| A rising star |
| At 11 years old, Emanuele Prestinari is one of the youngest and most promising players in Italian minigolf. Despite his young age he has already won many diverse titles and even earned a spot in the magazine Focus Junior |
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(04/16/07)
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| The young Emanuele, center |
For Emanuele Prestinari, 11 years old from Milan, sending the ball in the hole with the least amount of strokes possible and studying the trajectory paths and slopes are a real passions for the him. He has belonged to the Miniature Golf Club in Novi Ligure since 2006, and earned the number 2 ranking in the category “under 20”, but he even makes the “adults” sweat it out as he placed 21 in the ranking for the men’s category in Italy. And it doesn’t stop here; in 2003 he placed first in the Italian Championship for the “under 15” category, while arriving in the number two post in 2004 and 2006 editions. At the tender age of 10 he made the first-ranking of the men’s qualifications which is reserved to the best 110 Italian players. His natural talent for minigolf certainly has not gone unnoticed, for even the national media in Italy reserved a place for this young wonder
in the monthly magazine, Focus Junior, dedicating a page entirely to him (the article can be viewed at: www.minigolf2007.com/ita/press/hannodetto/&ID=12932). This rising star in the world of Italian minigolf reveals some of his secrets to the magazine: the aspect that he enjoys most is the possibility to spend an entire day outdoors with mom and dad; however he also likes the aspects associated with competitive playing; from choosing the right ball to discovering the best trajectory path of every pitch.
Emanuele has grown up with minigolf, as he and his mother always followed around father Sergio in both Italy and abroad to help him in his competitions. However, in 2002 Emanuele decided he was tired of just watching his father play and took it upon himself to pick up the putter and give minigolf a shot. His try at minigolf lead to the discovery that he
possessed a true talent for this sport. Only a year after first picking up the putter he won the 2003 Italian Championships for the under 15 category while arriving in second place at the 2004 and 2006 editions of this tournament. Then in 2005, at only 10 years of age, the boy went on to make the first-round qualifications for the best 110 male Italian players.
For Emanuele all the aspects that make up minigolf are a passion for him and he surely demonstrates this by his playing. On average, he finishes the traditional 18 hole course in 33 strokes. However, it is not an easy task to make others understand that minigolf is a real sport like the others. Emanuele is patiently waiting for the upcoming world competitions this year, when he will have the occasion to see some of the best players in the world of minigolf come together to compete in Italy.
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