The inaugural BMGA British Crazy Golf Open taking place at Hastings seafornt on Sunday March 3rd

Feb. 23, 2013 - PRLog -- Players from across the UK set to play in the inaugural BMGA British Crazy Golf Open to be contested at the 18-hole seafront Crazy Golf course in Hastings.

On Sunday 3rd March the seafront Crazy Golf course in Hastings, East Sussex will host the first ever British Crazy Golf Open, a brand new event on the BMGA tour and the first outdoor event of the new season. The three round event will see players from across the UK playing the legendary seafront Crazy Golf Course, the venue of the annual World Crazy Golf Championship that takes place in October each year, using just a standard course ball.

The Crazy Golf course at Hastings Adventure Golf on the town’s seafront contains many obstacles and hazards including the classic Windmill, a waterwheel, an obelisk, lighthouse, ramps and bunkers.

Entry to the British Crazy Golf Open is £20 per player (with a reduced entry of £15 for 2013 Tour Pros and £10 for junior players).

The tournament is open to all players and will mirror the format of the second day of the World Crazy Golf Championships (WCGC) - 2 rounds of strokeplay followed by a final 3rd round using the Crazy Crazy rules. However unlike the WCGC's, all players will play this final round and get the chance to experience the fun and mayhem of having all balls in play at once (something that only the top 18 players get to enjoy at the World Championship).

With 50% of the entry fees going into the prize pot, there will be medals and prize money for the top players overall, as well as the top Category 2 and 3 players (NB: Category 1 players are players who are currently ranked between places 1 & 16 in the official Order Of Merit, Category 2 players are players who are currently ranked between 17th & 32nd places, with all other players being classed as category 3).

Sean Homer, Chairman of the British Minigolf Association said “I am delighted to see this brand new event on our tour, taking place at one of the best venues for minigolf in the UK. The Crazy Golf course is a superb course and a real test of skill and nerve. With the event beiog contested over just one day and with all players using the same standard course ball it is a perfect opportunity for anyone who has ever fancied the chance of playing in a crazy golf competition. We have a great mix of players taking part, with several players making their tour debuts alongside our top players. All our events in Hastings are great fun and the British Crazy Golf Open will be another superb competition and a perfect way to start our outdoor part of this years BMGA tour.”

David Hartley, Hastings Adventure Golf Company Manager said “Hastings Adventure Golf is delighted to confirm that in addition to the annual World Crazy Golf Championships held every October, for 2013, a new tournament comes to the town on Sunday March 3rd. The British Crazy Golf Open. These 2 tournaments vary in format from the international norm, in that for the final, special 'Crazy Golf' rules apply, a challenge for the players and highly amusing for the spectators. This new tournament is open to all-comers and will give new players a chance to compete with some of the best players in the UK”.

Live results will be available online as the tournament progresses at http://www.bmga.co.uk/2013BCGO/result.htm  

The course is also offering a brilliant value day practice rate on Saturday 2nd March of just £5 for unlimited play on the course to all entrants.  

The tournament will tee-off at 10.00am on Sunday 3rd March. Further information, including a list of confirmed entrants to date and entry details for the 2013 British Crazy Golf Open can be found at http://www.minigolf.org.uk/joomla/index.php?option=com_eventlist&view=details&id=95&Itemid=56  

The competition day on Sunday will also have the tour's first ever Hole-In-One Challenge competition, taking place between rounds 2 & 3 of the Crazy Golf Open. This will be open to all (tournament competitors and the general public alike) and will cost just £1 per entry. Half of the entry fees will go forward to the Players Championship charity fund (taking place in September, the day before the British Open) and the remainder available to be won in the challenge. Each entrant gets 1 shot at the designated course hole (which will be confirmed on the day) – any players getting a hole-in-one will share the prize pot (if no-one aces the hole then the fund rolls forward to the next event). Each event on the BMGA tour this season will have a shoot-out competition.

Sunday 3rd will also see the entry window open for this years World Crazy Golf Championship – full details will be available at the course on the day. Entries will open online via the BMGA website from Monday 4th March.

Spectators are very welcome to attend the British Crazy Golf Open and support the players as they tackle the course. The Hastings Crazy Golf course has many viewing positions from the surrounding pathways and the onsite facilities include a Café, Ice-cream Kiosk & toilets. The prize giving ceremony will take place at the course following the end of play at approximately 3pm on the day.

Saturday will also see the first matches of the 2013 BMGA Club League with 4 teams taking part: the reigning Club Champions the Kent Minigolf Club (KMGC), the Cambridgeshire Minigolf Club (CMGC), The Midlands Minigolf Club (MMGC) and the London Minigolf Club (LMGC). The matches will tee-off from 3pm on Saturday afternoon and should provide a nice warm up spectacle before the main event on Sunday.

The British Minigolf Association (BMGA) is the governing body for Minigolf Sport, including Crazy Golf and Adventure Golf. Formed in 1998 the BMGA organises Minigolf competitions for its members across the UK. In 2011 there were 22 Ranking BMGA Tour competitions and a total of 12 players lifted BMGA Tour titles in Open, Invitational, Club and Doubles events. For further details about the BMGA and UK Minigolf please email chairman@minigolf.org.uk or visit http://www.minigolf.org.uk

Hastings Adventure Golf on the town’s seafront is home to three 18-hole Miniature Golf courses. Hastings Adventure Golf has been the home venue for the World Crazy Golf Championship since the tournament began in 2003. Hastings has also been the host for many British Minigolf Association Tour events since 1998 and 2013 marks the third year in a row that the Pirate Golf course has been the location of the World Minigolf Sport Federation's World Adventure Golf Masters competition. Castle Golf produces quality Adventure Golf courses throughout the World. Further information can be received from David Hartley at Hastings Adventure Golf david@adventuregolf.co.uk, or visit http://www.hastingsadventuregolf.com and http://www.adventuregolf.co.uk