Heard the one about the car, the golfer and the F1 driver?
Sometimes you get an invitation to something that sounds so bizarre, you simply have to follow it through out of pure curiosity.
This was just such an invitation: "We're shooting a viral video of professional golfer Jake Shepherd hitting a golf ball down the runway at Dunsfold and David Coulthard is going to catch it in a Mercedes-Benz SLS." It was an invitation not to be refused.
The sun was beating down at Dunsfold – probably better known as the Top Gear test track – and the light winds made for perfect conditions as Shepherd stood on his own square of turf plonked in the middle of the runway, massive driver in hand and belting black golf balls down the track.
Meanwhile, Coulthard blasted after them, passing the tee at around 110mph and chasing the ball down as it ran out of steam.
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Shepherd was consistently hitting off the tee at 180mph, meaning Coulthard had to travel almost 300m before the ball dropped out of the sky. Frankly, it looked like an impossible task.
During the early sessions, the SLS, all £176,00 and 197mph top speed, was covered in a medical gel-like material to protect its expensive body – perhaps understandably, as even at the end of its parabola the rock-hard golf ball was travelling at around 30mph. Coulthard also wore a helmet the whole time.
But after half-a-dozen attempts and the threat of poor weather moving in, the decision to take the protection off and try it for real was made.
As an added incentive, an official from the Guinness Book of Records was present to adjudicate; if Coulthard could catch the ball past the 150m mark, a new record would be set.
Watching the first official attempt intently, the scale of the task was all-too apparent. Even with the black balls, chosen for being easier to spot against the blue sky than conventional white ones, picking up the ball off the tee was very difficult.
Shepherd's first strike was clean but the wind caused it to drift off to the left, and despite Coulthard veering across the track, he ran out of room.
Positioning myself close to the tee for the second attempt, the roar of the SLS's V8 was clear as Coulthard accelerated hard towards us.
Shepherd's assistant counted him down and he drove sweetly as the SLS pelted past. The speed trap indicated 178mph for the golf ball as it sailed cleanly down the centre of the runway, with Coulthard heading right down the centreline after it.
The assembled crew fell silent as ball and car seemed to be heading towards each other.
Brake lights flashed, tweaks of the wheel made the SLS dart across the runway and then a sudden raised fist from the car led to cheers as Coulthard celebrated a hit with smoking tyres.
A tense five minutes followed as the car was searched for the ball – no ball, no record – before its hiding place under the seat was discovered.
A new world record was handed over, the shots were in the bag – all in a day's work for a pro golfer and a former F1 driver ...
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