A New York man is laying claim to the record for most consecutive hours playing golf — a 35-hour stint on a course on Long Island that began early Sunday evening and ended early Tuesday morning.
Kelechi Ezihie initially planned to play 24 hours to set a Guinness World Record, only to learn hours into his effort that a British golfer had played for 32 straight hours on a course in Norway at the end of May. His sister had called him after seeing the 32-hour record while searching the internet, he said.
Surprised but determined, he plodded on through rain, fatigue and drenched and aching feet to outlast the Brit, Isaac Rowlands.
“I feel proud to be able to say I am a world champion,” he said. “This is an opportunity that not many people have. It’s definitely something I will definitely be telling my kids and my grandkids moving forward in the future.”
Armed with friends, flashlights and glow-in-the-dark golf balls, the 27-year-old Ezihie teed off at Huntington Crescent Club at about 6:30 p.m. on Sunday and sank his last putt shortly after 5:30 a.m. Tuesday — playing the 18 holes seven times for a total of 126 holes, he said.
Along the way, friends took video of the entire outing and other people served as witnesses so Guinness could verify the record, he said. He was allowed a five-minute break per hour, under Guinness rules, and ended up taking 20-minute breaks at the end of each round while still following the rules.
Kylie Galloway, a spokesperson for London-based Guinness, said it takes 12 to 15 weeks for specialists with the organization to review evidence and declare whether a record has been set. He said no one currently holds the record for longest golf marathon, and anyone who applies must have played at least 24 hours.
Ezihie, an assistant manager at an organization that serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism, said he wanted to set the record to promote diversity in golf.
“People become intimidated when they hear about golf and they think it’s for the wealthy,” he said in a phone interview Wednesday. “I see how much golf has taught me, and I just believe that golf is a game that everybody should be able to get a chance to play and they could definitely learn life lessons from this game.”
Ezihie, who has been playing golf for only two and a half years, also promotes golf locally and is trying to raise funds to build a golf center in Imo State in Nigeria, where he is from, to build interest in the sport among children. He has lived in the U.S. since 2008.
Near the end of his golf marathon in Tuesday’s early hours, Ezihie said his feet were really hurting.
“I was willing to play ‘til the wheels fell off, and I did just that. My legs gave up on me and I was limping almost through the whole round,” he said, adding “I enjoyed every round.”