Would you compete in this Amateur Driving competition??

[franklin--J--franklin]

Exceptional Driver Championship --Tonight on the Golf Channel

Would you compete in this event?

Tonight on the Golf Channel 10pm est. This event is open to all amateurs who qualify at a local competition. It's a grass roots competition a one stop shop to the Finals in Mesquite, Nevada for a chance to win $100,000 winner take all.

at the local it's a $20.00 entry fee and it's winner take all- straight to Mesquite for the Cash

Here's how it works It's just you VS the Grid.
You get 5 balls to hit into a 40yd wide grid.
The grid is made up into sections.
10yds down the left
20yds down the middle (Exceptional Zone) point value is higher
10yds down the right

Each player hits their 5 ball in 2:30 seconds
Trying to accumulate points.

This is truly a accuracy competition with a premium on distance.
for example
If you hit a ball in at 290 yards you would redeem a point value of about 11.

This competition is perfect for the guy/gal who can hit it 260 down the middle everytime.

SEE WHAT IS ALL ABOUT TONIGHT ON THE GOLF CHANNEL OR GO TO
www.longdrivers.com
see where the locals in your area are being held

[markheardjr]

This is an unbelievably boring idea. I was very disappointed last time I saw this thing when some guy won a Honda S2000 for a drive like 270 yards or something. Just cause he hit is straight. Why don't we line up all these people, ask them to hit the ball through a hole in some plywood about 4 feet in front of them and see what happens! That would be more entertaining. Sorry, this is just a rant. Now if they coupled this with other challenge stages like bunker shots, putting, and etc. it would be fun to watch KIDS as in the punt, pass, ..... football challenge. I believe they do this for golf already, but I'd rather they televise that than some boring guy hitting a boring shot.

[franklin--J--franklin]

I will agree that it's not the most entertaining to watch, However looking at this event a a golfer, who has the ability to hit boring shots that are straight and I know you play with a lot of guys like that, heck you might be one of them, 20 bucks and about 30 balls hit in the grid for a chance to win 100.000 that's got to get the blood flowing a little. if it to easy to hit straight shots then it's to easy to win 100k

i'm just saying

[DavidR]

I think with a prize of $100k, you are going to need to get it out there further then 270. With that kind of prize money you are going to find a bunch of people that can really drive the ball.

[Titleist1455]

sounds pretty boring to me...

[VinceRKG]

Pretty boring, give it a try! LOL...this is awesome.

[Feddyvon]

I'm watching this right now, and think it's a pretty fun watch. Part of me thinks I could compete, and the other part realizes it's not realistic for me to land 4 of 5 balls in the middle zone, and long. That seems to be the recipe for success right now.

[idrive400yards]

Pretty boring, give it a try! LOL...this is awesome.

 

 

Vinny,

 

You know someone always has some stupid opinion. "boring" these opinions come from people who have no chance.

 

To compete in the EDC is not that hard at all, you don't necessarily have to hit it long(helps) but consistancy is the key. I've seen people who hit it at 230 carry and have the balls run out to 285-290 depending on the grid. I can't believe some people who are on here wouldn't even give this a chance.....$20.00 a try? Most have moved on with a 45-52 point total, very few have gone past the 60+ point total.....

 

If the link doesn't work, call up the LDA to get qualifying locations in your area, or shoot them an email.....Terry and Marie are great people to deal with.

 

From what some people who post on here their "driving distance avg" they should have won this a few times already.

 

Mike

[Swingtheclub]

educate me

 

If they compete for this money I do not believe they can still be Ams

 

so how can it be and amateur competition

 

Ken

[idrive400yards]

educate me

 

If they compete for this money I do not believe they can still be Ams

 

so how can it be and amateur competition

 

Ken

 

Ken,

 

you can compete for as much money as you want but if you DO NOT WIN any money, your still an amatuer. You could also win up to a certain amount and still be considered an amateur. Or if you win a big prize money, you can turn it down, to retain your am status. There is a registration form that they make you sign before the "main" event asking you whether or not you are going to accept the prize money.

 

Mike

[Swingtheclub]

educate me

 

If they compete for this money I do not believe they can still be Ams

 

so how can it be and amateur competition

 

Ken

 

Ken,

 

you can compete for as much money as you want but if you DO NOT WIN any money, your still an amatuer. You could also win up to a certain amount and still be considered an amateur. Or if you win a big prize money, you can turn it down, to retain your am status. There is a registration form that they make you sign before the "main" event asking you whether or not you are going to accept the prize money.

 

Mike

 

Thanks Mike I know the rules of Professionalism have changed a lot and its been a while since I studied the rules and went to rules clinics.

 

When I was a kid I was told if I putted in a professional putt putt tournament I would loose my Am status I was fourteen and withdrew from the tournament.

 

At one time you could not win a dime cash without being considered a pro and only upto 300 in merchandise.

 

I am sorry to hear that the USGA has let this get out of hand as well.

 

Ken

[stage1350]

I do appreciate the accuracy part of this competition and would love to see the Re-Max move to a similar format instead of the "one shot takes all" system. Your best performers are still going to hit the grid more often and I felt that a guy that hits 4 of 6 in the grid consistently at 360 is still a better driver than the dude that blows 5 of 6 OB and happens to catch one lucky one at 365 to win everything.

 

LDA doesn't promote this one as much as the ReMax. I didn't even see a qualifier in my area this season. After watching it on TV, I figured I have a better shot at this than the ReMax. I'm getting to old...

[idrive400yards]

I do appreciate the accuracy part of this competition and would love to see the Re-Max move to a similar format instead of the "one shot takes all" system. Your best performers are still going to hit the grid more often and I felt that a guy that hits 4 of 6 in the grid consistently at 360 is still a better driver than the dude that blows 5 of 6 OB and happens to catch one lucky one at 365 to win everything.

 

LDA doesn't promote this one as much as the ReMax. I didn't even see a qualifier in my area this season. After watching it on TV, I figured I have a better shot at this than the ReMax. I'm getting to old...

 

I'm sure there will be more local qualifiers around your area, just keep looking. Most will start to pop up just right after worlds in October.

[extremeld]

dont think its ever been the case where you compete in a pro event you are a pro - bobby jones through to all the ams competiting in pro events on tour, before you enter a comp where you could win cash over the limit in your country you have to declare yourself either am or pro.

 

is there any plan to make a dvd of this event?

[VinceRKG]

There was a ton of events I saw on LDA site, It was back in June during a LDA Tour event. I lost by a point in 5 events. Unbelievable....Man....It is fun though.

[weizard]

With the recent increase in LDA involvement, this is a very reasonable alternative. It used to be, hitting 350 could get you far, but nowadays, that's no guarantee to get you past a local.

 

This is also good because you work on consistancy & accuracy, which (heaven forbid) will help you in your regular golf game. As opposed to taking LD swings, which can end up ruining a 'regular' swing. I'm going to be switching over to this format because I just don't have the LD chops to compete. Plus, the concept of every shot counting just seem to 'click' better for me. As opposed to LD, where 5 bad shots don't matter, you just have to forget all about it & rip-it on the sixth.

 

 

I do have 2 complaints (since it's not my money or risk, why not complain?).

- I don't like the 'winner take all' part of it. First off, you've got to convince enough people to come out to Mesquite even though they know that the odds are not in their favor. Everyone is going to end up losing money, paying for travel, food, lodging, etc. If you could divide up the $100k to a top 10-15, you could sell it a lot easier. Remember, the whole concept of the EDC is not the "big gambler, swing for the fences, all or nothing" attitude of the LDA. This seems like a more conservative crowd. A 10% chance of a payoff would be easier to draw people, instead of a 1%.

 

- So, you can only win the prize once? If you win, then next year you can't compete? Sure, the system is set up to only lose 1 guy per year now. But it seems kind of silly, and with lots of irony, that the ultimate goal for this competition is to get to a point to where you cannot compete anymore. Plus, much like many sports that have taken off lately, its been based upon the competitors. The powers that be promote these memorable characters that make the viewing public better associate with the sport and keep coming back. Right now, the only people that would know anything about the sport are the competitors themselves. It's like a local rock show where the only people in the audience are the other bands on the bill, and their girlfriends. I've seen, and been involved, with way too many situations like that. And if that's the norm for your sport/activity/etc, then you definitely aren't doing something right.

[idrive400yards]

With the recent increase in LDA involvement, this is a very reasonable alternative. It used to be, hitting 350 could get you far, but nowadays, that's no guarantee to get you past a local.

 

This is also good because you work on consistancy & accuracy, which (heaven forbid) will help you in your regular golf game. As opposed to taking LD swings, which can end up ruining a 'regular' swing. I'm going to be switching over to this format because I just don't have the LD chops to compete. Plus, the concept of every shot counting just seem to 'click' better for me. As opposed to LD, where 5 bad shots don't matter, you just have to forget all about it & rip-it on the sixth.

 

 

I do have 2 complaints (since it's not my money or risk, why not complain?).

- I don't like the 'winner take all' part of it. First off, you've got to convince enough people to come out to Mesquite even though they know that the odds are not in their favor. Everyone is going to end up losing money, paying for travel, food, lodging, etc. If you could divide up the $100k to a top 10-15, you could sell it a lot easier. Remember, the whole concept of the EDC is not the "big gambler, swing for the fences, all or nothing" attitude of the LDA. This seems like a more conservative crowd. A 10% chance of a payoff would be easier to draw people, instead of a 1%.

 

- So, you can only win the prize once? If you win, then next year you can't compete? Sure, the system is set up to only lose 1 guy per year now. But it seems kind of silly, and with lots of irony, that the ultimate goal for this competition is to get to a point to where you cannot compete anymore. Plus, much like many sports that have taken off lately, its been based upon the competitors. The powers that be promote these memorable characters that make the viewing public better associate with the sport and keep coming back. Right now, the only people that would know anything about the sport are the competitors themselves. It's like a local rock show where the only people in the audience are the other bands on the bill, and their girlfriends. I've seen, and been involved, with way too many situations like that. And if that's the norm for your sport/activity/etc, then you definitely aren't doing something right.

 

Those are solid points, but the main idea is for "amatuers" to compete....once you win and take the dough, your no longer an amateur, so you can't compete again.....now you can always try to reinstate your am status and compete again(someone did that this year).

 

Don't know the reasoning for the "winner take all" concept.....maybe to get more people involved?