2017 Scottish Open Putting Championship in Prestwick

The Scottish Open Putting Championship is running at Putting Plus in Prestwick throughout the summer season.

In 2015 Putting Plus held the Open Putting Championship over a weekend, and it rained. In 2016 it was held over 10 days, and it rained. This year the Championship is bring held over the summer season, blame the putting curse when it rains.

In addition to the Champion Putter, category Champions include primary and secondary school age; over 60, over 70 and over 80; and the Grandparent and Grandchild Pairs.

This weekend, Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th July between 12 noon until 4pm, the focus is on the Grandparent and Grandchild Pairs category.

Champions in all categories will be announced at the beginning of September.

You can find out more about the 2017 Scottish Open Putting Championship on the Putting Plus Facebook page.

Back in action at the Woodstock Petanque Club

Playing petanque at Alexandra Park in Edgeley, Stockport.

It was great to be back in action at the Woodstock Petanque Club yesterday after a bit of a break in playing the game. The Sunday session began with some coaching from two English Petanque Association coaches who led the group in some training drills and gave some pointing and shooting demonstrations.

The players practice some pointing and lobbing on the Edgeley piste

It's always interesting receiving some top level coaching and advice and I'll certainly be putting some of the techniques into practice. I'm not sure going straight into a competitive match was the best thing to do after relearning the basics of holding and throwing a boules as my playing partner Carol and I lost 13-2 to Hilary and Dave!

My record at Woodstock Pétanque Club is now 6 wins and 5 defeats.

All-time
- Played 11, won 6, lost 5

2017
- Played 5, won 4, lost 1

2016
- Played 6, won 2, lost 4

Woodstock Pétanque Club meets on the piste at Alexandra Park in Edgeley, Stockport on the second and fourth Sundays of the month. Membership for the year is £10, with a £1 fee for each afternoon you play. A bargain price to spend playing a fun and skillful game in great company.

Visit the Petanque in Manchester Facebook Group and Ptonk in the Park Twitter account for more info. You can find out more about the game on the English Petanque Association website.

The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour keeps on rolling

Over the last three days we've visited eleven minigolf courses - including four new ones - on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. I've also competed in three Open tournaments at three different venues.

We 'found' an abandoned 15-hole Crazy Golf course at Higher Bebington Recreation Ground near Birkenhead

On Thursday we were at the Trafford Centre in Manchester to play at Paradise Island Adventure Golf. On Friday we visited St Annes to play the Crazy Golf and Par 3 MiniLinks courses - and filmed some news items for ITV and PA. Yesterday we visited Sutton Weaver Village near Runcorn, Paradise Island Adventure Golf at Cheshire Oaks, Higher Bebington Recreation Ground near Birkenhead, and Championship Adventure Golf in New Brighton. Before we hit the road we appeared on BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live programme.

The courses we visited in the past week have certainly been a real mixture of minigolf layouts! Full blog posts to follow...

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour now stands at 747 courses visited overall - 719 in the UK - and a total of 442 played since September 2006.

Paradise Island Adventure Golf at the Trafford Centre

Playing at the indoor Paradise Island Adventure Golf courses at the Trafford Centre.

Yesterday evening we headed along for a couple of rounds of minigolf at Paradise Island Adventure Golf at the Trafford Centre in Manchester.

I last played the course back in April 2009 while Emily had a round on the course in April of this year. The Tiki Hut Trail and Temple Ruins Adventure courses were originally the 85th and 86th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Our rounds on the courses last night were part of the PIAG Open competition running from the 20th to 23rd July, with entry to the contest open to anyone playing a round on the layout. The PIAG Open is also running at the other Paradise Island Adventure Golf venues at Cheshire Oaks, Glasgow, Livingston, Sheffield and Derby.

The Open Championship scorecard

First up we played the Temple Ruins Adventure where I shot a 39 (including a dreaded 7 on the 5th hole) to Emily's 42. On the Tiki Hut Trail we both improved our scores. I settled into the course a bit more and recorded a 34, with Emily hitting a 38.

  

Check out the videos from our visit on our YouTube Channel and on the links below.



We're looking forward to visiting our next Paradise Island Adventure Golf course.

Link:
- Paradise Island Adventure Golf website

Related blog posts:
- Paradise Island Adventure Golf
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Videos:
- Temple Ruins hole-in-one 
- Temple Ruins hole-in-one - hole 4
- Temple Ruins hole-in-one - hole 11
- Temple Ruins hole-in-one - hole 18
- Tiki Hut Trail hole-in-one - hole 5
- Tiki Hut Trail hole-in-one - hole 11
- Tiki Hut Trail hole-in-one - hole 13

Mobike in Cheadle Hulme

The new Mobike cycle hire scheme recently launched in Manchester and this morning I spotted one of the fancy bikes parked up/abandoned/awaiting collection in Cheadle Hulme.

I'm pretty sure this constitutes bad parking etiquette in the Mobike rulebook. Not that anyone really uses phone boxes anymore. But still

Check out the Mobike website for further details of the scheme and how you can hire one of the bikes.

The Mobikes look pretty cool. I wouldn't mind having a go on one, even if I'm more of a BMX man myself

There have been reports in the news and by police that bikes have been abandoned. However, unlike the London 'Boris Bikes' the Mobikes don't have docking stations, they are simply left in the open ready for collection by the next user.

Handy to know that I can collect one in the outer reaches of Greater Manchester here in the leafy Cheshire/Stockport borderlands.

Happy National Hot Dog Day

Today is National Hot Dog Day!

Happy National Hot Dog Day.

You can find out more about National Hot Dog Day and National Hot Dog Month on the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council website.

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

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

Hampions of Cheadle Hulme

Better a Hampion than a Ham & Egger.

Not sure if Manchester Rugby Club are the champs, or if the winners are the visitors

Seeing this sign reminded me of the Championship Winning Ham at a butchers in Needham Market, Suffolk. Surely a Ham Championship is a Hampionship...

Just hampion

Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop

Playing a round of Crazy Golf at Glossop's Manor Park.

On the 28th June the Crazy Golf course in Glossop's Manor Park became the 743rd course visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. Unfortunately as it was a weekday the course wasn't open to play, so last Saturday we returned to give the course a go. Luckily the weather was a lot better than my visit the week before.

About to play a shot on hole 1

On the third hole

Playing hole 4

Check out the blog post from my original look at the course at "A visit to the Crazy Golf course in Glossop's Manor Park."

A view of the Crazy Golf course from the Miniature Railway's station platform

We also got to have a ride on the Miniature Railway which was brilliant fun.

The rules of the railway

The 6-minute train ride costs £2 per passenger and takes you round an interesting journey around the park and through the woods. You also get your hand stamped which means you can ride again for free!

Manor Park is a tremendous facility and we'd definitely visit again. Glossop as a whole is well worth seeing as there are some fantastic views of the Peak District from the town, as well as some interesting shops and pubs there too.

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

Videos:
- Crazy Golf at Manor Park, Glossop - Hole 1
- Crazy Golf at Manor Park, Glossop - Hole 2
- Crazy Golf at Manor Park, Glossop - Hole 7
- Crazy Golf course at Manor Park, Glossop
- A walk round the Crazy Golf course at Manor Park in Glossop

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Miniature Railways
- Crazy Golf

MiniLinks Par-3 Miniature Golf course in Lytham Saint Annes

Playing the MiniLinks Par-3 Miniature Golf course in Lytham Saint Annes.

On the 18th June the MiniLinks Par-3 Miniature Golf course in Lytham Saint Annes became the 742nd visited and 437th played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

A view looking back at hole 1

The course was proving incredibly popular all day

There are some great views from the links golf course

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.

The MiniLinks US Open golf trophy

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

Visit the MiniLinks Golf website for more information.

Related blog posts:
- Minigolfing in Lytham Saint Annes
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

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.

There's truth in advertising and then there's this!

Now, I'm all for truth in advertising, but I can't help but think this piece of signage at a butchers in Leeds Kirkgate Market would've benefited from a better descriptor of the product on sale.

I suppose the 'branded' name of this product is 'Chitterlings'

The photo certainly caused a stir among followers of the Tripe Marketing Board on Twitter.

Ever since I first spotted tripe on a butcher's stall at Wigan Market in 2012 I've been following the Tripe Marketing Board with interest. Although not enough interest to have actually tried tripe. I'm fairly certain that cow's stomach is something of an acquired taste.

Visit the Tripe Marketing Board website for more information about tripe. You can also use Tripe Adviser to locate sellers of the 'delicacy'.

Related blog posts:

- Tripe

- Leeds

- Funny sign

- Tripe in Stockport

Links:

- Tripe Marketing Board

- Leeds Kirkgate Market

Taste of Carpets

I spotted this great shopfront while walking through Edgeley, Stockport yesterday evening.

I wonder why the shutters are down?

Not sure what's more bizarre - the Taste of Carpets, or being a Watermelon Specialist...

We've also got an Instascran shop in Stockport.

Related blog posts:
- Shop
- Funny Signs
- Carpet Shop

MiniLinks Pennines Putting Mini Golf course in Lytham Saint Annes

Playing the MiniLinks Pennines Putting Mini Golf course in Lytham Saint Annes.

On the 18th June the Pennines Putting Mini Golf course in Lytham Saint Annes became the 740th visited and 434th played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The MiniLinks Pennines Putting course

A view of the fine grass putting course

It's not a flat layout! The flag and cup for this hole are on the other side of the hill

A long shot into the corner of the course 

You have to putt through a hedge on this hole!

About to score a hole-in-one on the course

The course is nicely laid out and the hole configuration certainly keeps you on your toes

Another hedge to putt through!

The big flag on the last hole

Visit the MiniLinks Golf website for more information.

Related blog posts:
- Minigolfing in Lytham Saint Annes
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

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.

MiniLinks Crazy Golf course in Lytham Saint Annes

Playing the MiniLinks Crazy Golf course in Lytham Saint Annes.

Back in 2008 the Crazy Golf course at MiniLinks Golf in Lytham Saint Annes became the 48th visited and played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The MiniLinks Crazy Golf course

On the 18th June I replayed the course on my day out at the seaside resort.

It's always great to find a Humpty obstacle on a course

The Crazy Golf course is next to the kiosk and sits next to the first hole of the MiniLinks Par-3 Golf course

Hole 1

Hole 2

Hole 3

Hole 4

Hole 5 - and the green of hole 1 of the Par-3 MiniLinks Golf course

Hole 5

Hole 6

Hole 7 - Humpty

Hole 8 - you can see the old hole 8 on this blog post

Hole 9

Visit the MiniLinks Golf website for more information.

Related blog posts:
- Minigolfing in Lytham Saint Annes
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

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.