2016 Champion Speedgolfer of the Year Jamie Young
(Photo courtesy of Jamie Young)
(November 25, 2016) -- When the sun has barely
risen
or is barely hanging on that is when you are most
likely
to
find Jamie Young on the golf course. Why you might
ask?
Well really it's pretty simple, Young likes to play
his
golf
fast.....very fast and the recent
Speedgolf World
Championship
doesn't like to have
people slowing him down.
"It is pretty unbelievable when you consider my
age
I guess," the 52-year-old Kenosha, WI resident said.
"Most of the competitors
are in there 20’s or early 30’s. I have played in four
world championships before and finished in the top-
10
but a lot of the younger guys were running quite a
bit
faster than I was but to finally come through and put
together some really good golf scores was a lot of
fun
and pretty exciting."
Young began playing speed golf in 2013 after
watching a documentary about the now 14-year-old
sport
prior to that years Masters. A runner for a number of
years competing in marathons (the Boston,
Chicago and New York Marathons among others),
iron
man competitions and triathlons Young said,
"going out for just a run got a little boring but ever
since I have put golf together with running it has just
been an absolute blast."
A University of Oklahoma golfer in the 1980's,
Young does most of his practice at his home course,
The
Club at Strawberry Creek. The 2016 Champion
Speedgolfer of the Year will often be the first
player off in the morning, teeing off at 7:00 a.m. or
he
will play later in the evening when the course is less
likely to be crowded.
When Young first began playing in speed golf
events he competed as a professional, but as a
longtime
participant in Wisconsin Golf Association events and
other local amateur tournaments he reinstated as an
amateur. In fact in his first year as a a reinstated
senior
he won
the Kenosha County Senior Amateur with a 7-under
63
in the final round. That round was his lowest career
competitive round.
Over the years Young, a 1-handicap, has also
won
his club champion four-times.
For those of you wondering how speed golf
works
the competitors play as singles with no more than
six
clubs, and tee off eight minutes apart. The golfer
plays alongside a timer/scorer that rides in a cart
with the goal of
course to play as quickly as possible while taking the
fewest amount of shots possible because every
second and shot counts.
Once the final putt drops the overall stroke
count is
added to the number of minutes the round took. So if
you shot a 71 in 53 minutes your score would be a
124.
Playing through is also a bit interesting in speed
golf. Unlike regular golf where the group in front
controls the pace of play, in speed golf the player
behind always has the right of way. If you're to slow
you
will be left behind.
With that said Young said he didn't start playing
his
best speed golf until he slowed down, a bit
counterintuitive don't you think?
Well let Young explain,
"When I first started I realized that you had to slow
down a little bit because if you are going to fast and
your heart rate is going to quick your golf game is
going to suffer. So you have to even run a little
slower
so you aren’t as excited so to speak over the ball."
Since slowing down, Young has sprinted to the
top
of the speed golf world and with his fifth year of the
sport just
around the corner it doesn't look like he has a notion
to
take his foot off the accelerator anytime soon.
"I can’t wait a lot of days when I get to play
speed
golf," Young excitedly said. "Even people that are
avid
at
working out, sometimes it is a struggle to get going
but
for me it is, 'hey I get to go play golf while I run.'
It’s
just
a blast."