The U.S. Open will test speedgolf’s global pecking order

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

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

Ryan Fox wins The Open like a speedgolfer!

Make birdie and win $3.2 million. Make par and go to a playoff. Make bogey or worse and be relegated to a historical footnote.

Ryan Fox won The Open Championship over the weekend, and the way he played the 18th hole made every speedgolfer smile.

The group ahead hadn’t even fully cleared the green when he launched his approach shot into the air. That didn’t matter. Every golfer knows there’s a little window of time when your mind and body are ready to hit the shot. If you wait too long, the moment will pass, and there’s no guarantee you’ll ever get that feeling of certainty back.

Fox didn’t second-guess. He played a beautiful approach, leaving a straightforward birdie look.

Tiger would have read that putt for three minutes — really let the moment breathe.

But as soon as Sam Burns tapped in for par, Ryan Fox was over his ball. The number you see everywhere is 22 seconds from Burns holing out for par to Fox holing out for birdie. But when you analyze the shot-box time properly, Fox hit his championship-winning putt in eight seconds. Not bad for a slowgolfer.

For speedgolfers, the fact that he’s from New Zealand is a coincidence too striking to ignore.

Kentucky crowns Gatjeak Gew, third champion in event’s 10-year history

Gatjeak Gew won the 10th Kentucky Speedgolf Open at GlenOaks Country Club, shooting 80 in 51:55, followed by 76 in 51:08 for a two-day total of 259:03.

Gatjeak is only the third champion in the event’s 10-year history. Eight-time champ and tournament host Jason Hawkins sat out this year with a broken foot, which means Wes Cupp — with one win — remains the only person ever to beat Hawkins head-to-head at GlenOaks.

Nick Evans finished second at 286:06. Michael Hillyard was third at 292:12.

Kentucky Speedgolf Open results

Kentucky Speedgolf Open | GlenOaks Country Club, Prospect, Kentucky | July 11–12

FlingGolf in Kentucky??

According to Hawkins, two juniors played their nine-hole rounds with FlingSticks instead of golf clubs. Knox Hawkins, Jason’s son, now proudly owns the title of “first person ever to play SpeedFlingGolf in a Speedgolf USA sanctioned event.”

Thanks, Knox. I’ll call up Guinness World Records.

But in all seriousness, I’m told there was a surprising amount of interest in FlingGolf from the assembled folks in Kentucky. If the company had sent Jason a dozen FlingSticks (which he requested), he thinks quite a few more people would have tried it.

The consensus was that FlingGolf is easier for a non-golfer to take up than traditional golf. And — especially for long-time speedgolfers — it’s easy to forget just how brutally hard the game of golf is for beginners.

I’m slowly coming around to the idea that Speed FlingGolf might be a friendly onramp for new players, not a side show after all.

While we’re thumbing our noses at tradition, how about a golf-cart division?

Kentucky brought back its two-person Golf Cart Division after debuting it in 2025. Every completed team played its round in under 90 minutes. The five posted speedgolf scores were separated by 11:16, and the top four by only 2:35. Two entries tied for second at 153:56.

When they debuted the golf-cart division last year, we all had our reservations. It’s easy to imagine skid marks all over the course, or (heaven forbid) a golf cart tumbling into the creek on hole 17. And are we really burning fossil fuels to increase participation in an endurance sport?

But two years of success in Kentucky speak for themselves. There are plenty of people who like the idea of speedgolf who just aren’t ready — sometimes emotionally, sometimes physically — to run nine holes. Jason and the Kentucky crew are giving them an onramp.

I have a feeling I’m going to take some heat from the speedgolf purists over my endorsement of the golf-cart division. But if a golf cart is what it takes to get people off the sidelines and into the arena, I’m for it. The two most-watched speedgolf events of 2025 — Grant Horvat + Bryan Bros and the Optum Golf Channel Games — used golf carts. Just saying…

The U.S. Open will test the global speedgolf pecking order

The 10th U.S. Speedgolf Open is on at Temecula Creek Golf Club in California. The expected international contenders include defending champion and ISGA World #1 Robin Smith, Scandinavian Open champion Will Robson, French Open champion James Hardy, Scandinavian runner-up Carl Palmberg, and Kentucky champion Gatjeak Gew.

This is an important one because the elite European and American players will get to test themselves against Robin.

When you look at the Scandinavian Open, there were nine elite players there: Robson, Palmberg, Alexandre Arguel, Rob Hogan, Hardy, Ville Heinonen, Luke Willett, Riley Davie, and Mick McBeth.

My read in April was that the top Kiwi speedgolfers — Robin, Jamie Reid, and Harry Bateman — were head and shoulders better than anyone else in the world.

The incredible scores at the Scandinavian and French Opens have convinced me that the elite Europeans — Hardy, Robson, and Palmberg — have closed the gap a little bit. But I haven’t yet seen evidence that they’ll be able to go toe-to-toe with the world’s best.

Now, this is complicated by Robin’s back injury, which forced him to cancel his Ireland and Sweden trip. Even if Robin doesn’t win this weekend, that’s not conclusive proof that the elite Europeans have fully closed the gap.

But if Robin — coming from a temperate Taranaki winter — can beat Hardy, Robson, and Palmberg, then the next World Champion being a Kiwi seems all but assured.

The pressure is on the Americans

Jason Hawkins and Jim Davis — the two strongest American players, in my estimation — will not be playing this weekend. That leaves three Americans with the clearest chance to enter the international conversation: Temecula local Kyle Peyton, Kentucky champion Gatjeak Gew, and Indy Open champion Nic Goodin. And no U.S. Open preview would be complete without mentioning the ageless wonder Steve Vancil, who — at age 60 — shot 67 in 50 minutes to win the Arizona Speedgolf Open earlier this year.

I don’t think the burden of proof is on Robin or the Europeans. I think it’s on the remaining Americans to show that we belong in the conversation.

Gatjeak lives and trains in Phoenix, so the heat should be a non-issue for him. When he’s at his best, he’s bombing driver and oh-so-good with the wedge.

For Nic, endurance has been an Achilles heel when he’s come up short. You’ll see him make four birdies on the front nine, but once he hits the wall, you’ll see some errant shots. If his putter gets hot, shooting 68 (or lower) is not out of the question.

Kyle is a great all-around player who knows the course like the back of his hand. He recently posted a practice round of 77 in 43 minutes at Temecula Creek. On a normal Sunday, he’s the fastest guy out there, playing in the cool and quiet. On Saturday, he’ll be the fifth, sixth, or seventh guy off the tee. And if he’s contending, he’ll be playing in the hot, hot heat on Sunday.

Not only that, but as a Temecula resident, he’s an unofficial event host who will be expected to entertain the out-of-town guests. If Kyle breaks through, it’s going to be because he shuts out the noise and pretends it’s just another Sunday.

Temecula is going to be a party

Alongside the 36-hole Open, this festival of American speedgolf also includes a nine-hole Team Championship, a nine-hole Junior Championship, and a 36-hole FlingGolf Championship.

If the event is an extension of its host, then the U.S. Open in Temecula is an extension of Jon Flietstra.

This guy has ADHD in the best possible way. He does junior golf clinics. He plays guitar at wine tastings. He makes a million social-media videos. The festival vibe is what lights him up.

And most speedgolfers would agree: we love a cool, silent run around the course in a practice round. But when it’s tournament time, we want it to be a big, loud party.

And that’s what this is going to be.

Who wins in the heat?

In many ways, this U.S. Open will be a taste of home for someone like Robin Smith. Speedgolf tournaments in New Zealand are big, somewhat disorganized family affairs with loud music and chaos. The only atmospheric issue that could derail Robin is the heat (the forecast calls for highs of 97℉/36℃).

As Luke Willett and I discussed on our latest episode of Rainbow Unicorns, performing well in hot conditions has three main ingredients: preparation, hydration, and carbs.

So who’s going to bring it? Having ingested all the vibes and data I can, here’s my best guess. All predictions wrong or your money back.

1. Robin Smith 🥇
2. James Hardy 🥈
3. Will Robson 🥉
4. Carl Palmberg
5. Kyle Peyton
6. Gatjeak Gew
7. Nic Goodin

The 10th U.S. Open begins Saturday morning.

Bring sunscreen.

Thanks to everyone who is helping me on my quest to get to New Zealand for the Speedgolf World Championships. Everyone who chips in puts a little more wind in the sails of this independent media pirate ship. We’re 56% of the way there!

If you have some spare change, buy me a coffee on Ko-Fi and help me write the news up-close and personal in November!

One big speedgolf weekend

The U.S. Open is the headline, but Temecula is not the only speedgolf happening this weekend.

On Sunday, Japan stages the Hokkaido Speedgolf Open at Golf5 Country Bibai Course. Belgium also runs a compact nine-hole event at ECPG Zwijnaarde, near Ghent.

Three countries. Three different versions of the sport.

Hokkaido puts Team Japan’s bubble under pressure

The Hokkaido Speedgolf Open is Sunday evening at Golf5 Country Bibai, the final 18-hole event in Japan’s selection series for the 2026 World Championships.

Japan has 12 Worlds places: seven awarded through the rankings — to the top two men, top four seniors, and top woman — and five available on a first-come basis, along with any ranking places that are declined.

Defending World Champion Jin Ota leads the men’s selection standings with 1,371 points, followed by Tatsuya Shinmoto at 975 and Rob Hogan at 900 after his win at the 2025 Speedgolf Japan Open (Hogan will of course represent Ireland at Worlds).

The senior race is much tighter: Joe Matsui holds the fourth and final ranking place with 300 points, only 3.71 ahead of Shinta Matsuoka.

2024 Worlds runner-up Meguna Haga leads the women.

After Hokkaido, only the nine-hole Chigasaki finale remains.

Belgium keeps the big weekend small

Also on Sunday, Speedgolf Belgium hosts a nine-hole speedgolf event at ECPG Zwijnaarde, a compact course near Ghent, that apparently has an island castle for a clubhouse?

It is a much smaller proposition than the 36-hole U.S. Open, but that contrast is part of what makes this such a big speedgolf weekend: the same sport can support an international festival in California, a consequential selection event in Hokkaido, and a cheeky nine holes in Belgium.

Even more important than the “grassroots” versus “blowout bash” distinction is the point we keep coming back to: an event needs to be an extension of the host.

Filip “SpeedStache” Beerens is a relative latecomer to both golf and speedgolf. I think, rather than 36 holes in a day on a windswept links course, Filip’s ideal scenario is nine holes and a long chat over a beverage.

And when we think about what’s sustainable for the host — and what’s easy to negotiate with a golf course — a cheeky nine-hole event with 20 or 30 players is way easier than a blowout international festival with 70 players over three days.

It takes all kinds!

Upcoming Speedgolf

Find your next speedgolf tournament or meetup on Speedgolf Directory.

• Aug 1 — Speedgolf Chigasaki Open
  🇯🇵 GDO Chigasaki Golf Links · Chigasaki, Kanagawa
  A breezy seaside nine-hole sprint near Tokyo, with Mt. Fuji views and a modern, casual golf vibe that feels made for speedgolf. Sign up »

• Aug 2 — De Wijnvelden Speedgolf
  🇧🇪 Golfclub De Wijnvelden · Meerdonk, East Flanders
  A fast nine-hole blast through Flemish farmland, with a friendly local feel and real incentive for players hoping to earn their way into the BeNeLux Open. Sign up »

• Aug 22 — BeNeLux Speedgolf Open
  🇧🇪 Golf de Louvain-La-Neuve / Brussels Drohme Golf Club · Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve / Brussels, Walloon Brabant / Brussels-Capital Region
  Belgium’s showcase weekend brings together full-length speedgolf, a sprint follow-up, and a broad field that makes the region’s young scene feel suddenly very real. Sign up »

• Aug 22 — Swedish National Championship
  🇸🇪 Allerum GK · Helsingborg
  Sweden’s top individual title brings a serious championship edge to a scene known for smart organization, strong runners, and increasingly deep competition. Sign up »

• Sep 6 — British Speedgolf Championship
  🇬🇧 Sunningdale Heath Golf Club · Ascot, England
  One of Europe’s oldest and most distinctive speedgolf titles returns to Sunningdale Heath with a big field, a fast compact course, and a top-20 cut that turns the day into a true championship test. Sign up »

• Sep 6 — Missouri Speedgolf Open
  🇺🇸 Horton Smith Golf Course · Springfield, MO
  A Horton Smith major for players who want one of America’s fastest tracks, a deep local scene, and a real shot at something historic. Sign up »