Tuesday, February 24, 2009

A new sledge!

My hunt for a sledge* is now over after I found the 'Omega J.P.R. B90 3RF' today!


*http://hamandeggerfiles.blogspot.com/2009/02/sledges-slegdes-sic-snowboards.html

Despite the fact that it is now highly unlikely to snow again anytime soon I have made the wise investment today, for the fun I can have in the future!


A challenge has already been declared to see which will go faster - the new sledge, or the old snowboard? The smart money is on the sledge, it is red after all.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Video of the 2008 BMGA British Matchplay Championships

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Sledges (Slegdes - sic) & Snowboards

With the snowy weather continuing, my hunt for a sledge continues. And by the looks of this sign (found in Halfords) the hunt will go on for even longer.



However, my trusty old snowboard is still good fun.

Monday, February 02, 2009

Snow halts play

The past few days of snowy weather made it far too treacherous to make the journey to the Adventure Island Monday Night Minigolf League at Star City, Birmingham.

Instead a walk around Luton took me past the Minigolf Course at Wardown Park which was completely snowed under!





My record in the AIMG Winter League remains as follows:
Played - 10
Won - 8
Drawn - 1
Lost - 1
Points - 25

Groundhog Day 2009

According to legend, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he does not see his shadow, there will be an early spring.

This year (the 123rd Trek to Gobbler's Knob) the 'Seer of Seers', 'Prognosticator of Prognosticators' Punxsutawney Phil predicts...SIX MORE WEEKS OF WINTER!

To see the 2009 video of the prediction see:
http://visitpa.com/things-to-do/see-more-pa/groundhog-day/index.aspx

For more information on Groundhog Day see: www.groundhog.org

While in Luton Punxsutawney Richard predicts...two more days of snow!



Sunday, February 01, 2009

Macmillan Annual Bowling Challenge 2009


For the third year running the Ham & Eggers Bowling Team will be entering the Macmillan Annual Bowling Challenge at Luton's Namco Station in an attempt to win the prestigious Macmillan Shield.

The event is now in its fourth year and the Ham & Eggers are looking to improve on last years Bronze medal position to lift the trophy this year.

Previous Champions:
2008 - The Flecney Four
2007 - Plumbs DIY
2006 - Plumbs DIY

Previous Ham & Eggers Team Rankings:
2008 - 3rd
2007 - 6th
2006 - DNP

The 2008 Report can be seen here.

In the first of many pre-Macmillan Annual Bowling Challenge warm-up events, three of last years team took part in the inaugural Luton Bowling Classic on the 29th January, with Richard scoring 225, Mike 193 and Emily 182.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

2009 BMGA British Matchplay Championships

The First Round draw of the 2009 BMGA British Matchplay Championships took place at the BMGA’s HQ in Kent this evening and I was drawn to play against Phil Exall of Tunbridge Wells.

In last years contest I was defeated by Phil's brother Andy Exall in a first round match played at Southend's Adventure Island Course on the 29th March 2008. I finished the inaugural BMGA British Matchplay Championships in 26th place of 29 players.

The 2008 champion was Tim ‘Ace Man’ Davies who defeated Andy ‘Number 2’ Exall 5&4 on the Hastings Seafront Crazy Golf course to lift the title. In the 2008 third/fourth place play-off match Trevor ‘Pumbah’ Exall defeated Kevin ‘Legendus Maximus’ Botto 1up to take the final podium place.

This year the tournament contains 32 players and I'll be looking to do a lot better than in 2008!

The full first round draw is as follows:
1. Cindy Kukielka vs Matthew Harding
2. Chris Jones vs Kevin Botto
3. James Trubridge vs Peter Emmerson
4. Elliott Ward vs Andy Exall
5. Anthony Pope vs Matt Wood
6. Seve Kukielka vs Jas Kukielka
7. Marc Chapman vs Rocky Bullin
8. Keith Kellard vs Terry Exall
9. Gareth Holmes vs Ruth Bullin
10. Chris Harding vs Alan Norman
11. Sean Homer vs Tim Davis
12. Trevor Robertson vs Martin Robertson
13. John Moore vs Den Exall
14. Brad Shepherd vs Marion Homer
15. Phil Exall vs Richard Gottfried
16. Ted McIver vs Leo Kukielka
All first round matches to be played before the 31st May 2009

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Minigolf Report – Gottfried tees-off in BMGA Star City Open


18th January 2009
Press Information
For Immediate Release

Minigolf Report – Gottfried tees-off in BMGA Star City Open

Luton Minigolfer Richard Gottfried played in the first tournament of the British Minigolf Association’s 2009 Season at the BMGA Star City Open at Birmingham’s 36-hole Adventure Island Mini Golf course on Sunday 18th January.

Playing one round on the Hidden Cove course and two rounds on the Lost Hut Trail course Richard finished in 24th place in a field of 33 players with a three round total of 111 (+3), after rounds of 36 (par), 37 (+1) and 38 (+2). An average of 2.06 shots per hole

Richard’s round of 36 included five holes-in-one but these were negated by a run of threes to level out the score.

Richard said “I was a bit disappointed with my finish as in practice I had been scoring in the low thirties, but in the competition I just seemed to be hitting too many threes and fours which were cancelling out any aces I hit. The field was pretty close outside of the top five with only a few shots separating the players. I had nine holes in one in total and was playing well but just missed a few of my second shots and had an unlucky four and that did for me.”

The BMGA Star City Open was won by Birmingham’s Chris Harding with a three round total of 89 (-19) which included a new course record of 25 (-11) which is also the lowest ever score on a UK 18-hole minigolf course by a British player.

Second was Jam Trubridge on 98 (-10), and following a play-off win against Kevin Moseley Peter Emmerson took third place with a score of 100 (-8).

Richard is currently ranked 14th in the 2008-09 BMGA Order of Merit, and is in 24th spot in the 2009 BMGA Season Only Rankings.

Richard has signed up to play in a further 15 competitions in 2009 including the BMGA British Matchplay Championships and will next be in action in the ninth annual Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club Open in late March. He will also be defending both the Weymouth Open title and the BMGA British Club Championship in October.

Ends

Star City Weekend - 17th & 18th January 2009

The BMGA Tour rolled into Birmingham's Star City at the weekend to tee-off the new 2009 Minigolf Season and to hold the first ever BMGA Indoor Open Minigolf Tournament.

In the run up to the main event - the BMGA Star City Open - there were a number of warm-up competitons that I was competing in, including the EqPD Invitational and the Nayland Classic.

EqPD Invitational, 17/01/09
Rank Player R1 R2 Total
1 John "Thighs" Moore 38 34 72
2 "Squire" Richard Gottfried 38 36 74
3 Mark "The Horse Whisperer" Swain 38 41 79
4 Craig McCallister 40 43 83



Nayland Classic, 18/01/09
Rank Player R1 R2 Total
1 Jam Trubridge 32 34 66
2 Brad "The Fist" Shepherd 35 33 68
3 Chris "Stretch" Jones 31 38 69
4 John "Big Top Ted" McIver 34 36 70
4 Rob Dodd 33 37 70
6 Alan "Storming" Norman 33 39 72
6 Mark "The Horse Whisperer" Swain 30 42 72
8 "Squire" Richard Gottfried 36 37 73
9 Gareth Holmes 36 38 74

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Results of the Third Annual Watford Classic


Emily Gottfried today won the third annual Irregular Mini Golf Tour Watford Classic, played at the Adventure Golf course at TopGolf Watford.

In the three player strokeplay tournament Emily finished with a 36-hole total of 91 (+19) to lift the trophy for the second time in three years. Second was the defending champion Richard Gottfried with 92 (+20) and the mystery player was third with 96 (+24).

Results of previous Watford Classic tournaments:
2007 - R. Gottfried*
2006 - E. Gottfried
* After play-off






Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Minigolf Doubles Strokeplay Match - Result

Result from 15th December 2008:
Chris Harding (Midlands) & Rocky Bullin (London) beat Richard Gottfried (Midlands) & Owen Johnson (Midlands), and Ruth Bullin (London) & Matt Smith (Midlands) in an 18-Hole Doubles Strokeplay Match on the Hidden Cove Challenge course at Star City, Birmingham.

1st Chris Harding & Rocky Bullin = 35 (-1)
2nd* Richard Gottfried & Owen Johnson = 37 (+1)
3rd Ruth Bullin & Matt Smith = 37 (+1)

* Won an Aces Play-Off on the 17th Hole

Winter Minigolf League Match Results - 15/12/08

Results from my matches in the Star City Monday Night Winter League on the 15th December 2008.

beat Chris Harding 34 - 37 on the Hidden Cove Course
lost to Matt Smith 36 - 35 on the Hidden Cove Course
beat Matt Smith 38 - 43 on the Lost Hut Course
beat Chris Harding 36 - 38 on the Lost Hut Course

My Adventure Island Mini Golf Winter League win/loss record:
Played - 10
Won - 8
Drawn - 1
Lost - 1
Points - 25

Monday, December 08, 2008

Gottfried's Crazy World of Minigolf - the Tour So Far

'Crazy World of Minigolf' - the Tour So Far

All courses played 30th September 2006 – 7th December 2008
1 Abingdon (Abbey Meadow) – Crazy Golf
2 Abingdon (Abbey Meadow) – Pitch & Putt
3 Bedford – Putting Green
4 Birmingham (Star City) – Adventure Golf (Hidden Cove Challenge)
5 Birmingham (Star City) – Adventure Golf (Lost Hut Trail)
6 Blackpool (Pleasure Beach) – Adventure Golf (New)
7 Blackpool (Pleasure Beach) – Adventure Golf (Old)
8 Blackpool (Stanley Park) – Crazy Golf
9 Blackpool (Starr Gate) – Minigolf (Arnold Palmer)
10 Brighton (East of Palace Pier) – Crazy Golf
11 Brighton (Peter Pan's) – Adventure Golf
12 Broadstairs (Lillyputt Minigolf) – Lillyputt Minigolf (Arnold Palmer)
13 Broxbourne (Paradise Wildlife Park) – Adventure Golf
14 Coalville – Adventure Golf
15 Eastbourne (Treasure Island) – Adventure Golf
16 Felixstowe (Fantasia) – Adventure Golf
17 Felixstowe (Mannings) – Golf FX
18 Felixstowe (Sea Front) – Crazy Golf
19 Felixstowe (Sea Front) – Putting Green
20 Filey – Crazy Golf
21 Great Yarmouth (Arnold Palmer) – Minigolf 18 Hole
22 Great Yarmouth (Arnold Palmer) – Minigolf 9 Hole
23 Great Yarmouth (Hollywood Adventure Golf, Windmill Theatre) – Indoor Adventure Golf
24 Great Yarmouth (Jungle Golf at the Gardens) – Crazy Golf
25 Great Yarmouth (Pirates Cove) – Adventure Golf
26 Great Yarmouth (Pleasure Beach) – Adventure Golf
27 Hastings (Planet Hastings) – Minigolf
28 Hastings (Seafront) – Adventure Golf
29 Hastings (Seafront) – Crazy Golf
30 Hastings (Seafront) – Minigolf
31 Hayling Island – Adventure Golf
32 Letchworth Garden City – Par 3 Mini Golf/Pitch & Putt
33 Letchworth Garden City – Putting Course on Grass
34 Lowestoft – Adventure Golf
35 Luton (Stockwood Park) – Mini Golf/Pitch & Putt
36 Luton (Wardown Park) – Crazy Golf
37 Luton (Wardown Park) – Mini Golf/Pitch & Putt
38 Luton (Woodside Animal Farm) – Adventure Golf
39 Lytham St Anne’s – Crazy Golf
40 Margate (Little Oasis Crazy Golf) Cliftonville – Minigolf (Arnold Palmer) 1 of the 2 18-hole courses
41 Margate (Palm Bay Caf̩) Cliftonville РCrazy Golf on Grass
42 Margate (Strokes) – Adventure Golf
43 Milton Keynes (Willen Lake) – Adventure Golf
44 Northwick Park – ‘Mini Majors’ Adventure Golf
45 Portsmouth/Southsea (Treasure Island) – Adventure Golf (Victory & Warrior Trails)
46 Ryde (Isle of Wight) – Adventure Golf
47 Rylstone Gardens (Isle of Wight) – Crazy Golf
48 Sandown (Isle of Wight) – Beton Crazy Golf
49 Sandown (Isle of Wight) – Indoor Adventure Golf
50 Scarborough – Adventure Golf
51 Shanklin (Isle of Wight) – Adventure Golf
52 Shanklin (Isle of Wight) – Beton Crazy Golf
53 Shefford, Bedfordshire (The Green Man Pub) – Crazy Golf
54 Southend-on-Sea (Adventure Island) – Adventure Golf (Aztec & Inca courses)
55 Southend-on-Sea (Arnold Palmer Minigolf) – Minigolf
56 Southsea – Crazy Golf
57 Southsea – Putting Green
58 Southsea (Golf Links) – 9 Hole Par 3/Pitch & Putt
59 St Albans, Hertfordshire (Verulamium Park) – Crazy Golf
60 Stonham, Suffolk (Stonham Barns) – Crazy Golf
61 Stratford-upon-Avon – Minigolf
62 Tampere, Finland – Beton
63 Tampere, Finland – Eternit
64 Tampere, Finland – Swedish Felt
65 Warwick (St Nicholas Park) – Adventure Golf
66 Warwick (St Nicholas Park) – Derelict Crazy Golf
67 Watford (Top Golf) – 9 Hole Putting Green
68 Watford (Top Golf) – Adventure Golf
69 West Hagbourne, Oxon (Horse & Harrow Pub) – Crazy Golf
70 Wroxham Barns – Adventure Golf
71 Bury St Edmunds (Abbey Gardens) – Crazy Golf
72 Dorridge (Four Ashes Golf Centre) – Minigolf
73 Coventry (Allesley Park) – Crazy Golf
74 New Malden – Jurassic Golf
75 Guildford (Stoke Park) – Swedish Felt
76 Weymouth (Sea Life Centre) – Adventure Golf
77 Weymouth (Bowleaze Cove) – Crazy Golf
78 Herne Bay – Adventure Golf

Courses visited but not played* 30th September 2006 – 7th December 2008
A Southend-on-Sea (Arnold Palmer Minigolf) – Derelict Minigolf
B Alton Towers – Extraordinary Golf
C Lowestoft – Putting Green
D Lytham St Anne’s – Crazy Golf #2
E Weymouth – Putting Green
F Guildford Lido – Minigolf
G Margate (Little Oasis Crazy Golf) Cliftonville – Minigolf (Arnold Palmer) the 2nd 18-hole course
H Canvey Island – Crazy Golf
I Oxford (Cutteslowe and Sunnymead Park) – Swedish Felt
J Oxford (Bury Knowle Park) – Swedish Felt
K Oxford (Florence Park) – Swedish Felt

* Due to closure, flooding or dereliction

Related Blog Post:

Minigolf in Oxford, in December

Crazy Golf course in Oxford
On an icy cold and foggy Sunday in December what better way to spend your time than searching the historic City of Oxford for it's hidden Minigolf treasures.

Three of Oxford's parks are home to Minigolf courses, and all three are Swedish Felt courses!

The first park we visited was Cutteslowe and Sunnymead Park, in the north of the city, where we found the first of the three 9-hole courses.

Mini Golf at Cutteslowe and Sunnymead Park in Oxford
Crazy Golf at Cutteslowe and Sunnymead Park in Oxford
Crazy Golf at Cutteslowe and Sunnymead Park in Oxford

Stop two of the day was at Headington's Bury Knowle Park.

Mini Golf at Headington's Bury Knowle Park
Crazy Golf at Headington's Bury Knowle Park
Crazy Golf at Headington's Bury Knowle Park

Our last stop of the afternoon, and with the fog creeping in, was at Florence Park where I managed to get these photos just before the park gates closed.

Crazy Golf at Florence Park in Cowley, Oxford
Crazy Golf at Florence Park in Cowley, Oxford
Crazy Golf at Florence Park in Cowley, Oxford

We're now looking forward to returning to Oxford in the summer to improve our scores on these very testing Swedish Felt courses.

Link:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Minigolf Doubles Matchplay - Results & Stats

Results from 24th November 2008:
Fraser Cameron & James Bonsor beat Richard Gottfried & Owen Johnson 4&3 in an 18-Hole Doubles Matchplay Match at Star City, Birmingham.

Richard Gottfried's Career Doubles Matchplay Stats:
Played – 11*
Won – 5
Drawn – 1
Lost – 5

* Seven matches at the 2008 BMGA British Doubles Championship, Warwick (with Emily Gottfried) and four matches at Star City, Birmingham (with Andy Gonsalves x 2, Matt Smith & Owen Johnson).

Back in Action

After a three week break from competitive Minigolf, following the end of the BMGA's 2008 season, I re-entered the fray at Star City's Monday Night Winter League yesterday.

After eight (!) practice rounds on the Lost Hut and Hidden Cove courses to get warmed up I faced Owen Johnson (I won 37-50), James Bonsor (I won 35-42) and Fraser Cameron, who I defeated with a new personal best score on the Hidden Cove Challenge course of 32 (Fraser scored 39).

My score of 32 (-4) also equals my all-time personal best score on any 18-hole Minigolf course. My first '32' was on the Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course in Hastings.

In my three rounds of league play I hit 9 holes-in-one.

My Adventure Island Mini Golf Winter League win/loss record:
Played - 6
Won - 5
Drawn - 1
Lost - 0
Points - 16

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Derelict Crazy Golf in Southend...

...the course gets more derelict as time goes by, such a waste.





Especially as the other 18-Hole Arnold Palmer course on the same site is in good condition.


Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

10 Minutes in Canvey Island

Richard Gottfried on Canvey Island
On a trip to Southend-on-Sea today we decided to take a quick detour to Canvey Island as it was on our 'seasides to visit' list.

Despite the driving rain we decided to brave the elements and have a walk along the seafront and to our amazement what did we discover but a 9-Hole Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course in Cheeky Monkey's Fun Fair that was previously unknown to us!

Crazy Golf at Cheeky Monkey's Outdoor World on Canvey Island
Crazy Golf at Cheeky Monkey's Outdoor World on Canvey Island
Crazy Golf at Cheeky Monkey's Outdoor World on Canvey Island
Crazy Golf at Cheeky Monkey's Outdoor World on Canvey Island
Unfortunately it was closed (what with it being a very wet day in November), but we'll be back in Canvey Island in 2009 to test it out and give it a Crazy World of Minigolf Tour play.

Crazy Golf at Cheeky Monkey's Outdoor World on Canvey Island
Related blog posts:
List of courses visited and played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
Minigolf and Crazy Golf in Essex
Canvey Island
10 Minutes in Canvey Island

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Minigolf Rankings - BMGA, WMF, WCGC & AIMG

Richard Gottfried
2007-2008 BMGA Order of Merit Ranking – 14th of 68 Players*
2008 BMGA Season Only Ranking – 8th of 129 Players**
2008 WMF World Minigolf Ranking – 425th of 433 Places (443 Players)***
2008 Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships – 17th of 68 Players****
2008 AIMG League Ranking – 2nd of 8 Players*****

Emily Gottfried
2007-2008 BMGA Order of Merit Ranking – 46th of 68 Players*
2008 BMGA Season Only Ranking – 29th of 129 Places**
2008 WMF World Minigolf Ranking – 115th of 120 Places (129 Players)***
2008 Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships – 43rd of 68 Players****
2008 Castle Golf Women’s World Crazy Golf Championships – 3rd of 9 Players****

Notes on the Rankings Systems:
* The BMGA Order of Merit Ranking System is calculated by adding a player’s top four scores of the current season to the top two scores from the previous season. BMGA competitions are played on Minigolf Open Standard (MOS) courses.
** The BMGA Season Only League Table Ranking System began on 16/03/2008 following the first event of the 2008 Tour (the PHCGC Open). These rankings are separate to the official BMGA Order of Merit Rankings and are based only on the current season’s results. Points are scored only in official BMGA events and will not be carried forward to the next year. Points are awarded in multiples of 5, starting at 10, up to the second placed player when the difference to the winner will be 10.
*** The WMF World Minigolf Rankings are those of the World Minigolfsport Federation and are published twice annually. Competitions that earn WMF Ranking Points are predominantly played on Eternit, Beton and Swedish Felt Courses.
**** The Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships Rankings are based on the annual World Crazy Golf Championships that take place in Hastings, rules dictate that all players must use only one type of ball for play (Minigolf tournaments allow players to choose from a number of different balls of varying properties). In 2008 a Women’s Championship was introduced and competed for in parallel with the main tournament.
***** The AIMG League Ranking is based upon weekly competition at the Adventure Island Mini Golf Courses at Star City, Birmingham.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Official WMF World Minigolf Rankings (Nov 08)

Following our selection to compete for the Great Britain Minigolf Sport Team in the 2008 Nations Cup in Finland back in May, Emily and I have received our Official World Minigolfsport Federation (WMF) World Minigolf Rankings for International Team Competition.

In the Women's Rankings Emily is ranked in tied 115th place of 120 places (129 players qualify to be currently ranked) and is one of only two Great Britain female minigolfers currently ranked in the WMF List (the other is Marion Homer). Along with Emily and Marion, Ruth Bullin is the only other female to have represented Great Britain in a WMF Sanctioned International Minigolf Tournament.

In the Men's Ranking List I am ranked in joint 425th of 433 places (443 players qualify to be currently ranked).

In the Nations Rankings Great Britain has dropped one place to 20th in the World. Germany, Sweden and Switzerland are currently ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd. The USA has also dropped one place, and are now 19th in the List.

More information and the full rankings can be found at the World Minigolfsport Federation (WMF) website http://www.minigolfsport.com and http://www.minigolfsport.com/download/ranking-list.pdf

Details of our participation in the 2008 Nations Cup can be found here http://hamandeggerfiles.blogspot.com/2008/05/nations-cup-tampere-finland.html

Details about the British Minigolf Association (BMGA) can be found here www.minigolf.org.uk