Sunday, October 04, 2015

Putt In The Park Mini Golf at Battersea Park in London

Playing Minigolf at London's latest course.

Photo of the Putt In The Park Mini Golf course at Battersea Park in London

On Monday 21st September* we made the 671st visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and played the 389th course since we began our Tour in September 2006. The location was London's newest course - Putt In The Park at Battersea Park.

Putt In The Park Mini Golf course at Battersea Park in London
We'll play minigolf whatever the weather

The 12-hole venue opened earlier this summer and is the second course from the team behind the Wandsworth Park Minigolf course.

Photo of the Putt In The Park Mini Golf course at Battersea Park in London
Quite autumnal

In our match-up Emily defeated me by one shot - 36 to 37. I was incredibly fortunate that Emily was unlucky on the last hole or the margin of my defeat would've been much much worse!

Putt In The Park Mini Golf course at Battersea Park in London
Emily on the first

Putt In The Park Mini Golf course at Battersea Park in London
Richard tees-off

Putt In The Park Mini Golf course at Battersea Park in London
Emily shot a great 2 on the 2nd hole

Putt In The Park Mini Golf course at Battersea Park in London
The tricky 4th

Putt In The Park Mini Golf course at Battersea Park in London
Putting on hole 5

Putt In The Park Mini Golf course at Battersea Park in London
Emily on the 3rd - the wheels truly came off Richard's game at this hole!

Putt In The Park Mini Golf course at Battersea Park in London
Hole 11

Putt In The Park Mini Golf course at Battersea Park in London
Emily making easy work of the 4th

The Battersea Park course is three miles from its sister course at Wandsworth Park. That Putt In The Park venue was the 323rd played on our Tour.

Putt In The Park Mini Golf course at Battersea Park in London

For more information on the Putt In The Park courses, opening times and prices visit the Putt In The Park website.

Putt In The Park Mini Golf course at Battersea Park in London

When we began traveling around and playing minigolf there were an estimated 600 courses in the UK. This year we visited our 600th overall and 600th in the UK - at Swanage and Goodrington Sands respectively. On our road-trip around the South West of England we also visited the 650th course in the UK - in Padstow.

Having visited 21 miniature golf courses overseas means that the Putt In The Park course in Battersea became the landmark 650th we've visited in the UK.

Link:
- Putt In The Park website

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Mini, Crazy and Adventure Golf courses in and around London
- Putt in the Park Minigolf at Wandsworth Park, London
- Minigolf with The Putting Penguin at Putt in the Park

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

* It was apt that such a BIG minigolf course visit would take place on the 21st September as the date is always Miniature Golf Day!



Thursday, October 01, 2015

Launch of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Newsletter

Subscribe to the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Newsletter.

We've been blogging about our minigolf travels since 2006 and in that time we've visited over 670 courses.

Photo of Richard and Emily Gottfried at the Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course in Prestatyn, Wales

As well as following our adventures here on the Ham & Egger Files you can find us over on Facebook, and Emily and I both tweet.

And now, we've launched our own Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Newsletter!

Sign-up below to receive news, updates, events and other fun and interesting stuff.

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Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Nine years of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Today marks nine years since the start of our crazy golfing travels!

Photo of the Treasure Island Adventure Golf course on Long Curtain Road in Southsea

Back on the 30th September 2006 we visited my brother Christopher down in Southsea, Hampshire and while there had a game on the Treasure Island Adventure Golf course on Long Curtain Road near Clarence Pier. On the lucky last hole I managed to 'fire the cannon' and won a free game. The rest is history!

The Free Game Pass that set the ball rolling!

Since that first course visit we've visited a grand total of 671 courses around the world. Of these we've played 389, while 282 of them have been unplayable for a variety of reasons.

Who knows why so many courses around the country fall into disrepair!?

Earlier this year we hit some BIG minigolf landmarks on our tour, with visits to the 600th and 650th courses in overall and in the UK while on holiday in the South West of England.

This summer I also revisited Southsea for Christopher's Stag Do and managed to squeeze in a round on the Victory Trail Adventure Golf course at Treasure Island - and I once again hit the top hole to win a free game!

Photo of the Victory Trail minigolf course at Treasure Island Adventure Golf in Southsea
The Victory Trail at Treasure Island - where our tour began

There's some nice theming on the Pirate course

As well as some tricky holes

The 8th on the Victory Trail

The last hole

The Lucky Last Hole in Southsea - scene of a few Free Game wins. None have ever been claimed

We estimate there are around 50 more courses we're yet to visit in the UK. Although when we began there were around 600 courses!

Check out the photos and links below from some of our landmark course visits.


Southsea has been a happy hunting ground for free game cards

#25 Great Yarmouth (Jungle Golf at the Gardens)

The Jungle Golf course is now the site of a Segway Grand Prix track

#50 Tampere, Finland (Beton Concrete Minigolf)

Emily on international duty with the GB team in Finland


The tricky minigolf course in Guildford

#100 visited overall and played #173 Gorleston-on-Sea (Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf at Pop's Meadow Putting Green)

Photo of the Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course at Pop's Meadow Putting Green in Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk
A felt-less Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course


The BIG 100th course played

#125 Swansea/Abertawe (Crazy Golf at Singleton Boating Lake)

The Crazy Golf course in Swansea


A windmill on the Masters course in Southport

#175 Las Vegas - King Putt (North West Las Vegas, USA) - Indoor Mini Golf

Photo of the King Putt Mini Golf course in Las Vegas
King Putt Mini Golf course was a cool stop on our tour

#200 Castleford Cosmic Golf Indoor Blacklight Minigolf at Xscape - Curse of the Mummy in 3D

The 200th course played was a blacklight indoor minigolf in Castleford

#250 Stockholm, Sweden (Beton Minigolf at Tantogårdens BGK, Tantolunden Park)

Photo of the Minigolf course at Tantogårdens BGK, Tantolunden Park, Stockholm, Sweden
Emily playing the Beton Minigolf course in Stockholm, Sweden ahead of the 2011 Nations Cup tournament

#258 played and #400 visited overall Clevedon - Crazy Golf

Crazy Golfing on at the 400th course visited

5-Year Anniversary Revisit - Southsea (Treasure Island Adventure Golf - Victory Trail)

Photo of the Treasure Island Adventure Golf course in Southsea
Five years after first playing the Victory Trail we revisited the course for a game


Photo of the Treasure Island Adventure Golf course in Southsea
The Warrior Trail course in Southsea. The second course ever played on our tour


Crazy Golf in Bognor Regis
Playing Crazy Golf in Bognor Regis


Many thanks to everyone who has helped us out with tips of where to play over the last nine years. It's much appreciated.

I wonder where we'll have traveled to by this time next year!

How many more scorecards and free game passes will we have added to our collection too?

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Southsea

Links:
- Treasure Island Adventure Golf website
- MiniatureGolfer.com website

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

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Minigolf Spot-the-Ball competition

Picking up a prize in a Splash Point Mini Golf course online competition.

Emily recently used her years of minigolf knowledge and experience to claim first-place in the Splash Point Mini Golf 'Spot-the-Ball' contest!

Emily won a decommissioned flag from Splash Point Mini Golf. The course has now introduced new red flags

Photo of the Splash Point Mini Golf course in Worthing
Emily had to guess where the ball - played by Portugal's Nuno Cunha (the reigning British Masters champion) - was. You can see the answer here

Splash Point Mini Golf is an 18-hole course in Worthing's Denton Gardens. The game has been played on the site since the 1920's, with the Splash Point Mini Golf course a new addition to the town's attractions in 2010.

The course was the 181st played on our tour and we've revisited a number of times since. It's well worth a visit.

Splash Point Mini Golf has hosted a number of tournaments since opening and the layout is a real test of minigolf skill. Check out the great video from the 2012 British Masters filmed by the team at 2dogimaging.



Visit the Splash Point Mini Golf website for more details. The @Worthing_Golf Twitter feed is also worth following as there are frequent reports on local weather conditions, just in case you turn-up in Sunny Worthing to find the course closed owing to inclement weather.

Links:
- Splash Point Mini Golf website
- Splash Point Mini Golf on Twitter
- Splash Point Mini Golf on Facebook

Related blog posts:
- Splash Point Mini Golf in Worthing
- Worthing

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

Friday, September 25, 2015

Mini Gulf minigolf at Dismaland

Photos of the miniature golf course at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park.

Crazy Mini Golf at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park in Weston-super-Mare. Photo by Matt Dodd
The oil caliphate themed crazy golf course at Dismaland

Our fellow minigolf enthusiasts Matt and Helen Dodd recently visited the seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare and went along to the Dismaland theme-park created by renowned street artist Banksy. They were kind enough to send along some photos of the five-hole Mini Gulf course which features an oil caliphate theme.

Crazy Mini Golf at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park in Weston-super-Mare. Photo by Matt Dodd
A flamingo looks on

When I asked Matt, the reigning Surrey Invitational Minigolf Champion, what the it was like, he said "It was a dreadful course."

Crazy Mini Golf at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park in Weston-super-Mare. Photo by Matt Dodd
The corner of the flamingo hole

"But it's Dismaland after all." he added.

Crazy Mini Golf at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park in Weston-super-Mare. Photo by Matt Dodd
It might've been dismal, but it was only a quid a go. Although for five-holes after you've already paid to go in and it doesn't look so cheap. That grey sky looks bleak too

With the Dismaland site closing this weekend it's a course we won't ever get to play on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. But it's great to know that plenty of people got to have a go on the layout before it shut down.

Crazy Mini Golf at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park in Weston-super-Mare. Photo by Matt Dodd
Some barrels

Crazy Mini Golf at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park in Weston-super-Mare. Photo by Matt Dodd
A green

Matt and Helen recently hit 102 minigolf courses visited on their travels! Their landmark 100th course visit was the Tropical Trail course at Treetop Adventure Golf in Cardiff, Wales. That's another course on our 'to play' list! Matt also let me know there's an Adventure Golf course at Fishers Farm Park in Wisborough Green, West Sussex - that was their 101st course played.

Crazy Mini Golf at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park in Weston-super-Mare. Photo by Matt Dodd
Minigolf explorer Helen Dodd putting through an old tyre obstacle. In the Dismaland battle of the Dodds the result was a draw with a score of 18 apiece. There was no official par for the course. Nor were there scorecards

The Dismaland Bemusement Park was built on the site of the old Tropicana Lido on Marine Parade in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset. You can watch the Dismaland advert on YouTube to see what you've missed.

Weston-super-Mare has some permanent mini and crazy golf courses that we have played. We've also played a few art installation miniature golf on our tour too.

Link:
- Dismaland website

Related blog posts:
- Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park
- New indoor adventure golf course in Cardiff, Wales
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour