A Couple of Putts and Golf Zone Chaska present…

The 3rd Annaul Coziest Mini Golf Open
February 18, 2024

Recap

For the 3rd year of the Coziest Mini Golf Open, we played around with the format quite a bit. We opted to move from a week-long qualifying period to offer a single-day event with both pro and amateur divisions playing the course. All players would play two rounds. The top 6 pros played a 3rd strokeplay round to determine the top spots and the rest of the pros would play an aces-only round for a little dough. The stage was set for something different and we were excited to see who would sign up.

Between 2022 & 2023, we had a combined 30 competitors. 2024 ended up being a field of 15 pros and 19 amateurs! We had 7 women competitors and 10 competitors 16 years old or young. We were blown away by all the new and returning faces all at the course at once. We encouraged everyone to wear their coziest attire and people showed up in their comfiest clothes. Doughnuts and cookies were provided as fuel and the stage was set for a ton of fun.

The top 6 pros and top amateurs through two rounds would have won the tournament back in 2022. Tom (aka Mr. Tee) tied the tournament record of 29 in the first round and then set a new record at 28 in the 2nd round. Going into the final round, he had a 6-stroke lead over Mick Cullen but that was reduced to 4 strokes after 3 holes. After a few tough results for Mick and continued consistent play by Tom, it appeared the result wasn’t going to be in question. The first group of pros had swiftly moved through the course and finished early and word got back to the lead group that the course record was once again broken. 16-year-old. Kameron Haselius shot an astonished 27 a year removed from taking the final position in the 2023 Coziest Open. Tom finished with a consistent play on the back 9 with a 13 to hold onto a 5-stroke lead over Kameron. Tom still doesn’t know what came over him but he learned from mistakes made in practice sessions. This was Kameron’s first top 3 finish in a tournament we had organized and we’ve been blown away by his progress in the past year. Well done, Kam! First-time Coziest Open competitor Bryan Akers of Putter’s League Atlanta had a strong showing in 5th. Mick Cullen (3rd), Kaden Haselius (4th) and Shawn Brown (6th) all once again finished near the top.

While the top 6 pros were playing their final round, the rest of the pro field was playing a single aces-only round that resulted in a 3-way tie between Anthony Dunkel, Marcel Neinhus, and Amanda Farahany of Putter’s League Atlanta. Each of them had 4 hole-in-ones across the course and played in a tie-breaker on Hole #14, the bear paw. After Marcel’s miss, Anthony sunk the ace and Amanda’s ball ended up just a touch short of the cup to give Anthony the victory.

Over in the amateur division, Mark Giannini ran away with the top spot with an impressive two-round total of 65 that would have landed him in the top 6 of the pro division. In the playoff for 2nd, Matt Tellander won a two-hole playoff against Kathleen Malone. We were so thrilled to have all of the new and returning faces in the amateur divisions. We’ll be continuing to offer this going forward and looking to add a youth and women’s division in future years.

2024 Tournament Details & Rules

Golf Zone’s Big Bear Mini Putt – Chaska, MN – 825 Flying Cloud Drive Chaska, Minnesota 55318

Amateur: $25 (advance) | $30 (day of) | (2 rounds)

Pro: $35 (advance) | $40 (day of) | (3 rounds)

Same Day Registration/Practice: 9 am

Tournament start: 10 am

Register: Eventbrite or if you want to pay Tom direct and save on fees, you can pay Venmo instead, send money to @tomrloftus and state which player(s) you are registering and drop a note to acoupleofputts@gmail.com if you don’t know Tom personally

Players are encouraged to wear their coziest attire which can be your pjs or whatever you’re most comfortable with. See photo at bottom of this page as an example.

Prizes

Pro Champion: $150 + Custom trophy
Pro Second Place: $100 + Silver Medal
Pro Third Place: $75 + Bronze Medal
Pro Fourth Place: TBD special Cozy Open Prize
Pro Fifth Place:  American Mini Golf Alliance sponsor prize (Pingvin ball, Walkabout swag, etc)
Pro Sixth Place: American Mini Golf Alliance sponsor prize (Pingvin ball, Walkabout swag, etc)
Pro Aces Round Winner: $50
Pro Most Hole-in-Ones (1st two rounds): OneShotGolf game swag pack

Amateur Champion: Mini Trophy + TBD Prizes
Amateur Second Place: Amateur “Silver” Medal + TBD Prizes
Amateur Third Place: Amateur “Bronze” Medal + TBD Prizes

All competitors who are American Mini Golf Alliance (AMA) members will receive points toward national ranking based on the 2024 scoring rubric. Amateur players will all receive a single AMA scoring point each.

Find the full recap of the 2023 Coziest Mini Golf Open at acoupleofputts.com/cozyopen23

Championship Tiebreakers
Any ties for finishing between 1st and 3rd place will be broken by 2-hole putt-offs on Holes 1-2. If scores remain tied after two holes, the players will compete until one person has a lower stroke than the other(s) on the next hole on the course. If there is a tie for most hole-in-ones, there will be a hole-in-one-only wins playoff on hole #14. Each competitor will have an equal number of opportunities. The lowest round score will determine all other ties for prizes.  If there is an additional tie after bringing in the low round score, prizes at those levels will be split 50/50. If there is a tie in the aces-only round, the purse will be split amongst the tying players or the players can agree to play an aces-only playoff on Hole #5.

Tournament Details

1. Players can show up as early as 9 am on Sunday, February 18th to practice and/or register for the tournament.
2. The Coziest Mini Golf Open rules meeting starts promptly at 10 am on Sunday, February 18th. The groups will be determined by the organizer based on when people register. Family members will not be paired with each other in the pro division but can be paired with each other in the amateur division on a case by case basis.
3. Pro players will start on Hole #1. Amateur competitors will start on Hole #10.
4. Each player in each group will take a single practice tee-off shot on their first hole before their group starts the tournament. The players who make the pro top 6 3rd round will each take a single practice tee-off shot on Hole #1 before their group starts play.
5. Both pros and amateurs will play 2 rounds in succession.
6. The top 6 pro competitors after 2 rounds will play in a final 3rd round stroke play event to determine in the top 6
7. Tie-breakers to make the top 6 will be low round, then most aces, then most 2s. If that doesn’t decide, then it will be a countback from hole 18 in the 2nd round between those who are tied.
8. The pro players not in the top 6 will play a 3rd aces-only round. Players will have one stroke on each hole where they receive one point for each hole-in-one achieved across the 18-hole course. Each hole is only attempted once by each player. The player with the highest score (aka most aces) wins. Tie-breaker rules above.
9. In the case of first through third place ties in the Championship round, the ties will be broken with a 3-hole playoff starting on hole 1. If scores are tied after 3 holes, players will move into sudden death where the winner of the next hole will decide the winner of first through third in the Championship. All other ties will be determined by the low round scores. If there is still a tie, after this, the next tie-breaker will be most hole-in-ones, and the tie-breaker after that is most 2s. If that results in another tie, prizes will be shared. AMA scoring points outside of the top 3 will be shared.
10. The Coziest Mini Golf Open scores will be posted at acoupleofputts.com/cozyopen on 2/19/24 along with photos. If you do not want your score/photo to be posted, let Tom know.
11. One scorecard signed by each member of the group will be turned in after each round during the event. Any math errors on the scorecard turned in will result in a +1 stroke penalty for each person in the group.

Rules of the Tournament

1. Players will complete the hole before others in their group play. 
2. For all tournament rounds, there is a 7-stroke limit. After your 6th putt, pick up the ball and move on.
3. Players will start each hole in the tee-off area. The tee-off area is defined as the turfed area near the beginning of each hole that is before the start of the concrete walls that border each hole.
4. The ball can be moved approximately 8″ or 2o centimeters (or a little over one putter head length) away from any obstacle or wall for relief as long as it does not move the ball out of rough turf or provides a significantly better line for your next putt. There will be relief rulers and/or markings on the scorecards to designate relief distance
5. No intentional chip shots to jump walls except during the aces-only round
6. The ball can only advance to the hole through the use of the putter head.
7. If the ball goes out of bounds, the ball will be placed at either the place it exited the hole or the start of the hole if there is not an adequate place to set the ball at the location where it went out of bounds. Take a +1 stroke penalty.
8. If the ball returns back past the tee-off area, the ball will be can be reset anywhere in the tee-off area without a stroke penalty. 
9. Any cups can be played on holes with multiple cup placements to complete the hole.
10. On holes #5, #14, #17 & #18, there are opportunities for a zero score on specific cups only on the first putt. 
11. On hole #7, if the ball gets stuck in the pipe or the pipe sends the ball out of bounds, the ball will be re-dropped into the pipe until it exits and remains in bounds.
12. On hole #10, if the ball falls into the valley and is touching the rocks, the ball can be placed fully onto the green with relief from the rocks with no penalty.
13. On hole #12, if the ball goes into the sand trap, you must follow the posted rules for the penalty.
14. On hole #18, only two scoring options are possible: zero if it is in the cup or 2 if you miss the cup. No penalties if the ball rolls back past the tee or not into the basin to the left of the tee-off area
15. Top 6 pros will be repaired to play a 3rd stroke play round groups of 2-3 players. The rest of the pro field will be sent out first to play an aces-only 3rd round.
16. The top 6 pro finishing positions will be determined by the cumulative stroke play score of the 3 rounds. The rest of the pro field outside of the top 6 will have their finishing position based on their 2 round cumulative stroke play scores.
17. The aces-only round will be played by all of the pro competitors outside of the top 6. Each hole will be scored either a 1 (hole-in-one) or zero (no hole-in-one). The winner will achieve the most hole-in-ones.
18. Tie-breaker rules are stated above
19. All other applicable posted course rules apply if they are not listed above
20. Be cool to each other & have fun. Mini Golf is for EVERYONE!