Beechwood grad aims to break Guinness World Records mark for miniature golf for charity

Cole Hetzel has been fascinated with the book of Guinness World Records since he was little.

Since graduating from Beechwood High School in 2021, the former two-sport star with the Tigers has found ways to combine his love of sports with his love of records and helping others.

The past two summers, Hetzel and his father, Chris, have organized a daylong marathon session of Wiffle ball for more than 30 hours in their backyard to break a Guinness world record and raise money for charity.

They are going to do something similar next month, but on a larger scale, in another popular pastime: Miniature golf.

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The Hetzels will attempt to set a mark recognized by the Guinness World Records for most mini-golf holes played by a foursome in 24 hours beginning Sunday, July 31.

The attempt will be at Putt-Putt Golf & Games Fun Center, 3139 Dixie Highway in Erlanger. The record is 1,440 holes, totaling 80 rounds, and was set in 2005 at an indoor course in Germany.

“We’re doing this,” Cole Hetzel said. “We’re raising money for charity. Also, we love Putt-Putt and we’re wanting to push ourselves to the limit to see what we can do, try to break a world record.”

The attempt will begin at 8 a.m. Sunday, July 31, and continue until 8 a.m. Monday morning, Aug. 1.

Hetzel ran cross country and played tennis for Beechwood, finishing 40th in the 1A state cross country meet in 2020. He is a member of the cross country and track teams at DePauw University, an NCAA Division III school in Greencastle, Indiana, where he will be a sophomore this fall.

The Hetzels play weekly tournaments at the course and will team up with fellow competitors Bob Schoettinger and Tony Centers to complete the foursome.

“It’s a great place, great environment,” Hetzel said. “Lots of good people. Great place for families. It brings out the best in me athletically.”

The event will be a fundraiser for Matthew 25: Ministries, an organization based in Blue Ash that works with the poorest of the poor and disaster victims.

Supporters can make donations at the organization's website. Enter the code “PUTT” in the special purpose field so the Hetzels get credit for it.

Donations will also be collected at the course on the day of the event. The group also plans to solicit hole sponsors from local businesses.

Course owner Kevin Shea said the main motivation for working with Matthew 25: Ministries is delivering aid to areas of western Kentucky devastated by tornadoes several months ago.

The record attempt will take place on one of the two 18-hole courses at the facility, which annually hosts professional tour events as well. The other 18-hole course will be open to the public during the day.

Shea said his course will have live music and other festivities throughout the day.

“Part of the reason why we were doing it is we’re one of the older courses in the nation,” he said. “I thought why not us to try to get to the record, and coordinate it with some type of charity. We always try to do something with the community.”

The Hetzels have been working on this for several months when they first applied with Guinness World Records and were approved.

Guinness World Records is famously strict when it comes to new entries in its world record book. The Hetzels have been working with Guinness World Records officials for weeks to make sure everything is by the books and that the record is sanctioned if they break it.

As part of the requirements, the Hetzels have to give Guinness an exact measurement of the course they will be playing. Multiple witnesses have to be present and watch every hole they play, and the players have to keep score. There also has to be cameras set up for video evidence.

The foursome will have to average nearly 3.5 rounds per hour to break the record. They will be walking at least 11 miles in their 80 trips around the course in addition to staying up for 24 hours.

“It’s pretty serious but it’s also a lot of fun,” Hetzel said. “We’re having a good time here trying to break a world record, but it’s all about raising money for a good cause.”

Shea has set up similar charity events in recent years, including a fundraiser for nephew Alex Shea, a St. Henry District High School graduate who survived cancer several years ago and is now on the University of Cincinnati baseball team.

“It’s drawing a lot of attention,” Kevin Shea said. “Cole and his dad have done 95 percent of the work. I think it will turn out to be really good and a lot of fun.”

Hetzel and his father raised about $1,000 last year with the Wiffle Ball event, and eventually realized they could do things on a larger scale with miniature golf at a public facility.

“A couple of years ago my dad and I built a makeshift Wiffle Ball field in our backyard,” he said. “We loved to play there. We both wanted to be in the Guinness book of world records and thought what we could do. Then we discovered there was a Wiffle Ball record, went after it and broke it.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Beechwood grad aims to break Guinness World Records mark for mini golf