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A blog about our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. With a sprinkling of nostalgia and urban exploration for good measure.
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
Minigolfnews.com blog - End of the minigolf season – and the year ahead...
Labels:
Blog,
Competition,
guest blog,
Guest Blog Posts,
Minigolf,
minigolfnews.com,
Tournament
Location:
United Kingdom
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
Monday, December 11, 2017
Adventure Golf on Sea Road in Felixstowe
One of our most visited minigolf courses is the Fantasia Adventure Golf course on Sea Road in Felixstowe. We never fail to swing by to look at the layout - even if it's out of season. It was definitely unplayable in the snowy weather conditions we faced in the seaside town yesterday.
Here's a blog post about the course from a better day in 2016.
The 9-hole course was the 7th we ever played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour way back in 2007!
Related blog posts:
- Felixstowe
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
A snowy Fantasia Adventure Golf in Felixstowe |
Here's a blog post about the course from a better day in 2016.
The 9-hole course was the 7th we ever played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour way back in 2007!
Related blog posts:
- Felixstowe
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
Labels:
Adventure Golf,
Crazy World of Minigolf Tour,
Fantasia Adventure Golf,
Felixstowe,
Not Played,
Revisit,
Seaside,
snow,
Suffolk,
unplayable
Location:
Sea Rd, Felixstowe IP11 2AU, UK
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
Mar's Mini Golf in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Finding out about Mar's Mini Golf - a 3D Glow in the Dark course in Saskatoon, Canada.
As I'm always on the lookout for new and interesting minigolf courses and stories I found out about Mar's Mini Golf in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The 3D Glow in the Dark course recently celebrated it's 5th birthday.
The undersea theme at Mar's Mini Golf |
You need to putt through this shark's mouth |
A skeleton pirate captain |
We've putted through some whales on our travels |
I'm a BIG fan of glow in the dark minigolf courses although there aren't very many in the UK. Some new indoor minigolf courses are applying glow in the dark elements, or have a few holes that are blacklit, but not many go all out on it.
The 200th course we played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour was a 3D glow in the dark course - the only one I've played - it's in Castleford, Yorkshire.
It'd be brilliant to revisit Canada - we had our honeymoon in Toronto and Niagara Falls.
Check out the Mar's Mini Golf website and photo gallery for more information.
Labels:
3D,
Black Light,
Canada,
glow in the dark,
guest blog,
Guest Blog Posts,
Indoor Black Light Mini Golf,
Indoor Crazy Golf,
Indoor Minigolf,
Mar's Mini Golf,
Saskatchewan,
Saskatoon
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
Golfer's Putter Pool
While perusing the charity shops in Felixstowe at the weekend Emily spotted this brilliant looking golf/pool crossover game - Golfer's Putter Pool! At three quid it was a must buy.
We've been collecting miniature golf items since 2006 and hadn't seen this particular game before.
We have however seen a few variations of hybrid minigolf/golf/pool/snooker/billiards games including Crazy Golf Pool and Pit-Pat, as well as some Crazy Golf obstacles that have used pool and snooker tables.
Golfer's Putter Pool |
We've been collecting miniature golf items since 2006 and hadn't seen this particular game before.
The game was made in the year 2000 |
We have however seen a few variations of hybrid minigolf/golf/pool/snooker/billiards games including Crazy Golf Pool and Pit-Pat, as well as some Crazy Golf obstacles that have used pool and snooker tables.
In October we played Crazy Golf Pool at Krazy Golf Lydney in the Forest of Dean |
I first saw the game of Pit-Pat (obstacle billiards) in Vienna, Austria - it's like Crazy Golf but played with cues |
The 7th hole of the Golf Apocalypse course in London used a snooker table |
Hole 5 of the Plonk Golf course at Efes Snooker Hall in Dalston, London involved a pool table |
Emily spotted the Snooker Golf course in Blankenberge, Belgium |
Betway, sponsors of the UK Snooker Championship, have also created a version of Crazy Snooker. Check out the Putterfingers blog to see more.
Labels:
Billiards,
Crazy Snooker,
Dennco,
Game,
Golfer's Putter Pool,
Indoor Golf,
indoor putting game,
Pool,
Putting,
snooker,
Snooker Golf,
The Crazy Golf Museum
Location:
Felixstowe, UK
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
98% gluten free
If something is 98% gluten free it's 100% useless to me.
Thanks to Jo Tubby for the tip-off about the sign.
What a peculiar percentage to opt for, I wonder who their target market is? |
Sadly there are very few 100% gluten free places for Coeliac diners. Cross-contamination with gluten containing food means that even 99% gluten free places are a big risk for people with Coeliac Disease.
I've just noticed there's also a "98% GF" sticker on the door too |
Thanks to Jo Tubby for the tip-off about the sign.
Labels:
Celiac,
Coeliac,
Coeliac Disease,
Felixstowe,
funny,
Funny Sign,
Funny things about being a Coeliac,
Gluten,
Gluten Free,
Not Gluten Free
Location:
Felixstowe, UK
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
Thursday, December 07, 2017
A token blog post
I'm a collector of all sorts of minigolf ephemera, items and merchandise and love finding tokens. My friend, rival and co-Curator at the Crazy Golf Museum has a BIG collection of miniature golf tokens and I've got a pretty sizeable selection of other machine and arcade tokens.
It's always nice to find a course still using metal tokens / coins. Some have moved to plastic 'credit' cards, whereas others have always used paper tokens (of which I've got a few from my wins on the Lucky Last Hole).
Does your course still use tokens? If they do please get in touch and share any photos of them.
Related blog posts:
- Tokens
- A gift from Paradise
- Property of Machine
- Clacton Pier
- Minigolf collectables from the Lost City Adventure Golf course in Nottingham
- Adventure Golf at The Pavilion Fun Park in Clacton-on-Sea
Link:
- Miniature Golf, Putt Putt and Crazy Golf tokens at the Crazy Golf Museum
A selection of Putt-Putt tokens |
It's always nice to find a course still using metal tokens / coins. Some have moved to plastic 'credit' cards, whereas others have always used paper tokens (of which I've got a few from my wins on the Lucky Last Hole).
I won this Free Game Pass by firing the cannon on the Lucky Last Hole on the very first course we visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour |
Does your course still use tokens? If they do please get in touch and share any photos of them.
Related blog posts:
- Tokens
- A gift from Paradise
- Property of Machine
- Clacton Pier
- Minigolf collectables from the Lost City Adventure Golf course in Nottingham
- Adventure Golf at The Pavilion Fun Park in Clacton-on-Sea
Link:
- Miniature Golf, Putt Putt and Crazy Golf tokens at the Crazy Golf Museum
Labels:
coin operated machines,
Lucky Last Hole,
Machine Token,
Miniature Golf,
Minigolf,
token,
tokens
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
Tuesday, December 05, 2017
End of the minigolf season – and the year ahead...
Here in the UK another year in the domestic minigolf tournament season has come to an end, which means it is the perfect time to look back and reflect on the year. However, this should be about more than rankings and stats. No matter how high or low you are on the leader board, or how many tournaments you took part in – if you enjoy participating in minigolf you have a story to tell.
There are plenty of opportunities to get your story out there, this can be about your achievements and what you've got planned for the 2018 season too, but it can also just be about your participation, and your enjoyment of the sport, spreading the news and awareness of minigolf in general.
Minigolf is a game for all. There are a huge variety of stories to tell and positive aspects to highlight to potential players, the media, sponsors, as well as wider sport, recreation and leisure communities.
There are a lot of communications channels to use to reach your audiences too! From newspapers, radio and TV, to blogs, social media and more, there’s a lot of choice when it comes to ways of getting your story out there.
Back in May this year I published my minigolf marketing eBook and it's received great reviews from a mix of people in the game. This marketing and communications guide has been designed for anyone interested or involved in minigolf.
I've been blogging about minigolf since 2006 and have played the game for as long as I can remember. I got seriously involved when I played in my first official tournament under the auspices of the British Minigolf Association back in 2007.
Emily and I have been to almost 800 courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and have played in a number of events, facing-off against each other but also sometimes as team-mates.
On our travels to courses and tournaments we are always keen to highlight the positive aspects of minigolf. Win or lose we've shared updates on tournaments we've competed in. Over the years this has earned us some brilliant local, regional, national and international media coverage.
There are courses opening up all the time which means our 'To Play' list keeps growing! Minigolf is experiencing a real boom and it's a great time to be involved in the game.
This year I competed in a number of independent and national events – including the first staging of the American Golf National Adventure Golf Championships, which culminated in a grand final broadcast on Sky Sports.
Unfortunately my team-mate Peter Jones and I were unable to win the title but came very close, with a very respectable second-place finish.
With the 2017 season done and dusted now is a good time to reflect on the highs and lows and look ahead to the 2018 season and beyond.
If you're looking for help with your sports marketing and communications activities, no matter how big or small, do get in touch. You can buy my eBook, The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing, on Amazon.
You can find out more about our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on the Ham & Egger Files blog.
Details of my results during the 2017 season can be found in my summary blog post.
There are plenty of opportunities to get your story out there, this can be about your achievements and what you've got planned for the 2018 season too, but it can also just be about your participation, and your enjoyment of the sport, spreading the news and awareness of minigolf in general.
Minigolf is a game for all. There are a huge variety of stories to tell and positive aspects to highlight to potential players, the media, sponsors, as well as wider sport, recreation and leisure communities.
The characters from the annual Holiday on the Buses Crazy Golf Competition in Prestatyn |
There are a lot of communications channels to use to reach your audiences too! From newspapers, radio and TV, to blogs, social media and more, there’s a lot of choice when it comes to ways of getting your story out there.
Back in May this year I published my minigolf marketing eBook and it's received great reviews from a mix of people in the game. This marketing and communications guide has been designed for anyone interested or involved in minigolf.
I've been blogging about minigolf since 2006 and have played the game for as long as I can remember. I got seriously involved when I played in my first official tournament under the auspices of the British Minigolf Association back in 2007.
The podium of the first Great Northern Minigolf Open tournament. Held in Wigan back in April |
Emily and I have been to almost 800 courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and have played in a number of events, facing-off against each other but also sometimes as team-mates.
At the Southend Pier Crazy Golf course - 1.3 miles out to sea. We held a tournament on the course last year |
On our travels to courses and tournaments we are always keen to highlight the positive aspects of minigolf. Win or lose we've shared updates on tournaments we've competed in. Over the years this has earned us some brilliant local, regional, national and international media coverage.
This year I've added some variety to my minigolfing by competing in the MiniLinks Par-3 Miniature Golf tournaments in Lytham St Annes - they have a Winter Trophy tournament on at the moment, it's running from November to February |
There are courses opening up all the time which means our 'To Play' list keeps growing! Minigolf is experiencing a real boom and it's a great time to be involved in the game.
This year I competed in a number of independent and national events – including the first staging of the American Golf National Adventure Golf Championships, which culminated in a grand final broadcast on Sky Sports.
Peter Jones in action - as I look on - during the American Golf National Adventure Golf grand final at The Belfry |
Unfortunately my team-mate Peter Jones and I were unable to win the title but came very close, with a very respectable second-place finish.
Celebrating our big minigolf win in the American Golf Welsh Regional Qualifier at Clays Golf Centre in Wrexham |
With the 2017 season done and dusted now is a good time to reflect on the highs and lows and look ahead to the 2018 season and beyond.
- Why do you enjoy playing minigolf? What made you take it up as a sport?
- What results did you get this year? Were they better / worse than you expected?
- What do you want to achieve next season?
- Where do you want to play?
- What new tournament opportunities are there?
- How are you preparing?
If you're looking for help with your sports marketing and communications activities, no matter how big or small, do get in touch. You can buy my eBook, The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing, on Amazon.
You can find out more about our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on the Ham & Egger Files blog.
Details of my results during the 2017 season can be found in my summary blog post.
Labels:
Adventure Golf,
Competition,
Crazy Golf,
ebook,
Emily Gottfried,
Marketing,
Minigolf,
Richard Gottfried,
Tournament
Location:
United Kingdom
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
Congo Adventure Golf at Brean Sands in Somerset
A look back at our visit to the Congo Adventure Golf course at Brean Leisure Park in Brean Sands, Somerset.
The 519th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour was the Congo Adventure Golf course at Brean Leisure Park in Brean Sands, Somerset back in November 2012.
A crocodile - or alligator - lurking near a tricky looking hole |
Visit the Brean Leisure Park website for more information.
Related blog posts:
- Brean
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
Link:
- Brean Leisure Park
Labels:
Adventure Golf,
Brean,
Brean Leisure Park,
Brean Sands,
Congo Adventure Golf,
Crazy World of Minigolf Tour,
Not Played,
Somerset,
unplayable
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
Monday, December 04, 2017
Smugglers Cove Pirate Adventure Golf in Brean
A look back at our visit to the Smugglers Cove Pirate Adventure Golf course in Brean Sands, Somerset.
While on our short break in Somerset back in November 2012 we called into the seaside town of Brean to see what minigolf we could find there. One of the unexpected discoveries was the Smugglers Cove Pirate Adventure Golf course.
The layout was fairly small, but plenty of piratey theming had been piled into the playing area.
Unfortunately as has so often been the case on our travels, the course was closed so we didn't get to play it.
Smugglers Cove Pirate Adventure Golf in Brean was the 518th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.
Related blog posts:
- Brean
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
Labels:
Adventure Golf,
Brean,
Brean Sands,
Crazy World of Minigolf Tour,
Not Played,
Pirate,
Pirate Adventure Golf,
Smugglers Cove Pirate Adventure Golf,
Somerset,
unplayable
Location:
Brean, Burnham-on-Sea TA8, UK
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
Saturday, December 02, 2017
Bar Billiards at The Blossoms pub in Stockport
Finding our first Bar Billiards table in Stockport.
On our walk back from a visit to the wonderful Christmas Tree Festival at St George's Church in Heaviley we stopped off at The Blossoms pub on the A6. We went in the main entrance and were very surprised to see a Bar Billiards table in the room to the right!
The Bar Billiards table at The Blossoms pub in Heaviley, Stockport |
We're big fans of the old game and had searched online to see if there were any tables in the area when we moved here last year. It's brilliant to know there's a table just up the road from us.
We didn't play the finest game of Bar Billiards using the four-peg arrangement |
We had three matches - the first using all four pegs and then two using the three peg rules we are more accustomed to.
Emily in action |
We haven't seen too many four-peg tables on our Barmy Bar Billiards Trail. The ones at The Cheshire Cheese pub in London and The Chequers Inn at Knebworth spring to mind.
A great game in a nice pub |
Game 1 - Richard 790, Emily 200 (had wiped out a score of 110, but then potted the last ball in the 200 hole).
Game 2 - Richard 880, Emily 450 (potted the last ball in the 200 hole).
Game 3 - Richard 1,060, Emily 720 (potted the red ball in the 200 hole).
You can find The Blossoms at 2 Buxton Road, Heaviley, Stockport.
Last year we played Bagatelle, another old cue game, at the Union Vaults pub in Chester.
Related blog posts:
- Bar Billiards
- Stockport
- Pub Games
- Pub
Link:
- The Blossoms
Labels:
Bar Billiards,
Barmy Bar Billiards Trail,
Emily Gottfried,
Heaviley,
Pub,
Pub Games,
Richard Gottfried,
Stockport,
The Blossoms
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
Friday, December 01, 2017
Cheddar Crazy Golf
A look back at our visit to Cheddar Crazy Golf in November 2012.
On our holiday in Somerset back in November 2012 we spent the day in Cheddar where we had a round on the excellent Cheddar Crazy Golf course.
Cheddar Crazy Golf is in a very nice setting |
The 18-hole layout was great fun, tricky and unique - just what we like in a minigolf course.
Nice rules/tip/warning sign |
Not many courses have a secret grotto! |
Putting on this hole... |
...takes you onto/down/through this obstacle... |
...or not! |
Check out the Cheddar Crazy Golf course website for more information.
Related blog posts:
- Minigolfing in Bath, Wookey Hole, Cheddar and Brean (but not Bristol)
Labels:
Cheddar,
Cheddar Crazy Golf,
Crazy Golf,
Crazy World of Minigolf Tour,
Emily Gottfried,
Minigolf,
Richard Gottfried,
Somerset
Location:
Cheddar BS27, UK
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Chrizy Golf in Manchester
A look back at the Chrizy Golf Masters competition.
The Chrizy Golf course was decked out in Christmas-theming |
Five years ago I headed up to Manchester while my friend and minigolf rival John Moore travelled down to compete in the first - and to-date only - Chrizy Golf Masters tournament.
One of the holes on the tricky indoor layout |
The one night only event was held on an Christmas-themed indoor pop-up Crazy Golf course at Manchester Piccadilly. Played over one 9-hole round I managed to beat John by one-shot to take the victory with a score of 20(+2).
Our scorecards from the tourney |
Another trophy to sit on shelf |
After the 2012 festive season was over the course was gone and the building remained empty, or used for other pop-ups, until the team at Junkyard Golf made it their home a couple of years ago. They too have since moved on to a permanent venue at First Street.
It was great to compete in the Chrizy Golf Masters competition and it's still one of the few courses I've played that has been decked out for Christmas. It was certainly the only bespoke festive-themed course I've played.
Back then the journey up to Manchester from Luton seemed like a very long way, now it'd be less than half hour from Cheadle Hulme!
Related blog posts:
- Chrizy Golf
- Christmas
Labels:
Christmas,
Chrizy Golf,
Competition,
Indoor Crazy Golf,
Indoor Minigolf,
John Moore,
Manchester,
Pop Up,
Richard Gottfried,
Tournament
Location:
Piccadilly, Manchester M1, UK
I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.
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