New haunted mini-golf course opening in October

A new haunted house mini-golf course is opening in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada this October.

The haunted indoor mini-golf course is opening at a haunted Victorian manor house in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada in time for Halloween.

Check out the Haunted Manor Mini-Golf and Ping Pong Lounge website for more information.

Halloween minigolf

We're big fans of haunted and scary minigolf courses so it was brilliant to hear about this new course. We've played a few Halloween and haunted-themed courses and holes on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, but not nearly enough!

It'll be interesting to see what other scarily decorated and themed minigolf courses we hear about in the run up to Halloween this year...

A 2016 Carl Carmoni Mini-putt Trading Card

A look at a Carl Carmoni Mini-putt Trading Card from 2016.

Being stuck at home during lockdown I've had a bit more time to look back through my minigolf collection and the Crazy Golf Museum's vaults.

One of the nice items to share is this Carl Carmoni Mini-putt Trading Card from 2016.

Signed by the legend himself

Mini-putt courses are similar in appearance to Putt-Putt courses however they have distinct standardised hole designs and are particular to Canada.

"Mini-putt" is the Québécois term for the game of minigolf, thanks largely to the popularity of the Quebec cable sports show 'Défi Mini-putt' (Mini-putt Challenge) in the 1970s and 80s.

Check out a compilation of hole-in-ones Carl Carmoni scored on the Défi Mini-putt show.

We haven't played the Mini-putt format of the game yet. We're looking forward to a trip to Quebec in the future. It'd be ace to meet Carl and play in a tournament there.

With the great Mini-putt merch in 2016

Emily wearing a Mini-putt t-shirt

Carl Carmoni is a player after my own heart as he reacts with a triumphant shout of "BIRDIE!" every time he hits an ace. I'm known to shout "YEE-HA!" when I score a hole-in-one in competition play.

Check out Carl Carmoni's website and Mini-putt for more information.

My friend, minigolf team-mate and rival Jon Drexler also has a trading card. You can see that card in my blog post from 2013.

Links:
- Carl Carmoni
- Mini-putt
- Richard & Emily Gottfrid at Mini-putt

Mar's Mini Golf in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Finding out about Mar's Mini Golf - a 3D Glow in the Dark course in Saskatoon, Canada.

As I'm always on the lookout for new and interesting minigolf courses and stories I found out about Mar's Mini Golf in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The 3D Glow in the Dark course recently celebrated it's 5th birthday.

The undersea theme at Mar's Mini Golf

You need to putt through this shark's mouth

A skeleton pirate captain

We've putted through some whales on our travels

I'm a BIG fan of glow in the dark minigolf courses although there aren't very many in the UK. Some new indoor minigolf courses are applying glow in the dark elements, or have a few holes that are blacklit, but not many go all out on it.

The 200th course we played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour was a 3D glow in the dark course - the only one I've played - it's in Castleford, Yorkshire.

It'd be brilliant to revisit Canada - we had our honeymoon in Toronto and Niagara Falls.

Check out the Mar's Mini Golf website and photo gallery for more information.

Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada

Finding out about the Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf courses in Sudbury, Canada.

We recently heard about the Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf courses at Josephines Vegetables in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. The venue has SEVEN courses and 63-holes!

There's a LOT of minigolf at Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf

In 2010 we played a minigolf course in a Pub Beer Garden in Sudbury, Suffolk, England! Hopefully one day we'll get to visit Sudbury in Canada too.

Opened in 1997, Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf has been a member of the US ProMiniGolf Association since 2000. Next year the course will host the 21st Annual Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf USPMGA event.

The gates/gaps in the obstacles remind me of the frame on the Labyrinth obstacle on the Eternit style of miniature golf courses

We've seen quite a few dinosaur, Jurassic and dragon themed courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour travels, but none have looked like the unique layouts at Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf. The dinosaur skeletons give the course a museum-like feel.

One of the steel dragons on the course

The seven course layouts were designed by Josee and Marcel Rainville, who have operated Josephine's Vegetables on the property since 1982. The courses are dedicated to their son Steven and his friend Tyler, and all families who have been impacted by cancer.

The layouts were designed to be unpredictable and fun to offer something different each time a game is played. Josee tells me that it is possible to score a hole-in-one on each of the 63-holes - however, attempting the feat took FIVE YEARS of playing! I bet 'The Putter King' Allan Cox would like to take on that challenge.

In 2003 Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf was the Tourism Federation Of Ontario’s Inaugural Innovation Award Winner, after it was nominated by Attractions Ontario.

Can you name this Pokemon? The hole has only seen one hole in one since 1997!!!

Interestingly five of the courses are what would be termed 'traditional' minigolf, in that you play the holes using a golf putter and ball. But two of the layouts are called Pool Putt and require you to use a pool cue! We always like to see variations of the game and have played Pit-Pat and Crazy Golf Pool on our travels. Emily also found some Snookergolf Billiards tables in Blankenberge, Belgium earlier this year.

The Dinosaur Valley Adventure Golf scorecard

The Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf courses re-open for another season of fun on the 1st of May 2018. Check out the Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf website and Facebook Page for more information.

Links:
- Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf website
- Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf & Josephine's Vegetables on Facebook

Related blog posts:
- Canada
- Dinosaur

All photos courtesy of Josee Rainville at Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf.

Minigolf in Canada, Spain and Portugal. And Beer in Devon

A selection of photos from minigolf courses in Portugal, Spain and Canada.

I recently received some great photos and scorecards from my friend (and coin & token dealer) Nigel Lutt following his travels to Huelva in Spain, Lagos in Portugal, Niagara Falls in Canada and Beer in Devon! Top stuff indeed.

It's always wonderful to find out about new courses - as well having a look at the scorecards players get too!

First up was the Dinosaur Adventure Golf course in Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls, Canada. Take a look at the size of that volcano!

That is a BIG minigolf layout!

Next up are some snaps of the interesting looking and motor racing-themed Crazy Golf course in Isla Canela in Huelva, Spain.

A nice looking minigolf course

Nigel in action on the course

Each of the holes is constructed to look like a road/racetrack!

Nigel and Ruth also visited the Pro Putting Garden in Lagos, Portugal. What a brilliant looking minigolf course.

Nigel in action at the Pro Putting Garden

A tricky double plateau hole!

That looks like a tough hole to ace

One of the longest raft rides we've seen on a minigolf course

  

Here's the Pro Putting Garden scorecard from Nigel and Ruth's minigolf match-up.

It looks like the front nine holes were tricky

The Rules

It's always nice to see the types and variations of scorecard in use at courses. Back on our tour of the south west coast of England Emily and I ran out of time to have a day out at Pecorama in Beer. Judging by Nigel's scorecard from the Pecorama Crazy Golf course we could have been there a long time too as it looks like holes 2, 5, 7 and 8 were very tricky indeed!

Nigel's round at Pecorama Crazy Golf in Beer, Devon

What a scorecard! Don't lose your balls

Many thanks again to Nigel and Ruth for the snaps and scorecards from their travels. It's so nice to see the wide-range of minigolf courses there are around the world. There's always something new to see. Check out the more guest blog posts in the links below.

Related blog posts:
- Guest blogs
- Portugal
- Spain
- Canada
- Devon

Links:
- Dinosaur Adventure Golf course in Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls
- Pro Putting Garden in Lagos, Portugal
- Pecorama in Beer, Devon

A gift from Paradise

Finding out about the miniature golf courses at Paradise Fun Park in Canada.

As a big fan of all things minigolf-related I was very pleased to receive a package from paradise - Paradise Fun Park in Canada that is.

A great selection of minigolf ephemera and promotional material from Paradise Fun Park

I've been in touch with the team at the seaside resort in British Columbia since 2011 and it's really nice to speak to other people within the world of miniature golf. I love finding out about new and interesting courses, and it's always wonderful to get ephemera and merchandise for my collection and that of The Crazy Golf Museum.

Five postcards from Paradise Fun Park showing the miniature golf courses - Surf 'N Turf and Treasure Island

Paradise Fun Park was built 27 years ago and is a family business. In that time millions of people from around the world have enjoyed visits to the park. There are two 18-hole mini golf courses at the park, with the Turf 'N Surf built in 1988 and the Treasure Island layout introduced two years later.

The Paradise Fun Park mini-golf scorecard

The rules for Paradise Mini-Golf

I do like seeing courses putting in time and effort to their scorecards. This is a well designed and useful tool - it's packed with  adverts for local businesses

In addition to the two Miniature Golf courses, Paradise Fun Park is home to Bumper Boats, a Games Arcade, Snack Bar and Ice Cream Parlour, motel, and an RV park and camping ground. The park on Vancouver Island is located beside Parksville Bay and its sandy beaches.

The brochure for Paradise Fun Park

Two lovely pieces of minigolf ephemera

A look inside the brochure for Paradise Fun Park - the mini-golf courses have some very BIG obstacles including a fully rigged pirate galleon, treasure cave, water mill, Victorian mansion, Bavarian clock and a Dutch windmill

You can find Paradise Fun Park at 375 West Island Highway, Parksville, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Visit the Paradise Fun Park website for more details of the park, opening times, prices and photos of the minigolf courses.

A token from the games arcade at Paradise Fun Park

I look forward to visiting Paradise Fun Park in the future. It sounds like exactly my kind of place.

Links:
- Paradise Fun Park website
- Paradise Fun Park on Twitter
- Paradise Fun Park on Facebook
- The Crazy Golf Museum
- Miniature Golf courses in Canada at MiniatureGolfer.com

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Ephemera
- Postcards