Monday, August 27, 2012

‘Mini golf’ at the Paralympic Flame Festival hosted by The Disability Resource Centre in Dunstable

This weekend has seen the Paralympic Flame travel around Bedfordshire before it is joined with others at Stoke Mandeville to create the London 2012 Paralympic Flame. On Sunday 27th August 2012 a Paralympic Flame Festival was held at The Disability Resource Centre in Dunstable.

Emily and I went along to have a look at the Flame and see what else was going on at the event. There were stalls and games at the Flame Festival and I’d heard that there would be a chance to have a look around the centre and find out about Paralympic Sports. Emily and I had a go at Boccia (a game like Boules/Petanque) which I won :-) We’ve managed to get tickets to see Boccia at the Paralympics and are really looking forward to it.


While queuing to see the Paralympic Flame we spotted on the venue map produced for the event that the Dunstable & District Disabled Sports group would have a ‘Mini golf’ activity!

Me and Emily with the Paralympic Flame and a London 2012 Olympic Torch at The Disability Resource Centre in Dunstable

It was a Pitching/Chipping game, using a good little teeing-up machine. I managed to hit a ‘hole-in-one’ on my fifth and final go!

Pitching with a Putter on the Mini golf game at the Paralympic Flame Festival in Dunstable

It was a great event and a nice warm-up for the London 2012 Paralympic Games!

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Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Golf Apocalypse - a Crazy Golf course at the end of the world?

The 304th Miniature Golf course gets played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour!

This year has seen some new Minigolf courses opening up in London and on Saturday 11th August we headed to the latest addition to the capital’s Crazy Golf scene - the 'Golf Apocalypse' Mini Golf course at London's Pleasure Gardens, near Pontoon Dock DLR station.

Crazy Golf in London - the Golf Apocalypse
The crazy Minigolfers at the 'Golf Apocalypse' Mini Golf course. From l-r: Gareth Holmes, Richard Gottfried, Emily Gottfried, Dave Lovatt, Alan Norman. The course, much like the sign above, is like something out of Mad Max! Unlike Barter Town the course accepts cash payments to play.

Fellow BMGA Tour Pro Gareth Holmes had texted me with some snaps of the course after he had spotted it when leaving the Excel centre on Friday and with some free time on Saturday we decided to head along and give it a go.

Crazy Golf in London - the Golf Apocalypse
All aboard GA airlines

The course’s designer and owner, Dave Lovatt, was also responsible for the 9-hole Crazy Golf course that staged the Welsh Open Crazy Golf Championships as part of the Newport Big Splash Festival in 2010. Unfortunately we happened to be in Newport a week too early to play that course!

Crazy Golf in London - the Golf Apocalypse
None of us could beat the 'Golf Apocalypse' course record!

We’ve been looking forward to playing his latest layout and it certainly is crazy!

The 9-hole course has all manner of strange Minigolf obstacles and you find yourself playing through the fuselage of a crashed aeroplane, in a pinball machine, on a snooker table and into a volcano!

Crazy Golf in London - the Golf Apocalypse
Emily plays the 3rd hole - a Loop-di-Loop made of a series of tyres!?

Hole 4 is a Pinball machine hole where you have to use the flippers to get the ball in the hole once you've teed-off!

Crazy Golf in London - the Golf Apocalypse
Playing a tee-shot on hole 4 - a hole-in-one is still possible even if the ball misses the hole on the first pass! See video below...


When we arrived at the course Dave showed us a few lines (but not all of them, the cagey player that he is) and we saw he had certainly mastered the course. He told us that the very best score he had shot was an 18. Very impressive considering the bizarre nature and layout of many of the holes. The course Par is listed as 32 with many of the holes par-4 and the last being par-5.

Crazy Golf in London - the Golf Apocalypse
Dave Lovatt shows the Pro players how to play hole 5

In our 9-hole shootout Emily picked up the win with a score of 25. I was second with 26, Gareth was third with 27 and Alan was one shot further back on 28 in our very closely fought match.

Crazy Golf in London - the Golf Apocalypse
Richard tries out his potting skills on the 7th hole of the Golf Apocalypse!

After a short break we headed out for our challenge match against Dave who was itching to play against the Pro players. The ‘Golf Apocalypse’ course rules state that if the ball leaves the course at any time it must be replaced at the point it was hit from (rather than the BMGA rule of replacing it at the point of exit). This rule would prove to be a bit of a game changer when faced with the long 9th hole!

Crazy Golf in London - the Golf Apocalypse
Richard putts through the fuselage of a crashed plane!

With the exception of Emily who scored a 29, we all had better second rounds. I scored a 24 while Gareth scored 25. Dave and Alan tied with a score of 22 and so a sudden-death play-off was required!

Crazy Golf in London - the Golf Apocalypse
Brewery Minigolf Champion Alan 'Stormin' Norman gives Richard's second shot the thumbs-up!

The hole to play the decider on was the 9th and Alan played first, scoring a 6. Dave stepped up and despite hitting the ball out of bounds with his first two shots managed to shoot a ‘par’ score of 5 to win the match.

Crazy Golf in London - the Golf Apocalypse
Dave Lovatt tees-off on the very tough 9th hole

The course is unique and very very crazy. It's well worth a play.

After visiting over 500 Miniature Golf courses you might think that we'd seen pretty much everything there is to see on a Crazy Golf course. But the Golf Apocalypse has certainly shown us that there is still much more to be written in the long history of Minigolf!


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Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Finger Jousting to feature as a sport at the 2012 World Alternative Games!

First-ever UK Finger Jousting Championship to be contested in the World Alternative Games in Wales.


The World Alternative Games have kicked off in the town of Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales with over 50 competitions taking place from the 17th August until the 2nd September! The town may be Britain's smallest, but it's the new world capital of weird, wacky and obscure sports.

The noble sport of Finger Jousting is one of those events and a tournament endorsed by the sport's international governing body, the World Finger Jousting Federation, will be contested on Friday 24th August.

Finger Jousters aged 16 and over can enter for the princely sum of £4 and will be competing for the coveted title of UK Finger Jousting Champion and the prestigious World Alternative Games Gold Medal! All contestants will receive one of the Corinthian Medals from the World Alternative Games organisers. The tournament will see players compete in a knockout tournament with each match consisting of three rounds of Point Play Rules Finger Jousting.

You can find out more about the Finger Jousting event on the World Alternative Games website.

Please visit the World Finger Jousting Federation's website for comprehensive information on the game, rules, terminology and 'history' of the sport. You can also join the WFJF via the online shop.

As the newly installed British Consul(!) to the World Finger Jousting Federation I will not be able to compete in the tournament, but I'll be hoping to have a few Quick Play Finger Jousting Bouts to enhance my Win-Loss record while I'm in Llanwrtyd Wells. There are also Croquet and Bubble Blowing Championships taking place when we're in town so I'll be going for gold in those events.

Video: Match-up between Squire Richard of Surleigh and his arch-rival Sir Myles of Hampshire in a point play rules Finger Jousting contest in March 2007.

I am currently on an undefeated streak of 82 matches, lasting since the 21st December 2006! The last opponent to defeat me was Emily Gottfried in a Quick Play Rules match. I quickly sought revenge and defeated her 7-0 in a Point Play Match that very same day!

My overall Finger Jousting Career Win-Loss Record stands at:
Played - 125
Won - 113
Lost - 9
Tied - 3

Since I became a 'Pro' member of the WFJF I have played 111 matches, winning 104 of them, losing four times and drawing three contests.

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Saturday, August 11, 2012

Finally Playing the Camden Crazy Golf Course

A Minigolf re-visit - this time with a Putter and Minigolf Balls!

After competing in The Brewmaster's Open at the Camden Town Brewery we still had an appetite for some more Minigolf and as Alan 'Stormin' Norman had brought his kitbag along it meant we were able to play the Crazy Golf course at Clarence Wayon the Castlehaven Estate in Camden, London!

I've been to the course a number of times before and only seen people on it a couple of times.

We decided that in our contest we'd have a Doubles Match between me and Simon 'Practice' Hall - as the Luton Minigolf Club - versus Seth 'Clockwork Orange' Thomas and Alan 'Stormin' Norman - the London Minigolfers.

To decide which team would tee-off first the team captains had a game of Rock Paper Scissors - I won!!!

The Minigolfers and the Minigolf Putter. From l-r Simon 'Practice' Hall, 'Squire' Richard Gottfried, Alan 'Stormin' Norman, Seth 'Clockwork Orange' Thomas

Using Alan's Minigolf Putter and one ball that was accurately 'tested'* on hole one I teed-off and scored a two. Simon stepped up and also scored a two. The Thomas-Norman tandem also scored four as a team to tie the hole.

* the practice involved throwing a Ravensburg Minigolf Ball down the lane of hole one - it went in for an ace!!!

Alan 'Stormin' Norman in action

The London Minigolfers took the lead on hole two, scoring a four, with me and Simon scoring a five. The team went two-up at the fourth hole, before Simon and I won back a hole at the fifth.

Playing the Cannon Hole

With our team needing to win the hole at the eighth to keep the match alive our team scored a five, following Seth's hole-in-one and Alan's two for their team score of three. I actually managed to get the ball in the hole with my tee-shot, unfortunately it wasn't the first shot! See the 'Caption competition' photo below.

Minigolf Caption Contest!

Simon 'Practice' Hall plays a second shot on hole 9


By playing the course it became the 303rd played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

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Friday, August 10, 2012

Report from the 2012 International Rock Paper Scissors Championships

Our “Wildcard” team from San Marino finish 4th!

On Thursday 9th August Emily and I headed to the Knight’s Templar Pub on Chancery Lane in London as it was the host venue for the 2012 International Rock Paper Scissors Championships organised by the team at Wacky Nation!

We’ve competed in the 2010 and 2011 UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships and the event is always a great sporting and drinking occasion.

With over 150 athletes in 16 teams representing a range of countries including Lapland, Austria, Japan and Great Britain, Emily and I teamed-up with fellow ‘wildcards’ Dave and Sophie Barry from the USA. As we couldn’t play as a combined "UK-USA" team we decided to represent San Marino!


The team from San Marino!

The Wacky Nation Rock Paper Scissors Championships attract a great deal of media attention and BBC 2’s James May and his Man Lab team had enlisted the help of 2011 UK RPS Champion Max Deeley. For some reason their team also included football hardman Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock!

Prior to the start of the competition I challenged ‘Razor’ to a friendly RPS contested to warm-up. Needless to say I won the one-throw shootout! It was an ill-tempered clash with plenty of foul language, gamesmanship and it almost resulted in a knock-out punch!


Richard Gottfried faces Neil 'Razor' Ruddock in an International Rock Paper Scissors 'friendly' match!

Neil 'Razor' Ruddock wasn't too pleased in losing to me in a Rock Paper Scissors match!

With the main event drawing ever closer the teams were divided into two pools and commenced with a series of Round Robin matches. Our team of Sammarinese players were in a division that also consisted of Lapland A, Austria, Japan, South Sudan and Somalia. Having had a few practice games within our team in order to get our throws right (throwing on two, not three pumps) we set out on our road to the knockout rounds.

Richard Gottfried (left) and a South Sudanese athlete both throw 'Rock'

Matches were played in a ‘first to four points’ format with each player in the team taking it in turns to win a point by competing in a ‘best of three’ Rock Paper Scissors game. Our team managed to rack up win loss record of won four, lost one to have one-foot in the finals. However before any teams could advance from our pool a play-off was required as Austria and Lapland A had also finished with four wins and one loss!

A play-off was required and thankfully our team were able to win both of our matches to advance alongside Lapland A, with the Austrians unfortunately sent home.

Reaching the semi-finals of the International Rock Paper Scissors Championships was the furthest stage of an RPS contest I’ve ever reached having been knocked out in the preliminaries in 2010 and 2011. Dave and Sophie’s play was very impressive and were on fire in their tournament debuts. Emily has reached the higher levels of competition and so had some experience to bring to the team.

The first semi-final saw San Marino take on the Vatican City team in a ‘first to six points’ match. Unfortunately we lost and were therefore unable to go for gold and would have a chance for the bronze in the repechage. Lapland A picked up a victory over Great Britain to reach the final and the veteran team, also known as The Richard Richard Danes Appreciation Society, would face the Vatican City.


Dave Barry (left) faces one of the Vatican City competitors

Before the final the bronze medal play-off was played between San Marino and Great Britain. The opening stages of the match echoed the famous fast goal by footballer Davide Gualtieri of San Marino against England in 1993. Much like that match the scoreline was one-sided and the result meant San Marino didn’t win.


The final match saw Lapland’s ‘A’ team take on the might of the Vatican City’s finest. This contest was played to seven points and with a huge and rowdy crowd watching on it was the Laplanders who won the contest, the gold medals, the huge trophy and the coveted title of International Rock Paper Scissors Champions!

Our team mate Dave Barry wrote about his experience in international sporting competition in his column for The Miami Herald! It’s a great report and do check it out at "Dave Barry: Representing a country is great feeling."

The 2012 UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships will be taking place at the Crosse Keys Pub in London on Saturday 13th October. For more information please visit Wacky Nation.

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Minigolf Report - The Brewmaster’s Open Mini Golf Tournament at the Camden Town Brewery


10th August 2012
Press Information
For Immediate Release

Minigolf Report from The Brewmaster’s Open in Camden

On Saturday 4th August Minigolfers Richard and Emily Gottfried were joined by fellow Lutonian Simon Hall in competing in The Brewmaster’s Open Minigolf Competition at the Camden Town Brewery in London.

Mini Golf at the Camden Town Brewery in London
The 'Pro' and 'Semi-Pro' Minigolfers at the entrance to The Brewmaster’s Open Mini Golf course. from l-r 'Squire' Richard Gottfried, Christopher 'Beya' Gottfried, Alan 'Stormin' Norman (seated on barrell), Emily 'Lemony' Gottfried, Seth 'Clockwork Orange' Thomas, Simon 'Practice' Hall

The Brewmaster’s Open tournament was played on an UrbanCrazy Miniature Golf course that had been built inside the Camden Town Brewery. Players had to putt around Beer Keg obstacles placed over the 5-hole layout.

Over 200 players competed during the event, with the best score of the day being a round of 8(-2) by London’s Alan Norman to take the first prize of “A lot of Camden Town Brewery’s Beer!” Richard Gottfried finished in tied second place with London’s Seth Thomas after both players had scored a round of 9(-1).

Mini Golf at the Camden Town Brewery in London
Richard Gottfried lines-up a Putt on hole 1 at The Brewmaster's Open - he would 'Ace' the hole in each round

As well as the overall leaderboard competition six British Minigolf Association (BMGA) Tour Pro players competed in a three-round contest. Alan Norman stormed to victory with a total of 28(-2), with Seth Thomas runner-up with 30(par). Richard Gottfried took third place with a total of 31(+1) following rounds of 10, 9 and 12.

Mini Golf at the Camden Town Brewery in London
The top-3 'Pro' players at The Brewmaster's Open - from l-r 'Squire' Richard Gottfried (3rd), Alan 'Stormin' Norman (1st), Seth 'Clockwork Orange' Thomas (2nd)

Richard Gottfried said “The Brewmaster’s Open was one of the strangest Minigolf events I’ve played in. The course was really nice to play and the hospitality of the organisers at the Camden Town Brewery was top notch. My third round was a bit shaky which put paid to my chances of winning, but I had a great time at the competition.”

Mini Golf at the Camden Town Brewery in London
The 'Pro' & 'Semi-Pro' Minigolfers during a rest break at the Camden Town Brewery Brewmaster's Open tournament

Simon Hall was making his Minigolf competition debut and finished in tied third place on the overall leaderboard with his best round of 10(par). In the ‘Pro’ contest he was tied for fifth with Emily Gottfried. Southsea’s Christopher Gottfried was fourth with a score of 35(+5).

Mini Golf at the Camden Town Brewery in London
Christopher Gottfried plays hole 5 at The Brewmaster’s Open

Simon Hall said “What a crazy introduction to a Minigolf competition! Who knew you could organise a Minigolf Competition in a Brewery.”

Ends

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Tuesday, August 07, 2012

Mini Golf at the Camden Town Brewery in London

Playing the 302nd course on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Mini Golf in a Brewery!

On Saturday 4th August 2012 we headed along to the Camden Town Brewery in London as we'd been told about a Minigolf competition taking place there!

My Minigolf rival and sometimes team mate Kevin Moseley had tweeted me to let me know about the event and so we made sure to add the date to the diary. We've played a few Crazy Golf courses in pub beer gardens on our travels, but never heard of a Miniature Golf course being set-up in a brewery!

Mini Golf at the Camden Town Brewery in London
A lot of beer kegs and the tee-off area of hole 1 at Camden Town Brewery's Mini Golf course

From 12pm to 8pm on the 4th August the team at the Camden Town Brewery were running "The Brewmaster's Open" Mini Golf competition on a five-hole Minigolf course supplied by UrbanCrazy.

Mini Golf at the Camden Town Brewery in London
A view of the 'Brewmaster's' ingenious Minigolf course layout

The unique venue and course layout was a real attraction and the price of a round of Minigolf also including a pint at the end. "Lots of free beer" was the prize on offer to the winner at the end of the day, with a free case of beer to any player managing a perfect round of five holes-in-one!

Mini Golf at the Camden Town Brewery in London
Southsea's Number One Minigolfer Christopher Gottfried is impressed with the Mini Golf course

Our group of six arrived at 2pm to find the course record had been set at 10. As well as competing in the overall Brewmaster's Open we had decided to play a three-round 'Pro / Semi-Pro' event amongst our group to make a day of it. The Camden Town Brewery had a great atmosphere, with a busy bar, plenty of seating inside & out, and the Olympics on a big screen TV. It was a nice setting for a few hours of Minigolfing and Drinking.

Mini Golf at the Camden Town Brewery in London
The group of Crazy Golfing 'Pro' Players. From l-r Richard Gottfried, Christopher Gottfried, Alan Norman (seated on keg), Emily Gottfried, Seth Thomas, Simon Hall

Our group split into three groups of two for the first two-rounds, with the final round to be played in reverse leaderboard order in two groups of three players.


Mini Golf at the Camden Town Brewery in London
I play hole 5 at The Brewmaster's Open Minigolf Tournament

Having scored an 8(-2) in round one Alan 'Stormin' Norman set the new course record and had gained a two-shot lead over me and three-shots over Seth 'Clockwork Orange' Thomas. He followed up the 8 with a 9(-1) to retain his lead heading into round three.

Mini Golf at the Camden Town Brewery in London
I celebrate yet another hole-in-one on hole 1 at The Brewmaster's Open

Following a 'refreshment break' in the bar of the brewery we headed back onto the course to complete the 'Pro' contest and also see if Alan was still at the top of the leaderboard in the overall day-long contest. Indeed he was.

The 'Pro' and 'Semi-Pro' Minigolfers take a 'refreshment break' at the Camden Town Brewery during The Brewmaster's Open tournament
The 'Pro' & 'Semi-Pro' Minigolfers take a 'refreshment break' at the Camden Town Brewery during The Brewmaster's Open tournament

The final round saw Alan score an 11(+1) to take the victory in our contest, I scored a disappointing 12(+2) and slipped to third place, with Seth Thomas shooting a 10(par) to move up one place to second.

Mini Golf at the Camden Town Brewery in London
Alan 'Stormin' Norman plays hole 2

My brother Christopher finished in fourth place, scoring rounds of 13, 11 and 11 for a total of 35(+5) and showing the experience he gained in the one and only BMGA Tour event he ever played in - the 2008 Brighton Open.

Mini Golf at the Camden Town Brewery in London
Christopher Gottfried playing hole 5 at The Brewmaster's Open

Emily and Simon 'Practice' Hall tied for fifth place with a score of 36(+6). Simon, playing in his first tournament, did manage a best round of 10(par) to earn a place on the Brewmaster's Open Leaderboard in tied third place!

The Brewmaster's Open course and competition had one of the best scorecards produced for it - a Beermat advertising the event along with a scorecard on the reverse! A really great piece of Miniature Golf ephemera.

Some pints and a beermat advertising The Brewmaster's Open
Some pints and a beermat advertising The Brewmaster's Open

After the final round we headed back to the bar for some celebratory drinks and food. As we were leaving we had to grab a final look at the leaderboard and saw that Alan had been joined at the top of the leaderboard with another player who had scored an 8! Over 200 people played the course during the day and luckily for Alan no-one managed to better the 8 during the day, so he became the Champion of the first-ever Brewmaster's Open!

I was happy with my best round of 9 to tie for the runner-up spot along with Seth Thomas and a few other players.

Mini Golf at the Camden Town Brewery in London
Seth 'Clockwork Orange' Thomas plays hole 3 while Luton's third best Minigolfer Simon 'Practice' Hall looks on

The Camden Town Brewery is well worth a visit and you can find it located under the railway arches of Kentish Town West Overground Station.

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Friday, August 03, 2012

A Gottfried vs. Gottfried Crazy Golf Match on Selfridges' Roof in London

A Crazy Golf battle between two of the Gottfried brothers on the roof of Selfridges London.

After watching the Archery at the London 2012 Olympic Games my brother Christopher and I headed to the 9-hole Bompas & Parr Crazy Golf course that is on the rooftop of Selfridges Department Store during the summer 'Big British Bang' event at the store.

We've had quite a few Crazy Golf matches against each other over the years and Christopher was with us when we played the course that would become the first on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

With the course filled with London-landmarks sculpted in cake form the layout was quite different to any other Miniature Golf course Christopher had played before, but the natural sportsman in him meant he took the lead on the second hole (Big Ben Rebound)!

Christopher plays his second shot on hole 2 - it looks more like Piccadilly Circus than Westminster with all the 'traffic'!

The very difficult third hole was the bane of many a player at the course on our visit, as indeed it has been in the tournaments I've played there since the course opened. We scored a 4 and a 6.

The pair of us had a great time in a very close match-up that lacked holes-in-one, with neither of us getting an Ace until the 9th hole!

Richard Gottfried playing the 5th hole of the Bompas & Parr Crazy Golf

In the end, and with a feeling of relief, I picked up the win 22 to 26 to (just about) claim the bragging rights.

Christopher Gottfried playing the 9th hole of the Bompas & Parr Crazy Golf

The course is in place until September and if you haven't given it a play yet you really should. The roof at Selfridges was one of the first sites in the UK to be home to a Minigolf course and back in the 1930's players flocked there to Putt above Oxford Street!

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Thursday, August 02, 2012

Great Gluten Free Food News - Leon makes their Baked Fries Coeliac-friendly!

While in London today I was feeling peckish so had a look in Leon's Carnaby Street Restaurant to see what was new. I was incredibly pleased to see that the Baked Fries are now Gluten Free!!!

The menu has a BIG Star next to the Baked Fries that says "Now GF" - a very pleasing sight indeed :-)

I had to get some - they would be the first Lattice-type 'fancy' fries I've had in about five years!!!

Leon's Baked Fries are now Gluten Free! They're very tasty too.

It may seem like such a small thing, but for someone who has Coeliac Disease to be able to eat like someone with a 'normal' diet is such a great thing.

I also enjoyed a very tasty Persian Chicken & Avocado Superfood Salad and a Raspberry Lemonade.

If you're a Coeliac I highly recommend you visit a Leon Restaurant. Great food, great service, great value.

Thank you Leon!

PS - Dear Leon, If you'd like to open a restaurant in Luton, Bedfordshire I'd be very very happy!

Links:
- Leon Restaurants
- Coeliac UK