Kaminski Takes the Season

In most sports, players will tell you that it is consistency that takes the title. With 17 in-person events and 4 virtual events in the 2023 AMA season, there were plenty of opportunities for the minigolfers to separate themselves from the pack with a series of good performances.

Aaron Kaminski (New Jersey) excelled at this the best in 2023, as a string of top finishes, but no wins, propelled him to the top of the rankings. Kaminski played in 6 AMA in-person events this year, one short of the high of 7 played by Tom Loftus, and in 5 of those he managed to earn bonus points for top finishes in the various tiers. His 12 bonus points was second only to Matt Roalstad (Minnesota) who earned 14 total bonus points thanks to two wins on the season. Roalstad was the only AMA member to win two in-person events this year, snagging wins at the Miniest and Coziest Opens in Minnesota. In the end, the difference between Kaminski and Roalstad came down to their finishes in the white tier tournaments as Kaminski’s second place at Farmington helped propel him over Roalstad’s 13th place finish at the M.C. Mini Masters.

1st Place in the AMA Season Rankings Aaron Kaminiski

Trailing right behind in 3rd was a familiar name, Mick Cullen (Illinois), who was last year’s AMA season winner. He was able to stay just ahead of a pair of relative newcomers to the competitive minigolf circuit, Kyle Courcy (Maine) and Griffin Weiss (New Jersey), who tied for 4th place. Cullen scored big with the win at the M.C. Mini Masters and quality finishes in both the Miniest and Coziest Opens. Meanwhile Courcy took the win at the Maine Open and backed that with quality finishes at the Dolphin Open and the Matterhorn International Pro-Am. Weiss got to the top of the rankings thanks to a win at the O-Street Winter Classic, followed by strong showings at the M.C. Mini Masters, the Matterhorn International Pro-Am and the O-Street Open.

Justin Seymour (Connecticut), Tom Loftus (Minnesota) and Shawn Brown (Minnesota) are all familiar names to the AMA Top 10 from 2022 and they finished 6th, 8th and 9th respectively this year. Justin came just short in two events this year finishing second in the Maine Open and Matterhorn, losing the later in a sudden-death playoff. Loftus had some quality finishes across the 7 tournaments he played and Brown got into the Top 10 thanks to a great 2nd place finish at the Looniest and Miniest Open events.

In 7th place this year is the most decorated of the Top 10 in terms of minigolf careers, including winning the 2023 USPMGA Masters and the first World Putting League event in 2023. That’s right, Gary Hester (North Carolina) scored his spot with a win at the Putter’s League Championship and a solid finish at the Red Putter. Rounding out the Top 10 was Landon Weiss (New Jersey) who took a big win at the O-Street Open.

Matt Liles (Connecticut), Tom Schweiss (Illinois), Mark “Highlighter” Novicki (Connecticut) and Pat Sheridan (Connecticut), all who were in the Top 10 in 2022 sniffed the Top 10 in 2023 but fell just short, all coming in the Top 15. Glenda Ryning (Connecticut) was the AMA’s top female-identifying competitor in 2023, finishing at 24th. The remaining in-person winners who didn’t make the Top 15 were Matthew Kraus, Geoff Mosk, Elmer Lawson, Scott Lagano, Scott Kline, Jody Kimble, Don Louzader, Kory Klotz, and Dave Vayda. That wrapped up a season that saw 19 different event winners in the 21 total events and a schedule that spanned 11 states.

The full ranking list including points for all of the tournaments are available on the ranking page. For more discussion on the 2023 AMA season you can also listen to the wrap-up episode of the Puttcast.

Have thoughts or feedback on our points rubric, tournaments, or anything else related to the AMA? Great! We’re eager to hear input from players to make sure we run a fair, competitive, inclusive, and fun organization. We have a players meeting on Thursday, December 7th at 8pm central on Zoom and there is a new survey released to collect thoughts from players as well. If you’re eager to get in touch with us, you can always drop us an email at amaminigolf@gmail.com

Thanks for a fun season and excited to share what we have lined up for 2024!