Amazing and Crazy Golfing World Records
Bigger. Better. Faster. Stronger. We all have a little bit of a competitive side, it’s human nature. In fact The Guinness Book of World Records exists for the sole purpose of recording the longest, furthest, heaviest, biggest, smallest, best-est of just about everything.
Golf is no different. Records exist, whether good or bad, so that we can compare the current to the past. There are people who make a living counting and recording statistics so that we can know exactly who did the very best… or very worst.
What are some golf records you may be interested in? Longest drive? Lowest score? Most difficult course?
There are also some weird records. What about the most golf balls held in one hand? The answer is 27, according to The Guinness Book of World Records, by Italian Silvo Sabba in October of 2012. The rules for breaking this record required Sabba to pile as many standard sized golf balls in just thirty seconds, using just one hand. No adhesives or glue could be used and after the thirty seconds is up, Sabba then had to hold the balls for ten more seconds. Twenty-seven golf balls in one hand is a feat, and one that hasn’t been broken in over two years.
What about the largest collection of golf clubs? Robert Lantsoght of Malaga, Spain holds this record with 4,393 individual clubs. He displays his collection at his restaurant on the Costa del Sol. Lantsoght began collecting his clubs in 1992 and says he continues to improve upon it weekly. Now that’s a lot of clubs!
Spain also has the record for the most golf balls hit simultaneously with 1,873. The event was organized at the Real Federacion Espanol de Golf Course in Madrid in September 2009 to support Madrid’s bid for the 2016 Olympics. The event was also to help the recognition of golf as an Olympic sport. Although Madrid lost the Olympic bid to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, golf will be played in the Olympic games!
The Guinness Book of World Records also has a record for the youngest golfer to get a hole-in-one on a golf course. The category is divided between males and females, and the female holder of this record is Soona Lee-Tolley, who, when just 5 years and 103 days old shot a hole-in-one on a par 3 at Manhattan Woods Golf Course in West Nyack, New York. The record was set over 7 years ago on a hole measuring 125 yards long. The male record holder, by the way, was 4 years and 195 years old.
The youngest player to score their age is a Japanese player Tsugio Uemoto, who scored a 68 at the Higashi Hiroshima Country Club on October 22, 1996. He was born in July of 1928.
There are also records for the golf courses themselves. The record for oldest golf course is The Old Course at St. Andrews Links in Fife, Scotland. The oldest documented evidence that people played golf here dates back to 1552. The world’s highest golf course, Yak golf course, is measured at 13,025 feet above sea level in Kupup, East Sikkim, India. The largest golf facility on the planet is in China. Missions Golf Course, last measured for the record in December 2006, has twelve fully-functional 18-hole courses. It also has a new par 3 course since breaking the record. And the longest golf course? Also in China. The Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Golf Club is a par 72, 8,548 yard course. The longest single hole on the course is the fifth, measuring 711 yards and is a par 5.
Not surprisingly, the man himself, Tiger Woods, holds the record for highest annual earnings for a golfer. Between the months of June 2009 and June 2010, Woods brought in a whopping $105 million, including an annual payment of nearly $30 million from sponsors alone.
Oh, and in case you wanted to know, the record for longest usable golf club was set just last month in Arlington, Texas by Michael Furrh. He constructed a club that measured 20 feet and six inches long, driving a ball a total of 63 feet.
There are a ton of totally random and fun golf records in The Guinness Book of World Record. When I searched the world golf on the website, a total of 84 records popped up. There are records for most disc golf played in 24 hours, most golf carts in a parade, and even the largest golf lesson (1,073 participants if you were wondering).