postally unused. Undated

A postcard showing the Putting Green, Denton Park, Worthing - it's unposted and undated

The Putting Green, Denton Gardens, Worthing. Picture Post Card by Wardell's. Postally unused. Undated

Check out the Splash Point Mini Golf website for more information.

PopStroke Miniature Golf in the USA

A look at PopStroke miniature golf courses in the USA.

Emily visited the PopStroke Las Vegas location at Town Square on holiday earlier this year.

The Las Vegas PopStroke venue opened in April 2024 and is home to two outdoor 18-hole minigolf courses - the black and blue courses

The two courses were the 1,046th and 1,047th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

There are currently PopStroke Miniature Golf locations in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Nevada, South Carolina and Texas.

You can find the PopStroke venues in the following cities Tuscaloosa, Scottsdale, Glendale, Tampa @ Wesley Chapel, Sarasota, Port St. Lucie, Orlando @ Waterford Lakes, Delray Beach, Fort Myers, Palm Beach, Las Vegas, Myrtle Beach, Houston @ Katy, Dallas @ The Colony, College Station, and San Antonio. With Daytona Beach, Florida opening in September 2024.

Check out the PopStroke website for more information.

Tomorrow is Miniature Golf Day 2024

Miniature Golf Day is ALWAYS celebrated on the 21st September.

We played the Crazy Golf course at Southport's Botanic Gardens on Miniature Golf Day in 2019

Each year there are two 'minigolf days', the second of which is Miniature Golf Day. It is always on the 21st September.

The other is National Miniature Golf Day, marked on the second Saturday in May. Planning ahead to next year that will be Saturday 10th May.

International Independent Video Store Day 2024

This year is the 14th Annual International Independent Video Store Day.

International Independent Video Store Day is observed on the third Saturday of October each year.

Do you still have a video store near you?

By my reckoning there are three video shops still in operation in the UK. They are:

• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds
• 20th Century Flicks in Bristol
• Snips Movies in Bebington, Wirral

Unfortunately B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton closed in July this year. We visited that particular video shop on Video Shop Day in 2020!

It's nice to see there are still some businesses active in the sector though!

Northgate Video & DVD Video Rental and Sales shop in Bury St Edmunds, August 2024

There are still traces of former video shops to be found on the streets, shopping centres and retail parks of the UK. Most of those are old Blockbuster Video stores. But there are remnants of independent video shops to be seen if you're lucky. Some of those I've snapped over the years include:

• Shahenshah Videos in Luton
• Deane Video Centre in Bolton
• Video Box Office at the Happy Shopper Wayfairer Discount Store in Ilkeston
• Video Future in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent
• The Movie Box in Manchester
• Jubilee Films in Ashton-under-Lyne
• B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton
• 20th Century Flicks in Bristol
• Video Express in Swansea
• Video Rentals at The Village Top Shop in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham
• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds

Blockbuster Video stores we've visited to date include:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Ashton, Bristol
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
• Colne, Lancashire
• Failsworth, Manchester
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Find out more about the event on the International Independent Video Store Day website.

Miniature Golf at Boondocks Fun Center in Northglenn, Colorado

A look back at a visit to the Miniature Golf course at Boondocks Fun Center in Northglenn, Colorado, USA in 2009.

I played the two miniature golf courses at Boondocks Fun Center in the town of Northglenn in March 2009.

My visit came during a trip to Denver to attend the week-long SportAccord conference in the city. During some downtime I travelled outside the city limits to play miniature golf in the Boondocks.

At the two courses at Boondocks Fun Center

As it was '$12 Tuesday' I had unlimited play on the minigolf courses - the 'Caverns Mill' and 'Hillbilly Hallow' - that sit next to Interstate-25. I managed to fit in three rounds on the two layouts.

They became the 82nd and 83rd courses played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

A token from Boondocks

Check out the Boondocks Fun Center website for more information, opening times and prices.

Eaton Park Crazy Golf in Norwich

A look back at our visit to the Eaton Park Crazy Golf course in Norwich, Norfolk in May 2017.

The 18-hole Crazy Golf course was the 432nd played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. The layout was the 734th visited overall and the 707th we'd been to in the UK.

Holes 1-9

Holes 10-18

It's one of my all-time favourite courses and a course I could have stayed to play on all day long.

Visit the Eaton Park Crazy Golf course website for more information.

Crazy Putting Challenge at Hamptworth Golf Club

A look back at the Crazy Putting Challenge minigolf course at Hamptworth Golf Club - the 875th course we visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Crazy Putting Challenge minigolf course at Hamptworth Golf Club (May 2019)

Our 2019 trip to Southampton saw us visit 18 more courses on our tour, playing eight of them. One of the courses we had a round on was the Crazy Putting Challenge at Hamptworth Golf Club in Wiltshire.

On hole 4

The excellent 9-hole course was the 875th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 511th played.

We really enjoyed our game on the Crazy Putting Challenge at Hamptworth Golf Club. The staff at the club were very welcoming and we could've easily spent a few more hours enjoying the course.

The Rules of the Crazy Putting Challenge course

In our match-up over 18-holes I won with a score of 41 (20 and 21) to Emily's 44 (22 and 22).

Playing hole 4

Emily on hole 1

I played two further rounds to try to shoot a sub-20 score, but hit another 21 and 20. It's the sort of course I could've played over and over again.

Playing hole 5

Check out my blog post with videos of me playing each of the 9-holes.

Teeing-off on hole 8

There was a nice little Putting Green at the Club too and a number of people were enjoying a round on the big golf course. Big being the operative word, as Hamptworth Golf Club is home to a 666 yard par-6 hole!

The Putting Green

Hole 9 was the longest hole on the Crazy Putting Challenge course

Photos of the 9-hole Crazy Putting Challenge course.

Hole 1

Hole 2

Hole 3

Hole 3

Hole 4

Hole 5

Hole 6

Hole 6

 

Hole 7

Hole 7

Hole 7

Hole 8

Hole 9

Hole 9

Visit the Hamptworth Golf Club website for more information on the venue.

Halloween-themed minigolf?

Do you know of any courses or special events involving Halloween-themes?

Please let us know in the comments if you do, we'd love to share the details!

A scary hole at Putters Adventure Golf at Superbowl Warrington