Like many mine workers in Western Australia’s north-west Royce Castano loves to hit a few golf balls on his days off.
But the scorching summer temperatures in Karratha make outdoor play an uncomfortable prospect, with Mr Castano now opting for the comfort of a local indoor golf centre.
“It’s like drugs, it’s just really addictive,” Mr Castano said.
“[It has] air con, you don’t lose any golf balls, great people, and great courses.
“These golf clubs haven’t seen the outdoors in months.”
He has now managed to turn his hobby into a world record — the highest number of virtual golf holes played in a 24 hour period.
“I did 720 holes in 22 hours,” Mr Castano said.
“Swinging a golf club over 3,000 times has kind of broken me a little bit.
“I lost two kilos … just from sweating so much.”
Mr Castano said he shed two kilograms over the course of the attempt. (ABC News: Charlie Mclean)
Nervous wait to confirm record
Family and friends gathered on March 8 to watch Mr Castano have a crack at besting the record of 702 simulated holes in 24-hours set in Illinois last year.
Despite completing the task almost a month ago it was only confirmed by Guiness World Records this week.
With no adjudicators present on the day, locals volunteered to help produce the supporting evidence Mr Castano needed.
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“People were working in shifts … counting every hole that I completed, and logged it,” Mr Castano said.
The attempt was also streamed online which, along with security footage from the indoor golf-centre, was included in a bundle of evidence sent to the adjudicators.
Mr Castano said an added benefit to live-streaming the event was drawing attention to the work of the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) for which he was raising funds during the attempts.
“Sixty-six per cent of the viewers were from America and seeing some of the comments they didn’t know what the organisation did,” Mr Castano said.
“And it created a lot of traffic for them to realise what they actually do.”
The event raised more than $7000 for the Royal Flying Doctors Service. (ABC News: Charlie Mclean)
The event eventually raised more than $7,000 for the RFDS.
Despite the physical toll on Mr Castano’s body he has not ruled out a tilt at breaking his own record next year.
“It was bit of an eye opener for me on this one, like I didn’t expect my body to be as sore during it as it was,” Mr Castano said.
“But there is a possibility of trying for 750 holes next year. I mean, I did 720 in 22 hours. So there’s another two hours there.”
