While Otterbein students were competing in an intramural putt-putt tournament last night, with a T-shirt going to the winner, another individual on the other side of the miniature golf course had a different goal in mind. The entire south course was closed for one person: Dave Pfefferle. Pfefferle, owner and manager of Westerville Mini Golf and Batting Cages, was busy attempting to break a world record of most holes of mini golf played in 24 hours. Pfefferle started yesterday morning at 10 a.m. By 7 p.m. he was still going strong with almost 100 rounds completed.Pfefferle's record-breaking attempt was to help raise $10,000 for the Stephanie Spielman Foundation. When asked the simple question of why, Pfefferle admitted he had looked into records on miniature golf and thought he had a chance to break it. According to Pfefferle, "the current record of 3,034 was set in 2004 by a man in Massachusetts." "I played for an hour one day, and knew I could smash the record," added Pfefferle. Once Pfefferle knew he wanted to attempt to break the record he then decided on a good cause. Pfefferle's mother has suffered from breast cancer and an employee of the Westerville Mini Golf and Batting Cages has actually lost a daughter to breast cancer. From these close-to-home experiences, he decided on the Stephanie Spielman Foundation that funds research for breast cancer. Though Pfefferle doesn't consider himself a "golfer," owning and managing a mini golf course has allowed him to play "a lot of games of miniature golf." By round 97 of the 18-hole course, Pfefferle barely had to look while taking his strokes. With multiple hole-in-ones, the average time it took Pfefferle to complete one round was five minutes. To be eligible to attempt a valid world record, two independent people have to be present at all times. One of those people was assignment editor of NBC 4, Amanda Murphy. During Murphy's time at the golf course she only witnessed Pfefferle take one break. "He stopped for a minute to stretch his legs and was right back at it," said Murphy. "He has been just eating and drinking as he is playing." By the time the intramural putt-putt was finished Pfefferle had started to draw a crowd. Upon learning what was happening on the closed course, Otterbein sophomore Steve Kusyk asked, "How old is that guy?" "A world record is better than a T-shirt," added Kusyk. The 24-year-old Pfefferle had become adjusted to the attention yesterday, with different medias stopping by throughout the day. The Memorial starts today at Muirfield, and while Dave won't be playing on a real golf course, he is making money for a good cause. All it takes is a golf ball, a rubber putter, a mini golf course and a little moxie. t&c;
Mini golfing for a good cause
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