New Zealand will have a powerful home contingent when the TORO World Speedgolf Championship and ISGA World Team Cup come to Auckland next month.
Whitford Park Golf Club will host the event from November 3-6, bringing a record 108 competitors together for the first Speedgolf World Championship ever staged in the Southern Hemisphere.
Back-to-back New Zealand women’s champion Amy Linton will be among the leading Kiwi hopes, alongside defending world champion Liz McKinnon.
“It’s great to play a world championship anywhere, but to be able to play at home and have people able to come and watch and support is amazing,” Linton said.
“We think New Zealand is the home of speedgolf, so it’s great to have the Speedgolf Worlds here to show everyone what we can do.”
Linton Chasing Home World Title
Linton has been playing speedgolf for around four years, having discovered the sport during a difficult period following the death of her mother in 2022.
Running had become an outlet for her grief before her brother suggested combining it with her golfing ability.
“I tried it once and I haven’t looked back since,” she said.
Linton has since become one of New Zealand’s leading players and successfully defended her national women’s title at Taupō this year.
She will face a familiar challenge at Whitford Park from McKinnon, who won the individual world championship in Japan in 2024.
The pair are close friends rather than fierce rivals and combined to win the Women’s Team World Cup for New Zealand at the same championship.
“We’re incredibly supportive of one another, but we are competitive and like to win,” Linton said.
“I think that’s all you can ask for in sport — someone that makes you perform better than you thought you could.”
Strong Kiwi Men’s Challenge
New Zealand will also carry serious title hopes in the elite men’s championship.
The 2024 World Championship saw Japanese star Jin Ota take gold, but the next four places all went to Kiwis.
Bernie Smith finished second, Robin Smith third, Jamie Reid fourth and Brad Hayward fifth.
Reid is a former world champion after winning both the individual and team titles in 2022, while Robin Smith arrives in Auckland as the current official 18-hole speedgolf world-record holder.
Smith shot an eight-under 64 in just 40 minutes and nine seconds at Waipu Golf Club earlier this year.
Ireland’s two-time world champion Rob Hogan will be another major international challenger, along with defending champion Ota.
Golf Against The Clock
Speedgolf combines traditional scoring with running, making every shot and every second count.
A player’s score is calculated by adding their number of golf strokes to the time taken to complete the round. A 75 completed in 45 minutes, for example, produces a speedgolf score of 120.
The individual World Championship will be contested across 36 holes on November 4-5, following the official practice day and opening ceremony on November 3.
The ISGA World Team Cup follows on November 6.
Whitford Park is familiar territory for the New Zealand speedgolf community, having previously hosted the national Open in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Its undulating terrain will provide an additional physical challenge for a field attempting to balance pace with precision.
Record Field Heading To Auckland
The championship’s 108-player field is the largest assembled for an international speedgolf event, with New Zealand’s contingent having grown to 32 competitors across the divisions.
That gives the hosts considerable depth as they attempt to capitalise on one of the biggest speedgolf events staged in this country.
For Linton, having the opportunity to chase a world championship without leaving New Zealand makes the occasion particularly special.
For Kiwi speedgolf more broadly, November provides an opportunity to showcase a discipline in which New Zealand has already become one of the sport’s leading nations.
