The Big Mini Golf Tour miniature golf contest is coming to courses in Great Yarmouth, England this summer.

We have played in and organised lots of miniature golf competitions, tournaments, challenges and events over the last 15 years and this year we are excited to be a part of the Big Mini Golf Tour in Great Yarmouth, England.

It's a new minigolf contest open to members of the public this summer.

Courses across the Greater Yarmouth Tourism & Business Improvement Area are coming together to promote the game with people who play a round able to enter the Big Mini Golf Tour competition and win prizes.

To date we've been to almost 1,000 crazy, adventure and mini golf courses on our own Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. One of the first stops on our travels was to the East Coast seaside resort of Great Yarmouth – it’s a real minigolf hot-spot with a mixture of courses and.... Read more »

Playing in our first minigolf tournament since before the pandemic.

Emily and I were back in competitive minigolf action for the first time since 2019 when we visited the new Aces Minigolf course in Gloucester to take part in the Aces Minigolf Gloucester Invitational Tournament last Sunday.

Our friend, long-time minigolf rival and often time team-mate Seve Kukielka has created a superb 12-hole miniature golf layout at Aces Minigolf Gloucester. It sits within Dobbies Garden Centre and makes a perfect setting for a game.

It was fun to be back playing in a tournament and with only a short amount of practice time before the event teed-off we attempted to master as many of the holes as possible. It was great to work out a few ace lines and get the feel of the fresh.... Read more »

Launching a minigolf course in lockdown.

We had a superb time at the launch of the brand new Filwood Fantastic Crazy Golf course in Knowle West, Bristol on Saturday.

I've been documenting 'Minigolf in the time of coronavirus' during the pandemic. It has been interesting to see the changes to how minigolf is played here in England, elsewhere in the UK and around the world.

One of the projects we've been involved in during the various lockdowns is the Filwood Fantastic Mini Golf Club.

The real life miniature golf course was created during the pandemic and the ideas for the hole designs were generated by members of the Knowle West community during Lockdown 1.

We really enjoyed being a part of the clubhouse and tee party online meetings and to play the unique course and meet the people involved in.... Read more »

The Crazy Golf course on Princess Parade in Blackpool, England is now open.

Blackpool and the Fylde Street Angels and Blackpool Fulfilling Lives joined forces to refresh and reopen the Princess Parade Crazy Golf course on Blackpool's North Shore in 2019 and a number of other people and groups have been a part of the community project. You can see what the course has looked like over the last few years in some of my previous posts and in this guest blog from July 2019.

The minigolf project has helped homeless and disadvantaged people in Blackpool by giving them the chance to bring the course up to scratch so it is playable and then staffing it for the season. It's been wonderful to give people the opportunity to receive work experience, while also bringing an.... Read more »

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour began 14 years ago today!

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 we won a free game card by firing the cannon on the lucky last hole.

Our minigolfing adventures have been rolling ever since!

We've now been to 956 courses - 917 in the British Isles and 39 overseas.

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 being a traditional outdoor seaside summer activity to become a year-round game that can be played indoors, outdoors and at.... Read more »

A look at minigolf in the time of coronavirus and social distancing.

I've been blogging about the world of minigolf since 2006 and have seen how the game boomed in the last decade. Something I'm very keen to continue once the world gets back to a semblance of normality.

Social distancing and national, regional and local lockdown restrictions have changed the way the game is played and put a number of events on-hold as the world tackles Covid-19.

I've been documenting 'Minigolf in the time of coronavirus' during the pandemic. It has been interesting to see the changes to how minigolf is played here in England, elsewhere in the UK and around the world.

As some lockdown restrictions have eased I have been able to play some courses and experience these changes and restrictions.

After the Spanish Flu pandemic of.... Read more »

I set-up the museum with Crazy Golf legend Tim 'Ace Man' Davies back on the 15th July 2010, the virtual musuem is a treasure trove and archive for all things related to minigolf.

It's been an incredibly interesting decade!

Prior to the pandemic
There were so many marvellous things going in the world of minigolf prior to the Coronavirus pandemic. New courses were being built, tournaments held and interesting items and ephemera were being created.

Some of this is on-hold as the world tackles Covid-19.

Minigolf in the time of Coronavirus
I've been using some of my time during lockdown documenting 'Minigolf in the time of coronavirus' and creating a time line of the game during the pandemic.

After the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 and during part of the Great Depression minigolf.... Read more »

I published The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing three years ago this month.

Time flies!

My ebook to help minigolf players better market themselves, their clubs, tournaments and courses is available to purchase from Amazon and Kobo.

As a minigolfer with over a decade of experience as a tournament competitor and years of experience in marketing and communications I designed the guide so that anyone interested or involved in minigolf could help promote the game. It's a niche title, but an audience and subject I know a lot about.

I've been really pleased to see the ebook bought and used by a number of minigolf associations and federations, course owners and managers, bloggers, course reviewers and competition players.... Read more »

A look at how minigolf will be played after lockdown.

With social distancing in place for the foreseeable future the way we access goods, services and experiences will continue to be quite different to pre-pandemic times.

Minigolf was among the fun leisure experiences that were previously very easy to pay to access, pick-up and play.

In recent times some of the newer more 'wet led' indoor miniature golf courses such as Swingers, Junkyard Golf, Ghetto Golf, Lane7, Caddies, Puttshack, Birdies, Caddyshackers, House of Holes, BCK YRD GOLF, Teezers, Fore Play Crazy Golf, Puttstars etc. have required or encouraged online bookings and payment online and in advance, although most still 'hold back' a set number of tee-off times for walk in customers.

Many of these new style of competitive socialising courses are 18+ venues are more of a bar with a minigolf-attached, rather than the traditional minigolf course with snack & drink.... Read more »

A blog post about not going on holiday to Bournemouth.

We were supposed to be on our holiday in Bournemouth this week and were going to be staying at the Miramar Hotel. The hotel was once home to a Putting Green and we'd specifically booked our stay at the hotel after finding an old postcard showing the course there.

We've visited the area a number of times over the years but our last trip there was in 2013. Since then a number of new courses have opened up, while some of the others have been refurbished.

We'd planned visits to 16 miniature golf courses in the Bournemouth, Boscombe, Southbourne, Poole and Sandbanks area of Dorset on the trip.

It's brilliant seeing old, long-gone.... Read more »

Keeping social and competitive in the new world of physical distancing



I've been thinking a lot about what'll happen post-pandemic, where I want to visit, the minigolf courses I want to play and revisit, and what I want to do when things begin to 'return to normal'. My bucket list of places to go is filling up fast.



What that 'normal' looks like is certainly up for debate. I think it'll take a while before we're able to go about our daily lives as carefree as most of us were lucky enough to be as before coronavirus struck.



That said the changes we will need to make to how we live our lives will include some positives.



While a lot of the minigolf world is out of action and tournaments have been postponed and cancelled, plans are still being drawn up for new courses, work is ongoing to finish courses where permissible, and ideas formulated for when it's safe to get back out.... Read more »

If you own, operate or manage a minigolf course we'd love to share information about your venue.

With an ever-growing collection of minigolf items, ephemera and memories the Crazy Golf Museum reaches a worldwide audience through its website, blogs and social media.

We also want to share your stories and memories of the great game. If you have any interesting, quirky or obscure minigolf items we'd love to see them. In fact we also like seeing items that might be perceived as dull or mundane. Did you know we have some minigolf sugar cubes and wet-wipes in our archives?

The collection will eventually be housed.... Read more »

A look at how miniature golf has been used in artistic creations.

I've seen the worlds of art and minigolf combine a number of times over the years.

A relatively new term for this combination is 'artainment' - where art and entertainment mix to create immersive visitor experiences at exhibitions, galleries or installations.

A number of art trails have been sprung up recently and they are becoming a popular part of 'retailtainment' and 'shoppertainment' where entertainment options have been added to the high street or shopping malls to help attract and retain customers.

Crazy Golf and art.

There is currently an art installation pop-up Crazy Golf course at Coal Drop's Yard in King's Cross, London, England. It's playable until the 29th March. Club Golf is a combination of sport, art and retail entertainment. Artists Baker & Borowski created the 9-hole themed Crazy Golf layout inspired by the rave.... Read more »

Details of new minigolf courses opening in the UK.

Minigolf courses are springing up all over the UK. 2019 saw lots of new courses open and 2020 is shaping up to be a big year in the game.

So far this year new miniature golf courses have been announced to be opening / have opened in Walsall, Pembrey, Crawley, Northampton, Edinburgh, Newcastle upon Tyne, Norwich, Hull (two venues), Rochdale, York, Leeds (two venues), King's Cross London, Harrow in London, Reading, Milton Keynes, Glasgow and Maidenhead.

There's also going to be a new adventure golf course at Les Mielles Golf & Country Club in Jersey.

I wonder where the next new course will open?

Richard Gottfried blogs about minigolf at The Ham and....

Read more »

We've made 20 minigolf course visits so far this year. A strong start to 2020.

Our travels have taken us to miniature golf venues in Oxford, Birmingham, Manchester, Northwich, Doncaster and Castleford.

A number of those courses have been revisits, including a couple of trips to play at our local Paradise Island Adventure Golf centre in the Trafford Centre.

1. Putting course at Park Square in Cheadle Heath, Stockport
2, 3, 4. Junkyard Golf's three courses at the Westgate shopping centre in Oxford - Gary, Bozo and Pablo courses
5. That Funky Golf Place at Becketts Farm in Wythall, Birmingham
6, 7. Paradise Island Adventure Golf's two course at the Trafford Centre in Manchester - Temple Ruins and Tiki Hut Trail
8, 9. The Putting course and Crazy Golf at Vickersway Park in Northwich
10, 11. Paradise.... Read more »

Do you know of any festive miniature golf happening this year?

Emily and I love seeing minigolf courses getting involved in different events and seasonal activities. On our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour we've seen a few Christmas-themed layouts, including the Chrizy Golf course in Manchester back in 2012.

I've heard that there will be glow-in-the-dark minigolf at the outdoor course at Bath's Victoria Park as part of the Bath on Ice event this winter. Bath on Ice runs from the 15th November 2019 to the 5th January 2020.

Aberdeen's Christmas Village will feature a new festive-themed Crazy Golf course..... Read more »

Our crazy golfing adventures began at Treasure Island Adventure Golf in Southsea back in September 2006. Since then we've visited hundreds of weird, wonderful and wacky courses.

While we were visiting my brother Christopher at uni in Portsmouth back in 2006 we played the Victory Trail course at Treasure Island Adventure Golf in Southsea. At the end of our round on Saturday 30th September I won a free game by firing the cannon on the lucky last hole.

That was the beginning of our minigolf travels. We've now visited 925 courses, 39 of which have been overseas.

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

When our travels began there were around 600 courses in the UK. That number has grown massively in the last eight years. 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.... Read more »

There's not long to go until Halloween and it got me thinking whether many miniature golf courses will be doing anything special for the season of the witch.

A couple of years ago there were quite a few scares to be had at minigolf courses in the UK, Canada and the USA.

So far I've seen that Fun Fore All Family Fun Park in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, USA will have Trick-or-Treat Trail Glow Golf every Friday and Saturday night from the 27th September to the 26th October.

I'm also aware that Golfland Entertainment Centers in the US have previously hosted Spooktacular Golf events during October.

Hopefully the courses on the

The growth of shopping centre crazy golf courses.

On Saturday Emily and I made a short trip up the road to have a game on the pop-up Crazy Golf course at the Walkden Town Centre shopping mall in Greater Manchester.

The Crazy Golf course was set-up for three days as part of the shopping centre's Summer of Fun events.

It's wonderful to see miniature golf courses popping up in different places. Shopping centres are increasingly becoming popular venues for both pop-up and permanents courses, ranging from portable courses, to skill-based minigolf, to adventure golf layouts.

We got there nice and early and had a clear course ahead of us. After our game we had a wander round the shopping centre as we hadn't been there before. As we walked past the course a few more times it was nice to see lots of people enjoying a game and were.... Read more »

The teams at Blackpool Fulfilling Lives and Blackpool and the Fylde Street Angels have joined forces to refresh and reopen the Princess Parade Crazy Golf course on the English seaside resort's North Shore. Work has recently started down on the seafront site with initial clean ups and litter picking having taken place.

Having responded to the call to help with the project earlier this year, I visited the course in May where I joined representatives from a number of agencies, including Blackpool Fulfilling Lives and Blackpool and the Fylde Street Angels, Blackpool Council and the Blackpool Civic Trust for a tour of the site. We also had a round to play-test the holes as they were and to look at ways to refurbish.... Read more »

As BIG fans of minigolf and the summer Emily and I have created a Summer Mini Golf Checklist containing 18 fun minigolf 'things to do', plus a 19th hole activity.

1. Play at five different minigolf courses
2. Score par or better on a course
3. Compete in a miniature golf tournament
4. Score seven holes-in-one
5. Play a game of Pitch & Putt miniature golf
6. Play at a Pirate Adventure Golf course
7. Play a course with a Jungle-theme
8. Play a dinosaur-themed course
9. Play three windmill obstacles
10. Play at a space-themed course
11. Read a book about minigolf
12. Play a portable or pop-up course
13. Play at an indoor course (it doesn't have to be on a rainy day)
14. Play a course on a pier
15. Find and post a minigolf postcard
16. Post about minigolf on social media and use.... Read more »

Last month Emily and I made the landmark 900th course visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour when we had a round at the North Bay Mini Golf course in Scarborough, North Yorkshire.

When our travels began there were around 600 courses in the UK. We've now been to 862 courses in the British Isles and 39 overseas. The North Bay Crazy Golf course was the 520th we've played in the last 13 years as a number of courses we've visited have been closed, derelict, flooded or abandoned.

There are now more than 1,000 courses in the UK and there are new courses opening up all the time. We've still got a few traditional Crazy Golf courses to visit, as well as a number of the new Adventure Golf courses and indoor minigolf bars to play.

It's always really.... Read more »

We've reached another big minigolf milestone - the 800th course visit on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

In September 2006 Emily and I began what would become our epic quest to visit every miniature golf course in the UK. Back then there were approximately 600 courses.

The game is booming in the UK and our friends in Sweden are also experiencing the rise in popularity. Our 800th course visit was to the Swing by Golfbaren indoor minigolf course and speakeasy in Stockholm.

Swing by Golfbaren recently celebrated its first anniversary and our friend, minigolf rival and legend of the sport Hans Olofsson invited us to be guests at the party. We had a marvellous time and must say Swing by Golfbaren is one of the best minigolf venues we've visited.

The course has a 1920's theme and is a truly unique layout. There's an 'upstairs' 12-holes open for all to play, while hidden 'downstairs' are.... Read more »

Last season my team-mate Peter Jones and I qualified for the Grand Final of the American Golf National Adventure Golf Championships. The pairs event was contested at The Belfry Hotel & Resort in Sutton Coldfield, with the tournament broadcast on Sky Sports last November.

The programme is now available to watch on the American Golf YouTube Channel - the National Adventure Golf Championships can be seen from 26m 55s.

The Adventure Golf tournament was also included in the American Golf Championship Tour Season Review programme.

The 2017 American Golf Championship Tour saw more than 7,500 players compete in a total of 17 tournament categories at 168 venues in the hope of qualifying for one of the 252 grand final spots.

The American Golf Adventure Golf.... Read more »

Back in 2010 I became a 'Curator' of the world's first Crazy Golf Museum. Along with Crazy Golf legend Tim 'Ace Man' Davies we pooled our resources to create the virtual museum, allowing people all over the world an insight to the wonderful world of minigolf.

Over the years we've seen some amazing minigolf 'stuff' and have collected a lot of it too. From postcards and stamps to badges and tokens, we've gathered together a whole host of items – we've even got some minigolf sugar lumps!

We love receiving items and information from players around the world as it allows us and others to see what's going on in places we may never get to visit in person. Seeing the colourful scorecards of courses in the USA or hearing about history being made with new competitions held in countries for the first time is marvellous.

Our friend and the Editor of Minigolfnews Pat.... Read more »

Happy 2018! I hope you have a brilliant year of minigolf.

It's been nice to read Pat's 2017 Year in Review posts here on Minigolfnews (check out the Front 9 and Back 9) and 2018 should be a cracking year for the sport.

To celebrate the first day of the new year Emily and I headed over to Southport, one of our local seasides, for the afternoon. While there we revisited what was originally the 150th course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - The Masters Crazee Putting course at King's Gardens.

We've already heard about a lot of new courses planned to open this year too - the future of minigolf looks bright and very fun!

Don't forget to mark National Miniature Golf Day and Miniature Golf Day in.... Read more »

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.

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:
- Adventures in Minigolfing by Marion Homer
- Mini Golf App
- Mini Golf Guide
- Minigolfnews.com
- Putterfingers
-

Here in the UK another year in the domestic minigolf tournament season has come to an end, which means it is the perfect time to look back and reflect on the year. However, this should be about more than rankings and stats. No matter how high or low you are on the leader board or how many tournaments you took part in – if you enjoy participating in minigolf you have a story to tell.

There are plenty of opportunities to get your story out, this can be about your achievements and what you've got planned for the 2018 season too, but it can also just be about your participation, and your enjoyment of the sport, spreading the news and awareness of minigolf in general.

Minigolf is a game for all. There are a huge variety of stories to tell and positive aspects to highlight to potential players, the media, sponsors, as well as wider sport, recreation and leisure communities.

There are a lot of communications channels to use to reach your.... Read more »