Words by Mr. Tee
January 4, 2025
Close to the beginning of each year since 2019, we glance back at the new courses we visited in the past year. For reference, you can visit these links to view our faves from the past 5 years:
You’ll notice that we still have a few courses to review from our best-of lists in 2022 and a bunch from 2023. Don’t worry, we’re working through the backlog and have more reviews coming your way than you can handle.
In late 2023, our sweet dog and companion Ruggles was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lymphoma/cancer. Due to chemotherapy and uncertainty around his health, the two of us traveled less in general in 2024. We didn’t take any specific mini golf trips together this past year to focus our attention on our fuzzy friend. Given this, the bulk of the new courses played were by me, Tom aka Mr. Tee. I made the most of my international travels for competition to the Czech Republic for WAGM in June and England in October as well other competitions for the AMA and ended up playing nearly 30 new courses on my own. I have not reviewed any of these courses yet but expect those all sooner rather than later. It’s also no coincidence that all of these courses are home to competitive events too but I’d recommend them to most of the public at large for a fun time. Okay, let’s dig in.
Instead of ranking my favorite courses, I’m going to list them in chronological order starting with St. Croix National in May and ending with Strokes in England in October. This list includes 3 courses in the same larger facility (Bowling BRNO) and 2 courses at Horní Bezděkov. Usually, I wouldn’t separate out individual courses within a facility for the best of list but each of these 5 courses is unique and distinct from each other.
2024 Top New Courses Played
St. Croix National Pelz Putting Course – Somerset, Wisconsin – Challenging pure putting course over the Minnesota border into Wisconsin. A great course to help prep me for playing in the World Adventure Golf Masters (WAGM) at Bowling BRNO with minigolf balls. Similar style to the Bowling BRNO Venus course or Popstroke. Contoured greens with minimal obstacles, subtle breaks, and a thick rough border that you don’t want to have to putt from. Incredible facility and lots of aces to be had if you dial in your lines. More photos.
Bowling BRNO Eve Course – Brno, Czech Republic – The holes’ various styles and layouts require ample practice to find the right line, minigolf ball choice, and set up position to score low. The travel up and down the course will test your skill on holes/lanes and will take you on an adventure golf journey. #13 will give you an almost guaranteed ace which will feel great coming down the home stretch. Scored my lowest competitive score during WAGM 2024 with a 29 in my 3rd round.
Bowling BRNO Adam Course – Brno, Czech Republic – This course moved to the top of my bucket list after initially seeing photos of it. Part of the reason I opted to play for Team USA in WAGM 2024 was to get the opportunity to play this course. The massive Minecraft-inspired course is visually stunning and has fun playing holes. Truth be told, I find this to be the best course in the facility. Never seen anything like it and is probably my favorite new course played in 2024.
Bowling BRNO Venus Course – Brno, Czech Republic – This might be the one controversial pick on the list. Many top international competitors opted out of the World Adventure Golf Masters (WAGM) in 2024 due to the difficulty of learning two courses but the specific challenges of the Venus course were particularly unappealing to some. This was easily the most challenging and grueling mini golf course I have played on. Even using specialized minigolf balls, it’s easy to drop multiple strokes on a single errant tee shot or misplayed deuce attempt. Despite this, I felt like I came around on this course after dialing in my tee shots and ball selection. Not for the faint of heart but an epic challenge for those who are willing to give it a whirl.
Adventure Golf Horní Bezděkov Front 18 Course – Horní Bezděkov-Unhošť, Czech Republic – Similar to the well-designed CityGolf competitive courses. Short holes/lanes with ample opportunities for holes-in-one. Love the setting and clubhouse.
Adventure Golf Horní Bezděkov Championship Course – Horní Bezděkov-Unhošť, Czech Republic – The back half of this mini golf facility has an 18-hole course that hosted the 2018 World Adventure Golf Masters. It’s a smartly designed red brick/green turfed course with fun challenges and a nice ambiance. The setting amongst the trees gives it an outdoorsy and relaxed feel that is accentuated by bridges, water features, and a beautiful wood log clubhouse. It’s all set in a pastoral setting less than an hour from Prague in the Czech Republic.
Championship Adventure Golf Landmark Course – New Brighton, England – Richard Jones, a fellow member of the Welsh Mini Golf Club, was eager to share his favorite mini golf course with me when he heard I was headed back to England and traveling up north. He knew that given my broad interest in mini golf I would enjoy the Landmark course given the large obstacles. He was not wrong. The scale and creativity in the course made up for some of the flaws that were mostly due to regular wear and tear.
Championship Adventure Golf Championship Course – New Brighton, England – I was thrilled that Richard Jones was eager to show me around his favorite mini golf course. At first glance, this massive and unique course looked like it might not play well or consistently but I found the course to be a fun and enjoyable challenge my first time around. I would gladly return to play a competitive event on this course and was pleased to see there will be a 2025 British Mini Golf Association (BMGA) event on these 18 holes.
Dino Falls -Manchester, England – I’ve played my share of dinosaur-themed courses but the scale of the two 18-hole courses, theming, and animatronics in the characters put it up in the ranks of the best courses featuring a prehistoric theme. I competed on the Rapids course and loved the mix of hole designs and environments. I never got to play the other 18-hole course in full but the variety of hole designs makes both courses appealing to play. Roar!
Treetop Golf – Cardiff, Wales – On the first part of my trip to England, I played a Treetop location in Manchester and quite enjoyed both of the 18-hole indoor adventure golf courses in that facility. I was told the Cardiff location was similar in layout, design, and theming with lots of interactive shoot-through obstacles, sound effects, background audio, and quality indoor putting lanes but in better condition. This proved to be true in my experience visiting and playing this location in the heart of Wales. The Ancient Explorer and Tropical Trail courses are high-quality indoor courses I wish we had in the US. They play equally well for the public and competitive play.
Aces Minigolf Gloucester – Gloucester, England – This course was on my bucket list to play based on all of the positives I heard from players who participated in the competitive mini golf circuit in England. It’s not surprising that it plays so well because the course proprietor, Seve Kukielka, is an incredible putter and has a deep passion for the game of mini golf. I came in with high expectations and wasn’t let down. This compact course located in the same facility as a garden centre (think a smaller Home Depot with a cafe and more home goods) offers a variety of gameplay where you can get a lot of hole-in-ones with both a single golf ball or minigolf balls. A must-play!
Strokes Adventure Golf – Margate, England – The other course on my bucket list to play in England was Strokes. It’s on the southeastern seaside and known for some incredibly challenging holes including #11, Heartbreak Ridge. I played the course numerous times over 4 days of practice and competition for the British Open. To score well on this course in tournaments, you need to learn how to utilize a variety of minigolf balls and get through holes 7-12 without getting in too much trouble. Well built to test your putting skills. 100% going to return to this course located in a beautiful setting.
