Athletes from other sports are often exceptional at golf, but few can lay claim to having a record in the sport.
However, at the 2012 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, a former Olympian broke an incredible record, which hasn’t been bettered since. They sank a putt from 159 feet away, which broke the record for the longest ever televised putt.
To put that in some perspective, the putt was longer than a basketball court, and nearly the entire length of an Olympic-sized swimming pool. And it’s not as if it were a straight uphill path. The ball rolled up and down the undulations common for a Scottish links course.
And what’s more impressive, at the time this player was a 16-handicapper, far from the level of the golfing elites who haven’t been able to replicate this accomplishment.
How Michael Phelps holed a record-breaking putt
28-time Olympic medal winner Michael Phelps broke this record on the par-four sixth hole at Kingbarns. His bombed drive found the front edge of a massive, rolling green, so this mid-handicap faced an almighty challenge.
The ball took an incredible 17 seconds to reach the cup after its journey over the ridges of the green, taking a nearly 90-degree turn around the contours of the land. Then it took a downward slope and dropped into the hole, triggering an eruption from the crowd.
This 53-yard putt shattered the previous televised record of 33 yards, which was held by broadcaster Terry Wogan since 1981.
And a bonus for Phelps: he could jot down an incredible eagle on his scorecard!
Michael Phelps’s golf handicap journey
Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, has applied the same work ethic to his golf game since retirement. Since 2012, Phelps has transformed from a self-proclaimed “terrible” beginner into a formidable amateur golfer.
In 2012, he began with a 26 handicap, shooting 106 when he first kept score. He then worked with Tiger Woods’ former coach, Hank Haney, on the reality series The Haney Project, where he lowered his handicap to 16.
A decade on, and he’s obsessed with the sport. Phelps cards around 80 rounds per year, and he’s dropped his handicap to 6. He is an incredible driver of the ball and is obviously well-versed on the greens.
But in November 2024, he was beaten by NHL icon Wayne Gretzky, who beat him in the celebrity golf tournament The Match: Superstars. Still, it’s been an incredible journey for the 40-year-old.
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