Grey Bruce Golf News

World Record Golf

Jonathan and Cathie Weaver trying to play 480 courses in one year

By STEVE HARRON Grey-Bruce Golf

Taking a year off to play golf all over North America seems like the ultimate golfer fantasy.

But when you're trying to play 480 courses in 365 days to set a new world record, it can sometimes seem like work.

"I wouldn't call it back-breaking work, but it is by no means a vacation," said Jonathan Weaver as he played his 140th course - Ainsdale Golf Course near Kincardine - on July 17. (He played the nearby BlackHorse Golf and Country Resort earlier in the day.

Weaver and his wife Cathie began their one-year odyssey April 1 in Victoria, B.C. with a goal of breaking the Guinness Book of Records mark of 383 rounds in a year and raising $1 million for Ronald McDonald House - a facility where families can stay while their children are receiving hospital treatment.

While they both love the game, there have been times when it wasn't fun being on the golf course.

"We've played in some of the worst weather I've ever experienced in my whole life," said the 41-year-old owner of a Toronto marketing company.

One particularly bad day was in Calgary. "We literally got all four seasons. We teed off and it was probably 75 or 80 degrees. The clouds came in, the hail came down, it rained, it snowed, it sleeted and then the sun came out at the end."

Another bad day was in Chilliwack, B.C. where they encountered sleet and snow throughout the whole round.

"They literally got 4 inches of snow that night. We were supposed to play two courses the next day and I said to the guy when do you think the snow will be gone and he said "10 ½ weeks ago. It's not supposed to be here.'"

There was also the time in Port Alberni when Weaver got their 36-foot RV stuck up to the axles in mud, but it has all been part of the adventure for the fun-loving couple.

They chose Ronald McDonald House as the benefiting charity after watching what a friend from their hometown of Kapuskasing, Danny Piche, went through when his son was being treated for leukemia.

At one point the facility in Toronto was full and the Piches, who were on unpaid leave from work, had to pay for a hotel and three meals a day. "Having a sick kid is emotionally scarring but it's also financially tough," Jonathon said. "Ronald McDonald House benefits the entire family, not just the kid."

They are playing about 8 courses a week and, after making the trek across the country, will head south through Maine, South Carolina and end up in Florida in January where they will spend two months playing golf every day.

Their journey will then take them to Texas, Arizona and Northern California before finishing on March 31, 2009, in Nevada.

The Weavers have three ways of raising money. At each course, the club sets aside two starting times and a player who wants to join them is expected to make a donation in the amount of a green fee - or more. The Weavers are also selling golf shirts donated by Karbon Golf, with $4 from each shirt going into the fundraising pot. Warrior Custom Golf is donating 450 sets of irons to be auctioned at every golf course on the year-long tour. The tour has partnered with Kinsmen and Kinette Clubs of Canada. Jonathan says the generosity of people they meet along the way has been the best part of the trip so far. "The highlights keep happening because people keep surprising us. People seem anxious to help."