Friday, May 13, 2016

Crazy Golf Adventure at Lakeside Shopping Village in Doncaster

Playing a new Crazy Golf course in Doncaster, Yorkshire.

The Lakeside Village Crazy Golf course 

On the way home from our very nice short break in brilliant Bridlington we swung by the Lakeside Shopping Village in Doncaster for a round on their new Crazy Golf Adventure course that has been set up for the summer.

We had a great time on the course

The 9-hole Minigolf course is FREE to play! Marvellous news.

It's brilliant the course is free of charge

You just need to head to the DOMO shop at the outlet shopping mall and away you go.

Monkeying around

The layout looks brilliant and plays very well indeed. Be warned though - the last hole is very difficult to complete!

Neither of us were lucky on the last hole

We both shot dreaded sevens!

The Lakeside Shopping Village Crazy Golf course became the 397th played and 678th visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since 2006.

The course is unique and definitely gets the thumbs up from us

In our match-up we tied having both scored 28.

Emily on hole 5

Teeing-off on hole 5

Playing the angles on hole 6

Hole 8 was really nice to play - even though it's got a small plateau / volcano!

We're bananas about Crazy Golf so the course was perfect for us

Hole 1

Hole 2

Shooting on the 7th

The Crazy Golf Adventure has a very nice scorecard

As big fans of the comedy show Bottom for years we've been led to believe that Bridlington is only 25 minutes from Doncaster. By car. Not true! It took us an hour and a half to get there. It was well worth the journey though as the Crazy Golf course was very good fun and the Lakeside Shopping Village was a nice spot for a bit of a wander. We bought some nice chocolates there too.

Lakeside Village is well worth a visit

Check out the Lakeside Shopping Village website for more details of how to play the course and opening times.

The Lakeside Village Crazy Golf course is open throughout the summer of 2016

Link:
- Lakeside Shopping Village

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Yorkshire
- Shopping Centre

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Monday, May 02, 2016

LilliPutt indoor Mini Golf in Singapore

A visit to the LilliPutt indoor Miniature Golf course in Singapore.

LilliPutt Mini Golf course - Funtastic Singapore in 18-holes

Emily was recently on business in South East Asia and during her trip to Singapore managed to fit in a game of Miniature Golf at the indoor LilliPutt Mini Golf course on East Coast Parkway.

Emily playing at the 677th course on our tour

The LilliPutt Mini Golf course became the 677th course visited and 393rd played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006. Singapore is now the twelfth country we've played the game in!

LilliPutt is on the third floor of the former Splash Park building in Singapore

The course looks absolutely amazing and it's a must-visit attraction if you're a fan of the game. Check out the video below for one of the many holes that uses moving parts - hole 5 and the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT)!



Emily was amazed at how detailed and well built the LilliPutt layout was. On all our travels we've never seen a minigolf course quite like it!

Upon arrival at LilliPutt you depart from Changi Airport on your minigolf adventures around Singapore in miniature

The LilliPutt Mini Golf course has been designed to show Singapore in 18 'Funtastic' holes. They've certainly delivered on that promise.

Hole 2 - the Discovery Centre features a loop-di-loop with a plane on top. And a tank you putt through!

Once again Emily faced-off against her long-time minigolf rival and fellow international traveller Janie Peace. In the contest Emily secured the victory 76 to 84.

Janie playing hole 7, the Bird Park

The course has a par of 65 - and you can see why when you look at how tricky some of the intricately detailed holes are.

Hole 3 - the Turf Club racecourse - and hole 2 beyond shows the Discovery Centre

Hole 6 is the Fountain of Wealth

Hole 5 is an amazing layout of the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit system!

Instructions on how to play the hole

Another view of the MRT hole
 
Hole 8 depicts Singapore Port 

Hole 9 is a Science Centre - that features a Ski Slope!

A trip to the Zoo on hole 10

An Alligator, or Crocodile, lurking on the 10th
 
Hole 11 is a Food Centre!

Hole 15 - Boat Quay

A look at hole 16 - the Botanic Gardens - and beyond
 
You can also follow a brown tourist sign to find the course

For more info, opening times and prices check out the LilliPutt indoor Mini Golf course website.

They've got very nice scorecards and tickets at the LilliPutt Mini Golf course

Link:
- LilliPutt indoor Mini Golf course website

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Emily Gottfried
- Janie Peace
- Indoor Mini, Crazy and Adventure Golf courses

Videos:
- LilliPutt Mini Golf course in Singapore 1 of 6
- LilliPutt Mini Golf course in Singapore 2 of 6
- LilliPutt Mini Golf course in Singapore 3 of 6
- LilliPutt Mini Golf course in Singapore 4 of 6
- LilliPutt Mini Golf course in Singapore 5 of 6
- LilliPutt Mini Golf course in Singapore 6 of 6

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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Sunday, May 01, 2016

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 BedfordCrazee 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

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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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

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.

You can also now sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter.

Saturday, April 30, 2016

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.

Crazy Golf in Burray, Orkney
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.

Crazy Golf in Burray, Orkney
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!

Crazy Golf in Burray, Orkney
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.

Crazy Golf in Burray, Orkney
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.

Crazy Golf in Burray, Orkney
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.

Crazy Golf in Burray, Orkney
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

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.

You can also now sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter.