Smith attempts world record golf lesson

Cameron Smith and his coach are attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the largest golf lesson before the Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane.

CAMERON SMITH.
CAMERON SMITH. Picture: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

He's not only coming back, Cameron Smith also hopes to give back to Australian golf in world-record fashion.

Returning to Australian fairways for the first time in three years this month, the British Open champion and his coach, PGA Professional Grant Field, are plotting to break the Guinness World Record for the largest golf lesson.

Smith and Field will attempt to enter the record books at the Royal Queensland driving range on November 20, when the pair will need more than a thousand fans to gather for priceless tips from Australia's world No.3.

The current record was established in Mexico in 2011, with 1073 participants involved in a lesson organised by Golf PARa Todos, a community initiative of the Mayakoba Golf Classic at the El Camaleon Golf Course.

Some 1153 golfers started the lesson but 80 either left before the 30-minute mark required to meet Guinness World Record criteria or were not actively participating.

A precursor to the 2022 Australian PGA Championship from November 24-27, officials hope at least 1200 golfers will register for the record attempt.

"We think we'll need between 1,500 and 1,800 to register to allow for some natural drop off and for those who don't fully participate not to impact on the attempt," said a Golf Australia spokesperson on Friday.

Golf Australia plan to have about 50 individual witnesses and a Guinness World Record official adjudicator at the attempt to ensure full compliance with the rules of the attempt.

Smith won the Australian PGA Championship back-to-back in 2017 and 2018 but hasn't played in his home country since the 2019 President's Cup at Royal Melbourne because of the pandemic.

The 29-year-old is also one of the headline acts for the Australian Open in Melbourne from December 1-4.