Minigolf did you knows...?

Did you know these things about minigolf?

• The world's first miniature golf course was set-up at St Andrews, Scotland in 1867.
• James Barber opened the first minigolf course in the USA in 1916. The 'Lilliputian' miniature golf course was called 'Thistle Dhu' and located in Pinehurst, North Carolina.
• A Miniature Golf contest was part of the Olympic Games at the 1904 St Louis Games in the USA.
• Crazy Golf is 98 years old in 2024. The first course opened on South Parade in Skegness, Lincolnshire, England in 1926.
• 1926 also saw the first artificial miniature golf course open in the USA. Garnet Carter opened the 'Tom Thumb' miniature golf course near Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
• The first National Tom Thumb Golf Championship took place on the 23rd October 1930.
• The first Putt-Putt brand miniature golf course was set-up by Don Clayton in Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA in 1954.
• There are several Guinness World Records for achievements in Minigolf, Miniature Golf, Crazy Golf, Adventure Golf, and Putt-Putt. The 2024 edition of the Guinness World Records features a whole page about minigolf.

Miniature Golf 'Days' in 2024

There are two 'miniature golf days' each year.

• National Miniature Golf Day is always on the second Saturday in May. In 2024 that will be Saturday 11th May.
• The other minigolf day, Miniature Golf Day, is always on the 21st September. In 2024 that will fall on a Saturday.

Crazy Golf at Tenpin in Sheffield

Sheffield has a new indoor minigolf course.

A Prison Putt crazy golf course has opened as part of the new Tenpin bowling and entertainment centre in Sheffield.

Check out the Tenpin website for more information.

It'll be another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Football Crazy Golf at Football Fiesta in Watford

A new football-themed Crazy Golf course has opened in Watford, Hertfordshire.

Check out the Football Fiesta website for more information. Looking on the site there are also Football Fiesta locations in Cardiff and Swindon, with the Swindon venue also home to a Football Crazy Golf course.

It's another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Bonkers Illumination Golf opening in Matlock Bath

A new minigolf course is opening in Matlock Bath, Derbyshire on Tuesday 2nd January 2024.

Visit the Bonkers Illumination Golf course website to find out more about the 9-hole indoor minigolf venue.

It'll be another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Adventure Golf at Whitemead Forest Park

There's a 12-hole Adventure Golf course at Whitemead Forest Park in Lydney, Gloucestershire.

Take a look on the Whitemead Forest Park website for more information. Checking out the FAQs the park is open to non-residents and locals too.

The Adventure Golf course at Whitemead Forest Park is another new one for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour continues...

Up to Saturday 30th December 2023 we had visited a total of 1,044 miniature golf courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. 997 of these have been in the British Isles.

Moby Golf

Our minigolfing adventures began on the 30th September 2006 and in that time we've been able to play a total of 573 of them. Many have been found to be abandoned, closed, out-of-season or derelict on our initial visit. Luckily some courses that were closed on our original visit have since been played. And there are some course we've revisited and replayed dozens of times!

Southend Pier Crazy Golf

Last year we played courses together in England, while Emily also had rounds in Majorca and Orlando!

Our travels have been recognised by the Guinness World Records, and I'm a record holder for "Most miniature golf courses visited" (902 at the time of going to press last year). Check out the Guinness World Records 2024 book to see a lot more minigolf records too!

Together with my brother Christopher - a charter member of the tour - and his family, we've visited a total of 1,089 courses.

When we originally set off to visit as many courses as possible the target list was 600 in the British Isles. We've still got around 50 of those original courses to visit.

Minigolf is an incredibly popular activity for all ages and there are new courses opening up all the time in a wide-range of outdoor and indoor locations.

It'll be interesting to see what takes place in the world of minigolf in 2024.

Check out the full list of courses we've visited.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

All the very best for 2024.

Merry Christmas 2023!

Happy Christmas!

We wish you a very merry Christmas.

Christmas Crazy Golf courses from our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Blogiversary of the Ham and Egger Files

I've been blogging for 17 years today.

I'm often asked how is it that a blog 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.

The first post

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 amount of) sporting ability I had!

What is a Ham & Egger?

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 any purses won - were never able to afford to eat better than ham and eggs.

Lots of blogs

Since that first post 17 years ago I have published more than 5,400 posts and received more than 3 million pageviews!

Admittedly, a large number of the blog posts have been about minigolf.

The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

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 competition circuit I made my actual debut on in Southend-on-Sea on the 28th April 2007.

Since then we've visited 1,043 miniature golf courses. 996 of those have been in the British Isles, while 47 have been in overseas countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain (& Lanzarote, Canary Islands), Sweden and the USA.

When we began our travels there were around 600 courses in the UK. There are now more than 1,000, with new courses opening all the time.

Other sports & games are available

If you're wondering what happened to the quest to play lots of different sports, that has continued and I've participated in some very interesting events over the years!

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 really is very much appreciated.

Putt Putt Noodle in Bedford

A new Putt Putt Noodle indoor minigolf centre is now open in Bedford.

The katakana characters on the left of the logo translate as 'Lucky'

Bedford's Harpur Centre is now home to a new Putt Putt Noodle indoor minigolf venue.

Putt Putt Noodle Bedford has three indoor adventure golf courses to play.

It'll be another new place to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Check out the Putt Putt Noodle website for more information.

Bermuda Falls Adventure Golf in Henlow

A new Adventure Golf course is opening in Henlow, Bedfordshire.

Perfect Aquatics is opening an Adventure Golf course in Henlow, Bedfordshire.

The 18-hole outdoor Adventure Golf layout will have an aquatic theme.

It'll be another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Check out the Perfect Aquatics website for more information.

New minigolf course opening in Hinkley

A new indoor minigolf centre is opening in Hinckley, Leicestershire.

It was nice to hear that a new minigolf course is opening at Hinckley’s Britannia Shopping Centre.

Our friend - and fellow fan of lost shops & retail history - Mason Moore from the Hinckley Reporter got in touch to tell us about the venue and find out what we thought about the course opening.

Check out the story about The Birdie Bunker at "Exclusive: New 18 hole minigolf course with cocktail bar and cafe opening in former Britannia Centre discount shop."

We're looking forward to playing at The Birdie Bunker on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and visiting Hinckley when the venue opens next year.

You can find out more about on the The Birdie Bunker Facebook Page.

The end of Blockbuster Video in the UK

The last Blockbuster Video shop ceased trading in the UK on this day in 2013.

Blockbuster Video entered the UK video rental market in 1989 following the purchase of Ritz Video.

In 2013 there were over 500 Blockbuster locations in the UK. Throughout that year the number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. On the 16th December 2013 all stores ceased operations.

It's amazing that there are still clearly visible remnants of the brand on the high street and on retail parks ten years later.

If you're lucky, and know where to look, you might find a QuikDrop box hiding in plain sight

The first Blockbuster Video store had opened in Dallas, Texas, USA on the 19th October 1985.

The very last Blockbuster Video store in operation is in Bend, Oregon, USA.

We live near an abandoned Blockbuster Video store here in Manchester. It's always an eerie, interesting and nostalgic thing to drive past the old shop at Fallowfield Retail Park.

Blockbuster Video in Fallowfield, Manchester

The sign about the closure was still visible on the window there before it was boarded up earlier this year.

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 Blockbuster stores around the world. 500+ of which were in England, Scotland and Wales. Interestingly in Northern Ireland the Xtra-Vision brand was used by the owners in-line with the Republic of Ireland.

Blockbuster certainly wasn't the first video rental shop brand, but it was at one time the market leader.

Blockbuster Video store locations we've visited on our travels

Our interest in lost brands and retail history has taken us to several former Blockbuster stores:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Ashton, Bristol
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
• Colne, Lancashire
• Failsworth, Manchester
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Lane7 London Victoria

There's a new Lane7 venue in London.

The new Lane7 indoor entertainment centre recently opened its doors in London Victoria. The venue is home to a Crazy Golf course and other games.

Check out the Lane7 website for more information.

We played the 9-hole indoor minigolf course at Lane7 in Newcastle upon Tyne in 2019. It was the 840th course visited and 495th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Lane7 indoor mini golf in Newcastle upon Tyne

Crazy Golf at Hukd Golf in Bury

There are two new indoor Crazy Golf courses at Hukd Golf in Bury.

Hukd Golf, a new golf venue in Bury, Greater Manchester, has two indoor Crazy Golf courses the Roll Up Course and the Kick Off Course.

Check out the Hukd Golf website for more information.

It's another new venue for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Adventure Golf at Lyons Winkups Holiday Park in Abergele

A new Safari Adventure Golf course is opening at Lyons Winkups Holiday Park in Abergele.

Check out the Lyons Holiday Parks website for more information.

We've played the Pirate Island Adventure Golf course at Lyons Robin Hood Holiday Camp in Rhyl. It was one of the best courses I've played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Adventure Golf at Moors Valley Country Park

There's a new Adventure Golf course at Moors Valley Country Park & Forest in Ringwood, Dorset.

Visit the Moors Valley Country Park & Forest website for more information.

It's another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

54 Problems minigolf podcast - miniature golf and Guinness World Records

Have a listen to the latest 54 Problems minigolf podcast about miniature golf and Guinness World Records.

I was a guest on the latest episode of the 54 Problems minigolf podcast.

You can listen to episode 37 of the show on the 54 Problems website.

Miniature Golf Days in 2024

Details of National Miniature Golf Day and Miniature Golf Day 2024.

Each year there are two Miniature Golf Days - National Miniature Golf Day on the second Saturday in May and Miniature Golf Day on the 21st September.

In 2024 National Miniature Golf Day will be on Saturday 11th May.

In 2024 Miniature Golf Day will be on Saturday 21st September.