61 years ago on the summer solstice, John Kraft played 100 holes of golf in one day
The third week of June every year, I reminisce about my childhood growing up in Noblesville, Indiana. It was there, on June 20, 1961, at age 15, I played 100 holes of golf in one day — walking and carrying my own bag.
The night before, I didn’t sleep much and 4 a.m. came quickly. My mother took me to our local 9-hole golf course as I did not have a driver’s license.
As the sun began to rise, I teed off The magic was about to begin!
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I walked down the first fairway, thinking how happy I was. It was one of those times when I was self-actualized. I was on top of the world and didn’t have a worry or concern other than to get to my ball and hit the next shot. How great life was for me that day.
There were no crowds that early in the morning. I played 36 holes by 9:30 and was feeling confident about my pace. The course began to fill up with out-of-town golfers, but I managed to finish 45 holes by 11:30. When I tried to get in line once more on the first tee, there were several foursomes ahead of me.
To my surprise, the local pro stepped up and announced to the groups of golfers: “this little fella is going to play 100 holes today, so let him tee off ahead of you, I guarantee, he won’t hold you up.”
Wow! I was on my way to play 100 holes! Amazingly, the older golfers supported my efforts, and some even cheered me on.
I then quickly got back on schedule finishing 72 holes by 4:30; 81 holes by 6; and 90 holes by 7:15. Thankfully, I had chosen the longest day of the year, the Summer Solstice.
Having finished the 90th hole, I quickly sprinted to the first tee to begin the 91st hole. I hit the best drive of the day and did not look back. Picked up my bag and jogged down the first fairway. It was 7:20 p.m. I was going to make it.
I finished the 99th hole and it was getting dark. Since the last hole at my home course was an up the hill Par 3, I ran back down to the 9th tee and hit an 8 iron to the right of the pin, leaving a 20-footer which I two putted for par on the 100th hole!
It was 8:45 as I walked off that green and was greeted by my mom and dad, the club pro and several others who wanted to be there when I finished my round.
In the next few years, I went on to play golf in high school, at Georgetown College and at Butler University, where I set a low scoring school record in 1967.
However, when I look back on my life when golf meant “everything,” there is one accomplishment that is uppermost in the vault of my many golf memories: that one day, 61 years ago this week, when at age 15, I played 100 holes in one day!
John Kraft seldom plays golf only choosing days that are cool and cloudy. He is a full time Tallahassee business broker and can be reached at jhkraft@msn.com.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: 61 years ago in June, a 15-year-old played 100 holes of golf in a day
