Yarra Bend Golf Club in Melbourne is to host the first Speedgolf Open in August.
The Australian Speedgolf Open will be played on Saturday 29 August 2015. This event is sanctioned by Speedgolf International and is also a qualifier for Australian speedgolfers – male and female – to represent Australia at the Speedgolf World Championships in the United States, October 2015.
The Australian event will consist of two divisions for male and female players, including professional/elite and amateur. Amateur players will have the option of playing nine or 18 holes.
Current Australian Speedgolf champion, Mitch Williamson of Bathurst Golf Club, New South Wales, as well as world champion female speedgolfer, Gretchen Johnson, from the USA have both confirmed their start in the event.
"Speedgolf is an exhilarating sport for anyone playing it, and as for spectating, it is a game that needs to be seen to be believed", Virginia Deigan, Founder, SpeedGolf Australia.
But this event is not just for the professional/elite players. Brendan Woods, general manager of Yarra Bend Golf is encouraging novice players to make their Speedgolf debut at the Yarra Bend course. "If you can run and you can play golf, this is your event. We are catering for all levels of players by also offering an amateur nine-hole event which will be a lot of fun. We are delighted to be hosting such a great event at Yarra Bend Golf".
Golf Australia supports the initiative as an innovative form of the game.
“Golf Australia is delighted to be supporting the 2015 Australian Speedgolf Open,’’ said Cameron Wade, GA’s golf development director. “Developing new formats of the game is vital to growing the game. Speedgolf addresses the time issues of the traditional game and provides opportunities to connect golf with fitness to reach new audiences.”
Speedgolf combines the skill of golf and the athleticism of running. Essentially, it is traditional golf played fast. The winner of a Speedgolf event has the lowest score of the field when combining the player’s number of strokes with the time taken in minutes.
Players tee off in singles, seven minutes apart. They carry their own clubs, with no caddies are allowed. Players are allowed a maximum of seven clubs. The rules are the same as for traditional golf, with a few minor modifications that keep the game flowing. The time starts when the player hits the ball on the first tee and ends when the ball is sunk on the last hole.
The scores that spectators can expect to see by the pro/elite players is predicted by SpeedGolf Australia to be "somewhere around par, in under 50 minutes. This is based on the scores that we have seen in recent international speedgolf events".
The Australian Speedgolf Open will raise money for the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation.
For more information about the event email virginia@speedgolfaustralia.com.au
To register, complete this survey:https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JHG7KBW