Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course in Southend

A revisit to a classic seaside Mini Golf course.

On our day trip to Southend on Sea we revisited the 18-hole Arnold Palmer Mini Golf course on the Esplanade.

The signage at the course has been updated

The course was originally the 16th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in March 2007. We've returned a number of times since then and it's always interesting to see the changes made to the course.

Emily in action

On our first visit the remnants of the West course could still be seen. It looks like this now.

There used to be another Arnold Palmer Putting course on this spot

The East course has been refurbished since our last visit and it plays very nicely indeed.

The rules

It's always nice to see a high quality scorecard

During our visit we played the Southend Arnold Palmer Classic competition where I picked up my second win of the day, with Chris Jones runner-up for a second time too. Gareth Holmes was third in the 12-player contest.

The competitors

Results of the Southend Arnold Palmer Classic competition 2016:
1st ‘Squire’ Richard Gottfried – 39
2nd Chris ‘Stretch’ Jones – 41
3rd Gareth ‘Lemsip’ Holmes – 42
4th Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd – 43
5th (tied) Lionel ‘The Spoon’ Bender – 44
5th (tied) Alan ‘Stormin’ Norman – 44
7th Emily ‘Lemony’ Gottfried – 46
8th Steve ‘F1’ Gow – 47
9th Cat ‘Helter Skelter’ Patterson – 62
10th Lhurlyn Holmes – 65
11th Taji ‘Not Seth’ Rafferty – 69
12th Paul ‘Flip Flops’ O’Connor – 72

The Stick of Rock Champion

Related blog posts:
- Southend on Sea
- Arnold Palmer

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Playing Crazy Golf on Southend Pier

A visit to the miniature golf course at the end of Southend Pier.

On Saturday 25th June we headed to the seaside town of Southend on Sea for a day out of fun and games. Starting with a visit to the new Southend Pier Crazy Golf course - 1.3 miles out at sea!

Olga the Octopus

Emily in action on the pier's latest attraction

The 12-hole layout is on the world's longest pleasure pier and is brilliant fun.

Putting through Olga the Octopus

It's a great layout and even though there are some tough holes and obstacles, there are still plenty of hole in one opportunities.



The course became the 402nd played and 683rd visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

A hole in one

During our visit we competed in a 12-player contest to crown the end of the pier champion. Featuring a cast of veterans, GB internationals, national tour champions and a sprinkling of rookies, the highly competitive event saw me take the win. Former British Master Chris Jones and regular 'do' champion Brad Shepherd were second and third.

The competitors give the course a double thumbs up

Results of the Southend Pier Invitational Tournament 2016:
1st ‘Squire’ Richard Gottfried – 31
2nd Chris ‘Stretch’ Jones – 34
3rd Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd – 37
4th (tied) Lionel ‘The Spoon’ Bender – 39
4th (tied) Gareth ‘Lemsip’ Holmes – 39
6th (tied) Marc ‘The Roller’ Bazeley – 42
6th (tied) Alan ‘Stormin’ Norman – 42
8th Taji ‘Not Seth’ Rafferty – 44
9th Emily ‘Lemony’ Gottfried – 46
10th Paul ‘Flip Flops’ O’Connor – 50
11th Cat ‘Helter Skelter’ Patterson – 52
12th Lhurlyn 'Hole-ing' Holmes – 59
DNS Madeleine 'The Caddy' Bender
DNS Steve 'F1' Gow

The tournament in full swing

Gareth on hole 1

Brad teeing-off

Chris lining up a putt

Lionel in action

Brad on a tricky obstacle

 

Chris and Lionel putting

Emily on the tee

Marc on a very tough middle hill hole

Emily on the pier

Emily and Olga

Lhurlyn finishing her round with a hole in one

Paul O'Connor on the last hole

The Southend Pier Crazy Golf course is well worth a play and it's a great addition to the entertainment on offer in the town. Visit the Southend Pier Crazy Golf course website for prices and opening times.

The pier Crazy Golf course

Video:
- Southend Pier Crazy Golf course hole in one

Links:
- Southend Pier Crazy Golf website
- Southend Pier Crazy Golf on Facebook

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Southend
- Southend Pier Crazy Golf course

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter @putting_gott and @Ems_Lems.

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Hot Dog mascots of Southend

On our day out in Southend we spotted quite a few Hot Dog fast food mascots - three of which were in Adventure Island, and two of those were of a style we'd not seen on our travels before.

Not a Burger

A new type of happy hot dog man mascot - this one is covered in tomato sauce, or tomato ketchup

And another - this one is mustardy

Another example of the classic self- condimentising hot dog man

We also spotted a fair few cannibal chip men too.

Don't forget that July is National Hot Dog Month!

Related blogs posts:
- Hot Dogs
- Hot Dog Man

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Buzzworks Scottish Open Putting Championship 2016 in Prestwick

Putting Plus miniature golf course in Prestwick to host the Buzzworks Scottish Open Putting Championship.

The team at the Putting Plus Putting Green in Prestwick, Scotland have let me know that the course will once again be hosting the Scottish Open Putting Championship. This year the tournament takes place from the 9th to the 17th July.

The competition is open to all - with a number of different categories. Check out the Putting Plus Facebook page for more information about the event.

Good luck to all the competitors taking part.

You can find the seafront Putting Green on Prestwick's Promenade. We're hoping to play the course one day!

A view of the Prestwick Putting Course in 2014

Links:

- Putting Plus on Facebook
- Putting Plus on Google+
- Buzzworks

Related blog posts:
- Golf Putting Green in Prestwick
- Putting
- Key Mini Golf dates for 2016

Fantasia Adventure Golf course on Sea Road in Felixstowe

We had a great visit to the nice 9-hole Fantasia Adventure Golf course on Sea Road in Felixstowe, Suffolk on Sunday.

Emily on hole 5 - Rocky Tube

Arriving at the course at half ten we were lucky enough to have the course to ourselves for what would be our umpteenth game on the layout.

Hole 9 - Home & Away

Emily teeing off on the 9th

Back on the 19th November 2006 the course became the 7th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.



In our match-up I scored the win with a round of 22 compared to Emily's 26.



The Fantasia Adventure Golf course is well worth a visit and is nicely priced at £2.50 a round for adults. As we were leaving the course was starting to get busy so we'd timed it just right for a perfect start to a day out at the seaside.

On the green on hole 1 - The Puzzler

One the long dog leg 2nd hole

Emily on hole 8 - The Steps

  

Another fine addition to the Crazy Golf Museum. One of the old scorecards we have has a number in the 110,000's on it

Related blog posts:
- Felixstowe
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Fantasia Adventure Golf in Felixstowe

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter @putting_gott and @Ems_Lems.

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