TOP-LEVEL minigolf came to north Hampshire on Sunday, with Basingstoke Golf Centre hosting the British Club Championship.

A total of 12 teams from across the country took part in the day-long competition on the centre’s nine-hole minigolf course, with a side from Kent Minigolf Club emerging as winners for the third successive year.

They beat a team from Cambridgeshire Minigolf Club in the final, with a side from The Midlands Minigolf Club claiming third place.

Winning captain Sean Homer said: “Retaining the British Club Championship was a proud moment for all of us at Kent Minigolf Club. We were confident going into the event that we could make it three titles in a row and the spirit and determination within the squad was high.”

Each team featured either three or four players, with the best three scores on every hole added together. The 12 teams were drawn into three pools of four, with each team playing each other once in matchplay format.

The top two sides from each pool, as well as the two best placed teams finishing third, qualified for the quarter-finals, the start of the knock-out stages.

The event was the first British Minigolf Association (BMGA) tournament held at the centre’s nine-hole course, which opened earlier this year.

Richard Gottfried, marketing and media officer for the BMGA, said: “Basingstoke Golf Centre’s minigolf course was a great setting for the tournament and proved a good test for the teams taking part. We’re looking forward to a return to Basingstoke for more BMGA tournaments in the future.”

The golf centre entered a team into the competition, with professional Tony Cook joining forces with Dave Ward and Charles Howard to compete as Basingstoke Minigolf Club. Sadly, they lost all three of their pool matches, as did another local team, Hampshire Minigolf Club.