Irish Open Edition (Reporting from Castlebar!)

Howdy speedgolf family!

You’re reading This Week in Speedgolf. This week’s edition is brought to you by jet lag, the only thing that can put me to sleep after I watch a Rob Hogan video.

Here’s what’s happening in speedgolf this week.

You don’t expect to hear the phrase “I love Speedgolf Rob!” while waiting for a rental car in Dublin, but that’s how my Irish Open weekend started. A full-throttle Speedgolf Rob fan recognized my Speedgolf with Hawk t-shirt, an early omen that this event wasn’t going to be business as usual.

The 2025 Irish Speedgolf Open, hosted by the legend himself Rob Hogan, was equal parts competition, chaos, and unexpected documentary shoot. Poison Darts — an as-yet unannounced golf apparel brand — emerged out of nowhere as a surprise sponsor, and brought a full-blown film crew. Six people, led by Ben Simms, who directed Bear Grylls back in the day, with cameras worth more than my car, and Big F***ing Ambitions. Not bad for our little sport!

They even rented a massive converted church as an Airbnb for the players. The night before the tournament? Total monk mode: three Brits and two Americans eating a humble dinner in the quiet cavernous hall. But after the event? Twenty-plus people swarming the place—filming interviews, kicking a soccer ball (excuse me… football), and swapping speedgolf war stories.

Tournament morning, I woke up with Luke Willett and shared in his traditional double espresso plus sodium bicarb. If you’ve never seen a man demonstrate the “bicarb burp,” consider yourself lucky. Fueled and fizzing, we hit the course under classic Irish conditions: cool, cloudy, and dry (a small miracle). The greens were slick and the pins were tucked in all the evil little corners. Scoring low would require balls and precision. And no excuses.

Not content to sit back and leave it to the pros, I grabbed my modest camera and ran with Rob Hogan during his round. No golf carts, no cozy sideline—just me and my DJI Pocket covering 4.2 miles alongside the Irish godfather of Speedgolf. Rob is quiet when he plays. Intense. I don’t think he spoke until hole 16, when he finally glanced over and said, “Hey, we’re finally getting into a rhythm, aren’t we?” Damn right we were.

He birdied 18—his only birdie of the day—and finished in 36:48 with three clubs in hand. That would tie him for second. Fastest time of the day went to Ville Heinonen, clocking 36:44 with one club, though four doubles knocked him down the standings.

After an eight-minute breather, it was my turn to tee it up. The unique format of the Irish Open rewards aggression: one minute subtracted for birdies, one minute added for doubles or worse. Go hard or go home.

Here’s how the top of the leaderboard shook out:

• 1. Robin Smith (New Zealand) – 40:56 with 3 birdies and 1 double → Final: 38:56
• T2. Rob Hogan (Ireland) – 36:48 with 1 birdie, 3 doubles → Final: 39:48
• T2. Luke Willett (England) – 38:48 with 1 birdie, 2 doubles → Final: 39:48
• 4. Gatjeak Gew (South Sudan) – 41:33 with 1 birdie, 0 doubles → Final: 40:33
• 5. Ville Heinonen (Finland) – 36:44 with 0 birdies, 4 doubles → Final: 40:44

Robin Smith flew 37 hours from New Zealand to get here, then went and won the damn thing. Gatjeak Gew was smooth and steady. Ville ran like a madman with one club and paid the price. All killer, no filler.

But the real show came after the main event. The top five players faced off in a brutal, beautiful Mass Start Time Trial: a four-hole par-3 sprint where all players teed off at the same time. One club. One ball. Lose it, and you’re out.

On the second hole, Rob Hogan put his tee shot in the water and, instead of quitting, he waded in waist-deep and pulled it out. This guy is on a completely different level.

Luke Willett kept his cool throughout. He drained a huge putt on the third hole and reached the final green just ahead of Robin Smith, who was coming in hot. The gallery—small, stunned, and reverent—watched as Luke calmly buried the final putt for the win. No celebration, no fist-pump. Just a professional doing his job under pressure.

• Marko Kuningas (Finland): 41 minutes at age 50 with just two clubs
• Olivier Guissett (Belgium): 42 minutes in his first-ever outdoor Speedgolf event
• Bev Fentiman: Ladies champ, repping hard
• Ilya from Chicago: On vacation with his wife, saw the event, said “why not?,” and played in his first-ever Speedgolf round. 57 minutes, zero regrets.

So yeah—film crews, converted churches, time trials, pond rescues. The Irish Open was part tournament, part fever dream. Whatever comes of the Poison Darts project or the rumors of a global speedgolf tour, this weekend proved that Speedgolf is still weird — and still ours.

Thank you Rob Hogan for twisting my arm and getting me out there.

• Sweden locks its field for the 12th National Championship (28–29 Jun, Allerum GC, Helsingborg). Four divisions will tee it up, with the Open Elite playing 36 holes over two days; entry deadline is 20 June. Organizers promise chip timing and real-time online leaderboards for the first time at the event.

“It took 48 hours, three flights and one mad dash, but lifting this trophy was worth every mile.” — Robin Smith, Irish Open champion. (irishgolfer.ie)

• On June 16, the Tali Speedgolf Open returns to Helsinki’s historic Talin Kartano course—expect lightning-fast Finnish summer fairways (Register).
• On June 22, Speedgolf Belgium’s nine-hole dash hits Golf Park Tervuren, a royal-forest parkland loop that rewards precise irons (Info).
• June 28–29 sees the Swedish Championships (SM) at Allerum GK, first outing in Skåne—36-hole elite plus Sunday junior/senior flights (Details).
• July 4–5, Paris’ 6ᵗʰ French Speedgolf Open storms Golf International de Roissy—runway-adjacent layout, prize-money elite division (Register).
• July 12–13, humid Louisville hosts the Kentucky Speedgolf Open at GlenOaks CC, famed for its volunteer-driven “Hawk’s Nest” vibe (SGUSA page).
• July 19, the seaside Torslanda City Links Speedgolf Open anchors Sweden’s west-coast tour—firm, breezy greens and ocean views (Schedule).
• July 20, Belgium’s Steenhoven Country Club Speedgolf finale zips through pine-lined heathland, last summer tour stop before nationals (Info).

• Rob Hogan on the future of speedgolf (speedgolfx on Instagram)
• Bev Fentiman and Robin Smith’s victory speeches from Castlebar Golf Club (speedgolfx on Instagram)
• Nick ‘Pink Streak’ Evans birdie in 53 seconds with Driver toss (Pink Streak Speedgolf on YouTube)
• Lauren Cupp challenges Bryson Dechambeau to break her course record (Speedgolfer Lauren Cupp on YouTube)
• Irish Open Photo Album by James McMaster (speedgolfaustralia on Instagram)
• Steve and Paige Vancil Represent Oregon at the Speedgolf World Championships (Oregon Golf Beat)

Anything I should’ve mentioned, but didn’t? Anything coming up you want to see highlighted?

Hit reply and let me know. I read every message.