Howdy speedgolf family!

You're reading This Week in Speedgolf. It's Labor Day weekend here in the US, so consider the fact that I'm writing this at all a labor of love.

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

Luke Willett: "Fastest golfer on the planet" / Jamie Reid...

Don't call it "drama". Speedgolfers, as a rule, are way too cordial for drama.

But a little good-natured trash talk? I'm eating it up.

Luke Willett posted a reel of his sprint finish at the European Speedgolf Open, with the caption "Fastest golfer on the planet".

Jamie Reid, the undisputed heavyweight of our sport (OK, it's lightly disputed by the ISGA World Rankings, but let's be serious), replied with a YouTube link and the caption "beat this".

If you haven't watched Jamie play nine holes in 12 minutes, watch it now (Go Golf on YouTube).

Jamie and Luke will face off in April 2026 at the NZ Speedgolf Open (according to reliable sources).

And if Jamie's Strava is any indication, his ACL recovery is going quite well.

Game on!

From the mind of Rob Hogan... ANOTHER new format for speedgolf

If you've been following the last few months, you know that our fearless ambassador Rob Hogan thinks golf score is overweighted in speedgolf scoring.

*Mediocre golfers like me lean in...*

Rob's argument is simple: as we continue to optimize the speed portion of the game, the only thing that determines the winner will be golf score.

*Steve Vancil's brow begins to furrow*

The logical conclusion, says Hogan, is that we need to tilt the balance more toward time.

The Irish Speedgolf Open was v1 of Hogan's master plan. Your time was your time, but you got bonuses for birdies and penalties for double bogeys or worse. Players liked the change -- you could hit a birdie putt firm, knowing a 3-putt wouldn't kill you. You could fire at the pin if you were confident you'd at least make bogey. Everybody ran hard.

But this week, Hogan outlined an even bolder plan -- one I'd love to try! Picture this:

• At each green, there are three paths.
• If you make a birdie, you get to take the most direct path to the next hole
• If you make par or bogey, you get to take a slightly longer path
• If you make double or worse, you have to take "the scenic route"
• Time is the only thing you need to measure, because the golf course adjusts your run distance

I think I'll call this "Speedgolf: Adventure Mode"

What do you think? Would you try Adventure Mode?

From the home of GDPR: "These rules are excessive!"

Last week I told you about Carl Palmberg’s remarkable win at the European Speedgolf Open — a victory that included the bizarre twist of losing his putter mid-round. Johan Larsson, who was close to the action, wrote in too add some critical details: tournament officials debated everything from disqualification, to forcing Carl to run back hole-by-hole, to a one-stroke penalty. In the end, they gave him no penalty, and none of the other competitors took issue with that.

Johan summed it up well: DQ is too strong for unintentional. DQ for intentional is hard to prove. A one stroke penalty could be too soft. One stroke per hole is effectively a DQ. Running back is effectively a DQ. He also noted that in New Zealand, the rulebook calls for a one-stroke penalty in cases like this.

Here’s where I land: I think intent is nearly impossible to judge, and in Carl’s case the lost putter was punishment enough — it cost him strokes anyway. What matters more is preserving the flow of play. Speedgolf USA has an “uncertainty provision” in the rules for exactly this reason: if you’re not sure, keep playing. Unlike slow golf, we can’t pause the game while officials consult a rulebook.

I also agree with Johan that rules need to be clear in advance, even if they’re not yet perfectly consistent across countries. I asked Garrett Holt, Speedgolf USA Rules Official. He said "a rule broken unintentionally is still a rule broken." If you ground your club in a bunker, we expect you to add a stroke -- even if nobody sees you do it. And who could forget Nic Goodin placing his putter on the green in the 2022 US Open, costing him Silver? That was unintentional too.

Garrett said that "giving it only two minutes of thought", his first instinct is that a lost club in speedgolf should be a flat 2-stroke penalty.

Works for me. Let's put it in writing.

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Quick hits

The Belgian Speedgolf Open is officially sold out — with a reserve list running and a record-setting 13 women already in the field. Tee blocks will roll every four minutes from 9:00–17:45 at Brussels Drohme GC.

The British Speedgolf Championships have also hit full capacity ahead of Sept 7 at Sunningdale Heath. This year brings a twist: only the top performers will advance to a 36-hole cut for the overall title.

In the U.S., it’s final call for the US ​Speedgolf Open in Temecula, Oct 11–12. Registration posts and local reels are amplifying the push at Temecula Creek GC.

​Lauren Cupp wins the Rome, NY Women's Amateur by one stroke. Congrats, Lauren!

It’s golf endurance season: the Myrtle Beach Patriots 100-Hole Marathon tees off Aug 31 at Sea Trail, while a separate Folds of Honor 100-Hole day ran Aug 28 with sunrise-to-sunset pledges.

Finally, Japan’s Hokkaido Speedgolf Open is making a final entry push for Sept 8, with a 6:30 a.m. JST start confirmed at Golf5 Country Bibai Course.

Happy fall!

Around here, school starts on Tuesday. There's a cool breeze. The sunrise isn't so early all of a sudden.

Hoping you and yours are well. And until next time, keep it in the short grass.

Adam

--
Adam Lorton

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