Sunningdale Heath Golf Club PGA teaching professional Luke Willett is officially the fastest golfer in the world.
The 39-year-old recorded two blazing fast rounds of golf, the first 18-holes played in 41 minutes and the second round in a lightning fast 38 minutes in the US Speedgolf Open at Oldham County Country Club, Kentucky, USA - the fastest of any competitor in the field.
But his speed alone wasn’t quite enough for him to take the overall title, as the Speedgolf Champion is the golfer who records the lowest gross score in the fastest time - the two numbers are combined to crown the winner. Willet’s scores of 81 and 83 meant he walked away with a third place finish and the determination to go two better next year.
“It was just the putting that let me down,” he explained. “The conditions were perfect and my pace was fast, but the equally fast greens caught me out.”
Willet’s strong performance in the US Speedgolf Open is the culmination of an incredible season. He started off with a 10th place in the New Zealand Open, followed by a third place in the Irish Open, before reaching the pinnacle of his pace at the end of the summer when he was crowned British Open Speedgolf Champion in front of home crowds at Sunningdale Heath GC, blasting round the course in just 25 minutes and 39 seconds.
“It’s fair to say, I’m the fastest golfer on the planet right now,” Willett enthused. “My goal next year is to carry on the trajectory of performance and go for the ultimate world record - to play 18 holes in 18 minutes.”
Given that the length of the golf course where the title is contested can vary, but has to be a minimum of 6,000 yards long (that’s equivalent to around 5km), this will be no small feat.
But Willett is putting 100 per cent into his training, combining early morning sprint sessions, trips to the gym and following a strict diet to ensure the speed side of things get taken care of. Alongside that he practices like a tour professional to ensure he has the skillful game required to shoot the lowest score.
“Speedgolf is a beautiful art and one that works perfectly for me with a young family,” Willett added. “It’s also improved my coaching. I’d love for more PGA Professionals to give it a try. It’s not hard to convince golf courses to give up the first tee time of the day to speed golfers. I’d be more than happy to take anyone interested under my wing and take them out for the experience.”
The British Open Speedgolf Championship celebrates its 10th anniversary next year and is being played on September 15th 2024 at Sunningdale Heath Golf Course, Surrey. For more information visit www.britishspeedgolf.co.uk
