How Do I Get Into The Amateur Long Drive™ World Championship?

How Do I Get Into The Amateur Long Drive™ World Championship?

The questions we’re asked most are “How Do I Get Into The Amateur Long Drive™ World Championship? and / or “How do I qualify?”. Things have changed a bit for the 2018 / 2019 season (Sept 1, 2018 – July 31st, 2019) when compared to the last two seasons and World Championship events. Competitors can now utilize multiple avenues / pathways to the World Championship.

League Play

League play is now available in select areas across the country. For this season, we’re testing the League system we’ve developed along with some new rules, guidelines, ranking points system, and results in Minnesota, Iowa, Utah, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Massachusetts, and others to be named soon. You can find more information about the current ULD™ Leagues and meet the Tournament Directors on the League Portal page. Check that page often for added events and and Leagues, but know we will only add a limited number of Leagues in this test season. The 2019 / 2020 season will see additional Leagues added. It is our intent to eventually cover the United States via the ULD™ League system.

Regional Major Qualifiers

There are four Regional Major Qualifiers planned for the 2018 / 2019 season. They are the Eastern, Central, Western, and Last Chance Qualifiers. As of this writing the Eastern and Western dates and locations are not yet ready for announcement, but the Central and Last Chance are pretty close to being a done deal. The Central Regional Major will be the “Capital City Clash” in Jefferson City, Missouri on June 15th. That date and the venue, Turkey Creek Golf Center, are “slightly” tentative, but we feel very confident we’ll have all the details ironed out soon in an “official” announcement. We (I) have visited the venue, met with the owner, and the Jefferson City CVB. Everyone involved wants this to become an annual event…and so do we. The support from the CVB is solid! That’s a “major” (no pun intended) plus. The Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) is the day before the World Championship. That date is being worked out with the venue at Barefoot Resort, and we expect to make that announcement shortly. We’re shooting for the 2nd or 3rd week in August. We’re shooting to have the Eastern and Western Regional Majors sometime near the end of the season….May through July. We would consider a fifth Regional Major should all the details come together in the Northwest. It’s too early to say that it is “in the works”.

How Many People Qualify From The Leagues and Regional Majors?

World Ranking Transfers

Players in the Leagues and Regional Major Qualifiers will be competing for ULD™ World Ranking Points. The top male and female players (in World Ranking Points) in each ULD™ division (Youth, Junior, Adult, Senior, Super Senior) at the end of the League season will automatically transfer to the World Championship. Those players will be required to commit to their position at the World Championship by August 1st, 2019. The players in 2nd place in each division will be the first alternates…3rd place second alternate….etc.

League Transfers

The top players in each division in each League will automatically transfer to the World Championship. The players in 2nd place will be the first alternate, 3rd place, the second alternate….etc. Those players will also have to commit to their World Championship position by August 1st, 2019. For example: It is very likely that a top League player may also be ranked at the top of the ULD™ World Points system, and pass the league position to the next player in line.

League Points and World Ranking Points

The top player in each division in the Eastern, Central, Western, and LCQ Regional Majors will automatically transfer to the World Championship. Additionally, players in the Regional Majors are competing for World Ranking Points…..and Regional Majors pay double points. Regional points earned are added to World Ranking, but not League Ranking, so it is possible for a player to finish second…or lower in a Regional Major and earn enough points to qualify through World Ranking. Since the LCQ is the day before the World Championship, the World Ranking points earned at the LCQ will not affect any World Ranking transfers already established, but could affect bragging rights. Any ULD™ member may play in any, or all Regional Majors whether or not they play in a League.

LCQ & Wild Cards May Include Additional Transfers

After all World Championship transfer positions are committed (August 1st, 2019) we will know exactly how many players intend to come to the World Championship. Based on overall participation, we may add more transfer spots via the LCQ as well as Participation / Performance Wild Card spots. The Participation / Performance Wild Card would be a consideration given to an individual who played the most events with close finishes and still failed to transfer to the World Championship.

World Ranking Points For Playing Outside Your Base League

ULD™ Membership is your license to compete in any ULD™ sanctioned event in the world. Yes, there are international events / Leagues being discussed with Tournament Directors in other countries. When you register your membership, you will be asked to choose a Base, or “home” League in which you intend to compete. Your League points will be assigned to that Base League. Any points you earn from events you enter outside your Base League will be added to your World Ranking Points, but not your League points. League points can only be earned in League play in your Base League. You may also choose “Unassigned” instead of a Base League. In this case you will not earn any League points, but may compete in any League and / or the Regional Majors to collect your World Ranking Points.

Veteran / Military, Adaptive, and Smaller Divisions Bonus Points

The Adult Male and Senior Male divisions have shown the largest participation so far. We’re seeing a rise in Super Senior division interest as well. Both the Veteran / Military and Adaptive categories are included as ULD™ Divisions but, participation interest is still an unknown. We will provide those divisions for League and / or Regional Major play if the demand is there. The same rule will apply for any division with limited players…there must be at least two (2) competitors in any division to earn bonus points.