Amateur Long Drive Canada is in its first year of operations and what a great season it has been. Three events were held in Alberta and five in Ontario and hitters have seen growth and development by leaps and bounds.
The concept is simple. Hit 6 balls in 2.5 minutes into a marked grid. Each hitter gets two sets and the longest ball out of your twelve is your score. At each event competitors earn ranking points and full rankings are posted online here https://amateurlongdrive.com/world-ranking/
ALD Canada Tour Commissioner, Far Samji, a former avid long driver herself and a woman with a passion to grow the sport. “It is incredible to see the talented long drive hitters that Canada has and I am so excited to take this team to the ALD World Championships to hit for Canada. We have contenders in every division and we are going in hard,” she says.
Leading the charge and going into the world championships ranked #1 in the world in the Men’s OPEN category is Will “Smashin” Cashin. And he is joined by #3 ranked Matt Kindou, #5 ranked Mike Zuluaf and #8 ranked Ryan Moore. Three Canadians in the world top 10 rankings! Mike Melynychenko and the Alberta crew of Andy Lutwick, Andrew Vepstas and Michael Flaherty are all hitting in the OPEN division as well.
In the women’s division, Canadian points winner Kelly Rudney is leading the field going in ranked #3 in the world, closely followed by Lindsay Voogt #4 and Jenna Habib #5. Newcomer Miranda Wolfman is also in the mix for the women’s title.
Women’s senior division will feature #1 Deanna Walton, #2 Deb Peever and #3 Kathy Gibbs – we are hoping for a Canada sweep here. Andrew James Carr is holding the entire men’s senior division on his shoulder as the only competitor from Canada in this division. Doug Downey in Super Senior and Edward Urquhart in the adaptive division and Zhana Navato in the youth girls all lead their divisions in points in Canada and are going to make an impact on the world stage. Junior boys will feature#1 ranked Josh Fowler and newcomer Sandy Porter.
Follow ALD Canada on facebook and instagram for event updates from ALD World Championships in Myrtle Beach Aug 15-17, 2019.
If you are interested in long drive, please contact Far Samji at farsami@amateurlongdrive.com
The world final of this golf competition is being held on the Grand Strand this week
The 2019 Amateur Long Drive (ALD) World Championship returns to Barefoot Golf Resort on Friday and Saturday.
The third annual ALD world finals are being held at the Barefoot driving range and practice facility for the second consecutive year, and it is expected to have about 90 participants.
The finals are the culmination of a series of more than 40 championship qualifiers and leagues in the U.S. and Canada during the 2018-19 season.
Grand Strand resident Jeff Gilder is the founder and operator of Amateur Long Drive Inc., and he founded and operates Zeus Digital Marketing and the Myrtle Beach Golf Channel, which features Strand-related online golf programming and content. He was the founder of the iNetGolf web development and digital marketing company that he has sold.
The competition is for just about all ages and abilities. There are male and female divisions for Youth (13 and under), Junior (14-17), Open (all ages), Senior (44-59), Super Senior (60-69), 70-plus, Military/Veteran, and Adaptive.
“We have competitors from age 4 to 77 this year,” Gilder said. “There’s a division for everyone, regardless of age and ability.”
The new 2019-20 season begins Sept. 1 and significant growth is planned that includes doubling the number of tournaments across the U.S. and Canada and adding more countries. Competitions in India, South America and Mexico are planned.
“Our largest division is the open men’s division,” Gilder said. “Many of those guys have aspirations for professional long drive, and will use ALD to work on their game. But, many of our hitters just enjoy the challenge to compete against someone of their own skill level.
“There’s nothing like getting on the tee box with only one goal: to hit the ball as far as possible with loud music and screaming fans in the background. It is exciting and extremely competitive.”
