Fastest hole in golf record falls

The three-team international challenge came ahead of the Real Club Valderrama Spanish Open.

The official attempt, which was held on the iconic par five fourth - a hole that meets the requisite minimum 500 yards (457 meters) for the record to stand - at the Andalucia venue, involved a trio of four-man teams from host country Spain, plus France and Denmark.

"I was able to witness the three teams from Spain, France and Denmark giving it their all to bring home the title, however Alex Levy's superb shot which landed perfectly on the green secured the French team their Guinness World Records title for the fastest hole of golf in a very impressive 34.87 seconds. An officially amazing record-breaking moment," Guinness World Records official adjudicator Anna Orford said.

Garcia led a Spanish squad including Rafa Cabrera Bello, Pablo Larrazabal and Nacho Elvira, while Thorbjorn Olesen captained a Danish team completed by Lucas Bjerregaard, Morten Orum Madsen and Lasse Jensen.

But it was the French team led by Raphael Jacquelin, featuring Alex Levy, Gregory Havret and Romain Wattel, which set the fastest time in 34.8 seconds to smash the existing record of 68 seconds.

"I mean, 34 seconds, that's unbelievable!" Jacquelin said. "It's the best feeling ever and very cool to have the Guinness World Records title and hopefully get in that famous book."

"It was a big drive from Romain and an incredible three iron from Alex, and then the putts from Gregory and me were very fast too, so it was a big team effort and the whole thing was a lot of fun. We knew it was fast but not quite that fast!”

"It was very close and we gave it a very good go, but France deserved the record – that was amazing. The whole experience was exciting, and all of us had a great time competing against each other and the clock," tournament host Garcia said.

How it works

A team of golfers is spread out down the hole and runs a relay race. The first player drives the ball out near where the second player is standing, who then tries to hit it up by the green, where the third player is stationed, and so on, until the ball is in the hole.

Crazy golf

In other crazy golf records, Patrick Herresthal of Germany played 18 holes of golf in six different countries in less than 24 hours, while the fastest ever round of 18 holes was completed by a team of 40 golfers who managed the feat in 7 minutes and 56 seconds. The individual record for the fastest round of golf is 26 minutes and 37 seconds.