Golf pro to attempt gruelling 32-hour Guinness World Record on earth’s most beautiful course

Lofoten Links in Norway is known as the most picturesque golf course on the planet, and soon the stage of an almighty world record attempt.

Isaac Rowlands, an Assistant PGA Professional at The Grove, will be hitting the course on May 27, playing non-stop for 32 hours in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.

The stage is set for one almighty world record attemptCredit: @lofotenlinks on Instagram

Rowlands has been preparing for the feat for monthsCredit: @isaacrowlands_golfAs the northernmost links course available, the absolutely stunning stage is inside the article circle, meaning summer months have 24 hours of constant daylight.

But before all of that, how did the astonishing Guinness World Record attempt come about?

“It was a bit random really, it sort of snowballed,” Rowlands exclusively told talkSPORT.com. “I was just on a long walk one day and thought, ‘what’s the longest someone has played golf before?’

“I looked a bit more into it and someone did it at the same venue for 31 hours. Guinness told me I have to do over 25 hours [for an official record] but someone’s done 31 hours, so I want to beat 31.”

read more golf newsThe world famous Guinness annual doesn’t just stop there when it comes to stipulations to enter their history.

“Guinness World Records have said that I have to carry my bag, which is a bit of a kick in the teeth to put on a bag,” Rowlands explained.

“I have to conform to the R&A rules in golf and there’s no minimum number of golf clubs to take around a golf course. So I will probably drop down to seven clubs after the first round, just to shed weight.”

He continued: “I did a 28-hour challenge more recently just to see how my body was put up to it. It was pretty brutal.

“It’s been about general fitness, making sure I’m just mobile more than anything else. In my head I was thinking, right, I’ve got to run marathons and things like that.

“But you’ve got to take it a bit easier on your body than that. You’ve got to put nutrition as a priority and stretching.”

Rowlands has staged multiple day long rounds in preparationCredit: @isaacrowlands_golf

Including five hour stints walking through the nightCredit: @isaacrowlands_golfSleep has also been a priority for the 25-year-old, who’s got his rhythm set at 9am ahead of a 9:30am tee-off post a hearty breakfast.

Between that Rowlands is allowed to top up on food and nip to the toilet, with Guinness rules stipulating that for every hour of exercise you’re allowed a five minute break, a pause he’s planning to accumulate after a ten to 12 hour opening stint.

There are other rules too, he only has three minutes between finishing a hole and teeing off for the next, and each round has to be completed in four hours maximum.

On top of that all 32 hours have to be filmed from start to finish, something Rowlands called a ‘logistical nightmare’ but thankfully he’ll have four friends helping and potentially live streaming, which he’ll reward them with a trip to the pub, while he heads for a well-earned sleep.

All of that timing stress adds to the daunting task, but what’s on offer in Norway certainly makes it worth it.

“The whole place looks insane,” Rowlands explained. “It’s a bucket list golf course.

“I’d like to play well from the first round because it’s a bucket list course, it’s hard to get to, I think total holes, I’m guessing around nine rounds of golf.

“I’m going to take the first round semi-serious, so I’ll use my full bag and swing at it just the way I normally would, and from then on I’m just going to swing it easy, probably go down to a half set or something like that.”

But it’s not just the location that will be the reward, but the money raised for Macmillan, a charity close to Rowlands’ heart.

“My realisation of what Macmillan do was when I was about 19, they helped me out with a bit of a scare,” he recalled.

“They thought I had lymphoma, so that’s when they took me in and started giving me a lot of support until I was given the all-clear. That opened my eyes to what work they do, what they can do.

“I didn’t go through what most people are unfortunate enough to have to go through. I was lucky. They called it early and sort of did surgery on me pretty quick, so I was fortunate.”

Guinness’ previous record stands at 25 hoursCredit: @isaacrowlands_golf“Unfortunately, cancer is one of those things that affects most of us, so it’s close to a lot of people’s hearts and it resonates with most people.”

Read More on talkSPORTThe best place to follow Rowlands’ world record attempt will be across Instagram, on his page, that of The Grove, and Guinness.

You can also donate to his Macmillan page here.