Mini Masters

As I watch the practice session unfold, the Brit team fills me in on the ins and outs of the minigolf scene. They’re a set of inspired amateurs in the classic UK tradition. While the other teams have signature golf balls, two coaches per course and enjoy semiprofessional status at home, the Brits are fortified by Mars Bars, and have hired their Finnish mate Jouni Valkjarvi, the 2007 British Open Minigolf Championship winner, as coach.

The Brits have two teams and the star player seems to be Tim “Aceman” Davies (above). With his fellow team member John “Big Top Ted” McIver (right), Aceman runs the Clambers course in Hastings, and is keen to host the 2010 Nation’s Cup there. He’s also sitting on a manuscript for a minigolf playing guide, called Nutters With Putters (“I just need a publisher”) and was World Crazy Golf Champion five years running. He was beaten last year, so is particularly keen to do well in Tampere. Problem is, he’s having a bit of a shocker (“I’m lacking consistency”) and is getting a bit frustrated.

Along with the rest of the team, Aceman keeps casting envious eyes towards the Swedes, Germans and Swiss. Perhaps predictably, our European cousins take the whole thing rather more seriously.

For instance, the Swedes keep aceing every hole. Then there’s the fact that they have their own minibus, branded brollies, separate putters for different holes and different balls for different holes. “Oh yes. Some of them have literally hundreds of balls to choose from. The coach will go around beforehand and map out the course,” says Aceman approvingly. “They’re on a different level.” And it’s true that even a punter like me can see they’re playing a game of some finesse and consistency.

This is partly a reflection of the popularity of the sport in mainland Europe. In the UK, there are only 125 fully signed up members of the British Minigolf Association. Sweden has 8,000 players, while Germany has a barely credible 125,000.

I talk to leading Swedish player Anders Olsson. “It’s huge in Sweden,” he says. “People play everywhere – family, kids – we do it together.” And how about the prize money? Do they make a living from it? “Some tournaments have €3,000 prize funds and some even more,” he says. “But we play for fun.”

Pages: