[Shenzhen, China – 28 March 2023] Mission Hills Group in China is celebrating 20 years of its highly-popular Golfathon, a unique test of golf that has attracted more than 100,000 golfers from around the world since its launch in 2004.

To celebrate Mission Hills winning the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest golf club, Mission Hills established a golf marathon in 2004. One stroke, one world, one year, one journey. The competition has gradually grown from a few thousand people at the beginning to about 10,000 people swinging on the same field every year. Shine yourself on the competition platform. The well-known sports brand FILA GOLF sponsored the golfathon this time, and provided generous prizes and souvenirs for the event. Taylormade and Beachhead are official sponsors of the competition.

The 2023 Golfathon has officially teed off at the luxury Mission Hills Dongguan resort in southern China, presenting a challenge to golfers to play nine courses at the world’s largest golf facility over the next few months.

This year's event will be divided into Men's Evergreen, Men's, Women's, Junior Boys (15-17), Junior Boys (12-14) and Junior Girls (12-17). Different from previous years, all participating groups will have a complete set of awards for the first, second and third places. Mr Zhishan Han, general manager of Mission Hills Golf Club said: "Because the scale of the competition is getting bigger and bigger, it is actually more fair to compete in each group individually, so that everyone can fully enjoy the sense of honor brought by the competition."

Enthusiasts who complete the Golfathon within five days receive a special Iron Man award. There is also a prize for the top junior to complete the challenge. In addition, during the half-year competition period, Mission Hills will also organize specific contestants to compete in a single game, such as the Greater Bay Area Evergreen Tournament, Foreigner Challenge, Female Golfer Challenge, etc.

In the end, the top 100 golfers will be shortlisted for the finals held on September 18 at the Olazabal course. The overall champion of the competition will be eligible to participate in the 2024 Mission Hills Golf Marathon (guest package), and at the same time, the Haikou Mission Hills Resort Package, including two nights' accommodation in a spa villa and 2 green coupons for Haikou Golf Course. You can also get a golf accommodation package at Mission Hills Resort Haikou.

“Over the past 20 years, the Golfathon has attracted more than 100,000 golfers from 30 different countries to take on this toughest of tests at Mission Hills,” said Tenniel Chu, Group Vice-Chairman of Mission Hills. “The Golfathon has become a truly international celebration of golf and a symbol of the growth of the game in China over the past two decades. It is central to the Mission Hills vision to bring China to the world and the world to China.” 

The FILA GOLF representative said that FILA's pioneering spirit in the field of golf coincides with the spirit of the marathon. The cooperation will provide players with a better event atmosphere, and we will also work together to promote this elite sport.” It is understood that each contestant can redeem customized exquisite souvenirs at FILA stores in Shenzhen and Dongguan Mission Hills with their marathon electronic vouchers . Taylormade and Beachhead provided a lot of support for the event as official sponsors.

Created in 2004 to celebrate Mission Hills’ recognition by the Guinness World Records as the world’s largest golf club, the 20th Golfathon will run until 20 September 2023. It offers golfers the opportunity to play 9 of the award-winning courses at Mission Hills in Shenzhen and Dongguan, designed by golf legends including Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo, Greg Norman, Ernie Els, Justin Rose, Ian Poulter and Annika Sorenstam.