World Long Drive Championship.....Is it a thing now?

[golftejas]

I went to the finals last night and had a great time. Free parking, free entry to the event, so you're just paying for your car gas plus a few beverages. A couple things I found interesting ... these guys/gals are solid athletes, very little "fat" to be found ... the sound of the strikes up close is very impressive, from everybody ... they can indeed hit some of their misses off the planet, like 50-75 yards offline at times, and I found myself chuckling at some of those ... when you're at the event you know immediately when a really good strike and launch occurs that leads to a really long shot, but you can't see it land except on the big video boards at the event (even the competitors watch the boards to see final distance) ... alot of the shots are amazingly high, but usually end up "shorter" (still 375-390 yds. ;-) ), really makes you a believer in launch conditions ... the women are impressive too and generally much straighter than the men while still pumping it out there 320-340 ... the crowd was pretty energized, and Winstar threw stuff into the stands ... the competitors are all friendly to each other and the fans, and were gracious to their competitor in defeat. I believe this will be the last time the finals will be at Winstar (TX/OK border) for awhile ... sounds like they're going to rotate the location of the finals starting next year, potentially even overseas? Anyways, glad I went and would recommend you go see it at least once if the event rolls thru your area.

[mosesgolf]

The winner's feats are amazing both men and women. However there hasn't been a standout dominant name attached to long drive lately. Zuback, Sadlowski - I loved watching them compete. But these days it's a different winner every year.

[golftejas]

> @mosesgolf said:

> The winner's feats are amazing both men and women. However there hasn't been a standout dominant name attached to long drive lately. Zuback, Sadlowski - I loved watching them compete. But these days it's a different winner every year.

 

Tim Burke is probably the closest to what you're looking for ... if he had been able to win last night (he finished 2nd) he would have won it three times in the last seven years ... that would have been a great win given the competition level now in the sport. But I agree that Zuback was amazing to watch, even though his four-peat is now 20 years ago. Several guys, including Sadlowski, have two championships.

[PoolPond]

About 10 years ago we had a young gun driver out to the course as part of a Friday stag day type of deal. This kid was about 22 and was driving the 10th green which is about 378 yards. I watched him do it for about 3 hours straight. He must have hit 75 balls some of which were short of the green but I don't recall many if any going OB. But I do get amazed watching these guys now on TV who will go 0-8 or 1-8. They'll certainly pipe a few but there are some incredible bad drives too. I played a round with a long drive guy once and we shot the same score. He drove it 340 and I drove it 280 yet we both walked off most greens with the same score. If we could have reveresed our drives I would have probably beat him by 10 shots. Needless to say his touch was a little iffy

[Argonne69]

At 400 yds the margin for error is tiny. I believe earlier in the season the announcers mentioned that it was like us mere mortals (250 yds) trying to hit a fairway that was 31 yds wide.

 

Jerry Foltz generally handles the "on course" interviews for the WLD Tour. He's the lead Golf Channel on-course reporter for the LPGA tournaments.

 

Like many of you, I fast forward through much of the telecast, and focus on the spin numbers. Anything that looks great but is spinning at 2500+ is going to fall out of the sky and/or get little rollout.

 

[JClarkGolf]

I love the long drive. It's so much more hype than regular golf!

[Titleist99]

Kyl> @Argonne69 said:

> At 400 yds the margin for error is tiny. I believe earlier in the season the announcers mentioned that it was like us mere mortals (250 yds) trying to hit a fairway that was 31 yds wide.

>

> Jerry Foltz generally handles the "on course" interviews for the WLD Tour. He's the lead Golf Channel on-course reporter for the LPGA tournaments.

>

> Like many of you, I fast forward through much of the telecast, and focus on the spin numbers. Anything that looks great but is spinning at 2500+ is going to fall out of the sky and/or get little rollout.

>

I do find the statistical part of it very interesting. The number are not 100% predictable for the shots result but very close.

 

[Titleist99]

> @JClarkGolf said:

> I love the long drive. It's so much more hype than regular golf!

 

LOL! …...Hype Machine! Just like WWE.....LOL!

[Titleist99]

> @PoolPond said:

> About 10 years ago we had a young gun driver out to the course as part of a Friday stag day type of deal. This kid was about 22 and was driving the 10th green which is about 378 yards. I watched him do it for about 3 hours straight. He must have hit 75 balls some of which were short of the green but I don't recall many if any going OB. But I do get amazed watching these guys now on TV who will go 0-8 or 1-8. They'll certainly pipe a few but there are some incredible bad drives too. I played a round with a long drive guy once and we shot the same score. He drove it 340 and I drove it 280 yet we both walked off most greens with the same score. If we could have reveresed our drives I would have probably beat him by 10 shots. Needless to say his touch was a little iffy

 

I thought the ladies competition was very entertaining and more eye pleasing...LOL! Seriously though, like the announcer said.....you only need one in the grill. One would think that the strategy would be a nice smooth swing to get the first one in.

[QuigleyDU]

Ryan Winther was the biggest beast the long drive ever saw. I think he touched 230 ball speed a few times. Problem was he could never keep it on the grid.

[mcputter]

I think the kid who won this week-Kyle Berkshire has a pretty good chance of dominating for a few years.

[Dpavs]

> @mosesgolf said:

> The winner's feats are amazing both men and women. However there hasn't been a standout dominant name attached to long drive lately. Zuback, Sadlowski - I loved watching them compete. But these days it's a different winner every year.

 

With Berkshire's stock rising the way it did this year, I wonder if anyone will still be thinking this next year?

 

Dates 2019 Events Place

Sep 4 World Long Drive Championship **Won**

Aug. 12 Tennessee Big Shots **Won**

July 24 ROC City Rumble **Won**

June 5 Atlantic City Boardwalk Bash Semifinals

May 7 Exchange: Fort Jackson Runner-Up

April 16 Ak-Chin Smash in the Sun Runner-Up

[Hankshank]

A pity Jamie S is not doing this any longer.

[nichho]

It makes for a good highlights package.

[golftejas]

> @Hankshank said:

> A pity Jamie S is not doing this any longer.

 

But fortunately Grandpa Jamie keeps his legend going!