KALAMAZOO, MI -- How many holes of golf can you play in one day?
For Kalamazoo resident Eric Dougal, he hopes the answer is 301 or more.
Dougal is ready to attempt to break the record of holes played in one day at the Kalamazoo Country Club for First Tee’s annual golf marathon fundraiser on Monday, May 16.
Dougal will hit the course at 4 a.m. with the hopes of breaking the 300-hole record set by Eric Bixler of Grand Rapids. Kalamazoo Country Club has a championship level course with 18 holes in total. Last year, Dougal played 126 holes.
“He’s going to play all day long,” said First Tee West Michigan Marketing and Communications Coordinator Brian Filter. “He’ll be able to drive a cart, maybe he’ll be able to have a friend with him driving him around and making it easier for him.”
Filter predicts Dougal will be on the course from “dark to dark” to complete all 300-plus holes. Until the sun rises and after the sun sets, Dougal will be using glow-in-the-dark golf balls so he won’t loose track of his ball.
“One of the core values we teach at First Tee is perseverance and it’s going to take a lot of perseverance to get through this,” Filter said.
The marathon has been held through First Tee-West Michigan since 2011 to raise scholarship funds for students in the First Tee program.
First Tee programs in Kalamazoo began in 2021. Of the first 350 students, 122 students were given scholarships due to their family’s income level.
On top of benefiting from the example Dougal sets, the money raised will help many more Kalamazoo youth access the First Tees program.
“We’re excited that Eric is attempting to break the record for most holes played in a Marathon,” said Kalamazoo First Tee Area Director Matthew Gifford in a press release. “We’re even more excited for the impact his efforts will have on our students. The money Eric has raised so far will provide more than 400 hours of programming for our students on scholarship.”
Gifford said Dougal’s efforts are raising awareness of First Tee’s presence in Kalamazoo.
Dougal will be joined by Kalamazoo Country Club staff member Jack Versau and the Kalamazoo College men’s golf team for the fundraiser. Donations can be made through a pledge per hole or a flat donation. Thus far, $15,000 have been raised, according to the press release.
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