US ProMiniGolf
Thirteenth
Hall of Fame Member
John Forbes
In the 50’s and early 60’s, that business took the family to Ocean City, New Jersey for a month every summer while the horses raced at the Atlantic City Race Course. That is where John was introduced to mini golf. Most days, with his weekly allowance of $2.00 in his pocket, he and his best friend, Bucky Rosenburger and, at times, his two sisters, headed to the boardwalk. Back in those days, there were six or seven courses on the boardwalk, and they charged 50 cents to play 18 holes. During quiet times, they were often able to play a second 18 holes for free. John continued spending a portion of every summer in Ocean City until he was 16 and he remained a regular on those courses for over a decade.
Fast forward to 2000. John, himself, is now a horse trainer with a stable at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey. He and his assistant trainer, Pat McBurney, traveled to racetracks and horse sales in Lexington, Kentucky, Saratoga Springs, New York, and to southern Florida. During these trips John would stop and play at as many mini golf courses as he could. He told Pat he was doing ‘research’. One afternoon, as he was watching Pat drive golf balls into an open field near the Monmouth Park track, John commented that “this would be a hell of a place to put a mini golf course”.
The dream became a reality – Blue Grass Mini Golf was built in 2012.
Dennis Drazin, bought Monmouth Park race track and completed the construction of the mini golf course with a horse track theme.
In 2013 John Forbes stumbled upon the USPMGA tour, and applied to host the 2014 US Open which Matt McCaslin won for his 4th time. John loved the US Open so much he held it again in 2017, when Olivia Prokopova won. John was heartbroken when he had to cancel his 3rd US Open event in 2020 because of the Virus.
We are proud to welcome John Forbes into the most prestigious group of golfers we have to offer, the US ProMiniGolf Hall of Fame.