Brad: My Speedgolf World Record (Breather Episode with Brad)

Get ready for an breathlessly-enthusiastic account of what I consider to be a miracle athletic performance, where I accessed that lauded flow state and transcended my normal athletic limitations to deliver a top performance under pressure and break, for the second time, the Guinness World Record for the fastest hole of golf ever played (minimum hole length of 500 yards.) On June 1st in Los Angeles, I played a 503-yard par-5 hole in one minute, 38 seconds. The effort entailed an all-out sprint from start to finish, carrying only one club (3-wood) and making a birdie four on the hole.

The record performance came on the heels of months of specific practice simulating the competitive effort (“Context Specificity” as my Speedgolf coach Christopher Smith calls it), and strategy improvements such as choosing to play with only one club (that means pitching and putting with a 3-wood—not easy!) to save time. My first record attempt came in Sacramento, CA on May 8th, 2018. My time of 1:40.24 busted the previous Guinness record of 1:50. On this occasion, I scored a smooth 6 on the 503-yard par-5 ninth hole at Bing Maloney Golf Course. I kept his shots straight and in line with the hole to save time, but hit a couple less than stellar shots and was not completely satisfied upon reflection. As I reviewed video and photos for my Guinness submission, I saw a couple distinct areas for potential improvement, and the competitive juices started flowing again. Soon, I was orchestrating another do or die effort, this time in Los Angeles.

The most rewarding aspect of this whole journey was sharing it with family and friends. As you can see on the video, we had a fun time celebrating out on the course! Per Guinness record attempt guidelines, I had to rally a separate dream team of supporters in each city (Mia Moore saw both records) to fulfill the Guinness record attempt guidelines.

Here’s what it took to break the world record:

• Humility: In late 2017, I stumbled upon this awesome YouTube video of British Speedgolfer Steve Jeffs breaking the Guinness World Record for the fastest golf hole. Dig the 161,000 views (okay well, 1,000 of them are mine, but still…pretty viral!) and the dog pile celebration at the end. Jeffs did a 1:50 to beat the old record of 1:52 at his course in England. Being the soñador that I am, and knowing my basic competency in sprinting and Speedgolf, I thought I could easily bust this record. The very next day I made an official attempt at Bing Maloney. I ran pretty hard, hit some good shots, and was absolutely shocked to see the digits on my stopwatch read 2:12 – 22 seconds off the pace! A few days later, I tried again. This time I really opened up the throttle, going a nearly full-speed 400-meter sprint pace. Thanks to a couple off-center shots and sloppy putting, my time was 2:13. Clearly, this record was legit, and it was time to train hard and prepare carefully!
• Do or Die Mentality: Due to the sprint speed required to take a healthy dent out of the record, I realized that I had best make the magic happen on my initial attempt. Returning to the tee to make successive efforts of sprinting 500 yards would clearly result in losing several seconds of sprint speed due to fatigue. Guinness rules allow multiple attempts, but I didn’t even wanna go there in my mind. Do or die!
• Excellent Shots: Hit any shot flying significantly off the center line and the smooth fairway grass and you are done. Hit a chip shot slightly too hard and past the hole and you are done. Muff a chip shot and you done. Miss a short putt and you are done. These latter examples are all easy to do when you are holding a highly inappropriate club for these delicate shots.
• Strategy: Get comfortable with one club, hit the ball straight and never past the hole, and train mind and body to swing virtually right after arrival to the ball. There is no time to waste catching your breath before a shot. I trained my brain and body to immediately take a full swing, a delicate pitch, and a smooth putt while my chest was heaving and heart pounding out of my throat! This contrasts the typical approach in Speedgolf tournaments, where running pace is steady but not sprint, and you take several seconds over the ball to get settled and take careful aim before swinging.
• Logistics: For official Guinness status you have to complete a 12-week application process, get approved for an official attempt, then arrange for 10 people to time, witness, film, and photograph the attempt, and complete sworn statements and evidence submissions afterward. It’s a big deal with lots of pressure! My friends Shawn and Maria drove three hours to support my Sacramento attempt, so I knew I had to come through on the big day!

In the show, I detail how it’s essential for peak performers, especially those with an athletic background, to maintain a passion and competitive intensity throughout life, a concept detailed in the MarksDailyApple.com post called, “Going Through Life With an Edge”

Your competitive goals should be constantly recalibrated and updated to be age appropriate, promoting health and longevity (instead of compromising these things, as with elite level triathlon training), and fitting nicely into a healthy, balanced lifestyle. I relate how my competitive focus transitioned from the pro triathlon circuit, then to the goal of dominating young athletes whom I coached in basketball, soccer, and track. Indeed, I dominated the kids from their 3rd grade through 8th grade seasons. In a short time coinciding with growth spurts, I quickly matched (in height and abilities) and then left in the dust. When my youth sports dynasty wore off, I turned my attention to my present day passions of high jump and Speedgolf. This Guinness effort is just a sideshow for my main focus on professional Speedgolf tournaments, where we play a normal 18-hole round or 36-hole tournament and add strokes and minutes together to post a Speedgolf tournament score. For example, my best round in competition is a 78 in 47 minutes = a Speedgolf score of 125—good for 3rd place in the 2017 California Professional Championships. I’ve also placed in the top-20 in the Speedgolf World Professional Championships three times.

I relate how these are mostly personal challenges and “just for fun,” but not really. I’m very focused and serious about clearing the high jump bar or breaking the world Speedgolf record, but in a way that promotes personal growth and self-satisfaction, without an unhealthy attachment of self esteem to the results. Developing this mindset requires getting over yourself, a concept I elaborate upon in a follow up Breather show. Enjoy this hopefully inspiring account about taking aim at a unique and challenging competitive goal and going for it!

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