In keeping with the tradition of reviewing both Season 1 & Season 2 of Holey Moley in the US, I’m jumping in to give my thoughts on the newest season of our favorite network broadcasted miniature golf show.
My co-host and fellow Holey Moley alum Pat Sheridan of The Putting Penguin and I moved from recapping via video in the form of We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Windmill to recap Season 3 via our new podcast called Puttcast. Early episodes of the pod focused on the Australian version of Holey Moley that saw nearly identical holes to Season 2 in the US and then after talking with a number of people from across the world of mini golf, we jumped into Season 3 with a couple of guests including a few winners from this past season. Stream the episode below to listen to our wrap of the season and then follow through the images below for my thoughts:
These 80s styled movie posters always get me excitedThe best broadcasting team in mini golf: Tess and Riggle
Mr. Tee’s Ranking of the Season 3 Holes
#1 – Parcade #2 – ParFishDutch #3 – Putt-A-Saurus #4 – Turfing USA #5 – Dutch Courage En Fuego #6 – The Fishing Hole #7 – King Parthur’s Court #8 – Corn Hole
#9 – Donut Hole #10 – Ho Ho Hole #11 – The Pecker #12 – Holey Matrimony #13 – Hole Number Two #14 – Agony of Defeat #15 – The Distractor
Parcade was the standout hole this season. As a kid of the 80s and a fan of pinball, this hit all the sweet spots. The flippers as obstacles were brilliant and super challenging.My only quibble with this hole was the randomness of the ball coming out of the pipes. Would have been weird if someone got a hole-in-one given how little that part was skill-based.Finally, we see the Dino theme and it’s a BIG hole in Putt-A-SaurusThe putting side of this felt quite true to what you’d see on a mini golf course but in giant sizeAdding additional challenges to the well-themed Fishing Hole in the finale was a big win in my bookThe drama on frankensteined ParFishDutch hole capped off a great final hole and seasonOur putting pal and mini golf fan Biggy winning his episode was a major highlight to this seasonHe then introduced us to one of our new fave courses Flamingo Golf on Long Beach Island where I was able to sneak out a victory and “Beat Biggy”!The unique design on this surfing/tropics-themed hole, Turfing USA, was epic.The motorized surf board was fun and funny to watchPlus, the putting from start to finish was no laughing matterThe windmills were back but on fire on Dutch Courage En FuegoThe cup on a slope is never a gimme and makes for an always satisfying holeFew got the right timing on The Pecker obstacle but fortunately they only fell in foam blocksThe plinko path of the ball was cool but in a single-hole elimination competition, the results felt more random than skill-based. Not sure why the narrower path didn’t have a clear path to the cup.Corn Hole popped onto the scene with a Hole #2-like impact with a gentler landingDonut Hole looks fantastic but the path to the cup felt random and the big donut obstacles felt a tad too difficult as no one got even halfway through them.The size and theme of Holey Matrimony landed well for those of us who have played many classic courses or had their “big day” on the mini golf courseBut the wedding-themed obstacles were WAY too challenging as no one came even remotely close to finding their way to the turfed dance floor without taking a swim first.Each season some conspiracy-minded viewers complain about the continuity and fairness of the competition. King Parthur’s Court, unfortunately, validates these concerns. The competitors who sat normally on the horse almost always got through without a penalty and stayed dry.Meanwhile, no competitor that had to sit side-saddle on the horse completed the obstacle. I get that it may have been easier to change mid-production after the obstacle was shown to be somewhat easy in early filming but why not wait to adjust for the next season?Ho Ho Hole was more fun in spirit and was a less intense version of Polcano. This felt like an improvement from previous seasons in the US and Australia.The theming and size of the lower putting area on Ho Ho Hole were fantastic but the choice of using faux snow as debris in the field of play felt like an extra unnecessary obstacle added to what is the scariest obstacle of the show.We only saw The Distractor twice and in this instance, we had debris in the putting area yet again. This seems like a challenge that fully takes out the skill of putting and adds in more randomness than I like to see. This hole missed the mark the few times it was used this season.Nn top of the lackluster obstacle, The putting on Agony of Defeat made it one of the least satisfying holes to watch. Only bright spot was a few odd bits with the Alpine Horn players.
As I said in the podcast, I never tired of looking at this course. I’d give anything to play any of these holes again without even a chance of winning anything. The size and scale of everything are magical in a way that could only be made for TV. I’ll continue to watch and follow the show closely for as long as it is on the air but I do hope that they go back and modify most of the holes they used in Season 3.
