One shot every seven seconds: How Mick hopes to set a world record for charity

So, Mick, you like golf?

I play golf three days a week, although four years ago, I broke a Guinness world record when I managed to complete 2001 golf holes in seven days. I was able to raise more than $340,000 for Ronald McDonald House, and for sick kids and their families. I realised it was great brand recognition for Ronald McDonald House as well, so I thought it was time to get the brand out there and have a go at another record.

Is your record from four years ago still standing?

Yes, nobody has been crazy enough to give it a go yet!

What record are you trying to break on Friday?

Chipping the most golf balls in 24 hours. The record is 10,392 (set on June 22, 2002). It’s been held for 23 years by an American guy, David “Ogie” Ogron. Actually, he holds three world records – like, he also did the most shots in two minutes (132). His third Guinness record is for the most attempts to break his record. Apparently more than 250,000 people have tried to beat it, but nobody has. I’ll be the 250,001^st attempt, I suppose.

Have you spoken to Ogie?

He was very helpful at the start, but he’s not so helpful now because he realised how serious I am, and that I’ve taken 11 months so far off my business to train for it, and he looked at some of the numbers I was doing and he said to me, and his last message was: a quarter of a million people have tried unsuccessfully. Good luck.

To break the record, how many shots do you have to hit per minute?

It’s a shot every seven seconds. I did a trial about 10 weeks ago where I was going to do either half the record or 12 hours, and I did 5,775 in nine and a half hours. That’s one shot every five and a half seconds – so that’s well inside the record. Then again, I’ve got to take a bit of fatigue in and injuries and stuff like that, but I’m pretty confident that I’m going to smash it.

You’ve been training for 11 months?

Yeah, I’ve been out here at Golf Central every day for 11 months hitting balls. I hit between about 1000 and 1500 balls a day.

Is it true that for each shot to count, it has to land in a target area?

Yes. The target zone is 91.4 metres away, which is a hundred yards, and that’s the arc, and then it goes 30 degrees from the centre of the tee box out to infinity. I’ve got to hit it past 91.4 metres and inside those lines of 30 degrees.

What club are you going to use? A pitching wedge?

What happened was I started with the pitch, which was going okay except when I got fatigued, the accuracy kind of went out the window. The pitching wedge gets a bit tiresome because you’re having to do a full swing. When I did the last world record, I had to rely on the favourite club in my bag, the seven iron, to get me through because I was getting so tired that every other club wasn’t happening. Anyway, I went back to the old trusty seven iron and I was happy with it, I was hitting it sweet and everything else like that, but then one day, here at the range, I’d hit so many balls that the head flew off the seven iron. To keep training, I had to go to the next iron in my bag, which is the six iron, and I thought, oh, this is even easier than the seven iron. Then I tried a five iron; that was easier again. I stuck with the five and one day I was out in the range here and I twisted my back and I put some numbing spray on it, which was not a good idea because I finished the rest of the day, but then I couldn’t move the next day. I couldn’t afford to take time off so I wondered which club would mean I didn’t have to twist so much, and I hit a three wood, which is about a half swing, and I don’t have to rotate my body as much. Lo and behold, that was getting out to the target, and it was way more accurate than the iron because you’re not putting as much effort in.

I wish now that I’d had the [back] injury maybe eight months ago, then I wouldn’t have the injuries that I’ve got now. I managed to sustain a lot of injuries before I discovered the three wood was easier. Actually, a true story: before I came here to the range this morning, I had to go and see my surgeon and he said to me, well, we can’t do anything now. Let’s see if we can kind of help you through it and then we’ll fix it afterwards.

He meant your back injury?

Oh God, no. My back is okay. I’ve got tendonitis in both arms. I’ve got tennis elbow in both elbows. My left wrist is the major problem – I stuffed that when I did the trial and then I’ve got a few problems with my legs as well. But I think they’re old football injuries, so I can’t blame the golf on them.

So you’re expecting that Friday’s attempt is going to knock you around?

It is. I can’t deny it. When I did the nine and a half hours, I thought I’d been run over by a truck, and the body was feeling every minute of it. But all I’ve got to do on Friday is just think about the kids in Ronald McDonald House. There’s one young kid in particular who’s become my little mascot, Henry. He’s going through chemotherapy at the moment, and he’s doing it real tough. And when I start thinking about that, then the pain that I’m enduring is bloody nothing compared to what that little fellow has to go through and what all the other kids and their families go through as well. So that motivates me very easily.

What’s the job that you’ve left behind for almost a year?

I own a construction and shop-fitting company. My wife and son and construction manager are very ably running it at the moment. My wife is telling people that I’ve retired but I haven’t said it yet.

How much money are you hoping to raise, Mick?

I’ve set a target of $250,000, which was my goal last time, and we raised $342,000 or something like that. The other night, I was out here at the range, and sometimes you’re out here and you’re feeling a bit sorry for yourself and it’s getting cold and windy and there are not many people here, when one of my mates messaged me and he said, “Mate, I’m going to come to the event, I’m going to bring an esky, a 12 volt TV, and after every stubby, I’m going to give you a pep talk. I’m also going to give you a thousand dollars an hour.” That’s somebody who’s getting involved and putting their hard-earned into it as well. I can’t wait to get into it.

More information

Mick’s world record attempt is to raise money for Ronald McDonald House across Australia, to provide families with accommodation, support and care close to their child’s hospital bed. To support Mick, you can donate here.