My initial trip to Myrtle Beach was as a spectator to the 2019 Masters. There were a ton of courses I was eager to play with friends on my first visit to this tourist town that is jam-packed with more mini golf than any other city on the planet. I ventured out to the 3 main courses (Aloha, Hawaiian Rumble, Hawaiian Village) where the Masters of Mini Golf are held each year and knew that if I were to take part in the largest US mini golf tournament that I would need a lot of work on my game. After some formal assistance with my form and two years of practice, I anxiously anticipated competing in my first USPMGA Masters. My game plan was to arrive early and soak in all the wisdom from those who had previously competed in the Masters many times over. While Pat Sheridan and Aaron Kaminski provided me with the bulk of guidance in tackling the trio of tropical-themed courses, I received lots of additional advice from other seasoned pros like Frank Bisesi and Mark “Thee Highlighter” Novicki in the three days leading up to the 12-rounds of competition.
The photos and videos below are semi-chronological documentation of my big adventure. While as A Couple of Putts we’ve been documenting our adventures in putting since 2012, I have only taken the competitive game seriously for about 2 years. I set out with modest goals not to come in dead last and despite being fueled by little sleep and loads of anxiety, I ended up tied for 49th place out of 72 of the best competitors from across the country. More importantly, I had a blast competing with my partners for each round and all of the other mini golf pros. This miniature game has been a source of extreme joy for me in my adult life. I worried that by going deep into a rabbit hole of the competitive world I might lose some of the magic but I found my experience at the Masters to be quite the opposite. Fun was had and I’ll certainly be back!
Landed in Myrtle Beach and headed north up the coast to practice with my Puttcast co-host Pat Sheridan at Hawaiian Rumble. Tried to take in all the wisdom from his experience here.Blurry photo of me at night at Aloha Mini GolfLate-night practice companion to finish the first night was fellow Holey Moley alum David BiggyDay 2 kicked off with practice on the most challenging of the Master’s venue, Hawaiian Village’s Pineapple Beach courseMy roommates for the trip Aaron and Lisa arrived in town Day 2 and joined Pat and I in practiceLisa, Aaron from O-Street’s mother’ takes aim at #17 on Pineapple, a tricky uphill hole with lots of challenging deuce puttsThe first rounds of the tournament for me would be at the easiest/most forgiving course, Aloha Mini Golf. After 3 days of practice, I was as ready as I could be.Biggy and Pat started off their day at Aloha as well.My partner through the first set of three rounds at Aloha was a familiar face, Thee Highlighter. Grateful for his support and advice through the morning rounds.Round 1 at Aloha Mini Golf with 5 aces and 1 bogey exceeded my own personal expectationsRds 4-6 were with Jeremy Inabinet from Chicago at Hawaiian Village’s Pineapple Beach course. This course requires a high level of focus so I didn’t capture any better photos of my partner.Pineapple was home to my worst three rounds. This photo captured my experience. Easily the most difficult of the three Masters courses.Day 2 started with the first of five rounds at the main competitive course, Hawaiian RumbleRound 7 was one for the books. First time (and round) competitively playing Hawaiian Rumble and had an improbably 30. This is my 2nd best score on a mini golf course to date.Played rounds 7-10 with Scott Kline from Pennsylvania. He shared some great tips on PA courses I had not played and the two of us put in some solid putting.Finished my 2nd day with another solid round and avoided getting into too much trouble with this pesky character on Hole #18 at AlohaAfter Round 10 at Aloha, our mini golf crew tried to get a family photo. Fred from Indiana and Brian from Atlanta joined in. Happy to have them photobomb us. Gotta get those guys the AMA shirts.
Final day pairings for the last two rounds. Early start for me. We were the course practicing at 6am to make a strong finish to what was an exhausting week.Played the last two rounds with Neal from North Dakota. We had identical scores of 38 and 35.Done with our rounds and getting out of the rain
Our live streaming recap of the final rounds
Highlighter collecting his winnings from his first time placing high enough to get dough!The Putting Penguins celebrating the first money showing at the Masters for Pat as wellOlivia collecting her 3rd Masters after another impressive showing by the new mother #GOATOur crew celebrated a fun week with drinks before heading over to Mt. Atlanticus for the Mighty Minotaur Championship round as part of the tournament that we organized to happen in tandem with the Masters.Team AMA (aka the best!). Photo by Aaron Kaminski
