Eternite Miniature golf course

Miniature golf, or minigolf, is a miniature version of the sport of golf. While the international sports organization World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF)^[1] prefers to use the name "minigolf", the general public in different countries has also many other names for the game: miniature golf, mini-golf, midget golf, goofy golf, shorties, extreme golf, crazy golf, adventure golf, mini-putt and so on. The name Putt-Putt is the trademark of an American company^[2] that builds and franchises miniature golf courses and Family Entertainment Centers. The term "Minigolf" was formerly a registered trademark of a Swedish company that built its own patented type of minigolf courses. Resort towns such as Myrtle Beach, SC, Branson, MO, Pigeon Forge, TN and Wisconsin Dells, WI are known for their numerous minigolf courses.^[3]

History[link]

Geometrically-shaped minigolf courses made of artificial materials (carpet) began to emerge during the early 20th century. The earliest documented mention of such a course is in the 8 June 1912 edition of The Illustrated London News, which introduces a minigolf course called Gofstacle.^[4]

The first standardized minigolf courses to enter commercial mass-production were the Thistle Dhu ("This'll Do") course 1916 in Pinehurst, North Carolina, and the 1927 Tom Thumb patent of Garnet Carter from Lookout Mountain, Tennessee. Thomas McCulloch Fairbairn, a golf fanatic, revolutionized the game in 1922 with his formulation of a suitable artificial green—a mixture of cottonseed hulls, sand, oil, and dye. With this discovery, miniature golf became accessible everywhere; by the late 1920s there were over 150 rooftop courses in New York City alone, and tens of thousands across the United States.^[5] This American minigolf boom of early 20th century came to an end during the economic depression in the late 1930s. Nearly all minigolf courses in the United States were closed and demolished before the end of 1930s.^[6] A rare surviving example from this period is the Tall Maples Miniature Golf Course located near Rochester, New York, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.^[7]

The first miniature golf course in Canada was at the Maples Inn in Pointe-Claire, Quebec. The "Mapes" was constructed as a summer home in the 1890s but was renovated into a club in 1902, opened to the public in 1914, and had a miniature golf course in 1930. The popular nightspot burned in 1985. (See: West Island Chronicle, June 29, 2008.)

European origins[link]

One of the first documented minigolf courses in mainland Europe was built in 1926 by Fr. Schröder in Hamburg, Germany. Mr. Schröder had been inspired by his visit to the United States, where he had seen minigolf courses spreading across the country.^[8]

In 1930 the gentlemen Edwin O. Norrman and Eskil Norman returned to Sweden from the United States, where they had stayed for several years and witnessed the golden days of the American minigolf boom. In 1931 they founded a company "Norman och Norrmans Miniatyrgolf", and began manufacturing standardized minigolf courses for the Swedish market. During the following years they spread this new leisure activity across Sweden, by installing minigolf courses in public parks and other suitable locations.^[8]

Swedish minigolf courses typically had a rectangular wooden frame surrounding the playing area made of tennis field sand^[9] (while the American manufacturers used newly-developed and patented felt as the surface of their minigolf courses). Felt did not become popular as a surface material in Sweden until in the mid-1960s—but since then it has become practically the only surface material used in Scandinavia and Britain, due to its favorable playing qualities in wet weather. (Minigolf courses with a felt surface can be played also in rainy weather, because water is absorbed through the felt into the ground. The other commonly used surface materials, beton and eternite, cannot be used in rainy weather, because the rainwater pools on them, stopping the ball from rolling.)

The Swedish Minigolf Federation (Svenska Bangolfförbundet)^[10] was founded in 1937, being the oldest minigolf sport organization in the world. National Swedish championships in minigolf have been played yearly since 1939.^[11] In other countries minigolf sport federations were not founded until the late 1950s, due to the post-war economical depression.

Competitive games[link]

The earliest documented minigolf competitions were played in the United States, however. The first National Tom Thumb Open minigolf tournament was arranged in 1930, with a total cash purse $10,000 (the top prize being $2,000). Qualification play-offs were played in all of the 48 states, and the final competition on Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, Tennessee attracted over 200 players representing thirty states.^[12] After the Depression ten years later, minigolf died out as a competition sport in America, and has begun to recover only during the most recent decades. Luckily enough, the American minigolf sport boom of 1930s inspired many European countries, and the fire of minigolf sport lived on in Europe even after the American game fell into Depression. There is a yearly championship held in Ohio, the current champion of 6 years is Alan Cheung.

Post-Depression USA[link]

In 1938 Joseph and Robert Taylor from Binghamton, New York started building and operating their own miniature golf courses. These courses differed from the ones in the late 20s and early 30s; they were no longer just rolls, banks, and curves, with an occasional pipe thrown in. Their courses not only had landscaping, but also obstacles, including windmills, castles, and wishing wells.

Impressed by the quality of the courses, many customers asked if the Taylors would build a course for them. By the early 1940s, Joe and Bob formed Taylor Brothers, and were in the business of building miniature golf courses and supplying obstacles to the industry. During both the Korean and Vietnam Wars, many a G.I. played on a Taylor Brothers prefabricated course that the U.S. Military had contracted to be built and shipped overseas.

By the late 50s most—if not all—supply catalogs carried Taylor Brothers' obstacles. In 1961 Bob Taylor, Don Clayton of Putt-Putt, and Frank Abramoff of Arnold Palmer Miniature Golf organized the first miniature golf association known as NAPCOMS (or the "National Association of Putting Course Operators, Manufacturers, and Suppliers"). Their first meeting was held in New York City. Though this organization only lasted a few years it was the first attempt to bring miniature golf operators together to promote miniature golf.

In 1955, Lomma Enterprises, Inc., founded by Al Lomma and his brother Ralph Lomma, led the revival of wacky, animated trick hazards. These hazards required both accurately aimed shots and split-second timing to avoid spinning windmill blades, revolving statuary, and other careening obstacles.

The book Tilting At Windmills (How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Sport) by Andy Miller tells the story of the formerly sports-hating author attempting to change by competing in miniature golf, including events in Denmark and Latvia.

In the United States, National Miniature Golf Day is held every second Saturday of May. The event had its inaugural celebration on May 12, 2007, and will be officially recognized and published in 2008's edition of Chase's Calendar of Events. Chase's is published by McGraw-Hill.

Other countries[link]

Minigolf has so far not reached wide popularity outside Europe and North America. The reason is probably economic, at least to some extent: the less wealthy countries invest their limited sports funds into such sports that enjoy widest public attention and media coverage, leaving the less popular sports with little or no funding at all. (Minigolf is one of the most popular outdoor games in Europe and America, though, but only as an occasional leisure activity, not as a competitive sport.)

Already in the 1950s the American Putt-Putt company exported their minigolf courses to South Africa, Australia, Japan, India, Italy, Pakistan, Argentina, Brazil, and the Eastern Bloc.^[13] Minigolf courses are found in all parts of the world, but their popularity is by far highest in USA, UK, New Zealand, Scandinavia, and central Europe.

Expansion of competition[link]

Nearly all European countries have an official national federation for promoting minigolf as a competition sport. The bi-annual European Championships attract competitors from more than twenty European countries.^[14] Outside Europe the only countries that have participated in international minigolf competitions are USA, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan. A national minigolf federation exists also in Moldova, Mexico, India, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand, but none of these countries have ever participated in international competitions, and probably are not arranging many domestic competitions either.^[15]

World Minigolfsport Federation represents some 40,000 registered competition players from 37 countries.^[16] The national minigolf federation of Germany has 11,000 members with a competing license,^[17] and the Swedish federation has 8,000 registered competition players.^[18] Other strong minigolf countries include Austria and Switzerland, each having a few thousand licensed competition players. Also Italy, Czech Republic and Netherlands have traditionally been able to send a strong team to international championships, even if they cannot count their licensed players in thousands.

The sceptre of competitive minigolf rests quite firmly in mainland Europe: no player from other countries (such as UK, USA, Japan et cetera) has ever reached even the top 50 in World Championships (in men's category).^[14] Nearly all national federations outside Europe were founded only quite recently (within the last 10 years), and it will take time before the players of these countries learn all secrets of the game. USA has a longer history of minigolf competitions, but the standardized European competition courses are practically unknown in USA, and therefore the American players have been unable to learn the secrets of European minigolf. On the traditional American courses the best American players are able to challenge the European top players into a tough and exciting competition.^[19]

The British Minigolf Association (BMGA) has an additional – and quite surprising – problem on their way to greater success in competitive minigolf. While the minigolf federations in mainland Europe receive annual funding from the government, in Britain the national sports organisation Sports England has refused to accept BMGA as its member – which means that BMGA is left without the public funding that other forms of sports enjoy. The rules of Sports England declare that only one variant of each sport can be accepted as member – and minigolf is interpreted as a variant of golf.^[16]

No person is known to be earning his living by competing in minigolf (although David "Doc" O'Connor has come close. His temper has reduced his earning capacity), so "professional" minigolf players do not exist in the full meaning of the concept. Many course owners and employees naturally earn their living by working at minigolf courses, and some of the best minigolf players earn their living from minigolf-related work, such as giving putting lessons to golf players.^[20]

The highest money prizes are paid in USA, where the winner of a major competition may earn up to 5,000 US dollars. In mainland Europe the money prizes are generally quite low, and in many cases honour is the only thing at stake in the competition. International championships usually award no money prizes at all.

In the US there are two organizations offering national tournaments: the Professional Putters Association and the US Pro Mini-Golf Association (USPMGA). The latter of these represents USA in the World Minigolfsport Federation, having been an active member since 1995. USPMGA President Robert Detwiler is also the WMF representative for North and South America.

New Israeli Minigolf Association was established on Feb2010 in Israel. Setting up, for the first time, league playing according the rules of WMF and USPMGA. Now, a series of lush and inviting minigolf parks in prime locations are building around Israel and will be offering this need of adventure to the public at very attractive surrounding. To support the business "Israel Minigolf Association" have the role of public relations promoting the minigolf parks and attracting the public. www.minigolf.org.il

Course types[link]

Felt course (front) and eternite course (rear), in Malmö

All competitions approved by World Minigolfsport Federation are played on standardized courses, whose design has been checked to be suitable for competitive play. The WMF currently approves four different course types:

• beton^[21] (abbreviated B, sometimes called "Bongni", "Minigolf" or "Abteilung 1")
• eternite^[22] (abbreviated E (in Sweden EB), sometimes called "Europabana", "Miniaturgolf" or "Abteilung 2"),
• felt^[23] (abbreviated F or SFR, sometimes called "Swedish felt runs"), and
• Minigolf Open System^[24] (abbreviated "O", "OS" or "MOS"). The latter non-standardized playing system, MOS, covers all minigolf courses that the three standardized systems (B, E, F) do not cover.

The world record on one round of minigolf is 18 strokes on 18 holes. More than a thousand players have officially achieved this score on eternite. On other playing systems a perfect round of 18 holes-in-one is extremely rare, and has never been scored in an official national or international tournament. Unofficial 18-rounds on concrete and felt courses have been reported in Sweden.^[18]

In addition to classical outdoor miniature golf, indoor "glow in the dark" miniature golf has achieved some popularity, especially in colder climates like Canada^[25] and Finland.^[26] It can be played throughout the year, and climate control allows building elaborate obstacles that would not withstand inclement weather. There are also a variety of portable miniature golf fairways or 'tracks'.^[27] that can be set up as temporary courses indoors or outdoors. The fairways are usually constructed of wooden or fibre-glass frames. Portable fairways are often used for summer festivals and fairs, corporate events, team-building events and product launches.

The 18th and final holes of many miniature golf courses are designed to literally capture the ball, effectively preventing the player from playing additional rounds without purchasing another game. This may be accomplished with a "drain" or trap-door hole setup that channels the ball to a lockbox. One popular method of theming the 18th hole in the United States is to use a gated, ramped target area depicting the face of a clown; if the ball lands "in" the clown's nose, a bell might sound and the player would win a discount ticket for another game.

International tournaments[link]

World Minigolfsport Federation (WMF), a member of AGFIS, organises World Championships bi-annually (on odd-numbered years), while the continental championships in Europe and Asia are organized on even-numbered years. Many of these competitions are arranged for three age groups: juniors (under 20 years), adults (no age limit), and seniors (over 45 years).^[28] Men and women compete separately in their own categories, except in some team competitions and pair competitions. The difference in the playing skills of men and women is very small on top level, however: it is not unheard-of that the best player in a major international tournament is female. Typically the winner in women's category would be very close to medals also in men's category.^[29]

The reigning minigolf world champion (2011) in men's category is Walter Erlbruch of Germany, and in women's category Bianca Oberweg of Germany. In team competition the reigning world champion (2011)is Sweden in men's category and Germany in women's category. In strokeplay competition the reigning world champion (2011) in men's category is Filiph Svensson of Sweden, and in women's category Stefanie Kern of Germany.

The reigning European champion (2010) in men's category is Erik Tiekstra of the Netherlands, and in women's category Rebecca Weber of Switzerland.^[30] In team competition the reigning European champion (2010) is Germany in men's category, and Switzerland in women's category.

The most renowned annual minigolf tournament for club teams is the European Cup. The reigning champion of European Cup 2011 is Uppsala BGK of Sweden in the men's category and MGC Mainz of Germany in the women's category. World and European Championships have so far never been arranged on MOS courses (which are popular in USA and UK, and were approved by WMF for competition use only a few years ago). International competitions are typically arranged on two courses of 18 holes, of which one course is eternite, and the other course is usually concrete, less commonly felt. In the future, the WMF is expected to use also MOS courses in international championships – which will give American and British players a chance to show their skills on their own traditional course types.

The most prestigious MOS minigolf competitions in the world are US Masters, US Open, British Open, World Crazy Golf Championships and the World Adventuregolf Masters. The reigning champions are:

• US Masters 2011: Jay Klapper of USA
• US Open 2011: Olivia Prokopova of Czech Republic
• British Open 2011: Marc Chapman of Great Britain
• World Crazy Golf 2011: Michael Smith of Great Britain
• World Adventuregolf Masters 2011: Martin Stöckle of Germany^[31]

Another miniature golf tournament is the Harris Cup in the United States. The Harris Cup, which is run by the Harris Miniature Golf Company, hands out $10,000 USD in prizes at their annual tournament. The 2007 event was held at Lahey Family Fun Park in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, and was won by Rod Miller from Columbus, Ohio.^[32]

Miniature golf on the screen[link]

Miniature golf has featured in both film and TV including:

• The Simpsons, which featured a grisly miniature golf related decapitation of Abraham Lincoln.
• Overboard (1987 film), in which Kurt Russell dreams of building a course based on the 7 Wonders of the World.
• The Tee Off, Mr. Bean episode of Mr Bean.
• The Entertaining Father Stone episode of Father Ted, in which Father Stone was struck by lightning after the windmill fell over.
• In the late 1960s syndicated half hour programs featuring an 18 hole match between professionals on a trademark Putt-Putt course in Florida were shown on some TV stations.

See also[link]

• Professional Putters Association
• M.C. Mini Masters, a unique annual amateur miniature golf tournament
• Défi mini-putt, a 1990s televised mini-golf series Quebec
• Sholf
• Pitch and putt
• Mini-Putt
• Variations of golf

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Miniature golf

• World records in minigolf
• WMF - World Minigolfsport Federation (WMF)
• EMF - European Minigolfsport Federation (EMF)
• Minigolfnews - The worlds leading Minigolf Related News site
• Miniature Golf Courses in the United States
• Champions and Hall of Fame Members of the Pro Putters Association and Amateur Putters Association
• The Artistic History of Miniature Golf
• History of miniature golf
• The Putting Penguin - Miniature Golf Course review site, with courses from around the world
• British Minigolf Association - British Minigolf Association

Mr. Bean is a British comedy television programme series of 14 half-hour episodes written by and starring Rowan Atkinson as the title character. Different episodes were also written by Robin Driscoll, Richard Curtis and one by Ben Elton. The pilot episode was broadcast on ITV on 1 January 1990, with the last television episode, "Goodnight Mr. Bean" broadcast on 31 October 1995.^[2] The final episode, "Hair by Mr. Bean of London", was a video exclusive released on 15 November 1995, but not broadcast in the UK until 2006.

Based on a character originally developed by Atkinson while he was studying for his master's degree at Oxford University, the series follows the exploits of Mr. Bean, described by Atkinson as "a child in a grown man's body", in solving various problems presented by everyday tasks and often causing disruption in the process.^[3] Bean rarely speaks, and the largely physical humour of the series is derived from his interactions with other people and his unusual solutions to situations. The series was influenced by physical performers such as Jacques Tati and comic actors from silent films.^[3]

During its five-year run, the series gained large UK audience figures, including 18.74 million for the 1991 episode "The Trouble With Mr. Bean".^[4] The series has been the recipient of a number of international awards, including the Rose d'Or. The show has been sold in 245 territories worldwide, and has inspired an animated cartoon spin-off and two feature films.^[5]

Origins and influences[link]

The character of Mr. Bean was developed while Atkinson was studying for his master's degree at Oxford University. A sketch featuring the character was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in the early 1980s.^[6] A similar character called Robert Box, played by Atkinson, appeared in the one-off 1979 ITV sitcom Canned Laughter, which also featured routines used in the 1997 film Bean.^[7] In 1987, one of Mr. Bean's earliest appearances occurred at the "Just For Laughs" comedy festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. When programme co-ordinators were scheduling Atkinson into the festival program, Atkinson insisted that he perform on the French-speaking bill rather than the English-speaking program. Having no French dialogue in his act at all, program co-ordinators could not understand why Atkinson wanted to perform on the French bill. As it turned out, Atkinson's act at the festival was a test platform for the Mr. Bean character and Atkinson wanted to see how the silent character's physical comedy would fare on an international stage with a non-English speaking audience.^[8]

The name of the character was not decided until after the first programme had been produced, with a number of other vegetable-influenced names, such as "Mr. Cauliflower", being explored.^[9] Atkinson cited the earlier comedy character Monsieur Hulot, created by French comedian and director Jacques Tati, as an influence on the character.^[10] Stylistically, Mr. Bean is also very similar to early silent films, relying purely upon physical comedy, with Mr. Bean speaking very little dialogue (although like other live-action TV series of the time, it features a laugh track). This has allowed the series to be sold worldwide without any significant changes to dialogue.^[8][11]

Characters and recurring props[link]

Mr. Bean[link]

The title character, played by Rowan Atkinson, is a childish and selfish buffoon who brings various unusual schemes and contrivances to everyday tasks. He lives alone in his small flat in Highbury, and is almost always seen in his trademark tweed jacket and a skinny red tie. He also usually wears a digital calculator watch. Mr. Bean rarely speaks, and when he does, it is generally only a few mumbled words which are in a comically low-pitched voice. His first name (he names himself "Bean" to others) and profession, if any, are never mentioned. In the first film adaptation, "Mr." appears on his passport in the "first name" field, and he is shown employed as a guard at London's National Gallery.^[12] In Mr. Bean's Holiday, however, his name is listed on his passport as "Rowan", the actor's first name.^[13]

Mr. Bean often seems unaware of basic aspects of the way the world works, and the programme usually features his attempts at what would normally be considered simple tasks, such as going swimming, using a television set, redecorating or going to church. The humour largely comes from his original (and often absurd) solutions to problems and his total disregard for others when solving them, his pettiness, and occasional malevolence.

At the beginning of episode two onwards, Mr. Bean falls from the sky in a beam of light, accompanied by a choir singing Ecce homo qui est faba ("Behold the man who is a bean"). These opening sequences were initially in black and white in episodes 2 and 3, and were intended by the producers to show his status as an "ordinary man cast into the spotlight". However, later episodes showed Mr. Bean dropping from the night sky in a deserted London street, against the backdrop of St. Paul's Cathedral, perhaps suggesting Bean is an alien. At the end of episodes 3 and 6 he is also shown being sucked right back up into the sky in the respective background scenes (black scene in episode 3 and street scene in episode 6). Atkinson himself has acknowledged that Bean "has a slightly alien aspect to him".^[14] In the animated series (episode 38, "Double Trouble") he is taken inside a spacecraft with "aliens" who look exactly like him and even have their own plushy toys. In an obvious homage, the aliens send him back home in a beam of light similar to the opening of the original Mr. Bean series. Whether Mr. Bean himself is an extraterrestrial is not clear. Mr. Bean lives in Flat 2, 12 Arbour Road, London, England.^[15]

Teddy[link]

Teddy is Mr. Bean's teddy bear and perhaps Mr. Bean's best friend. The bear is a dark brown, knitted oddity with button eyes and sausage-shaped limbs, invariably ending up broken in half or in various other states of destruction and disfiguration. Although Teddy is inanimate, Mr. Bean often pretends it is alive. For example, when Mr. Bean hypnotises Teddy, he snaps his fingers and the bear's head falls backwards as if it has fallen asleep instantly (Bean used his finger to prop Teddy's head up). Mr. Bean behaves as if the bear is real, buying it a Christmas present or trying not to wake it in the mornings. The bear is often privy to Mr. Bean's various schemes and doubles as a dish cloth or paint brush in an emergency; it has been decapitated ("Mr. Bean in Room 426"), used Teddy as his paint brush ("Do-It-Yourself Mr. Bean") and shrunk in the wash ("Tee Off, Mr. Bean"). Teddy is also Mr. Bean's "pet" in "Hair by Mr. Bean of London" and is used to win a pet show. The Teddy that was used in filming sits in the windshield of the replica of Mr. Bean's mini that is on display at the National Motor Museum. Over the years, Teddy has undergone several changes. When it debuted on "The Trouble with Mr. Bean", it had a smaller head. Two episodes later, its head reached its current size, but its "eye" wasn't present until Bean placed gold thumb tacks on its face. The "eyes" have since been replaced with two small white buttons sewn over Teddy's face, giving it a distinct image.

Mr. Bean's car[link]

Rowan Atkinson demonstrating a famous scene from the Mr. Bean episode "Do-It-Yourself Mr. Bean" on a Mini at Goodwood Circuit in 2009

Mr. Bean's car, a British Leyland Mini 1000, developed a character of sorts over the series and was central to several antics, such as Mr. Bean getting dressed in it, driving while sitting in an armchair strapped to the roof or attempting to avoid a parking garage toll by driving out through the entrance.

At first, an orange 1969 BMC Mini MK II (registration RNT 996H) was Mr. Bean's vehicle, but this was destroyed in an off-screen crash at the end of the first episode. From then on, the car was a 1976 model (registration SLW 287R), applejack green in colour^[16] with a matte black bonnet. It made its first appearance in "The Curse of Mr. Bean".

The Mini also had a number of innovative security measures, for example Bean uses a bolt-latch and padlock, rather than the lock fitted to the car, and removes the steering wheel instead of the key. These formed a running joke in several episodes, at one point deterring a car thief. The car, confused with another demonstration car of exactly the same model and colours (but no padlock) (registration ACW 497V), was crushed by a tank in "Back to School, Mr. Bean", but returned in later episodes, perhaps having actually been the identical demonstration car from that point on.

Mr. Bean has a long-running feud with the unseen driver of a light blue Reliant Regal Supervan III (registration GRA 26K), which will usually get turned over, crashed out of its parking space and so forth. This conflict originated in the first episode, when the Reliant's driver held the Mini up on the way to a mathematics exam, and subsequently became a running joke throughout the series.

Both the Mini and the Reliant re-appeared as characters in the animated Mr. Bean cartoons, and in the film Mr. Bean's Holiday, yet another Mini, registration YGL 572T, appears. Also seen is a left hand drive version of his Mini, owned by the character Sabine which has a French registration.(registration 207 UHO 75). For the 1997 feature film a sequence involving the Mini driving through Harrod's Department Store was shot, but this was not included in the final cut.^[17][18] In the animated series, his Mini's registration plate number is STE 952R.

After filming ended, the original Mini used in filming was sold to Kariker Kars to be hired for various events. It was then temporarily displayed as a major attraction at the Rover Group's museum. In 1997, it was purchased by the Cars of the Stars Motor Museum and is now on display at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu.^[19]

Irma Gobb[link]

Mr. Bean's "girlfriend", Irma Gobb, played by Matilda Ziegler, appeared in a number of episodes. She is treated relatively inconsiderately by Bean, who appears to regard her more as a friend and companion than a love interest. However, he does become jealous when she dances with another man at a disco in "Mr. Bean Goes to Town", and she certainly expects him to propose to her on Christmas Day in "Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean", with his failure to do so resulting in her leaving him for good (she does not appear in any subsequent episodes). The character later appeared in the animated series. The spin-off book Mr. Bean's Diary (1993) states that Mr. Bean met Irma Gobb at a local library.^[20]

Prior to the episode Merry Christmas Mr. Bean, Irma's name is not revealed. In "The Curse of Mr. Bean" and "Mr. Bean Goes to Town," the character is credited as "the girlfriend."

Other characters[link]

Although Mr. Bean is the only significant human character in the programme, others appear, usually as foils for his various antics. Other than his girlfriend, Mr. Bean's only friends appear to be Hubert and Rupert, who appear as Bean's New Year's party guests in the episode "Do-It-Yourself, Mr. Bean" (although they altered his living room clock and fled to the party in the flat opposite, gaining real friends in the process) and Robin Driscoll appears in many episodes as various characters. However, several notable British actors and comedians appear alongside Atkinson in sketches as various one-off supporting characters, including Richard Briers, Angus Deayton, Nick Hancock, Paul Bown, Caroline Quentin, Danny La Rue, Roger Lloyd Pack, David Schneider and Richard Wilson.^[21]

Production and broadcast[link]

The programme was produced by Tiger Television (later Tiger Aspect Productions) for Thames Television from 1990 to 1992 and for Central Independent Television from 1993 to 1995. Rather than being shown as a series, each episode of Mr. Bean was produced individually, and broadcast at intermittent intervals on the ITV network in the United Kingdom across six years, often around New Year. The episode "Hair by Mr. Bean of London" has not been broadcast on ITV, but was instead reserved for video release. After its original run it has been shown repeatedly on PBS and satellite channels such as Telemundo in the United States, CBC in Canada, TV1 in Australia, TVB in Hong Kong, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and ITV3 in the UK, Disney Channel Asia in Southeast Asia, TV3 in Malaysia, MediaCorp TV Channel 5 in Singapore and RCTI in Indonesia.^[22] Digital channel ITV3 began rebroadcasting the series on 5 January 2010, and again on 24 May 2010. In Pakistan it has been aired on a number of channels such as Cartoon Network, Starlite TV, Raavi and on Syndicated Networks as well.

The record-selling UK videos were withdrawn shortly before the release of Bean, and DVDs were released on an annual basis as of 2004.

Episode guide[link]

Music[link]

Mr. Bean features a choral theme tune written by Howard Goodall and performed by the Choir of Southwark Cathedral (later Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford). The words sung during the title sequences are in Latin:

• Ecce homo qui est faba – "Behold the man who is a bean" (sung at beginning)
• Finis partis primae – "End of part one" (sung before the advertisement break)
• Pars secunda – "Part two" (sung after the advertisement break)
• Vale homo qui est faba – "Farewell, man who is a bean" (sung at end)

The theme was later released on Goodall's album Choral Works. Goodall also wrote an accompanying music track for many episodes. The first episode of Mr. Bean did not feature the choral theme tune, but instead an up-beat instrumental piece, also composed by Howard Goodall, which was more an incidental tune than a theme. It was used while Bean drove between locations intimidating the blue Reliant, and as such, was sometimes heard in later episodes whenever Bean's nemesis is seen.

In the episode "Tee Off, Mr. Bean" Howard Goodall's choral theme tune for another Richard Curtis comedy, The Vicar of Dibley, is heard playing on a car stereo. In Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean., while playing with Queen's Royal Guards figurines and the nativity set, he hums "The British Grenadiers", which was quoted in the theme to Blackadder Goes Forth.^[23]

Mr. Bean appears in a music video made for the 1991 Comic Relief fund raising single by Hale and Pace called The Stonk.^[24] Mr. Bean also appeared in the music video for Boyzone's single Picture Of You in 1997.^[25] The song featured on the soundtrack to the first Bean movie.

Mr Bean also made a Comic Relief record in 1992. This was (I Want To Be) Elected and was credited to "Mr Bean and Smear Campaign featuring Bruce Dickinson". This was a cover of an Alice Cooper song and reached number 9 in the UK singles chart.^[26]

Awards[link]

The first episode won the Golden Rose, as well as two other major prizes at the 1991 Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival in Montreux.^[27] In the UK, the episode "The Curse of Mr. Bean" was nominated for a number of BAFTA awards; "Best Light Entertainment Programme" in 1991, "Best Comedy" (Programme or Series) in 1991, and Atkinson was nominated three times for "Best Light Entertainment Performance" in 1991 and 1994.^[28]

Spin-offs[link]

The animated series[link]

Bean was revived in a 2002–2004 animated cartoon series, again featuring little dialogue, with most being either little soundbites or mumbling. The series, which consist of 26 episodes (with 2 segments each), expanded the number of additional characters, featuring Bean's unpleasant landlady, Mrs. Wicket, and her evil one-eyed cat, Scrapper. Atkinson provided the voice for Bean, and all of the animated Bean actions are taken from Atkinson himself. Other characters' voices are provided by Jon Glover, Rupert Degas, Gary Martin and Lorelei King.^[29] A video game based on the Animated series was released on 14 December 2007 and was a third person platformer. The games were released on PAL only for PS2, Nintendo DS, and Wii (called Mr. Bean's Wacky World).

Film adaptations[link]

Two films featuring Bean have been released. The first, Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie was directed by Mel Smith and released in 1997. This broke from the programme's tradition by using a subplot with more developed characters – instead of being the sole centre of attention, Bean here interacted with a suburban Californian family he stayed with while overseeing the transfer of Whistler's Mother to a Los Angeles art gallery. The film grossed over US$250 million globally ($45 million in the USA)^[30] on a budget estimated at $22 million.^[31]

News broke out in March 2005 that a second Bean film, Mr. Bean's Holiday was in development, with Atkinson returning in the title role. The film had been through several changes of name during its development, including Bean 2 and French Bean.^[32] Filming began on 15 May 2006 and began post-production in October 2006. It was released in the UK on 30 March 2007. On 17 July 2007, the North American premiere was held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, at the Just For Laughs festival; the launching pad for the Mr. Bean character 20 years earlier.^[8] The film was then released nationwide in North America on 24 August 2007. The film follows Bean on an eventful journey across France for a holiday in the French Riviera, which after a number of misfortunes culminates in an unscheduled screening of his video diary at the Cannes Film Festival. It was directed by Steve Bendelack and, according to Atkinson, is the last appearance of Bean.^[33] It grossed nearly US$230 million globally ($33 million in the USA).^[34]

Books[link]

Two books were released related to the original series: Mr. Bean's Diary in 1991 and Mr. Bean's Pocket Diary in 1994. The two books have identical content and differ only in the format in which they are printed. The content of both is a template diary with handwritten content scrawled in by Mr. Bean. They provide some additional information on the setting: for example, they establish that Mr. Bean lives in Highbury and rents his flat from a landlady named Mrs. Wicket. They confirm the name of Mr. Bean's girlfriend as "Irma Gobb", and also give the name of the other man she actually dances with in Mr. Bean Goes to Town (Giles Gummer). An additional book called Mr. Bean's Diary was released in 2002 to accompany the animated series; this book was also graded as a children's reader.

Video and DVD releases[link]

The series was available on a number of Thames Television VHS compilations. In the United Kingdom (Region 2), episodes of Mr. Bean were released on a yearly basis by Universal Pictures UK from 2004. The complete collection is now available, including the two feature films and other extras. In the United States (Region 1), the complete series has been available since 2003 on A&E Home Video as "The Whole Bean".

In August 2009 an official YouTube channel was launched featuring content from the live action and animated series.^[35]

DVD format[link]

Volumes

Best of Mr. Bean

VHS format[link]

Popular culture[link]

The sale of Mr Bean worldwide has enabled his character to secure a place in the popular culture of several countries. Notably, a number of public figures have been compared to the character, usually as an insult. Tony Blair, then-Prime Minister of the United Kingdom was identified by Homer Simpson as "Mr. Bean" when his cartoon form greeted the Simpsons to the United Kingdom in an episode of the eponymous programme, allegedly demonstrating the stereotypical view of the British by Americans.^[36]

Arthur Batchelor, one of the Royal Navy captives held by Iran during the 2007 Iranian seizure of Royal Navy personnel, has stated that some of his captors had mocked him calling him "Mr. Bean".^[37] NRL Referee Sean Hampstead is regularly nicknamed "Mr. Bean" in nationally broadcast commentary by Australian television/radio personality Ray Warren as a result of his similar appearance. In 2007, Vincent Cable, the acting leader of the Liberal Democrats, described the recent decline in Prime Minister Gordon Brown's fortunes as his "remarkable transformation in the last few weeks from Stalin to Mr. Bean".^[38] The Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is often mocked in his own country for his facial resemblance to Mr. Bean, and a computer hacker broke into Spain's official website for its presidency of the European Union, inserting the character on the front page of the website. Satirists have also compared Zapatero to Mr. Bean when discussing government policies that are deemed to have been unsuccessful.^[39]

Several of the visual jokes in the series have been used as experiments on the Discovery Channel's MythBusters series. In episode 52 – "Mind Control", the idea of painting a room with a stick of explosives (Firework, or other) placed in a paint can, as in the episode "Do-It-Yourself, Mr. Bean", was tested and deemed impossible, as adequate coverage was not achieved.^[40]

An image of Mr. Bean has also been used as an internet meme usually accompanied by the statement, "if you know what I mean."^{[citation needed]}

Though Rowan Atkinson is not typecast to characters like Mr. Bean, he has played similar characters in other works, such as Enrico in the 2001 film Rat Race.

In Tetsuo Hara and Buronson's manga Souten no Ken, a parody of Mr. Bean can be found in a minor character appearing in chapter 45, contained in vol. 5. In it, a barman identical to Mr. Bean tends the main character Kenshiro Kasumi, for comic relief.^[41]

In the videogame Resident Evil 2, during the opening sequence in the streets of Raccoon City, Mr. Bean's British Leyland Mini 1000 can be seen parked against a barricade.

See also[link]

• List of films based on British sitcoms
• Uncle Max
• Jacques Tati
• Ernest P. Worrell

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Mr. Bean website
• Mr. Bean at the Internet Movie Database
• Mr. Bean at TV.com
• Mr. Bean: The Animated Series at the Internet Movie Database
• Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie at the Internet Movie Database
• Mr. Bean's Holiday at the Internet Movie Database
• Filming locations from Mr Bean

v t e Richard Curtis Screenplays The Tall Guy (1989) Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) Bean (1997) Notting Hill (1999) Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) Love Actually (2003) Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) The Boat That Rocked (2009) War Horse (2011) Director Love Actually (2003) The Boat That Rocked (2009) Producer Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) Bean (1997) Notting Hill (1999) Sixty Six (2006) Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007) The Boat That Rocked (2009) Television Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979–1982) The Black Adder (1983) Spitting Image (1984–1985) Blackadder II (1986) Blackadder the Third (1987) Blackadder Goes Forth (1989) Mr. Bean (1990–1995) Bernard and the Genie (1991) The Vicar of Dibley (1994–2007) Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death (1999) Blackadder: Back & Forth (1999) The Girl in the Café (2005) Casualty (2007) The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (2008) Doctor Who: "Vincent and the Doctor" (2010) Other works Comic Relief The Atkinson People (1979) Dead on Time (1983) No Pressure (2010)

Retief Goosen
Personal information
Full name	Retief Goosen
Nickname	The Goose, Iceman
Born	(1969-02-03) 3 February 1969 (age 43) Pietersburg, South Africa
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
Nationality	South Africa
Residence	Polokwane, South Africa Virginia Water, England Orlando, Florida, U.S.
Spouse	Tracy (m.2001)
Children	Leo (b.2003), Ella (b.2004)
Career
Turned professional	1990
Current tour(s)	European Tour (joined 1993) PGA Tour (joined 2001) Sunshine Tour (joined 1990)
Professional wins	44
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	7
European Tour	14 (tied 15th all time)
Asian Tour	4
Sunshine Tour	9 (tied 21st all time)
Other	14
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 2)
Masters Tournament	2nd/T2: 2002, 2007
U.S. Open	Won: 2001, 2004
The Open Championship	T5: 2005, 2009
PGA Championship	T6: 2005
Achievements and awards
European Tour Order of Merit winner	2001, 2002
European Tour Player of the Year	2001

Retief Goosen (born 3 February 1969) is a South African professional golfer who has been in the top ten in the Official World Golf Rankings for over 250 weeks between 2001 and 2007.^[1] His main achievements have been two U.S. Open wins (in 2001 and 2004) and heading the European Tour Order of Merit (money list) in 2001 and 2002.

Early life[link]

Goosen was born in Pietersburg (now Polokwane), South Africa. He is the son of Theo Goosen, a local real estate agent and amateur golfer who introduced the game of golf to Retief at an early age. Theo took a strict approach to parenting. "Look, I never made life easy for my kids," said Theo "We never spoiled them. We never pleasurized them." Goosen even admits that his father put pressure on him.^[2] When Goosen was fifteen he was golfing with his friend Henri Potgieter at Pietersburg Golf Club. They were playing through a small drizzle when lightning struck. Henri was knocked from his feet and when he stood back up saw Retief lying on the ground on his back. Henri retold the story to Golf World "I wanted to know his reaction. What I did see was his golf clubs and his golf bag. Then I saw him lying on his back. His tongue was down his throat and his eyes were backward, and he was breathing weird. He had no clothes on; they'd been burned from his body. I remember picking up his spectacles. I didn't know what to do. It looked like he was dead. I was screaming for help. Fortunately, there were guys teeing off on the 12th hole. They came running toward us. From then on, I can't remember much. They picked him up and put him in a car." Goosen's shoes had disintegrated from his feet, his underwear and watch band had melted to his body. He retains a scar on his wrist from the incident. He was unable to put his shoes on for weeks afterwards. He recovered enough to grab another set of clubs and take up the game a few weeks later. Goosen doesn't remember the events that happened, but his father took his son's survival as a sign from God as good things to come.^[3]

Career summary[link]

At a glance[link]

Goosen turned professional in October 1990, following a win in the South African Amateur Championship of the same year in July. He won the European Tour's Qualifying School in 1992 and enjoyed success on the Tour between 1992 and 2000, but it was not until 2001 where he made his name in America with a U.S. Open win on a very tough Southern Hills Country Club golf course. He nearly lost his chance at victory after three putting from 12 feet, missing a two foot put on the final green, but managed to recover to make a playoff with the 1996 PGA Championship winner Mark Brooks. Goosen dominated the next day's 18-hole playoff, eventually winning by two strokes. Later that summer, he completed his second wire-to-wire victory of the year at The Scottish Open at Loch Lomond. He finished 2001 with three wins, 11 top-tens and the European Tour Order of Merit and followed it up with another in 2002 he also became the first non-European to win the Order of Merit. After his third win of the 2001 season, he rose to a career-high 11th in the world rankings. In 2002, he won on both the PGA Tour and European Tour for the second straight year, a feat that would last for three more years. He won a second U.S. Open in 2004, where he had 11 one-putts in the final round at a tough test at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. He then rose to his career high world ranking position of 3rd. He won on the PGA Tour each year from 2001 to 2005 with six wins, and he added a seventh win in March 2009 at the Transitions Championship.

1992–2001[link]

After winning medalist at the European Tour's Q-School in 1992, Goosen played 3 seasons before winning his first event in 1996 at the Slaley Hall Northumberland Challenge. He won the Alfred Dunhill Cup in 1997 and 1998 with Ernie Els and David Frost.

Goosen played in the 2000 Presidents Cup where the U.S. team won, but Goosen scored 2 points in total in his 1st appearance in the event.

Goosen won four times on the European Tour between 1996 and 2000, before his breakthrough year in the United States with his 2001 U.S. Open win.

Two weeks after the U.S. Open win of 2001, Goosen won on the European Tour at The Scottish Open at Loch Lomond. This win secured Goosen the Player of the Month for June 2001 on the European Tour. He would add another win late in the year and win the European Tour Order of Merit and the Player of the Year on the European Tour.

2001: The first U.S. Open[link]

Goosen was in contention in the U.S. Open in 2001 all week, and battled Mark Brooks and Stewart Cink during the final round. After Brooks had posted 4 under par, Goosen at 5 under coming up 18, and Cink having a chance to win until he three-putted the 71st hole leaving the battle for the trophy a two man race between Brooks and Goosen. After Goosen hit his approach to 12 feet on 18, he had 2 putts to win and victory seemed imminent. Goosen put his first putt past the hole and was left with 22 inches for victory. The putt was pulled by Goosen and ran across the right edge of the cup and Goosen had to knock in a putt longer than his previous putt to force a playoff with Brooks.

Goosen won the Monday 18-hole playoff by 2 strokes with an even-par 70 and Brooks shooting a 2-over-par 72. It was Goosen's first victory on U.S. soil. He would finish 47th on the PGA Tour money list with over $1,047,000 in a restricted season shared between the PGA and European Tours.

2002–2003[link]

A good stretch for Goosen. He won the European Tour Order of Merit for a second straight year for a season that included a win at the Johnnie Walker Classic by a commanding margin of 8 strokes. He had eight other top-10s on the season, two runner-up finishes, including a 2nd place to Tiger Woods at The Masters. Goosen won the money title in the end by a slim margin over Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke. Goosen would also grab his second win in the U.S. at the BellSouth Classic in April on the PGA Tour.

In 2003, Goosen won his second Trophee Lancome title in its final playing. It was his lone win on the European Tour in 2003, though he had five other top-10s on the season. 2003 was the first season where he played most of his events in the United States. He picked up his 3rd tour win at the Chrysler Championship in October. His 2003 season included 17 of 19 cuts made, 9 top-10s, a win and over $3,100,000 in earnings.

Goosen played in the Presidents Cup for the International team where he scored 3 points for the week that ended with a tie because Tiger Woods and Ernie Els were involved in a playoff that was not over at sundown, so captains Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus decided that the 2003 matches would be a draw.

2004: The second U.S. Open[link]

Goosen's second major title came at the 2004 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. The USGA had prepared extremely tough conditions which were later argued by players as "unfair."^[4] The final-round scoring average of 78.7 was the second-highest since World War II, with only Goosen and Phil Mickelson finishing under par.^[5] He eventually won by two strokes over Mickelson as both men shot 1-over-par rounds of 71. Goosen had 11 one-putt greens on Sunday and 31 one-putts for the championship. He only needed 24 putts on the day in what is remembered as one of the most clutch putting performances in U.S. Open history. 2004 was the start of the "Big Five Era" which is used in describing the era in golf where Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, and Phil Mickelson dominated the game of golf. The five switched up and down the top five positions in the Official World Golf Rankings; most notably Singh's derailing of Woods as the number one golfer in the world. The five stayed, for the most part in the top five spots from 2004 till the start of 2007. Nine majors were won between them many fighting against each other head to head.

Goosen would win the Tour Championship in November 2004, coming from four strokes behind on the final round with a 6-under-par 64 to win by four strokes over Tiger Woods. It was his second Tour win on the season and it secured him a career high 6th place finish on the 2004 money list.^[6]

2005–2006[link]

In 2005 Goosen was in pursuit of his third U.S. Open and his second in a row, leading by three strokes after three rounds of golf at the Pinehurst No. 2 course. However, he disappeared in the final round with a score of 81 and he ended up finishing in 11th place. In an interview after his round Goosen said "I messed up badly. I obviously threw this one away."^[7]

Even though Goosen threw away the U.S. Open in 2005 finishing T11, it was his worst finish in a major in 2005, finishing T3 at The Masters, T5 at The Open Championship and a T6 at the PGA Championship. he would win The International^[8] by one point over Brandt Jobe for his 6th career win. His 2005 season included 8 top 10s, and over $3.4 million in earnings.

Goosen played in his 3rd Presidents Cup in 2005, at an event where he defeated Tiger Woods in Sunday's singles matches and finished with 4 points. The final score was 18½ – 15½ for the United States.^[9]

Goosen looking over a putt at the 2006 Chrysler Championship

Goosen has been a consistent player: he has won internationally every year since 1995, and also won a PGA Tour event every year from 2001 to 2005. Additionally, he has spent a long period of time in the top 5 of the Official World Golf Rankings, and in 2006 reached a career-best third place after a runner-up finish at The Players Championship to Stephen Ames and 5 other top 10s on the season. He also won on the European Tour at the South African Airways Open and at the Volkswagen Masters-China on the Asian Tour. He also won his match during the challenge season at the People vs. The Pros^[10] event. But from early 2007 to late 2008 he had had a dip in performance.

2007–2008: Career low[link]

2007 was an average season for Goosen's standards; a victory at the Qatar Masters in January – when he finished birdie-eagle for the win, looked to be a sign of things to come along with being the European Tour player of the month in January. Goosen posed a threat on the final day at The Masters. He held the lead till a bogey on the par-three twelve, Goosen failed to rebound paring each of his six remaining holes. He finished tied for second, two behind Zach Johnson. However after the Masters Goosen's best finish throughout the rest of the year was a tie for 15th at the BMW Asian Open, and he ended 2007 having slumped down to 26th in the world rankings.

Goosen's statistics on the PGA Tour at this time were surprisingly low. He was outside the top 100 in ball striking, greens in regulation, driving accuracy, distance, and putting. But this was due mainly, Goosen said, to the swing changes he had made, his hiring a swing coach for the first time in his career, and how he had lost all confidence in his game.^[11]

He was again a part of the International team at the 2007 Presidents Cup at the Royal Montreal Golf Club, just outside of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was his fourth appearance in the event. He finished the week with 2 points including a singles win of 2&1 over Jim Furyk on Sunday.^[12]

At the start of 2008, Goosen withdrew from the Qatar Masters as defending champion due to problems with his vision after undergoing corrective laser surgery ten days before the tournament began. He was forced to return to his home in London, England for further treatment. In March, he showed a form that had left him for almost a year and resulted in a tie for second at the WGC-CA Championship. He putted exceptionally well thanks to his old Yes! putter he won both his U.S. Open titles with and named "Tracy" after his wife.

Before the tournament Goosen was ranked 40th in the world, which was the lowest he had been ranked since 10 June 2001 (a week before the U.S. Open). His best finish in 2009 other than the runner-up at the WGC-CA Championship, was at the other stroke play WGC event, the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, where he finished T4, two strokes behind winner Vijay Singh. It was his second of two top five finishes on the season. Although showing some signs of his old self, Goosen had a very inconsistent year finishing 72nd on the PGA Tour money list. In June 2008, he made controversial comments about fellow golfer Tiger Woods, alleging that Woods was faking the severity of his injuries at the 2008 U.S. Open.^[13] Goosen apologized for the comments saying he was not being serious when he made the claim.

His game was on the rise in late 2008. Late in the 2008 season Goosen replaced Vijay Singh because of injury in the Asian Tour's Iskandar Johor Open. Goosen won the tournament for his only win of 2008. The win also extended his streak of winning a professional golf event every year since 1995.^[14]

2009: Career resurgence[link]

Goosen continued his good form from late 2008 into 2009. With two international wins in three months, it was a sign of good form to come throughout the season.

He started his 2009 season with two wins on two major tours. Goosen won his second event in four worldwide starts on the Sunshine Tour, at the Africa Open in January, where he came from behind with a final round 65 on Sunday to win by one stroke over four players and take the trophy. Goosen said he'd been struggling with his putting for the last few seasons, he put a belly putter in his bag for a few weeks to get his stroke back.^[15] He played with it for 3 weeks in January and February, starting at the Buick Invitational. He played well with it at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, where he was the 36 hole leader. He went on to finish 3rd for the rained out 54 hole event. He then won his seventh PGA Tour title at the Transitions Championship in March 2009. He made only five bogeys all week on the tough Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Florida. He shot all four rounds under par, and finished at −8, to win by one stroke over Charles Howell III and Brett Quigley. His putting was exceptional during that week, making 55–55 putts from 5 feet and in, including a 4½ foot putt for par on 18 for the win that fell in the left edge of the cup. Goosen credited Gary Player with inspiring him to re-dedicate himself to a new diet and fitness program.^[16] This win vaulted Goosen to number 22 in the Official World Golf Rankings, his highest position since November 2007.

With his re-dedication to his game with his work with his swing coach, his newfound fitness regime and his renewed, refreshed sense of confidence, Goosen dramatically improved his statistics in 2009 from those of the 2007–2008 seasons before. He moved from driving distance from outside the top 100 to 82nd, to inside the top 40 in putting, 20th in scoring average and 49th in the all-around statistic.

After a tie for 16th place at the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black, Goosen was in contention the very next week in Munich, Germany at the BMW International Open. He led after the first three rounds at 17 under par, two ahead of Bernhard Langer and three ahead of Nick Dougherty.^[17] On Sunday, Goosen did not putt as well as he did the first three rounds, only managing a 1-under 71. He finished the week in 3rd, four strokes behind eventual winner Dougherty.

After a week off, Goosen was in contention the week before The Open Championship at the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond Golf Club in Glasgow. After a first round of 3-under par 68, he shot a second round 63, which was started by a un-Goosen like opening tee shot. He pulled out a 3-wood off the first tee, and barely got the ball airborne as Goosen topped it and put it in the right rough, as a couple of grouse scuttled for cover. It would not shake the unflappable Goosen as he would shoot a second round 63 to pull two clear of Adam Scott after two rounds.^[18] He shot a disappointing final round of 73 to finish in a tie for 6th.^[19]

Goosen added a 3rd top-10 finish in as many starts worldwide at the 2009 Open Championship at Turnberry. He contended for most of the week and had a share of the lead momentarily during the 3rd round. He finished the event in a tie for 5th, 2 strokes out the of the playoff between Stewart Cink and Tom Watson. Goosen almost picked up his second PGA Tour win of the season at the RBC Canadian Open the following week. Goosen faced Nathan Green in a playoff after the two players shot −18 after four rounds of play. Goosen had a six-foot birdie putt to win the tournament on the first playoff hole but missed it. Green had a twelve-foot birdie putt to win the tournament on the second hole and missed it but it would not matter. Goosen had to sink a nine-foot par putt to extend the playoff but he missed it, giving Green his first PGA Tour victory.

Goosen had another close call at victory during the 2009 FedEx Cup Playoffs at the Deutsche Bank Championship, where he was the 54-hole co-leader with Sean O'Hair and Steve Stricker, but he shot a final round of Even Par to finish T8.^[20]

Goosen added 4 consecutive top 10 finishes in October and November; 6th at the Portugal Masters, 3rd at the Iskandar Johor Open, where he shot a third round 62, 9th at the Volvo World Match Play Championship and 10th at the WGC-HSBC Champions.

2010[link]

Goosen started his 2010 campaign in January with 3 consecutive top-10 finishes. He finished 6th at the SBS Championship, 4th at the Sony Open in Hawaii and 9th at the Qatar Masters. Goosen added a quarterfinal loss to Camilo Villegas in February at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, his best appearance in the event since 2006. Goosen had a good title defense at the Transitions Championship in March, where he finished 5th. A week later at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Goosen finished in a tie for 4th, his fifth top-10 in seven 2010 PGA Tour events, and his 11th top-10 finish in his last 14 events worldwide. The 4th place finish moved Goosen to 15th in the Official World Golf Ranking.

On 27 April 2010, Goosen broke his toe while playing with his children.^[21] The injury caused Goosen to miss the Quail Hollow Championship and The Players Championship. On 18 May, in an incident separate to his toe injury, Goosen injured his hand. This injury caused Goosen to miss the BMW PGA Championship, one of the premier events on the European Tour. Goosen returned to the PGA Tour in June at the St. Jude Classic, the week before the U.S. Open.^[22] He finished T15 at the St. Jude Classic. After the U.S. Open, Goosen flew to Canada to play in the Telus World Skins Game, where he won 5 skins. Two days after that, he played in the Travelers Championship, where he finished T5, his 6th top-10 finish of the season.

At the 2010 Open Championship at St Andrews, Goosen finished 6th, breaking par in all four rounds. It was Goosen's 7th top-10 finish of the season. Goosen had his first top-3 finish of the season in August at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, his 8th top-10 of the season.

After a 7th place finish at the BMW Championship, Goosen played in the final group on Sunday at The Tour Championship with eventual winner Jim Furyk. Goosen finished 3rd on his own. Goosen finished 10th in the final standings of the 2010 FedEx Cup Playoffs. He finished his 2010 PGA Tour season with 10 top-10s, and over $3.2 million in earnings. In December, Goosen finished runner-up to Ernie Els at the South African Open in Durban. Goosen finished at 24 under par, one stroke behind Els.

2011[link]

Despite a strong start to the season, with two top-3 finishes by January, Goosen ended the year with his worst season since 1995. Goosen withdrew from both The Open Championship and the PGA Championship after poor first rounds, citing injuries. Goosen had to deal with back injuries for the entire second half of the 2011 season.^[23] At the end of the year, he had dropped out of the top 50 in the world rankings for the first time in over a decade.

2012[link]

Goosen started his 2012 campaign on the European Tour with three consecutive starts in January in South Africa. He finished 3rd in the Africa Open, and 16th in the Joburg Open before finishing tied second with Ernie Els in the Volvo Golf Champions, losing to winner Branden Grace in a playoff.^[24] Through the first three weeks of season, Goosen was second in the Race to Dubai.

For the first time since 1999, Goosen did not play in the Masters, as he was outside the Top 50 in the OWGR.

Personal life[link]

Goosen is known for his extremely calm demeanor, a trait that has earned him the nickname "The Iceman" on the PGA Tour. He is also affectionately called "The Goose."^[25] The term unflappable is a term commonly connect with Retief because of his attitude on the course.^[26] Goosen's mother attributes her son's calm demeanor because of the effects left on Goosen after he was struck by lightning.^[2]

Goosen is now married with a son and daughter, and has homes in Virginia Water, Surrey, England and Orlando, Florida, U.S. as well as retaining residence in Polokwane, South Africa.

Goosen is friends with golf icon Gary Player and regularly plays in the Gary Player Invitational series to help raise funds for needy children in both China and South Africa as well as around the world.

Retief has also played in the Nelson Mandela Invitational hosted by Gary Player in South Africa, honoring former South African President Nelson Mandela. He has won the event twice, in betterball in 2000 with Allan Henning,^[27] and in 2006 with Bobby Lincoln. He also won the fourball event in 2008 with Costantino Rocca, and Alan Pearson.

Goosen is also known for his interest and business in wine. He owns his own vineyard in Garden Route, South Africa. The vineyard is situated 2500 feet above sea level and was deemed a great place to plant in 1993. He started growing plants on the vineyard in 2005, and labeled his wine The Goose. The Goose Expression Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz wine won the bronze medal in 2008 from the Decanter World Wide Wine.^[28]

In 2009, Goosen won awards for both his Goose wines. This follows on from last year's Bronze Medal for The Expression Cabernet Sauvignon / Shiraz 2005. 2009 brought a Silver Medal each by The Decanter World Wine Award 2009 for The Expression Cabernet Sauvignon / Shiraz 2007 and The Goose Sauvignon Blanc 2008.

Other ventures[link]

Goosen-designed golf courses[link]

• Lagoon Bay – George, South Africa
• Lizard Point – Johannesburg, South Africa
• Legends – Pretoria, South Africa

Course(s) under construction:

• Dayi Smokey Mountain – China

Charitable work[link]

• MAD (Make a Difference Charity) – Goosen is an honorary patron to MAD, which is a Cape Town based organization focused on providing educational opportunities for talented, less fortunate South African children. The foundation was formed in 2003.

• SADGA (South African Disabled Golf Association) – Goosen is a SADGA patron. SADGA is an organization set up in 2004 to enable disabled golfers to enjoy and compete in the golf arena. It provides clinics for disabled children, introducing them to the game and giving them job opportunities.

Amateur highlights[link]

• 1985/86 Transvaal Amateur Team
• 1990 South African Amateur, Kempton Park Classic

Professional wins (44)[link]

PGA Tour wins (7)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	18 Jun 2001	U.S. Open	–4 (66-70-69-71=279)	Playoff	Mark Brooks
2	7 Apr 2002	BellSouth Classic	–16 (68-66-68-70=272)	4 strokes	Jesper Parnevik
3	2 Nov 2003	Chrysler Championship	–12 (69-66-67-70=272)	3 strokes	Vijay Singh
4	20 Jun 2004	U.S. Open	–4 (70-66-69-71=276)	2 strokes	Phil Mickelson
5	7 Nov 2004	The Tour Championship	–11 (70-66-69-64=269)	4 strokes	Tiger Woods
6	7 Aug 2005	The International	32 points (7-10-8-7=32)	1 point	Brandt Jobe
7	22 Mar 2009	Transitions Championship	–8 (69-68-69-70=276)	1 stroke	Charles Howell III, Brett Quigley

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	2001	U.S. Open	Mark Brooks	Won an 18-hole playoff (Goosen:70, Brooks:72)
2	2009	RBC Canadian Open	Nathan Green	Lost to par on second extra hole

European Tour wins (14)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	16 Jun 1996	Slaley Hall Northumberland Challenge	−11 (66-69-70-72=277)	2 strokes	Ross Drummond
2	29 Jun 1997	Peugeot Open de France	−17 (64-67-70-70=271)	1 stroke	Jamie Spence
3	9 May 1999	Novotel Perrier Open de France	−12 (69-65-68-70=271)	Playoff	Greg Turner
4	17 Sep 2000	Trophée Lancôme	−13 (69-71-64-67=271)	1 stroke	Michael Campbell
5	17 Jun 2001	U.S. Open	−4 (66-70-69-71=279)	Playoff	Mark Brooks
6	15 Jul 2001	The Scottish Open at Loch Lomond	−16 (62-69-66-71=268)	3 strokes	Thomas Bjørn
7	28 Oct 2001	Telefonica Open de Madrid	−20 (66-64-66-68=264)	Playoff	Steve Webster
8	27 Jan 2002	Johnnie Walker Classic	−14 (70-68-63-73=274)	8 strokes	Pierre Fulke
9	14 Sep 2003	Trophée Lancôme	−18 (63-65-68-70=266)	4 strokes	Paul McGinley
10	20 Jun 2004	U.S. Open	−4 (70-66-69-71=276)	2 strokes	Phil Mickelson
11	4 Jul 2004	Smurfit European Open	−13 (69-66-72-68=275)	5 strokes	Richard Green, Peter O'Malley, Lee Westwood
12	11 Sep 2005	Linde German Masters	−20 (67-68-66-67=268)	1 stroke	Nick Dougherty
13	18 Dec 2005	South African Airways Open	−10 (73-70-69-70=282)	1 stroke	Ernie Els
14	28 Jan 2007	Commercialbank Qatar Masters (co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour)	−15 (65-68-71-69=273)	1 stroke	Nick O'Hern

European Tour playoff record (2–3)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1999	German Open	Jarmo Sandelin	Lost to par on first extra hole
2	2001	U.S. Open	Mark Brooks	Won an 18-hole playoff (Goosen: 70, Brooks: 72)
3	2001	Telefonica Open de Madrid	Steve Webster	Won with birdie on third extra hole
4	2006	BMW International Open	Henrik Stenson, Pádraig Harrington	Stenson won with eagle on first extra hole
5	2012	Volvo Golf Champions	Ernie Els, Branden Grace	Grace won with birdie on first extra hole

Sunshine Tour wins (9)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	25 Apr 1991	Iscor Newcastle Classic	–14 (69-63-70=202)	1 stroke	Derek James
2	11 Jan 1992	Spoornet Classic	–12 (65-76-67-68=276)	1 stroke	John Bland, Richard Kaplan
3	11 Jul 1992	Bushveld Classic	–12 (69-68-67=204)	6 strokes	Derek James
4	11 Oct 1992	Highveld Classic	–17 (69-66-64=199)	1 stroke	Ashley Roestoff
5	24 Jan 1993	Mount Edgecombe Trophy	–9 (70-71-69-69=279)	5 strokes	Nick Price
6	12 Feb 1995	Phillips South African Open	–13 (70-65-70-70=275)	5 strokes	Ernie Els
7	3 Feb 2002	Dimension Data Pro-Am	–20 (63-70-69-66=263)	3 strokes	Scott Drummond
8	18 Dec 2005	South African Airways Open	–10 (73-70-69-68=282)	1 stroke	Ernie Els
9	18 Jan 2009	Africa Open	–-21 (66-70-66-65=267)	1 stroke	Branden Grace, Michael Hoey, Darren Fichardt, Darren Clarke

Asian Tour wins (4)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	4 Sep 2005	Volkswagen Masters-China	–22 (64-67-71-64=266)	6 strokes	Michael Campbell
2	15 Oct 2006	Volkswagen Masters-China	–21 (64-65-67-71=267)	3 strokes	Michael Campbell
3	28 Jan 2007	Commercialbank Qatar Masters (co-sanctioned by the European Tour)	–15 (65-68-71-69=273)	1 stroke	Nick O'Hern
4	2 Nov 2008	Iskandar Johor Open	–12 (72-69-69-66=276)	2 strokes	Thaworn Wiratchant

Other wins (14)[link]

• 1992 European Tour Qualifying School
• 1997 Alfred Dunhill Cup (with Ernie Els and David Frost)
• 1998 Alfred Dunhill Cup (with Ernie Els and David Frost)
• 2000 Nelson Mandela Invitational (with Allan Henning)
• 2001 WGC-World Cup (with Ernie Els)
• 2003 Tiger Skins Game
• 2004 Nedbank Golf Challenge
• 2005 Battle at the Bridges (with Phil Mickelson)
• 2006 Nelson Mandela Invitational (with Bobby Lincoln), People vs. The Pros
• 2007 Tavistock Cup (representing Lake Nona)
• 2008 Riffa Views Invitational Skins Game, Gary Player Invitational (with Costantino Rocca, Alan Pearson and Inés Sastre)
• 2009 Tavistock Cup (representing Lake Nona)

Major championships[link]

Wins (2)[link]

Year	Championship	54 Holes	Winning Score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
2001	U.S. Open	Tied for lead	−4 (66-70-69-71=276)	Playoff 1	Mark Brooks
2004	U.S. Open (2)	2 stroke lead	−4 (70-66-69-71=276)	2 strokes	Phil Mickelson

¹ Defeated Brooks in 18-hole playoff: Goosen 70 (E), Brooks 72 (+2).

Results timeline[link]

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Results in World Golf Championship events[link]

¹Cancelled due to 9/11
DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
WD = withdrew
NT = No Tournament
Yellow background for top-10.
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

PGA and European Tour career summary[link]