Words by Mr. Tee (aka Tom Loftus)
From the beginning, our entry point into the deeper world of mini golf was firmly connected to the aesthetics of the game and unique courses with immersive elements. A shared history of joy, fun, and play took us down a path into a universe of windmills, waterfalls, castles and clown heads. It’s ultimately how we’ve ended up designing and building numerous unique holes over the years. In addition to our focus on the experience, the competitive element of the game was always present. Robin and I like to win when we play each other and swap champion honors each week.
As we sought out more mini golf resources and die-hards of the game, we realized that a competitive subculture existed and was full of people visiting courses all around, not only to play but to conquer. Scores in the low 30s and 20s were baffling and nearly impossible for us to imagine. Quickly, we started to connect online with fellow fanatics of the game across the States and oceans. Pat and Mandy of The Putting Penguin, Mattie Bellner, Allan Cox and others shared a wealth of knowledge in finding the best courses and path to the cup.
After 7 years of interacting with these skilled putters, we had the good fortune of sharing an unforgettable experience of playing and filming Holey Moley in April 2019 with Pat Sheridan and other miniature golf pros including Robin Ventura, Randy Rice, the crew of O Street Mini Golf, and Mick Cullen. The ups and downs of the entire experience, which included numerous extracurricular rounds across the Los Angeles area, created deep bonds around our passions for putting. All of us were bound and determined to play together again. The masters of mini golf in Myrtle Beach in October made for an obvious reunion destination.
Myrtle Beach has been on the top of our list of mini golf cities to visit since we started A Couple of Putts. With nearly 50 miniature golf complexes in close proximity, it’s the mecca. Years ago, we charted out all the courses for a future visit. I didn’t imagine we’d visit during a tournament that required repetitive play of a handful of courses. Our hearts were set on trying to play all of the courses we could manage in 1-3 visits. The weekend of the Masters, unfortunately, coincided with The Pink Putter’s already planned trip to Cincinnati with her Barter Boat project. I decided to roll solo to do a reconnaissance of the courses and connect with more of the mini golf world we’d been following for years. Plus, I thought it would be fun to take in the tournament as a spectator and document the play before considering competing down the road.
The US ProMiniGolf Association and the Detweiler family host and organize the annual tournament across a series of courses they own in Myrtle Beach. This year’s masters took place across 3 outdoor courses over a series of 12 rounds of 18 holes for a cash purse of $20,000. 5 Rounds at Hawaiian Rumble, 4 rounds at Aloha’s Island Course, and 3 rounds at Hawaiian Village’s Pineapple Beach. 69 golfers split up into three larger groups and played 3 rounds at each of the three courses over the first day (Thursday) and Friday morning. Everyone played one more round at Aloha on Friday afternoon and the finale happened over 2 rounds on Saturday, October 12th at Hawaiian Rumble. I documented all 69 putters on Hole 18 at Aloha via video and took a massive amount of photos with new and old friends. I’ll let the videos and images tell more of the story below.
To get a better perspective from others who competed in the Masters, read Pat’s from The Putting Penguin’s Recap over at Mini Golf News. Congrats to Joey Graybeal on his 1st Masters victory and check out the full results to see all the unbelievable scores. Allan Cox made videos of hole-in-one shots of all 18 competition holes at Aloha Mini Golf and Hawaiian Rumble. Most of his approaches are the same as those of the best putters in the Masters. I plan on watching and studying these videos before I join in on the competition next year.
