10 Aug 2019 at 19:39 | Published by: PatPenguin | Views: 22715 | News search

Sadly(?) there were no bears.  (Photo by ABC Network)

One of the things our editor excels at is asking questions of himself (in case you missed his introduction to the site back in 2016, you can check it out here). So he decided to do a quick interview with himself about Holey Moley. In case you missed it, he was on episode 5 on July 25. It streams on Hulu but there’s not much in terms of international choices. You can catch one YouTube clip of his appearance here. Pat is planning on doing a longer blog after the season ends in terms of his road to the show and some of the fun experiences that came out of it.

Q: Why did they shoot it at night?
A: I don’t know for sure but I heard it was partially due to being able to control the lighting on the set. After seeing the holes in both the day and night, I can say that they look way cooler at night and definitely made for better TV.

Q: Did you get to practice the holes?
A: It was very minimal and only in the first round. We were walked through how each of the holes would work, but didn’t get to see them in “action” until we actually stepped onto the course for filming.

Q: What was on Slip’N’Putt?
A: Lube and lots of it!

Q: How long did it actually take you to get up Slip’N’Putt (since they never showed you finally making it)?
A: I can’t remember at this point but it was at least 6 or 7 attempts. Making it to the first level was easy but that second piece was tough. You were just looking for the most-dry places to put your feet and had to keep chugging.

Q: What was it like playing minigolf under those lights, in what appeared to be chilly conditions and in front of all those people and cameras?
A: As a New Englander I barely noticed the chill and definitely not when up there putting. (It was shot in late Spring in the hills above LA, so it did get down into the 40s and 50s overnight.) I was nervous sitting there waiting, looking at the crowd and lights, but once I got up on the hole itself there everything changed. You really got to play into the energy that was there. Standing over the putts, I was just brought right into my normal frame of mind when in a tournament (yes, even on the Distractor). I thought I was going to be super nervous on the first putt I made but being in a familiar situation of putting put me at ease.

Q: What was the putting actually like?
A: For the most part the “greens” were in great condition but it was tough to see how true they rolled. You could tell from the video (and from stories I heard) that something like Teed Off had some unseen breaks in that 4 foot putt. This was likely in part to it being a putting green built 20 feet over water.

Q: How did you lose to a Grandma?
A: First, don’t be counting out Grandma’s, they have been dominating this show. Second, that’s what’s great about miniature golf – it’s a sport that can be played by all ages and all ages can excel at it. The competitive miniature golf scene has seen major championships won by young and old. Third, Dianne was also very passionate about minigolf and was no slouch. She ended up making the better putt when it mattered.

Q: You looked happy for Dianne when she won – were you or was that just all for TV?
A: I was genuinely happy for her. We had a chance to talk for some time before we were scheduled to play so I got to know her a bit and her passion for the game. She is a very nice person and I was glad she got an awesome moment in the spotlight (not to mention she would go on to win as well). Plus, and I won’t spoil some of the TV magic, that hole took even longer to play than it seemed for a couple of reasons, so the tension that built up was significant. I had decided that if I was going to lose, I was going to do it gracefully but the moment of loss did have unplanned emotion in it.

Q: Would you do it again if asked back (assuming they do another season sometime)?
A: Naturally I’d love to but it does take up some significant time. It would all depend on how it matches up with other tournaments and my other life commitments. Having been on the inaugural season checks off the item on the bucket list and I would love to give other people a shot at the show. But it’s hard to say no if someone thinks you are interesting enough to go back on TV. Either way I would totally support the show for as long as it runs!

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