5 alternative golf experiences around the UK

Not all golf courses are created in the same way – some are a little stranger than others. Here are 5 courses that break with tradition and bring a new angle to the game…

Birdies’ crazy holes. Pic courtesy of Matt Badenoch Photography.

Long fairways, 18-holes and beautiful surroundings – these are some of the features you’d expect to find in most golf courses in the UK. But not all. In a bid to make golf appeal to a wider audience, a new breed of golf course is heading to these shores, mixing social events with more relaxed versions of the much loved game.

Here are 5 of our favourite alternative golf courses…

Junkyard Golf
With courses in London and Manchester (and soon to be Skegness), this new way of playing the game combines a night out with the great game.

The London course has four 9-hole crazy golf courses that mix scrapyard slides and creepy clowns, with treehouse bars and the UV-lit garage section. Along the way, you can stop for a cocktail at one of its four bars, or nibble on retro snacks.

The Manchester one follows the same format but with just two courses – one based on the joys of Ayia Napa and the other a polluted jungle. A far cry from the gentle breezes found on the Old Course.

Ghetto Golf
Playing on similar themes as Junkyard Golf, this 18-hole crazy golf set up in Liverpool has a street food vibe with snacks like gluten-free hotdogs, its own bars and on-site DJs blasting out tunes while you putt your way through neon-hued holes.

And if you don’t fancy picking up your putter, you can simply watch your friends play as you relax in the bar area.

Birdies Crazy Golf
As the name suggests, this course gives you a birds-eye view of your surroundings from its rooftop location.

The bespoke 9-hole course serves up loops, half-pipes, hidden putt-off prizes and even an elevated 5ft drop onto the nerve-wracking sixth hole. And like the above, you can enjoy snacks and drinks.

This course moves around from location to location. It’s recently just finished its winter season in Peckham Rye. Before that it was on Roof East in Stratford. Where next has yet to be decided.

Leisure Land Golf’s past events. Pic courtesy of Thierry Ball

Leisure Land Golf
Another crazy golf course, but this one is a bit different. It’s part golf game, part art exhibition.

Each hole is designed by leading contemporary artists. The brainchild of Doug Fishbone, it’s already toured parts of the country, with holes from artists like Turner Prize nominee, Yinka Shonibare MBE, and John Akomfrah OBE.

Currently, there’s a crowdfunding campaign to bring the course to York Art Gallery.

Enjoy golf with a difference at Carden.

Carden’s Golf Day with a Difference
Carden has a great traditional golf course in the Cheshire countryside. But it’s decided to get in on the alternative scene with its ‘Golf Day with a Difference’ events.

These can be created to match your desires, and can include seasonally themed holes complete with palm tree and deck chairs, on site couches for breaks between holes, and pizza ovens and drinks van to keep your guests fed and watered.