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After winning the International Pro-Am at Matterhorn Golf Mini Golf in Canton, two Connecticut natives will travel to the Czech Republic to compete in the World Adventure Golf Finals.
“We have 36 of the best miniature golfers,” said David Vajda of Simsbury, who has more than 40 years of golf experience. “Europe is taking miniature golf to a whole different level.”
Caleb Smith, a senior at Farmington High School and a member of the River Hawks golf team, also qualified for international competition.
“Just me and Caleb,” Vajda said. “We are the only two representing the United States.”
“It’s definitely a blessing to go over there and compete for Team USA,” Smith said.
Both golfers have experienced hole-in-ones.
“I guess I just stopped counting,” Vajda said.
“Honestly, there are too many to count,” Smith said. “We need as much as possible here.”
This is the first year the United States will compete in the World Adventure Golf Finals.
“Mini golf as a sport is like any other sport,” said Pat Sheridan, International Pro-Am Tournament Director. “You have to put in the time to get out of there, so we’ve been practicing for weeks since we found out they were eligible for this.”
Vajda and Smith hope their experience will lead to successful pressure putts.
“There’s kind of a correlation between being able to handle pressure in both real golf and mini golf,” Smith said.
“It’s important to have patience and understand that you’re not going to make every putt,” Vajda said. “That’s what’s really important to me, to go out and have fun and compete to the best of my ability.”
The competition will be held in Brno, Czech Republic on April 27th and 28th.
“I always dreamed of being on the PGA Tour when I was a kid, but I had never played mini golf, so it was something I never dreamed of,” Smith said.
Learn more about how you can support Caleb and David here.
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