You might play a lot of golf. You might play too much golf. You might play so much golf, one might reasonably consider you a “golf addict.” Whatever your reality is, do not fear — Nolan Krentz has you beat.
Krentz, a native of Mount Horeb, Wis. has played a staggering 15,000 some-odd golf holes in 2022 — an average of more than 46 holes per day. And the best part? He still has two months left to go.
Krentz’s story comes to us courtesy of Wisconsin Golf’s Gary D’Amato, who followed golf’s energizer bunny for a historic afternoon around Norsk Golf Club, the nine-holer Krentz calls home. On the day D’Amato joined Krentz at Norsk, Krentz celebrated what is believed to be the world record for most golf holes played in a year, 17,820 in 2021, beating the previous year’s record … also belonging to him.
“He’s been playing over 15,000 holes every year since he was basically 20 years old,” said Norsk bartender Brandon Larson. “He’s in our parking lot an hour before sunrise. As soon as he can see anything at all, he’ll be out there playing.”
Perhaps most impressive, Krentz walks every hole that he plays — often at a brisk jog — playing as many as 72 holes in a day and as quickly as 9 holes every half-hour.
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His efforts are believed to be a Guinness World Record, though they are not officially recognized by the record books. For that, Krentz would need a witness for every hole he played, and for a man playing upwards of 50 holes a day until the snow makes it impossible to putt, it can be difficult to find a regular playing partner.
“By the numbers it is a record,” he told D’Amato. “But by the people who recognize (records), it’s not.”
According to D’Amato, Krentz is at some 15,400 holes played in 2022 already, but his sights are already set higher than last year’s high watermark of 17,820.
“The goal is 18,000, whether it’s this year or whenever,” Krentz said. “I’m 300 and some nine-hole rounds away. Hopefully, Mother Nature cooperates. Three years ago, we had snow on the ground on Halloween. You just never know.”
We do know one thing, at least: for however long Mother Nature allows, it won’t be hard to find Nolan Krentz. At Norsk Golf Club, the hardest part might be catching up to him.
