Long Drive

The sport of long drive brings to golf an element of excitement that is proving to be a great asset to the game. The long drive experience screams excitement! From the shot clock, to the music, to the enthusiastic hitters and fans it is kind of like golf’s bi-polar evil twin…or cousin…or some kind of distant relative that is growing in popularity.  So, why should all this fun be limited to just the professionals? Answer: No reason to be found. Long drive can be enjoyed by most anyone, and so it shall.

The Amateur Impact

By creating an amateur organization focused on long drive, we develop two very important factors in the game….players, and fans.  By supporting it with broadcast and social media, we create a third very important factor…awareness. We’re also putting amateurs in the spotlight…kind of like the pros. The stage may not be as big, but the impact may be bigger in the long run. Here at ALD HQ (my desk), we’re of the mindset that there may be thousands of aspiring long drivers out there just waiting for a chance to begin their climb to professional long driver, or to just compete against their friends for fun…or a side bet. So, we’re creating that stage.

The Missing Link

There’s just not enough long drive opportunity right now. Golfers can go to the course and compete in round of golf almost any day. Long Drivers do not have that opportunity. Sure they can go to the range and hit balls, but that’s not the same. That’s not competition. We’re really thin on long drive competition specifically for amateurs. There have only been a handful over the past few years. By the time we get to the ALD World Finals this year we (ALD) will have only done 10 or 12 in 2 years.  A few hopeful amateurs have gone to the WLD events to attempt to qualify. The numbers that are able to advance into further rounds is small, and therefore a shortage of competitive on-the-tee time for amateur long drivers. Let’s fix that!

Amateur Long Drive™ Championship Series – A Hint Of What’s To Come

Beginning with the 2018/19 season (yes we’re gonna wrap around, too) hitters in a few selected areas will be able to compete on a regular basis. We’re rolling out the first five (maybe more) ALD Sanctioned Regional Territories for the upcoming season. These Regional Tournament Directors (TDs) will commit to running multiple tournaments within the season….much like a league…or tour. They may use multiple venues or a single venue located in their region for the competition. Competitors will become ALD Members for the opportunity to compete for Regional, National, and World ranking points. For 2019 we will culminate the season with our World Championship. At some point in the future (possibly as soon as 2020) we will have a National Championship here in the U.S. (and other countries) followed by a World Championship.

Opportunity

From early in 2018 we’ve been testing the competition format, scoring system, and points system. We’ve been “running the numbers” and getting feedback from potential members and TDs to determine if enough demand actually exists to support this concept. Competitors have overwhelmingly said yes to the question, “Would you compete in a weekly or monthly series?”  If you’re an existing tournament director, we’d like to discuss adding an ALD Franchise to your existing (or other) or region(s). If you’re someone who would like to consider becoming a tournament director with ALD, we’d like to hear from you as well. Please contact us HERE with your information.Thank you.

The Charity

Much of our drive comes from the need and desire to support our charity Salt Air® Foundation (SAF). SAF exists to benefit patients with Cystic Fibrosis (CF). You’ll hear us mention CF and SAF throughout our campaigns. We’re very close to this issue. A portion of our proceeds will be donated to SAF. This (still) terminal disease only affects about 35,000 people in the United States. Life expectancy has increased from preschool age to an average of 38 years old since the 70s. It’s time for a cure!  #longdrive4cf