Barry Gibbons dropped by the driving range at the beginning of this year, thinking he’d hit a few balls. He was in for a shock. “It was like I hit a brick wall,” Gibbons says. “I didn’t realise how much damage I’d done to my body.” There were the deeply bruised feet. The sore ribs. The torn rotator cuff. Everything hurt. Not that you should feel too bad for him. For the previous 12 months, Gibbons didn’t just play golf, he completely gave himself to it. He walked an astonishing 878 rounds in 2016, shattering the previous World Record Academy mark of 611. And he carried his bag for each round.
His epic 2016 also broke the Guinness World Record for rounds in a year (812), a record by a golfer who rode in a cart.
“When I decide I’m going to do something, I’m willing to go all-in to make it happen,” says Gibbons, 57, a retired vice-president of sales at IBM. “Sometimes I’m a little extreme that way.”
From fellow golfers constantly asking about his quest, to strangers bringing him food mid-round, Gibbons was stunned by the attention and support he received. “I didn’t want to let them down,” Gibbons says. It helped that his wife – yes, he has a wife – Joy, dubbed The Golf Widow by friends, created a website (breakthegolfrecord.com) that tracked his progress.
Gibbons walked an estimated 10,301 kilometres in those 878 rounds, nearly the equivalent of strolling from his home in Austin, Texas, to Ridgefield, Connecticut, where he has another home. And back. Twice.
Gibbons, who played as many as 90 holes in a day, shed 15 kilograms despite Joy estimating he ate more than 200 litres of ice cream. (Psst! If you’re even thinking of trying something like this, push the weight-loss angle.) Gibbons also slashed his USGA Handicap Index of 8.0 down to a low of 1.2, before ending the year at 3.0.
“It’s almost amazing how fast 18 holes goes by now,” Gibbons says. He’s considering a run at the record for most courses played in a year (449) in 2018. Logistically, that’ll be tougher to achieve. Gibbons played 774 of last year’s rounds on just three courses. “I think I’d need a motor home” to break the most-courses-played record, he says. “I haven’t convinced my wife of that yet!”
Gibbons’ 2016 mission included playing the record-breaking 612th round with his dad in Colorado in September, a hole-in-one in November and a birdie that capped his final loop at his home club – The Hills’ Flintrock Falls Course in Austin – on New Year’s Eve. With about 125 supporters watching, Gibbons gave a champagne toast on the 18th green. And then, finally, he rested.
“It didn’t get monotonous because every round is different,” Gibbons says. “I don’t think I’ll ever be just an 18-hole-a-day guy.”
– Alex Myers
