By Shari Roan
On a recent sunny morning at the Main Beach Putt-Putt, a group of kind-looking gentlemen took to the course, engaging in conversation and enjoying each other’s company. Don’t be fooled. And don’t challenge any of them to a match — unless you want to be embarrassed. The group represents some of the best Putt-Putt players in the nation.
Their talents will be on full display Oct. 20-24 at Main Beach during the five-day Professional Putters Association (PPA) National Championship. The tournament is expected to draw about 100 of the best amateur, professional and senior players in the nation. Nassau County will be well represented. The county boasts four Putt-Putt champions, several of whom moved here, in part, to play on the Main Beach course.
Danny Tatum, Jim Last, Rick Culverhouse and Tony Varnadore will be among the competitors to watch as the tournament kicks off. They are excited to compete and to serve as tournament hosts. Two other local putters, David Atz from Jacksonville, and Randy Orr from Fernandina Beach, will also be in the trophy hunt.
“We call ourselves the sandbaggers from Fernandina,” says Tatum, who began putting in the 1970s as a junior. “We take pride in our little group and represent well when we travel.”
Tatum, Varnadore and Culverhouse all moved to the area to access the Main Beach Putt-Putt course. Main Beach Putt-Putt was also the site of the National Championships in 2015 and 2020.
Jim Last, who at age 79 is the oldest competitor on the Professional Putters Association tour, lived in Nassau County for many years while working at WestRock. He often practiced alone, encouraged by the previous owner of Main Beach Putt-Putt, Florida Congressman Aaron Bean.
“Aaron let me work on the course and practice, even in the winter when it was shut down,” Last recalls. “I had no one to practice with. It gets kind of old. But in 2019, Rick Culverhouse said he was going to move here. He was a huge help to me mentally and physically.”
Last won all five tournaments held during the National Championships in 2020. He is the only amateur putter to win all five titles in a single week-long tournament (Nationals, Doubles, Seniors, Tournament of Champions and Hall of Fame Classic).
Culverhouse has won the National Seniors Championship twice. He took up Putt-Putt in the early ‘80s and turned pro in 1983. In 1988, he stopped playing to devote time to raising a family and work. In 2002, he began playing again. A retired Publix store manager, he was living in Sebring but had played Putt-Putt tournaments at Main Beach. “My wife and I had always had such a good time here that we decided to move here,” he says.
Tatum, winner of the 2012 National Championship, moved to the area with his wife in 2021 to enjoy retirement.
“I started coming to Fernandina about 11 or 12 years ago to compete in Putt-Putt,” he says. “That’s what brought most of us to the area. My wife and I just fell in love with the area.”
Varnadore was drawn to life in Nassau County after participating in several Putt-Putt tournaments here. He played in the 1970s and, after military service, joined the PPA in 1992. The winner of the 2009 National Championship, he moved to Fernandina Beach five years ago from Charlotte. The retired Air Force veteran and U.S. Postal Service employee now works part-time at Island Falls Adventure Golf on Sadler Road.
The Fernandina Beach “sandbaggers” are looking forward to showing off their hometown, Putt-Putt course and, of course, their skills at the tournament. Main Beach Putt-Putt underwent a renovation this year and sports a sparkling new clubhouse. Tom Miller, the owner of Main Beach Putt-Putt, has elevated Main Beach Putt-Putt to its glory days, the Nassau County putters say. At its peak popularity decades ago, there were several hundred Putt-Putt franchise courses around the country. Today, only about 25 remain.
“Tom Miller is one of those guys who played Putt-Putt every weekend as a kid,” Last says. “He saved the course. It’s going great now. We’re all grateful to him for coming in and keeping it going.
“People, from the first time they came here, rave about it,” he adds. “They say, ‘You can see the ocean from the course!’ People love coming here because of the extracurricular activities. It’s the favorite stop on the tour.”
The week will include the Professional Putters Association Hall of Fame induction and banquet on Oct. 21 at Amelia River Golf Club. Greg Newport, of Charlotte, North Carolina, will be honored. “He’s the most recent player in Putt-Putt history to shoot a perfect 18,” Tatum says. “Only five players have done that in 65 years. He has many accolades, along with two national championships. He will be one of the favorites in the tournament.”
Tournament action — featuring seniors, professionals, amateur and team competitions — will begin each day at 10 a.m. except for Friday, when the start time is 9 a.m. Amateurs can sign up and join the fun.
The local group expects to have a strong showing, Culverhouse says.
“You always like to be the home team,” he says. “We know the course very well. But with the caliber of the putters competing, they are going to play the course well, too. It’s the best competition of the year.”
The week will be a celebration of friendships among putters from around the country.
“This is about getting together with friends,” Varnadore says. “You go out and have fun. When I travel to play, it’s fun seeing everyone and hanging out.”
And, when the tournament concludes, the Nassau County putters will still have each other to practice with and compete against.
“We have a mutual respect,” Tatum says. “We know that, with golf, you’ll have more downs than ups. You don’t win every time you tee it up. We pull for each other, and we enjoy each other’s company. We want to beat each other during the day and then go enjoy a beverage together afterward.”
