South African Ron Rutland helped set the World Record for the longest golf game in history when he and his friend Adam Rolston spent 80 days in Mongolia
Ron Rutland and his friend Adam Rolston were sitting in a pub discussing what would happen after Adam retired from Rugby. What started out as a joke turned into the adventure of a lifetime and a World Golfing Record to boot.
The pair decided to set off to Mongolia to play golf for 80 days. Tee off was at 1 am on the 29th of June 2017 from the base camp Khüiten Peak, the highest and most western point in Mongolia. They made their golf course up as they went along but stuck to the official rules of the game.
“Sometimes in life, you have to act upon crazy ideas that come up in a pub.”
“Adam Rolston’s rugby career was coming to an end and he was looking for some adventure, and he came up with an idea of playing golf across Mongolia … 6 months after our initial conversation we tee off to the western part of the country and we spent the next 80 days having the greatest adventure you can imagine.” – Ron Rutland
Ron spoke about how mindblowing it was walking for 2000kms and never having encountered any fences or walls. Mongolia is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world, its size slightly bigger than SA but with a population of only 3 million people. Most people live in the city with the rural people living mostly nomadic lifestyles.
During their trip, Ron and Adam covered 2‚011km in 20‚093 shots and 135 balls over 80 days. This is now the current World Record for the longest golf game in history. Ron and Adam finished their game on the 18th hole of the only golf green in Mongolia.
They are hoping to release a documentary at the end of the year showcasing their entire trip.The trip was also used to raise funds for the Laureus Sport for Good and the South African Golf Development Board (SAGDB). You can find full details of their trip here.
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