Compleat Golfer caught up with aspiring Long Drive star Kyle Waddilove to find out more about his journey in the sport.
When did you first start golf – long drive or otherwise?
I have been playing golf since I can remember, having played golf with my dad from a very early age. I played golf for my school, but nothing serious.
It wasn’t until June last year that a friend suggested I enter a Long Drive competition at Golden Horse Casino Driving Range. Without my own equipment, I borrowed a used long-drive driver and finished second, which saw me qualify for the Quantum SA Long Drive Finals.
What is your ‘normal golf’ handicap?
At school my handicap was 14, but with studies at the moment, I don’t get to play more than a couple of times a year.
What about Long Drive appeals to you?
Long Drive is like rugby sevens; quick, energetic and exciting.
There are many factors that affect your performance – weather conditions, the terrain, your equipment and your levels of fitness or strength – which are challenging.
If you go to the driving range and give a golf club to a person who’s never hit a ball before – they’ll automatically hit it as hard as they possibly can – first-timers equate how far they can hit the ball with success.
In many sports it’s about distance. And even if distance is not the main objective, it’s always more impressive. I’ve managed to perfect the first-timer’s wild approach to hitting the ball [with better circumspection], which feels great.
What are the major differences between traditional golf and Long Drive golf?
In a normal game of golf, it’s about shooting the lowest score you can, whereas in Long Drive, it’s purely about distance.
In normal golf there are 18 holes, usually with a par of 72, but in Long Drive you only get eight balls to hit within three minutes in each round. The number of rounds depends on how far you get in the competition.
In normal golf, one has to perfect all 14 clubs to be able to perform, and in Long Drive you just try to perfect the one. But this doesn’t make it any easier. Anybody who plays golf can tell you – the harder you swing, the wider the margin for error. It’s like giving a bowling ball to somebody who’s never bowled before, and asking them to hit the last remaining pin 100m away without letting the ball go into the side gutters.
How do you go about training?
Being quite new to the sport and only having four events to my name*, I haven’t concentrated on a specific training plan. I gym regularly, but in Stellenbosch there aren’t many facilities for me to practise.
Tell us about your victory here in SA ?
In June 2018 I was on a holiday break from Stellenbosch University and I was told about a Quantum SA Long Drive event at Golden Horse Casino Driving Range. I had not hit a golf ball in seven months and had to borrow a long-drive club from a friendly competitor.
The event consisted of a first round robin against other players from around SA, with the top four in a knock-out format semi-final and final.
I qualified with the third-longest drive and was narrowly beaten in the final.
Two-and-a-half months later, I found myself at the South African World Long Drive finals at the Els-Copper Leaf.
In the lead-up to the finals, I managed to purchase two second-hand long-drive clubs and got in one day of practice before the event.
The final consisted of eight finalists determined by the eight qualifying events in the previous months.
SA WLD Championships – The Els Copperleaf – Centurion, Pretoria
The Order of Merit determined the last eight knock-out format. Seeded 8th, I beat the Order of Merit leader in the first round with a distance of 342m in very difficult headwind conditions.
In the semi-finals against the 4th seed, I won with a distance of 343m.
In the finals, playing against the 3rd seed in the challenging conditions, I hit 345m to come out as the champion of the SA WLD Championships and qualify for the WLD Championships in Thackerville, Oklahoma.
It was a totally unexpected achievement as my equipment was old and not custom-fitted.
I was 19 years old, going to the World Champs, and had only been involved in the sport for 48 days [with eight shots a round, that’s a career of 54 competitive shots].
What was it like at the World Finals?
WLD Championships – Winstar Casino Oklahoma USA
I flew to the USA to compete in the World Championships. After a 3-week melee to gather support, sponsorships and travel documents, I was on my way with my dad as my support crew.
I arrived at the venue (aprox. 120km north of Dallas Texas) on the Tuesday morning to Texas weather, really hot 42°.
Registration and practice day were scheduled for Thursday and my group were to play the first round on Saturday 8am.
The event consisted of 96 qualifiers from around the world. The format was 16 players in six groups in a round robin play-off, with the top six in each group going through to a last 36.
I achieved three fourth places, one second place before winning my last set, but it was not enough to go through to the next round.
Most of the American competitors are retired professional baseball players. I was the youngest and ‘smallest’ competitor at the event, being 6’0” and weighing around 85 kgs.
It was without a doubt the most life-changing experience I have ever had. From not knowing that Long Drive existed a few months prior, to performing on a stage in front of thousands, would have been beyond anyone’s imagination.
In SA, Long Drive is home to a small group of athletes, watched by an even smaller group of followers, and with that being said, I have made it my mission to grow the sport and ensure it gets the credit it deserves. It only took four professional events (including world champs) and 208 competitive shots to get me hooked.
Did you meet any of the long drive greats?
Yes, the tournament victor, Maurice Allen. I had the privilege of training right next to him on the practice days leading up to the event. He’s very dynamic, charismatic and confident – a real inspiration.
What comes next for you?
There around 30 available events in the year, so I will be looking to get stuck in. Depending on the schedule of my studies and finances, I would like to go back to the USA and compete for the second time in the Volvik World Long Drive Championships.
I lot of my goals depend on what kind of sponsorship I can nail down, because there’s a fair amount of travel and other costs to deal with in the sport. I would also like to compete in the World Long Drive Series, which are multiple international events.
