Long drive is a sport where players compete to hit or

drive Drive or The Drive may refer to: Motoring * Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle * Road trip, a journey on roads Roadways Roadways called "drives" may include: * Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive" ...

golf ball A golf ball is a special ball designed to be used in the game of golf. Under the rules of golf, a golf ball has a mass no more than , has a diameter not less than , and performs within specified velocity, distance, and symmetry limits. Like g ...

the farthest. Top long drivers compete professionally in events and exhibitions.

Distance

Professional long drivers can average over 356 yards (320 m) in competition, compared with 305 yard (274 m) averages from the top

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

drivers and 225 yards (201 m) for an average amateur. Some shots in competitions surpass 400 yards (366 m). The world record recognized by

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

as the longest drive in a competition is by 64-year-old Mike Austin in 1974 at the US Senior National Open Qualifier with a 43.5" steel shafted persimmon wood driver. The record distance achieved in the European Long Drive Championship is 473 yards (433m) by Allen Doyle in September 2005. The record distance achieved in the South African Long Drive Championship is 506 yards (462.9m) by Nico Grobbelaar in September 2012. Fast swingers can swing their club heads at over 150 mph (245 km/h), well beyond the 85 mph (140 km/h) average for an amateur. Competitors train for strength, flexibility, and speed and often perform corporate exhibitions for money, exhibiting a variety of trick shots. Ball speeds are nearly double that of an average golfer (220 mph).

Jason Zuback Jason Zuback (born 24 April 1970), is a Canadian golfer who competed as a professional long drive athlete. Nicknamed ''Golfzilla'', he won the World Long Drive Championship on five occasions, in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2006. He was inducted i ...

is perhaps the best known competitor in long drive. He is one of six people to win multiple

World Long Drive Championship The World Long Drive Championship is an annual long drive competition in the sport of golf. It was first held in 1974, and since 2000 has comprised Open, Masters (over-45s) and Women's events. From 1995 to 2013, the events were sanctioned by the ...

s, with four consecutive wins from 1996 to 1999 and a fifth win in 2006; the other multiple champions are Sean Fister (1995, 2001, and 2005),

Jamie Sadlowski Jamie Sadlowski (born July 6, 1988) is a Canadian professional long driver, golfer and ice hockey player from St. Paul, Alberta. One of the longest drivers in the world with a personal best of 445 yards, he won the RE/MAX World Long Drive Champions ...

(2008 and 2009), Joe Miller (2010 and 2016), Tim Burke (2013 and 2015) and Kyle Berkshire (2019 and 2021).

Equipment

Long drive clubs, which are always drivers, differ in several ways from consumer clubs. Until the recent club length limitation rules, the shafts were much longer than a normal shaft, sometimes exceeding . In 2005, a limitation was introduced (measured vertically). Long drive shafts differ from standard shafts. The main difference is greater stiffness, as a flexible shaft will lag in an inconsistent manner, causing a loss of control. These shafts are almost always made of graphite, which is lighter than steel. In order to be stiff, a shaft is usually heavier and stronger than consumer clubs. The 'kick point' or 'bend point' is also higher for a lower

trajectory A trajectory or flight path is the path that an object with mass in motion follows through space as a function of time. In classical mechanics, a trajectory is defined by Hamiltonian mechanics via canonical coordinates; hence, a complete traj ...

relative to the swing, while shaft have a lower torque, meaning that long drive clubs will not twist as much, allowing the club-head to stay straighter. In November 2016, to align them with the standard

rules of golf The rules of golf consist of a standard set of regulations and procedures by which the sport of golf should be played. They are jointly written and administered by The R&A (spun off from The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews in 2004) and ...

, the World Long Drive Association further-reduced the length limitation to —the maximum length allowed by the

USGA The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...

. Club-heads usually approach the 460 cubic centimeter limit, rarely below 400 cc. They must stay within the

coefficient of restitution The coefficient of restitution (COR, also denoted by ''e''), is the ratio of the final to initial relative speed between two objects after they collide. It normally ranges from 0 to 1 where 1 would be a perfectly elastic collision. A perfectl ...

(COR) limit of 0.83, which measures how a ball hits off the surface. Most club-heads only approach the COR in the center of the club, so technology has allowed more area of the club to possess a COR of above 0.80. Thus, mishits are less affected by the newer clubheads. The loft of a long drive club is also much lower than a consumer club, sometimes around 4 or 5 degrees, as opposed to 10.5 degrees for an amateur's driver. The reason for lower lofted driver heads is to greatly reduce back spin. Too much back spin causes the ball to balloon or climb, creating a steep landing angle which does not allow the ball roll out. A flatter landing angle is desired to get the most out of the ball's forward velocity and energy. Many competitions require golfers to use a specification ball for the tournament. The specific design characteristics of this ball include a dimple design that helps to maintain lower spin rates and a ball compression of 110. The average ball compression in golf varies from the mid-70s to the upper 80s.

Notable long drivers

* Kyle Berkshire, World Long Drive Champion - 2019 & 2021 * Maurice Allen, World Long Drive Champion - 2018 * Justin James, World Long Drive Champion - 2017 - Ranking #1 in the World was maintained until June 2019 * Joe Miller, World Long Drive Champion 2010 & 2016 * Tim Burke, World Long Drive Champion - 2013 & 2015 * David Mobley, World Long Drive Champion – 2004 – Ranked #1 in the World by Long Drivers of America in 2003, 2004, and 2005 * Mike Austin, He was credited by Guinness World Records with hitting the longest drive in tournament play (471m/515 yards) in 1974 * Sean Fister ("The Beast"), World Long Drive Champion 1995, 2001, 2005. *

Monte Scheinblum Monte Scheinblum (born May 15, 1967) is an American professional golfer, and the son of former Major League Baseball All Star outfielder Richie Scheinblum. While he competed on the Nike Tour, he became known especially for his long driving, wher ...

, 1992 U.S. National and World Long Drive Champion."Monte Scheinblum Shines When He's Hitting Off the Tee"
Bucky Albers, ''

Dayton Daily News The ''Dayton Daily News'' (''DDN'') is a daily newspaper published in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It is owned by Cox Enterprises, Inc., a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately ...

'', May 19, 1993, Retrieved December 23, 2010. * Jason Zuback ("Golfzilla"), World Long Drive Champion 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2006.Seniors World Long Drive Champion 2015. *

Sandra Carlborg Sandra Carlborg (born November 18, 1983) is a World Long Drive competitor from Alingsas, Sweden. Carlborg competes in events that are sanctioned by the World Long Drive Association, which is owned by Golf Channel, part of the NBC Sports Group, and a ...

, Ladies Division WR holder 391,Yards World Long Drive Champion 2011,2012,2014,2015, 2017 * Phillis Meti 2006, 2016 & 2018 Women's World Long Drive Champion. WR for women's longest drive 413 yards and being the youngest female World Champion 19 years, 2 months. Hit 349 yards on the WLD grid in 2008.

References

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/can-kyle-berkshire-world-long-drive-champ-make-it-to-pga-tour {{Golf, state=collapsed Forms of golf