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The Year-in-Review Guy For more than two decades, John Minnium has distributed in-depth statistical breakdowns of his golfing journey, from lost balls to free rounds BY ALEX MYERS
out the year with- out belonging to a private club. “So I said, ‘Well, I’ll tell you what, I’ll track this year how many
A Masters invite is the most coveted piece of mail in golf, one that even prompts
At first glance, the Year in Review might seem like a braggy Christmas card, but it’s really a love letter to the game. rounds he’s played at his two home courses at Vanderbilt Legends Club (800 at the North Course and 446.5 at the South). Plus, there is other fun stuff like a sad photo of him noting his “longest stretch with no golf” (seven days) and a smiling photo of him hold- ing up a bloodied wrist and a handful of golf balls. “Ball-hawking injury,” he writes. “It was worth it for five Pro V1s.” So how did this whole thing start? Minnium was living in Pittsburgh in 2002 when a college buddy, Steve Ian- narelli, didn’t believe he had played more than 100 rounds of golf through- most rounds with, to even how much he paid per round. There’s one sec- tion that highlights his “career-high 17 free rounds,” in which he makes sure to thank all his gracious hosts. At first glance, the Year in Review might seem like a braggy Christmas card, but it’s really a love letter to the game. It’s also as thorough as a media guide, tracking Minnium’s driving accuracy, greens in regulation, putts per round, number of double bogeys and number of lost balls (121 total in 2024, up 6 per- cent from 2023). In 2025 he had a record number of people (two) recognise him as the “Year-in-Review Guy.” Also notable was that Minnium final- ly got hit by a golf ball (a bladed wedge to the ankle) for the first time in 3 600 career rounds. Minnium also publishes his lifetime stats, including how many
HOLD THE FINISH Minnium strikes the same pose for each cover of the pamphlet.
veteran tour pros to share its delivery on social media every year, but there’s another special delivery that has regular golfers checking their mailbox- es each January. Sent from Franklin, Tennessee, instead of Augusta, Geor- gia, John Minnium’s “Year in Review” has become a cult classic among golf sickos in recent years. After all, no one appreciates a true golf nut more than a fellow golf nut. “I get 10 to 15 messages every day for a two-month period,” Minnium says of interested golfers reaching out about his yearly book. After I wrote about Minnium’s 2023 review, Minnium sent me a copy and as a pleasant surprise added me to his annual mailing list. The 2024 edition, all 16 entertaining pages of it in colour, was even better. Along with the hundreds of other lucky golfers who receive the pamphlet, I eagerly awaited the latest 2025 edition. It takes Minnium a while to compile and tabulate the numbers. “I would say at least 90 percent of people get it,” said Minnium, 62, who retired in 2024 after working in pharma sales for 30 years. “They pick it up, they laugh at it, but 10 percent of people are like, It was just stupid. This guy’s not any good. And I’m like, Yeah, that’s the point. It’s just me chronicling my golf for 23 years.” The Year in Review is a deep, deep dive, tracking Minnium’s yearly stats – from scores for every round he’s played (in 2025 he was looking to bounce back after his 2024 scoring average of 84.0 was up 0.7 from 2023), to where he’s played (there’s a map and a brief description of every course), to how many people he played with (an im- pressive 8 percent of his rounds in 2025 were fivesomes), to who he played the
rounds I played,’ ” Minnium said, “and then I just tracked a few stats, and I sent it to him.” Minnium was surprised when Iannarelli, a graphic designer, sent back a one-page PDF that included the stats as well as a photo of Minnium swinging a club at a Rutgers alumni golf tournament. Minnium liked it so much that he made 30 copies and sent them out to friends. The next year, he made 50 copies, taking Iannarelli’s file to Kinko’s for better printing quality, and it took off from there. In 2024, Minnium mailed more than 350 printed cop- ies, the exclusive list reaching as far as places like Perth and London. He says that even with Iannarelli’s free servic- es, the yearly project costs him more than $1 000, but it’s well worth it. “It’s really about sharing my golf journey with others,” he says, “and there’s a lot of people on some crazy golf journeys.” Many more people have followed Minnium’s golfing exploits in recent years as various golf media outlets began sharing these rundowns of this random – but relatable – avid golfer. “Sometimes a person will reach out wanting to complete their set (of all 23 editions), although I’ve never done an audit,” says Minnium, whose wife, Ann, has become a sort of gatekeeper of the annual mailing list. “Last year, a girl reached out asking for one for her boyfriend’s birthday. I told her you don’t have to worry about getting him any other present because this is going to be the best one, just kind of teasing.” Minnium displays that playful spirit in a closing Q&A – mostly with him-
I’d argue Minnium is also a scratch golfer when it comes to keeping track of his own stats, even if he admits his record-keeping of the Year in Review mailing list is spotty – not that that’s a bad thing for those who enjoy receiv- ing them. “Once you’re on the list,” Minnium says, “you ain’t coming off it.” Good to hear, John. Keep ’em coming.
play golf,” Minnium says. “You can get some exercise, you can have some camaraderie, you can commune with nature, and you can play well or shoot a good score. But if you only tie your enjoyment to the score, you’ll quit. I always say you can do the other three things every time, and I’m a scratch golfer at those three things.”
self—that might be the highlight of his yearly missive. It’s here where he tries to make sense of bigger picture stuff like future golf plans and his fluctuat- ing handicap in retirement, but what doesn’t change is his fantastic philoso- phy about the game. “I’ve learned that there are four things that can happen every time you
PHOTOGRAPH BY DANIEL BROWN
30 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
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