Minigolf Keeps Marching
While there’s no in-person AMA events for March, there is still plenty to keep us going as we move into Spring. Our big event for the month was the first of two planned Putt18 competitions. It was played Sunday, March 17 through Saturday, March 23 and saw a total of 23 competitors, a high for the three Putt18 AMA events held. The field of 23 also saw some diversity with 4 players under 15 and 2 women competitors in this tournament. If you aren’t familiar with the Putt18 mat, you can check out the primer for our tournament in the video below.
Much like our November 2023 Putt18 virtual event, the winner was decided on the last day and it would be our 3rd different winner of the Putt18 event, a departure from the dominance we’ve seen in our other virtual event on Walkabout. David Gomm played on the Thursday of the week-long event and set the standard with a -22 including a tournament-low round of 60. Within hours later that same day, Tom Loftus shot a -18. Those scores would remain the top two attempts with a flurry of action through Friday night. Then on Saturday afternoon, Kyle Courcy stepped up to the mat from his house in Maine and crushed it with a four-round total of -25 including a first-round -10. This would stand as a handful of new and returning players finished off their rounds into Saturday evening. You can read about more notable facts and the final scores in our event recap.
Kyle Courcy out playing mini golf
April is a slow month for AMA events but we’ll be watching two of our members play at the World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF) World Adventure Golf (WAG) Tour Finals on April 27 & 28 in the Czech Republic. Because of that we have selected Dave and Caleb as our AMA members of the month to highlight. Keep a watch out on the AMA social pages as well as the WAG Tour Facebook page for links to the live streaming of this event. Also, if you are feeling generous please visit the GoFundMe page which is raising funds to offset the cost of travel for this tournament. There has been some support funding from the AMA and The Putting Penguin but otherwise the trip is completely self-funded.
Caleb Smith & David Vayda rocking the new AMA jackets
Name: Caleb Smith
Where from: Farmington, CT
Favorite course for fun or competition: My favorite golf course is the Matterhorn in Canton, CT. I love this course because it is the one I have played the most and the one that I have had the most success at. I have played in numerous tournaments there and love to play there for fun as well.
What is your plan for school? I will be attending Liberty University in the Fall. I plan to study Accounting and Data Analytics.
Favorite IRL non-mini golf game or other sport, or other hobbies you have outside minigolf? Basketball and Golf are the biggest ones. I love to hang out with my friends and I love playing anything sports related that gets me active. I also like to listen to music and watching movies and shows.
If you had intro / walk-in music for a tournament, what song would you choose? Beast Mode by BigXThaPlug
Favorite or most dreaded obstacle on a course? My most dreaded obstacle is probably the windmill or anything with a small opening because I can never hit it through on the first try.
Name: David Vayda
Where from: Simsbury, CT
Favorite course for fun or competition: I do love my home course - Matterhorn, as it provides a great challenge every time I play, has a great weekly league format and players, and it's right down the street from where I live. So I would say it is one of my favorites. During a tough competition, Knolls and Holes @ Odetah in Bozrah, CT always puts up a good fight!
What do you do for work? For work, I manage a 10,000 sq ft specialty products warehouse in Windsor, CT. Our company focus is on Turf and Ornamental products (for golf courses :-) and for pest control too. A typical day puts me at work early in the AM and out by 3pm weekdays, giving me ample time to work on my putting.
Favorite IRL non-mini golf game or other sport, or other hobbies you have outside minigolf? I do love to play real golf. I am a 3 year member of the CT Amatuer Golf Tour which is the ONLY amateur golf tour modeled after the PGA Tour. It allows me great flexibility in playing weekly tournaments locally on public and private courses, while stepping up to some great competition. Being from New England, I am an avid Red Sox and Patriots fan, which are the other 2 sports I truly love.
If you had intro / walk-in music for a tournament, what song would you choose? The hook in "Unstoppable" by SIA. The song embodies every element in competition. It sends you to another level when it plays.
Favorite or most dreaded obstacle on a course? The worst obstacle for me at any mini golf event tends to be any hole that has a real water hazard. As in real golf, my ball always seems to want to go for a swim. 🙄 Favorite holes are usually 2 or more bank shots. It definitely requires more skill and precision.
Our next AMA point scoring events happen the first two weekends in May. The first is the Lighthouse Classic on May 4th in Barnegat Light, NJ. This is a red tournament and the first iteration of this tournament run by Holey Moley episode champion David Biggy. The second is the Looniest Mini Golf Open in Shoreview, MN on May 11th run by A Couple of Putts. This is also a red tournament that is now in its second year.
NEW AMA KITS!
Interested in sporting some new AMA gear out on the course? In addition to the items we have available in the store we have a two items in our new line of branding - an AMA polo and AMA jacket (which you can find the jacket in the above picture of Dave and Caleb). We expect to have more articles of clothing with this same color scheme and branding in the future.
Polos will be $40 and jackets $50. Text can be added onto the back of the jacket as seen in the photo above at no extra cost. Shipping will be extra but if you’re willing to pick up your kit via Tom Loftus (Minnesota) Pat Sheridan (Connecticut) or Aaron Kaminski (New Jersey), shipping won’t be extra. If you are interested, please email us at amaminigolf@gmail.com with your quantity and sizes. Payment will be required in advance of making the order on April 16th. Jackets run a full size large but the polos are true to size.
