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The Professional Putters Association (PPA) was started in 1959 by Don Clayton, the founder of Putt-Putt Golf, in
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city.
Fayetteville has received the All-Ameri ...
. Originally begun as the Professional Putt-Putt Golfers Association in 1959, the name was changed in 1960 to the Professional Putters Association. The organization was formed to provide tournaments and competition for those who viewed putting as a sport. Since 1959, the PPA has held a National Championship Tournament.
The PPA has awarded over $8,000,000 in prize money over the past 52 years.
Billy Packer
Anthony William Packer (born Anthony William Paczkowski; February 25, 1940 – January 26, 2023) was an American college basketball player, sportscaster, and author. Packer spent more than three decades working as a color analyst for television ...
, best known for his work on
college basketball
College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
telecasts for both
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
and
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
, and
Frank Glieber
Frank John Glieber (April 5, 1934 – May 1, 1985) was a versatile American sportscaster known primarily for his play-by-play commentary on NFL telecasts for CBS Sports. Along the way, he served as a mentor to several athletes and coaches wh ...
, longtime sportscaster for CBS, served as the announcers for the Putt-Putt Golf Courses Championship TV series.
Timeline
1960 - The first National Tournament Program of the PPA offered $26,000 in prize money.
1961 - The first putting match ever to be filmed for television was the PPA "Parade of Champions" TV Series.
1965 - The PPA expanded to worldwide tournaments. The first foreign tournaments were held in Africa, with
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
following soon after.
1969 - The Amateur Putters Association (APA) began. Today, amateur putters compete in their own division in all PPA tournaments.
1970 - Vance Randall was honored as the 1960s Putter of the Decade.
1973 - The PPA sponsored the World Putting Championship tournament offering over $200,000 in prize money. Mike Baldoza captured the first place money of $50,000.
1980 - Dick and Evelyn Florin were honored as the 1970s Putters of the Decade.
1987 - The PPA inducted its first members into the newly created Putt-Putt/PPA Hall of Fame.
1990 - Ron Frederick was honored as the 1980s Putter of the Decade.
1995 - The PPA TV Series is shown worldwide on
ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
.
1998 - Over $7,500,000 awarded in the 39 years of the PPA
2000 - The PPA awards $100,000 in prize money for the 2000 PPA National Championship. Alan Quinnelly's victory makes him the only three-time winner of this event as a professional. The $50,000 first place check made him the sport's all-time career leading money winner at the time.
2001 - Greg Ward was honored as the 1990s Putter of the Decade
2002 - The PPA World Match Play Championship returns to the schedule and is won by Greg Ward in Martinez, Georgia
2005 - Greg Ward surpasses Alan Quinnelly as the sport's all-time leading money winner.
US Pro Mini-Golf Association Courses
* Lakepoint Station ~ 77 Old Allatoona Rd, Cartersville, GA 30121 Lakepoint Station Website * Island MiniGolf & Games ~ 7890 US 80 S., Savannah, GA 31410 Island MiniGolf Website * Ball Fore Miniature Golf ~ 6701 W. 107th Street, Worth, IL 60482 Ball Fore Miniature Golf Website * Kauai Mini Golf ~ 5-2723 Kuhio Hwy #101, Kilauea, HI 96754
* Lumberjack Pass MiniGolf ~ 1511 Route 9, Lake George, NY 12845 Lumerjack Pass MiniGolf Website * Bluegrass MiniGolf ~ 175 Oceanport Avenue, Oceanport, New Jersey 07757 Bluegrass MiniGolf Website * Mac & Bones Golf ~ 1 Mac n Bones Blvd., Pearl, MS 39208
* Boomers! ~ 1525 W. Vista Way, Vista, CA 92083 Boomers! Website * Mighty Jungle Golf ~ 7836 W. Irlo Bronson Hwy, Kissimmee, FL 34747
* Fireside Golf LLC ~ 485 Brookside Camp Road, Hendersonville, NC 28792 Fireside Golf Website * Mr. Putty's Fun Park ~ 2333 Dam Road, Tega Cay, SC 29708 Mr. Putty's Website * Chip's Clubhouse ~ 214 Fifth Avenue, Chardon, OH 44024 Chip's Clubhouse Website * Mossy Creek ~ 1204 George Ave., Jefferson City, TN 37760 Mossy Creek Website * Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf ~ 3316 St. Laurent Street Greater Sudbury, ON P0M1L0 Canada Dinosaur Valley Website * Mulligan's Island ~ 1000 New London Ave., Cranston, RI 02920 Mulligan's Island Website * Dolphin MiniGolf ~ 510 Wiscassett Road, Boothbay, ME 04537
* Nifty Fifty's ~ 4670 Route 42, Turnersville, NJ 08012
* Embassy Miniature Golf ~ 500 Embassy Oaks, San Antonio, TX 78216 Embassy MiniGolf Website * Prairieville Park ~ 2507 Plaza Court, Waukesha, WI 53186 Prairieville Park Website * Epic Entertainment ~ PO Box 502, Pueblo, CO 81002 Epic Entertainment Website * Putt'N Around ~ 350 N. E. 5th Ave., Delray Beach, FL 33483 Putt'N Around Website * Fiesta Falls MiniGolf ~ 818 A1A Beach Blvd., St. Augustine, FL 32080 Fiesta Falls MiniGolf Website * Putt U Mini Golf ~ 5201 Route 309, Center Valley, PA 18034 Putt U Website * Glo Indoor Mini Golf & Arcade ~ 1299 Galleria at Tyler, Riverside, CA 92503 Glo Indoor Website * Red Mill Mini Golf ~ 4243 Red Mill Valley Rd., Perry OH 44081
* Grand Country Indoor MiniGolf ~ 1945 W. 76th Country Blvd., Branson, MO 65616 Grand Country Website * Red Putter Mini Golf ~ 10404 Hwy 42, Ephraim, WI 54211
* Greatest Adventures MiniGolf ~ 4800 Gretna Road, Branson, MO 65616 Greatest Adventures Website * Sawyer's Creek ~ 11011 S 79 Hwy, Hannibal, MO 63401
* Hawaiian Rumble MiniGolf ~ 3210 Highway 17 S., North Myrtle Beach, SC 29582
* Shipwreck Golf ~ 759 Route 13, Cortland, NY 13045
* Hawaiian Village MiniGolf ~ 4205 Highway 17 S., North Myrtle Beach, SC 29582
* The Fringe ~ 5100 Commerce Pkwy, Roswell, GA 30076 Fringe Website * Inky's Mini Golf ~ Mile 17.5 Placencia Road, Across from Sirenian Bay Resort & Villas, Placencia Inky's Mini Golf Website * Vitense Golfland ~ 5501 Schroeder Rd, West Beltline Highway & Whitney Way Madison, WI 53711 Vitense Golfland Website *Prisco's Market & Deli ~ 8 Romney Rd, Bridgewater, MA 02324
*Aloha Mini-Golf ~ 900 Lake Arrowhead Rd, Myrtle Beach, SC 29572
*Cool Crest Miniature Golf Course ~ Cool Crest Miniature Golf Course and Metzger Biergarten 1402 Fredericksburg Rd.
*Oak Ridge Family Social Club ~ 5330 NE Oak Ridge Drive, Kansas City, MO 64119 Oak Ridge Website *Lakeview Putt N Play ~ 2245 Hendersonville Rd, Arden, NC 28704
*Island Falls Adventure Golf ~ Island Falls Adventure Golf 1550 Sadler Rd, Fernandina Beach, FL 32034
See also
*
Putt-Putt Fun Center
Putt-Putt, LLC (founded in 1954 as Putt-Putt Golf Courses of America, Inc.) is an American franchiser of Par 2 miniature golf businesses in several states as well as locations abroad. The franchise was originally branded as Putt-Putt Golf, but w ...