What's Your Workout?

Matt McCaslin won his third U.S. Open title by eight strokes in May after skillfully putting his way through 18 holes that were hidden behind moving buoys, covered bridges and a spinning ship's wheel on the marine-animal-shaped greens at Dolphin Mini Golf's course in Boothbay, Maine.

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The 36-year-old Mr. McCaslin is one of the small number of professional minigolfers who take what many consider a whimsical roadside vacation game as seriously as PGA Tour pros like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson take their sport. While some courses like Dolphin Mini Golf have their share of goofy, gimmicky obstacles, most professional minigolf courses are actually miniature versions of real golf courses, complete with sand traps and water hazards. "The courses we play are a little different than your traditional courses with dinosaurs and haunted houses," says Mr. McCaslin. "They definitely take skill as well as luck."

Mr. McCaslin grew up about one mile from a minigolf course in Memphis, Tenn., won his first national junior-league championship when he was nine years old and turned pro at age 16. Two older brothers, David and Daniel, are also serious minigolfers. Combined, the three brothers have won more than a dozen U.S. Opens and Masters titles and Daniel still plays professionally.

Mr. McCaslin usually competes in 10 to 12 minigolf tournaments per year. He normally does not play putt-putt (in which every hole is designed to make a hole-in-one easier; see sidebar below) but this year decided to play some state putt-putt tournaments and will play in putt-putt's Pro Putters Association national championship in Richmond, Va. during the week of September 15. Mr. McCaslin's U.S. Open victory in May automatically qualified him for this fall's Masters National ProMiniGolf Championship in Myrtle Beach, S.C., which is a three-day, 12-round tournament. National tournaments offer prize money of usually from $1,000 to $4,000 for first place. Mr. McCaslin, who supplements his income by bartending in Cary, N.C., is single and lives in Raleigh, N.C. He stands 6 feet tall and weighs 185 pounds.

"The key to mini-golf is practice. You can't just walk out on the course and expect to win. The more you practice the better you're going to be," says Mr. McCaslin. "It doesn't just apply to football and baseball but also sports like darts, ping pong and bowling." A course lined with windmills and volcanoes is certainly less intimidating than Torrey Pines, the legendary PGA Tour course, but Mr. McCaslin insists it still poses challenges. "I've seen guys show up to tournaments thinking 'this is a joke' and they finish 100 strokes over," he says.

Minigolf vs. Putt-Putt

Putt-putt was created in the early 1950's when a man named Don Clayton in Fayetteville, N.C., played a round of minigolf and came up with the idea of making holes taking the luck out of the game and making every hole a possible hole-in-one (also known as an ace).

Its shorter holes are designed so that a hole-in-one can be scored with a skillful putt by using rails to bank the ball into a hole.

Most minigolf courses have longer holes with multiple obstacles and the borders of each hole are usually made from rock or brick making it more difficult to bank a ball accurately.

Every putt-putt course has similar rails and carpet no matter where you play, just different designs from city to city. Minigolf has bricks and turf and from course to course there is a difference in the type of brick or turf.

Obstacles in putt-putt are limited to hills, metal blockers, pipes, and water hazards. Minigolf obstacles run the gamut of bridges, ramps, loops and moving objects like windmills.

Mr. McCaslin and his older brother Daniel, who was the 2007 U.S. Masters champion, have a healthy, competitive relationship and travel together 90% of the time to various tournaments around the country. Mr. McCaslin says the best way to practice is to arrive two to three days in advance of a tournament to inspect and analyze the course, strategize and practice. He practices one or two days before a tournament begins, depending on the difficulty of and his familiarity with the course. For practice, he and his brother will hit each hole over and over with three to four balls each until they have mastered all 18 holes. Once they know the different holes, they play multiple rounds of the course. This can last eight to nine hours.

During a tournament, players are on their feet four to six hours a day and Mr. McCaslin says being in good cardiovascular shape is essential in order not to tire halfway through the tournament. To keep fit, he plays basketball two to three times a week at a church near his home that offers open gym time. He and his brother play with about 15 to 20 other men and sessions usually last about two hours. Mr. McCaslin also plays in the Cary recreational basketball league every year.

Standing all day and repeatedly bending over to putt often leaves Mr. McCaslin with stiff muscles, so he stretches every morning leading up to and during the tournament. "Practicing all day before a tourney can tighten the muscles and a good stretch is necessary," he says. "And if the hotel we stay in has a hot tub, it will get used."

When at home, Mr. McCaslin eats easy-to-prepare, healthy meals like frozen Lean Cuisines with vegetables and fish or chicken. A quick lunch might be spinach topped with Italian dressing. When he feels like splurging, he orders pizza or buys ice cream. He says he eats as many fruits as possible throughout the day and drinks natural, not-from-concentrate, fruit juices at least once a day. A typical breakfast is a bowl of cereal, fruit like a kiwi or banana and a large glass of orange juice. Mr. McCaslin says he's usually on the road driving to tournaments and tries to avoid the fast-food options on the highways and instead keeps an eye out for healthier restaurants like Subway. He always packs protein bars with him and will often have one before a tournament along with an all-natural juice drink or V8. He says he tries to avoid sweets as much as possible during tournaments "to avoid a sugar rush and crash."

Mr. McCaslin estimates that he spends between $5,000 to $6,000 a year on tournament fees and tournament-travel expenses including gas and flights. Fees can range between $5 to $100. Mr. McCaslin plays for cash and of the three tournaments he took first in this year he estimates he's won $4,500 in prize money.

Mr. McCaslin says competing seriously means he has to have a flexible job that allows him to take off for three- or four-day tournaments. He says he also often has to miss out on friends' get-togethers on weekends because he's away.

"I love the camaraderie and being able to hang out with my buddies," says Mr. McCaslin. "And some of the tournaments are in beautiful destinations." For instance, the First Piggy ILX Open Mini Golf Professional Tournament in June was held at Los Abrigados Resort and Spa in Sedona, Arizona. "We went a whole week early to take advantage of how beautiful it was." Minigolf is also a bond for Mr. McCaslin and his brother.

How a Minigolfer Keeps FitAugust 26, 2008

How a Minigolfer Keeps Fit
August 26, 2008