MONROE, Miss. — Temperatures in Monroe never quite reached 100 degrees Thursday, but Mathew Rempe was well over the century mark.
The Monroe man picked one of the hottest days of the year to attempt a golf marathon.
Rempe played 126 holes — seven complete 18-hole rounds — at Monroe Golf & Country Club to celebrate the summer solstice, the longest day of the year.
“It was quite a journey,” Rempe said.
Rempe began at 7 a.m. and completed his seventh round about 8:40 p.m.
He modeled his adventure after events at other clubs.
“I heard about a few places that have summer solstice events,” he said. “They bring in lights and stuff and play 6 (a.m.) to 11 or 12 (at night).”
Those kinds of events got Rempe’s mind spinning.
“Originally, I wanted to do it has a charity event and get people to donate dollars per hole,” he said. “That didn’t come together.”
So, Rempe decided to try it on his own.
He didn’t count on unusually warm weather. Temperatures were in the 90s most of the day Thursday.
“My goodness it was hot,” he said with a chuckle.
Making it worse was the knowledge that his wife (Dawn Little), son (Landon, 9) and daughter (Harper, 6) were spending the day at a water park.
They sent him photos of them splashing in the water during the day.
“I got several texts saying, ‘You’re crazy with how hot it is,’” he said.
Rempe had his own water breaks.
He brought several changes of clothes, took advantage of showers at the club and always had a big canteen of water close at hand.
“I jumped in the pool between rounds sometimes,” he said.
The start of the marathon went well.
Temperatures were not quite as scorching and few players were on the course in the morning.
“I played single, so I moved pretty fast,” he said. “I played my first nine holes in 41 minutes. I think it took me an hour and 23 minutes to play my first 18.”
Rempe completed two rounds before taking a break for his first shower of the day. After another 18 holes, he took a dip in the club swimming pool.
Weather nearly stopped him later in the day, but heat wasn’t the issue.
“We had a rain delay during my sixth round,” he said. “The rain slowed the course. They told me at the club, ‘Hey Matt, we’re thinking about shutting it down.’ Luckily, the sun came out and I was able to go back out.”
Perhaps the most amazing part of the day was the consistency of Rempe.
He started with a 73, which turned out to be his best round of the day. He…
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