In addition to being a winner on the PGA Tour, golfer Joel Dahmen is a self-proclaimed ace at Mario Kart 64. The 37-year-old said in an appearance on Good Good recently that he’s yet to meet anyone in the world who is better than him at the 1996 kart racer.
He said he played the the game nonstop in college when he was roommates with fellow golfers Nick Taylor and Kevin Spooner. They might have been better at the game back then, but today, Dahmen claims he’s the best.
“I still have met no one who can beat me at Mario Kart N64. If we do a best-of-10 races, I’m definitely winning 6, 7, 8. I put in more hours than anyone else,” he said.
Dahmen went on to discuss his skills on the sticks, saying he knows the technical ins and outs on how to gain the advantage on Mario Kart 64’s tracks.
“It’s more about drifting than item placement. If you can start blocking corners, blocking jumps–if you block those things, then all of a sudden you’re just getting ahead. You have to understand angles to be able to block items coming at you,” he said.
One tactic he uses is holding items behind his character to block incoming attacks. He also noted that he’s a big fan of the three green shells. With a steady hand they can be used to snipe other racers and knock them off course, he said. He also pointed out how, on Mario Raceway, it’s possible to drift, then fire all three off the walls while moving sideways, to creating a deadly trap for others.
Dahmen has one win on the PGA Tour back in 2021, along with 25 top 10 finishes, nine top 5 finishes, one third-place finish, and two runner-ups. He is featured prominently in Netflix’s Full Swing golf series.
The next Mario Kart game is rumored to be in the works now for Nintendo Switch 2. The Switch 2 announcement trailer in January might have revealed a first look at the game, but nothing is confirmed at this stage–we might learn more during the Nintendo Direct in April.