Elite Men + Women Power Rankings

Howdy speedgolf family! You’re reading This Week in Speedgolf.

This edition of the newsletter is like the Energizer Bunny. It keeps going and going and going… and it has zero significance to my kids.

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

If you like This Week in Speedgolf and want to help me get to Worlds in November, you can support me on Ko-Fi.

» Hardy & Robson upset Luke & Luke to take British Pairs!

2024 World Cup champions Luke Willett and Luke Bone were heavy favorites going into this year’s British Pairs championship, but it was the young and fit team of Will Robson and James Hardy who pulled out the win today at Mid Herts golf club.

» Vancil beats up on little tykes (relatively speaking) to claim Arizona Speedgolf Open title

» Belgian season kicks off with Ranst Open

Freshly-fifty Filip “SpeedStache” Beerens posted the lowest score at the Ranst Speedgolf event in Belgium, winning Senior Men with 37 strokes in 20:41 for a 57.68.

Ranst Open | Ranst, Antwerp, Belgium | Results

Men: Louis Van Ouytsel | 42 in 19:08 | 61.13
2nd: Cédric Mampaey | 37 in 24:50 | 61.83
3rd: Kenny Van Craen | 42 in 20:27 | 62.45
Senior Men: Filip Beerens | 37 in 20:41 | 57.68
2nd: Axel Seifert | 38 in 28:31 | 66.52
3rd: Jan Vanermen | 42 in 25:16 | 67.27
Ladies: Vicky Debacker | 51 in 28:57 | 79.95
Juniors: Finn Gillis | 49 in 29:12 | 78.20

» The six-months-til-Worlds super-scientific and methodologically-rigorous power rankings

“Is the World Championships hype train leaving the station too early?”

That’s what nobody said when I sent the Senior power rankings last week.

So let’s shovel some more coal into that hype train and dive into the rankings for elite women and men.

» Elite Women

For the 2024 Worlds preview, I could confidently rank six elite women. A brief 18 months later, I’m ranking eleven. Now that’s what I call momentum!

11 | Kathy Leppard | UK

50% of Kathy Leppard’s Instagram content, when she’s at home, looks like a petting zoo. So what are we going to do when she trains a goose to put the ball in the hole for her?

Signature performances: 9th at 2024 Worlds; 1st at 2025 British Pairs with Bev Fentiman; 1st at 2025 Belgian Open; 4th at 2025 European Open

10 | Paige Vancil | United States

I’ve been known to complain that the youth haven’t watched the classic movies that defined my generation, but Paige Vancil assures me she’s watched Aladdin and Lion King. From this, I conclude: the kids are going to be just fine.

Signature performances: 1st at 2025 U.S. Open; 1st at 2025 Oregon Open; 2nd in Women’s Pairs at 2024 Worlds with Lauren Cupp

9 | Majken Palmberg | Sweden

What do you think they talk about in the Palmberg family group chat?

One hand vs. two hand putting?
Driver vs. 3-wood off the tee?
Silo vs. bag vs. Hogan Holster?

Or maybe (like my group chats these days), they’re just posting their daily scores on GeoSports.

Signature performances: 1st at 2025 Swedish Championship; set Swedish women’s record with 83 in 57:46 = 140:46

8 | Camille Gollety | France

For many readers, this will be your first time seeing Camille Gollety’s name. She made her speedgolf debut at the 2025 French Open, finishing second to Emily Mollard and breaking 80 in her second competition round!

Signature performances: 2nd at 2025 French Open; shot 78 in 59:01 = 137:01 in round two at Roissy

7 | Lauren Cupp | United States | 🏆 2018 World Champ

It feels weird to rank Lauren Cupp outside the top 3. Heck, even when she’s shuffling around the golf course at 65 years old, it will still feel weird to rank her outside the top 3.

Lauren spent the last year using her body to grow and feed a tiny human (or, as she and Wes call it “completing our foursome”) — an impressive feat. And thanks to that, she has a chance at another impressive feat: first mother of four to podium at Worlds.

Signature performances: 6th at 2024 Worlds; 75 in 62 minutes = 137:00 at 2025 New York State Sprint

6 | Lucinda Searle | New Zealand

Four of the top five men at Worlds in Japan were from New Zealand. Not only that, they were all from Taranaki. (To refresh your memory: Bernie Smith, Robin Smith, Jamie Reid, Brad Hayward). That’s a region with serious talent density. And anywhere you see talent density, you see youth sports being run by people who care.

That’s why it’s fun to root for Lucinda Searle — her direct success in speedgolf is fun, but the real story is how she supports youth and women’s golf in the Taranaki region. Lucinda was NZ Golf’s Administrator of the Year in 2023 and junior golf memberships in Taranaki nearly doubled under her watch.

I wouldn’t have found this out about Lucinda without hearing it from Mick McBeth (thanks, Mick!). If you know somebody whose efforts deserve a bit more attention, hit ‘reply’ and let me know.

Signature performances: 1st at North Island Open; 2nd at New Zealand Open; 3rd at 2025 New Zealand Open

5 | Milla Hallanoro | Finland | 🏆 2022 World Champ

Like me, Milla Hallanoro has been waiting for the snow to melt and watching from afar as the Kiwis frolic down the fairways. We’ll know more about Milla’s form when the Scandinavian Open rolls around in late June.

Signature performances: 4th at 2024 Worlds; 2nd at 2025 European Open; Mixed Team World Cup winner with Pertti Palosuo at 2024 Worlds; 1st at Vuosaari

4 | Meguna Haga | Japan

It’s easy to get the impression that Meguna Haga is calm, sweet and reserved. But then you watch her swing a golf club. Then you hear her smack-talking Garrett Holt from the Worlds podium, saying “5th… you picked me to finish 5th”.

The 2024 Worlds runner-up successfully defended her Japanese Open title last year and has a win on the 2026 tour already. She is not just a podium threat — she could win the whole thing.

Signature performances: 2nd at 2024 Worlds; 1st at 2025 Japan Open; won the 2025 Japanese season-long women’s crown

3 | Liz McKinnon | New Zealand | 🏆 2024 World Champ

Liz McKinnon hasn’t been seen in competition since the 2025 NZ Speedgolf Open a year ago, where Amy Linton edged her out by 21 seconds. That doesn’t change the fact that the World Champ and record holder is dangerous until proven otherwise.

Signature performances: 1st at 2024 Worlds; Women’s 18-hole world record of 72 in 49:25 = 121:25; 1st in 2024 Speedgolf World Cup with Amy Linton; 2nd at 2025 NZ Open

2 | Amy Linton | New Zealand

Amy Linton has been putting in the work! Four wins this season. One near-World Record effort at Wairarapa. All this and she’s coaching her son to an elite junior speedgolf career, too!

Signature performances: 5th at 2024 Worlds; 1st at 2025 New Zealand Open, ending Liz McKinnon’s 10-year unbeaten streak; 1st at 2025 Taranaki Open; shot 121:33 at the 2026 Wairarapa Open, eight seconds off the women’s world record

1 | Emily Mollard | France

The phrase “built different” is overused, but I’ll make an exception for Emily Mollard. If speedgolfers were cars, I’d be a Ford Focus and Emily would be a Tesla Model X.

Emily has more French Open wins than she has golf clubs in her Silo. Now she’s the reigning British and European champ as well. There’s just one title in our sport she has yet to win… and she’ll have her chance in just six months.

Signature performances: 3rd at 2024 Worlds; 1st at 2025 French Open; 1st at 2025 European Open; 1st at 2025 British Championship

» Upcoming Speedgolf on Speedgolf Directory

If you’re looking for your next event or meetup, find it on Speedgolf Directory. If you’re hosting an event and want people on the internet to find it, then post it!

» Elite Men

Speaking of the influx of talent in our sport… by my calculation fully 50% of the men on this list are professional golfers of some sort. Imagine this list in another two years.

22 | Olivier Guisset | Belgium

Olivier Guisset — the Belgian Bomber — seems to be enjoying life as a part-time golfer. He’s ski mountaineering. He’s running the Chicago Marathon. He’s living the dream.

We know he can shoot in the 70s. We know he can run a golf course in the 40s. We just need to see him do both on the same day.

Signature performances: 1st at 2025 Belgian Open; 3rd at 2025 French Speedgolf Open with 259:34; played the Soudal Open speedgolf showcase at Rinkven Golf Club; ran 42 minutes in his first outdoor speedgolf event at the 2025 Irish Open

21 | Lauri Alakuijala | Finland

Lauri Alakuijala, the Flying Speedgolfer, is an innovator on two fronts. He’s the only speedgolfer I’ve seen playing the ‘bungee bag’ (attached to the waist by a bungee cord — a less-invasive Hogan Holster, I suppose). He also makes speedgolf hip-hop, like this flyover series previewing Espoo Ringside.

Signature performances: 17th at 2024 Worlds; 3rd at 2025 Hyvinkaa; 8th at European Open (74 in 46:17 = 120:17 in round one)

20 | Ville Heinonen | Finland

Ville Heinonen — the fastest Fin — is sneakily improving in the golf game. High 70s is starting to look like a possibility, which puts him on the podium almost anywhere in the world.

Signature performances: 14th at 2024 Worlds; 1st at 2025 Hyvinkaa; fastest 18 hole time at 2025 Irish Speedgolf Open with 36:44; 6th at 2025 European Open

19 | Jim Davis | United States

Jim Davis — the Rad Radiologist — lives in Michigan, where the winters are long and gray. Not one to make excuses, he built a treadmill + simulator in his garage and spent all winter bombing drivers off the deck. His aerobic fitness was already elite, and now expect his ball-striking to match.

Signature performances: 16th at 2024 Worlds; 3rd at 2025 U.S. Open

18 | Craig Russell | New Zealand

Team New Zealand has six athletes on this list. Or one third of the top 18 players in the world. Heck, they could even field 60% of the top ten if Craig Russell plays as well as he’s capable of.

Signature performances: 12th at 2024 Worlds; 5th at North Island Open; 2nd at Northland Open; 5th at Taranaki Open; 7th at 2025 NZ Open

17 | Jason Hawkins | United States

The Hawk was grounded in 2024, but rest assured he’s back in flight. Three wins in 2025 and I have it on good authority he was hitting the gym and the golf sim hard this winter.

Signature performances: 1st at 2025 Missouri Open; 1st at 2025 Kentucky Speedgolf Open; won the inaugural Rob Hogan TGL Indoor Speedgolf event; 5th at 2025 U.S. Speedgolf Open

16 | James Hardy | United Kingdom

It’s no mystery why this Hardy boy makes the list. Beating Luke Willett on his home course at the biggest British event of the year will do that for you.

Signature performances: 1st at British Pairs; 1st at 2025 British Championship; 8th at 2025 European Open

15 | Will Robson | United Kingdom

If you look closely at that photo, you’ll see that — in addition to his luxurious locks — Will Robson is a speedgolf innovator. That’s a plastic tube for putting. He carries the Silo in his hand when he’s running, but on the green he can have the clubs off the ground and behind his back. Less intrusive than a Hogan Holster, and no one-handed putting like so many traditional Silo setups.

Signature performances: 1st at British Pairs; 5th at 2025 European Open; 5th at 2025 British Championship; 4th at 2025 US Open

14 | Alexandre Arguel | France

Alexandre Arguel is on the short list of most improved speedgolfers in the last two years. Top 20 finish at Worlds in 2024, then a podium at the biggest event in Europe. Team France has a couple of serious contenders.

Signature performances: 3rd at 2025 European Open (73 in 47:01 = 120:01 in round two); 4th at 2025 French Open; 19th at 2024 Worlds

13 | Stan Masson | France

Stan Masson hits long bombs and curses loudly in French when the putts don’t drop. He also beat Rob Hogan and Luke Willett at Roissy last year.

Signature performances: 13th at 2024 Worlds; 1st at 2025 French Open, beating Rob Hogan and Luke Willett; 1st in Foursomes with Bastian Mas at the same French Open

12 | Ben Taylor | Australia

Australian speedgolf is on the rise, and Ben Taylor is leading the charge. The New Zealand Speedgolf Open is the most competitive event outside the World Championships, and Ben just finished 6th there.

Signature performances: 2nd at Australian Open (42 seconds behind Robin Smith); 6th at NZ Open; 2nd at 2025 Australian Open; 9th at 2025 NZ Open

11 | Luke Bone | UK | 🏆 2024 World Cup Champ

Luke Bone only plays one event per year: the British Pairs. He doesn’t even appear in the ISGA world rankings. But if you’ve watched him play speedgolf, you know he belongs on this list.

Signature performances: 1st at 2024 Team World Cup; 7th at 2024 Worlds; 1st at 2025 British Pairs

10 | Bernie Smith | New Zealand

It’s hard to know where to rank Bernie “no relation to Robin” Smith. He cruised to silver at the World Championships and hardly looked like he was trying. But now he’s battling an injury and hasn’t been seen since October. He’s top 10 until proven otherwise.

Signature performances: 2nd at 2024 Worlds; 2nd at 2025 Taranaki Open

9 | Carl Palmberg | Sweden

We still don’t have a killer nickname for Carl Palmberg, the university student with the wicked fast club head speed and the happy-go-lucky attitude. All I know is: winning the European Speedgolf Open with a 111 first round is enough to vault anybody into the top 10.

Signature performances: 1st at 2025 European Open (69 in 42:26 = 111:26 round 1); 1st at 2025 Swedish Championship; Swedish national-best 112:26 at Allerum

8 | Tatsuya Shinmoto | Japan

Tatsuya “The Entertainer” Shinmoto is equally comfortable high-stepping up the fairway, beatboxing from the podium, and hitting Driver off the deck over water. No moment is too big to benefit from a little whimsy. I want to be more like Shinmoto-san.

Signature performances: 8th at 2024 Worlds; 2nd at 2025 Japan Open; 1st at 2025 Nagoya Bayside Classic

7 | Rob Hogan | Ireland | 🏆 2013 & 2015 World Champ

Admit it: you were starting to count Speedgolf Rob out. He’s a TikTok guy now. He’s doing Cobra commercials. He’s doing hole in one challenges at par 3 courses.

And then he goes and wins the Speedgolf Japan Open over Tatsuya Shinmoto and Jin Ota. The big bearded Irishman’s still got it.

Signature performances: 9th at 2024 Worlds; 1st at 2025 Japan Open; 2nd at 2025 French Open; 2nd at 2025 Irish Open

6 | Jin Ota | Japan | 🏆 2024 World Champ

We haven’t seen a true signature performance from World Champ Jin Ota since… well, the World Championships. But in his two Worlds appearances, Ota-san’s worst finish is 2nd. I think I’ll go ahead and give him the benefit of the doubt until November.

Signature performances: 1st at 2024 Worlds; 3rd at 2025 Japan Open; 1st at Ibaraki Open; 1st at 2025 Hokkaido Open

5 | Brad Hayward | New Zealand

Only 13% of golfers are serious enough to get a handicap index. Of those, less than 5% will ever shoot in the 60s even once. That means, among all golfers, one in 250 will ever shoot 69 or better. Brad Hayward does that with three clubs. Regularly.

Signature performances: 5th at 2024 Worlds; 3rd at NZ Open; 1st at Northland Open; 1st at Taranaki Open; 3rd at North Island Open; 4th at Wairarapa Open; 3rd at 2025 NZ Open

4 | Luke Willett | United Kingdom | 🏆 2024 World Cup Champ

Luke Willett just attempted 18 holes in 18 minutes at his home course of Sunningdale Heath. He may be the fastest golfer on the planet, but if he wants to move up on this list, he’s going to do it by dropping birdie putts, not by dropping seconds off his 5k time.

Signature performances: 6th at 2024 Worlds; 2nd at 2025 European Open; 2nd at 2025 US Open; 2nd at 2025 British Championship; 1st at 2025 British Pairs with Luke Bone.

3 | Harry Bateman | New Zealand

Because I’m a connoisseur of childish humor, I’d be willing to bet Harry Bateman’s nickname as a teenager was “Master”. Whether or not that’s true, he was masterful at the Wairarapa Open, when he broke Scott Dawley’s world record with 70 in 36:14 = 106:14 .

Signature performances: 2nd at NZ Open; 1st at Wairarapa Open (and briefly held the world record with 70 in 36:14 = 106:14); 1st at 2025 NZ Open

2 | Jamie Reid | New Zealand | 🏆 2022 World Champ & World Cup Champ

Let’s do some data analysis from Jamie Reid’s last four tournaments:

2024 Worlds: 4th place
2026 Wairarapa Open: 3rd place
2026 North Island Open: 2nd place
2026 New Zealand Open: 1st place

Things are definitely trending in the right direction for the former undisputed heavyweight of our sport. There’s just… one… problem…

Signature performances: 4th at 2024 Worlds; 1st at NZ Open; 2nd at North Island Open; 3rd at Wairarapa Open

1 | Robin Smith | New Zealand | 🏆 2022 World Cup Champ

This guy just will not quit. He’s not here to mess around, certainly not with spiders.

Robin Smith checked out of his hotel in Japan in November 2024, holding his bronze medal and his check for ¥3,000, and proceeded to go on a speedgolf world tour the likes of which we’d never seen.

He won on many different continents, in many different time zones, and then, back home in New Zealand, shot a mind-blowing 64 (-8) in 40:09 to take the speedgolf World Record from Harry Bateman (who’d only held it for a couple of weeks).

I’m told the World #1 World Tour continues this summer in Sweden, the US, and possibly a stop near you.

Signature performances: 3rd at 2024 Worlds; 1st at North Island Open + World Record 64 in 40:09 = 104:09; 1st at Australian Open; 4th at NZ Open; 2nd at Wairarapa Open; 3rd at Taranaki Open; 1st at 2025 US Open; 1st at 2025 Irish Open; 1st at 2025 Australian Open