A GOOD FRIDAY FOR LONG DRIVE

It was a real treat for the large crowd gathered at Walton Golf Club over Easter to witness the monster shots driven down the first fairway at the Inaugural Waikato Long Drive Championships.

The calm and sunny autumn conditions on the afternoon of the competition were perfect for the 40 contestants lining up to hit a winning drive. They were up against leading athletes in the sport of Long Drive and special guest participants, three times Long Drive World Champion Phillis Meti, NZ Long Drive Team Captain Paul West and members of the NZ Long Blacks team and Xtreme Drivers League, Alex Lunn and Greig Mooney.

Women’s Winner Ing Iadpluem launching the winning shot.

The qualifying format for the Long Drive competition saw two entrants at a time tee up and hit six Volvik balls as far as possible within the allotted time of two minutes. For the drive to be counted, the ball must reach and run inside the grid, which was laid out 150 metres from the tee. Then top ranked players within the division faced off with another set of shots.

A feature of this sport is the high pace intensity of the contest. It is a thrill for spectators and challengers alike to see the power and distance generated by the explosive speed of the club.

World Champion Phillis Meti lines up in the qualifying round against Ryan Courtney.

There were several outstanding shots launched onto the grid by many of the participants and congratulations were extended to all who took part, as they entertained and enthralled the gallery. Phillis Meti and Paul West were fine examples of this. Meti had a longest drive of 314 metres but was not up to her World Record breaking distance of 377 metres that she hit in April 2019 in Arizona.

Winner of the Women’s Open Division was Futures Waikato member Ing Iadpluem with 278 metres and runner-up was Kate Davidson from Walton with 228 metres. Winner of the Men’s Masters division was Ron Daley Jnr with 294 metres and runner-up David Sills with 282 metres.

In Men’s Open Division, Erroll Martinez-Sweeney from Walton made it into the quarter-finals with a credible 325 metre drive. Chris Charlton from Hamilton St Andrews made it through to the semi-finals with consistent 341 metre drives but failed to maintain this in the semi-final. The eventual winner was Greig Mooney with a best drive in the final round of 347 metres, although he had shot the longest drive of the competition in the semis with 351 metres. Runner-up was Alex Lunn from Morrinsville with a 334 metre drive in the final round.

First to tee up for the afternoon Alex Wood from Ngahinapouri and Taylor Hori from Taupo.

Walton Golf Club are the first to host a Championship under the National Sports Organisation umbrella as Long Drive was officially recognised as a New Zealand sport in 2021 and look forward to seeing the regional Waikato winners making their mark at the 2022 NZ Long Drive Championships