Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Minigolf Course Visit No. 129 - Pendine Bay / Pendine Sands

The next stop, and fourth course of the day, on our tour of Wales was to the 9-hole Crazy Golf course at Pendine Sands. The course was the 129th played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. Not a bad course, but some of the obstacles didn't work too well with a normal golf ball. The Shark's mouth looked great but sadly didn't work in play.

Crazy Golf in Pendine Sands, WalesCrazy Golf in Pendine Sands, WalesCrazy Golf in Pendine Sands, WalesCrazy Golf in Pendine Sands, WalesCrazy Golf in Pendine Sands, Wales
We had been told by the guy at Pembrey that the course at Pendine Sands was a concrete Crazy Golf course that was looking to be repaired (his last visit was the year before).

By the look of the site beside the new course, the old one has been dug up.

Pendine Sands, Wales

Related blog posts:
Crazy World of Minigolf Tour list of courses visited and played
Wales

Minigolf Course Visit No. 128 - Pembrey / Pen-Bre Country Park

The next Minigolf course visit on our Welsh Crazy Golfing road trip took us to Pembrey (Pen-Bre) Country Park.

The course was described as a Crazy Golf course, but reminded me a lot of Eternit/Beton types of course. Very tough in places, but with a bit of practice there could be plenty of Ace opportunities.

Crazy Golf at Pembrey Country Park
Crazy Golf at Pembrey Country Park
Crazy Golf at Pembrey Country Park
The golf area also had a Pitch & Putt course and a two-hole Putting Green (below):

Mini Golf Putting at Pembrey Country Park
In the two-hole Putting Green challenge, I beat Emily 4 shots to 5.

Related blog posts:
Crazy World of Minigolf Tour list of courses visited and played
Wales

Minigolf Course Visits 126 & 127 - Gowerton Golf Range

A visit to Gowerton Golf Range near Swansea.

Heading out of Swansea we visited the Gowerton Golf Range to play on the 9-hole Minigolf course as part of our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Minigolf at Gowerton Golf Range
Minigolf at Gowerton Golf Range
Minigolf at Gowerton Golf Range
Minigolf at Gowerton Golf Range



The Gowerton Golf Range was also home to a very good 9-hole Putting Course (#127).

Minigolf Putting Course at Gowerton Golf Range
Links:
- Gowerton Golf Range
Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Bowlingo at Mumbles Pier

Following the 2009 Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg we headed to Mumbles Pier for a game of our second favourite seaside resort sport - Bowlingo.





The pier and facilities are very good, although the wooden slats on the pier have some of the widest gaps of any pier I've visited!




Some parts of the pier were also under repair when we visited.


Sunday, August 23, 2009

Minigolf Course Visits 124 & 125 - Swansea / Abertawe

The courses we played in the 2009 Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg tournament were the 124th and 125th Mini Golf / Crazy Golf courses visited and played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Both courses in Swansea were played 'blind' with no practice time prior to the tournament itself.

Both courses were of similar design and build and shared many of the same obstacles, the course at The Mumbles (below) was judged to be the tougher of the two.

Crazy Golf in Swansea
Crazy Golf in Swansea
Crazy Golf in Swansea
Crazy Golf in Swansea
Crazy Golf in Swansea
Is this the 'Lucky 19th Hole'?
Crazy Golf in Swansea
Although we didn't get to play the Crazy Golf course at Singleton Boating Lake on the day before the Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg we did go along to have a sneak preview.

Crazy Golf in Swansea
Crazy Golf in Swansea
Crazy Golf in Swansea

Related blog posts:
Crazy World of Minigolf Tour list of courses visited and played
Wales

2009 Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament)


The first Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament) was contested on Saturday 15th August in Swansea (Abertawe).

The 2009 Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg tournament was played over two rounds (36-holes) on Swansea's two Crazy Golf courses. The players in the field were BMGA Tour members and Midlands Minigolf Club members Richard and Emily Gottfried from Luton, and Jas, Cindy, Seve and Leo Kukielka from Cwmbran.

Due to the poor weather conditions in the morning the first round was switched from the Crazy Golf (Golff Gwyllt) course at Singleton Boating Lake for the less flooded course at Southend Park at The Mumbles.

After the first round Jas Kukielka and Richard Gottfried led the tournament on 41(+5) with Richard slightly ahead on five aces to Jas's two. Cindy Kukielka was one shot further back on 42(+6).


With the weather conditions becoming more settled the second round at Singleton Boating Lake saw some improved scores with Jas, Richard and Cindy all scoring par or better.


However, it was Jas's 34(-2) second round score that saw him to a two-round total of 75(+3) and pick up his first Minigolf Tournament victory. Richard Gottfried finished in second place on 76(+4) and Cindy Kukielka achieved her first podium finish with an excellent 78(+6) for third spot.


Photos from the event are below:












Boules Invitational Tournament at The Mumbles

A Kukielka vs. Gottfried family sporting clash in Swansea.

Playing Boules at The Mumbles in Swansea
On Saturday 15th August the Gottfrieds met the Kukielkas at Southend Park at The Mumbles in Swansea for the first Boules Invitational Tournament.

Playing Boules at The Mumbles in Swansea
After a series of qualifying rounds it was me versus Seve Kukielka in the final match of the morning to decide who would be winning the prestigious silver salver.

Playing Boules at The Mumbles in Swansea
After Seve took the lead I fought back but eventually lost, and took what would eventually be the first of my two sporting runner-up places of the day.

Playing Boules at The Mumbles in Swansea

Playing Boules at The Mumbles in Swansea