Pair for the course: Minneapolis couple are big-time when it comes to mini-golf

There's nothing miniature about the role that mini-golf plays in the lives of Tom Loftus and Robin Schwartzman.

The Minneapolis couple had their first date at the Big Stone Mini Golf course in Minnetrista, where they later married. Every anniversary they play a round of golf there.

They're serious players, the sort who play two to three times a week, bring their own high-end putters and balls and have practice holes in their backyard and basement.

And they play to win. They've competed in miniature golf leagues, in national tournaments and on Holey Moley, a miniature golf obstacle course reality show on ABC. Loftus also competes in virtual reality miniature golf.

Over the years, they've become critics of the game. At acoupleofputts.com, they post reviews of the more than 400 miniature golf courses they've played around the country — plus a few in Canada, Japan, Iceland and Qatar. Their website is filled with tales of mini-golf courses with live goats or alligators as part of the attraction, or a death-themed mini-golf course in the basement of a funeral home. Loftus also is the co-creator of Puttcast, a podcast devoted to nerding out on all things mini-golf.

Not surprisingly, they also design miniature golf holes for art museums. They've been involved in the design of about 60 holes for Walker Art Center, the Detroit-area Cranbrook Art Museum and the Tasmeem art and design conference in Doha, Qatar.

Mini-golf is just their side gig.

Loftus, 45, is the finance and operations manager for Pollen Midwest, a media arts nonprofit, and founder of a record label, Modern Radio. Schwartzman, 36, is an artist who teaches 3-D modeling and digital fabrication at the University of Minnesota. She's also vice president of the International Society of Caricature Artists.

Since their first date in 2011, they've kept a scorecard from every round they've played. So far, they've got more than 1,000 scorecards.

"Every day we're thinking about mini-golf in some capacity," Schwartzman said.

We talked to them about what makes a good mini-golf hole, their favorite courses and why they don't play what they call "big golf." The story was was edited for length and clarity:

Q: Is miniature golf a serious sport?

Schwartzman: To a very small group of people, it is a very serious sport. And there are definitely mini-golfers who say that it should be televised.

Loftus: I believe it is absolutely a serious sport and want to help grow a greater appreciation for the competitive game. I'd love to see it in the Olympics. I think the thing that will hold it back is that in other sports like pickleball and cornhole, you have a standardized playing field. With mini-golf, the tournaments don't happen on identical courses. There are so many idiosyncrasies in a course.

Q: Describe the state of miniature golf.

Schwartzman: We've seen it kind of go in waves. It started in the 1920s with rooftop courses. Then the Great Depression hit, and it kind of went away. Then we see it resurge again in the 1950s, when you have cars and road trips and roadside Americana. Then you see it kind of go away a bit in the 1970s. And then you see a resurgence again in the '80s with family entertainment centers with arcades and roller skating and growth in the suburbs. And then it kind of fades away again a bit.

But now we're seeing a resurgence, not only with artist-designed courses but also tech- driven courses, these kind of Instagrammable experience courses where the environment and theming is so immersive that everyone wants to go and take their picture in it.

Q: Did the game get a bump from the pandemic?

Schwartzman: During the pandemic, we had course owners tell us they had record seasons. It's a safe activity. It's outside. People can stay naturally socially distanced, and people weren't really traveling on vacation, so it was something to do close to home.

Q: What makes a good miniature golf hole?

Schwartzman: It's definitely about skill and chance and having the opportunity to have a hole in one but it's not guaranteed. There's a risk/reward component, so you maybe can go for the narrow pathway or the challenging obstacle that gets you a good chance of getting a hole in one, but it's very high-risk, so if you miss, you might be sitting at three or four strokes. And then the third big element is the journey of the ball. If the ball is going through a bridge into a castle, you can't physically go into that space with the ball because we're too big, but our mind is kind of traveling along with it as it takes its journey. We're kind of living vicariously through the ball's adventure.

Q: What are your favorite courses in the Twin Cities?

Schwartzman: Lilli Putt in Coon Rapids is a really good challenge course, for a putting challenge.

Loftus: The obvious other one is Big Stone, where we had our first date and got married. The Walker course is quick, it's fun, it's engaging, it's interactive.

Schwartzman: And then you get to go to the museum.

Q: Favorite course anywhere?

Schwartzman: One of the best is Par-King in the Chicagoland area. There's a giant pink castle. There's perfectly trimmed hedges everywhere. Every hole is a unique journey. They repaint the entire course every year, so it's immaculate. It's just what you'd imagine as the quintessential miniature golf experience.

Q: Do you play actual golf?

Schwartzman: We call it big golf, and I've never played big golf.

Loftus: I've played it a handful of times. I think some people really enjoy getting out in that really manicured version of nature that is a golf course. I don't. I think it takes up a lot of space where not much is done.

Q: I don't have little kids at home. I'm not a teenager on a date. Should I play mini-golf?

Schwartzman: Our answer is always yes. You don't need a kid. You don't need to be on a date. Anyone can play mini-golf, and it's fun, and it's still going to be challenging.