If Major League Baseball officials want to address the pace-of-play issue, they ought to contact Eric Byrnes.
The former A’s outfielder (and current eccentric) played 245 golf holes in a 12-hour span recently to lay claim to a new world record.
Playing without a cart, Byrnes ran an estimated 65.5 miles during the Napa Valley Speed Golf Challenge on April 21. In kind of a cross between “Caddyshack” and “Chariots of Fire,” the former outfielder used one club the entire time: an 8-iron.
“The strategy was to hit it short and in a direct line to the hole so I didn’t have to run too far out of the way,” Byrnes explained via text message. “Not one ‘Fore!’ call the entire day.”
Byrnes, 42, played polo style, which meant swinging one-handed while on the run. He slowed only to tee off or to putt once the ball was within 5 feet of the hole. His first 18 holes took a mere 41 minutes.
Napa Valley Ultra 12 Hour Speed Golf Challenge raising 💰for non toxic lymphoma treatments 5 days till GO – Ripped through 18 in 41 min today #TaperWeek 🏃🏼♂️⛳️ https://t.co/v9bVJ8ElUH pic.twitter.com/DaaboKap7H
— Eric Byrnes (@byrnes22) April 17, 2018
Nicknamed the “Crash Test Dummy” during his playing days, Byrnes acknowledged that he was chasing an “obscure” record — this isn’t exactly Joe DiMaggio’s hit streak. But his effort raised more than $5,000 for non-toxic lymphoma research.
And the record really does exist: The Guinness Book of World Records currently credits the mark for “most holes played in 12 hours without a cart” to Brad Luiten of New Zealand, who played 237 holes at the Helensville (New Zealand) Golf Course in 2017.
A year earlier, Karl “The Speed Goat” Meltzer, a legendary endurance runner, set the mark with 230 holes, also at the same Napa Golf Course at Kennedy Park where Byrnes played.
Byrnes, the former St. Francis High School star, said he has applied to the Guinness Book of World Records and is awaiting a review of the evidence. In all, he completed 13 rounds and 11 holes while playing from the white tees.
“It’s an obscure record, but if nothing else it’s a conversation starter and should get a few laughs,” Byrnes wrote.
Byrnes, now an analyst for the MLB Network, spent 11 seasons in the majors, including from 2000-05 in Oakland. Earlier this year, he was voted onto the A’s 50th Anniversary Team.
He’s reinvented himself in retirement as an ultra-runner whose race finishes include the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run.
If you see him on the golf course, probably best to let him play through.
Guesstimating avg score per hole = 7
Average score per round = 126
13.5 rounds x 126 shots = 1701
Plus 2 extra holes = 1715 total shots 🤷♂️ https://t.co/MulSu3utM5— Eric Byrnes (@byrnes22) April 27, 2018
