Help US Minigolfers Compete on World Stage

Five talented minigolfers from across the United States are making the trip to Vilamura, Portugal in May 2025 to compete against over 30 of the top putters across the world in the World Adventure Golf Tour (WAGT) finals. Mark "The Highlighter" Novicki, (Connecticut), Dave Vayda (Connecticut), Tom Loftus (Minnesota), Kyle Courcy (Maine) and Jeremy Inabinet (Illinois) are the contingent of players who will be representing themselves and the USA in this competition. This trip is primarily self-funded but with support from organizations like The Putting Penguin dedicated to promoting minigolf and community engagement, these putters are poised to make their mark at the WAGT Finals. Please help them raise funds for this prestigious trip!

(In the cover photo Kyle Courcy is on the left, Jeremy Inabinet in spot 4, and next to him are Mark "The Highligher" Novicki, Tom Loftus and Dave Vayda respectively).

Mark "The Highlighter" Novicki

Novicki, from Danbury, earned the automatic bid to the final with the Matterhorn win, his second time winning that tournament. Novicki, who earned his nickname “Highlighter” based on his vibrant clothing during tournaments, has been playing competitive minigolf for over 15 years both in New England and around the country.

Dave Vayda

Vayda, from Simsbury, was ranked 17th on the WAGT this year, which put him high enough to qualify for the final for the second year. Vayda also is the Executive Producer of Live Content for the WAGT and you can hear him on many a live stream of WAGT events covering the amazing competition.

Tom Loftus

Tom Loftus aka Mr. Tee has had a love of mini golf since he was a kid but after a fateful date of mini golf with his future wife, Robin Schwartzman, in 2011, he went deep into the mini golf rabbit hole. The two started a review, design, and consultation endeavor where they have played over 500 courses worldwide and helped bring over numerous mini golf projects to life. It took Tom awhile but he came around to the competitive side of the game through the unique experience of being on the first season of the nationally broadcasted TV show, Holey Moley. The joy of competition and meeting other like-minded folks who already played competitive mini golf led him to where he is now as a co-host of the longest-running mini golf podcast, Puttcast, and as an organizer for the US mini golf circuit, the American Mini Golf Alliance (AMA). Tom loves competing amongst players from around the world and is honored to have qualified the World Adventure Golf Tour final in Portugal with so many quality players.

Kyle Courcy

Courcy rediscovered the joys of mini golf after somewhat arbitrarily embarking on a quest to play every mini golf course in the state of Massachusetts. While he has now relocated back to his home state of Maine where he plays in a weekly league at Taber's in Auburn, the mini golf continues in new, unpredictable, and international directions. He is looking forward to traveling to Portugal in May with other people in the group who he regularly plays with in competitions during the year long AMA season, and looking forward to meeting new international competitors.

Jeremy Inabinet

Jeremy has been a professional mini golfer for over 15 years, renowned for his exceptional skill, focus, and ability to thrive under pressure. As a member of the US National Mini Golf Team, he has consistently competed at the highest level, earning top rankings in major tournaments and demonstrating a deep passion for the sport. Respected by peers and opponents alike, Jeremy is widely recognized as one of the great ambassadors of the sport.

More information about how they earned their spot:

Eight years ago, The Putting Penguin started a minigolf tournament at Matterhorn Minigolf with the intention of bringing together some of the best miniature golfers in the Northeast. Fast forward to 2023 and the 7th Matterhorn International Pro-Am (MIPA) was honored to be the only United States stop on the newly created World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF) World Adventure Golf Tour (WAGT). This tournament is also part of the American Minigolf Alliance 's (AMA) tour schedule. 2024 marked the second year of this relationship with WAGT with an expanded tournament that included a final round cut for the top 12 qualifiers, full live streaming and live hole-by-hole scoring .

This meant the winner of MIPA would be automatically qualified to attend a 2024-2025 WAG Tour final in Portugal on May 10 and 11, 2025. Others had the potential to qualify based on their overall finish in MIPA as well as other international tournaments including the Tennessee Open, and ranking against others in the world. They will compete against a total field of 42 competitive minigolfers, many from Central Europe where a majority of the WAGT tournaments are held. Our US putters will be true underdogs in such a competitive field located much closer to the finals site. You can find the complete list of Final competitors here .

Novicki won his automatic spot thanks to a dramatic first hole playoff ace, beating the defending champion Vayda who qualified based on the points provided to second place. Loftus, Courcy and Inabinet all qualified for the final based on accumulated points from MIPA and other WAGT stops.

The Tour Final will be live streamed so we can watch our friends compete! You can find the live stream of the 2024 MIPA below:

About the WMF WAG Tour

This miniature golf tour started in 2023, is focused specifically on adventure golf (the type we are most familiar with in the US) and will enter its third season in 2025. Each year has brought expanded tournaments in new locations around the globe. The 9th Matterhorn International Pro-Am will be part of the tour again and will be held on September 20, 2025.

About The Putting Penguin:

The Putting Penguin started in 2001 as a miniature golf course review website. We have grown over the years to include coverage on social media of all things minigolf, including being actively involved in the competitive community playing in events in both the United States and internationally. We have also been active in organizing tournaments, with the latest being the Matterhorn International Pro-Am.