{{ubiquityData.prevArticle.description}}
{{ubiquityData.nextArticle.description}}
Christopher Smith, a 57-year-old PGA director of instruction at Eugene Country Club in Oregon, has an attachment to Oct. 16.
It was on that day in 2005 when Smith needed only 44 minutes, 6 seconds to shoot 5-under 65 – using only six clubs, by the way – at Jackson Park Golf Course in Chicago. More than 15 years later, he still holds the Guinness world record for the lowest score in the shortest amount of time.
Smith has long had an affinity for speedgolf, a sport he calls two-thirds golf and one-third running. Living in Portland, Oregon, in the late 1980s, Smith and a running pal came across an article in Runner’s World that touted the game where players take a limited number of clubs and sprint across golf courses that, on other days, would be known for multiple foursomes bogging down each hole.
“We found the Holy Grail,” Smith remembers thinking.
From that point forward, Smith joined what he refers to as a “weird breed” of golfers who wake up before the sun and find themselves dancing among the greens crew as they prepare the course for normal play. The rules are the same as golf except there is no returning to the tee for a lost ball (it’s played the same as a penalty area). The bane of a speedgolfer’s existence is anyone else on the course and long distances between greens and tee boxes. Accuracy off the tee is paramount for obvious reasons. And no, rangefinders or green-reading books are not necessary. Ballparking yardages and settling yourself for a few moments just before taking the club back are both artforms. So is learning how to use one wedge for every scenario around the green.
Why would someone want to race through an experience like golf? According to Smith, there’s a freedom in not waiting several minutes or longer between shots. In speedgolf, the game becomes more instinctive and reactive. Smith had been a deliberate player in his golf life, but found a rejuvenated spirit by letting his body and mind work uninhibited.
“I love the SAM PuttLab and Trackman, and they provide value, but if you put them against the human system, it’s a joke,” Smith said. “It would be like Tiger in 2000 playing me … the human body brings in 11 million bits of information per second. The less information we give ourselves, the better. It’s like if you were to go to a Chinese restaurant with 800 items on the menu and you can’t decide. The brain works a lot better when you give it one idea and let it operate.”
Four years ago, Smith had a full hip replacement. He’s not as fast as he was 15 years ago, but he is wise enough to know where he can make a difference. Last Oct. 16 – there’s that date again – Smith raised $2,500 for victims of the brutal fires that ravaged the western United States. He did so by asking people to donate and predict his final score for a speedgolf round at Broadmoor Golf Course in Portland, which sadly has since closed its doors after nearly 90 years of play.
Smith shot 77 in 68½ minutes. It’s not a world record, but it’s more meaningful than any other round of speedgolf he’s played.
E-MAIL SEAN
Sean Fairholm