COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Professional miniature golf player Matt Male has already heard all the wisecracks about the windmills, pirate ships and waterfall hazards. So just save it.
Male knows the drollery comes with the territory, though, and he's a pretty good sport about it. Earning esteem - and money - as an elite player in a sport many people don't regard as a real sport isn't an easy thing.
''I guarantee that when they join us for a round, they will respect the skill involved in being able to do it consistently,'' the 31-year-old Male says of the haters.