There’s nothing mini about crazy golf these days. The number of miniature or adventure golf courses in the UK has jumped by about 25% since the pandemic, according to figures compiled by the curator of the Crazy Golf Museum.
The UK is now home to more than 1,200 courses, according to Richard Gottfried, with 320 opening or announced since May 2020. In 2006, there were only about 600.
What used to be a seaside pastime has become a part of city night life. People are just as likely to be holding a cocktail glass with their putter as they are an ice-cream cone, and playing crazy golf is an acceptable activity for corporate outings and date nights.
“It’s become mainstream,” Gottfried said. “When we started playing crazy golf it was seen as a bit quirky. Now there’s a competition circuit.”
Taking courses inside has been a contributor to the boom, with operators finding spaces in shopping centres affected by the shift to online.
Swingers set up two courses in the former BHS department store in Oxford Street, London, in 2018, offering cocktails, DJs and street food. Puttshack, Junkyard Golf, Plonk and Boom Battle Bar have all played their part in bringing the seaside experience of trying to squeeze a golf ball past a windmill to the high street.
Gottfried’s crazy golf obsession began in 2006 after he and his wife Emily won a free game at the Treasure Island course in Portsmouth. “We’d just got our first car, and we said, well, what should we do now?” So they decided to visit every crazy golf course in the UK.
So far on their Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, they’ve visited 983 courses in the UK, and played at 568 – the rest were shut, out of season or abandoned – and earned an entry in the Guinness World of Records. But the Gottfrieds’ challenge has been made considerably harder by the boom.
“The original list had 600 courses in the British Isles,” he said. “It looked like a fun, tickable list. But fast forward to 2023 and we’re still seeing courses, playing courses, visiting courses.
“There was a fear that the boom could be over but if anything there are more courses opening up post-lockdown. And we’re still in the boom.”
Matt Grech-Smith, the co-founder of Swingers, had been looking for something new after selling the student nightclub business he set up with Jeremy Simmonds. “We launched a pop-up in Shoreditch to test the concept,” he said. “What if you took crazy golf and created a venue around it but it was theatrical, immersive and had great food and drink? And it was like a runaway train from there.”
After opening two London venues, they have exported the British version of crazy golf to the US, with courses in New York and Washington and others opening in Las Vegas and Dubai.
“There isn’t really a crazy golf tradition in the US in the same way there is here. They have mini golf and it’s quite literal – they take golf courses and shrink them down. They tend to cater more for the purist who really wants to work on their stroke. We get the odd review from people where they complain they weren’t allowed to bring their own putter.
“It’s such a simple concept,” Grech-Smith said. “When we were in our first venue, you’d get people coming into reception on the way in and saying ‘Oh, I had this idea’. If you’re on a team outing with work friends or you’re on a date, it gets rid of the social awkwardness. And we don’t purposely design for it, but it’s helped that our courses are very photogenic – Instagram and TikTok are definitely things people think about when they go out.
“It’s also very democratic – you don’t need previous experience, you don’t need to be good at sport, you don’t need to change your shoes and you might get a hole in one on your first go.”
Some people are very good at mini golf, though. The British Mini Golf Association 26th open championship this year took place at Four Ashes in Dorridge, near Solihull, and was won by Seve Kukielka.
“My dad loved Severiano Ballesteros and then he named me after him,” Kukielka said. “I’m sure he would have loved me to be involved in proper golf but I found my calling in miniature golf.”
Kukielka, 34, from south Wales, got hooked on mini golf after his mum took him to a tournament in Taunton and he won the junior title. He is now a member of the BMGA and opened a course in Gloucester, Aces Minigolf, in 2021.
The key to success is “a lot of repetitive practice”, he said. “Getting the correct speed is the main thing. Ideally you want to get a one or a two on every hole. The thing that separates the tournament players from the casual is getting that weight of shot.”
While golfers set out with a collection of clubs, mini golfers have a selection of balls: some bouncy, some hard, some soft, so they can choose the right ball for the right hole.
“I had a big lead at the open and I kind of threw it away,” Kukielka said. “I chose a bouncy ball that bounced out of the hole.” He ended up in a three way play-off. “Luckily I managed to get a hole in one. It was a huge relief. In the back of your head you’re always telling yourself it’s only mini golf. It’s not a big deal. But winning it was a big achievement for me.”
