A Couple of Putts and Golf Zone Chaska present…

The 2nd Coziest Mini Golf Open
February 11-19th, 2023

Recap

After a fun first year in 2022, we decided not only to repeat the Coziest Mini Golf Open at Golf Zone but we additionally added it to the 2023 American Mini Golf Alliance (AMA) schedule. As the first In-person points-scoring event of the year for the AMA, we attracted the 2022 AMA season champion Mick Cullen and his son Xavier along with some of the top putters in Minnesota. We ended up with 16 competitors with scores of Par or better during the qualifying period that attended the two-round championship on a Sunday morning. Everyone was invited to dress in their coziest attire and play 36 holes for mid-winter mini golf glory.

Coming into the championship, we had record lows during the qualifying period including Joel Brown’s mindblowing two qualifying rounds of 28 and 30. Both were the two lowest qualifying scores to date. Robin Schwartzman became the first person to ace all 4 zero shots in a single round. You would expect that scores would get tighter when the top putters faced the pressure of competing against their top peers but the opposite was true. Both Zack Haselius and Josh Benesh got a round of 29 to help them get 2nd and 3rd respectively but Matt’s two strong rounds of 31 helped him take home first place by 1 stroke over Zack. Kaden Haselius, Zack, and Matt all impressively aced 9 holes over the two rounds. Josh Benesh matched Robin’s qualifying feat of getting a hole-in-one on all of the “zero” holes.

Overall, all of the competitors that made the cut for the championship kept scores under par while having a lot of fun. We’re aiming to keep the tradition alive in 2024 with a few new wrinkles so stay tuned.

 

Find the full recap of the 2022 Coziest Mini Golf Open at acoupleofputts.com/cozyopen22

2023 Tournament Details & Rules

 

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

Scores from all qualifying attempts will count individually towards reaching the championship on 2/19/23. The top 20 players under par will compete for money, prizes, and glory in a two-round championship on Sunday, February 19th.

Prizes

Champion: $100 cash or $125 Golf Zone Gift Card + Custom trophy + Golf Zone Hat + Pizza + Drink
Second Place: $75 Golf Zone Gift Card/Credit + Silver Medal + Golf Zone Hat + Drink
Third Place: $50 Golf Zone Gift Card/Credit + Bronze Medal + Golf Zone Hat + Drink
Fourth Place: 7th Avenue Pizza + A Couple of Putts mug with cocoa + Golf Zone Hat
Fifth Place: 7th Avenue Pizza + A Couple of Putts mug with cocoa

Additional goodies and awards for the lowest single-round and most hole-in-ones (including zeroes) during the Championship.

$25 for 2 initial qualifying attempts
$10 for each additional round to attempt to get the lowest score

For Valentine’s Day (Tuesday, February 14th), we’ll have a $35 fee that will get you two qualifying rounds for two people.

Qualifying Rounds
Saturday, February 11th through Saturday, February 18th at 6pm: Top 20 players under par will be notified after 6 pm on Saturday (2/18) evening, and those in the top 20 move on to the Championship on Sunday. If more than 20 are under or at par, those who didn’t make the top 20 will be invited as alternates.

Championship Round
Sunday, February 19th at 10 am: top qualifiers will play a two-round Championship. Any ties between 1st and 3rd place will be broken by 3-hole putt-offs on Holes 1-3. If scores remain tied after three 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 better qualifying round score will determine all other ties for prizes. If there is an additional tie after bringing in the qualifying round score, prizes at those levels will be split 50/50. All competitors who are American Mini Golf Alliance (AMA) members will receive points toward national ranking based on the current scoring rubric

Tournament & Championship Details

1. All Qualifying rounds must be completed between 9 am on Saturday, February 11th, and 6 pm on Saturday, February 18th to be valid and eligible for the Championship.
2. Valid scorecards must be turned into the clubhouse immediately after finishing and include contact info (phone) where we can reach you if you make it into the top 20 to compete for the Championship on Sunday, February 19. 
3. Up to 20 competitors with the lowest scores at or below Par (42) will compete for the Championship on Sunday, February 20th. If there is a tie for the 20th place, all of those competitors will compete for the Championship. 
4. Those who do not make the top 20 but score under par will be invited as alternates for the championship and will be affirmed to play if anyone in the top 20 does not arrive by 9:45am on 2/19/23.
5. A Couple of Putts (Tom) will be contacting the top 20 on Saturday, February 18th by 7 pm to confirm their availability to play for the Championship on Sunday, February 20th. You must confirm you will be able to return for the Championship by 9 pm on 2/18/23.
6. To determine who makes the cut for the Championship if more than 20 competitors have the top 10 scores during Qualifying, those who played earlier in the week will be favored. For example, if there are only 3 spots left and 4 players have a score of 42, the three who played earliest in the week will be given the spots.
7. The two-round Championship will start promptly at 11 am on Sunday, February 20th. The groups will be determined by a live draw the night before with 6 groups of 3 and one group of 2. The group of 2 will be the last to start the tournament.
8. Championship play is at no cost for those who qualify
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 best Qualifying 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 0s. If that results in another tie, prizes will be shared. AMA scoring points outside of the top 3 will be shared.
10. The Championship scores will be posted at acoupleofputts.com/cozyopen on 2/20/23 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 Championship. 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 9-stroke limit. After your 8th 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 8.5″ (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.
5. No intentional chip shots to jump walls.
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. On holes with multiple cup placements, any of the cups can be played 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
15. All other applicable posted course rules apply if they are not listed above
16. Be cool to each other & have fun. Mini Golf is for EVERYONE!