Speedgolf: A beginner’s guide to the fastest sport you’ve never heard of

By Will Toogood

Three things in life are certain; death, taxes and someone you know being obsessed with either running or golf.

Run clubbers and Sunday hackers now dominate social media feeds across the country, but a section of society have been well ahead of the curve and combined the two into one of the fastest sports around: Speedgolf.

The average golfer will take around four hours to complete 18 holes - the average speedgolfer takes just 40 minutes - with a nine-hole round able to be completed by the best in the world in under 20 minutes.

A speedgolf score is a combination of time and strokes taken - for example the winning score at the Waikato Speedgolf Championships was Brad Hayward’s 39-minute and 34 second 18 holes with a round of 76, giving a total of 115.34.

In the interests of health and safety it’s recommended that beginners start with a nine-hole speedgolf round and work their way up to 18 holes.

Heeding that advice was Herald golf reporter Will Toogood, who took to Te Awamutu Golf Club with former world champion speedgolfer Robin Smith to see if he could make it through nine holes without having to radio the Westpac Rescue helicopter.

Te Awamutu’s front nine holes are 2813m in length from the red tees, a deceptively long distance when accounting for the fact you’re not running in a straight line (you should be, but unfortunately for Smith he was zig-zagging across the fairways chasing after errant shots from Toogood).

Seven clubs are the maximum allowed in speedgolf. Top level golfers will take three or four; a three wood or hybrid, a short iron like a seven or eight and then a wedge. Putters are rarely used at the highest level with most opting to use their wood or wedge to putt but taking one is recommended for entry level to make the most of scoring opportunities.

Mercifully for Toogood the pair were playing alternate shot, meaning it would be Smith who would shoulder most of the responsibility for hitting the fairways off the tee. What ensued next can only be described as thorough research as Toogood made sure every element of speedgolf was explored.

Speedgolf may at face value seem simple and for a beginner it is, but particularly when playing in a pair chemistry between partners is essential for keeping times as low as possible. Knowing your partner’s distances from the tee box will allow the player hitting second to race ahead and get into position to cut down precious seconds.

Smith and Toogood had to build that chemistry in a short space of time but the result spoke for itself - a five over nine-hole score of 40 strokes in 25 minutes is a commendable effort even by a world champion’s standards.

Toogood did however politely decline the offer of a second nine holes (knowing your limits is important in any sport but particularly when trying speedgolf for the first time).

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission