Second by a second
Jamie Reid knows all about a quick round of golf.
The former Fitzroy golfer recently finished second in the world speedgolf championships in New York – beaten by just one second.
Speedgolf is exactly that. Run around the course as fast as you can, playing all 18 holes.
The 27-year-old, who has represented Taranaki at both junior and senior level, finished in a staggering
47 minutes and 30 seconds in New York after carding a seven-over par 79.
‘‘In speedgolf, it’s about the time as much as the score. You add both together to get your total score,’’ he said this week on a visit home from Auckland where he is a PE teacher at Westlake Boys’ High School.
‘‘My total was just one second behind the winner, an American pro golfer. He shot 71 and his time was 55 minutes and 29 seconds for a total of
126.29. My total was 126.30.’’
Reid said while the winner took longer to complete his round, he scored better. ‘‘He was the first player ever to shoot under par at the world champs. I could have slowed down a little but it wouldn’t have made a difference. You have to find a balance between running faster or going slower. It comes down to fatigue if you go too fast early on.’’
Reid said, in the final, he finished his front nine holes at seven over. ‘‘I knew I had time to make up and I tried to run faster on the back nine, but it just wasn’t fast enough.’’
Most of the field came from golf backgrounds.
‘‘They were all pros or had competed on the top tours around the world. Not many speedgolfers come from running backgrounds. I was the only amateur inside the top 10.’’
As an amateur, Reid won US$750 for finishing second – the winner
pocketed US$2000. He also finished second in the United States speed golf champs at the same venue and then teamed with a fellow Kiwi to finish second in the world teams’ event.
Reid qualified for the 40-strong field by winning the New Zealand speed golf title at Windross Farms in Auckland earlier this year.
A scratch golfer (his handicap index is 0.0), Reid usually carries only five clubs in his lightweight bag. Seven clubs is the maximum allowed for speedgolf. ‘‘That’s all I need. I usually take a driver, a four iron, a seven or eight iron, a gap wedge and a putter. I hit the driver off the deck. I don’t tee the ball up like the other guys. It wastes time. They all use three woods and sometimes their tees are still in the ground as they don’t pick them. If they’re there, I use them. If not, I just throw the ball down on the tee and hit it.’’
Reid said as soon as he hit his tee shot, he was off after it already holding the club he needed for his second shot. ‘‘You just run to the ball, look at
the hole and pull the trigger. It’s the same when you get to the green, there’s no time to line up the putt, you just hit it.’’
Reid, who first played golf as a
10-year-old, jumping the fence across the road from his parents’ place, said he was the fittest he’s ever been.
‘‘I go to the gym every morning for an hour before school. I mix up my training going to the track. I try to play three rounds of speedgolf during the week after school, even during winter.
‘‘I can get around 18 holes when others can only get in three or four holes before it gets dark. I’ve also run a few 10km races and half marathons. My best time for 10km is 36 minutes when I finished second in the Devonport classic.’’
After taking nearly four hours for a leisurely round of golf at Fitzroy last Saturday, Reid said he enjoyed the slow pace.
‘‘It’s about the social side of golf. It’s nice to stroll around. I think I could whip around this course in 28 or
29 minutes, I know it so well. All the tee boxes are quite close to the greens, so there’s not a lot of extra running. My best time here is 33 minutes – I shot 71 that day, three over par,’’ he said. ‘‘I love coming back here to play, it will always be my club. Fitzroy has been awesome. They’ve helped me a lot with fundraising for the airfares etc, as have the Waitemata club and Ross Whitmore from Van Bur Wray.
There’s no rest for Reid in the buildup to Christmas and into the New Year.
‘‘I’ve got the New South Wales speedgolf champs in Sydney in three weeks and the Australian Open speed champs in February.
However, he won’t be defending his New Zealand title at Auckland’s Whitford Park Golf Club in the first week of February. ‘‘I can’t play, it’s my sister’s wedding. I told her (Lisa) that the champs were on, but she wasn’t changing the date.’’