Sunday, December 31, 2017

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.

Indoor Mini Golf at Roxy Ball Room
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

Friday, December 29, 2017

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.

Richard Gottfried and John Mittler at Paradise Island Adventure Golf in Manchester
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.

Paradise Island Adventure Golf in Manchester
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.

Paradise Island Adventure Golf in Manchester
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.

Course records at Paradise Island Adventure Golf in Manchester
My round of 31 beat the previous best in December

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

Paradise Island Adventure Golf in Manchester
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

Thursday, December 28, 2017

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.

Crazy Golf at Wellholme Park in Brighouse, Yorkshire
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!

Monday, December 25, 2017

Merry Christmas

Happy Christmas. We hope you have a great day.

Merry Christmas

Friday, December 22, 2017

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 - this location is Adventure Island Mini Golf at Star City in Birmingham
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

Thursday, December 21, 2017

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.

Playing minigolf at Putt in the Park, Wandsworth, London
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:



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



There are also two Vlogs I know of:



And there's one minigolf 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:



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
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!
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
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.

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

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!

Some minigolf post from Fun Fore All
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.

Holiday Lights Mini Golf at Fun Fore All, photo courtesy of Fun Fore All Family Fun Park - Hot Metal Studio-4
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.

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

American Golf 2017 Season Review on Sky Sports Golf

The season review of the American Golf Championship Tour is on Sky Sports Golf.


Over the last nine weeks Sky Sports Golf has featured the American Golf Championship Tour. This year more than 7,500 players competed in a total of 17 tournament categories at 168 venues in the hope of qualifying for one of the 252 grand final spots. The season review show will be on Sky Sports Golf at 11pm tonight (Tuesday 19th December) and repeated at 9pm tomorrow.

A pre-final interview with Gemma Care from Sky Sports
A pre-final interview with Gemma Care from Sky Sports

Along with Peter Jones I competed in the grand final of the American Golf Adventure Golf Championships after winning the Welsh Regional Qualifier back in April. We featured on the show back on the 7th November.

In action on the Ryder Legends course at The Belfry
In action on the Ryder Legends course at The Belfry

Check out my blog post to see more of the Ryder Legends Mini Golf course at The Belfry in Sutton Coldfield.

Visit the American Golf website for more information on their Championship Tour.

Friday, December 15, 2017

PLONK Golf at the Sidewinder pub in Brighton

There's a new PLONK Golf minigolf course at the Sidewinder pub in Brighton.


PLONK Golf can now be found in Brighton as well as London

The team at PLONK Golf have created a new minigolf course at the Sidewinder pub in Brighton.

The course is the only pub beer garden Crazy Golf course in Brighton and features 9-holes. It's open until 10pm daily.

Check out the PLONK Golf and Sidewinder websites for more info.

PLONK Golf also have minigolf courses in London at venues in Battersea, Brixton, Hackney, Dalston and London Fields. They also recently launched PLONK PUZZLE PUTT - a Crazy Golf Escape Room!

The team are also taking a course on tour around the UK in 2018.

On our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour we've played the Plonk Golf courses at Efes Snooker Club in Dalston and at the Duke of Edinburgh pub in Brixton.

Puttshack indoor minigolf opening in London

New indoor minigolf course opening at Westfield London in March 2018.


Puttshack Minigolf in Westfield London - photo by Puttshack

A new concept in miniature golf is opening its doors at Westfield London next year as Puttshack launches four indoor minigolf courses featuring new technology to show real-time leader-boards, video highlights and interactive holes. The venue will also have a large bar and restaurant.

Puttshack Minigolf in Westfield London - photo by Puttshack

The Puttshack idea is a joint venture between ping pong venue Bounce and TopGolf. Further Puttshack courses are planned to open in the City of London and Lakeside in Essex.

Puttshack Minigolf in Westfield London - photo by Puttshack

Check out the Puttshack website, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for more info.

Happy Christmas Jumper Day

There was only one choice of festive knit to wear on Save the Children's Christmas Jumper Day this year.


Happy Christmas Jumper Day

On Save the Children's Christmas Jumper Day people all over the UK will be pulling on a seasonal jumper and donating to the great cause.

Check out Save the Children's Christmas Jumper Day website for more info and ways to donate.