Pair shrug off work grind for year of golf

THE PRESS

GOLFING GLUTTONS: Jamie Patton, left, and Michael Goldstein will be playing 365 games of golf through 2010.

Two men plan to do what many sports fans can only dream about – spend every day of the year playing golf.

Jamie Patton and Michael Goldstein, both 24, plan to tee off today at Kauri Cliffs in the Bay of Islands.

They will then play each day at courses across the world before returning to sink their final putt at Cape Kidnappers in Hawke's Bay.

"We came up with it over a particularly bad hangover up in Hawke's Bay at the end of a hockey trip," Patton said.

"We were talking about whether we could just play golf every day. Then we thought, `Let's make this happen', and so we wrote a few letters and did the planning.

"We were both corporate lawyers in Wellington. Neither of us found it particularly fulfilling and we were looking for a bit of a challenge."

They will officially launch the venture, dubbed puregolf2010, at Canterbury's Terrace Downs course on January 25.

Their golfing odyssey will take them to Australia, the United States, Britain, northern Europe and Asia.

They are seeking sponsorship and donations that will be put towards First Tee of New Zealand, which helps young people develop through golf.

"It's a good logistical challenge and a mental challenge and a physical challenge. The selfish enjoyment is plain for everyone to see, but there's a lot behind the scenes," Patton said.

They are prepared for some tough days on the course. "We have got fairly low handicaps, which are more of an echo of our younger days," Patton said.

- © Fairfax NZ News