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A Taranaki golfer has cleaned-up the opposition at Cape Kidnappers golf course by shooting a par-71 in covering its 18 holes and, according to the pedometer, running its 8.4km at just over five minutes a kilometre.
Speedgolf in action at Cape Kidnappers on Sunday, with winner Jamie Reid saying: “I rank this my best speedgolf round ever. Those that play Cape Kidnappers will understand why.” Photo / Supplied
But it wasn’t the only clean-up on the day for the busy 37 participants - nor a first for Fitzroy club speed-golfer Jamie Reid, whose 71 in 42min 47sec won him the first CBRE Cape Kidnappers Speedgolf Invitational on Sunday.
Promoters Speedgolf North, a loose group who play golf as quickly as possible and are now spreading the vibe further afield, have in combination with sponsors CBRE linked the growing sport with Sustainable Coastlines, and staged a mini clean-up of a stretch of the cape’s foreshore before the golfers hit the greens.
Reid’s 71 strokes plus the time of 42.17 gave him a winning golf-and-run points total of 113.47, getting close to the world record of 107.25 set in the 2021 US Speedgolf Championships in Springfield, Montana.
A fortnight ago Reid won the New Zealand Speedgolf Open on his 4977-metre home course Fitzroy, with back-to-back par 68s over two rounds, the first completed in 30m 3s. However, the course does not meet the minimum requirement for the record of par-70 or 6000 yards (5486m).
The Speedgolf Invitational’s Sustainable Coastlines clean-up before the golf on Sunday. Photo / Supplied
The last of seven tournaments, which teed off at Northland’s Kauri Cliffs in October, it came ahead of major event the Hirepool Big Clean, being held on the Hawke’s Bay coast on May 19, when Sustainable Coastlines will be working alongside Sustainable Hawke’s Bay, local councils, Napier Port, Save the Dotterels and Ātea-a-Rangi Educational Trust to support their efforts to protect their local environment.
The golf attracted 30 starters, with five from Hawke’s Bay, including 18-year-old national age group champion and 2024 New Zealand Open leading amateur Zack Swanwick. Zoning-in on his July departure for a US college golfing contract in Florida, Swanwick was 10th, carding the second-best round of 76 – the only other round under 80 - but taking 1h 10m 54s to do it.
Reid later took to social media, sharing some intricate details and saying: “There is a reason why Cape Kidnappers is ranked as one of the best courses in the world. I rank this my best speedgolf round ever. Those that play Cape Kidnappers will understand why.”
For the record, Reid hit four birdies, four bogeys and used five clubs. Speedgolf North organisers Gary Younger and Craig Russell say the day has raised about $2500 for the charitable cause.
Last year’s Big Clean focused on Wellington Harbour’s Petone coastline, from where 230 volunteers gathered 5300 litres of litter.
Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 50 years of journalism experience in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.
