Golf buddies' epic 27-hour marathon raises thousands for children's hospice

Battling through unusually cold and rainy June nights while golfing in the dark, friends Marco Nichau and Tim Sassmannshausen (both Germany) staged the longest golf marathon in history to raise vital funds for a children’s hospice.

The pals played for 27 hr 52 min at Wittgensteiner Land Golf Club in Sassenhause, Bad Berleburg, Germany, from 21 to 22 June 2024, to raise an incredible €5,500 ($6,385; £4,765).

Marco, 42, and Tim, 43, met on the golf course nine years ago and bonded over their life for the game.

After playing a few rounds together, it quickly became clear they both love taking on a challenge and kept pushing each other to achieve more in the sport.

Tim, left, and Marco, right

First they played 72 holes, then it was 90, and then 100.

And after playing 144 holes in one day, they began pondering what the world record was. After looking it up, they were confident they could beat it.

“Tim and I are pretty ambitious people, and we like to set challenges for ourselves,” Marco confessed.

They decided that rather than just set the world record, they’d use their marathon session on the green to benefit the Balthasar Children's Hospice in Olpe.

Marco said: “We believe there is hardly anything worse than children who fall seriously ill at a young age - so seriously, in fact, that they are denied the chance to enjoy their childhood or adolescence.”

The money and awareness they’ve raised will make a difference they can be proud of.

In the run-up to the event, the pals prepared by playing more than their usual 18 holes whenever they had the chance, as well as taking on endurance and fitness training.

“But essentially, we knew that the real challenge would be mental,” Marco said.

“For the day itself, we stocked up on various healthy snacks and drinks. In the end, we had a little too much of everything, but we didn’t really know what to expect - especially since playing golf through the night was quite an adventure.

“We’d tried playing in the dark once before, and we were amazed at how well it actually worked. We had headlamps for that, as well as small lights as course markers and illuminated golf balls.”

He added: “Unfortunately, we had some bad luck with the weather that day; for mid-June, it was surprisingly cold, and in the evening and throughout the night, conditions were at times very unpleasant - there were strong storms and heavy rain.

“That was quite a challenge. Otherwise, the difficulties were actually manageable, of course, after a while my feet started to make themselves felt, and the occasional blister caused some mild pain.

“Over the last few hours, our arms started to feel a bit heavier, so we sometimes needed to use one or two clubs more than usual to achieve our usual distances. But to be honest, we were still feeling pretty good after 28 hours of golf.”

Read about more epic sporting challenges in our dedicated Sports and Fitness section.

As with all marathon attempts, Marco and Tim earned five minutes of rest for every hour of activity.

They saved up as much time as possible and used their breaks to refuel, use the toilet and change their clothes, opting not to fully rest between club swings.

Marco said: “It was pretty exhausting, but not as bad as we’d expected. After setting the record, we stayed at the golf course for a few more hours to celebrate with our friends, and for the first two or three hours, we actually still felt great.

“But once we got home, the fatigue finally set in.”

But it was all worth it.

Marco said he and Tim had “an incredible feeling of joy” after realizing that they’d not only broke the record but earned so much money for a worthy cause.

He told us: “The final hours were especially amazing; more and more spectators kept arriving at the golf course and accompanied us on the last few holes. At that moment, we realized just how special this really was.

“In the end, we stood on the final green with about 60 people. We’d never had that many spectators while playing golf before. But the absolute highlight, of course, was the amount of money we were able to donate to the children’s hospice a few days later.

“In the end, we took on a challenge and did something we really enjoy - playing golf. But raising €5,500 for a good cause made us incredibly proud.”

The guys say they were really touched by the amount of support they received from other people on the course that day, as well as their friends and families.

They loved it so much, in fact, that they’re planning to do it all over again.

Marco said: “After the event, we said it was a one-time thing, simply because everything went so perfectly, especially the fundraising. But now that some time has passed, we’ve decided to give it another shot this year and extend the timeframe a bit. We believe we can beat our previous record.”