Blogiversary of the Ham and Egger Files

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

Thirteen years ago today I began blogging - where has the time gone!

People often ask me how a blog that is mostly about minigolf has the name the 'Ham and Egger Files'? The answer is that it didn't initially start out life as a minigolf blog.

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 limited 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 comes 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.

Since that first post I have gone on to publish more than 3,500 posts! Admittedly most of them have been about minigolf.

At our 900th minigolf course - the North Bay Crazy Golf course in Scarborough

Our interest in minigolf and what would soon 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 that I had joined the British Minigolf Association - a tournament circuit I made my actual debut on in Southend-on-Sea on the 28th April 2007.

Since my first year of blogging Emily and I have now visited 940 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.

Back in 2006 we were still playing dodgeball and we ran leagues into 2007. I've dipped (dodged and dived) back into the sport intermittently over the years and just recently have got back into playing the ultimate underdog sport.

Dodgeballing at the Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club

A massive thank you goes out to everyone who has ever read one of my posts, commented, shared, or guest blogged on the site, it's very much appreciated.

Emily and I are always happy to hear about new minigolf courses, new sports and games, new places to visit and interesting things to write about. Please do get in touch if you have any ideas or suggestions for future blog posts.

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 Underdog Day

Happy Underdog Day 2019.

Today is Underdog Day.

Happy National Underdog Day to ham and eggers, journeymen, jobbers, local competitors, enhancement talent, jabronis, wildcards, second placers, also-rans, palookas, runners-up, Mr Nobodies, silver medalists, and Average Joes everywhere.

The third Friday in December is the day to celebrate and honour unsung heroes, the second best among us and life’s runners-up. Not to forget those people that have made a name for themselves against the odds.

Related blog posts:
- Underdog Day
- National Underdog Day
- Dull Men's Club
- Day

Guinness World Record Attempt for the 'Most Brussels Sprouts Eaten in a Minute'

A look back at the 2009 Guinness World Record Attempt for the 'Most Brussels Sprouts Eaten in a Minute'.

I can't believe it's been ten years since I attempted to break the Guinness World Record for the 'Most Brussels Sprouts Eaten in a Minute' at Luton Indoor Market!

A star studded line-up of talent assembled to take part in the charity record attempt

What an event that was.

Check out the other Guinness World Records I've attempted over the years.

Me and Brad Shepherd with our certificates from the event

New underground Crazy Golf venue opening in Cardiff

A new indoor minigolf venue is heading to Cardiff.

Cardiff will soon be home to another new miniature golf course as Par 59 opens in the city.

The Par 59 venue will be home to two indoor, adults only Crazy Golf layouts along with bars and dining.

Par 59 is planned to open up in the basement level of the Capitol Shopping Centre in Cardiff in April next year.

The Par 59 concept is from the team at Depot.

Shopping centres are becoming a popular place to set-up a minigolf course with retailtainment enhancing the shopping experience.

Cardiff is set to be a real minigolf hot-spot with new courses opening in the city on a regular basis.

Visit the Par 59 website for more information.

New course at Maidenhead Mini Golf

A new 18-hole Adventure Golf course is being built at Maidenhead Mini Golf.

The 9-hole Maidenhead Mini Golf course has now closed until the Spring of next year when it will re-open as a new 18-hole Dinosaur Adventure Golf course.

The new layout at is being created by the team at HM Adventure Golf.

We played the Maidenhead Mini Golf course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in 2011.

Did you play minigolf in 2019?

I'm running a poll on Twitter and the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Facebook Page asking whether people have played minigolf this year.

Did you play minigolf in 2019?

If yes, please reply with how many times.#minigolf #crazygolf #adventuregolf #miniaturegolf #puttinggreen #golf #puttingcourse

— Richard Gottfried (@putting_gott) December 18, 2019

If you have, please reply in the comments with how many times.

Happy Gluten Free Baking Week

The week before Christmas is Gluten Free Baking Week.

I found out via the National Day Calendar that the week before Christmas is Gluten Free Baking Week!

Since I attended the Cheshire Coeliac Meeting in October I've got into baking gluten free snacks, savouries and cakes.

Gluten free sausage rolls

What shall I bake for Gluten Free Baking Week?

Christmas Crazy Golf in Coventry

A look at the festive hole at Teezers Retro Golf in Coventry.

Back in April we played a Christmas-themed minigolf hole when we visited Teezers Retro Golf in Coventry.

Check out the full blog post from our visit.



Have you played any Christmas-themed minigolf this year, or do you know of any festive crazy golf layouts?

Dino Falls Adventure Golf Volcano course

Playing the new Dino Falls Adventure Golf Volcano course at the Trafford Golf Centre.

Last night we played the brand new Dino Falls Adventure Golf Volcano course at the Trafford Golf Centre.

Emily playing hole 13

On a very cold but dry night we played a round on the new 18-hole adventure golf course that has been built around the existing and very popular Dino Falls Adventure Golf course at the golf centre in Manchester's Trafford City area.

The original layout has now been named the Rapids course.

Playing hole 16

In our round I managed to grab the win with a score of 43 while Emily hit a 46. We both hit a hole-in-one during our game. The best score of the day and course record was a 42.

Emily on hole 14

Check out the Dino Falls Adventure Golf website for more information, opening times and prices.

The safest place to stand is under an erupting volcano right?

We've been playing minigolf at the Trafford Golf Centre since 2009. Back then we used to travel up to the venue for tournaments I won on the old 9-hole Championship Miniature Golf course. Last year I won the Dino Falls Masters competition on the Rapids course.

Inside the volcano

The new Dino Falls Adventure Golf Volcano course at the Trafford Golf Centre was the 901st course we've been to in the British Isles and the 940th we've visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since 2006.

Playing hole 3

Short Game Area at the Trafford Golf Centre in Manchester

A look at the Putting Green in the Short Game Area at the Trafford Golf Centre in Manchester.

The Trafford Golf Centre in Manchester has a nice looking Putting area.

It's next to the two 18-hole Adventure Golf courses.

Ghetto Golf course planned for Burley, Leeds

A new Ghetto Golf course could be heading to Leeds.

Plans have been submitted for a new Ghetto Golf indoor minigolf venue to open in the Burley area of Leeds, West Yorkshire.

There are currently Ghetto Golf courses in Liverpool, Birmingham and Newcastle upon Tyne.

Ghetto Golf at Hoults Yard in Byker, Newcastle

We love visiting Leeds and a new course will give us another great reason to go back.

Related blog posts:
- Ghetto Golf
- Leeds

Happy Monkey Day

Today is Monkey Day.

A monkey on a hole at Congo Rapids Adventure Golf at Norwich Family Golf Centre

The unofficial holiday of Monkey Day is celebrated around the world every year on the 14th December.

Pirate Cove Adventure Golf at the New York Thunderbowl in Kettering

Playing the indoor Pirate Adventure Golf course at the New York Thunderbowl tenpin bowling centre in Kettering, Northamptonshire.

Last Thursday we visited our 900th minigolf course in the British Isles.

The location of our milestone game of miniature golf was the indoor Pirate Cove Crazy Golf course at the New York Thunderbowl tenpin bowling centre in Kettering.

The 9-hole minigolf course is on a mezzanine above the arcade games in the tenpin bowling centre and has been very well made.

A pirate's eye view of the course

Playing hole 2

We really enjoyed our game and a drink in the bar afterwards. Chilling out in the pirate themed bar was well earned after a very long drive down to Kettering from Stockport. If the journey had taken any longer we might have arrived after the course had closed!

Emily playing hole 7

In trouble on the course

The result of our minigolf match-up was a tie as we both shot rounds of 23.

Hole 1

Visit the New York Thunderbowl website for more information, opening times and prices for all of the activities at the centre.

Playing hole 6

We've found that minigolf courses are becoming popular additions to tenpin bowling centres.

A view of the course

The very first course we played was a pirate-themed adventure golf layout. We wonder whether the 1,000th course will be too?

Hole 4 - I fired a cannon to win a free game on the very first course we played

When our adventures began in 2006 there were 600 miniature golf courses in the UK. There are now around 1,200 places to play the game.

The entrance to hole 7 

Hole 7

Hole 7

The pirate theming was very well done throughout the venue

Sharks AND an alligator! 

Sharked!

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Happy Christmas Jumper Day

Today is Save the Children's Christmas Jumper Day.

In my Pac-Man Christmas jumper

Check out Save the Children's Christmas Jumper Day website for more information and details on how to donate.

Darts at The Players' Entrance in Stockport

Playing darts at The Players' Entrance indoor sports park in Stockport.

Darts at The Player's Entrance in Stockport

Earlier today I called in to The Players' Entrance in Stockport's Merseyway shopping centre as the venue was hosting a special darts event.

Stockport darts superstar Nathan 'The Asp' Aspinall is competing in the PDC World Championships this month and the event saw the launch of a new partnership with the Stockport Disability Darts League and a link up with The Players' Entrance and Stockport schools.

The Stockport Disability Darts League set-up at The Players' Entrance

Nathan Aspinall is ranked number 12 in the world and is the 2019 UK Open champion, the 2019 US Darts Masters champion and was a semi-finalist in the 2019 PDC World Championships.

It was brilliant to meet Nathan and I had the chance to play against him in two games on one of the electronic soft-tip dartboards.

Nathan 'The Asp' Aspinall and me after our two games of darts. Guess who won?

The Playerss Entrance now has a disability darts area with dartboards and oche set-up so that players of any ability can compete against each other. The backing board has two dartboards - one for standing players and one for those seated - that can be quickly flipped after each player's throw.

I'm a big fan of both playing and watching darts. It's an inclusive game and can be picked up and played easily.

Visit The Players' Entrance website for more info, opening times and prices for the sports and games on offer.

Check out Stockport Disability Darts League for more information.

Visit Nathan 'The Asp' Aspinall's official Facebook Page too.

National App Day

Happy National App Day.

Today is National App Day.

On our travels to more than 900 miniature golf courses we've seen a few places that have introduced an app to compliment or replace the traditional paper scorecard. Some of these apps are really good and help to enhance the experience.

The apps we've found offer a range of scoring functions, loyalty and reward schemes, games, reviews, contests, information and tips.

The excellent Hastings Adventure Golf App and hole 2 in real-life - it's the trickiest hole on the Crazy Golf course in Hastings

There's certainly a real mixed bag of apps available on Android and iPhone.

• Four Ashes Golf Centre in Dorridge, Solihull
• Golf Kingdom in Romford - home of Moby Golf
• Golf Mini game
• Hastings Adventure Golf
• International Pitch & Putt Association (IPPA)
• Oasis Fun in Bournemouth
• Paradise Adventure Golf in Täby Centrum, Sweden
• Paradise Island Adventure Golf in Cheshire Oaks, Derby, Glasgow, Livingston, Manchester, Plymouth, Rushden Lakes and Sheffield
• Popstroke, USA
• Rainforest Adventure Golf in Dundrum, Ireland
• Stagecoach Greens, San Francisco, USA
• Swingers Crazy Golf
• The Clubhouse Stoke
• The Putter King game
• The Putting Penguin minigolf review site
• Volcano Falls Adventure Golf in Castleford

Do you know of any other minigolf apps? Do you use them when you visit a course? Do you have a favourite? Do let me know in the comments below.

Dodgeball - getting back in the game

Playing dodgeball in Cheadle.

Last night I played dodgeball for the first time in over six years as I attended a session with the Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club.

One of the Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club balls

My last matches were with the Harpenden Dodgeball Club back in April 2013 so it was superb to be back in action.

The Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club run sessions on Tuesday evenings and it was brilliant to see a mix of people, ages and abilities playing the fun game.

Dodgeball is a fantastic game to play. It's easy to get into and you can play for fun or take it more seriously if you like

I'm looking forward to playing more dodgeball over the coming months.

Back in dodgeball action. I also picked up a win in the Last Man Standing match!

Check out Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club website for more information.


My all-time Dodgeball Win-Loss Record:

• 2005-2013 - Played 959, Won 437, Lost 478, Tied 44.
• 2014-2018 - Inactive.
• 2019-present - Won the Last Person Standing match (10/12/19).

Associations / Rules played under:

• Dodgeball UK (2005-2007)
• Get Back Into/UKDBA (2010-2011)
• England Dodgeball (2011-2013)
• British Dodgeball (2019-)

Teams played for:

• New Lutonians (2005-2006)
• The Dodgeball Assassins (2005-2006)
• Abingdon Dodgeball Alliance (2005-2007)
• Luton Dodgeball Club (2010-2011)
• Harpenden Dodgeball Club (2011-2013)
• Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club (2019-)

Related blog posts:

- Dodgeball

- Dodgeball - Then & Now (2010)

The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - the story so far

A look at the last 13 years of our crazy golfing adventures.

Last week we hit our 900th minigolf course visit in the British Isles when we played the Pirate Adventure Golf course at the New York Thunderbowl in Kettering.

When we began our quest to visit every minigolf course in the UK there were 600 layouts. We visited our 600th UK course at Goodrington Sands in Devon in June 2015. There are now around 1,200 courses in the UK, with new courses opening all the time.

Since September 2006 we've been to 900 courses in six countries of the British Isles including England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Jersey and the Isle of Man.

We've also visited 39 courses in eleven overseas countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and the USA.

You can see the list with links to all of the courses we've been to at Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.