Top mini golfers in the country to descend on Barooga for Australian Open

By Alexander Dabb

Jul 31, 2024

Australian Mini Golf Federation president Josh Mars, pictured after his win at the 2023 Oceania Championships at Sporties Barooga, declared the course one of Australia's best. Photo: Supplied

The nation’s best putters will once again battle it out for the Australian Mini Golf Open title at Sporties Barooga later this month.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

Across August 24 and 25, the top mini golf professionals in Australia, as well as some international competitors, will go head-to-head across the course to be crowned Australian Open champion.

Australian Mini Golf Federation president Josh Mars said while the professional event is the crown jewel, there will be plenty of other on-course attractions for spectators to enjoy.

“We always have a lead-up to the Australian championship. We have novelty and fun events for everyone to get used to and get to know each other,” he said.

“We’ve actually got an event on, I think it’s the Friday, we've got the top Australian mini golf player, versus the local club professional, the mayor and I think someone from the local radio station, and they're doing a live coverage of the event, too.

“We’re calling that the celebrity event, which will be interesting to have the mayor and the pros playing each other.

“We've got a glow ball event too, which is one of the first in Australia which has ever happened, where all of the balls are lit up.

“On the professional side of things, there’s the amateur and pro event on the Saturday, and we have the pros finishing up on the Sunday."

While traditionally a recreational activity, there is no mucking around when it comes to the Australian Mini Golf Open, with $12,000 in prize money up for grabs across the weekend.

To claim top spot, however, the professionals will have to be at their very best across two days of competition.

“The pros will play six rounds in total,” Mars said.

“They'll play four rounds on Saturday morning kicking off at 9am, and then the amateurs will play in the afternoon, and the pros will finish starting from 9am another two rounds on Sunday.”

More than 50 competitors, including some from New Zealand, will take to the course, which Mars declared one of the very best in the country.

"It's considered one of the best in Australia without a doubt,” he said.

“It's designed and built by a company that builds courses all over Australia, and this is definitely one of their premiere courses.

“It's an absolutely beautiful course, the best in Australia without a doubt, and of all places — you'd expect the best courses to be in Sydney or Melbourne or Brisbane, but on the Murray, it's something a little bit different.”