There are these extraordinary achievements that go beyond sports. And there are those who stay under the radar, even though they are just as “incredible, breathtaking, suuuuuuuperbe”. The shot made by a mini-putt pro in Quebec last weekend falls into the second category.
• Also read: [VIDÉO] Miniputt: At 70, Carl Carmoni is still aiming for a birdie despite his battle with cancer
Dany Labarre played “the round of his life” at Mini-Putt Vanier last weekend, posting a score of 23, meaning he made 13 birdies and made par five times.
Such a result has not been seen in a provincial competition since 1990, assures Carl Carmoni, a real living legend of the discipline, even if some players boast that they “played 21s in training”. “But that doesn’t count. What counts are the tournaments,” swears the veteran.
Jocelyn Noël, another great mini-putt master, goes one step further and affirms that such a feat has not been achieved in almost 40 years.
“This is an extraordinary achievement in the provincial competition,” says Noël, who has been playing since 1986 and compiles a number of mini-putt statistics. If a score like this had been recorded before, he would know about it.
More difficult than before
Bringing back a 23 card is no easy task. It’s a path as winding as a birdie in “zigzag” or “slalom,” rightly recall Carmoni and Noël, who shone on the small screen in the Mini-Putt Challenge in the 90s.
Today it is even “much more difficult to score well than before.” The regulations have changed and that increases his performance,” says Carmoni.
“For example, we can no longer stay on the sidelines today. You must play the hole the way it is made. And before that, players could change balls on every hole. Today that is no longer possible,” adds Jocelyn Noël, the previous record holder, who made his dream lap come true alongside Dany Labarre.
“He just told me, ‘Put it in,'” Labarre recalls with a laugh as he prepared to play “the Plateau,” the 18th hole that consists of an imposing climb. The 41-year-old artificial intelligence developer has only been competing on the province’s green carpets since 2020.
Photo Stevens Leblanc
Record holder and champion
And for the record, Dany Labarre’s performance also allowed him to get his hands on the President’s Cup, a trophy awarded to the player who accumulated the most points in the rankings during the season.
“I also did it at a crucial moment of the season. I was behind the leader and had to play well if I wanted to catch him. That makes it even more special. “That moves me a lot,” says the tall man.
One thing is certain: he will remember the atmosphere on the track at that moment for a long time. “Nobody was talking,” he remembers, “a bit like when a pitcher is heading for a perfect baseball game.” »
Passionate since a young age
Quebec’s new mini-putting monarch says he contracted the virus as a child and the competitions were televised.
“I had a good reference and was able to choose a putter in the store. I was left-handed, but there were only right-handed people left. I took one anyway because I liked it so much. »
Today, almost 30 years later, this choice of putter gives it an advantage over its competitors because it is ambidextrous.
The youngest winner of the President’s Cup and new record holder for the best round of mini putts during a tournament met our journalist Simon Baillargeon in a friendly match. The putting pro made short work of the author of these lines. Photo Stevens Leblanc
With the championship under his belt, Dany Labarre doesn’t want to stop playing the sport that fascinates him, even if he is aware that some people look down on those who practice it.
He doesn’t care about the comments, preferring to invite skeptics to a round at a tournament to show them how seriously they take the discipline.
“We know that we force our face and work hard to get a shot and we miss the cut by a hair. And right after that, you have a kid next door who hits it hard without looking too hard and makes birdie. We are aware of the extent of irony. But it can be really competitive,” he argues.
After a round of the last 23, who will dare contradict him?
Mini Putt is being revived thanks to the pandemic and a return to television is not out of the question
Mini-putt has seen a “real resurgence” in Quebec since the pandemic. More and more Quebecers are becoming interested in the art of putting and a return to television is not out of the question.
This is the observation of the professional of the discipline Jocelyn Noël, who has been playing since 1986.
“Since the pandemic, the number of players has really increased. Mini-Putt allowed people to play and socialize outside, and it was affordable,” says the man who is still involved in this environment.
The sport seems to have been riding this wave ever since. “We have a league one night a week in Vanier. Up to 40 players register, something we haven’t seen before. »
Quebec’s best players meet about a dozen times a year for tournaments organized by Quebec’s “Mister Mini-Putt,” Carl Carmoni. A few satellite tournaments organized across the province complete the picture.
Carl Carmoni, true Quebec mini-putt legend, during a meeting with Le Journal earlier this year. Archive photo, QMI Agency
At tournaments, we introduced a Pro-Am formula to attract amateurs. The formula allows them to work with a professional player and benefit from his advice.
“People come and can be compared to big names like Carl Carmoni. This makes it easier to integrate new people and build a succession,” notes Dany Labarre.
Back to TV?
Driven by the show Défi Mini-Putt in the 90s, the sport gradually returned to anonymity until 2021 when it went on air in a more mixed format.
“Carl [Carmoni] is working on the project,” confirms Jocelyn Noël, adding that it costs money. The sticking point remains money.
“It’s not like the 90s,” where there were sponsors offering five or six-figure sums. But we are looking for them! » emphasizes Dany Labarre with a laugh.
The message will start.
Regular like a metronome
The Journal treated itself to an 18-hole course with new record holder Dany Labarre and quickly realized that while everyone can play mini-putts, not everyone can string together birdies. The author of these lines may have played his best game ever thanks to good advice from the recent President’s Cup winner, but he wasn’t even close to coming out on top. Labarre returned a card of 29 while I finished with a score of 38. His putts almost all came close to the cup, although they didn’t go there on the first try. If you want to be as regular as a metronome, you leave nothing to chance. He knows the terrain like the back of his hand and the slightest change can affect his approach. “When it’s July and the sun is shining, it’s different than when it’s cloudy. The way the ball sticks to the mat or not will change,” he explains. We take his word for it!
In a friendly mini-putting competition, President’s Cup winner Dany Labarre gave journalist Simon Baillargeon no chance and won by 9 shots. However, the latter played his best round of mini putts ever. Photo Simon Baillargeon Photo Simon Baillargeon
Yes, it’s officially a sport!
Anyone who likes to say that mini putt isn’t a sport should think again. And it wasn’t the mini-putt professionals who decided it, but a judge. “Mini putt is officially recognized as a sport and this is thanks to an entrepreneur from Laval who wanted a license to sell alcohol,” laughs Dany Labarre as he tells this story.
The anecdote makes you smile, but it couldn’t be truer. In January 2009, the owner of Putting Edge in Laval had the Quebec Administrative Court rule in his favor after a year and a half of litigation against the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux (RACJ), which rejected him to grant such permission. The organization argued at the time that mini-putt required neither physical exertion nor methodical training. “You have to invest a lot of time in training to be among the elite. If you don’t train, you won’t be competitive,” says Mr. Labarre.