In Quest for a Record, He Played the Course 7 Times

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, per the AP. Kelechi Ezihie initially planned to play for 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," said Ezihie. Armed with friends, flashlights, and glow-in-the-dark golf balls, the 27-year-old Ezihie teed off at Huntington Crescent Club at about 6:30pm on Sunday and sank his last putt shortly after 5:30am 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 one 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.

Guinness noted 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 disabilities and autism, said he wanted to set the record to promote diversity in golf after playing for only two and a half years. "People become intimidated when they hear about golf and they think it's for the wealthy," he said in a phone interview Wednesday. "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." He's trying to raise funds to build a golf center in Imo State in Nigeria, where he is from. (More Guinness World Records stories.)