Golf seems like a pretty slow sport, whacking a ball then walking after it. But some people invented “speed golf,” where you run from hole to hole and play as many holes in a day as you can. One speed golfer, Jurg Randegger, hit and chased a ball for 12 hours straight, playing 252 holes! He set a new world record to raise money for the Special Olympics. Now that’s what you call a good game – or 14.
Wee ones: If you hit the golf ball 5 times, what numbers do you say to count along?
Little kids: If you’re speed golfing and score 3 on the 1st hole and 4 on the 2nd hole, what’s your total score so far? Bonus: If you keep up that pattern, scoring 3, then 4, what’s your score on the 12th hole?
Big kids: If Jurg played 252 holes in 12 hours, did he play more than 20 holes per hour? Bonus: If you play all the holes on a golf course, it’s called a “round”. If Jurg played 14 rounds that added up to 252 holes, how many holes were in each round?
Answers:
Wee ones: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
Little kids: 7. Bonus: 4. You score 3 on every odd-numbered hole, and 4 on every even-numbered.
Big kids: Yes! 20 holes per hour would add up to “only” 240 holes over 12 hours. Bonus: 18 holes in each round. You can do standard long division or carve out sets of 14 from 252: taking 10 sets (140) from 252 leaves 112, taking another 5 sets (70) leaves 42, or 3 sets of 14. 10 + 5 + 3 = 18.
