All aboard the comeback train! Jamie Reid wins NZ Open

All aboard the comeback train! Jamie Reid wins TORO New Zealand Open

Jamie Reid is the 2026 TORO NZ Open champion — 78/78 in 36:51/38:05, two-day total 230:56. Two shots clear of Harry Bateman, the defending champ, and a man who briefly held the speedgolf world record earlier this year before Robin Smith walked ran up and took it from him.

History check:

• 2022: Jamie shows up to Florida ready to avenge his 1-second loss to Mikko Rantanen in 2018. Proceeds to eviscerate the field. Beats the #2 speedgolfer in the world, Jin Ota, by 18 minutes.
• 2023: Jamie wins the North Island Open, NZ Open, Kauri Cliffs Invitational, and Japan Speedgolf Open. He is the world #1 and nobody else is particularly close.
• 2024: Jamie wins the Northland Open, NZ Open, Cape Kidnappers Invitational, tears his ACL, then still leads the 2024 World Championships through hole 16 on day 2, ultimately finishing 4th.
• 2025: Jamie spends all year recovering from ACL surgery, no events.

I don’t know if I would’ve had the patience to sit out a whole year. Jamie was about 10 months post-surgery for the Taranaki Speedgolf Open right in his backyard. He didn’t play. He was about 12 months post-surgery for the Northland Speedgolf Open. He still didn’t play.

It had to be FOMO-inducing, watching Brad Hayward accumulating wins.

Then in February, the comeback train left the station.

• Wairarapa: Jamie sets an early mark. Harry blows past it with a 70 in 36, takes the world record from Scott Dawley.
• Waipu: Jamie shoots 73 in 35:42 — a winning score almost any other weekend — and gets lapped by Robin’s 64 in 40:09. The record changes hands again. Jamie finishes second.
• Taupo: Jamie wins the national title. This is his seventh NZ Open win in his last seven attempts.

Choo choo, speedgolfers!

But of course, for Jamie Reid, winning the NZ Open is not the destination. It’s more like a quaint little town where you get a coffee and a souvenir, then get back on the train. “The work continues for the big dance in November,” says Jamie on Instagram.

We’re just over 6 months from the World Championships in Auckland, and if you want to bet that the winner will be a Kiwi, I’ll give you some attractive odds. You bet $100 to win $5. (I should be careful. Somebody might actually take that bet.)

The hole that cost Harry the championship

Harry Bateman had a professional golf commitment this same weekend. (He also plays the non-cardio version of the sport on the side, which, according to my sources, pays better.) That meant he needed to tee off early Sunday rather than with the rest of the lead group. Jamie, Robin, and Brad Hayward all graciously let him go set a mark.

Harry’s mark: 75 in 39 minutes. A number that, on almost any other weekend in almost any other geography, wins going away. The lead group would need to get under it.

What Harry will want back, though, isn’t Sunday. It’s Saturday. Hole sixteen. Six putts. (A gasp from the patrons.)

I don’t want to pile on — these things happen.

The six-putt isn’t the story. The story is: Harry was right there all weekend, on a course he’d won on before, against the best version of Jamie Reid we’ve seen since 2022, and he lost by just two.

Anyone writing the “immortal Jamie Reid” storyline for November, kindly file it under speculation and go back to your day job. This sport has gotten a lot more competitive in the last 4 years.

Quick note from the equipment shed: Riley Davie confirmed that Jamie has fully converted to the Hogan Holster after a six-month adjustment period, and Riley has now made the switch himself.

Here’s the part I find delightful: nobody manufactures Hogan Holsters. These are DIY builds. Garage jobs. The speedgolf equivalent of modifying your own carburetor.

Speedgolfer ingenuity is alive and well, as always, in a never-ending quest to trade elbow grease for precious seconds. This isn’t the headline — speedgolfers will tinker with anything that isn’t nailed down — but the Holster is picking up converts at an interesting moment.

The 2024 Worlds field was about 70% Silo. Don’t be surprised to see that number dip a little bit.

Performance of the weekend: Amy Linton

“Performance of the weekend by far,” said Amy Linton’s brother Robin Smith. Nearly three under through 17. On a course setup where the women were routinely hitting three-wood or long iron into the par fours. A bogey on the last. 71 in 51:57. Back-to-back NZ Open women’s titles, done.

Astute observers know that Amy and Liz McKinnon won the 2024 World Cup pairs title together. She belongs on any short list of women with a real case to win Worlds in Auckland — a list that also includes Emily Mollard, Meguna Haga, and defending World Champ Liz.

Masters, Seniors… whatever you call them, these 50+ fellas can fly!

Quick terminology note for the American half of the audience: New Zealand speedgolfers call the 50+ division “Masters.” The ISGA calls it “Seniors.” This is one of those semantic landmines that can derail a comment section for three days if nobody defuses it early, so: flagged, defused, moving on.

Damian Mills won Men 50+ with 81/81 in 44:35/46:02 — two-day total 252:37. Damian is one of the most accomplished speedgolfers alive and yet seems to operate silently, like an electric car in the Trader Joe’s parking lot.

On the same Sunday Robin Smith broke the overall world record at Waipu, Damian broke the senior world record at the same tournament. Same venue. Same day. Nobody outside a five-mile radius knew about it for a week. Damian is out here collecting world records the way the rest of us accidentally collect used coffee cups in the cupholder of the car.

Now: a name to put on a Post-it and stick to your monitor (if you’re a speedgolf rankings junkie like I am). Glenn Coughlan.

I’m told by reliable sources that Glenn took up speedgolf on the South Island, which is the speedgolf equivalent of opening a surf school in Nevada. No training group. No elite playing partners. Just a guy and, one imagines, a few mildly confused sheep. His round 2 this weekend was a 75 in 50 minutes — the best senior round of the tournament.

I haven’t gotten Glenn on the phone yet, but I’m working on it. Anyone who gets to this level in relative isolation has either special talent, a slightly unhinged work ethic, or both.

Seven Australians and a Tasman handshake (not a rivalry)

Riley Davie and six fellow Australians made the trip for the NZ Open — a record Aussie contingent. By Riley’s account, the Kiwi community “looked after” the visitors, which I’m led to believe is Australian for fed them, drove them around, probably loaned them a hat, and generally rolled out the welcome mat like the classy folks they are. The Australian Speedgolf Open is two weeks out, and I’m confident the Aussies are prepared to return the favor.

One thing we won’t do is call this a rivalry. A rivalry implies some kind of contest. Ben Taylor had a strong tournament and finished fifth — eleven minutes off the podium. The Aussies are improving, but the Kiwis aren’t afraid of anyone coming across the ditch right now, and both sides know it.

TORO New Zealand Speedgolf Open | Taupo, NZ | Apr 18-19 | results

November is already in the room

Jamie’s post said it plainly — Worlds is firmly in-focus. Harry will be stronger for coming up two short. Amy and Lucinda Searle belong in the women’s draw conversation. Glenn Coughlan is a name to tuck away in the seniors — at least until our interview publishes and everyone pretends they knew about him first.

The 2026 TORO World Speedgolf Championships at Whitford Park, Auckland are six months out. And — because I can’t stop myself — I think it’s time for a set of methodologically-shaky, vibes-based power rankings. And I’d love your help.

One ask: send me your personal top 5 or top 10. Men, women, seniors, senior women — whatever category you care most about. I’ll publish a reader rankings feature alongside the official numbers when they drop.

Hit reply with your list.

This Week in Speedgolf Media

• 🎥 Speedgolf Temecula vs. Mortgages + Mulligans — best ball speedgolf vs. golf cart scramble.
• 🏃 Rob Hogan: six holes in three minutes — the big bearded Irishman, cooking.
• ⛳ Kathy Leppard: tips for first-time speedgolfers — if you’ve got a speedgolf-curious friend on the fence, this is the link.
• 🥤 Lauren Cupp does a paid spot for “Course Record” electrolytes — we’re all grown up now.

Looking for tournaments? Looking for casual speedgolf? Speedgolf Directory is where you find them. Here’s what’s coming up through May.

• April 25, the Indiana Speedgolf Open at Twin Bridges Golf Club in Danville, Indiana, USA. Details
• May 1-3, the Australian Speedgolf Open at Club Tocumwal in Tocumwal, New South Wales, Australia. Details
• May 10, Belgium’s Ranst Open Golf Speedgolf at Ranst Open Golf in Ranst, Antwerp, Belgium. Details
• May 17, the Arizona Speedgolf Open at Encanto 18 Golf Course in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Details
• May 17, the British Speedgolf Pairs Championship at Mid Herts Golf Club in Bovingdon, England. Details
• May 23-24, Skane Classic 2026 launches the Swedish season in Skane, Sweden. Details
• May 30, Puurs Breendonk Speedgolf lands at Golfclub Breendonk in Puurs-Sint-Amands, Antwerp, Belgium. Details

Hit ‘Reply’ and tell me who is in your top 10 speedgolfers right now. I read every reply.