Hole lot of golf! (From This is Hampshire)

Hole lot of golf!

4:00pm Friday 22nd June 2012 in News By Chris Gregory

ARMY Captain Stuart Ball is all te’ed up to go for a place in the record books by playing 360 holes of golf in five days.

The 32-year-old, who is based at RAF Odiham, aims to raise £20,000 for two charities by playing 20 rounds of golf, starting on Monday, July 2.

The father-of-two contacted the Guinness World Records, and the only comparable record was set by a group of Americans who used golf buggies to complete 2,000 holes in seven days.

But unlike the Americans, Capt Ball will not use a buggy and estimates he will walk around 140 miles during his challenge.

The Royal Logistics Corps officer told The Gazette that he was inspired to do the challenge, while he was serving in Afghanistan, after watching Northern Ireland golfer Darren Clarke win The Open last year.

He said: “Being military, I know a lot of guys doing marathons and ultra-mara-thons, so I wanted an arduous physical and mental challenge and I thought about how I can combine it with golf.”

The challenge will take place at Cams Hall Golf Club, in Fareham, South Winchester Golf Club, Sherfield Oaks Golf Club, in Sherfield-on-Loddon, Blue Mountain Golf Centre in Binfield, Berkshire, and Hampton Court Palace Golf Club in Kingston-Upon-Thames.

Capt Ball, right, who helps with underslung loads for Chinook helicopters, will raise money for Help for Heroes and Scotty’s Little Soldiers, a charity set up to support children whose parents have died in conflict.

To sponsor him, visit bmycharity.com/ StuartBall and bmycharity.co/Stuball79.