Over the years, a multitude of strange and abstract golf tournaments have emerged.
Many of these tournaments lean into nonconformity to gain fame and notoriety. Despite the hundreds of strange tournaments that have happened, one stands out amongst the rest; The world’s first and subsequent largest underwater golf tournament.
This spectacular event was held at the Zuohai Aquarium in Fuzhou city, Fujian province.
The Zuohai Aquarium has a 50ft deep tank that became the course for this tournament. Despite being underwater and the players dressed in full scuba gear, the rules were fairly straightforward. The spokesperson for the aquarium explained, “The rules are pretty much the same as for regular golf. Whoever gets the ball in the hole first wins the match”.
Unlike a typical golf tournament, the number of strokes needed to make it in the hole was irrelevant. Instead, players were judged based on how much time it took them to complete the hole.
Players in this tournament had to deal with a multitude of unusual factors. The spokesperson explained that “The water makes the match very interesting. Not only fish and mammals distract the players, but their buoyancy makes it hard for them to stabilize themselves”.
The viscosity of water is also drastically different from air. Players struggled to swing their clubs with decent speed. Currents inside the tank also influenced the golf balls much more drastically than wind.
Overall, the tournament was a large success. It gained a Guinness World Record. The best player finished the hole with a blazing time of a minute and twenty seconds, while one player took over five minutes.
This was certainly one of the strangest golf tournaments ever played!
Would you play underwater golf? Tell us in the comments below.
