Golf adventurer Luke Willett is set to complete his ‘Marathons of Golf’ grand challenge this Sunday July 3 at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, ahead of the venue hosting The Open in 2023.
Willett, known as The Iron Golfer and a leading UK speed golfer, cyclist, multiple marathon runner, PGA Professional golfer and coach has so far this year played rapid speed golf rounds at 13 of golf’s 14 venues for The Open.
On each occasion Willett, after attempting to complete his round as quickly as possible, then takes to the streets to run, up to a marathon in length, around every ‘Open venue’ town, meeting the public and aiming to spread positivity about the historic championship, while inspiring his followers on Instagram [@lukewillettgolf] to think a little differently about the game.
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Willett also attempted to qualify for The Open itself this year narrowly missing out in the first qualifying round.
This Sunday, Willett will visit Royal Liverpool Golf Club, his 14th and final Open Championship course. He is aiming for his best combined score [strokes and time] for his unique Marathons of Golf series, before coaching some of the club’s young junior players.
Previous highlights in Willett’s challenge include playing Muirfield in 40 minutes and just 80 shots; a 58 minute round at Princes in 79 shots; and Royal Portrush in 45 minutes and 82 shots. Willett also played St Annes in 45 minutes and scored 79 before he ran 22 miles around the neighbourhood. Similarly, after a 40 minute round to score 78 at Royal Cinque Ports, Willett ran a full 26.2 mile marathon around the nearby town of Deal. He has run a total 167 miles in towns after his 13 Speedgolf sprints!
Willett is dedicating his final round at Royal Liverpool to fundraise for national charity The Golf Foundation due to his desire to see more children from different backgrounds have the opportunity to play the sport. Golf Foundation projects offer young people the chance to develop life skills such as resilience, confidence and respect for the game and its players.
The Iron Golfer’s challenge has not been easy, pushing himself to the limit on many occasions. This included suffering from exhaustion and a virus at points, while at Royal St George’s, despite a severe foot injury, Willett still went round in 120 minutes and shot 82.
Reflecting on his journey, Willett said: “This adventure really has been incredibly difficult but at the same time an absolute joy to play these wonderful Open Championship courses, the greatest in golf, and to meet all the kind members of these clubs before running the streets and saying hello to the wonderful people in these golf communities.
"Running the towns and connecting to the places of these great Open venues has been a highly rewarding part for me. I’m trying to show that the boundaries and possibilities of golf can be whatever you want them to be. It is down to your own imagination and sense of fun.
"I think my Marathons of Golf have engaged with a lot of young people out there and hopefully I have inspired a boy or girl to be a champion in the future; either in a traditional way or finding a new way to suit themselves through golf. For this reason, I wanted to dedicate my final challenge on Sunday to the Golf Foundation, a charity that does so much to bring the game to kids from all backgrounds.”
Willet has described his speed golfing as ‘playing golf like an F1 car’ and you can follow his journey and catch up on his previous Marathons of Golf on Instagram @lukewillettgolf. Meanwhile, you can donate to the Golf Foundation here.
Willett was also delighted to be ending his gruelling and inspiring challenge at Royal Liverpool Golf Club. He added: “I’m particularly excited to be finishing this test at Royal Liverpool. This is a superb golf club and I know that the members are hugely supportive of their juniors and growing the game for the local community, a feature of all these fine clubs.”
In 2019, the Royal Liverpool Golf Club members were among the clubs who made generous donations to the Golf Foundation for a previous challenge of Willett's in which he cycled 830 miles in 10 days with his golf clubs strapped to his bike, playing all 14 of The Open courses en route.
