What’s the longest hole you ever played? Something over 550-yards? 600 yard might even be a stretch. That’s nothing compared to what one golfer played earlier this week. Try 1,250 miles! That’s how far Adam Rolston traveled with his caddie Ron Rutland through the rugged Mongolian terrain to raise money for charity.
It took the insane duo, who also happen to be former rugby players, 80 days and 20,093 shots through swamps, across frozen rivers and deserts to complete the hole. It all ended this past weekend when Rolston holed a seven-foot putt on the 18th green of the Mt. Bogd Golf Club in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, the country’s lone golf course.
The Telegraph has the unbelievable details.
Rolston came up with the idea of an equivalent golfing challenge [from a previous charity stunt] and they settled on Mongolia because it was an enormous country with few people, no fences and the largest fairways in the world.
The idea was to finish on the 18th green of the one golf course in the country, and to tee off from the westernmost point of Mongolia. He [Rolston] calculated it would take him 14,000 shots – and set that as his par.
Rutland agreed to be his caddie, and eight months later, they were raising money for Laureus, which runs children’s sports charities worldwide, and were at the base of Khüiten Peak, the highest as well as the most western point of Mongolia.
“We have had dozens of people telling us we were mad or crazy, with comments ranging from: ‘That’s impossible” to ‘Do you not have anything better to do?’” says Rolston, who hails from Northern Ireland.
“That first week was the hardest of my life. To get to the first tee we had to take a Russian jeep through a national park for five hours. From there, it was ridiculous.
“We had to load our cart onto a camel and then the bloke taking us to Base Camp just pointed at three horses. We had never ridden in our lives but we were thrown onto them for four hours to ride to the top of a precipice. Up there we found a shrine from where I hit the first shot. That was the last time we saw the sun for four days.
“We had a route planned out, through grass below shoe-height – but the rain meant it was all marshland. Ron couldn’t get the cart through. I thought I’d see if I could pull it across.
“I got stuck around knee deep. He came in to try and save me and the wheels got suctioned off the axles. The heavy cart dropped down and almost chopped Ron’s foot off.”
“My mates have all been saying you can’t do this and that has been on repeat in my head,” laughs Rutland. “This has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I’m in awe of the fact we’ve done it.”
So what if he was 4,093 shots over “par,” that is quite the accomplishment! Click through to the next page to see more pictures of their record-breaking journey.
— — —
Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest goings-on in the world of golf by following the SwingxSwing Clubhouse on social media. We share stories, stats and breaking news on Twitter, keep the fun going off the course on Instagram and share any and all golf-related topics on Facebook.
Never be the odd golfer out when your friends are talking about the latest or funniest happenings in golf. Sign up for the SxS newsletter today!
