Before you balk at taking the kids to yet another Putt-Putt course, consider that you could have burgeoning professional golfers on your hands—miniature golfers.

While plenty of folks think miniature golf and Putt-Putt are one and the same, the two are actually quite different. Putt-Putt is a trademark for the company that produced the summer-fun courses replete with windmills, ceramic animals, loopty-loops, and other colorful tricks. Miniature golf is another entity—and challenge—altogether.

“All of the obstacles are rocks, hills, and angles,” says Bo Taylor, general manager of Myrtle Beach’s Hawaiian Rumble and Hawaiian Village courses, and director of many of the United States Professional Mini-Golf Association’s major tournaments.

That’s right. The U.S. Pro Mini-Golf Association is based right here in Myrtle Beach. Robert Detwiler, owner of Hawaiian Rumble and Hawaiian Village, began the USPMGA in the early ’90s, which has been the North American representative to the World Minigolf Sport Federation since 1995. Anyone can join the association, with hundreds of members from the United States and beyond (Hungary, Czech Republic, and Thailand to name a few). And members can play in any of the USPMGA-sanctioned tournaments, many of which are in Myrtle Beach.

“These players are competitive as all get out, but it’s fun,” chuckles Taylor. The tour’s U.S. Open is scheduled for May 8 and 9 at Blackbeard’s Family Fun Park in Mount Pleasant. He expects at least 65 players, with the top-27 receiving monetary awards, and $1,000 going to the winner.

Taylor’s tournament preparation is just as sensitive as a turf manager’s—“I put down the carpet personally”—and he takes the games as seriously as any professional coach. “I’ve been doing this since it started seventeen years ago. I wrote the rule book,” he jokes.

He is already thinking forward to the association’s ultimate challenge: The Masters, to take place October 14 through 17 at Hawaiian Rumble and Hawaiian Village. The event will determine the United States miniature-golf champion. In addition to a professional division, open to men and women, there are separate amateurs’, seniors’, and juniors’ tournaments. The difference? Money. (Master’s champion takes $5,000.) Taylor explains that players who win cash awards are only eligible to play in professional tournaments.

So get the ball rolling, become a member, and sign up to play (free for first-timers), or come watch: no cost for gallery admission. Turns out that mastering miniature golf is no small feat.

Putt Like a Pro
For more information on these tournaments and
the USPMGA, go to
www.prominigolf.com.