Teeing off promptly at 7 a.m. yesterday with the sun shining and the ground still wet with dew, Penn State Golf Professional Chris Cain began his attempt at greatness -- and did it.
His goal was to play 477 holes to beat the world record of holes played, and he shattered that figure by completing 505 holes in 12 hours.
After breaking the record of 477 holes, Cain continued to play as many holes as he could in 12 hours because The Second Mile and the Professional Golf Management student society would get more money for each additional hole.
"The more holes I golfed, the more money I raised," Cain said. "That was the motivation that kept me going from hole to hole."
It was the aspect of benefiting charities that provided motivation for Cain.
"He's not doing it for himself," said Cain's mother, Toni Cain. "He's doing it for Penn State and for his love of children and The Second Mile."
This wouldn't be the first time a Happy Valley resident is a world record holder. Cain got the idea from Doug Wert, general manager of golf courses at Penn State who obtained the record in 1993 by golfing 440 holes in 12 hours. That record stood until 2000.
Benefiting from the event, volunteers from the Professional Golf Management student society displayed a poster showing the time needed to break the record and Cain's actual time. He was ahead of schedule for the first five holes and only got faster as time passed.
He held onto a 35-minute lead on the record-setting pace despite slowing once because of stomach problems brought on by pain medication and later in the round for losing a ball.
The rules state that if a ball is lost, the competitor must look for at least five minutes before a replacement ball can be declared.
Of the 20 volunteers from the PGM student society, five were in charge of spotting the ball on each hole to keep Cain from losing valuable time searching. The rest of the volunteers kept the official time and made sure his clubs were readily available on each hole.
Fellow staff member Trent Gray, who was at Cain's side for the entire 12 hours, chauffeured Cain around the modified course to minimize the time between strokes.
The extra weight in the golf cart didn't really effect Cain's time, Mike Conway (senior-recreational and parks management) said. Cain's cart was "fixed" to make it twice as fast, Conway added.
Nearing the halfway mark at hole number 230, Cain still remained about 35 minutes ahead of the record-setting pace, stopping once for a restroom break.
Time was the most important factor all day and Cain wasted none.
The volunteers worked closely with Cain, using walkie-talkies to communicate where the ball was and what club should be used so he could jump out of his still-moving cart to putt out the hole.
Cain golfed the same five holes -- 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 -- on the White Course in a consecutive loop to save time. The holes were modified from their original length so they would obey the rule that requires the length of 18 holes to be "in excess of 6,000 yards."
Family and fans watched anxiously as Cain began the 505th and final hole. His approach shot ironically got stuck in a tree and gave fans a little scare. With the clock running, volunteers rushed to the tree to help find the ball. Finally, the ball fell from the tree and Cain finished his attempt with time to spare.
