Golf: Hit, run, repeat golf lung-busting

After winning the New Zealand speedgolf open in February, Rotorua's Landyn Edwards is training for the world championships in Chicago this October

The great American golfer Billy Casper, who died earlier this year, once said that "golf puts a man's character on the anvil and his richest qualities - patience, poise, restraint - to the flame".

If Casper had ever played speedgolf, he would surely have included lung capacity on that list.

A sport that requires Open-winning golf skills and Olympian fitness, speedgolf requires players to complete a round of the course in the fastest possible time. Results are calculated by adding the player's total score to the time taken to complete the course.

Speedgolf has gained in popularity around the world over the past few years - and since February, Rotorua has been the home of the sport in New Zealand.

Landyn Edwards is the apprentice groundsman at Lake View Golf Club, and a successful national golfer. He is the New Zealand speedgolf champion, after his win at the inaugural Tompkins Wake NZ Speedgolf at Rotorua Golf Club in February.

Now Edwards, 24, is in training for the Speedgolf World Championship in Chicago this October. For someone who has only recently taken up running, the training regime has been something of an adjustment.

"It's pretty hard, just having to get out there and run when it's so cold," said Edwards. "[But] it's going all good. I'm trying to run two to three times a week, between 5-8km."

The bursts of energy required to zip around the course have an inevitable impact on the golfing side of things, said Edwards.

"Putting is the hardest thing, because you don't get time to line up your shot," he said. "It's about getting the heart rate down."

After his somewhat shock victory in the February tournament over Olympic 1500m silver medallist Nick Willis, Edwards is now looking forward to trying his luck against the world's best players at the Chicago tournament.

He heaped praise on Rotorua Golf Club for its work fundraising for the upcoming trip. "I probably wouldn't be going if it wasn't for them."

And Edwards seemed relaxed about the challenge of stepping on to the world stage.

"My main goal is to try and win it. I did pretty well on my first go and I have done more training now. I ran 50 minutes in the last tournament, so this time I want to run a comfortable 45," he said.