A fundraiser has become the first person to walk the length of the UK while hitting golf balls, doing more than a quarter of a million shots.
David Sullivan, 58, spent ten weeks trekking from John O'Groats to Land's End to raise money for the British Heart Foundation and a charity he founded, Creating Lifesavers, which trains people in CPR.
Setting off from the northernmost point of Great Britain on June 11, the roofing business owner covered between seven and 30 miles a day with his two golf clubs.
Along the way, Mr Sullivan also taught CPR to more than 30,000 people.
The journey, which he estimates was at least 1,100 miles long due to numerous detours, concluded at the tip of the Cornish peninsula on August 22.
He spent most nights in a pop-up tent, occasionally treating himself to a B&B.
Mr Sullivan, from Oxted in Surrey, has so far crowdfunded £9,700 for his chosen charities.
"It’s been such a journey", he said.
“I feel so lucky that I’ve met kind and generous people, and had some life-changing experiences with them. We’re lucky that in Great Britain we have people like this.
"I lost 942 golf balls but showed CPR to over 30,000 people."
Mr Sullivan's mission to teach CPR began seven years ago when his golfing buddy Sean Moor died of a heart attack on the course, aged 42.
In 2018, he had to put his skills into action when a young man collapsed in front of him, successfully performing CPR for 17 minutes while waiting for a defibrillator.
He dreamed up the golf challenge last November after finding a lump behind his ear, which turned out to be benign.
Highlights of his journey included being gifted a huge salmon by a fisherman in the north of Scotland, partaking in a horseback tour of local Roman sites in Yorkshire, and becoming the first person to play golf on a submarine, while at Chatham Dockyard in Kent.
Mr Sullivan took ten weeks off work and sold his Rolex Sea-Dweller watch for £12,000 to pay for the mission.
He stopped outside cafes and bars along the way, getting out dummies and defibrillators to give lessons in lifesaving.
He also spoke to local authorities about installing defibrillators.
"I feel so passionately about this mission," he said.
“It’s about providing defibrillators that everyone can access and have the confidence to use, and about teaching CPR so people can help to save lives without fear.
“When we teach every person in every format, every nationality and gender then we’ll have a whole army of people who could be anywhere and have the power to save somebody’s life.
“I want to make golf a heart-safe sport, with all members trained in CPR and using a defibrillator.
“Then all those people would be there for the whole community."
Mr Sullivan was sponsored by Gary Favell, chief executive of American Golf.
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