Minigolf Course Visits 118, 119 & 120 - Oxford Parks

On the journey to Wales for the epic leg of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour we stopped off to play the three Swedish Felt B Run courses in Oxford's Parks on the 13th August.

On our previous visit to Oxford in December the courses were all closed. However, this time they were all open.

Course visit #118 was to Bury Knowle Park in Headington.


Course visit #119 was to Florence Park in Cowley.




Course visit #120 was to Cutteslowe and Sunnymead Park.

Over the three rounds and 27-holes I hit a total of 99(+42) to take the Oxford title, while Emily scored 103(+49).

Minigolf etc. - English to Welsh translations

While on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour holiday in Wales in 2009 we noticed a few different spellings of Minigolf, Miniature Golf and Crazy Golf!


Below are the translations from English to Welsh:

Crazy Golf (1) = Golff Gwyllt

Crazy Golf (2) = Golff Giamocs

Minigolf = Minigolff

Mini Golf = Golff Bach

Miniature Golf = Maes Golff

Putting Green = Llain Bytio

Golf = Golff

Course = Cwrs

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour list of courses visited and played
- Wales
- Lost in Translation

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Tour of Wales

Over the past nine days Emily and I have been on a 983 mile road trip to play the Minigolf courses of Wales.

In total 32 courses were played (four in England, with Oxford's three Swedish Felt B-runs played on the way, and the Eternit course in Oswestry played on the way home).

The 28 Welsh courses we played account for approximately 80% of all the Minigolf courses in Wales (according to Miniaturegolfer.com) and 93% of the public courses in the country.

During the Welsh Leg of our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Emily and I competed in a 31-round, 357-hole Minigolf Tournament which I won by 41 shots. However, Emily won the Aces competition with 29 holes-in-one over the tournament.

The courses visited between the 13th and 21st August were (numbers indicate visit # on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour):
118 Oxford (Bury Knowle Park) - Swedish Felt
119 Oxford (Florence Park) - Swedish Felt
120 Oxford (Cutteslowe and Sunnymead Park) - Swedish Felt
121 Barry Island/Ynys y Barri (Smuggler's Cove) - Adventure Golf
122 Porthcawl (Trecco Caravan Park) - Adventure Golf
123 Porthcawl (Trecco Caravan Park) - Putting Course
124 Swansea/Abertawe (Southend Park, The Mumbles) - Crazy Golf
125 Swansea/Abertawe (Singleton Boating Lake) - Crazy Golf
126 Gowerton (Gowerton Golf Range) - Minigolf
127 Gowerton (Gowerton Golf Range) - Putting Course
128 Pembrey/Pen-bre (Pembrey Country Park) - Crazy Golf
129 Pendine Bay - Crazy Golf
130 Saundersfoot - Crazy Golf
131 Heatherton Park, near Tenby - Adventure Golf
132 Eglwyswrw (Dyfed Shires & Leisure Farm) - Crazy Golf
133 Henllan Station (Teifi Valley Railway), near Newcastle Emlyn - Crazy Golf
134 Llanrhystud (Penrhos Golf & Country Club) - Crazy Golf
135 Aberystwyth - Crazy Golf
136 Aberystwyth - Putting
137 Aberdovey/Aberdyfi - Putting
138 Tywyn (Leisure Park) - Crazy Golf
139 Isle of Anglesey/Ynys Môn (Holyhead Park) - Crazy Golf
140 Isle of Anglesey/Ynys Môn (Bodorgan, Henblas Country Park) - Crazy Golf
141 Isle of Anglesey/Ynys Môn (Anglesey Sea Zoo) - Swedish Felt
142 Llandudno (Great Orme/Y Gogarth) - Alpine Adventure Golf
143 Llandudno (Great Orme/Y Gogarth) - Rocky Pines Adventure Golf
144 Towyn (Knightly's on Sandbank Road) - Crazy Golf
145 Rhyl (Drift Park) - Minigolf
146 Rhyl (Welsh Dragon) - Adventure Golf
147 Prestatyn - Arnold Palmer Putting Course
148 Llangollen (Riverside Park) - Minigolf
149 Oswestry (Cae Glas Park) - Eternit Minigolf

We also made stops at places believed to be home to courses, or some that were closed, these are listed below:
21 Barry Island/Ynys y Barri - Crazy Golf - Demolished for new Smuggler's Cove Adventure Golf
22 Pendine Sands - Crazy Golf - Demolished
23 Saundersfoot (Merlewood Hotel) - Putting Course - for hotel guests only
24 Gumfreston (The Dinosaur Park) - Adventure Golf - was just closing
25 Herons Brook Animal Farm - Crazy Golf (Demolished five years ago)
26 Aberystwyth Cliff Railway - Claimed to have a new Crazy Golf course - it did not exist
27 Aberystwyth Cliff Railway - The 'Games Room' did have a broken minigolf arcade machine that was out of order
28 Tywyn (Leisure Park) - Putting (ran out of time on visit)
29 Porthmadog - Crazy Golf (arrived at 5.30pm, course closed at 6pm but would not let us play)
30 Porthmadog - Swedish Felt (arrived at 5.30pm, course closed at 6pm but would not let us play)
31 Porthmadog - Putting (arrived at 5.30pm, course closed at 6pm but would not let us play)
32 Criccieth - Miniature Golf (Pitch & Putt)
33 Criccieth - Miniature Golf (Pitch & Putt)
34 Abergwyngregyn (Aber Falls Tavern) - course unplayable, Tavern under redevelopment
35 Llanfairfechan - Crazy Golf - only holes 13, 14, 15, 16 & 17 remain - no kiosk

While in Wales we also competed in the first Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament) in Swansea (Abertawe), where I finished second to Cwmbran's Jas Kukielka.

Full details and photos of all the courses visited and the 2009 Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg will follow soon.

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour list of courses visited and played
- Wales
- Minigolf etc. - English to Welsh translations

Like the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on Facebook, check out our YouTube channel and follow me and Emily on Twitter.

Richard Gottfried's Minigolf Player Profile on www.miniaturegolfer.com

www.miniaturegolfer.com, the world's number website for Miniature Golf, mini golf and crazy golf resources, has updated my player profile. You can view it here.

Eggheads, Crazy Golf and my Alma Mater

My old university (the University of Bedfordshire, formerly Luton) has posted news of my appearance on Eggheads and my second Mini Major win in the Manchester Miniature Open tournament on its Alumni news section.

You can check out the stories here and here.

You can read the Alumni Blog here.

Gottfrieds rule the roost...

The Luton News reported on our first and second places in the Manchester Miniature Open, with the great story "Gottfrieds rule the roost at the Manchester Open".

One & Other in Trafalgar Square

After my application back in April to be a part of Anthony Gormley's Living Monument in Trafalgar Square we went to visit the plinth while in London yesterday.

It was great watching the two particpants between 3 and 5pm. They were John L and Matt S. You can view their 'live' feed videos by clicking on the links in their names above.



Matt was throwing out parachute men toys to the crowd and I caught the first successful 'drop'!






So far 31,090 people, and me, have applied for one of the 2,400 places available. I haven't been selected yet, but my name will remain in the draw for places in September and October.

You can check out One & Other here.

Gottfried's in the WMF World Rankings

The new World Minigolfsport Federation (WMF) World Rankings List has been updated and released.

Both Emily and I have moved up in the rankings from our previous positions.

In the last rankings Emily was ranked 115th and is now 100th in the Women's World Rankings.

I was previously ranked 425th and am now 352nd in the Men's World Rankings.

Great Britain is ranked 20th of 29 Nations.

Emily and I each have one Great Britain International Cap from our appearance in the 2008 Nations Cup in Tampere, Finland.

The WMF World Minigolf Rankings are those of the World Minigolfsport Federation (WMF) and are published twice annually. Competitions that earn WMF Ranking Points are predominantly played on Eternit, Beton and Swedish Felt Courses.

You can view our other Minigolf and Crazy Golf Rankings here.

Minigolf Doubles - Career Stats

Updated Minigolf Doubles Record following a match yesterday at Tea Green.

Tea Green Crazy Golf Course Finished, plus 'Then' & 'Now'

The Crazy Golf course at Tea Green Golf near Luton has now had new felt laid on each of its 9-holes.

Yesterday we visited for a few rounds and a game or two with the staff.






The old course record of 15(-3) still stands. The best score yesterday was 16(-2) over 9-holes. Manager Lester Coles however hit a new 18-hole course record with a 33(-3) in a match against me and Scott (below).


You can see some older photos of the course here.

The Nutters With Putters

Contributing to the Oxford English Dictionary

Following my invention of a completely new word during my appearance on Quiz Show Eggheads I would like to suggest the word ‘trompone’ as a new entry to the Oxford English Dictionary.

My suggested meanings for the word are:
1. An incorrect version of the Italian word for ‘Trouser leg’
2. A new type of Pizza
3. An answer given in resignation in the faint hope it may be the correct answer in a TV Quiz Show

If you agree with my idea please leave your comments.

You can contribute to the OED here.

Below, my team mates react to my answer.

Nutters with Putters on Eggheads

The Challengers area.

Our shirt selection lined up before wardrobe's inspection!

A 'star' is born ha ha.

Post-competition photo of the two teams.

NwP from l-r Kevin Botto, Richard Gottfried (Captain), Tim Davies, Andy Booth, Sean Homer and Chris Harding.

The Eggheads from l-r CJ, Daphne, Barry, Kevin and Chris.

Somewhere in Acton - the night before Eggheads

The Nutters with Putters spent the night before filming our Eggheads episode (Series 10, #49) in a hotel somewhere in Acton.

After dinner we had an inter-team quiz with Kevin Botto playing Dermot.



Below is the team's game plan.



It sort of worked, with each individual round going to sudden-death.

Eggheads - the Audition

The Nutters with Putters quiz team auditioned for Eggheads way back in September 2008.

Pictured after the auditions at the BBC are Great Britain Minigolf Internationals, from l-r Kevin Botto (eventual alternate and top-class substitute), Andy Booth, Tim Davies and me (Captain).

Bacon, Whiskey, Fish and...

...Trompone!?

Of course the answer was Calzone - I'll never get that question wrong in a pub quiz now.

Ham & Eggheads

Well, unfortunately we lost.



The Nutters with Putters team did very well, with each round going to sudden-death and I was proud to lead them out against the quiz giants.

If you missed the show you can watch it again on the BBC iplayer at - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006z736

Or it'll be on again tomorrow afternoon on BBC2 Northern Ireland, Sky Channel 992.

Richard Gottfried & Team on Eggheads - BBC Two this Friday

I am going to be on the BBC Two TV Quiz Show Eggheads this Friday (31st July) at 6pm, leading a team of Crazy Golfers - 'The Nutters with Putters' - against the mighty Eggheads.

The contract I had to sign before the show means I can't say whether we won or lost, so you'll have to tune in to find out!

If you miss the show you can watch it again on the BBC iplayer at - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lybkk or here http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006z736

Minigolf Course Visit No. 117 - Lammas Park, Staines

On Sunday 26th July we played the very good new 18-hole Adventure Golf course at Lammas Park, Staines.




The course will be the venue for the London Open minigolf tournament in October.

View other courses visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Link to a blog post about other Mini Golf, Crazy Golf and Adventure Golf courses in and around London.

Check out the Golden Putter website for further details of the Lammas Park Recreation Ground course, and the other courses they operate.

Like the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on Facebook, check out our YouTube channel and follow me and Emily on Twitter.

Water Wars at Thorpe Park - Gottfried vs. Gow

The Richard Gottfried vs. Steve Gow (obscure) sports 'war' continued at Thorpe Park on Sunday.

Stepping outside the normal arenas of Minigolf, Rock Paper Scissors, Crazy Air Squash and Shooting Shacks - we faced off in a Water Balloon War!

I lost.

A great, fun 'sport' to play though - especially the ending!

Shooting Shacks at Thorpe Park

On Sunday 26th July we visited Thorpe Park for fellow Minigolfer Steve Gow's half-birthday - and while we were there we had to play the Shooting Shacks.

This one was quite good.

However, this one was the second sh*ttest shooting shack I have ever played. Even though it was one of the best themed ones (a classic with Old Zeke Kicking the Bucket) barely any of the targets worked and those that did didn't fire any water.

A poor effort.

Minigolf Course Visit No. 116 - Walton Hall Gardens (2)

Walton Hall Gardens was also home to an excellent 18-hole Putting Green.




I scored a 38(+2) which included three holes-in-one. A new Putting Green personal best!