Passing the halfway point of the season and tonight’s episode looks like a humdinger from the preview. As with all of the other episodes, we got to know a number of the cast/competitors while filming. Joni (seen dangling above) told me about playing Golf N Stuff in Ventura with her grandchildren and mentioned that the drive was beautiful (It is!). We played the two courses at that location during our trip and will be teeing up that review soon. Allie manages a few Smugglers Cove courses in Florida while her competitor, Colin, makes insane trick golf vids that he shared with us. Wild stuff!  Matthew and Joey put on one heck of a match. Joey plays competitively in the game of mini golf in addition to sketch comedy. All of them are people we’re hoping to cross paths with many times down the road. It can’t be overstated how pleasant everyone was to play with and against.

Airing live on ABC 8pm EST/7pm CST and streaming after on Hulu and ABC.com!

This week’s synopsis:

“Never Count Out the Beard” – On this week’s brand-new “Holey Moley,” it’s east coast versus west coast when a local New Jersey contestant faces off with California native, aka “the wizard of mini-golf” in a round that culminates in a sudden-death putt-off tiebreaker. Meanwhile, Ed Sheeran’s doppelgänger takes on “Tee’d Off” and a mini-golf trick shot artist shows off his skills. The distraction on this week’s “The Distractor” is none other than a mime who not only does his job of distracting two competitors but also scares Rob Riggle in the process! During the final round on “Mt. Holey Moley,” a competitor loses her grip on the infamous zipline, costing herself a vital one-stroke penalty.

Contestants featured in this episode include the following:

Robin Aikens – Chicago, IL
Joe DePrima – Cliffwood Beach, NJ
Drew Gannon – Toledo, OH
Matthew Gebhard – Long Beach, CA
Colin McCarthy – Lanesborough, MA
Jerica Noble – Hollister, CA
Nina Palomba – Jackson Hole, WY
Joni Parent – Bowling Green, KY
Jackson Patterson – Houston, TX
Allison Smith – Seminole, FL
Alexis Tourdot – Menifee, CA