Howdy speedgolf family! You're reading This Week in Speedgolf.

New Zealand has no snakes, no predators, and apparently no ceiling on speedgolf scores.

Here's what's happening in speedgolf this week.

---

Sorry, Harry! Robin Smith breaks the world record at the North Island Speedgolf Open

The North Island Speedgolf Open delivered a new world record this weekend at Waipū Golf Club, where Robin Smith shot 64 in 40:09 for a 104:09 speedgolf score.

That's the headline. Full stop.

I guess I could mention the other world records. We'll get to those!

This just six weeks after Harry Bateman shot a 70 in 36 minutes at the Wairarapa Speedgolf Open, taking the record from Scott Dawley, who had held it since 2021.

But what made this weekend so memorable was that the record happened inside something even richer: a magical venue, a senior field that kept accidentally breaking records without realizing it, and a New Zealand speedgolf culture that seems to be thriving from both directions at once.

North Island Speedgolf Open | Waipū, New Zealand | Mar 21–22

• Open: Robin Smith | 74/64 in 39:11/40:09 | 217:20 | WORLD RECORD R2
• 2nd: Jamie Reid | 73/78 in 35:42/36:22 | 219:54
• 3rd: Brad Hayward | 69/68 in 42:37/41:59 | 221:36
• Senior Men: Troy Harold | 76/77 in 43:03/43:17 | 239:20
• 2nd: Damian Mills | 84/72 in 49:54/43:59 | 249:53 | WORLD RECORD R2
• Women’s Open: Lucinda Searle | 84/84 in 52:41/53:33 | 273:74
• Senior Women: Felicity Paterson | 100/103 in 81:01/82:03 | 366:04
• Junior: Will Harold | 100/92 in 57:45/57:41 | 306:86
• 9-Hole: Liz Davies | 52/53 in 37:08/34:46 | 176:54

We first met Robin at the 2022 Speedgolf World Championships, where he came out blazing, sat in second after round one, and then unraveled on the back nine on the second day. In the team event, Jamie Reid looked like Batman and Robin looked like... well, Robin.

At the time, I don’t think we understood how much growth he still had in him.

Robin’s background as a field hockey player gave him a solid aerobic engine and elite hand-eye coordination. His golf swing is not normal. When he sets up to the ball, he looks still and poised. Then -- almost like he's seen a poisonous snake out of the corner of his eye -- he lashes violently at the ball and exits the shot box almost instantaneously. Somehow the ball goes right where he was looking.

(My fact checker says there are no snakes in New Zealand. Can that be true?)

But Robin's temperament may be the most dangerous part of the whole package. He doesn’t seem to carry much emotional baggage from one shot to the next. Bad bounce? Fine. Dropped the ball? Happens. Missed putt? "Volcano holes." He just keeps moving.

That’s a formidable combination.

Last year, Robin won the Australian Open, Irish Open, and U.S. Open, installing himself as the man to beat. Even then, there was still a little skepticism floating around the sport. The unspoken assumption was that once Jamie got healthy, the old hierarchy would reassert itself.

That was always too simplistic.

Robin is not just wearing the crown right now. He is wearing it well.

When I spoke to him after the round, he kept saying the day was mental. He was clearly elated, but what stood out even more was how little he wanted to make it all about himself. When Robin talks, it’s almost always we, not me. He kept coming back to the New Zealand community, to people lifting each other up, to how special it felt to do something like this surrounded by that group.

👉 Gary Younger’s post-round interview with Robin

Robin played with just four clubs: 3-wood, 4-iron, 7-iron, 50-degree. He was one under through nine (already superhuman in my book), then absolutely detonated on the back. It started with a big 3-wood on the short downhill par-4 10th, leading to a tap-in birdie. Later came a chip-in eagle, a couple of long putts, and several approaches stuffed close enough that he barely had to think about the comebackers.

Eight under in a speedgolf tournament is absurd. And Waipū sounds like exactly the kind of place where something absurd can happen.

I've never been there, but Craig Russell (Speedgolf North event host, 4th place Open division) made it sound close to ideal for championship speedgolf: beautiful coastline, fast greens, links-style visuals, and a putting green / clubhouse vantage point where spectators can see what feels like 80 percent of the course. That matters. A lot of speedgolf happens in pockets, half-hidden from view. This sounded different. This sounded like a place where players could feel the buzz, hear the reactions, and sense that the whole tournament was building toward something.

Saturday already hinted that the weekend might get weird. Jamie Reid, in just his second tournament back from his 2024 ACL tear, went 73 in 35:42 for 108:42. Brad Hayward shot 69 in 42:37 for 111:37. That’s the kind of “normal” top-end scoring New Zealand speedgolf is producing these days.

Then Sunday arrived with a sunrise, calm air, music around the clubhouse, and apparently just enough magic in the atmosphere to push things over the top.

Oh, and one other thing: Robin’s record was not the only record story.

In the senior men’s field, the world record was apparently getting passed around like a party favor, and almost nobody realized it.

Craig told me that Glenn Coughlan, in his first speedgolf tournament, kicked things off with a 73 in 48:25 for 121:25. Then Troy Harold posted 76 in 43:03 for 119:03. Then Damian Mills came back on Sunday with 72 in 43:59 for 115:59, which is being treated as another WORLD RECORD (TBC). Three senior-record-level performances, and not one of those guys was out there chest-thumping about history.

That says something.

To me, this is the culture of speedgolf in miniature. We celebrate the records, of course. But the deeper truth is that most people in this sport are not here because they are chasing immortality. They are here because they like running around a golf course, breaking a sweat, hitting some good shots, and doing it with friends.

That spirit seems especially strong in New Zealand right now.

Years ago, an old colleague would reference the Buffalo Strategy. The idea was top-down and bottom-up growth at the same time, curling around like the horns of a buffalo. That's exactly what New Zealand speedgolf looks like to me.

At the grassroots level, there are people all over the country playing speedgolf regularly, building local scenes, getting fitter, and having fun.

At the elite level, there is real institutional support: Golf New Zealand, the New Zealand Olympic Committee, and sponsors like Toro, CBRE, and Bayleys helping create a serious performance environment.

That is a powerful combination. You get a broad base. You get a strong top end. And eventually, you get weekends like this one.

---

By the way, if you're enjoying This Week in Speedgolf, why not forward it to a friend? Spread the Marmite love.

--

A couple more quick notes from Waipū before we move on.

First: if Jamie Reid says the Hogan Holster is worth close to two minutes over a Silo, you should probably pay attention. Jamie told me it took him about six months to get fully comfortable with it, but he now sees it as the fastest and most efficient way to carry clubs in a 3-club setup. The best players are constantly tinkering, constantly testing, and not afraid to get a little worse in the short term if it leads to long-term gains.

Second: keep an eye on Lucinda Searle. She won the women’s division at Waipū, and by all accounts she is doing a ton for junior and women’s golf in Taranaki as well. If you didn’t see her at the last Worlds, don’t be surprised if you see her name near the front later this year.

Third: a shoutout to Gary Younger, who shot a career-best 87 in 60:21 on Sunday for 147:21. Gary is a fixture in New Zealand speedgolf, a true community guy, who flew to Japan in 2024 because I said I needed help.

The way I hear it, Gary started out dry-heaving on the 18th fairway in his first event. He was constantly switching clubs between rounds, even trying his wife's hybrid when things weren't going his way.

But at Waipū, everything clicked. Gary played the same set of clubs both days, kept his gut microbiome intact, and ended with a huge PB. Let's go!!!

And while we’re here: Brad Hayward shot 69-68 in a speedgolf tournament and finished third. That is ridiculous depth. He also knocked it to a couple of inches on the hole with a $1,000 ace prize attached, which is the kind of detail that belongs in every proper tournament recap.

So yes: this story is about the new world record.

But it is also about the long arc of Robin Smith becoming exactly the kind of champion this sport needs. It is about a venue made for speedgolf. It is about senior players breaking records by accident because they were too busy enjoying the day. It is about a national scene that has figured out how to be serious without becoming joyless.

And it is about momentum.

The New Zealand Speedgolf Open is one month away. Worlds are coming in November.

If Waipū was any indication, New Zealand speedgolf is not just healthy.

It’s humming.

---

Upcoming speedgolf

Looking for tournaments? Looking for casual speedgolf? Speedgolf Directory is where you find them.

New feature alert! Now you can check the weather forecast AND find nearby airports for tournaments. Because nothing says 'speedgolf brain' like booking a flight to Stockholm based on the precipitation forecast 3 months out.

---

Thanks for reading

Hit 'Reply' and tell me what you think. I read every reply.

Adam

---

Adam Lorton

📆 Find your next event → https://speedgolfdirectory.com

👕 Buy Merch → https://speedgolf.baby/store​

🍎 Subscribe → https://youtube.com/@SpeedgolfBaby​

​❤️ Follow → https://www.instagram.com/speedgolf.baby

​⛳ Grow the game → https://playspeedgolf.com