Don't miss the World Long Drive Championship live on Golf Channel at 7 !

Tonight is the round of 16 going down to 8 and Wendsday night is the finale. I was eliminated in the round of 64 by a guy still hitting tonight :-(

How far did you hit it? Who beat you?

I watched last year and found it entertaining. But, inability to keep them in play did get annoying. I remember around the semis one guy who was favored didn't even get one in.

Give it another try tonight...good group of hitters that will hit several in. Distances will depend on the wind.

Oso96 said:

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How far did you hit it? Who beat you?

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Trent Scruggs beat me. We hit into a breeze and he was 367 and I was like 356. At the same place in May I hit it 427 when the same breeze was the other direction. The conditions play a big part in the yardage.

What driver do you hit? How do you practice and train for this?

Did I read correctly that a very small percentage of these guys are actually good golfers?

Mr.Bond said:

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Tried watching and no offense..... But espn bowling was more entertaining. It's cool to watch a guy hit 400 in person but watching guys on TV shank 4 out of 5 balls is boring to me personally. To each his own

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This. It is like watching a home-run derby, but replacing pros with random dudes.

Mr.Bond said:

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Did I read correctly that a very small percentage of these guys are actually good golfers?

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No, most are pretty good. Read the average handicap is 5

The face of long drive the last 10 years (Jamie Sadlowski) just finished at -3 in the Indonesian Masters

ORAggieFan said:

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What driver do you hit? How do you practice and train for this?

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Krank Driver (before anyone asks all long drive clubs are USGA conforming)

lift weights, speed drills, etc

Long drive ain't golf but its still impressive to me. The amount of speed and hand to eye coordination is pretty amazing.

03ki11erAG said:

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Long drive ain't golf but its still impressive to me. The amount of speed and hand to eye coordination is pretty amazing.

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Tonight was good but the guys guys seemed way to nervous. I expect them to settle down and really perform tommorow night.

225 ball speed by Wilson !! Wow

I usually find this event entertaining but the camera views this year are subpar. The best view is for ball flight from behind the player. They were showing 1 trackman flight per player. Most of the time you can't tell what's going on with the ball flight b/c it's a front/side view of the swing and then camera cuts to the ball going OB......kind of lame.

Hearing conditions for tonight's finals are way better. Wind won't be blowing in the face and it may even be downwind. Should see some big drives !

I expect Joe Miller to win his 2nd title

Why isn't this in Vegas anymore

Mr.Bond said:

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Why isn't this in Vegas anymore

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Good Question. Idk why they moved it

Why not build the stands and enclose in plexiglass at the landing area... Or put them at about 290 and face them away from the hitter. Show the swing on a video board then they can watch the ball land...

And would love to swing one of those clubs.

Did anyone answer the question on the club. Is it a standard pga approved driver, or is the handle weighted, longer, etc...?

oldschool87 said:

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Why not build the stands and enclose in plexiglass at the landing area... Or put them at about 290 and face them away from the hitter. Show the swing on a video board then they can watch the ball land...

And would love to swing one of those clubs.

Did anyone answer the question on the club. Is it a standard pga approved driver, or is the handle weighted, longer, etc...?

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When you are in the stands the ball is not hard to see and they have huge video boards with the tv feed.

The clubs are all USGA conforming and they CT test them before competition.

Winners driver specs:
Per Callaway, here are the specs of the driver Miller used
Driver: Callaway XR16 LD (3 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Joe Miller Prototype 3X Shaft
Length: 50 inches

ORAggieFan said:

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Winners driver specs:
Per Callaway, here are the specs of the driver Miller used
Driver: Callaway XR16 LD (3 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Joe Miller Prototype 3X Shaft
Length: 50 inches

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Just to be clear that is long drive measured 50 inches. They measure a different way. It's really 48 inches if measured like USGA does. I think this year they are changing it so there is no longer confusion

How much yardage does one gain using a longe drive club? For example, if a guy can hit a ball 340 with a normal driver, what would that translate to?

3 degrees? Incredible.

AgPrognosticator said:

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How much yardage does one gain using a longe drive club? For example, if a guy can hit a ball 340 with a normal driver, what would that translate to?

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No idea on actual stats, but I made a few swings with one and it certainly adds distance. It's also quite a bit harder to keep it straight. They feel noticeably longer. I'm sure I could eventually get the hang of it, but my limited experience was challenging.

AgPrognosticator said:

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How much yardage does one gain using a longe drive club? For example, if a guy can hit a ball 340 with a normal driver, what would that translate to?

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Some individuals are able to take advantage of a longer driver, but most are not. They simply cannot create good launch conditions with a longer driver.

But if you are hitting 340 you could see a potential bump to 360ish with a long drive club and practice.