Minigolf competitions in July

There are lots of opportunities to get into the competitive swing of things this month.

As we know, there's no such thing as a 'friendly' game of minigolf - everyone wants to win when they play. Well, this month there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in the competitive side of the game.

Putt 'n BBQ in Prestwick
There's a Putting event taking place at Putting Plus in Prestwick this coming weekend. Players at the event on Sunday 9th July will receive free entry to the Scottish Open Putting Championship where there are a range of category prizes up for grabs! There's also a BBQ at the Parkstone Hotel on the Prom. Visit the Putting Plus Facebook page for more info.

British Open in Hastings
The 20th annual BMGA British Open championships are taking place in Hastings this weekend, with action teeing-off on the brilliant Pirate Course on Saturday 8th July. Entries to take part have closed, however spectators are always welcome to watch the action. More details on the British Minigolf Association and Hastings Adventure Golf websites.

Worthing Mini Golf Club Open at Splash Point
If you're looking to compete with the BMGA pro players you won't have to wait long though, as the next stop on the tour is the excellent Splash Point Mini Golf course at Worthing's Denton Gardens. The venue hosts the first Worthing Mini Golf Club Open on Saturday 15th July. The event has an evening tee-off time of 5pm, which will give ample time to practice during the day. Check out the event info on the Worthing Mini Golf Club Facebook page.

Holeymolies Crazy Golf
The team at Holeymolies Crazy Golf course in Skelton-in-Cleveland are organising a minigolf tournament to celebrate a successful first year for the course. The open event is offering a top prize of £1,000 to the overall champion. Qualifying is taking place between Monday 10th July and Saturday 15th July, with the finals held on Sunday 16th July. More info on the format and rules can be found on the Mini Golf 1k Competition Facebook event listing.

MiniLinks Mini Open in Lytham Saint Annes
The team at MiniLinks Golf organise a number of competitions throughout the year, including four Mini Majors. Next up is the Mini Open taking place on the Par-3 miniature golf course from the 20th-23rd July. For more info check out the MiniLinks Golf website.

There's also a Crazy Golf course and Pennines Putting layout at MiniLinks. I had a great time playing them during my visit to the seaside town last month. I also finished in tied-13th place in the MiniLinks US Open tournament.

US Pro Minigolf Association Open
Speaking of US Opens, the USPMGA Tour's national Open tournament is taking place at the Bluegrass Miniature Golf course in Oceanport, New Jersey on the 21st and 22nd July. Our friend Pat Sheridan of the Putting Penguin website is competing. Visit the USPMGA and Bluegrass Miniature Golf websites for more details.

Paradise Island Adventure Golf Open Championships
The Paradise Island Adventure Golf Open Championships are once again taking place at the indoor Paradise Island courses around the country. This year's event runs from the 20th-23rd July and will also see action at the newest Paradise Island Adventure Golf venue in Derby. More details of the event and the other PIAG courses at Cheshire Oaks, Glasgow, Livingston, Manchester and Sheffield can be found on the Paradise Island Adventure Golf website.

World Minigolf Sport Federation
Check out the World Minigolf Sport Federation's website and calendar of events to find out about the sport and how you can get involved. The WMF has member associations in 63 countries around the world and is growing all the time. Visit the WMF website for more info.

Shouting about your success
Don't forget, whether you win or lose there's always a sporting story to tell about your participation in an event. Share your results online, send a report to your local media and be proud of your achievement.

If you want to take things a step further then why not check out my ebook, The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing, to find out how you can help promote yourself, your club, your local course, your national association and the great game. It's available in multiple formats via Amazon and Ganxy.

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. Please do sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter too.

Crazy Golf in Grange over Sands

A look at the Crazy Golf course at Promenade Recreation Park in Grange over Sands.

My mate and minigolf rival Marc 'The Roller' Bazeley has been out and about playing Crazy Golf in Cumbria and sent over these great snaps from his visit to the minigolf layout at Promenade Recreation Park in Grange over Sands. It's a course we're yet to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour!

Marc tells me the 9-hole course is £3 to play. He also tells me that he won the match against his girlfriend Lauren by 9-shots. Knowing how Marc rolls that could be a likely story!

Visit the Grange Promenade Recreation Park website for more information and opening times. Looking on it there's a grass Putting Green there too. I look forward to playing both courses there in the future.

Links:
- Grange Promenade Recreation Park website
- Grange Promenade Recreation Park on Facebook

A visit to the MiniLinks Golf courses in Lytham Saint Annes

Playing the three MiniLinks Mini Golf courses in Lytham Saint Annes.

MiniLinks Golf on the seafront in Lytham Saint Annes is home to three miniature golf courses and on Sunday 18th June I played all of them.

If you're heading to the courses from the town centre or Saint Annes on the Sea railway station, just follow this handy - and BIG - Miniature Golf brown tourist sign to the front

First up was a replay of the 9-hole Crazy Golf course. Emily and I had first played the layout in 2008. In my two rounds on the course I scored a 21 and a 20.

The Crazy Golf course at MiniLinks Golf

Next I played the Pennines Putting course. It's a brilliant 18-hole grass putting course, with some very interesting routes to the cups! In my round I scored 43 - shooting 21 'out' and 22 'in'.

About to score a hole-in-one on the Pennines Putting miniature golf course

After a wander around the town and a play of the Crazy Golf course on the pier and the layout at Fairhaven Lake I returned to the MiniLinks for a game on the Par-3 Miniature Golf course when it was a little quieter as it'd been really busy all day. I'd also had a couple of rides on the Miniature Railway which runs around the perimeter of the course to scope it out a bit.

The MiniLinks Crazy Golf course and Saint Annes Miniature Railway

My score of 67(+13) - recorded as a 65(+11) with the Beginner's Handicap taken into consideration - was enough to see me finish in tied 13th place in the MiniLinks US Open tournament. A total of 43 players had submitted their scores over the weekend, with the winner shooting a round of 48(-6).

Hole 1 of the popular miniature golf course

The MiniLinks US Open trophy

The Pennines Putting and Par-3 courses were the 740th and 742nd visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, with the Crazy Golf course already the 48th visited and played back in 2008.

MiniLinks Golf hosts a number of public tournaments on the Par-3 Golf course throughout the year and there are four special competitions that run at the same time as the 'Majors' in regular golf. Next up is the MiniLinks Open running from the 20th-23rd July.

Visit the MiniLinks Golf website and Twitter for more information, opening times, tournament details and prices.

All in all it was a brilliant day out at the seaside. It's always nice to revisit somewhere after a number of years and this time I got to really explore the town. I'm looking forward to my next visit to Lytham Saint Annes already.

MiniLinks Golf gets the thumbs-up from me

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. Please do sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter too.

New Lost Jungle Adventure Golf course in Edgware, London

London has a brand new Lost Jungle Adventure Golf course.

The new Adventure Golf course on Edgware Way in Edgware is now open. There are two 18-hole courses, as well as a 9-hole Footgolf course and 9-hole 'short' golf course at the venue.

Thanks to my mate Simon Wocka for the tip-off that the course is fully open. It looks great.

The new Adventure Golf course has been built on the site of the former Edgwarebury Golf course.

Visit the Lost Jungle London website and Facebook page for more info.

Related blog posts:
- Crazy Golf in London
- London

Putting on the Prom and BBQ at Parkstone in Prestwick

The team at Putting Plus in Prestwick, Scotland have got in touch to let me know about the Putting on the Prom event next Sunday, 9th July. Check out the poster for more info.

It sounds great fun.

Players at the event will also receive free entry to the Scottish Open Putting Championship with a range of category prizes up for grabs!

Check out the Putting Plus Facebook page for further information on the course and upcoming events.

St Annes Miniature Railway

A ride on the Miniature Railway at Saint Annes on the Sea.

While in Lytham Saint Annes to play minigolf I couldn't resist a ride on the Saint Annes Express miniature railway which runs around the perimeter of the MiniLinks golf courses on the South Promenade.

Riding the rails in Lytham Saint Annes

The Miniature Railway runs next to the Crazy Golf course at MiniLinks

On my first go I rode in the last carriage

The track runs all the way around the MiniLinks Par-3 Golf course

Related blog posts:
- Miniature Railways
- Lytham Saint Annes
- Minigolfing in Lytham Saint Annes

Crazy Golf at Duthie Park in Aberdeen

A look at the minigolf course at Duthie Park in Aberdeen.

My friend Pam Woodcock sent over these snaps of the Crazy Golf course at Duthie Park in Aberdeen, Scotland from her day out in the park.

The Duthie Park Crazy Golf layout

Pam tells me the park is a fantastic public amenity and only half a mile from the town centre. We'll definitely have to give it a visit in the future as we didn't get to Duthie Park on our previous trip to Aberdeen back in 2010.

Another view of the Duthie Park Mini Golf course

Pam and her husband Dave are BIG fans of minigolf and spearheaded a project to create a Crazy Golf course in Burray, Orkney. A project which came to fruition last year when they opened the UK's most northerly Crazy Golf course on the island.

At the end of this month the course will be hosting the first-ever Burray vs. the Rest of the World minigolf competition!

Happy July

Have you turned over your Dull Men's Club 2017 Calendar to July yet?

Emily and I are proud to be the 'pin-ups' for the month of July in the Dull Men's Club Calendar. We're featured for our travels to more than 700 miniature golf courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The Dull Men's Club Calendar for 2017

Having a nice sit down on a bench at Canoe Lake in Southsea

People from around the UK feature in the 2017 calendar

The cast of characters in the Dull Men's Club Calendar

Related blog posts:
- Dull Men's Club
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Link:
- Dull Men's Club

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. Please do sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter too.

Happy National Hot Dog Month

The month of July is National Hot Dog Month!

Happy National Hot Dog Month.

One of the many Hot Dog Mascots we've spotted on our travels

You can find out more about National Hot Dog Month (and National Hot Dog Day on the 19th July) on the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council website.

Related blog posts:
- National Hot Dog Month
- Hot Dogs

Links:
- National Hot Dog and Sausage Council website
- #NationalHotDogMonth

Well, that was June

The month has flown by.

So, we're almost in July - an exciting month for us as we're the July 'pin-ups' in the Dull Men's Club 2017 Calendar. I'd like to use an exclamation mark with that sentence but that's against Dull Men's Club rules.

Have you got your copy of the Dull Men's Club 2017 Calendar yet? If not, why not?

The month of June saw Stuart and Dawn Searle feature on the calendar for their collection of railway memorabilia and the life-size railway station they've built in their back garden.

Two of the other characters in the calendar

It's been a busy month on the blogging and travelling front too. We've now reached 743 course visits on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, with further miniature golf courses visited in Warrington, Valencia, Lytham Saint Annes and Glossop.

We've also found out about even more new minigolf courses planned to open in the coming months, including layouts in Oxford, Leeds, Warrington and Leicester.

Don't forget that July is also National Hot Dog Month.

A pleasant scene on Southend seafront last June

A visit to the Crazy Golf course in Glossop's Manor Park

A look at the Crazy Golf course at Manor Park in Glossop.

On Wednesday 28th June I was in Glossop, Derbyshire and made a visit to the Crazy Golf course in Manor Park.

A view of the Crazy Golf course in Manor Park

The Crazy Golf course in Glossop became the 743rd visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 715th in the UK.

Hole 3 forming a bridge over hole 6

Hole 1

Hole 2

Hole 3 (red) and the 'green' of hole 6 (blue)

The other side of hole 3

Another angle of hole 3

The 'green' on hole 3

Hole 4

Hole 5

Hole 6's 'green'

Another view of hole 6's 'green'

Hole 7 - the snail

Hole 8

Hole 9

Hole 9's 'green'

Unfortunately the council website says that there is nowhere to hire clubs and balls from to actually play the Crazy Golf course, which is strange considering how well maintained the area looks. I suppose if you're heading to the park or live nearby you can take your own equipment, but it's not really the same as hiring the kit and getting a scorecard and pencil too. Since first publishing this blog post I've heard from a contact in the town that clubs and balls can be hired from the nearby cafe in the park when it is open.

As a fan of both mini golf and miniature railways it was marvellous to see Manor Park has both - and they are side-by-side!

The Miniature Golf course and Miniature Railway at Manor Park

The track running next to the Crazy Golf course

Even though it was raining I had a nice wander round the town and park. Manor Park is a short walk from the excellent town centre and both are well worth a visit.

Another minigolf course ticked off the list

I'm looking forward to a return visit to Glossop with Emily one day soon. Hopefully the miniature railway will be running then too.

Links:
- Manor Park, Glossop
- Friends of Manor Park

Videos:
- Crazy Golf course at Manor Park in Glossop
- A walk round the Crazy Golf course at Manor Park in Glossop
- Crazy Golf course and Miniature Railway at Manor Park in Glossop 1 of 2
- Crazy Golf course and Miniature Railway at Manor Park in Glossop 2 of 2

Related blog posts:
- Playing Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Miniature Railways
- Crazy Golf

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. Please do sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter too.