Jimmy Daniel wasn’t much of a golfer. He played a few rounds a year at most.
On Tuesday, however, he set a Guinness world record: 11,001 holes in less than a year, breaking a mark set last year. Daniel’s record occurred when he parred the third hole during his 612th round, which was played at Planterra Ridge Golf Club in Peachtree City.
Beginning April 25, Daniel has averaged more than three rounds per day for 197 consecutive days in an attempt to raise awareness for Heart of the Green, a charity he founded that uses golf as a platform to reduce unnecessary deaths from cardiac arrests and heart attacks. He played a different ball on each hole and then set it aside to auction it off for the charity.
“The message I’m passing along has more to do with heart disease than golf,” he said.
He came up with the idea while sitting at the funeral for his father, who died from a heart attack in 2006. Daniel has had nine family members die from heart attacks or cardiac arrest. With his family history, he realized he was “staring down the barrel of a gun.” His doctor told him he could eat healthier meals and work out more. However, Daniel couldn’t do anything about his DNA. He recently was diagnosed with a thyroid condition, an indicator of potential heart disease.
Daniel admits he once had no affinity for charity work. He became proactive to improve his chances and those of others in surviving a heart attack.
He quit his job as a manager in the music business in Nashville and devised Heart of the Green. Daniel wants communities and businesses to invest in electric defibrillator machines. The devices, together with CPR, can be used to restart a heart during the minutes before emergency medical technicians arrive.
“It could save thousands of lives,” he said.
Daniel considered golf-course communities and the number of people who live in them, and decided each neighborhood could benefit from a defibrillator machine.
“[A machine] should be in every neighborhood, within walking distance,” he said.
Playing golf seemed like a natural fit for his cause. Daniel spoke with members of the business, medical and golf communities, and he said they liked what they heard.
The world record pursuit was created out of necessity, he said.
“You do all the right things, but if you do collapse, hopefully there’s somebody there that knows what do and has the tools to do all of that,” he said.
Working with a coach, Daniel mapped out the number of rounds, discussed the types of courses and worked a little bit on his swing. At first, it took him about 14 hours to play four rounds. As he learned more about his game, he lowered his time to 10 1/2 hours.
Frequent play hasn’t lowered his score. He’s shot as low as 70 and higher than 110. He has lost more than 20 pounds and his thyroid has improved. He is due for a check-up soon.
Daniel cheated some during the earlier rounds, improving his lie. But the more he played the more he adhered to the rules, which helps him stay focused.
He has played more than 20 courses. He likes Flat Creek in Peachtree City the most because it sets up well for him; he has played it more than 100 times. He stopped keeping stats because it took much time away from the charity. He has worn out six pairs of golf shoes and 65 golf gloves, and lost too many golf balls to list.
After the record-breaking round, Daniel will spend more time working on a nationwide scramble tournament to continue awareness. He intends to keep playing golf; more than he did before the pursuit, but less than he has the past few months. He hopes to play 18,000 holes, or 1,000 rounds, by April 24, 2012.
“It feels good to get out and walk 18 holes,” he said. “I think it’s a healthy lifestyle. It’s good for people who want to strengthen their heart.”
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