This adventure golf course is the priciest around – and it’s getting rave reviews
The cost of playing adventure golf in the UK has risen sharply over recent years.
Take, for example, Putt in the Park in Wandsworth, London. Back in 2020 it cost £9 for adults, £7 for children, and £28 for a family of four. Now those prices have gone up to £14, £11 and £46 respectively – a rise of well over 50% in all categories.
But the most expensive course for adults we’ve found in the UK is the new Australian Adventure Golf at Adlington Golf Centre in Cheshire, where prices are £15 – and even spectators cost £5.
The high prices are something that have been picked up by customers since the site opened in August this year. “The prices will stop me coming back,” said one reviewer, while another added: “The trend to charge for spectators is disgraceful I believe and certainly yours of £5 is the highest I’ve come across.”
So it’s expensive – but is it still good value? After all, Putt in the Park in Wandsworth might be £1 cheaper for adults, but you only get 12 holes for that, instead of 18 holes at Australian Adventure Golf. And both the child fee (£10) and the family price (£44) are cheaper at the Cheshire venue.
And plenty of punters seem to think it’s well worth the cost – including comedian Jason Manford, who visited in October. “Strewth, I’ve played some mini golf in my time but this has got to be, without exaggeration, the BEST adventure golf course in the WORLD!” he wrote. “18 holes of legendary-status golf, with some brilliant Oz-themed touches as you go around.”
Others were quick to add their own praise, including: “I visited over the weekend and it exceeded all my expectations. The 18 holes of crazy golf were hilarious and incredibly detailed – it was like being at a place like Universal Studios, but interactive. Definitely worth the trip, and I’m already planning to go back soon.”
* Posted 10.11.24
Number of crazy golf courses in UK hits 600
The number of crazy golf, mini golf and adventure golf courses in the UK has hit a record 600 – with more than 500 in England alone.
There are now 605 courses operating in the UK, with 508 in England, 42 in Scotland, 37 in Wales, 12 in Northern Ireland, and 6 in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man.
Some of the new venues to open in recent months include Junkyard in Camden (the second Junkyard in London, and seventh overall), Bunkers in Romford (the second Bunkers, after Swansea), and Treetop Adventure Golf in Gateshead (the fifth Treetops to open in the country, after Leicester, Manchester, Cardiff and Birmingham.
Crazy golf has seen a significant surge in interest in recent years, with new sites opening across the country – most often with either a dinosaur, jungle or pirate theme, and frequently run buy a major company with half a dozen or more sites in operation. But it’s not all been one-way traffic, with some smaller independent courses – Snitches in Weymouth, for example, which is now a cocktail bar – going the other way.
While other lists put the total figure at over 1,000, the se lists include courses that are temporary, abandoned, or have been closed in recent years. The 605 figure is only for permanent courses and excludes pop-ups, seasonal courses, and facilities which are part of sites with an overall entrance fee such as theme parks and holiday parks.
* Posted 16.12.23
Review: Jurassic Adventure Golf, Swanage
Jurassic Adventure Golf is located at Santa-Fe Fun Park in Swanage, Dorset, right next to the Shipwreck Island course on the same site. It’s a good location near the centre of the town, on a small hill above the beach, looking out over Swanage Bay.
You’ll know by now what to expect from a Jurassic-themed course – life-size or near-life-size models of dinosaurs, a jeep or two, and a few water features to add to the atmosphere.
All of that is present and correct here. What’s missing is the gameplay. Like so many other modern courses, the 18 holes offer nothing in the way of challenge or jeopardy. There’s little choice about whether to take a hard or easy option; nothing imaginative that would make you want to play a particular hole again.
By hole 12 or 13 you pretty much know what’s coming, and by the time the difficulty level is raised on the 18th, it’s all too little too late.
It’s not cheap either. £8.50 for adults – which is anyone aged 12 and over – and £6.50 for children under 12 means you’re talking £34 for a family of four including a couple of teenagers, with no cheaper family tickets available. There are discounts if you choose to play Shipwreck Island as well, but to be honest 36 holes of this quality is less attractive than playing 18.
More proof, if any were needed, that for many places the money used on course architecture would be better spent on designing the holes themselves.
* Posted 7.8.21
County gets first adventure golf course
A new adventure golf course is opening this weekend in Bedfordshire – and it’s thought to be the first in the county.
Wardown Adventure Golf opens in Luton on Saturday 1 May. While there are other courses in Bedfordshire as part of attractions which have an overall entrance fee, neither this website (or the owners of the new course) are aware of another dedicated adventure golf course in the county.
Chris from the new course said: “We are excited to be opening Wardown Adventure Golf, an 18-hole wildlife-themed course, it’s great fun for all ages.”
The course is in Wardown Park in Luton, which the local council describes as “the jewel in the crown of Luton’s parks”, and which previously had other golf facilities. The new course features traditional obstacles such as a windmill and loop-the-loop.
It is open from 11am to 6pm Monday to Friday, and 10am to 6pm at weekends and holidays. Last entry is at 5pm. There is a flat price of £4.50 for all players aged four and over.
* Posted 30.4.21
Opening dates for outdoor and indoor crazy golf courses
After being out of action since the third lockdown was announced in early January, crazy golf courses are due to reopen – but outdoor venues will be significantly ahead of indoor ones.
Outdoor courses can open from Monday March 29, along with regular golf courses and other outdoor sports facilities. The Government says that facilities should be used “in line with the wider social contact limits”, which on the same day will be extended to the ‘Rule of Six’ (or two households) in outdoor settings. Maintaining 2m distancing outdoors is still advisable, and outdoor surfaces may also still become contaminated with the virus, so it is also important to be mindful of what shared objects are touched, and to maintain regular hand washing.
However, indoor courses will have to wait. Although some indoor leisure facilities such as gyms, swimming pools and leisure centres are being allowed to open on April 12 (subject to infection rates and the vaccination programme continuing on the right track), the earliest date that other facilities such as cinemas, theatres and museums are opening is May 17. Indoor crazy golf courses are not specifically mentioned on this list, but “games, recreation and entertainment venues such as escape rooms and laser quest” are, and if you try to book an indoor crazy gold venue you will find that booking restarts on May 17.
So why is there seven weeks’ difference between the two?
The Government says that airborne transmission is a significant route by which Covid passes between people, as particles of the virus can build up and circulate in the air in the form of aerosols in enclosed spaces (even if they are large) especially where air exchange is poor. This makes indoor settings more risky than outdoors, where the fresh air quickly disperses the virus to safe levels. Observational studies tracing people infected with Covid which show the majority of transmission occurs in indoor settings and that ‘super spreader’ events (where many people are infected at one time) are more likely indoors than outdoors.
New indoor course is all about the 80s
If retro arcade games and 80s styling are right up your street, then you might be interested in a new indoor mini golf course which has opened in Edinburgh.
Portal Mini Golf opened at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange on Friday November 6. The 18-hole course draws inspiration from a range of iconic pop culture references including hit TV shows – including Stranger Things – and retro arcade games.
Two years in the making, each themed hole has been hand-painted by local artist Dolly Hope.
Portal Mini Golf owner Paul DeMarco said: “We’ve gone all out with the design – it’s more than just a nostalgic nod to the 80s, it’s a fully immersive experience that’s guaranteed to take you right back in time.
“Of course, you don’t need to have lived through the 1980s to appreciate the setting, nor do you need any actual golfing experience – it’s all about having fun in a completely original setting.”
Portal Mini Golf is open 10am-8pm, seven days a week. Online bookings must be made in advance at portal-golf.com. Tickets are priced at £6 per person, £20 per group or family of four for 18 holes. Players must be aged six or above year olds and above.
* Posted 07.11.20. Picture credits: Portal Mini Golf
What’s the most popular theme for adventure golf courses?
If you’re a fan of adventure golf and enjoy playing courses around the country, then you’ll have noticed there are a number of themes that seem to emerge.
Of course, there are some courses that are one-offs. Stonehenge Mini Golf in Norfolk, Viking Quest in Merseyside, Galloping Mini Golf in Surrey and others are unlikely to replicated on a large scale.
But many others are built around just a handful of different themes. Dinosaurs, pirates and jungles seem to dominate the landscape, so much so that you could spend all your time playing these quite happily and never think about anything else at all.
So which is the most popular of them all? We’ve taken a look through more than 450 courses listed on crazygolfuk.com to find out.
Number 4 – Lost City / Aztec
The abandoned and overgrown jungle city – usually Aztec – makes a few appearances in our list, presumably because who’s going to argue about what’s in there? Waterfalls, jeeps, skulls and mysterious buildings all tend to make an appearance, and why not?
Throw in a few parrot noises and some unidentifiable jungle shrieks, and you’ve got yourself an atmosphere. Deep in the jungle everything’s quite gloomy, too – which saves on lighting bills, at least.
Number 3 – Dinosaur
If you’d asked us before we looked into this, we’d have said dinosaurs would be number one. Jurassic Cove, Dino Islands, Dinosaur Islands, Dinosaur Escape – there are loads of these. But no, they only come in at number three.
It’s easy to see why they get chosen. Kids love dinos. They love dinos that roar every five minutes or so even more. And they love erupting volcanoes – of which there were apparently a remarkably high number in Jurassic times – even more than that. On the negative side, you do tend to get the same earworm soundtrack playing over and over again at dinosaur-themed courses.
Number 2 – Jungle / safari
A surprise entry at number two, perhaps, but this is quite a broad category. Basically, if a course is set in – or at least appears to be set in – Africa, then it makes it into this category. So anything with lions, gorillas, giraffes or zebras is in.
Congo Falls, Jungle Creek, Jungle Rumble and Jungle Safari are just some of the courses which make up this section. And, like the Aztec section, there’s always a good excuse to throw in a waterfall or three.
Number 1 – Pirates
Pirates in olden days plundered, fought and murdered. Pirates of modern times kidnap, extort and murder. So they are an obvious choice to be the most popular theme for a fun family game which involves using a stick to knock a ball into a hole.
There are more pirate-themed courses in the UK than there are of all the other categories on this list put together, from Smugglers Cove and Pirate’s Landing to Treasure Island and Pirate Bay. If you want to blame anyone, blame Johnny Depp.
Puttstars opening two new venues in August
Puttstars, which already has a crazy golf venue in Leeds, is opening up two new sites in August. The new locations in York and Rochdale were meant to open in April and May respectively, but the dates were put back because of the coronavirus.
Each venue has a choice of three 9-hole courses; Zig Zag, Slingshot and Pin Ball. Rather than traditional scoring, the number of putts taken is converted into points, and players have two chances to play a joker, which doubles your points. Scores are digitally calculated using screens at each hole, and are totted up as players make their way around the course.
Puttstars is part of the Hollywood Bowl Group ten-pin bowling business, which has more than 60 centres operating under the Hollywood Bowl, AMF Bowling and Puttstars brands.
The Rochdale site was due to finally open on August 7, with York following on August 17. However, at the time of writing these dates had been pushed back to later in the month, with final dates still to be confirmed.
* Posted 05.08.20. Picture credits: Puttstars
Caddy Shack ‘urban golf’ opens in latest venture for major group
The group behind major entertainment centres at Bluewater in Kent and Fountain Park in Edinburgh has opened a new crazy golf site in Northampton.
Built at a reported cost of £2m, Caddy Shack opened on July 17 at the Sol Northampton, another entertainment venue run by Gravity Active Entertainment.
Caddy Shack features darts, bowling, and a nine-hole ‘urban golf’ course. It adds to the existing activities on offer at Sol Northampton which include a Vue cinema and Gravity trampoline park.
Holes on the course include a pretzel stand and a yellow taxi.
Prices are a reasonable at £4.00 for nine holes off-peak, and £6.00 peak (all day Saturday and Sunday, from 4pm Thursday and Friday).
There’s also a full menu available featuring hot dogs, burgers, nachos and wings – including a comprehensive plant-based menu.
Caddy shack opens at 11.30am seven days a week, and closes at midnight Monday to Thursday, 1am Saturday and Sunday, and 11pm Sunday. Last orders for food are at 9.45pm.
* Posted 18.07.20. Picture credits: Caddy Shack
Captain Jacks arrives in Scarborough
Scarborough has a new attraction which opens on Saturday, July 4 – an 18-hole pirate-themed mini golf course.
Captain Jack’s is located next to the Observation Wheel which is also being introduced for the summer season. However, while the 32-metre high wheel was also in the town last year, this is the first time it has been joined by the mini golf attraction.
Both attractions are being run by William Abbott and Michael Wallis from Observation Wheel UK.
Mr Abbott said the golf was a bespoke build “to very high standards”, and was “designed to be sited short term or long term as it’s fully mobile and transports on three 13.5m trailers”.
* Posted 03.07.20. Picture credit: William Abbott
New dinosaur-themed site opens in Wolverhampton
A new adventure golf course opens today at Perton Golf Club in Wolverhampton.
Wolverhampton Adventure Golf is an 18-hole course which will be open 10am to 7pm, seven days a week. The dinosaurs featured are a Tyrannosaurus Rex, a Stegosaurus, a Raptor family, a Spinosaurus, a Anklyosaurus and a Triceratops family.
The 4,500 square metres site also features waterfalls, rapids and crashed cars. Toilet facilities are available in the golf club.
Prices are: Adults – £8.50 / Child – £6.50 / Family Ticket for 4 (no more than 2 adults) – £28 / 4 Adults – £30 / NHS and Student – £7.50
Children’s parties, school trips and team-building events a re also available.
You can find out more at the course website here.
* Posted 27.06.20. Picture credit: Wolverhampton Adventure Golf / Facebook.