Peter Gilchrist '00 takes the bronze in the Masters National Championship

By Cassie Ferguson

Gazette Staff Writer

The challenge of hitting a hole-in-one in the shadow of a smoke-belching, fire-spitting volcano doesn't faze Pete Gilchrist '00. Nor does putting through palm trees, grass huts, and legions of Germans toting coolers full of chilled, dimple-less golf balls.

Gilchrist is a world-class miniature golfer. Last year's national champion, this year he placed third in a three-day Masters National Championship tournament held in September in Myrtle Beach, N.C.

"Pete's an excellent player," said Bob Detweiler, who plays on Team USA and owns the Hawaiian Caverns and Hawaiian Rumble miniature golf courses, where this year's championship was held.

In a tight contest of 10 rounds of 18 holes, Gilchrist scored a 330 -- one stroke more than the second-place finisher, to take home $500 and the bronze medal. This despite distractions, which apart from the tropical scenery and rumbling volcano, included rain and a fellow player tying the knot on a faux Hawaiian island at the course between rounds.

Gilchrist, a Dunster house resident, has been honing his miniature golf skills in his hometown of Boothbay Harbor, Maine, since he was 3 years old. His best score so far has been a 30 at his hometown artificial green, the Dolphin Mini Golf course.

"I don't really have a strategy," he said. "I just play as I go along."

Gilchrist manages to maintain his mini-golfing edge despite not practicing at school; Cambridge doesn't have a course. Instead, he plays during the summer and competes in two tournaments a year, this year placing third at the New England regionals to qualify for the Nationals.

He's currently studying mathematics and thinking of switching to computer science, but he doesn't plan on a future in mini-golf.

"It's fun, but not something I'll do for a living," Gilchrist explained. He's considering heading to law school.

Perhaps if Gilchrist lived in Europe, where miniature golfing is serious business, he might see more of a future in the sport. Germany alone is reported to have 4,000 teams. "It's kind of like how we have bowling teams over here," said Detweiler.

Miniature golf competitors like Gilchrist are required to use PGA-approved golf clubs, and the green scoreboard at Nationals is just like the one at regular golf's Augusta Masters tournament. Unlike their amateur counterparts, however, miniature golf pros don't carry scorecards or gnawed half-pencils.

Many players use special smooth balls, since the roll-affecting dimples are there just for flight -- something to be avoided in miniature golf. Europeans have a reputation for chilling balls in a cooler to help control their bounce.

Miniature golf is moving to the big time, according to Detweiler and the Miniature Golf Association of America.

"It's not just family entertainment anymore," said Detweiler. "It's definitely becoming more of a sport."