Crazy Golf in Manchester

A look at minigolf courses in the Manchester area.

2017 saw a real boom in minigolf in the UK and there are a number of new courses set to open in 2018.

Here in Manchester there are plenty of options to play minigolf, crazy golf and adventure golf, with some new courses being built this year too.

Paradise Island Adventure Golf at the Trafford Centre - two 18-hole indoor Adventure Golf courses.

Paradise Island Adventure Golf at the Trafford Centre

Dino Falls Adventure Golf at the Trafford Golf Centre - an 18-hole outdoor Jurassic-themed Adventure Golf course.

Junkyard Golf at First Street - three 9-hole indoor Crazy Golf courses.

A glow-in-the-dark hole at Junkyard Golf

Crazy Golf at Wythenshawe Park - an 18-hole outdoor Crazy Golf course.

The Crazy Golf course at Wythenshawe Park on our visit in 2009

The Lost Valley Adventure Golf at Amazonia, Market Place Shopping Centre, Bolton - an 18-hole indoor Adventure Golf course.

The Lost Valley Adventure Golf course in Bolton

Haigh Woodland Park, Wigan - an 18-hole outdoor Wigan-themed Adventure Golf course and an 18-hole outdoor Crazy Golf course.

The new Adventure Golf course at Haigh Woodland Park

The old Crazy Golf course in Haigh Woodland Park - it's the cheapest course to play in the UK at only £1 a round!

Stamford Park, Stamford Street, Stalybridge, Tameside - an outdoor Crazy Golf course.

Moss Bank Park, Bolton - an outdoor Crazy Golf course.

New courses opening in 2018:
- Treetop Adventure Golf at The Printworks in Manchester City Centre - two 18-hole indoor Adventure Golf courses.
- Roxy Ball Room in Deansgate, Manchester City Centre - an 18-hole indoor Crazy Golf course.

The indoor Crazy Golf course at Roxy Ball Room in Leeds - the team at Roxy Ball Room are opening new minigolf courses at their venues in Manchester and Huddersfield in 2018

Over the years we've played a number of other minigolf courses in Manchester on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - some have been portable courses, while others have been temporary or pop-up locations. Back in 2009 I also won two mini major tournaments on the old Championship Miniature Golf course at the Trafford Golf Centre.

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

Blogging on Minigolfnews

At the end of last year I began guest blogging at Minigolfnews and the team at the site are keen for more minigolfers to get involved.

There's plenty of great stuff to shout about in the world of minigolf

Check out the blog section of Minigolfnews to see more posts and find out more.

New in the Crazy Golf Museum

Update on new donations to the Crazy Golf Museum.

Our friend and minigolf rival Pat Sheridan has made some superb donations to the Crazy Golf Museum's archives with a selection of scorecards and coupons from his recent travels as a tournament player and minigolf reviewer at the Putting Penguin.

It's always wonderful to see - and share - minigolf ephemera from around the world and Pat has donated a number of marvellous items to the Museum's collection over the years.

Scorecard from Aloha Mini Golf in Myrtle Beach

The scoring side of the scorecard at Aloha Mini Golf

The latest haul from the USA come from his visit to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, USA - a real hotbed of minigolf courses - where Pat competed in the 2017 USPMGA Master's tournament. There are also some items from Missouri and Florida.

Scorecard from the 2017 USPMGA Master's minigolf competition held at the Hawaiian Rumble Mini Golf course in North Myrtle Beach

Scorecard from Cancun Lagoon Mayan Adventure Golf in Myrtle Beach

The scoring side of the card from Cancun Lagoon Adventure Golf

  

Scorecard from Dragons Lair Fantasy Golf in Myrtle Beach - one of five courses in the Myrtle Beach Family Golf group

Scoring side of the card from the Dragons Lair Fantasy Golf course in Myrtle Beach

Scorecard from Shipwreck Island Adventure Golf in Myrtle Beach. Another course in the Myrtle Beach Family Golf group

The scoring side of the card from Shipwreck Island Adventure Golf in Myrtle Beach

Scorecard from Mount Atlanticus Miniature Golf in Myrtle Beach - 'The Best Mini Golf Course in the World'!

Scoring side of the card from Mount Atlanticus Miniature Golf in Myrtle Beach

Pat has been reviewing minigolf courses since 2001 and there are 295 course reviews on the Putting Penguin website.

Scorecard from the minigolf course at Cool Crest Family Fun Center in Independence, Missouri

The scoring side of the card from Cool Crest in Missouri

A coupon from Smugglers Cove Adventure Golf in Florida

You can find out more about the Crazy Golf Museum on its website, Facebook Page and Twitter.

Legal Food in Lincoln

We had a brilliant weekend away in Lincoln and it's always nice to explore a new place. While having a wander down the High Street on Saturday we spotted this bizarre business name at a Chinese Takeaway!

Legal Food in Lincoln - not sure what this sign says about the other food businesses in the city!

Shoot for the Stars Mini-Golf

Finding out about the Shoot for the Stars Mini-Golf course in Branson, Missouri.

It's always brilliant finding out about new and interesting minigolf courses around the world. At the end of last year I spotted Shoot for the Stars Mini-Golf in Branson, Missouri. It's another course we'd love to play on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

As you play the Shoot for the Stars Mini-Golf course you take 18-steps to becoming a Hollywood Star!

From being discovered to earning a star on Hollywood Boulevard, your wise-cracking agent, Marty McBooster, guides your journey around the course with hilarious words of advice at each hole. Finally, you’ll learn the height of your fame at the Star-o-Meter – are you overexposed or legendary?

I love seeing BIG features and obstacles on miniature golf courses

The course layout lets you experience the landmarks of Hollywood, including Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Capitol Records and the Hollywood Bowl. You get to play minigolf in, around, and through palm trees, parties and paparazzi and discover Hot Tips about becoming a star at every hole.

We love playing unique courses with fun themes and the Shoot for the Stars Mini-Golf looks like a perfect spot to play, grab some great snaps and an all round memorable experience.

We've played a few minigolf courses in the US - in Denver and Las Vegas. I also got my face on the Wall of Fame for winning a tournament at the Putt Park in Vegas - we'd love to get on the Shoot for the Stars Mini-Golf Walk of Fame too!

Shoot for the Stars Mini-Golf is located in the Hollywood Entertainment Center on Highway 76 in Branson, Missouri. Check out the Shoot for the Stars Mini-Golf website, Facebook Page, Twitter and Google+ for more information.

All photos courtesy of Shoot for the Stars Mini-Golf course.

Conservation Golf at Chester Zoo

Finding out about the Adventure Golf course at Chester Zoo.

On his recent trip to the UK our friend and minigolf rival John Mittler visited Chester Zoo and while there discovered an Adventure Golf course!

Conservation Golf at Chester Zoo

Unfortunately it was closed and isn't open again until the Spring.

Hole 1

We haven't made it to Chester Zoo yet, we're hoping to visit in the summer. The Conservation Golf course wasn't on our Crazy World of Minigolf 'to visit' list, so it's another one to add to our future travels.

Hole 2

Hole 3 

Hole 4 

Hole 5 

Hole 6 

Hole 7 

Hole 8 

Hole 9

Visit the Chester Zoo website for more information.

All photos courtesy of John Mittler.

Our first minigolf course visit of the year

A revisit to The Masters Crazy Golf course in Southport.

To celebrate the first day of the new year we headed over to Southport, one of our local seasides, for the afternoon. While there we revisited what was originally the 150th course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - The Masters Crazee Putting course at King's Gardens.

The 17th and 18th holes

We played the course on our first visit to the seaside resort in September 2009 and revisited twice in 2016. Last year raced by and we never made it back to Southport to have a game. Hopefully we'll return for a round or two later this year.

A view of the course in King's Garden's from the pier

It's a great 18-hole minigolf course and also has a lucky last hole - which I won on when we played there. I've still got the free game card.

There's a lot of great signage on the course

You can see more photos of the course in our blog posts from October and November 2016.

It was very rainy on our visit

Fingers crossed for a lot more seaside and crazy golf course visits in 2018.

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

Crazy Golf at Roxy Ball Room in Huddersfield

New indoor Mini Golf course set to open at Roxy Ball Room in Huddersfield.

There's a new indoor minigolf course opening up at Roxy Ball Room Huddersfield in March 2018.

The indoor minigolf course at Roxy Ball Room in Leeds

The team at Roxy Ball Room are also planning to open a new minigolf course at their Manchester venue in February.

There are also Roxy Ball Room venues in Liverpool, Nottingham and Leeds - we played the Crazy Golf course in Leeds in November 2016.

Check out the Roxy Ball Room website for more info.

We're looking forward to playing the new Roxy Ball Room course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Related blog posts:
- Roxy Ball Room
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Link:
- Roxy Ball Room

Key minigolf dates for the year ahead

Happy 2018! We hope you have a brilliant year of minigolf.

Last year we played at Championship Adventure Golf in New Brighton on National Miniature Golf Day

Check out these key dates for your minigolf diary.

Saturday 12th May - National Miniature Golf Day (this falls on the second Saturday in May).

Friday 21st September - Miniature Golf Day (this is always on the 21st September).

Sunday 30th September - 12 years of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

#MiniGolfMonday - every Monday of the year.

For international minigolf tournaments visit the World Minigolf Sport Federation website.

For UK minigolf competitions visit the British Minigolf Association website.

Are you planning a minigolf event in 2018 or do you have a BIG minigolf anniversary to celebrate this year - do get in touch to let us know!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year and all the very best for 2018!

Minigolf at Roxy Ball Room in Manchester

New indoor Crazy Golf course set to open at Roxy Ball Room in Manchester.

There's a new indoor minigolf course opening up at Roxy Ball Room Manchester in February 2018.

The Roxy Ball Room Crazy Golf course in Leeds

The team at Roxy Ball Room are also planning to open a new minigolf course at their Huddersfield venue in March.

There are also Roxy Ball Room venues in Liverpool, Nottingham and Leeds - we played the Crazy Golf course in Leeds in November 2016. That course was the 673rd visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, we're now up to 794 courses visited since our travels began in September 2006.

Check out the Roxy Ball Room website for more info on the new minigolf course and the other entertainment on offer at the Deansgate venue.

We're looking forward to playing the new course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Related blog posts:
- Manchester
- Roxy Ball Room
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Link:
- Roxy Ball Room

Paradise Island Adventure Golf in Manchester

A revisit to the Paradise Island Adventure Golf course in Manchester.

On Thursday 28th December we visited Paradise Island Adventure Golf at the Trafford Centre in Manchester for a round with our friend and Finnish minigolf champion John Mittler. There are two 18-hole indoor courses at Paradise Island Adventure Golf and we picked the Temple Ruins minigolf course for our round.

Dressed for the occasion

Paradise Island Adventure Golf is our local course - a short drive up the M60 - and we've played there a few times on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. They were originally the 85th and 86th played on our travels back in 2009.

John playing the 18th

John got off to a brilliant start with an ace on the first hole, although this was followed by a pair of threes. I started off with three steady twos, while Emily shot two, three, two.

About to ace the 11th hole

At the end of our round I came out the winner with a score of 31 (five aces and no dropped shots), John shot a 37 for second place, while Emily shot the course par of 42.

My round of 31 beat the previous best in December

Check out the Paradise Island Adventure Golf website for more information and opening times.

Emily tackling the 17th hole

Paradise Island in Manchester was the last minigolf course visit of 2016 - and it's likely to be the last minigolf course we visit this year too!

In July this year we played the courses as part of the PIAG Open competition. On that occasion I shot a 39 (including a seven) and Emily had a 42 on the Temple Ruins course. We also had a round at the Paradise Island Adventure Golf centre at Cheshire Oaks this summer.

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

Links:
- Paradise Island Adventure Golf
- The Trafford Centre

Videos:
- John Mittler Ace on Hole 8
- Richard Ace on Hole 11
- Richard Ace on Hole 18

What a year it's been!

2017 has been quite a year on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We've visited another 74 courses taking our total to 794 since September 2006. It's mad to think that when we began there were 'only' about 600 courses in the UK.

At Wellholme Park in Brighouse, Yorkshire in August

As we approach the 800th course visit - no doubt it'll occur at some point in 2018 - we're hearing about lots of new courses opening around the country. This year has seen a fair few new courses open and there looks to be at least 20 courses planned to open next year!

We've had some brilliant media coverage for our minigolf adventures too - with a particularly busy period during the summer when Crazy Golf was covered on TV, radio, online and in the press.


As well as playing purely for fun (as if) we've also competed in a number of competitions this year - winning some of them too.

We're looking forward to the new year and the next stages of our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We've already got flights booked for two trips!

Merry Christmas

Happy Christmas. We hope you have a great day.

Adventure Golf at The Printworks in Manchester

New indoor Treetop Adventure Golf course opening at The Printworks in Manchester.

There are plans to build a new indoor Adventure Golf course at The Printworks in Manchester City Centre, with the new jungle-themed Treetop Adventure Golf venue set to open in 2018.

The first Treetop Adventure Golf location opened in Cardiff in 2015 and like that site the new Manchester location will feature two 18-hole courses.

Members of the team behind the course have designed and built some great indoor adventure golf courses that we've played for fun and in competitions in places like Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Aberdeen, Manchester and Nottingham, as well as outdoor courses in Hastings.

We haven't made it to the Cardiff course yet, but have played a number of the other high quality Adventure Golf courses designed and built by the same people who created Treetop Adventure Golf

We're looking forward to playing the two new Treetop Adventure Golf  courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour when they open just down the road from us next year.

The team at Treetop Adventure Golf are also planning to open a course at the Highcross Shopping Centre in Leicester. Exiting times!

Related blog posts:
- Treetop Adventure Golf
- Indoor Adventure Golf
- Manchester

Links:
- Treetop Adventure Golf website
- The Printworks website

Minigolf bloggers

To celebrate my eleventh year of blogging at the Ham and Egger Files I wanted to highlight the hard work and dedication of others involved in the promotion and support of minigolf through their blogging.

Back in March 2015 we met up with fellow pro minigolf, blogger and course reviewer Pat Sheridan of The Putting Penguin. We had a fun round at Putt in the Park in Wandsworth, London

Some of the bloggers post regularly, others for specific events and others on a mixture of channels and platforms. Here's a list of the active blogs I know about:

• Adventures in Minigolfing by Marion Homer
• Mini Golf App
• Mini Golf Guide
• Minigolfnews.com
• Putterfingers
• Putting Edge
• The Ham and Egger Files by Richard and Emily Gottfried
• Two Crazy Golfers
• UrbanCrazy
• Waddling to the Top - The Putting Penguin blog by Pat Sheridan

These are four great minigolf review websites that aren't technically blogs, but are brilliant resources:

• A Couple of Putts
• Mini Golf Review Site
• Mini Golf Reviews
• The Putting Penguin

There are also two Vlogs I know of:

• Allan Cox - The Putter King
• Rainforest Adventure Golf's Vlog

And there's one minigolf podcast:

• Mini Putthead podcast

There are also a number of minigolf players and courses out there who use their own websites, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to post about their activities. Check out the Minigolf List I curate on Twitter, there are more than 1,100 accounts in it.

Matt Bellner, aka Mattie 5, is another Pro Putter worth a follow on social media.

There are also a number of blogs that have become dormant over the years and they are listed below:

• Forever Pushing Buttons by Seth Thomas
• Have Putter Will Travel by Jon Drexler
• Mini Ballin'
• Mini-Golf Adventures
• Putt Putt Long Island
• The Force Report by Marc Chapman
• The Minigolfer by Oliver Florence
• The Putter King
• The Putting Predictor
• Tiger World by Tiger Pragnell
• Minigolf Blog by Will Donnelly

If you know of any other minigolf blogs I may have missed, do get in touch!

Do check out the guest blogs posted here on the Ham and Egger Files too.

Blogiversary of the Ham and Egger Files

Today marks eleven years since the Ham and Egger Files began.

Playing hole 5 of the 11-hole Crazy Golf course at York Golf Range in Towthorpe near Strensall earlier this year. The course was #764 on our travels

I'm often asked how a blog that is (predominantly) about minigolf has the name the Ham and Egger Files? Well, it didn't initially start out life as a minigolf blog.

Back on the 21st December 2006 I published my first post about how I planned to participate in as many obscure and minority sports as I could and see what would happen with the modicum of sporting ability I have!

The term 'ham and egger' has connotations ranging from that of 'ordinary person' to that of 'loser'. The origin of the term stems from prize fighters whose modest skills wouldn’t let them win large purses. Therefore, the fighter or their manager (who received a percentage of purses won) were never able to afford to eat better than ham and eggs.

My second ever blog post was also on the 21st December and about the fine sport of Finger Jousting.

This post is the 2,750th!

Last year I celebrated my blogiversary by playing the Lost Valley Adventure Golf course at Amazonia in Bolton. The course was #720

Our interest in minigolf and what would become our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour had actually begun on the 30th September 2006, but I didn't publish a post about the sport until the 29th January 2007 when I announced my joining of the British Minigolf Association - a competition circuit I made my actual debut on in Southend-on-Sea on the 28th April.

Emily putting at the 11-hole Pirate-themed Adventure Golf course at the Funland Themepark in 2008. The course was the 69th played on our tour. The blog post about our visit doesn't include a single photo of me, that's a rarity!

Since my first year of blogging Emily and I have visited nearly 800 miniature golf courses, played in hundreds of tournaments and competed in lots of different sports and games. I've won quite a few titles along the way too, not too bad for a Ham n' Egger.

This year I won The Butler Cup Holiday on the Buses Crazy Golf tournament in Prestatyn, one of two tournaments I won in Wales

Thank you to everyone who has ever read a post, commented, shared, or guest blogged on the site, it's very much appreciated.

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.

A festive surprise from Fun Fore All

It was wonderful to receive a nice festive package from the team at Fun Fore All in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania - I can't wait to open it!

It's always lovely to get a bit of post

Check out my blog post for more info about their Holiday Lights Mini Golf extravaganza.

A look at the Holiday Lights Mini Golf at Fun Fore All

From November 17th to January 2nd Fun Fore All's two 18-hole Miniature Golf courses have been transformed into a fully playable walk-through holiday lights experience.

For more information and the schedule for the Holiday Lights Mini Golf check out the Fun Fore All Fun Park website.