01 May 2016 at 17:52 | Published by: PatPenguin | Views: 22461 | News search

Pat at the 2015 U.S. Open  (Photo by Pat Sheridan)

(by the Minigolfnews.com Editor-in-Chief)

Q: Who are you and where do you come from?
A: My name is Pat Sheridan and I live in Manchester, CT, USA with my wife Liz and my 7 month old son Malcolm.

Q: What did you do with Hans?
A: Nothing. He’s alive and presumably well.

Q: Seriously, who are you? How are you connected to miniature golf?
A: Along with Mandy Ranslow, I co-founded The Putting Penguin website in 2001 and our team has expanded to include Liz, who is our artistic director. Our website started as a repository for miniature golf course reviews (like a Yelp! of miniature golf) but we’ve since expanded into promoting all things miniature golf on social media, playing in tournaments and doing our own competitive and charity tournaments. We’ve been highlighted in a few publications and media outlets here in the US. I’m a member of the USPMGA and I’m on the Sport for All committee of the WMF. I love miniature golf and want to do whatever I can to spread the joy of the game to as many people as possible.

Q: So why are you the one taking over the site?
A: I was asked to take over due to the depth of our miniature golf social media content. You can find us on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram. While our site focuses on reviews, our social media outlets try to share everything we can find about miniature golf. We’re going to try to take that experience at promoting to running this site. As a side note - don’t forget to use the hashtag #minigolfmonday and #minigolf when posting things on social media, it helps to drive our community!

Q: What do you plan on doing with the site?
A: I have some modest goals for my first year as Editor-in-Chief. I have three primary objectives: 1) post as much news about tournaments around the world as possible, 2) integrate information from the US more in the site and, 3) expand the coverage of non-tournament miniature golf news and events from around the world. I want the site to be friendly to both the competitive and casual player, and to highlight how great a sport minigolf is for everyone. As you can tell, I like to add a lighter side to things and I hope that helps bring in viewers. It would be great if we could convert just one person from a casual putter to a tournament competitor.

Q: How often do you expect the site to be updated?
A: We’ll try to update the site a couple of times a month at a minimum to keep things moving this first year back. If we have the chance, we’ll definitely update it more.

Q: How will this differ from what you are doing with your own site?
A: The Putting Penguin’s core focus is still on miniature golf course reviews from around the world, which won’t be covered on this site. Our social media focuses mainly on the US but we expect there to be a lot of cross promotion of this site’s content to get as wide an audience as possible.

Q: You seem to lack international experience and even experience in your own country (no Putt Putt tournaments played). How will that impact your ability to run this site?
A: I’m always looking expand my horizons and to play in some tournaments outside of the USPMGA. While my favorite courses to play are the big “American” entertainment courses, I keep my mind open to all styles of miniature golf and will promote them all equally. I hope to learn even more about the international game through working on this site.

Q: What if we don’t like what you’re doing?
A: Let me know! While we have some goals for the site we’re open to constructive criticism and want to do what is best for our followers.

Q: Let’s be more positive - how can we help you?
A: Get me information about everything you can! I’m more a facilitator than a content generator so the more I know, the more I can get published in the website.

Q: Let’s get personal - besides playing, what’s your favorite thing about miniature golf?
A: It’s the people we’ve met during our minigolf journey. I’m amazed by how many friends we’ve made from so many walks of life and parts of the world. It really shows how international and diverse minigolf can be.

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