Saturday, December 07, 2013

Chris 'Who' Harding wins the 2013 Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championship!

Report, photos and video from the 2013 Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championship in Hastings.

A packed house

When Crazy Golfers are not Crazy Golfing they can often be found lurking and loitering in the warmth of an Amusement Arcade.

In a tradition stretching back to 2010 minigolfers have enjoyed playing the game of Air Hockey and the 2013 championship promised lots of action and excitement. It certainly didn't disappoint.

With reigning and previous Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Champions competing, including 2012 winner - Finnish Bruiser Pasty Aho - and the man/myth/legend Peter '5 Star' Jones returning to both Minigolf and Air Hockey action in Hastings.

With a densely packed, competitive and eager field of 30 athletes lined-up it was down to the very busy Buttons Committee to do the draw to see who would face-off in the contest to win the £1 sterling prize money, and most importantly the title of "Best Air Hockey Playing Crazy Golfer in Hastings at the End of October".

International Air Hockey action

After what seemed like hours of play, especially as the tournament was preceded by the Worlds Tat Challenge, the final came down to a battle between two English competitors as Martin Greenhead faced off with Chris Harding.


Full results:
(All players ENG, unless otherwise stated)
First round
1. Jouni Valkjarvi (FIN) defeated Ruth Burke 7-1
2. Dave Donnelly (IRE) lost to Mark Wood 4-1
3. Ted McIver (SCO) beat James Rutherford 7-5
4. Chris Harding  whitewashed John Moore 7-0
5. Keith Kellard bested Marc Chapman 7-4
6. Scott Lancley defeated Daniel Cottam 7-4
7. Adam Kelly received a bye
8. Pasi Aho (FIN) beat Will Donnelly 5-0
9. Alex Exall defeated Chris Wood 6-4
10. Steve Sturdy received a bye
11. Matt Dodd beat Helen Dodd 6-4
12. Steve Lovell won against Brian Smith 6-5
13. Terry Exall bested Jonathan Mather 5-4
14. Paul Johnson Paul Johnson Johnson lost to Peter Jones 7-3
15. Neil Cottam beat Ollie Greenhead 6-4
16. Martin Greenhead won against Christian ‘Anthony Pope’ Fuchs (GER) 7-4

Second round
1. Mark Wood bested Jouni Valkjarvi 7-3
2. Ted McIver lost to Chris Harding 7-4
3. Keith Kellard defeated Scott Lancley 5-4
4. Adam Kelly lost to Pasi Aho 7-1
5. Alex Exall beat Steve Sturdy 7-3
6. Matt Dodd defeated Steve Lovell 6-4
7. Terry Exall won against Peter Jones 6-4
8. Martin Greenhead bested Neil Cottam 7-4

Quarter finals
1. Chris Harding beat Mark Wood
2. Keith Kellard won against Pasi Aho 7-3
3. Alex Exall defeated Matt Dodd 7-6
4. Terry Exall lost to Martin Greenhead 7-5

Semi finals
1. Chris Harding beat Keith Kellard 4-1
2. Martin Greenhead defeated Alex Exall 7-2

Grand final
- Chris Harding defeated Martin Greenhead 7-4

In the most thrilling and most controversial match former Worlds Champion Peter Jones faced Terry Exall.

Peter 'The Puckmaster' Jones vs. Terry 'The Master Pucker' Exall in a fiery match-up

The match finished with a win to Exall, and utter disgust from Jones who threw his paddle across the table and into the path of Terry who recoiled in fear, only to be saved by the net!

In the immediate aftermath of the hot-blooded match Jones was heard to say the table robbed him of the win claiming "You can get better Air Hockey tables from Argos. The air flow on the table in that match was terrible."

Terry, ever gracious in victory, merely said at the the end of the competition "I didn't care about winning the whole thing, as long as I didn't lose to Peter Jones."

The event was a true one and is unlikely to be repeated.

Until next year that is when it'll take place at the same sort of time in the same place. Unless Peter Jones'ses'es behaviour has seen us all banned from the Old Town Buttons.

Until next time. Peace.



Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championships Hall of Fame:
2013 Chris Harding (ENG)
2012 Pasi Aho (FIN)
2011 Peter Jones (WAL)
2010 Kevin Moseley (ENG)

World Adventure Air Hockey Hall of Fame:
2013 Pasi Aho (FIN/GER)

The Undisputed International Worlds Crazy Air Squash Championships Hall of Fame:
2010* Scott Lancley (ENG)
* Note: the Air Squash tables were removed soon after, meaning the tournament became a 'normal' Air Hockey event.

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Friday, December 06, 2013

Udi’s Gluten Free – more than just mince pies

Finding out more about the new range of Udi’s gluten free food.

While shopping in the Dunstable branch of Tesco Emily and I spotted a new range of food in the Free From section of the supermarket.

A selection of the range of Udi's Gluten Free food that I've tried so far

The brand was Udi’s and recently launched in the UK. It’s been going strong in the USA since 1994.

One of the products in Udi’s range of gluten free food are the Rich n’ Fruity Mince Pies. This year I had my first mince pie of the festive season a little later than in 2012, but since that first mince pie in October I’ve bought (and scoffed) at least four more boxes!

The first of Udi's products I tried were the Mince Pies - back in October! Very festive.

On that shopping trip we also bought packs of the Udi’s Ancient Grain crisps – in both Jalapeno Cheddar and Aged Cheddar flavours.

Udi's Ancient Grain crisps also come in a very tasty Aged Cheddar flavour

After seeing “My first gluten free Mince Pie of the festive season” blog post the team at Udi’s got in touch to send me a hamper of their range, which was very much appreciated.

When I received the box of goodies from Udi’s the first product that caught my eye was the Chocolate Chip & Toffee Flavoured Muffins. And they tasted as good as they sound.

One of my favourites among the Udi's range - the Chocolate Chip & Toffee Flavoured Muffins

Next to be tried, though not on the same day, were the Cinnamon & Raisin Bagels. While not a fan of bagels (I've always found them to be very dry, and haven't eaten one since I was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease) I found the Udi's ones to be very nice. They were helped by not being plain ones and as the packet says, they taste great toasted.

The Cinnamon & Raisin Bagels. The best I've tried.

Next out of the bag were the Toaster Pastries. These caught both me and Emily's eyes and brought back memories of pop tarts!

The most interesting of the Udi's range are the retro Toaster Pastries!

As we don't own a toaster we simply put them under the grill for a few minutes to heat them up to that perfect molten lava level before allowing them to cool a bit.

Emily is a fan of the Strawberry Flavoured ones, while I liked the Apple Cinnamon ones more, but would be equally happy with either for a breakfast treat.

The products Udi's sent through to me, and those we've seen in-store are just a selection of the range they are bringing to the UK.

Emily also recently bought a pack of the soft white Classic Finger Rolls and we’re going to use them with some frankfurters we found that were gluten free while shopping in Aldi last week.

Looking at Udi’s US website it’ll be interesting to see if the small and large Tortillas they offer will also be an item they’ll be bringing to these shore as we're big fans of Mexican food!

Check out the Udi’s website for details of the full range and to sign-up for the email newsletter

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Thursday, November 28, 2013

Check out Minigolf on the Pub Sport Portal

Film of the BMGA British Minigolf Club Championship in Basingstoke.

The recent BMGA British Club Championship Minigolf tournament held at Basingstoke Golf Centre in Hampshire was visited by Craig Rodhouse from the Pub Sport Portal website.

Following the competition, the final event of the British Minigolf Association Tour’s 2013 season, a film showing the event highlights was put together – and what a great video it is too, with plenty of holes-in-one on show.

Check out the blog and video at the Pub Sport Portal.


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Monday, November 25, 2013

Minigolf Report – Gottfried’s Final Results of the 2013 BMGA Season

25th November 2013
Press Information
For Immediate Release

Minigolf Report – Gottfried’s Final Results of the 2013 Season

Report from the BMGA British Club Championship in Basingstoke.

Luton Minigolfers Richard & Emily Gottfried closed out the 2013 British Minigolf Association Tour season at the 9-hole Mini Golf course at Basingstoke Golf Centre in Hampshire.

Richard Gottfried playing hole 2 at the Basingstoke Golf Centre's Mini Golf course. Photo by Mark Swain

In the BMGA British Club Championship on Sunday 24th November Richard played for the Midlands Minigolf Club and he and this three team mates finished the event in third-place for the third year in a row. Emily and her Cambridgeshire Mini Golf Club team were ninth in the event, which featured teams from five of the BMGA’s Minigolf Clubs.

Richard captained the Midlands A-team which consisted of Newcastle’s John Moore, Bangor, Northern Ireland’s Mark Swain and Jon Drexler from Memphis, USA.

The Midlands Minigolf Club A-team, from l-r Mark 'The Horse Whisperer' Swain, Jon 'The Black Knight' Drexler, 'Squire' Richard Gottfried, John 'Uncle Al' Moore

Following the British Club Championship Strokeplay Qualifier the Midlands A-team were in tied four place in the seedings. The team then fought through to the semi-finals but were on the losing end in their match against eventual champions the Kent Minigolf Club.

In the bronze-medal match the team faced the London Minigolf Club and won the game at the second extra-hole of a sudden-death play-off.

The Cambridgeshire Mini Golf Club, from l-r Chris Smith, Emily Gottfried, Brenda Smith, Seth Thomas



The British Minigolf Association’s 2014 Tour tees-off in January at the BMGA Star City Open at the 36-hole indoor Adventure Island Mini Golf course in Birmingham.

Ends

Friday, November 22, 2013

The Indomigo Minigolf Course

Finding out about a new portable Miniature Golf course from Germany.

Indomigo Minigolf. Photo courtesy of Indomigo

While reading the latest issue of the German Minigolf Sport Federation’s publication – “Minigolf Magazin” – I noticed a very interesting advert on page 17 for an indoor Minigolf course kit!

The product is called Indomigo and provides an 18-hole Miniature Golf course in a portable suitcase.

The Indomigo Minigolf course kit's case and images of the course layouts possible. Photo courtesy of Indomigo

It looks amazing and you can see a video of the net obstacle in action here and Bahn (hole/lane) "Hohes Loch" here. I can't wait to give it a play.

The Indomigo Minigolf course allows you to build a variety of hole layouts with a lane created by putting the three base pieces together, placing the tee-off point and then adding the modular obstacles.

The contents of the Indomigo Minigolf course kit. Photo courtesy of Indomigo

The kit fits together via magnets and you can make up all manner of obstacles set-ups with the kit.

Developed by the Heinen family in Berlin, Germany the Indomigo course is suitable for indoor and outdoor use and costs €875.

The Indomigo Minigolf course set-up and in action. Photo courtesy of Indomigo

For more information check out the Indomigo website, photo gallery and Facebook page.

I know what I want for Christmas...

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Monday, November 18, 2013

End of Season BMGA Tour Minigolf Rankings for 2013

Richard & Emily Gottfried's End of Season British Minigolf Association Tour Rankings for 2013.

The British Minigolf Association has published the final rankings for the 2013 UK Miniature Golf tournament season.

This year Emily and I were in our seventh year as British Minigolf Association Tour Pro players.


Photo of Luton Minigolfer Richard Gottfried in the BMGA British Crazy Golf Open in Hastings
Richard playing the final hole at the BMGA British Crazy Golf Open held in Hastings



Photo of Minigolf being played at Splash Point Mini Golf course in Worthing
Emily in a play-off against Paul Godding in the BMGA British Masters at Splash Point Mini Golf in Worthing. Ted McIver tends the flag

After achieving a 4th place finish in the 2013 BMGA British Masters competition I reached a career-high BMGA Tour ranking of 5th in the BMGA Strokeplay Order of Merit National Ranking List. My previous highest Minigolf rankings had been 7th in the 2010 BMGA Order of Merit and 5th in the BMGA Season Only Rankings for 2012.

My end of season position this year is the highest in the Strokeplay-only version of the Order of Merit, having previously finished the 2009/10 season in 11th place in the old combined strokeplay and matchplay Order of Merit.

Emily has had a great year on the BMGA Tour finishing third in the BMGA British Matchplay Championship in Boscombe, Dorset as well as winning the Category 3 title in the BMGA British Masters, and she was the Category 3 runner-up at the BMGA British Crazy Golf Open in Hastings.

Emily also became a two-time WMF World Adventure Golf Masters Women's Champion when she defeated reigning champion Ruth Burke in a play-off for the title. At the WMF World Adventure Golf Masters we competed as part of Great Britain 3 and finished in fifth place in the team event.

2013 BMGA Tour Season Results for Richard and Emily Gottfried:
- BMGA Star City Open - Richard = 13th, Emily = 18th (24-players)
- BMGA British Crazy Golf Open - Richard = 11th, Emily = 20th and Category 3 runner-up (33-players)
- BMGA British Masters - Richard = 4th, Emily = 12th and Category 3 winner (27-players)
- BMGA British Adventure Golf Open - Richard = 10th, Emily = 19th (23-players)
- BMGA British Matchplay Championship - Emily = 3rd, Richard = DNP (17-players)
- World Crazy Golf Championship - Richard = 21st, Emily = 51st (78-players)

Video of the 2013 BMGA British Masters at Splash Point Mini Golf in Worthing, by 2 Dog Imaging.


2013 WMF Season Results for Richard and Emily Gottfried:
- WMF World Adventure Golf Masters - Richard = 20th, Emily = 27th and Women's Champion (37-players)
- WMF World Adventure Golf Team Masters - Great Britain 3 (Richard Gottfried, Emily Gottfried, Craig Patterson and John Moore) = 5th of 7 teams

Great Britain 3 at the WMF World Adventure Golf Masters tournament in Hastings, East Sussex from l-r John Moore (c), Emily Gottfried, Richard Gottfried, Craig Patterson

There is one competition left on the 2013 BMGA Tour, with the BMGA British Club Championship taking place at Basingstoke Golf Centre.

The 2014 BMGA Tour tees-off at the BMGA Star City Open at Adventure Island Mini Golf in Birmingham on Sunday 26th January.

In the BMGA 2013 Season Rankings for Clubs Emily and the Cambridgeshire Mini Golf Club finished in second place. Richard and the Midlands Minigolf Club finished in third place of six teams.

The British Minigolf Association is the governing body for Minigolf Sport, including Crazy Golf and Adventure Golf. Formed in 1998 the BMGA organises Minigolf competitions for its members across the UK. The BMGA is a member of the World Minigolf Sport Federation and the European Minigolf Sport Federation. Two options are available for Membership of the British Minigolf Association. Further details can be found on the BMGA website.

World Minigolf Sport Federation Rankings

In the March 2013 edition of the World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF) Minigolf Rankings Emily is in tied 130th place of 130 positions alongside players from Iran, China, Portugal, China and Thailand. A total of 140 players are listed in the WMF General Class (Adults) Women’s category.

In the WMF General Class (Adults) Men's category I am ranked in tied 406th place of 406 positions. A total of 413 players are in the list and I sit alongside GB team-mates Scott Lancley and Brad Shepherd, and players from Russia, Hong Kong, Norway and China.

Overall Great Britain is ranked 18th of 29 Nations, with Germany at number one, Austria at two and Sweden at number three.

The November 2013 edition of the WMF Rankings is due to be published soon.

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Sunday, November 17, 2013

More gluten free beer, ale and lager

Trying a dozen different gluten free beers, ales and lagers.

For my recent birthday Emily bought me a selection of gluten free beers from Gluten-Free Shop Ltd.

Gluten free beer
The twelve gluten free beers, ales and lagers

The Beer/Lager Starter Pack contained a dozen bottles of gluten free beer, lager and ale – the majority of which I hadn’t tried before, and some I’d never even heard of.

It was interesting to see a canned gluten free beer too – Saxon made by Carlsberg.

Some of the alcoholic beverages contain less than 20ppm and so are able to use the crossed grain logo. One of the beers – Ambar – has a level less than 6ppm.

One of the beers was intriguing though as it doesn't have a crossed grain logo and so I am not going to be trying it, I'm sure I can find a beer lover to give it a go. The beer in question is the Wold Top Scarborough Fair IPA. The other Wold Top beer included in the pack was suitable for coeliacs and is the aptly named "Against the Grain".

It was great to receive such a range of gluten free beers and you can find more on the Gluten-Free Shop Ltd website.

Those beers included in the gluten free beer and lager starter pack were:
-          Estrella Damm Daura
-          Daas Blond
-          Dass Ambre
-          Hambleton's GFL
-          Hambleton's GFA
-          Wold Top Against the grain
-          Wold Top Scarborough Fair IPA
-          Crop Circle
-          Schnitzer Brau
-          Celia
-          Ambar
-          Saxon

Links:
-          Gluten-Free Shop Ltd

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Saturday, November 16, 2013

Check out Gluugle for Gluten Free Reviews

Through Twitter I recently found out about the Gluugle website. It's been set up by Caz from The Gluten Free Foodie blog and to date has reviews and listings for over 1,000 places for Coeliacs (and those following a gluten free diet) to visit, dine out and buy from!

On Gluugle you can:

  • Add places that you've discovered to let everyone else know about great gluten free places
  • Review places you've been and let people know what's good to eat there
  • Search for places near to you and search for places when you travel.

So far I've submitted eighteen reviews and I'll be writing a lot more about the good and great places I find that can cater for people with Coeliac Disease.

Find out more about Gluugle here and do submit your reviews too - it's very quick and easy to do. You can search by keyword or postcode/location to find somewhere near to you and as well as the Gluugle website you can download the free Gluugle iphone app.

Links:
- Gluugle
- The Gluten Free Foodie

Related blog posts:
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac

Friday, November 15, 2013

A great piece of Minigolf ephemera

Spotting some famous Minigolf faces on a Crazy Golf course leaflet!

On my journey south from the east Midlands heading to Luton I made a stop at Northampton’s Roadchef services and while stretching my legs I perused the leaflets on display by the entrance/exit.

One that caught my attention was that for Quest Merry Hill – a great Krazy Golf, high ropes and Nerf combat arena centre in Westfield Merry Hill in Dudley.

On closer inspection I was surprised to see my Midlands Minigolf Club team-mates Paul ‘Johnson Paul Johnson’ Johnson and Chris ‘Who’ Harding on the front cover!

The Quest Merry Hill leaflet

Paul 'Johnson Paul Johnson' Johnson playing shot number ? on hole 7 at Quest Merry Hill

Chris also features on the inside, playing a shot on the 9th hole.

Chris on the 9th at Quest Merry Hill

When I spoke with Paul he was just as surprised as me to hear he was on the leaflet!

It’s a great piece of Minigolf ephemera and history and one I’ll be keeping in my collection of Miniature Golf stuff, as well as putting a copy in the Crazy Golf Museum.

The photos were taken during a visit by a group of us ‘Pro’ minigolfers in April this year when we were also filmed and interviewed on the BIG Krazy Golf open day.


It’s a great course with some unique hole layouts and obstacles. It’s also got some of the most vivid course colours I’ve seen on my Minigolf travels.

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Crazy Golfing at Shobnall Leisure Complex in Burton upon Trent

Visiting and playing the 541st Miniature Golf course on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour!

The Crazy Golf course in Burton upon Trent
The 9-hole Crazy Golf course in Burton upon Trent

While in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire I made a visit to Shobnall Leisure Centre in the town as my friend, Minigolf rival and Midlands Minigolf Club member Jam Trubridge had told me there was a Crazy Golf course there.

Arriving at 6pm on a cold November evening I was warmly greeted by the staff and asked them what time the Minigolf course was normally open – luckily for me the reply was “It’s never closed”.

The Crazy Golf course in Burton upon Trent
Playing hole 9 on Shobnall Leisure Complex's Crazy Golf course

I was expecting the Miniature Golf course visit to be the 541st overall, but yet another closed course visit (having previously been to 215 courses that I couldn’t play for one reason or another). However, as it was open and available to play it become the 326th course played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006.

Crazy Golf course in Burton upon Trent
A view of the course from hole 4

The course was of the fibreglass and felt variety, with a number of obstacle on the course in addition to dog leg hole layouts, unfortunately there wasn’t a ‘Humpty’ on the course – an obstacle I’ve found on many courses of this type.

Crazy Golf course in Burton upon Trent
Hole 8 - a roll of the dice - I came close to acing the hole

The courses, manufactured by DK Fibreglass, play the best when they are laid out on a solid foundation. Thankfully the 9-hole course at Shobnall Leisure Complex was built on concrete foundations which meant the ball rolled well and the course stayed in place (unlike a course of this type Emily and I once played in Lytham St Anne’s).

The 9-hole Crazy Golf course is reasonably priced at £1.80 a round and it was good fun. Unfortunately my round went for a Burton* as I didn’t score a single hole-in-one. In the chilly and shivery conditions I shot a round of 24(+6).

Crazy Golf course in Burton upon Trent
The 9-hole Crazy Golf course at Shobnall Leisure Complex in Burton upon Trent

Mark and the team at the leisure centre were really nice and friendly and asked lots of questions about the world of Minigolf – they were also knowledgeable about the game and had heard about tournaments. It was really nice to visit a new place and receive such a great welcome, I’ll definitely be heading back to Burton and the leisure centre, and Emily and I are looking forward to a tour of all the other Mini, Crazy and Adventure Golf courses we’re yet to play in the East Midlands!

Crazy Golf in Burton upon Trent
The course and leisure centre get the thumbs up from me

Shobnall Leisure Complex also has a Pitch & Putt Miniature Golf course on the site, as well as football, table tennis, bowls, rounders, tennis and badminton and more. Check out the leisure centre's website for opening times and price details.

A very dark view of the Pitch & Putt Mini-Golf course at Shobnall Leisure Centre
A very dark view of the Pitch & Putt Mini-Golf course at Shobnall Leisure Centre


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* Is it possible to visit, talk, or write about Burton upon Trent without using the phrases “gone for a Burton”, or “went for a Burton”? I think not...

Sunday, November 10, 2013

UrbanCrazy Minigolf at the 2013 London Golf Show

Playing UrbanCrazy's "Signature" Miniature Golf course at the London Golf Show at Earl's Court.

UrbanCrazy have lots of balls to choose from in their product catalogue!

On Friday 8th November I headed along to the London Golf Show to support Minigolf business UrbanCrazy who were exhibiting their Signature Minigolf course layout.

The UrbanCrazy Signature Minigolf course at the 2013 London Golf Show

Jon 'The Stance' Angel teeing-off (and en route to victory) in our Minigolf challenge match

Jon plays a shot over the ramp on hole 4

Lining up a shot on the Casino hole

At the show they had set-up a 6-hole course highlighting the range of possibilities available from the Signature course design. There was also a 7th bonus hole-in-one challenge hole to play to win a prize from Monarch airlines.

Playing the bonus 7th hole


In a series of Crazy Golf challenge matches I lost to Jon 'El Pato' Angel by quite a few shots - 21(+9) vs. 17(+5) - the bumpy hole 3 my undoing. I then defeated Richard '147' Linden 15(+3) vs. 17(+5), before I teamed with UrbanCrazy's team member Adam (who needs an official nickname) in a doubles match against the team from World Golf Net. The match went to the wire with victory going to us with a scoreline of 35(-1) to 38(+2) for the World Golf Net duo.

In addition to the Minigolf course UrbanCrazy had their brand new game - PongCrazy - at the show. Check out my blog post and video of a PongCrazy match here.



UrbanCrazy are also sponsors of the Great Britain Minigolf Sport Team.

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