The Iron Golfer - World Speed Golf Record Attempt
A couple of weeks ago we told you about Luke Willet AKA The Iron Golfer and his upcoming adventures.
Luke set off on Friday (16th October) morning at The Springs GC in Oxfordshire with just four clubs, a support team and a new speed golf world record in his sights. Here's how it went..
"The record is 108 and that is a combination of minutes to play 18 holes plus your score. We flew round in 37 minutes and I shot 11 over so my combination was 120. It’s my best yet so I’m coming away from it in positive vibes and I know I’m going in the right direction. I’ve trained right and now I need to keep working even harder and add a bit more volume in the coming months.
"I'm not a million miles off. It's a funny one to put into perspective as basically I’m trying to shoot the world’s lowest round of golf. That sounds mental and it is - there were a few great shots and a couple that weren’t quite right. I had a two great birdies where I fired one in from 160 yards to six feet and, when you’re running round and your legs are like jelly, that makes you feel good. There were also a couple of doubles, it’s all a bit of a blur.
"And that’s one of the highlights, you find this presence of mind and everything else fades into the background. So when it comes to choosing the good and bad shots you remember the birdies and the first par but the bad stuff I’m struggling to remember.
"I basically didn’t miss any fairways but that was almost my weakest round of speed golf off the tee. I went from a 3-wood to a 2-iron which I regret as the wood is more forgiving - otherwise I had just a 6-iron, wedge and putter. I’ll go back to the 3-wood for more distance next time.
"It’s such a thrill and we all said the same. I couldn’t be more grateful to the support team and the course was perfect, it really suits it. It's also quite tricky in places so it makes you feel good to hit some good shots. The pacemakers were great, golf is a game for the people and I might have been doing this on my own but, to share it, there’s nothing nicer. In these times of social distancing, to have people willing me on was something else - their smiles really kept me at it, I had a couple of early bogeys but I thought 'dig, dig, dig deep'. At some point it’s going to happen."