Whanganui-born Matt Ansley on his run to the WMF World Adventure Golf final

Matt Ansley returned to Whanganui to visit family following his outstanding performance at the WMF World Adventure Golf Tour in Czechia. Photo / Bevan Conley

Being up there with the best in the world at mini-golf hasn’t gone to Kiwi underdog Matt Ansley’s head.

“I’ve heard it all before; that if you take mini-golf seriously, there must be something wrong with you,” he said.

Ansley has just returned to Whanganui to celebrate with family following his performance at the WMF World Adventure Golf Tour in Czechia.

Despite scraping into the top-16 knockout round while playing locals with extensive knowledge of the course, Ansley made it through to the final.

His supporters at home watched it unfold through a live stream.

“People have admitted to me they watched the fifth round thinking they’d be polite, but then I kept going. I was getting messages saying, ‘Matt, I’ve got work tomorrow, stop winning,” Ansley said.

In the final putt, Ansley and his competitor were on equal points, but a mishit led Ansley to just lose out on first place and the €3000 ($5425) prize.

For his second-place effort, he still came away with €1500 ($2700).

“It was such a mix of emotions because everything I’d done was just beyond all of my expectations, and then to get to the final and miss it by one shot - that part still hasn’t sunk in,” he said.

Ansley’s road to becoming a mini-golf world champion began as a bit of a joke.

In 2017, he signed up for his first New Zealand mini-golf competition: “It was just for a laugh.”

Previously, Ansley had played golf in his teenage years with a handicap of one or two, but he had to give the sport up because it was too costly and time-consuming.

Since that first competition, mini-golf has been the sport that’s gripped him.

Mini golf might just involve putting - but as all golfers know, that takes a lot of skill.

“It’s all a bit of finesse and working out angles, and you need your club face to be as square as possible when it hits the ball to get the best result.”

In between rounds at the tour, Ansley used breathing techniques to keep himself calm under the pressure.

“When you get nervous and you putt, instead of being like a pendulum and going straight forward and back, your hands start to shake.

“There were a few times there when you start to overthink and your putting stroke becomes like an electric shock.”

Ansley would like to see more people get involved in the sport

He sees it as being more accessible to ordinary people than normal golf, as it doesn’t favour any age or sex because you don’t have to hit the ball as far.

Overseas he’s witnessed much larger investment in mini-golf courses, often including bars and restaurants, ten-pin bowling and built overlooking impressive scenery.

That is something he’d like to see New Zealand consider moving forward to inspire more people to take part in the sport, rather than just young children and beginner golfers.

This year’s 2024 NZ Minigolf Open is being held in Wellington in November and is an open entry event.

Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.