World speedgolf champion Jaime Reid competing at North Island champs in Waipū this weekend

Speedgolf world champion Jamie Reid will be the main draw at the North Island Speedgolf Open being held at the Waipū this weekend.

A Kiwi world champion golfer will be playing in Northland this weekend, but punters will have to be quick to keep up with him - Jamie Reid is the world speedgolf champion.

Reid, from Taranaki, won his title in Florida, USA last year against competitors from around the world, and on Saturday and Sunday he will be the star attraction at the North Island Speedgolf Open being held at the Waipū Golf Course.

Speedgolf is a serious sport, given more gravitas here by the fact a New Zealander is the world champ, and while Waipū won’t get the crowds of a major golf tournament, having a world champ play in the region is pretty exciting.

Scott Cordes, of Golf NZ, said the idea of the weekend at Waipū was to make it family-friendly and good viewing for the public and golfers.

Cordes said the event is for people of all levels of ability including beginners, not just serious speedgolfers.

Speedgolf world champion Jamie Reid will be hard to keep up with, as he aims to win the North Island Speedgolf Open at Waipū on Saturday and Sunday.

‘’It is about challenging yourself and having fun. There are a number of golfers around Whangārei getting into it now. We have created a Speedgolf Northland Facebook page which has more details about the format and event coming up.’’

The competition has more than $3000 worth of prizes, with 18 holes each day.

Reid’s win at the Speedgolf world championships at the World Golf Village in St Augustine, Florida last year came four years after a heartbreaking runner-up finish in a 2018 event in New York where he lost to Finland’s Mikko Rantanen by just one second on the time tie-breaker.

For more info, check out www.facebook.com/speedgolfnorth. The best way to enter is via form.jotform.com/230507627609054.

What is speedgolf?

Speedgolf (also known as extreme golf, fast golf, fitness golf and hit-and-run golf) is a variant of golf which scores both on strokes played and the time taken to complete the round.

One stroke is scored equally to one minute, so that shooting 90 on a golf course in 59 minutes and 30 seconds would result in an overall speed golf score of 149:3.

Rules and etiquette are generally the same for speedgolf and regular golf, with minor exceptions.

The sport was believed to have been started in 1979 in California when former American record-holder in the mile (3:47.69 in 1982), Steve Scott, ran around a golf course in 29 minutes and 33 seconds, shooting a 95 with only a 3-iron.