A blog about our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. With a sprinkling of nostalgia and urban exploration for good measure.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Garden BBQ Minigolf
First up was a three-player minigolf course utilising a selection of obstacles from the Crazy Golf Museum archives. Unfortunately the tricky layout stumped the players (myself, Oliver 'The Machine' Florence & Simon 'Practice' Hall), with all of us scoring Unlucky Sevens!
Next up Ollie and I competed in the 6-hole IMGT Luton SS (Stewing Steak) Classic Minigolf Competition. In a tense match-up played in seasonal conditions and with fading light, I won the match with a score of 25(+13) to Ollie's 27(+15).
Monday, March 14, 2011
Visit to Redbourn Golf Club - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Course Played #211
Emily and I played the Putting Green as a visit on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, and also a competition venue on the Irregular Mini Golf Tour!
The 8-hole Putting Green became the 211th Minigolf Course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since 2006, and our first new course visit since the 30th December 2010 (the Q-Golf at The O2).
In the Irregular Mini Golf Tour Redbourn Classic, Emily defeated me by one-shot, scoring an 18(par) to my 19(+1). Emily had one Ace and one Three, I had all Twos and one Three. We 'added' a 9th hole by playing to the hole furthest away after completing 8-holes.
I wasn't too happy losing to Emily by one-shot.
I also had a practice round after the Irregular Mini Golf Tour match and scored a 15(-3), scoring three Holes-in-One in a row! Video below:
The Club is also home to a Driving Range, 18-hole Golf Course and a Par-3 9-hole course. We'll be heading back to play the Par-3 course in the summer.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
British Tourism - Closer to Home
We managed to fit in a fair bit just pootling around a 20ish mile radius of Luton, Bedfordshire, and visited Dunstable, Kensworth, Whipsnade, Stanbridge, Tilsworth and Milton Keynes.
We visited the Dunstable Downs, watched some Kite Flying and the Gliders taking off and landing. And went to 'another' Isle of Wight.
We then headed to Whipsnade and saw some Bison, visited Tilsworth Golf Club and then headed to Milton Keynes, where we found some great produce at the Centre MK's Food & Craft Fair, as well as discovering another Quasar Laser Tag at the Tenpin Bowling Centre at MK's Leisure Plaza.
There is a great amount of fun and interesting stuff to do in the UK, and we love our coastal travels and roadtrips, but it's also great to have a leisurely day out close to home too.
British Tourism Week runs from the 12th to the 20th March 2011.
Not Ireland, Egypt, England or the Isle of Wight
On our travels and roadtrips around the UK we've also spotted other 'faux' places, these include:
New England
Egypt
Ireland
Click for details of visits to the rest of the UK, and other countries and islands.
Quasar in Milton Keynes
I thought there was one at the Xscape centre, but we found I was wrong, there is however a Quasar Laser Tag at the Tenpin Bowling Centre at the MK Leisure Plaza.
We were going to have a game, but with a battle having just begun and the next one exclusively for a kids birthday party we would have had to wait for a while to play. We have decided to head back in the near future.
Looking at the scoreboard at the centre, the war-raging at the MK Quasar was a classic struggle between the REDS and the GREENS.
With no new battle between us taking place in Milton Keynes the Laser Tag Rankings remain the same.
Gluten Free Sausages and Black Pudding from Shaw Meats/Cumbrian Salami Company
We bought four packs of the sausages from the Cumbrian Salami Company (Shaw Meats), and have already eaten the Sundried Tomato and Basil ones – they were very very tasty.
While we were chatting to Chris on the stall he was explaining the food they had and was very helpful and knowledgeable. He also pointed out the Gluten Free Black Pudding, which I couldn’t believe was available as I'd never seen anyone else selling it! Black Pudding is one meat product that I thought would be off limits to me forever, and it was such a favourite of mine in my 'pre-Coeliac' days. The one we had from Shaw's was very tasty indeed.
Shaw Meats have some great products and excellent customer service and are well worth a look, whether you're a Coeliac or not :-)
Shaw Meats/Cumbrian Salami Company website.
Coeliac UK website.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Minigolf and Crazy Golf on the Isle of Wight and a visit to Isle of Wight Lane in Bedfordshire
The Competitors line-up at Shanklin's Beton Crazy Golf Course
Today Emily and I visited the Dunstable Downs in Bedfordshire, where there is an Isle of Wight Lane!
I couldn't find any history on Bedfordshire's Isle of Wight connections, so if anyone out there knows how this lane/road got its name please do get in touch?
Links to the Minigolf courses we visited on the real Isle of Wight:
Shanklin Crazy Golf
Shanklin Putting Course
Shanklin Jungle Adventure Golf
Rylstone Gardens Crazy Golf
Sandown Pier Indoor Adventure Golf
Sandown Sandham Gardens Crazy Golf
Ryde Adventure Golf
Results of Irregular Mini Golf Tour Minigolf Competitions played on the Isle of Wight:
Isle of Wight Championships Results
Results from the six rounds played on the Isle of Wight
1st – Richard Gottfried - 213(+39)
2nd – Emily Gottfried - 214(+40)
3rd – Christopher Gottfried - 224(+50)
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Invitational Tournament Results
1st – Richard Gottfried - 326(+76)
2nd – Emily Gottfried - 332(+82)
3rd – Christopher Gottfried - 347(+97)
More information and links to our Crazy Golf and Minigolf travels can be found at Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.
Another not so Wacky Waving Arm-Flailing Inflatable Tube-man in Dunstable
Over the road from the not so Wacky Waving Arm-Flailing Inflatable Tube-man advertising a Car Wash in Dunstable there is now another not so Wacky Waving Arm-Flailing Inflatable Tube-man advertising an ATS Euromaster Car Brake Centre! This one is different, but the old one that was over the road has gone.
More posts about Wacky Waving Arm-Flailing Inflatable Tube-men on the Ham & Egger Files!
The technical name for Wacky Waving Arm-Flailing Inflatable Tube-men is "Airdancer".
I've also seen you can buy a Game called Pumpaloons! It looks to be a home-based contest version of Airdancers!!!
Laser Tag Rankings - at 12th March 2011
In the Eternal Laser Tag War that rages between the forces of the REDS, BLUES, GREENS, and YELLOWS(!?) we've all taken part in Laser Battles in such far-flung places as Birmingham, Hemel Hempstead, Bristol, London, Peterborough and Crawley.
Currently the "Top Gun of Top Guns" is Oliver 'The Machine' Florence, with a 100% win-loss record and four-wins from his three battles as a RED and one-win as a GREEN.
In tied second place are me and Emily, with Emily picking up three wins from four appearances as a RED, and showing true loyalty to her army. I have collected three wins from my five appearances as a RED/BLUE/GREEN (but not a YELLOW).
Click to enlarge ranking list
Nobody has yet made an appearance for the YELLOWS.
Other Laser Tag Blog Posts:
Laser Tag in Birmingham and London
Laser Quest in Bristol - The Minigolfers Challenge
Harry's Buttons in Bristol and a Closed-Down Quasar!
'LaserForce' Laser Tag in Peterborough
Quasar Elite Laser Tag in Hemel Hempstead
Thursday, March 10, 2011
The sport of Knokkers!
It looks like it'd be great fun, and as a fan of obscure, wierd, wonderful and strange sports I put out a tweet about the game, and had responses from some of my fellow twitterers who also wanted to play the game.
We've now, kind of unofficially, formed a Hybrid UK/USA Team - and we're open to challenges from all-comers!
The first BIG CHALLENGE is finding a 'Pitch' to play it on in the UK!
You can find out more about Knokkers on the official website.
Sunday, March 06, 2011
Quasar Elite Laser Tag in Hemel Hempstead
An intersting 'Laser Tag Fact' is that the Hemel Quasar centre is the world's only multi-theme Quasar Elite arena, with five different zones!
The battle between the Blue Team and the Red Team saw me and Emily face-off against each other in opposing sides in the 31 player game (comprised of two kids birthday parties and us).
The battle was won by the 15 player Red Team with a score of 1055, with Emily ranked 3rd within the team. The Blue Team scored 681 points, and I was the team's Top Gun! I was very surprised at this due to Emily and her team's tactics of sending three girls to constantly target (chase) me throughout the battle!
(The scoreboards only count up to three digits, so the score of 1055 is shown as 055!)
The centre is pretty cool, with a large arena to battle in. We will be returning for another match soon.
As a Quasar Elite Champion I treated myself to a piece of Merch - a fetching red Belt Pouch/Man-Bag. When we left Emily refused to hold it, even for a while, as she said "...it would ruin my street cred."!
Other Laser Tag Blog Posts:
Laser Tag in Birmingham and London
Laser Quest in Bristol - The Minigolfers Challenge
Harry's Buttons in Bristol and a Closed-Down Quasar!
'LaserForce' Laser Tag in Peterborough
Monday, February 28, 2011
"Go With The Flo" Minigolf Doubles Team finish 7th of 14 at the GMGC Green Doubles Minigolf Championship
Press Information
For Immediate Release
Minigolf Report - "Go With The Flo" Minigolf Doubles Team finish 7th of 14 at the GMGC Green Doubles Minigolf Championship
Luton Minigolfer Richard Gottfried competed in the GMGC Green Doubles Championship at the 18-hole Minigolf course in Hither Green on Sunday 27th February. Richard teamed with Walton-on-Thames’ Oliver Florence in the six-round event and finished in 7th spot of 14 teams.
Photo: Co-Captain Oliver 'The Machine' Florence (l) and Vice-Captain 'Squire' Richard Gottfried
The tournament was played in a matchplay format over 18-holes and was split into two stages, with a draw for the round robin qualifying stage, and knockout play-offs for positions 1-8 and 9-14.
The pair finished with a win/loss record of played six, won two, drew two, lost two.
The tournament was won by Hither Green's Nick Sandqvist and James Rutherford.
Results for the "Go With The Flo" Minigolf Doubles Team - 27/02/2011
Match 1 - beat Gareth Holmes & Terry Exall 2up
Match 2 - drew with Nick Chitty & John 'Ted' McIver
Match 3 - drew with Seth Thomas & Chris Smith
Match 4 - lost to Seth Thomas & Chris Smith 4&2
Match 5 - lost to David Donnelly & William Donnelly by one-hole in a sudden-death play-off
Match 6 - beat Alan Norman & Marion Homer 2&1
Richard said “I’m very pleased with our team performance today. This was the first time we’ve competed as a pair and I thought we worked well together. It was great to be undefeated after three rounds, and we won the important 7th/8th place play-off to round off an intense day of competition at one of the toughest Miniature Golf courses in the UK.”
Ends
Photos from the event:
The GMGC Green Doubles Trophy - won by Nick Sandvist & James Rutherford
Richard & Oliver with their winnings - and playing round one of an impromptu Rock Paper Scissors Match! Ollie goes one-up with Paper.
A fourth game sees Oliver win with Rock.
Oliver holds aloft the scoring table following the team's seventh place finish.
Richard Gottfried's Minigolf Doubles Career Record - at 28/02/2011 (last match 27/02/2011).
Minigolf Doubles Win/Loss Record (in all friendlies & full BMGA Tour events)
Played - 51
Won - 24
Lost - 22
Drawn - 5
Minigolf Doubles Win/Loss Record (in BMGA Tour events)
Played - 25
Won - 13
Lost - 7
Drawn - 5
Minigolf Doubles Record (in BMGA Warm-up Doubles events)
Played - 2
First - 0
Second - 1
Third - 0
Other - 1
Other Minigolf Doubles Information
12 playing partners (regular BMGA competition team mate is Kevin Moseley)
25 competitive matches
26 friendlies
35 matchplay matches
12 strokeplay format matches
1 point-play-system match
1 match decided by Coin Toss
2 BMGA Warm-up Doubles events
Minigolf Doubles Playing Partners To Date:
1 - Emily Gottfried
2 - Matt Smith
3 - Andy Gonsalves
4 - Owen Johnson
5 - Paul Johnson
6 - Kevin Moseley
7 - Chris Harding
8 - Simon Hall
9 - Leo Kukielka
10 - Christopher Gottfried
11 - Alan Norman
12 - Oliver Florence
Full Minigolf Doubles Record for Richard Gottfried - Click to Enlarge
Gottfried & Norman Team-Up, and Minigolf Doubles Record Update
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Minigolf Report - Scrap Iron Cup 6 - Hither Green
Seth ‘Clockwork Orange’ Thomas became a two-time Scrap Iron Cup Minigolf Champion as he defeated Dudley’s Owen ‘Jackpot’ Johnson, himself a former Scrap Iron Cup Champion, in the final of the sixth Scrap Iron Cup minigolf tournament in Hither Green, Lewisham on Saturday 26th February.
In the three-player field Paul ‘Rango’ Johnson was the bronze medallist.
Scrap Iron Cup
26/02/2011
Venue: The Green Indoor Mini Golf, Hither Green
Round One - Strokeplay
Rank Player Score
1. Seth Thomas - 42
2. Owen Johnson - 54
3. Paul Johnson - 58
Round Two – Matchplay
Seth Thomas vs. Owen Johnson
Result - Seth Thomas wins
Scrap Iron Cup - Hall of Fame
2011 - #6 - Seth Thomas beat Owen Johnson - Hither Green
2011 - #5 - Seth Thomas beat Richard Gottfried - Bristol
2011 - #4 - Richard Gottfried beat Cindy Kukielka - Birmingham
2010 - #3 - Owen Johnson beat Richard Gottfried - Birmingham
2010 - #2 - Richard Gottfried beat Paul Johnson - Weymouth
2010 - #1 - Richard Gottfried beat Paul Johnson - Sandbanks
Rules of the Scrap Iron Cup
• Played between members of the Midlands Minigolf Club
• Played in either groups of two, or one group, in round one
• Groups are drawn at random (often using the 'balls in a hat' technique)
• Round one is a strokeplay match played over 7, 9, 11, 12 or 18 holes
• The two players with the top scores after round one qualify for the second round/final
• Round two is a matchplay match played over 7, 9, 12 or 18 holes
• The winner of the matchplay match becomes the Scrap Iron Cup* Champion**
* The Scrap Iron Cup (aka the 'NABBA ENGLAND 95 CLASS TWO WINNER' Trophy) remains the property of Owen and Paul Johnson
** The Reigning Scrap Iron Champion retains the cup until the next defence whereupon it is given up until the next Scrap Iron Cup tournament has been completed
Saturday, February 26, 2011
The Crazy Golf course in Abingdon's Abbey Meadows
Amongst the things that had been considered to be 'cut' were the crazy golf and pitch-and-putt facilities at Abingdon's Abbey Meadows! The Crazy Golf course there was the very first course I played as a child growing up in the town.
Stories in the Oxford Mail and the Oxford Times have more information about the proposed cuts and a photo.
I revisited the course as part of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in August 2007, when it became the 31st course played on the tour.
Blog Post - Crazy Golf in Abingdon, Oxfordshire
More photos of the Abbey Meadows Crazy Golf course can be found at MiniatureGolfer.com
A review of the Crazy Golf course (2007)
Friday, February 25, 2011
Gottfried third in the latest GMGC Club Tournament
Press Information
For Immediate Release
Minigolf Report – Gottfried third in the latest GMGC Club Tournament
Following the Green Doubles Warm-up Doubles Matches at Hither Green on Thursday 24th February, Luton Minigolfer Richard Gottfried competed in the latest GMGC Thursday night Club Tournament at the 18-hole Indoor Mini Golf.
Ten players competed in the two-round tournament and Gottfried recorded scores of 41(+5) and 49(+13) for a total of 90(+18), 74 with his +8 GMGC Handicap, and finished on the podium in third place in the handicap event, and sixth in the unhandicapped ranks. Both rounds were played on the 'hard' difficulty setting.
Chris Smith won the handicap event, with Michael Smith runner-up, and Chris and Michael tied for the lead in the unhandicapped scoring.
Each Thursday night from 7pm the Green Mini Golf Club holds GMGC Club Championship minigolf competitions, played out over two 18-hole rounds.
Richard Gottfried’s GMGC Club Tournament Record 2010/11
• GMGC Club Tournament - 1st of 11
o GMGC Club Tournament (without Handicap) - 3rd of 11
• GMGC Club Tournament - 9th of 13
o GMGC Club Tournament (without Handicap) - 8th of 13
• GMGC Club Tournament - Tied 6th of 9
o GMGC Club Tournament (without Handicap) - 7th of 9
• GMGC Club Tournament - Tied 7th of 13
o GMGC Club Tournament (without Handicap) - 7th of 13
• GMGC Club Tournament - 2nd of 6
o GMGC Club Tournament (without Handicap) - 2nd of 6
• GMGC Club Tournament - 3rd of 10
o GMGC Club Tournament (without Handicap) - 6th of 10
The GMGC are based at the Green Indoor Mini Golf course in Hither Green, Lewisham, London, and the course is well worth a visit. The Course/Club now have a presence on Facebook and you can check out the Club and Course website at http://www.thegreenminigolf.co.uk/
Gottfried & Norman Team-Up, and Minigolf Doubles Record Update
In the first match Alan and I lost 5&3 (18-holes matchplay format), while in the second '3-hole Matchplay Challenge' match we lost by one-hole.
Photo: The very colour co-ordinated "Nar-Wich Union" team of Alan 'Stormin' Norman and 'Squire' Richard Gottfried.
Minigolf Fact - Alan and I both made our BMGA Tour Debut's at the same tournament - the 2007 BMGA British Masters in Southend-on-Sea.
The partnership with Alan means that Oliver 'The Machine' Florence will be my 12th Minigolf Doubles Playing Partner (an earlier miscount on my Doubles Record had lead me to believe that Ollie would be my 'Lucky' 13th Doubles Partner. This is not the case).
Richard Gottfried's Minigolf Doubles Career Record - at 25/02/2011 (last match 24/02/2011).
Minigolf Doubles Win/Loss Record (in all friendlies & full BMGA Tour events)
Played - 44
Won - 21
Lost - 20
Drawn - 3
Minigolf Doubles Win/Loss Record (in BMGA Tour events)
Played - 19
Won - 11
Lost - 5
Drawn - 3
Minigolf Doubles Record (in BMGA Warm-up Doubles events)
Played - 2
First - 0
Second - 1
Third - 0
Other - 1
Other Minigolf Doubles Information
11 playing partners (regular BMGA competition team mate is Kevin Moseley)
19 competitive matches
25 friendlies
30 matchplay matches
12 strokeplay format matches
1 point-play-system match
1 match decided by Coin Toss
2 BMGA Warm-up Doubles events
Minigolf Doubles Playing Partners To Date:
1 - Emily Gottfried
2 - Matt Smith
3 - Andy Gonsalves
4 - Owen Johnson
5 - Paul Johnson
6 - Kevin Moseley
7 - Chris Harding
8 - Simon Hall
9 - Leo Kukielka
10 - Christopher Gottfried
11 - Alan Norman
Full Minigolf Doubles Record - Click to Enlarge.
Gottfried & Florence to compete in The Green Doubles Minigolf Tournament
The magnificent GMGC Green Doubles Trophy for 2011!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Gottfried & Florence to compete in The Green Doubles Minigolf Tournament
The BMGA Tour Professionals are both Great Britain International Minigolfers, and keen minigolf bloggers. However, the GMGC Green Doubles Tournament will be the first-time the pair have teamed together. To date, Richard has teamed with ten other playing partners.
Richard's last minigolf doubles match was on the 1st August 2010, as he and Emily 'Coach' Gottfried faced the Bangor Minigolf Club in a losing effort in the 126-hole Northern Ireland Belfast Bangor Antrim & Larne Invitational Tournament. The Luton Wanderers Minigolf Club were due to meet the Portsmouth & Southsea Crazy Golf (Gold) Club on the 29th December 2010, however the Adventure Golf course was closed, so the result of the Southsea Pirate Masters was decided by a coin-toss.
Richard Gottfried's Minigolf Doubles Career Record - at 22/02/2011 (last match 29/12/2010).
Minigolf Doubles Win/Loss Record (in all friendlies & full BMGA Tour events)
Played - 42
Won - 21
Lost - 18
Drawn - 3
Minigolf Doubles Win/Loss Record (in BMGA Tour events)
Played - 19
Won - 11
Lost - 5
Drawn - 3
Minigolf Doubles Record (in BMGA Warm-up Doubles events)
Played - 2
First - 0
Second - 1
Third - 0
Other - 1
10 playing partners (regular BMGA competition team mate is Kevin Moseley)
19 competitive matches
23 friendlies
29 matchplay matches
11 strokeplay format matches
1 point-play-system match
1 match decided by Coin Toss
2 BMGA Warm-up Doubles events
Full details and results - Click to enlarge image
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
17th spot in the World Crazy Golf Championships
2007 - Nick Chitty
2006 - Stuart Godfrey
2005 - Jan Palmer
2004 - Trevor Exall
2003 - Sam Birkett
Link to the full list of the 'Top-18's' in the World Crazy Golf Championships.
Link to the Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Rankings 2003-2010.
Unofficial Booklet of the 2010 World Crazy Golf Championships.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
A UK Minigolf Major Competitions Results Archive by the founder of the BMGA
The website can be found here, and makes for some interesting reading.
For details of the BMGA you can visit the official website here.
You can also join the BMGA for FREE in 2011.
Monday, February 21, 2011
A not real three non-hole non-minigolf course on the strip in Las Vegas
Looking forward to a return-trip to Las Vegas again in the future...
The Oswestry Games
As a fan of all sports and games, large and small, mainstream and obscure, I clicked through to find out more.
Looking at http://twitter.com/OswestryGames and the Oswestry Games website I found that in July 2012 the town of Oswestry, Shropshire, will be hosting a community games event in celebration of the 2012 Olympic Games, and the 'spirit of sport' that is alive and kicking in and around Oswestry. Looking at the Oswestry Games Information Pack you can see that the area has a long link to the Olympics, stemming from their own Wenlock Olympian Games dating back to the 19th century.
I wish the organisers of the Oswestry Games event all the best with their efforts, in what looks to be a great sporting and community event.
Back in August 2009 Emily and I embarked on a nine-day Seaside & Minigolf Roadtrip that took us from Luton, to Oxford, around the Welsh coast, and back into England at Oswestry. The 32nd Minigolf course we played on this element of our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour was at the very nice Cae Glas Park in Oswestry, where we found an 18-hole Eternit Miniaturegolf course. I also won the "Tour of Wales Trophy" and was presented it in Oswestry. We found the town to be very pleasant and well worth a visit.