- Source: World Crazy Golf Championships
The World Crazy Golf Championships (WCGC) have been staged since 2003 at the Adventure Golf Complex on Crazy Golf Course on the seafront of Hastings, East Sussex. From 2016, the World Crazy Golf Championships has taken place in June each year. The next event is scheduled to take place on 6, 7 & 8 June 2025.
Individual players from across the world contest for the trophy, including England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Finland, Germany, Czech Republic, Portugal and the United States. During the tournament's 22-year history (to 2024), only 7 different players have managed to lift the trophy.
Rules and history of the WCGC
The World Crazy Golf Championships is open to everyone with no age restriction. There are also categories for women, juniors and novices each having their own dedicated trophies. The World Championship Crazy Golf courses at Hastings Adventure Golf on the town's seafront contain many hazards and obstacles over the 18 holes, including a water wheel, a windmill, an obelisk, lighthouse, ramps, bends, twists, bunkers and a cave. The World Crazy Golf Championships is a miniature golf tournament which has its own unique playing rules, such as every player using the same type of ball, thus able to have a world championship competition of its own.
Up to 110 competitors (in 2019) play six qualifying rounds, four on the Saturday and two on Sunday, with just the lowest scoring 18 players making the cut to participate in the final round. Since 2010, the championship has been played on one course, the crazy golf, an Arnold Palmer type course with obstacles. Prior to this, it was played on two different 18 hole courses, the crazy golf and the former mini golf course. The winner now receives £1250 in prize money, and a further £2000 is distributed to the placed players.
In 2013 Czech teenager Olivia Prokopová became the first female winner and also the youngest ever champion at the age of 18.
The World Crazy Golf Championships are affiliated to the British Minigolf Association (BMGA) which is the governing body for minigolf sport, including crazy golf. The event was previously held in October, with the final played on Sunday afternoon, but later moved to the summer. In 2007, the mayor of Hastings watched the final and then presented the prizes and trophies to the winning players.