The Springs – a beautiful parkland golf resort near Wallingford in Oxfordshire – played host to the 2021 British Open Speedgolf Championships which, for the first time in the event’s history, was designed as a 36-hole competition over two successive mornings on Sunday and Monday.
Competitors were set off individually at six-minute intervals, with an appropriate running start to the first tee and ending both of their rounds with a running finish.
A Speedgolf score combines the total shots taken, plus any penalty shots, added to the time to complete the entire 18-hole golf round.
Finding the optimum pace to maximise golf performance was the key challenge and, as with any great golf tournament, consistency is key.
The championship title went to PGA professional Luke Willett, who shot the first 18 holes in under 38 minutes and the second 18 holes in under 40 minutes on the 72-par course, and managed to keep his total golf strokes at 77 and 82 respectively.
Scott Richardson became the first amputee golfer in the world to compete in a national Speedgolf event.
Richardson has been playing golf for 10 years, but always as a leg-below-the-knee amputee, following a racing accident over 20 years ago.
He hoped his leap of faith by competing in this event will inspire others to follow his example and open up an exciting new opportunity for disability golf competitions.
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