A round of crazy golf is one of those rare things that works for a stag do, a first date and a seven-year-old’s birthday alike, and Portsmouth, being a seaside city, has more of it than most. From pirate-themed courses on the Southsea front to a tidy little course in the park, here is where to play, with a short hop across the water thrown in for good measure.
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Most of it clusters around Clarence Pier and the Southsea seafront, so you can pair a round with the beach, the funfair or an ice cream without moving the car. We have noted which courses are indoor for a wet day and which are outdoor and seasonal, along with rough prices, though these move so check before you go.
Treasure Island Adventure Golf, Southsea seafront
The busiest and best known of the bunch, Treasure Island sits on Long Curtain Road right by Clarence Pier, with two separate nine-hole courses done out in full pirate fashion. You can play one or tackle all eighteen, clubs and balls are included, and there is a hole at the end where a hole-in-one wins a free game, which keeps the competitive types happy. It is outdoors, so a fair-weather outing, and a full eighteen takes a good hour. Reckon on roughly £6 to £8 an adult and a little less for children, and it stays open late into the evening in summer.
It is the one most people mean when they say crazy golf in Portsmouth, and it pairs nicely with a walk along the Southsea seafront afterwards.
The Putt Hutt, Clarence Pier
When the weather turns, The Putt Hutt is the answer. Part of the Billy Manning’s fairground at Clarence Pier, it is an indoor eighteen-hole crazy golf course with bright, fairground-themed holes that start easy and get sneakier as you go. Being indoors makes it a year-round, rain-or-shine option, and there is a café area to regroup in. It is open through the day, good value, and an easy add-on to a trip to the Clarence Pier funfair right next door.
Southsea Mini Golf, Canoe Lake
For something cheaper and more low-key, the little grass course at Canoe Lake, tucked into the park just back from the seafront, is proper old-fashioned mini golf. At around £3 to £4 a go it is the budget pick, there are ice creams on hand, and it suits younger children and anyone after a quick, gentle round rather than an epic. It is outdoors and seasonal, so save it for a dry day.
Solent Springs Adventure Golf, Gosport
Worth the short trip across the harbour, Solent Springs at Stokes Bay in Gosport is the pick for a proper pirate adventure, a well-kept twelve-hole course with ponds, themed features and more than one route on some holes. It takes the warmest reviews of any course around here. You can drive round, or, more fun, take the Gosport ferry across and make a morning of it at the bay. Expect about £6 an adult and £4 a child, and note it closes by late afternoon.
Nearly all of the Portsmouth courses sit within a few minutes of Clarence Pier, so that is the spot to aim for.
Which one to pick
If it is raining, The Putt Hutt indoors is the safe bet. For the classic seaside pirate round, Treasure Island has the scale and the buzz. With young children or a tight budget, Canoe Lake does the job for a few pounds, and for the best course of the lot, Solent Springs is worth the ferry. On a washout you could also swap the greens for the lanes at the city’s ten-pin bowling.
Whichever you choose, crazy golf is still the cheapest way in Portsmouth to turn a flat afternoon into a proper contest, and to settle, once and for all, who in the family has the steadier putt.
