London Design Festival Crazy Golf course in Trafalgar Square

Visionary Crazy Golf course heading to London's Trafalgar Square.

London's burgeoning Crazy Golf scene is hoping to expand further with a Visionary Crazy Golf course set to takeover Trafalgar Square later this year. It'll be futuristic, functional, fun and free for the public to play from the 16th to the 22nd September during the London Design Festival 2016.

The iconic Nelson's Column with a concept design by Atelier Bow-Wow - this hole reminds us of a couple of net and hoop based holes we've played while competing for the GB team in Finland and Sweden

For years there's been a bit of a dearth of places to play Crazy Golf in London - although we've managed to search out, find and play a great many of them - so it's marvellous to see Mini Golf undergoing something of a renaissance in the capital with some great new indoor, outdoor and rooftop miniature golf layouts opening this summer.

We've seen - and been pestered by - a lot of seagull's on our Crazy Golf travels, but we've not played through anything like the Pigeon hole designed by Ordinary Architecture!

Paul Smith, is the curator and ambassador for the project. Other design teams include the late Zaha Hadid, Tom Dixon and Mark Wallinger as well as Camille Walala, Ordinary Architecture, HAT Projects with Tim Hunkin, NEON, and Atelier Bow-Wow.

Camille Walala’s Visionary Crazy Golf installation brings the kaleidoscopic colour of her signature designs to a dynamic 3D landscape

The team at the London Design Festival say that "Each will create a miniature pavilion that makes an entertaining, playable statement about the future of architecture, filling the square with Pop Art colours and inventive forms that will amuse and inspire both adults and children alike." Looking at some of the early designs and sketches it looks like it'll be a truly one of a kind course to see and play!

Zaha Hadid has designed an undulating course with two levels that traces the shadow of Nelson’s Column

The Visionary Crazy Golf course needs £120,000 to become a reality and the Kickstarter campaign is well underway with over 300 backers and almost £15,000 pledged at the time of writing.

The NEON Kinetic City hole - that will take some playing!

During the planning stages for Visionary Golf I was pleased to be asked for my involvement and I can't wait to play the course when it opens in September. If you're lucky/rich/foolish enough you can receive the auspicious 'reward' of playing a round with me at 6pm on the very first day the course is open!

Check out the Visionary Crazy Golf course Kickstarter page to see how you can play a round with me!

You'll also get your name on the Visionary Golf course Wall of Fame webpage. Find out about all the rewards for supporting the campaign on the Visionary Crazy Golf course Kickstarter page. I love the Wall of Fame idea - when I won the Putt Park Invitational Miniature Golf tournament in Las Vegas I received a place on their Wall of Fame and it gives you a very nice feeling indeed.

A fine minigolf victory at the Putt Park in Las Vegas back in 2011

There are some brilliant rewards for backers of the course and they range from just £5 - for a 'virtual hole in one and your name on the Wall of Fame' up to £5,000 for a chance to meet Paul Smith and receive a tour of his studio.

Paul Smith's design for the first hole

The campaign closes on June 6th so check out the Visionary Crazy Golf Kickstarter page before then.

I like the look of this LOUD musical hole by Tom Dixon

It's great to see Tim Hunkin involved in the Visionary Crazy Golf course design - he's the madcap character behind the alternative amusement arcade 'The Under the Pier Show' on Southwold Pier in Suffolk and 'Novelty Automation' in Holborn.

Hat Projects and Tim Hunkin explore functionality and lifecycle in Downfall

Having a game on one of Tim Hunkin's crazy contraptions at Novelty Automation

First staged in 2003, the London Design Festival is one of the world's most important annual design events. The Festival programme is made up of over 400 events and exhibitions staged by hundreds of Partner organisations across the design spectrum and from around the world.

In 2013 we had a walk up, down and around the 'Endless Stair' that was part of the London Design Festival and designed by dRMM Architects, 2013, supported by the American Hardwood Export Council

A very enjoyable piece of design

On our travels to over 670 courses around the world we've played some interesting courses, including some designed for art shows, exhibitions and as playable sculptures.

We've played art-based minigolf at the one-day only M!MS Mini Golf course in Bedford, Crazee Golf at the TinType Gallery in London, the Bompas & Parr food architecture course on the roof of Selfridges and Putt Putt #2 by TURF Projects in Croydon. We've also not played art courses in Clerkenwell and Folkestone, where the remnants of the old Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course were used to create a series of beach huts!

Putt Putt #2 by TURF Projects was a temporary art installation minigolf course in Croydon

Miniature Golf certainly lends itself to art events as the options for design are almost limitless. There are so many weird and wonderful layouts around the world as well as new courses opening all the time, so who knows what unique and bizarre themes we'll see and play next!

The '18 Holes' Crazy Golf art installation by Richard Wilson in Folkestone

Last year our friends over at A Couple of Putts created an art-installation course called Sparkle City Mini Putt in Spartanburg, South Carolina. While the team at The Putting Penguin have seen and reviewed a number of art-courses over the years. Last summer my friend and crazy golf rival Gareth Holmes visited "The BEST Mini Golf Course in Venice" at artist's Doug Fishbone's Leisure Land Golf - That course is now open in Nottingham!

For more information on the Visionary Golf project check out the London Design Festival website. You can also follow and use the hashtags #VisionaryGolf and #LDF16 on Twitter, and you can back the campaign and course on the Visionary Crazy Golf Kickstarter page.

Links:
- London Design Festival website
- Visionary Crazy Golf Kickstarter page

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Art
- Kickstarter

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Tee Party Crazy Golf at The Club House in Manchester

There's a tee party taking place in Manchester.

The team at The Club House at the Spinningfields shopping & dining quarter in Manchester have created a great looking Crazy Golf course to tee-off a great summer of sport. The Club House is a pop-up sports bar that'll be open in Hardman Square until the 31st August.

Classic Crazy Golf Putters on a maze hole

But if you want a game of Crazy Golf there you'll need to be quick as it closes at the end of June (after being extended from the original end date of May!). It's proven to be incredibly popular since it opened on the 14th April and looks like there'll be a lot more fun to be had on the layout in the coming weeks.

Hole 6 of the 9-hole Spinningfields Crazy Golf course

The unique holes - including a maze, football pitch and a domino layout - on the 9-hole course are dotted across the Spinningfields estate. The green fee is £5, and when your clubs and balls are returned you get £3 back. A bargain!

The course is open from 12pm to 8pm Wednesday to Sunday (and Bank Holidays).

We've always really enjoyed our trips to Manchester - back in 2009 I won the Mini Masters and Mini Open tournament there, and I also became the Chrizy Golf Champion there in 2012!

For more information on the Tee Party course check out the Spinningfields website.

Links:
- Spinningfields website
- The Tee Party website
- The Club House website

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

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Crazy Golf in Burray, Orkney

Brand new Crazy Golf course open in the Orkney Islands.

The UK's most northerly Crazy Golf course has opened on Burray, one of the Orkney islands. The course is the brainchild of the island community and has received some great coverage since it opened last weekend.

A view of the most Northerly Crazy Golf course in the UK

Back in 2014 I was contacted by Dave and Pamela Woodcock from the island after they'd found my blog and it's been great to be able to give them help in getting the course built. From the photos they've sent over from the early days of building to the finished course it certainly looks unique, well constructed (one of the key factors with the 'inclement' weather conditions up there) and plays to the local heritage.

Burray's Crazy Golf course

Each of the holes on the course was designed by local schoolchildren and Orkney-based architect Paul Green. There were over 100 designs submitted and the best of these made the cut to the final 12!

It looks like a nice and unique miniature golf layout

Another nice touch is that each of the pupils at the Burray Primary School are being presented with a golf putter and ball to encourage them to use the new course.

The Old Man of Hoy - hole 8 on the Burray Crazy Golf course

The island of Burray is home to around 400 people and the course is free to play (with a small hire charge if you need to borrow a putter and ball), with all ages welcome. There is talk of competitions and local matches amongst the islanders, as well as a challenge tournament versus the rest of the world!

Hole 8 - the Old Man of Hoy - under construction in August 2015

The scorecard at the course looks great too, with each hole themed and named after famous island landmarks.

The UK's most Northerly Crazy Golf course has a very nice scorecard

The course is part of a community park development in Burray village and is open year round. The newly developed area has been funded by Orkney Islands Council, Sport Scotland Legacy 2014, Awards for All and Scottish Sea Farms, as well as additional fundraising and donations from the island community.

How tricky does this hole look! We can't wait to see and play this finished version

We're looking forward to a game or two on the Burray course.

On our travels we've already played at the Easternmost courses in the British Isles (a Putting Green and Adventure Golf course in Lowestoft, Suffolk) and on the two highest courses - both on the Great Orme in Llandudno, Wales.

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

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Crazy Golf on Grass at Marine Gardens in Worthing

Our friend and fellow minigolf aficionado Trevor 'Lord of Smeeth' Robertson recently sent us some photos of a new Crazy Golf course that has appeared at Marine Gardens in Worthing, West Sussex!

Crazy Golfing on grass in Worthing!

The Findon resident was on a trip to sunny Worthing and said that the new Miniature Golf course - combining Crazy Golf-style obstacles with a grass Putting surface - was located adjacent to the 18-hole Putting Green. That course became an unplayed one on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in 2010 as we arrived just after it had closed for the day.

What a great obstacle this'd be at Halloween!

Trevor is always keen to play a round of minigolf, but found that the new course is for children only. He did find out that rather than a golf ball players use a tennis ball!

Seeing the photos reminded us of the Crazy Golf on grass course that used to be in Cliftonville near Margate, Kent.

Worthing is also home to an 18-hole Mini Golf course at the town's Denton Gardens. Well worth a visit and a game or two.

Link:
- Marine Gardens Putting information on the Adur & Worthing Councils website

Related blog posts:
- Worthing
- Marine Gardens in Worthing - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Course Visit - Course Closed for the Day

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Laser Planet laser tag in Milton Keynes

Over the years I've played a fair bit of laser tag and so, while on a trip to Milton Keynes today it was great to spot that a brand new lazer tag arena was opening!

Suiting up ready to battle the Reds alongside my Green team-mates

Having spent a few hours mallratting and playing some Pool at the Hollywood Bowl my friend Cat and I were wondering what to do next. I knew there was a laser tag in the town - a sport Cat had never played before! Me and my sporting rival Marc 'The Roller' Bazeley had played a game of laser tag in the town as part of an MK sporting challenge a few Christmases ago.

A quick online search came up with the result that the team behind Laser Planet in Watford was opening a new arena on Saturday 23rd April! What an unexpected bonus it was. I've been playing the game since I was a kid, and in recent years we've tried to play a bit around the country while on our Crazy Golf travels. But in all that time I've never played at a brand new arena on its opening day. Laser Planet was so new you could smell the fresh paint as you walked up the stairs!

We received a nice welcome and found that a game amongst the staff was about to begin. We could of had the arena to ourselves for a match (something that can be great fun as I've found in contests against veteran competitors like Marc and Emily) but on this occasion we opted for a three vs. three laser tag contest.

Before battle could commence we entered the briefing room - the most hi-tech I've seen to date - after which we suited up in our vests and laser guns and entered the arena. The entrance itself is really well done - I won't spoil the surprise though. Once inside the futuristic maze we headed to our base and waited for the siren to sound (I was part of the Green team, while Cat was in the Red squad).

The 20-minute match was brilliant. The game was marshalled to ensure the rules were adhered to - no running, no physical contact, no hitting other players with the actual laser gun etc. The man in orange certainly took a few errant laser shots from the players as he was wandering around the arena.

Laser Planet in Milton Keynes gets the thumbs-up from me. Great entertainment

Our match was very close - with only five points separating the teams - but the win went to the Greens. I was the second best player on our team (yee-haa), while Cat picked up the bronze medal in the runner-up Red team.

It took a bit of a search to find the entrance to Laser Planet, but we eventually found it having walked the wrong way around the Food Centre mall. Laser Planet is next door to the old Waitrose site with stairs leading up to the first-floor venue above the New Moon Chinese buffet restaurant.

I'll definitely return and Cat really enjoyed her first laser tag experience. I look forward to future battles between us!

In the Seemingly Everlasting Laser Tag War waged between the forces of the REDS, BLUES, GREENS, and YELLOWS players in our 'Laser Tag Rankings' have taken part in Laser Battles in 'laser-war-torn' places including Birmingham, Hemel Hempstead, Bristol, London, Peterborough, Crawley, New Brighton, Cannock, Whitstable, Skegness, Rayleigh and Milton Keynes.

Check out the Laser Planet Milton Keynes website for opening times and prices.

Links:
- Laser Planet Milton Keynes website
- Laser Planet Milton Keynes on Facebook

Related blog posts:
- Laser Tag
- Lazer Tag
- Laser Tag Rankings

Carhartt - still going strong

I was recently interviewed about my Crazy Golf travels and exploits by the fashion retailer Oi Polloi and off the back of that treated myself to a new sweatshirt from one of my favourite brands - Carhartt.

I've been a fan of Carhartt for years. Back in the 1990's I worked in a clothes shop called Sandman in my home town of Abingdon and I've still got (and still wear) one of the sweatshirts I bought there in 1999! It goes to show how top notch and hard wearing Carhartt stuff is. It certainly lives up to its brand promise.

Then and now

The service from Oi Polloi was excellent and the Holbrook Lightweight Sweatshirt arrived very quickly and in perfect condition. I'd shop with them again.

Crazy Golfing in Abingdon. The first course I ever played, and the 31st visited for Emily and I on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Related blog posts:
- Oi Polloi Crazy Golf interview
- Shopping

Links:
- Carhartt website
- Oi Polloi website
- Oi Polloi blog interview: Richard Gottfried and the crazy world of crazy golf

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Clothes shopping in Hong Kong...

The advertising campaign for the 2014 Spring/Summer collection at this clothes shop in the Tsim Sha Tsui area of Kowloon, Hong Kong must've been a success as the poster is still up!

Emily spotted this brand name while on business in Kowloon - crazy!

Just recently we spotted a great window display of funny brand names from around the world at the Fleet Street Clinic in London. They don't always make the right impression when they travel to international markets!

Related blog posts:
- Funny sign
- Advertising
- Marketing
- Hong Kong
- Funny brand names from around the world

'Bangolf' minigolf course at the Hellasgården in Nacka, Sweden

I was very interested to receive some great photos from John Snelgrove who had spotted this Minigolf (Bangolf) course while in Sweden in January.

Hellasgården Bangolf. Photo by John Snelgrove (January 2016)

The Bangolf course is at the Hellasgården in Nacka, a large nature area 5km southeast of Stockholm city. John tells me the area also has a lake that you can skate on in the winter!

The Hellasgården Bangolf course under cover of snow. Photo by John Snelgrove (January 2016)

Looking online the course looks like it's of the 'Eternit' type, but with some modifications - not least the addition of felt to the playing surface. You can see some snaps of the course on the Hellasgården Facebook page here and here.

In 2011 Emily and I played for the GB team in the WMF Nations Cup international tournament in Stockholm. One of those courses was of a similar variety. The weather for that event was quite different to the conditions found on John's visit to Sweden though.

Emily in action on the 'Eternit' Miniature Golf course at the Tantogårdens Bangolf Klub in Tantolunden Park, Stockholm

Link:
- Hellasgården website - Minigolf

Related blog posts:
- Sweden
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Stockholm, Sweden (Tantogårdens BGK, Tantolunden Park) - Beton Minigolf
- Stockholm, Sweden (Tantogårdens BGK, Tantolunden Park) - Eternit Minigolf

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Funny brand names from around the world

A great window display of funny brand names from around the world.

The window display at the Fleet Street Clinic

While walking to Covent Garden on a day out to visit the Bond in Motion exhibition at the London Film Museum we spotted an excellent window display at the Fleet Street Clinic.

Some brand names travel better than others

One of the services offered by the private medical practice is a Travel Clinic - and they've certainly gone to town on the display showing a huge range of quirky and strange brand names on essential and interesting products from around the world.

I wouldn't fancy drinking a can of 'Sweat'!

While we were playing for the Great Britain Minigolf team in Sweden back in 2011 we spotted the Plopp and Kex brands. Eating Plopp was far more pleasant than the name suggests. The caramel version was delicious. The liquorice chocolate flavour was less tasty.

Would you snack on these chocs?

There's also a rather interestingly named brand of liquorice from Denmark that I've tried before! I'll leave you to look that one up...

Link:
- Fleet Street Clinic

Related blog posts:
- Marketing
- Advertising
- London

Minigolf collectables from the Lost City Adventure Golf course in Nottingham

As my friends, family and regular readers of the blog will know, I'm a BIG fan of minigolf merchandise and ephemera.

The Lost City Adventure Golf course in Nottingham is a great place for minigolf ephemera

On our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour travels we've collected hundreds of scorecards, leaflets, postcards, pencils, balls, badges, t-shirts, tokens and whatnots.

The great branded scorecards and coasters at the Lost City Adventure Golf in Nottingham

A classic way to encourage repeat visits in the miniature golf business is to employ a 'Lucky Last Hole' where, as a bonus, you can try and win a free game - we've played a fair few on our travels, and won on some of them.

You're very likely to find a 'Top Hole' on an Arnold Palmer Putting Course and the Free Game Cards are great. They're well made and often draw on the history of the putting franchise.

In this day and age most courses that give out free games for Lucky Last Hole wins use a paper or card based 'token', and very few still give metal coins to winners.

Except for the Lost City Adventure Golf course in Nottingham. If you're skilled - and lucky - enough you might just win a piece of treasured Inca Gold!

The Lost City Adventure Golf's Temple Trail and Sacred Skull Pass courses were the 330th and 331st we played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. The 36-hole indoor layout has two Lucky Last Holes - both are actually the 18th hole of the course, rather than standalone holes.

The lucky last hole on the Sacred Skull Trail

The 18th Top Hole on the Temple Trail course

When we've played as members of the general public we've not been able to master the lucky last holes at Nottingham, and when we've played there in national tour competitions we've only used one course and skipped the 18th, replaying the 1st hole instead. So unfortunately we've never won a free game there.

I did win a bronze medal at the Midlands Invitational Tournament at the course last year though

But the team at the Lost City were kind enough to send me a nice package that contained a branded pen and two magnificent tokens in a cardboard slip case. Fantastic additions to my collection.

Two pieces of prized Inca Gold from Nottingham

A nice Lost City branded pen

What's more, the Lost City Adventure Golf also has it's own handstamp applied to its mail! Absolutely brilliant to see. There aren't nearly enough minigolf stamps, postmarks or handstamps in circulation.

The Lost City Adventure Golf have really gone to town on their branding - on our travels to 675 courses it's the only place we've seen with an Adventure Golf table! Marvellous.

The theming in Nottingham is brilliant

Check out the Lost City Adventure Golf's website for more details, opening times and prices.

The Lost City Adventure Golf course is well worth a visit

Links:
- The Lost City Adventure Golf
- The Crazy Golf Museum

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Ephemera
- Merchandise
- Token
- Tokens
- The Lost City Adventure Golf at The Cornerhouse in Nottingham
- Revisiting The Lost City Adventure Golf course in Nottingham
- A gift from Paradise

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One month until National Miniature Golf Day 2016!

Will you be Putting on the BIG day in minigolf?

Every year there are two quasi-official days to celebrate the great game of miniature golf*.

The first is 'National Miniature Golf Day' and takes place on the second Saturday in May. This year it will be on Saturday 14th May.

Crazy Golfing on the Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Skegness on National Miniature Golf Day 2015

The second is 'Miniature Golf Day' and is always on the 21st of September, which falls on a Wednesday in 2016.

We were in Skegness, Lincolnshire for National Miniature Golf Day last year. It's a seaside resort that is home to 110 miniature golf holes spread over ten Crazy, Mini, Adventure, Putting and Pitch & Putt courses! The most of any town in the UK.

We held the National Miniature Golf Day Tournament 2015 on the two Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf courses on North Parade, Pebble Beach Adventure Golf at the Pleasure Beach, England's first-ever Crazy Golf course on South Parade and the Gold Mine Adventure Golf course at the Pleasure Beach.

Check out the blog post for photos and results of the event.

Related blog posts:
- Mini Golf dates for your 2016 diary
- National Miniature Golf Day Tournament 2015
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

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* or one of the myriad of other names for the past-time...

Happy Birthday Butlin's!

Today marks the 80th birthday of Butlin's Holiday Camps. On the 11th April 1936 Billy Butlin opened his first camp in Skegness, Lincolnshire - and the business is still going strong today.

I love the British seaside with all its quirks, eccentricity and traditional entertainment. I grew up on holidays at Butlin's holiday camps in Minehead, Bognor Regis and Ayr - and spent many summers in the 80's and 90's at the Barry Island Holiday Camp which used to be a Butlin's camp.

I spent many great holidays at Butlin's Minehead. It was nice finding these badges at Hitchin Market recently

In fact my parents met at a Butlin's! At the Clacton-on-Sea camp way back in 1975 and this year they are celebrating their ruby wedding anniversary.

It's probably in no small part because of our childhood stays at holiday camps - and all the fun they had to offer - that Emily and I have spent the last ten years travelling around the UK coast on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We also visited Butlin's Minehead (formerly Somerwest World) on one of our first holidays together in 2004.

As well as being home to the first Butlin's holiday camp, Skegness is also the site of England's first Crazy Golf course.
It opened in 1926

Over the years we've built up a great collection of miniature golf postcards, and we always keep an eye out for Butlin's cards. They're such colourful and fun cards, and seeing the monorail at Minehead brings back so many happy memories.

Within our postcard collection we've got a great selection of old and new Butlin's postcards. The images on the classic John Hinde are fantastic and it's been great to receive cards from our family when they've been to the camps in recent years. The oldest Butlin's card we have was posted on the 4th June 1951. It shows the Putting Green at Butlin's Luxury Holiday Camp in Pwllheli, Wales

Look at the size of the golf ball on the tee at the Butlin's Putting Greens. The monorails were marvellous too

Last summer we visited Skegness, and while we've not been inside that camp (yet) our friend Peter Jones was coincidently there at the same time for a Five Star concert and managed to buy me a stack of great badges for my collection.

Good luck to Butlin's and all the best for the next 80 years...

Links:
- Butlin's
- Butlin's blog
- John Hinde postcards

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

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter @putting_gott and @Ems_Lems.

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