Smith surfing.
By Dalton Lee, Baldwin Wallace ’11
There’s a quote from the 1966 classic film, The Endless Summer, that states, “With enough time and enough money, you could spend the rest of your life following summer around the world.” Garlin Smith, Miami ’83, began chasing summer following his graduation from Miami University in 1986. Accompanying a friend on their way to Los Angeles for a job interview, Smith found every mile ventured West to be a unique, eye-opening experience. As they made their way across the country, the duo found rest bits at ten Phi Tau houses along the way. Arriving in Los Angeles, Smith had decided to stay within 24 hours, and is still there 36 years later. Despite a love for Ohio, Smith was drawn to the lifestyle, weather, and outdoors afforded to citizens of Los Angeles. Deciding to embrace the culture, he bartended for the first year of living in LA, keeping the days open to surf and enjoy the sunshine. Carrying that passion for surfing for over thirty years, Smith has ventured to Costa Rica, Hawaii, Mexico, and Bali searching for great waves and a little extra hint of summer.
Smith playing a round of speedgolf.
Surfing is far from the only hobby that keeps Smith active and outdoors. As the founder of Speedgolf SoCal, Smith is helping to usher in a new era of a beloved sport. First hearing about the underground sport six years ago, Smith was intrigued by the prospect of adding more of a fitness aspect to the game of golf—having begun to lose his passion for the game due to how much time a round would take and how little physical output it required. Taking it upon himself, Smith contacted a local course and decided to try a round. For some, shooting an 84 in a normal round of golf would be quite the achievement, but Smith did it in about 75 minutes. His passion for the sport of speedgolf was born that day and has propelled him to community stardom. Featured in Fore Magazine, Inside Hook, and the LA Times, Smith’s now bustling Speedgolf SoCal club has grown from a few friends to upwards of 25 members—now with a second contingent in Orange County. This group of like-minded individuals relish in the opportunity to play a sport they love, while staying fit and active. Their season runs from April to September, working with local courses to ensure they’re the first group out of the day, in order to cause no disturbance to other golfers. Southern California is far from the only place to begin adopting the sport, there is growing fondness and communities in England, Australia, and Japan. Tournaments and elite players have begun to emerge, some of the best completing courses in forty minutes and shooting par along the way. For the average player, the fitness and time aspects of the sport are the biggest draw. Having the ability to knock out a workout and round of golf, all within two hours and prior to starting work for the day, is undeniably appealing. For those interested in trying speedgolf for themselves, Smith recommends dressing in more traditional running clothes and carrying lightweight bags. When selecting clubs, he recommends picking 4-6 that you hit the straightest and are most comfortable with, keeping the staples in mind: driver, hybrid, long iron, wedge, and putter.
Smith with his wife, Kristen, and their two dogs.
Outside of speedgolf, surfing, and other activities, Smith has spent his career in corporate sales, doing stints for media companies such as Fox Sports, Yahoo, and Pluto TV. Now serving as the Senior Account Executive for Paramount, Smith sells ad space for some of the company's biggest networks—CBS, MTV, and VH1 being among them. He and his wife, Kristen, live in Redondo Beach and have two dogs: Smoky, a 5-year-old chihuahua, and Jed, a six-month-old terrier mix.
To learn more about Speedgolf, check out the LA Times article here.