Speed golf: New Plymouth man scores unofficial world record

Shanon Stallard running to the next hole at the Fitzroy Golf Club. Photo / Supplied

By RNZ

A New Plymouth man has run away with the unofficial world record for speed golfing. And run he did - playing 311 holes of golf in a day which is more than 17 full rounds.

Shanon Stallard teed off at Taranaki’s Fitzroy Golf Club at 6.30am on Saturday aiming to smash the record held by a Swiss golfer.

He did his first 10 rounds by himself and was then joined by two friends as the day got warmer.

“It got pretty hot out there and that’s when you start to struggle to spot your ball and they’d run ahead of me ...”

Each round took just 45 minutes and for his last full round he managed to get under 40 minutes, so he was on the 18th green at the end of the 12 hours.

Stallard set a new unofficial world record using only a 6-iron.

Photo / Supplied

“I just got good at using a 6-iron well and hit that straight, how to putt with that, how to chip in with that.”

He lost seven balls - he did exactly the same shot three times to lose three of them, he told Checkpoint.

His feat is all the more remarkable because he only took up golf seriously in October and had played 54 rounds before his big day on Saturday.

While those on the course were encouraging him, he said he was hardly aware of them.

“You zone in and out a little bit. You’re just so focused on running, stopping, hitting, going again in the direction you hit the ball.”

As a former Ironman triathlete, he said he knew enough about nutrition and hydration to keep him going till the end.

He estimated he drank between 25 to 30 litres of water and consumed nutrition bars, all kept in a chilly bin.

The toughest bit was an hour after he finished and through the evening when he felt unwell.

“It’s really stopping [the golf] and the body starts to shut down and go ‘what have you done here, I’m not well’.”

Stallard said he was inspired to complete the feat by his Christian faith and gratitude for his good health. The marathon effort on the course was to support the Kidney Kids NZ charity.