Putt18 World Pro League 2020

Final results of the first ever Putt18 World Pro League.

The inaugural Putt18 World Pro League season has concluded with Matt Ansley of New Zealand taking the title.

Matt was the wire-to-wire winner of the league with a tremendous display on the Putt18 Golf Putting Game Mat.

Putt18

The Putt18 game mat consists of six tee-off boxes and three target score zones. Players must hit their balls from each of the tee boxes in turn aiming at the Par-4, Par-5 and Par-3 targets while avoiding fairways, bunkers and water hazards that carry penalty points. After the 18 shots have been played you tot up your score to see what you've shot for your round.

Putt18 World Pro League

Players from Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain and the USA competed in the seven event series.

Each player had a 20-minute time limit to play four 18-hole rounds for a 72-hole total score in each of the seven events. There were additional points on offer for low scores and the round total.

Results of the 2020 Putt18 World Pro League

20 players competed in the league. Matt Ansley took first place with a score of 866 points. Dave Gomm (GB) was runner-up with 693 points, with John Ansley (NZ) in third place with 655 points.

Also in the prize money were Cameron Couper (NZ) with 578 points and Josh Mars (AUS) with 455 points.

The leading US player was Pat Sheridan in 8th place on 352 points.

During the tournament Matt shot an average score of 63 per round.

As well as being runner-up Dave Gomm shot a world record low round score of 57.

In the team event New Zealand won, with Australia runners-up and Great Britain in third place.

I finished the league in 18th of 20 players with 107 points.

In the strokeplay rankings I finished in 17th place of 20 players with 2,189 shots and an average of 78.18 per round of 18 holes.

2020 Putt18 World Pro League - Points Table

2020 Putt18 World Pro League - Strokeplay Table

Find out more about Putt18

Check out the Putt18 World Pro League Facebook Group and Putt18 website for more information.

Competitive isolation and Putting at Home

The Putt18 World Pro League has been a fun and interesting way to keep on putting and compete during the pandemic. It's also been a first in terms of getting players from around the world to compete on the same putting surface in a league format.

Read more in my blog post about Keeping social and competitive in the new world of physical distancing.

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Pubs of Stockport

Check out the interview in The Viaduct magazine about our mission to visit every pub, club and bar in Stockport during lockdown this year.

The first pub we visited - The Kings Tap in Cheadle Hulme

Pub number 73 - The Crown Inn in Stockport town centre with the viaduct behind it

Pub number 265 - The Nursery Inn in Heaton Norris

Fella's Crazy Golf in Weston-super-Mare

A look at Fella's Crazy Golf course in Weston-super-Mare.

We played the 14-hole Crazy Golf course opposite the Grand Pier in Weston-super-Mare back in July 2011.

It was the 260th course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

We've now been to 956 courses since September 2006.

In a first for us the course charged an extra 30p if you wanted a scorecard and pen to score your game!

Emily won our minigolf match-up with a score of 39 to 43.

We're looking forward to a return trip to Weston-super-Mare in the future.

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Minigolf rules at Hastings Adventure Golf

The team at Hastings Adventure Golf have added details of Covid Secure Miniature Golf to each of the scorecards at the seaside centre.

The Happy Shopper in Sheffield

It was nice to find a Happy Shopper shop with the original branding up and still open. This one is on Page Hall Road in Sheffield.

The two other Happy Shopper shops I've seen this year have both been closed. One of those was also in Sheffield.

I remember seeing the Happy Shopper shops and branded products a lot when I was a kid in the 80's and 90's.

The Happy Shopper branding from the 1970's was changed in the year 2000 and I think it lost a lot of its charm and individuality. Many of the former Happy Shopper stores were rebranded as Premier shops.

Interestingly the social distancing signs on the door showed the original Happy Shopper branding with the smiling blond face appearing before the word 'Happy' rather than in place of the 'o' as seen in the second incarnation of the logo 

The Happy Shopper brand has been part of the Booker Group since 1996. Booker itself is now owned by Tesco.

Related blog posts:

- Happy Shopper

- Happy Shopper in Sheffield

- Happy Shopper in Preston

- Shopfronts

Happy Shopper in Sheffield

I found an old Happy Shopper shop in Sheffield.

It was nice to see the old Happy Shopper branding still up on the signs at what was once Pops Mini Market on Sharrow Lane in the Highfield area of Sheffield.

As the Happy Shopper branding was updated in the year 2000 I didn't think it would still be possible to see it 20 years later. I was glad to be wrong.

Last month I found a Happy Shopper in Preston purely by chance while en route to look for an abandoned Toys R Us.

While in Sheffield I actually managed to find a Happy Shopper that was open and had some of the original branding on the signage. Marvellous.

I remember seeing the Happy Shopper shops and branded products a lot when I was a kid.

The Happy Shopper on Page Hall Road in Sheffield

The Happy Shopper branding was changed in the year 2000 and I think it lost a lot of its charm and individuality. Many of the former Happy Shopper stores were rebranded as Premier shops.

Happy Shopper does still exist, as both convenience stores and own brand food & drink products. It has been part of the Booker Group since 1996. Booker itself is now owned by Tesco.

Related blog posts:

- Happy Shopper

- The Happy Shopper in Sheffield

- Happy Shopper in Preston

- Shopfronts

Covid-19 social distancing signage with 1970s branding

One of the best finds during my 'retail archaeology' expeditions this year is the social distancing signage using the original Happy Shopper branding from the 1970's, 80's and 90's at The Happy Shopper convenience store in Sheffield.

A slightly unexpected sight on a sign of the times in 2020

I remember seeing the Happy Shopper shops and buying their own-branded products a lot when I was a kid growing up in Oxfordshire back in the 80's and 90's.

The Happy Shopper on Page Hall Road in Sheffield

The Happy Shopper branding from the 1970's was changed in the year 2000 and became a lot simpler design. I thing it certainly lost a lot of its character.

The original Happy Shopper branding has the smiling blond haired face appearing before the word 'Happy' rather than in place of the 'o' in the word 'Shopper' as seen in the second, and probably more widespread, incarnation of the logo.

The two other Happy Shopper shops I've seen this year have both been closed. The first was in Preston and the second was also in Sheffield.

Check out my Instagram account for more social distancing signs I've spotted on my urban walks during the coronavirus pandemic.

Castaway Island Mini Golf in Great Yarmouth

A look at the Castaway Island Mini Golf course in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

My brother and Charter Member of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour has sent over some photos of the Castaway Island Mini Golf course in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

Social distancing measures at the entrance/exit to the course

The anchor has been there since it was an Arnold Palmer Putting Course

Castaway Island Mini Golf replaced the 9-hole and 18-hole Arnold Palmer Putting courses on the promenade. We visited in July 2016 and the course became the 693rd on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

At the Arnold Palmer Putting Course on the site in June 2007

How Castaway Island Mini Golf looked in July 2016

The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Christopher and his family have visited 37 courses on their branch of the tour, 26 of those have been unique to them. Emily and I have visited 956 courses on the main tour.

Christopher has been to six courses in 2020. He revisited the indoor adventure golf course at The Windmill Theatre in Great Yarmouth too.

We've been to a total of 46 courses in 2020, with 15 of those being new courses visited. We've swung by eight new courses in the time of coronavirus.

We've got 40 of the original 600 we set out to visit left and a lot of new courses to play at too!

Together we've been to 982 courses since the 30th September 2006.

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Putt18 World Pro League - Week 7 of 7

Results from the final week of the Putt18 World Pro League.

I played my final four rounds in the inaugural Putt18 World Pro League shooting scores of 79, 84, 72 and 74 for a total of 309. My third best weekly score.

Times of the rounds:

Round 1 = 02:44.74

Round 2 = 02:44.71

Round 3 = 03:03.04

Round 4 = 03:13.77

Total = 11:47.72

Scores of the rounds:

Round 1 = 79

Round 2 = 84

Round 3 = 72

Round 4 = 74

Total = 309

 

Putt18 World Pro League

I've been competing against fellow minigolf players from Australia, New Zealand and the USA in the seven event series.

Each player has a 20-minute time limit to play four 18-hole rounds for a 72-hole total score in each of the seven events. There are a variety of points on offer for low scores and total rounds.

Putt18

We first played the Putt18 game format in the Putt18 Home Putting Challenge 4 Nations Cup international event against Australia, New Zealand and the USA back in May.

The Putt18 game mat consists of six tee-off boxes and three target score zones. Players must hit their balls from each of the tee boxes in turn aiming at the Par-4, Par-5 and Par-3 targets while avoiding fairways, bunkers and water hazards that carry penalty points. After the 18 shots have been played you tot up your score to see what you've shot for your round.

Check out the Putt18 World Pro League Facebook Group and Putt18 website for more information.

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Final week of the first Putt18 World Pro League

The inaugural season of the Putt18 World Pro League concludes tomorrow.

I'll be playing my final four rounds in week 7 of the first Putt18 World Pro League at 11am (BST) tomorrow, Sunday 4th October.

You can watch my rounds live on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Facebook Page.

I've been competing against fellow minigolf players from Australia, New Zealand and the USA in the seven event series.

Check out the Putt18 World Pro League Facebook Group and Putt18 website for more information.

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Rolling to course 1,000

Where do you think it'll be?

14 years ago today we began our first full day of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We've now visited a total of 956 miniature golf courses. When we began there were 'only' 600 in the UK!

Terry's Traditional Crazy Golf course in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire. The 483rd course played on our adventures

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Social distancing on an escalator

I've been documenting a number of aspects of the coronavirus pandemic here and on my social media. One of my areas of interest is the variety of warnings, instructions and directional signage there is around social distancing, so I loved seeing this photo Emily took of the social distancing measures in place on an escalator in M&S!

Kind of like chevrons on the motorway

Surely the 2 metre apart distance stickers should be on the moving walkway as well, rather than the static sides of the escalator? I wonder how many people are adhering to the rule and waiting for the person ahead of them to reach the first marker?

Check out my Instagram account and the various highlights for snaps of the social distancing, coronavirus and Covid-19 signs I've seen on my (limited) travels this year.

Social Distancing World Champion! I don't think anyone is winning this year

Social distancing floor signs at the Burlington pub in Chesterfield

14 years of our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Celebrating fourteen years of our crazy golf travels.

We played the Victory Trail course at Treasure Island Adventure Golf in Southsea, Hampshire on this day in 2006. At the end of our round on Saturday 30th September I won a free game by firing the cannon on the lucky last hole.

Our minigolfing adventures have been rolling ever since!

How different would our lives have been if I'd missed my shot on the final hole?

From the archives - Check out the blog post looking at our first game at Treasure Island Adventure Golf in Southsea.

We last played the Treasure Island Adventure Golf course in Southsea on the 30th September 2016 to celebrate ten years of our travels. I won another free game then too. I also won a free game when we revisited the course on the fifth anniversary of our tour on the 30th September 2011. Incredibly I won again on the 7th August 2015.

Joining us on that first course visit was my brother Christopher. He's also played a fair few courses on his own branch of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. The latest being the Alton Water Mini Golf course in Ipswich, Suffolk. That brought the combined total course visits to 982!

We've now visited 956 courses, 39 of which have been overseas.

From the archives - Check out the results of our first-ever game of Adventure Golf against each other in 2003.

The growth of minigolf

When our travels began in 2006 there were around 600 courses in the UK.

Minigolf has grown in popularity and has moved from only being a traditional outdoor seaside summer activity to become a year-round game that can be played indoors, outdoors and at pretty much any time of the day.

A number of new courses have come and gone during the last decade and we have been to a number of pop-up courses too. There are still new courses being planned, developed, built and opened.

When we first set out to visit all the courses in the country there were only two indoor courses, one in Felixstowe and one in Great Yarmouth. Both are still open and have been joined by around 100 other indoor minigolf venues!

Hitting 900

We visited our 900th course overall when we played the North Bay Mini Golf course in Scarborough, North Yorkshire in June 2019.

North Bay Crazy Golf in Scarborough

We visited our 900th course in the UK when we played the indoor Pirates Cove Adventure Golf course at the New York Thunderbowl in Kettering, Northamptonshire last December.

Pirates Cove Adventure Golf in Kettering

The original 600

Before the coronavirus pandemic we were closing in on visiting the final 40 courses of the original 600 we set out to play in 2006. We're also very close to hitting 1,000 course visits overall.

We had a very strong start to the year and visited 20 courses in the first 20 days of 2020.

We've been to a total of 46 courses this year. Fifteen of those are new courses added to our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour total and eight of them have been visited in the time of coronavirus.

Course visits by year

• In 2019 we went to 82 courses.
• In 2018 we visited 64 courses.
• In 2017 we went to 74 courses.
• In 2016 we visited 47 courses.
• In 2015 we went to 84 courses.

Next year

It'll be interesting to see whether we'll be able to get down to Southsea to celebrate the 15th anniversary of our minigolfing tour next year.

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New UV Crazy Golf course opening in Hull

A new glow-in-the-dark Crazy Golf course is opening in Hull.

Hull will soon be home to a new UV Crazy Golf course as the team from the East Park Pirate Golf course are opening a venue at the Princes Quay shopping centre in the city.

Visit the East Park Pirate Golf Facebook page for more information.

Minigolf in Hull

There has been a real boom in minigolf courses opening in Hull, with the East Park Pirate Golf course joining Putt Club and the Pirate Adventure Golf course at One Stop Golf. The city will also be home to a new Lost City Adventure Golf venue soon.

Retailtainment

Minigolf has grown in popularity in the last eight years and has moved from being seen as a traditional outdoor seaside summer activity to become a year-round game that can be played indoors, outdoors and at pretty much any time of the day.

A number of high streets, retail parks and shopping malls are now home to minigolf courses, with more new venues planned to open.

Businesses also use portable and temporary pop-up minigolf layouts to boost footfall, create awareness, product launches and promotions.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Hull has been on our to visit list for a few years now. It'll be a busy trip with all of the new courses to play when we eventually get there!

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Before the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour had not yet begun 14 years ago.

It got underway 14 years ago tomorrow.

On the 30th September 2006 I won a free game card on the lucky last hole at the Treasure Island Adventure Golf course in Southsea, Hampshire and our adventures rolled on from there!

Playing the Treasure Island Adventure Golf course in 2016

We've now been to 956 courses on our travels.

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Crazy Golf in Fleet, Hampshire

There was a pop-up crazy golf course in Fleet, Hampshire yesterday.

Fleet's Business Improvement District arranged for a pop-up crazy golf course to be a part of a fun day in Fleet town centre yesterday.

   

Pop-up minigolf

During the summer Lincoln Business Improvement Group created Cornhill Cove, a seaside-style pop-up crazy golf, street food and drinking area in the city centre.

It was one of a number of pop-up minigolf courses we've seen over the last 14 years.

Retailtainment

Minigolf has grown in popularity in the last eight years and has moved from only being a traditional outdoor seaside summer activity to become a year-round game that can be played indoors, outdoors and at pretty much any time of the day.

A number of high streets, retail parks and shopping malls are now home to minigolf courses, with more new venues planned to open.

Minigolf is also a popular addition to boost footfall and create awareness and much like in the Fleet and Lincoln examples is a way to attract people to a location.

Businesses also use portable and temporary minigolf layouts for product launches and promotions.

Competitive socialising

Before the pandemic the phrase 'competitive socialising' had become a popular way to describe going out, with lots of new operators catering to the demand of a public who wanted to compete at something while eating and drinking in a nice setting.

Whether it was table tennis, darts, shuffleboard, bingo, tenpin bowling, arcade games, or minigolf, people were finding new ways to quench their thirst, have fun and compete without signing-up to a full sports league or taking things too seriously.

There are still new competitive socialising venues opening during the pandemic, including the new Roxy Ball Room at Withy Grove in Manchester.

Minigolf in the time of Coronavirus

Take a look at my blog posts about minigolf and competitive socialising in the time of coronavirus and social distancing.

You can also watch episode 1 of the InterGame Video Insights on Minigolf in the time of Covid-19.

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Minigolf marketing

With over twenty years of marketing and sales experience Emily and I offer consultancy services to people and businesses looking to set-up miniature golf courses, review their operations, hole designs, contests, tournaments and more.

Do get in touch for a chat to see how we can help and work together.

You can also buy my minigolf marketing ebook on Amazon and Kobo.

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Putt Club crazy golf opening in Watford

A new Putt Club minigolf venue is opening in Watford, Hertfordshire.

The team at Putt Club are gearing up to open the brand's second venue with a new location in Watford.

The first Putt Club opened in Hull in January this year.

The new Putt Club in Watford is scheduled to open on the 21st October.

For more information on motorsport-themed indoor crazy golf courses visit the Putt Club website.

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