Picture Postcard Magic - REALLY CRAZY GOLF!

The latest post on the Reflections of a Bygone Age blog is about Golf. John Claydon’s Confessions of a Collector post includes some mentions of Crazy Golf.

Mini Majors at MiniLinks in Lytham St Annes

The MiniLinks course in Lytham St Annes hosts competitions on its Par 3 Golf Course throughout the year, with special Mini Majors held to coincide with the big major tournaments in golf. Next up is the Mini US Open from the 15th to 18th June, with the Mini Open Championship in July and the Mini PGA Championship in August.

Everyone is welcome to participate in the Mini Masters events regardless of background, ability or skill.

The MiniLinks course at Lytham St Annes is open all year round. Check out the MiniLinks website and competition page for more info, opening times and prices.

The Crazy Golf course at the MiniLinks golf centre in Lytham St Annes was the 48th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour way back in April 2008.

The Crazy Golf course and MiniLinks Par 3 course back in 2008

Since then I've heard the Crazy Golf area has been improved and a Pennines Putting course has been added. I'm looking forward to a return visit to play the three layouts at MiniLinks.

Golf Bar Leeds

A visit to the indoor Golf simulator at Golf Bar Leeds.

While in Leeds we swung by the Golf Bar near the canal and train station. It looks like a nice venue and we received a nice welcome from the team there.

You can find Golf Bar Leeds at 1 Little Neville Street, Granary Wharf

There are three bays to play Golf at the bar in Leeds

A few years ago we had a fun Christmas 'Do' at an indoor golf simulator in London.

Check out the Golf Bar's website for more information, opening times and prices.

Related blog posts:
- Leeds

Southport Golf Links - England's first Municipal Links Golf course

A visit to England's first Municipal Links Golf course - Southport Golf Links.

As a miniature golf historian I was quite interested to walk passed Southport Municipal Golf course on our recent trip to the seaside town. Opened in 1912, the course is England's oldest municipal links course.

The Art Deco clubhouse looked marvellous

A nice touch on the outside of Southport Golf Links

On our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour we've visited and played a number of historic courses including:

• The world's first Miniature Golf course - The Himalayas at St Andrews which opened in 1867.
• England's first Crazy Golf course on South Parade in Skegness was opened in 1926. There's still a course on the site today.
• England's first Pitch & Putt course purpose built for use by members of the public opened on Southsea seafront in 1914.

Related blog posts:
- The Himalayas Putting Course at St Andrews, Scotland
- The Original Crazy Golf in Skegness
- Southsea Golf Links
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

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.

You can now sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter.

Crazy Golf course at The Belfry Hotel and Resort

New miniature golf course at The Belfry Hotel and Resort in Wishaw, Sutton Coldfield.

The 'Ryder Legends Mini Golf' is a 12-hole course consisting of holes designed with inspiration from famous Ryder Cup venues. It's open daily from 10am to 6pm with a game for an adult costing £7 and £5 for children.

We played the course in September 2017 when competing in the American Golf National Adventure Golf Championships

You can find more information, opening times and photos of the new minigolf layout on The Belfry Hotel and Resort website and Ryder Legends Mini Golf web page.

We're looking forward to playing the course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour as we move towards our 700th course visit!

We've played a few courses on our tour where the layout has been based on famous holes from big golf courses, including the Miniature Golf course at the Celtic Manor Resort in Wales.

Since we began playing LOTS of minigolf in 2006 we've visited a number of courses in the Midlands, while the Midlands Minigolf Club are the current national team minigolf champions.

Links:
- The Belfry Hotel and Resort website
- Ryder Legends Mini Golf web page
- The Belfry on Twitter
- The Belfry on Facebook

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Midlands
- West Midlands
- Playing the Ryder Legends Mini Golf at The Belfry in Sutton Coldfield

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow Richard and Emily on Twitter. You can also now sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter.

May is National Golf Month

Organised by the British Golf Industry Association, National Golf Month will be taking place during May 2015.

My main sport is Minigolf, but I can often be found pitching & putting around the 9-hole Golf courses at Stockwood Park (pictured) and Tea Green in Luton

National Golf Month gives golf clubs the opportunity to promote offers through the National Golf Month website to reach both lapsed and new golfers.

The BGIA operates under the umbrella of the Federation of Sport and Play Associations (FSPA) and is the lead trade body representing UK manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors of golf products and services.

On our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Emily and I have visited almost 600 miniature golf courses, some of which are located at 'regular' golf courses. Quite a few golf clubs and centres are building new Adventure Golf style layouts to encourage people to take up the BIG game.

Hoebridge Golf Centre in Woking went all out on its new Adventure Golf course

In April 2012 we visited and played the world's first miniature golf course - The Himalayas - at the home of Golf, St Andrews.

Playing the world's first Miniature Golf course

Emily on hole 18 at The Himalayas

We've also played the world's first Pitch & Putt course, located in Southsea, Hampshire.

As a fan of minigolf here's my blog post about the three 'days' for the great game.

- Minigolf Tag in Austria takes place on Sonntag 3 Mai.

- National Miniature Golf Day is on Saturday 9 May.

- Miniature Golf Day is ALWAYS on 21 September - this year it'll be on a Monday.

Since 2007 we've competed on the British Minigolf Association Tour and have played for the Great Britain Team at European and World Minigolf Sport Federation tournaments.

Check out the links below for more information on National Golf Month.

Links:
- National Golf Month at Mipins
- National Golf Month at England Golf
- British Golf Industry Association (BGIA)
- National Golf Month on Twitter
- National Golf Month on Facebook

Related blog posts:
- Golf
- Mini Golf Days
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- The Himalayas Putting Course at St Andrews, Scotland
- Two Miniature Golf Firsts
- Miniature Golf and the Olympic Games
- National Golf Day 2015
- Types and Variants of Miniature Golf visited
- Minigolf Clubs in the UK

National Golf Day 2015

Happy National Golf Day 2015.

Lining up a putt from the very edge of the green at Stockwood Park in Luton - I'm not the best at pitching, but I'm a decent enough putter

My fellow minigolf enthusiast (and Putt Putt pro) Matt Bellner alerted me to the fact that today is National Golf Day!

The tweet Mattie 5 sent me shows Jon Guhl, CEO of the Middle Atlantic Section of the PGA of America hitting the ceremonial putt to tee-off the Congressional Putting Challenge. Proof that 'regular' BIG golf is all about the Putting. I look forward to seeing the Putting Challenge results.

National Golf Day is organised by WE ARE GOLF - a coalition of leading organisations in Golf including the Club Managers Association of America, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, National Golf Course Owners Association, PGA TOUR, The PGA of America, the U.S Golf Manufacturers Council and the World Golf Foundation.

The 2015 event is the eighth annual edition. For more information about National Golf Day check out the WE ARE GOLF website.

In the minigolf world there are three 'Mini Golf Days' taking place around the world this year (and every year) - National Miniature Golf Day on Saturday 9 May 2015, Miniature Golf Day on Monday 21 September, and Minigolf Tag in Austria (date TBC for 2015).

Links:
- WE ARE GOLF
- National Golf Day
- Mattie 5 Bellner

Related blog posts:
- Mini Golf Days in 2015
- Golf

Playing Golf in the Luton Community Games

Playing in our first Par-3/Pitch & Putt competition as part of the Luton Community Games weekend at Stockwood Park.

Following our introduction to the sport of Pétanque on the first day of the Luton 4 Life Community Games, Emily and I headed to Stockwood Park's BIG Mini Golf course for a Par-3/Pitch & Putt Golf tournament!

Upon registration at the gazebo next to the first tee we had to declare our Golf skill level for a handicap rating (beginner, intermediate, or advanced).

Emily was classified as a beginner as she doesn't play Pitch & Putt that often and were given handicaps of '12'. I said I would be an intermediate player as I'd never played a full-round of Golf, but do play a lot of Mini & Crazy Golf - after this raised a laugh from one of the chaps doing the registrations (quite cheeky of him, Grrr) I was given a handicap of '7'.

We then had a quick chat with Graham from Team Beds & Luton, the tournament organiser, grabbed our Putters & Pitching Wedges, had a very quick warm-up and set off for the first tee.

Emily Gottfried setting up a tee-shot under the flight path of London Luton Airport

It was great that the lovely summer weather decided to restart on the morning of the competition and there was some very nice sunshine and heat for our 9.30am tee-off time.

Emily Gottfried playing out of an old bunker, next to an old bunker at Stockwood Park

We had a very pleasant round on the very well maintained course. Thanks must go to the group playing ahead of us on hole 7 who warned us of the extra hazard that had been left in the cup of hole 2 by an overnight 'visitor' to the course!

There were some cracking recovery shots played during our round and some very nice putting too. The Greens on the Stockwood Park Par-3 course are brilliant. The course as a whole is very well maintained, and while there are some quite deep areas of rough that can be troublesome to play out of, when you are on the green it is an absolute pleasure to play.

Richard Gottfried playing hole 8 in the Luton Community Games Golf Competition at Stockwood Park Golf course

At the end of the round we signed our scorecard, posed for some photos and had another chat with Graham who gave us some further information about the new Get Back Into sports activities that are coming up soon - Golf is one of them and you get more info on the Get Back Into website. It was through Get Back Into that I got back into playing Dodgeball!

The results of the event came through via email following the event as there were tournament rounds being played from 8.30am until midday. After playing Golf we went for a wander to the Athletics Centre to see the other Luton 4 Life Community Games activities.

The overall winner in the 27 player competition was Shane Timoney with a round of 30 for a Net score of 18! The joint runners-up were James Brennan and Michael Scanlon who both scored a Net 21(-6).

I finished in a tie for 12th place and Emily in 23rd.

The competition was a nice way to spend a few hours and  I'd definitely play in some more Pitch & Putt/Par-3 competitions at the course in the future. The Stockwood Park Mini/Par-3 Golf course is well worth a play if you're in the area. There is a good Driving Range facility at the club too, along with a bar and if you're so inclined a full 18-hole BIG Golf course.

Many thanks to Graham at Team Beds & Luton for organising the competition.

Links:

- Team Beds & Luton
- Active Luton
- Stockwood Park Golf Centre

- Community Games
- London Luton Airport - event sponsor

Related Blog Posts:

- Playing Pétanque in the Luton Community Games

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Course Played #30 Luton (Stockwood Park) - Mini Golf/Pitch & Putt
- Dodgeball - then and now

Golf Parc challenge - online golf game competition running throughout May!

Win a Golf Parc® Championship Golf Hole in online competition!

The team at Factory Eleven Golf Parc have created an online competition running throughout May 2012 and are inviting players to try their hand at the Golf Parc Challenge golf game. The winner will receive one of the Golf Parc® Championship Golf Holes!

The 9-hole miniature golf putting course layout is very testing and will likely take a good few goes to get a good under-par score. The course has a Par of 27 – in my first game I scored a 34(+7) and my follow up try resulted in a 29(+2).

Once you’ve played the game you need to submit a screenshot of your round to Factory Eleven by email or via Twitter. Full details and a link to the game can be found at – Golf Parc Challenge

Here’s to a month of minigolf mouse clicking!

My scorecard from my second go on the Golf Parc Challenge golf game - a two-over 29!

Checking out the Factory Eleven website I found that they are an events and design business that creates innovative sports equipment. The Golf Parc equipment has been designed to help with the understanding of the fundamentals of golf in a fun and interactive environment.

Links:

- Golf Parc on Twitter
- Golf Parc website

- Factory Eleven on Facebook

- Factory Eleven website

- Factory Eleven Golf Parc website

New Personal Best at Stockwood Park's Mini Golf course

Latest scores at 9-hole Pitch & Putt Miniature Golf in Luton.

I recently headed up to the Mini Golf course, Driving Range and Putting Green at Stockwood Park Golf Centre in Luton for a bit of practice and a game on the 9-hole Pitch & Putt course against my friend Oxana Nikandrova.

A view of the 9-hole Mini Golf course

The round of golf was Oxana's first-ever game and she scored an excellent 46(+19) on the par-27 course. I managed a new personal best round of 27(par) on the course.

The Putting Green at Stockwood Park

The course is well worth a visit, especially in lovely sunny weather. The Stockwood Park Golf Centre aslo has a good Driving Range and a Putting Green facility.

A view of the 18th hole on the BIG Golf course at Stockwood Park

Related Blog Posts:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Course Played #30 Luton (Stockwood Park) - Mini Golf/Pitch & Putt

- Crazy Golf & Minigolf Courses in and around Luton, Bedfordshire

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

- Pitch & Putt Par 3 Golf at Stockwood Park
- Stockwood Park Big Mini Golf Match-up - Gottfried vs. Hall
- "A very British “keep calm and carry on” brown sign…." at the Follow The Brown Signs Blog

Link:

- Stockwood Park Golf Centre

Revisit to Championship Miniature Golf at Trafford Golf Centre, Manchester

On Monday 12th December 2011 we made a revisit to the 9-hole Championship Miniature Golf course at the Trafford Golf Centre in Manchester.

We’ve played at the centre for fun and in two Miniature Golf tournaments (which I won) with our last visit in 2009. The course was the 84th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

On our recent visit we found the course to still be in excellent condition, very playable and still every bit as challenging as before. The course has been designed to replicate famous holes from ‘Big’ Golf courses and each hole has a board next to it telling you the history of the hole, tips on how to play it and quotes from famous golfers.

In our Irregular Mini Golf Tour Match-up I defeated Emily 32-35 and then 26-33. The course record of 23 held by course designer Nick Ashfield still stands!

The course provides four different tee-off points to choose from (Juniors, Ladies, Mens and Competition) and the course is definitely a Par-3 set-up. While Holes-in-One are achievable on the course, they are very rare indeed and a two is a very good score on most of the holes.

The 9-hole Championship Miniature Golf course is located at the Trafford Golf Centre (formerly PlayGolf). The Minigolf course costs £5 a round for adults (£4 for under 16s) and a second round is only £2.50. It's well worth a play if you're in Manchester.

While having a wander around the centre we also spotted a Putting Practice hole next to the Driving Range.

Previous Blog Posts about Championship Miniature Golf in Manchester:
- Course #84 on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Championship Miniature Golf
- Minigolf Report – Richard Gottfried wins the Manchester Mini Masters tournament
- Minigolf Report – Gottfrieds finish first and second in the Manchester Miniature Open tournament

Links:
- Championship Miniature Golf
- Trafford Golf Centre
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf Course Played at the A1 Driving Range in Arkley, Hertfordshire

Another new Miniature Golf course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour!

Last month while on an On The Buses Event around Elstree & Borehamwood me, Emily and Brad Shepherd spotted the building of a new Adventure Golf course in Arkley, Hertfordshire. Today, a group of us headed there to have a game. It became the 262nd course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The course is an 18-hole 'Dinosaur Safari' Adventure Golf and features a variety of holes, with hills, ramps, plateaus, rocks and water hazards.

There are also a number of Dinosaurs around the course. None of them gave us any problems though.

To enter the course and meet the 'Live Dinosaurs' you have to enter through a Time Travel 'Device'!

A sound piece of advice on this sign!

To mark our visit we held a Minigolf Competition to crown the Arkley Dinosaur Safari Golf Classic Champion.

Four players teed-off in the event with me and Emily teaming up to take on my Minigolf (and BIG Golf) rival Jon 'El Pato' Angel and his partner Cheryl 'Shuffler' Joseph.

In the Individual Event I defeated Jon by one shot, scoring a 41(+5). Emily and Cheryl tied for third place with scores of 49(+13).

In the Doubles Event Emily and I defeated Jon and Cheryl by one-shot - 90 vs. 91.

In the Doubles Matchplay Emily and I won 1-up.

In the Boys Against Girls Match Jon and I won 83-98.

After the Adventure Golf we also had a go on the Driving Range, a warm-up of sorts for our yet to be completed 'Best of 5 Pro Spirit Challenge Tour' Competition!

Video introduction of the course visit with a 'special' guest appearance by Jon 'El Pato' Angel.


Previous Blog Post About The Course - New Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf opening at the A1 Driving Range in Arkley, Herts (near Elstree & Borehamwood)

Like the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on Facebook, check out our YouTube channel and follow me and Emily on Twitter.

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Visit to Two Putting Greens in Felixstowe, Suffolk

I had heard via twitter that Felixstowe Ferry Golf Club in Felixstowe, Suffolk was home to a Putting Green/Course, so while visiting the seaside town we decided to head up to Golf Road to have a look.

The Club does indeed have a Putting Area, in fact it has two! One is an 18-hole Putting Green, which looks in excellent condition, the other is a 6-hole set-up next to the second of the Club's courses.

The BIG Golf course itself looks very interesting too, and there are some brilliant views from the course.

Other Minigolf Course Visits on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

The Minigolfers Christmas 'Do' 2010

Nine of the UK's top minigolfers headed to the Urban Golf BIG Golf centre in High Street Kensington on Thursday 16th December 2010 to compete in two Christmas 'Golf' Competitions.

First up was the "Sim BIG Golf Par-3's of the World Doubles Challenge" followed by the "Christmas Minigolf 9-Hole Putting Green Sudden Death Challenge".


In the Sim BIG Golf Par-3's of the World Doubles Challenge a total of 7-holes were played before the two-hour time limit on our bay expired and we were booted off. Therefore the 'par' for the event was 21-shots.

The team of former World Crazy Golf Champion Keith Kellard and 2010 London Invitational Minigolf Champion Jon Angel were the winners by one-shot, with a total of 35(+14). The team or Trevor and Martin Robertson were able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, having led after 3 holes!

The best score on any of the holes, was a 2, hit by Alan 'Stormin' Norman on the 5th hole, which he left just half a yard short of the hole with his tee-shot!

Sim BIG Golf Par-3's of the World Doubles Challenge - Results
Rank Team Score
1 KJ Choice (Keith Kellard & Jon Angel) - 35(+14)
2 The Lecherous Morons (Brad Shepherd & Richard Gottfried) - 36(+15)
2 Stretch Alan (Chris Jones & Alan Norman) - 36(+15)
4 Robbo (Trevor Robertson & Martin Robertson) - 37(+16)

Hole by hole scores:
KJ Choice 6, 5, 6, 3, 4, 5, 6 - 35(+14)
The Lecherous Morons 6, 5, 6, 5, 4, 4, 6 - 36(+15)
Stretch Alan 6, 5, 6, 6, 2, 6, 5- 36(+15)
Robbo 6, 4, 5, 6, 6, 4, 6 - 37(+16)

Photos from the Competition:

Non-player Emily Gottfried tees-off the competition with a ceremonial first-drive.

In the Christmas Minigolf 9-Hole Putting Green Sudden Death Challenge, the order of play was decided by a random draw, with Trevor 'Trevino' Robertson drawn to play first. Each player had to get a hole-in-one on each of the 9-holes on the Putting Course, but were eliminated if they failed to Ace the hole.

The reigning and defending 2009 Christmas Crazy Golf 'Do' Champion Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd was able to Ace 4 of the 9 Holes and became the only two-time Crimbo Champ, winning a Toy Story 3 Miniature Golf Course Set for his troubles.


Christmas Minigolf 9-Hole Putting Green Sudden Death Challenge - Results
Rank Player Aces/Holes Completed
1 Brad Shepherd - 4
2 Jon Angel - 3
2 Keith Kellard - 3
4 Chris Jones - 2
5 Emily Gottfried - 1
5 Alan Norman - 1
5 Martin Robertson - 1
5 Richard Gottfried - 1
9 Trevor Robertson - 0

Notes:
- 2004 Christmas Minigolf Champion Lionel 'The Spoon' Bender withdrew from the evenings festivities so didn't have a stab at the title he won eons ago.
- Oliver 'The Machine' Florence had to withdraw due to a clash of Christmas 'Do's'

Photos of the Putting Competition:















Both tournaments held Ranking Points for The Irregular Mini Golf Tour Ranking List (to be updated before the year is out - hopefully!).

The 9-hole Putting Green is now the 209th course played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour (we had previously visited the centre, but did not play, back in October).


Results of the 2009 Christmas Minigolf 'Do' - The Christmas Crazy Golf Challenge at Devonshire Square.