Maynard Plays 126 Holes at Finley in 14-Plus Hours

On any given mid-June morning in Chapel Hill, life just begins to get moving by 8 a.m.

Summer school students are heading to class, traffic on Franklin Street is still pretty light and the bypasses and highways are full of commuters heading to work to begin another day.

Not too many of us can say by that early hour they've already played 36 holes of golf, a feat UNC Finley head professional Frank Maynard can attest to, which was just the beginning of a very long, yet enduringly rewarding day of golf.

Maynard, with the help of four playing partners, teed it up on Friday for 126 holes of golf – seven complete 18-hole rounds to raise money for scholarships for the children of military veterans through a PGA of America initiative called Folds of Honor.

Maynard, in his 21st year as a teaching pro at UNC Finley, initially pledged to play 99 holes with the goal of raising $10,000 to fund two scholarships, but he putted out on his 99^th hole shortly before 3 p.m., so he decided to add another 27 holes to his day.

Not only did he add another round and a half of play, but the funding goal also increased in the days leading up to his golfing marathon.

"Several days ago, the Folds of Honor staff suggested we raise the goal from $10,000 to $15,000, which we did, and with contributions that came in today plus the donations online and the pledges per hole, we are right around $15,000," says Maynard.

Folds of Honor is a PGA-founded charitable initiative started by Dan Rooney, a former fighter pilot and lieutenant colonel, who like Maynard served on the Carolinas PGA Reach Committee. PGA Reach is the fundraising arm of PGA of America, which encompasses military golf, diversity and inclusion and junior golf and part of military golf is Folds of Honor and PGA Hope.

"I lost my dad just over a year ago," says Maynard. "He was a lot like me, someone who keeps things close to the chest, and I didn't know until recently that he was a military guy. My dad was a pharmacist for 50 years, but I just recently learned he was a pharma-medic during the Korean War. We were presented a flag at the cemetery when he died and I got a little emotional about that. He just never spoke about being in the military. So being on the PGA Reach committee and what I just learned about my dad drove me to do a little more than what we already do with Patriot Golf weekend."

Maynard's day began with a 4 a.m. wakeup call. Forty minutes later he arrived at Carolina's golf course, prepping carts and sending thank you emails to club members for their support. By 5:25, he and Aaron York, a fine golfer who works in the UNC Athletics business office, were on the first tee ahead even of the official start to the day.

"Sunrise was at 5:59 today but generally speaking you can see 30 minutes on each side of sunrise and sunset on a clear day, which we had today," says Maynard. "Aaron and I had it pegged by 5:25. It was a little challenging to see on the first hole, but we felt our way around a little bit and then it got easier. There was a lot of dew out there, which normally gets mown out, but it was fine."

Finley has seven sets of tees, ranging from family tees that make the 18-hole trek in 3,000 and 4,000 yards, to the championship tees that measure more than 7,200 yards. Maynard and York played the two shortest sets of tees to begin, racing around Finley two times while most of Chapel Hill was still asleep.

"Our goal was to get through the first 36 holes by the time our regular tee times for the public began play at 8 a.m. and we got off the 18^th green at 8:05, so we played those 36 holes in two and a half hours, which means we were really cruising."

Next up were the back tees, the gold championship tees, which considering he was still playing "speed" golf, Maynard shot an impressive 1-under 71 in just over two hours.

Maynard, whose last round of golf prior to today was at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island the day after Phil Mickelson won the PGA Championship there in May, says he never played anywhere close to 126 holes in one day.

"I'm used to playing 36-hole USGA qualifiers, and maybe when I was a kid, I'd play 45 or 54 holes on the nine-hole course where I grew up," says Maynard. "But I really wanted to play full rounds on each of the seven tee markers, so that's why once we got to 99 holes we just kept going. That was really neat."

In addition to York, Maynard's playing partners included Finley Director of Golf Mike Wilkinson and Membership Director Tyler Currin, and John Eades, a two-time Purple Heart recipient.

Maynard says managing a little fatigue was the biggest hurdle to overcome in playing 126 holes.

"My feet and hands were a little sore. When most golfers get tired their body stops turning and their hands take over. For most right-handed golfers like myself that becomes a left miss, so I had some left misses. I had to really get my body activated and move it out of the way of my swing. But I was kind of surprised that I was still feeling pretty good. A little lethargic on the last 18 holes, but I still felt good."

Maynard putted out on the 99^th hole at 2:47 p.m., nine hours and 22 minutes after he and York began. His last hole, played with Eades and Currin, came at 7:33 p.m., a full 14 hours and eight minutes of golf.

So, what will Maynard do to rest and recuperate after such a grueling day?

"I'll be back to work at 6 a.m. on Saturday," says Maynard. "Sunday is Father's Day and I'll be off then, but Monday I begin play a three-day pro-am in the mountains."

Three days, 54 holes. Piece of cake.

To support the Folds of Honor scholarship program for children of military personnel, please click here: www.foh.org/uncfinley

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