(Reuters) – Slow play remains a thorn in the side of professional golf but that accusation could never be levelled at England’s Luke Willett who set a record this week for completing nine holes.
Armed with a three wood, six-iron and pitching wedge, the 39-year-old PGA professional, raced around nine holes of the Fire Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in 20 minutes and 12 seconds.
His incredible pace, despite temperatures in Dubai reaching 34 degrees, earned him the Guinness World Record for the fastest nine holes ever recorded by an individual player.
“I am absolutely thrilled to have set this record,” Willett said after the challenge on Sunday ahead of the DP World Tour Championship which starts at the Jumeirah club on Thursday.
“It’s an incredible feeling to push the boundaries of what’s possible in the sport, and I’m grateful for the opportunity provided by DP World.”
It is not the first time Willett, a pro at Sunningdale Heath, has exploded the myth that a round of golf takes all day.
He recently completed a fundraising effort for the Golf Foundation in which he played speed rounds at each of the 14 courses to have staged the British Open, in addition to running a marathon in each of the respective towns.
His scorecard was not too shoddy either, taking just 78 shots at Scottish course Muirfield in a time of 42 minutes.
Willett said less thinking time actually helps.
“I used to get really bogged down with anxiety. I’d see out of bounds on the right, bunkers on the left, narrow lines down the middle and it actually got a bit too much for me,” he said after his Open challenge.
“When I started running round, all of a sudden I didn’t have enough time to procrastinate. It became what I call positive golf and I essentially saw my target and hit my target.”
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
