British man breaks record for fastest hole of golf ever played
Golf has been humorously described as “a good walk spoiled.” Steve Jeffs sees it more as a fast sprint rewarded.
Jeffs, a 31-year-old physical education teacher from England, recently set the Guinness World Record for playing the fastest golf hole. To qualify for the world record, Guinness mandates that the hole must be at least 500 yards long.
So, on Aug. 25, 2017, at the Tiverton Golf Club in Devon, England, Jeffs set out to break the record on the 500-yard par-5 first hole.
Now, according to Guinness, you are allowed to use a golf cart between shots, but Jeffs had been training for months, so he decided to run between holes instead.
The previous record was set in 2005 by Brit Phil Naylor on the first hole of the Devlin course at St. Andrews Bay Golf Resort and Spa in Scotland. Naylor did it in 1 minute, 52 seconds. Jeffs did it in 1 minute, 50 seconds — timed from the when he made contact off the drive to the moment the ball dropped in the hole.
On the British Speed Golf blog, Jeffs provided an account of how he did it. It didn’t happen on the first attempt, but, under the watchful eye of Guinness monitors, it all came together on one perfectly executed hole.
“The drive was a beautiful long straight drive, I held back on the first sprint and took an extra breath, stood over the second shot, connected and hit a shot to the perfect position, just left of the fairway; sat up in the rough around 40 yards out,” wrote Jeffs.
“Last chance to hit a decent pitch – I did! It landed in front of the green and rolled out to 5 feet past the pin. A simple uphill putt was left, centimetres from the hole, tap in. Done!”
Can't believe we are between @TigerWoods @JustinRose99 & @IWoosnam !😳#golfing but #running #golf & #run #fitness @TivertonGC @AlistairWelsher @TJHanson97 @jannerinexile13 @joepike90 @georgesteves10 @360mediadevon @SpeedgolfUK pic.twitter.com/BGJmvPRcLY
— Steve Jeffs (@JeffsSteve) December 23, 2017
“There was a moment of suspense, both the timers confirmed 1:50.6 ! (1 minute 50 seconds). Bewildered and relieved, I collapsed in a heap followed by a scrum of celebratory supporters!” added Jeffs.
He did it in August, but it took several months for Guinness to ratify the results, which it did in December, making it one of the official golf records.
https://twitter.com/SelenaMaranjian/status/913580841439084544
Speed golf is actually a sport, not just a one-off passion of Jeffs.
“I hope those watching have a think about Speedgolf and try it one day and maybe a few people who see the photos and videos online might do the same; it’s a great sport, fantastic for fitness and a lot of FUN!” said Jeffs.
Good luck to @GeorgeBoxall92 & @MarieTSpeedgolf both about the tee off in the USA 🇺🇸 bring it home for the brits 🇬🇧#golf but #run 🏌🏼#golfing but #running 🏃🏿 pic.twitter.com/hrIqJCEm6g
— Steve Jeffs (@JeffsSteve) December 11, 2017
If Jeffs could keep it up for a full round, he might have a shot at the record for the fastest 18 holes: 26 minutes and 37 seconds.
Now that’s a guy you want playing in front of you, but not behind you.
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