Suburban Mini Golfer To Appear on New Reality TV Series

LAKE COUNTY, IL — Mick Cullen's love for mini golf started as a child. Growing up in Wildwood and Grayslake, Cullen, who is now 42 years old and living in Lindenhurst, went often to a 36-hole course in Beach Park with his parents and brother.

"It was inexpensive family entertainment," he said.

Now Cullen, a College of Lake County instructor of human services and a world record holder in miniature golf, will be a contestant on the July 18 installment of Holey Moley, a new competition series on ABC-TV that showcases mini-golf lovers from around the country as they compete through an epic obstacle golf course for a $25,000 prize, according to a news release from the College of Lake County.

Cullen said he was "really excited" to receive a phone call in March from the show's production company asking him to come to Los Angeles in April for a week of filming. He said he first learned of the casting call last October from friend. Rather than appear in person, Cullen and the other prospects submitted online applications and videos of their mini golf skills. The next steps, during the winter months, were phone and Skype interviews with show producers as well as a background check.

Cullen mentioned in the interviews his world record that he achieved in 2011, for the largest number of rounds of mini golf played in 24 hours. He played 5,040 holes (280 18-hole rounds) at an indoor mini golf facility in Waukegan. His feat raised $2,500 for Parkinson’s disease research, in memory of his wife's late grandfather who experienced the disorder, according to a news release.

Cullen's record, which is recognized by www.recordsetter.com, surpasses a Guinness record that is disputed within the mini golf community because the latter golfer is alleged not to have kept score.

To prepare for the April filming, Cullen said he practiced an hour a day for a month at a Waukegan course and the Libertyville Sports Complex. For the taping, Cullen flew to California with his mother, Dianne, 62, who is also a contestant on the show and will appear in the July 25 installment. She will not compete with Mick, who put in a good word for her when asked by show producers to recommend other contestants. Dianne also had to complete the application and interview process.

Cullen is the founder of the MC Mini Masters, an annual June weekend tournament involving dozens of players competing on a half-dozen courses in Lake and Kenosha Counties. The tournament first began in 1997.

Mini golf's appeal, he said, is the combination of skill, luck and fun for all ages, sizes and abilities, regardless of gender.

"You don’t have to be particularly large or a superior athlete to play, but having some athletic skill helps," he said. "Age and gender don’t factor as much. My five-year-old son can beat me on a hole. You can be as competitive or non-competitive as you want to be."

The competition of "Holey Moley" involves 10 episodes, each featuring 12 contestants, with the top finisher each week receiving a $25,000 prize. Cullen, along with the other contestants, promised the network that he would not divulge how he did in the competition prior to the July 18 air date.