This Week in Speedgolf | The US Open Recap

Howdy speedgolf family!

You're reading This Week in Speedgolf. This week's edition is brought to you by jet lag.

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

Welcome to Temecula

The weekend started with what SHOULD have been a 70 minute drive from the airport. But you know what happens when two speedgolfers get together. Chris Hundhausen "The Professor of Speedgolf" and I were so locked in talking about our training, the course, AI-assisted software development, Golf YouTube... you get the idea. We got lost twice in southern California traffic on the way from San Diego to Temecula, but we still made it to the course in time to get an 8-iron flop shot lesson from Luther Olson.

The 9th US Speedgolf Open had big event buzz like you rarely see in the States. If you were in Japan, it was the 700 Club all over again. Organizers and volunteers scurrying to make final preparations, speedgolfers trying to fit their pencil bags onto golf carts, and Director Scott Dawley in the middle of it all.

That first day, we learned that while Temecula Creek Golf Club looks tricky off the tee, there's actually danger all over the place. And that was the point. I mean -- it's the US Open, isn't it?

The Early Buzz

Jon Flietstra, Cole Fenner, Scott Dawley

Friday night at the banquet, I met a quiet guy named Cole Fenner. Cole is a big dude, a former baseball player. He honestly looked a little out of place at a banquet full of speedgolfers. He could've passed for a husband or uncle, but he was a player.

Cole told me a story that blew me away.

Not that long ago, Cole was lying in a hospital bed with a broken back. He was watching YouTube (like you do), when he went down a rabbit hole (like you do), and ended up watching one of my videos (like most people don't). Somewhere between the panting, the lack of shot tracers, and the shaky camera work, he decided: when I recover, I'm playing speedgolf. (Must've had an undiagnosed brain injury...)

Cole started his journey by winning the 9-hole division at the Oregon Speedgolf Open earlier this year (He's quick to note that he was the only player in the division, but I told him to leave that part out next time he tells the story). Fast forward to Saturday: Cole shot 84 (+13) in 63 minutes, winning the 18 Hole Open division by 16 shots. Not bad for a guy who discovered speedgolf waiting for the nurse to give him his next dose of pain meds!

This was a surreal full-circle moment for me. I started Speedgolf Baby hoping that -- one day, way off in the future -- someone might discover this beautiful sport thanks to one of my videos. Maybe even a future champion. I guess that day I dreamed of... just happened? Wild.

Cole wasn't the only one out there who could bench press more than 135lbs. The GoGoGolf crew -- BigDawg Scott and Buff Jesus -- showed up looking like they took a wrong turn on the way to the squat rack. These guys were pure class. 18 holes running in the hot sun and 500 selfies couldn't wipe the smiles off their faces. Scott said it best: "If I can do this at 280lbs, absolute trash golfer, then you can do it too."

I'll keep saying it: Speedgolf is inclusive.

I'll keep saying it until the Scandinavian Speedgolf Open has equal prizes for elite men and women.

*checks notes*

The Scandinavian Open DOES have equal prizes for men and women.

I'll keep saying it anyway: Speedgolf is inclusive.

For the kids!

Everyone agrees: the kids need to learn how to play golf, but you're not really going to make me watch them, are you?

Everyone but World #1 Robin Smith, that is.

One of the most heartwarming stories of the weekend, relayed by Jon Flietstra. Jon somehow finds time to run a junior golf program on top of running Speedgolf Temecula, co-hosting the US Open, and playing music for the tourists in wine country. Busy dude.

Robin Smith approached me and asked if he could speak to the juniors before their speedgolf rounds.

As a kid, it's not often you get to talk to someone who is #1 in the world at anything. Robin not only talked to the juniors, but he watched every single one go off the first tee.

All week long, I've been hearing about this from parents: how special it was that Robin took the time and gave these kids so much attention. Robin changed some lives last weekend.

📺 Junior Speedgolfers Tee Off (crysnarvaez on Instagram)

To me, that's the spirit of speedgolf: experienced players finding a way to lift others up with just a few words of encouragement. Just like Wes Cupp and Scott Dawley did for me when I was a baby speedgolfer.

Championship storylines - Saturday

Before Luke Willett set off at 7am looking like a speedgolf peacock, we had a clue that Saturday would be chaotic. For the first time in US Open history, we had 3 minute gaps between players. That meant -- unless the tee sheet was perfectly arranged -- there would be passing.

(Spoiler alert -- the tee sheet was NOT perfectly arranged.)

World Champ Jin Ota was ninth off the tee. Extreme disrespect from the organizers!
Three-time obstacle course racing champ Veejay Jones was fourth in the first speedgolf tournament of his life. I get that the guy is fast, but how many times do we have to put fast runners at the top of the tee sheet before we learn the hard lesson? Fast runners don't always play fast speedgolf -- they take too long looking for balls and they have a hard time taking < 10 seconds in the shot box. 📺 9 holes with the OCR World Champ (Speedgolf Baby)

Often, the first tee at a speedgolf tournament is a peaceful place. Not in Temecula. Music was blasting. Speedgolfers were lined up like cattle. Scorekeepers' carts were all over the place. Beautiful chaos. And if you wrote anything embarrassing on the intake survey, you could be sure the starter would read it out loud for everyone!

📺 The Runway: 9-10 Transition (Speedgolf USA)

But after the dust settled on the first round, we saw some familiar faces at the top of the leaderboard.

Robin Smith played like the #1 player in the world. A clean 73 (+2) in 41 minutes gave him an 8 minute lead
Will Robson surprised me (but not himself), shooting 81 (+10) in 41 minutes and landing in second place
Luke Willett couldn't get a wedge putt to fall, ending up with 86 (+15) in 39 minutes, easily the fastest round of the day
And two-time US Open Champ Jason Hawkins managed a 79 (+8) in 47 minutes, less than a minute behind Luke in the standings

In the Senior division, my prediction came true: it was a two-horse race.

Luther Olson shot 87 (+16) in 44 minutes, beating the Open division time par at age 50
Joe Matsui shot 82 (+11) in 51 minutes to trail by just two shots going into the final day

Everyone seemed to agree: the course is straightforward on paper, but between the long rough, the blind tee shots, and the warm weather, breaking 80 shots/48 minutes is an accomplishment at this championship.

Sorry, everyone except Luke Willett agreed. I know Luke well, but his optimism-bordering-on-lunacy astounds me sometimes. "Mate, there's a world record out there tomorrow." 😂

Who am I to disagree with the fastest golfer alive?

Buy merch, if you want to!

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Championship Sunday

Sunday morning was a different world. The heat was gone. The course was wrapped in fog. After a day of chaos and passing and music on the tee, the reverse start order brought a different kind of intensity to the final round. Everyone knew exactly what was on the line.

Paige Vancil cruised to victory in the cool fog, shooting an 81 (+10) in 66 minutes. Paige has "an absolute butter smooth swing. I would pay good money for that swing" said Kyle Peyton.

Joe Matsui, trailing by 2 Sunday morning, fired a 77 (+6) in 49 minutes, slamming the door shut on Luther Olson's Senior division title hopes.

World Champ Jin Ota didn't have his best stuff in Temecula, but you wouldn't know it from his face. He was smiling, shaking hands, giving fist bumps, and even trying my mini putter (right hand-only with a pencil grip, if you must know 😁).

Jason Hawkins had a round to forget, except for one swing. Hole 12 was playing maybe 165 downhill, with a center pin between two water hazards. Seems like a perfect time to pull 9 iron and play for the front edge. Not the Hawk. He played a smooth 5 iron, rolled it right up the gut and straight into the hole for the second hole in one ever caught on camera at a speedgolf tournament.

*checks notes*

Correction: We caught the swing and the reaction on camera, but we didn't see the ball drop. Still, with a little bit of AI magic, I was able to reconstruct the scene: 📺 ACE ALERT! Jason Hawkins R2 H12

Will Robson, who’d been in second after Day 1, added three strokes (and, more importantly, three minutes) to finish just off the podium. Two strokes shy of third. Sorry, Will! The camera adds strokes. I could’ve warned you, but it wouldn’t have made a difference.

Meanwhile, Luke Willett shot himself out of contention on the front nine, punctuating it with a truly spectacular triple bogey on the ninth hole that featured casual water and two chip shots where he could’ve (and should’ve) taken relief. But once the pressure was gone, Luke did what Luke does best -- he turned it into a show. On the back nine, he went full peacock mode, flapping his wings, exhorting his entourage to make more noise, and making a birdie on the toughest hole on the course for a +2 in 19:29 on the back side. It was pure joy to watch. (Video coming soon.)

That brings us to Jim Davis, who I ranked 10th going into the weekend. Jim’s second round 76 in 43:16 was the best of the day, and he did it with his dad and sister in the scorekeeper’s cart, making it a true family affair. That round vaulted him into third place, the first Michigander ever to make a U.S. Open podium. Jim sent me a beautiful reflection afterward:

Every event I play in strengthens my love of the sport and teaches me something that makes me a better player. There’s a good reason for it. The Speedgolf community is absolutely incredible. We had players who have been playing for less than a year all the way up to players who have played for over 25 years, all coming together and sharing tips and strategies like old friends. Whether discussing pre-round hydration, course conditions, training regimens, or music preferences, every player from top to bottom is approachable and forthcoming. We all just want to do our best and see the sport grow. It’s truly remarkable.

There may have been chaos down below, but at the top of the leaderboard, all was calm. It was Robin Smith’s tournament to lose, and he wasn’t about to. He’d nicknamed his camera operator Joshy, and Robin was chirping away at Joshy even as he took the course apart. Every swing was classic Robin (pure field hockey torque -- anyone over 40 would need back surgery if they tried to swing like him). Every wedge putt was struck on the equator of the ball. And at the end, after the sun burned the fog away, the World #1 stood on top of the podium, with a victory speech pre-written on his phone.

Luke Willett, Robin Smith, Jim Davis - 36 Hole Open top 3

36 Open Division

🥇 Robin Smith (NZ) | 73/77 in 41:16/43:51 | 235:07
🥈 Luke Willett (UK) | 86/82 in 39:34/39:56 | 247:30
🥉 Jim Davis (USA) | 86/76 in 44:40/43:16 | 249:56

36 Women’s Division

🥇 Paige Vancil (USA) | 81/81 in 69:30/66:10 | 297:40
🥈 Katie Humphrey (USA) | 118/115 in 80:01/65:23 | 378:24

36 Seniors 50+ Division

🥇 Joe Matsui (JPN) | 82/77 in 51:32/49:31 | 260:03
🥈 Luther Olson (USA) | 87/92 in 44:13/45:24 | 268:37
🥉 Shingo Bamba (JPN) | 85/87 in 53:25/53:35 | 279:00

36 Masters 40+ Division

🥇 Adam Lorton (USA) | 90/90 in 53:33/50:56 | 284:29

36 Legends 60+ Division

🥇 Scott Weller (USA) | 84/83 in 65:04/61:07 | 293:11

36 Amateur Division

🥇 Matthew Bluske (USA) | 96/92 in 51:49/52:12 | 292:01

18 Open Division

🥇 Cole Fenner (USA) | 84 in 63:19 | 147:19

Speedgolf data nerdery

Want to see the US Open leaderboard as it evolved? Check out Race Replay, the newest feature on speedgolfapp.

A message from the "Masters Champion"

Rory McIlroy was unavailable for comment, so here's what I have to say.

I caught a little grief this week for moving from 36 Hole Open to the 40+ Masters division. And to be fair, I probably deserve it. After all, with the same score I went from second-to-last in the Open division to first place in the Masters. But let me explain.

I'm here to have fun and push myself. And I felt more pressure trying to win the 40+ division than I would've felt trying to sneak into the top 15 in the Open.

I also recognize that I live in a weird middle zone in this sport. I take speedgolf more seriously than your typical weekend warrior. I make a little money from it (though not for my strokes + minutes, and not nearly as much as I spend), and I train hard for these events. So I'm clearly not an "amateur". But I shot 90/90 on a 5,600-yard course. 45 over par, including time. If that doesn’t say “noncompetitive in the Open,” I don’t know what does.

Nobody’s out here questioning Marko Kuningas or Luther Olson when they turn 50 and move into Seniors. That’s just part of the sport. A 40+ division was offered, and at 40 years old, I took the organizers up on it. Thanks, organizers!

(Kyle Peyton: "Luther somehow has faked his birth certificate because that guy doesn't look a day over 34.")

So yeah — I guess I’m a sandbagger. But I’m a happy sandbagger, with a Masters title, a big grin, and my third PhiGolf system.

(He's won three PhiGolf systems? This guy really is a sandbagger!)

By the way, thanks to PhiGolf, who sponsored the event by giving their golf simulator game to every division winner. At this point, I might need to start a PhiGolf league!

Unity, Joy, and Greatness in Motion

After the scores were tabulated, the party began in earnest (by party, I mean talking about improvements to the SpeedScore time par algorithm with Filip Beerens and Paul Obey). And the reviews were unanimous: this was the best event we'd seen held on US soil.

As Luke Willett put it, “For me it was the championship of love and togetherness… charging round the back nine, sharing an explosive experience with the speedgolf family… I felt like we were one.”

Scott Dawley felt it too: “The level of planning and preparation was an order of magnitude higher. The course was ready, the committee was dialed, and players could feel the care behind the scenes. Jonathan Flietstra has built one of the strongest speedgolf communities in the country. His passion, consistency, and heart for others define what our sport is about—unity, joy, and greatness in motion.”

📺 A Tribute to the Volunteers

Amen to that.

Until next time, keep it in the short grass.

Adam