Mattie 5
Performer / Producer / Putter
Visit: http://gofundme.com/Mattie5
"Last Place Is A Great Place To Start"
from the desk of John Semander, Producer
What if I told you that the world's worst professional putter would become its biggest champion?
Well, Mattie 5 is that putter... and it is his story I'd like to tell.
In 2011, my friend Matt Bellner joined the Professional Putters Association, an organization I quite honestly never even knew existed. It was his sincere belief that he could achieve a childhood dream of becoming the Champion of Putt-Putt Golf.
Naturally, I thought he had gone insane. This suspicion was confirmed when he asked me to help him document his quest on camera for the whole world to see.
Soon, he was travelling the country, playing in dozens of tournaments across thousands of miles, and truth be told, playing quite badly.
It didn't take long for both of us to see that there were two very important truths about this new-found goal in Matt's life. It was, 1) a dying sport at which, 2) he was not all that skilled.
But along the way, I began to notice he had embarked on an unusual journey of discovery, trying to resurrect a dead sport while re-inventing his own life in the process.
It was then that we both realized, there is more than one definition of a champion.
"The Rise & Fall Of Professional Putt-Putt"
from the desk of John Semander, Producer
Do you remember playing Putt-Putt® as a kid?
There used to be as many as 900 courses around the world. Now, there are less than 50 Putt-Putt® Franchised locations.
At one point, the PPA awarded more prize money to its champions than the PGA. As a matter of fact, Jack Nicklaus made less money winning the 1973 PGA Championship than his PPA counterpart!
It was being nationally televised on major networks, with legendary sports announcers Ken "The Hawk" Harrelson and Billy Packer calling the shots live.
So what happened?
That's what Matt and I wanted to know, and it is our sincere hope that you will, too.
Somehow, the pro players survived a systematic decimation of their sport and remained a tight-knit group.
Telling Matt's story will allow us to tell theirs as well.
And hopefully, we can all help save this beloved American pastime that time forgot.
"For the Fund of It"
form the desk of John Semander, Producer
Trust me, the heavy lifting has already been done.
We've filmed more live tournaments than ESPN ever did; we've secured the legal rights to the PPA archives and saved footage from being lost forever. We've also fought off the vagrants camping out at dead courses in order to get the shots we needed to fulfill our vision of what this movie is all about.
It's been handled up to now.
But there is more that needs to be done.
Our GoFundMe site launched to raise funds and awareness:
Thank you.
John Semander, Producer