Hartselle got a chance to witness a remarkable feat recenty at Quail Creek Golf Resort.

Bob Kurtz broke the Guinness World Record for the most holes of golf played in a week. To break the record, he played 1,850 holes, which broke the previous record of 1,801.

Oh and by the way, did I mention he’s 70 years old?

The previous three golfers who attempted to break the record were 44, 34 and 28 years old.

To break a record like this, you have to not only be in great shape, but you have to play well.

First of all, Kurtz keeps himself in excellent shape. He’s not only a range rat where he hits more than 300 balls at the driving range every day, but he also spends a good bit of time in the gym working out.

He needed to be in great shape otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to perservere in the extreme heat we’ve been experiencing.

Secondly, Kurtz is an excellent golfer. On an 18-hole average at the course, he shot a 74.55 per round. If you can’t post scores like this, you just physically won’t have the time to play that many holes of golf in a short period of time.

And I believe he played the whole week with only a few golf balls. He would use one ball to play one hole and keep one in his pocket to begin playing the next hole.

Lastly, you have to be lucky to get good weather to play in. While it may have been hot, that really didn’t affect Kurtz, but it was very fortunate that he never had any rain to contend with during the week.

The only problems he had were recurring blisters on his hands and a short dizzy spell during the last day of the world record attempt. After receiving an IV, the dizziness went away and Kurtz returned to the course..

He later broke the record at 5:10 a.m. that day.

Now, Kurtz holds the record for most holes played in a week and the most holes played without a break. He has certainly earned the right to call himself “Golf’s Iron Man.” No one can doubt his perserverence, stamina or drive to succeed.

In fact there are plenty of lessons that we can all learn from Bob.

It shows us what we can do when we stay in excellent shape. He should also inspire us to keep on going and achieve our goals. There were times he could have given up, but he didn’t.

Congratulations Bob on your new record.

Brent Maze is the managing editor of the Hartselle Enquirer.