2009 NEWS ITEMS
2009 TSG European Long Drive Championship. Close House, Northumberland
TSG European Long Drive Championship Final 2009 - Rookie Crowned New European Champion
Yorkshire’s Tom Hollingworth slammed all the established stars of European long driving to emerge as the Open Division TSG European Long Drive champion for 2009 in his first ever competition.
Close House, Newcastle upon Tyne, hosted this year’s European finals for the first time and what a perfect venue and spectacular event it turned out to be.
Day 1 saw a ‘last chance’ event for those not already qualified for the finals from several competitions across Europe. It was here that Tom Hollingworth emerged as a possible title contender. Hitting in an official European long drive event for the first time he comfortably beat all-comers with a best drive of the day of 347 metres (380yds).
He came through the two rounds on Day 2 with a best drive of 350m (383yds) by the skin of his teeth, having to settle for a wildcard spot in his group. Into a strong headwind on Day 3 Tom slid nicely through each of his groups with top scoring in Rounds 3 & 4 with 311m & 316m respectively. He made it through the quarter finals with a third place in his group of 313m and his drive of 324m (354yds) saw him shake off the challenge of Swede, Peter Carlborg in the semis.
It was in the high pressure atmosphere of the head-to-head final that Tom held his nerve to see off the vastly more experienced, multi-world finalist from Sweden, Andreas Persson. Persson’s best of 319m could not match the intense heat of Tom’s consistent driving. Tom put in a wonderful display of power hitting, shooting 315m, 299m, 305m and 331m before finally seeing of Persson with an awesome 337m (367yds).Make no mistake, Tom Hollingworth is a name to be reckoned with in the future. His performance was certainly no fluke and he will be a great representative for Europe in the forthcoming World finals.
Junior Competition
Sunday’s Junior Team event saw a great turnout of teams made up of juniors from local clubs. All were new to the sport of long driving and there were some fantastic performances.
Ultimately it was the massive drive of 333metres (364yds) from 15 year old Sam Robinson of Tyneside Golf Club that helped his team (completed by Jack Herriott and Alice Greenfield) secure the first place and prizes from ZFL Golf. They narrowly beat the consistently long team (Charlie Stokeld, Tim Mabbutt, Matt Gornall) from Middlesbrough Golf Club into second spot.Ladies European Championship
In the Saturday seeding rounds it was the outstanding driving of Sandra Carlborg with 310m (339yds) that overcame her fellow Swede, Helena Rhodin to determine the hitting order for Sunday’s competition.
Against a strong headwind on the Sunday, Sandra (288m/ 315yds) again edged out Helena (277m/303yds). Sandra, like Tom Hollingworth, is relatively new to long driving but will surely be a force to reckon with on the long drive stage.Senior Division
A very strong field of Seniors were joined by regular Open Division player Johan Tumba from Sweden, who had reached the age limit of 45 this year.
In fact, Tumba was the class of the field in the earlier rounds, posting 310m (339yds), some 25m longer than his nearest rival. Former champion, Stewart McMurran could not match the distances of Mike Higgins in their semi final and Swede, Jesper Hostrop, was turned over by Tumba in the second semi.
In the final head-to-head Tumba’s 302m (330yds) was enough to see off Higgins 292m (319yds).
Johan will go on to represent Europe in the Senior World Championship where he is sure to be a threat to the World’s best.Open Division Round Up
Perfect conditions on the Saturday for Rounds 1, ‘last chance’ and 2 saw some awesome driving. Many of the fancied, experienced long drivers also were eliminated in these early rounds.
England’s Dan Konyk hit the longest of the day in R1 of 382m (418yds) but he could not match that in R2. He only had a modest 329m to beat in his second round group but failed to find the grid with any of his six balls and so was eliminated.
Finland’s Janos Uotila also paid the price for too few competitions and a hectic career at home and also fell by the wayside. He was joined on the sidelines by the always popular Phil ‘The Power’ Naylor and the hopeful Kevin Savage. Dutchman, Stef Gresel left his R2 qualification late with 364m (398yds) with his last ball of the day.
Saturday’s perfect driving conditions gave way to a cold, wet and nasty gusting headwind for all of Sunday. Distances were always going to be down on the previous day and a premium would be made on finding the grid with as many balls as possible. The weather also put paid to the expected large crowds turning up. Nevertheless, the event witnessed the largest ever spectator numbers seen at a European finals over the three days.
England’s Paul Slater battled manfully with three broken fingers and an impacted knuckle after a freak driving range accident. Against the odds he bravely made it as far as the quarters before going out in a group that included Stacey, Stef Gresel and Persson. Gresel also exited the competition at the quarter final stage, going OB with his set of six. The crowd thought that Stacey had hit a huge bomb in his quarter-final set. However, double checking and closer inspection by the grid workers revealed a distance of only 305m (334yds) to put Adam out.
Tom Hollingworth sneaked under the wire at the quarter final stage; in a strong ‘Swedish’ group of defending champ, Mikael Lindblom, Patrik Andersson and Peter Carlborg, he advanced courtesy of a wild card as longest non-automatic qualifier.
The Semi-finals were a head-to-head format. In the all-Swedish semi Lindblom narrowly lost to Persson (322m/352yds) by 4metres. In the second semi Hollingworth (324m/354yds) powered past Carlborg by 7 metres.
Going first in the final Persson could not match the consistency and distance of Hollingworth. Andreas’s one ball in the grid at 319m (349yds) could not match Tom’s awesome set in the gusting wind. 337m (367yds) was a truly brilliant effort.
Tom Hollingworth will be joined by Andreas Persson, Mikael Lindblom, Peter Carlborg and Adam Stacey in the Open Division World Finals in Mesquite, Nevada in October.
In the Seniors, Johan Tumba will also be flying the flag for Europe.
All the players were more than grateful to Close House and title sponsor TSG for providing such a fantastic venue for the finals. The set up was little short of that provided at the Worlds and the best ever seen in Europe. This event has set the benchmark for competitions in the future. With the sort of support shown at the weekend The European Long Drive Championship should go from strength to strength.
Long Drivers of Europe would like to personally thank TSG, Close House and all the associate sponsors for their great support.Official photographs available from www.tonyrundle.com/your_pictures.
2009 TSG European Long Drive Championship Final Qualifiers
Congratulations to the following players who have made it to the TSG European Long Drive Final:
European Long Drive Final:
Ricky Truelock, Kevin Savage, Peter Carlborg, Rasmus Johedin, Daniel Konyk, Jorgen Trank, Adam Stacey, Andreas Persson, Niklas Fredriksson, Morgan Saren, Joe Miller, Carl-Johan Svensson, Freddie Renholm, Daniel Johansson, Paul Slater, Stef Gresel, Phil Naylor, Simon Tozer, Antti Savleva, Carl-Johan Hellstrom, Jakob Cavalin, David BorgstromSenior Division: Johan Tumba, Jesper Hostrup, Mike Higgins
Ladies Division: Sandra Carlborg, Helena Rhodin
European Long Drive Championship News
European Finals - Press Launch, Close House Hotel & Golf, 9th June 2009
There was a great media turn out at the press launch last Tuesday at Close House.
TV cameras from both main broadcasters filmed driving and interviews which were broadcast that night and over subsequent nights.
All the main publications were given news releases and have already run with coverage. Coverage was similar but examples of some of the articles can be seen on:
http://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/sport/GOLF-Northumberland-chosen-to-host.5346942.jp
http://www.golfbusinessnews.com/news/news.asp?storyid=5871§ion=0
http://thejournal.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx#
The competition which was held immediately after the launch threw up some big surprises. Held on the grid which will be used for the European Finals, the wind turned through 180 degrees from the expected prevailing tail wind and blew ferociously straight into the players faces. This was a great opportunity for players to get their only experience of the finals grid before September and several made full use of the chance.
The Semi-finals matched experience against newcomer on both cases. Semi1 saw Scot Rowan Myles lose to last year's first time player Ricky Truelock from South Africa and in Semi 2 the vastly experienced Paul Slater was outgunned by his 'protégé' Kevin Savage. Both winning semifinalists thus qualified for the European finals.
The final head-to-head saw Ricky blasting past Kevin for the well deserved win.
On paper distances looked pretty short but those who were present to experience the gale force winds appreciated the 330+ metres (360 yds) regularly driven in this competition were something special.
Another new face, making his long drive debut was Dave Blasdale. Dave regularly rolled off 320 yd + drives and was hitting very straight. As Dave is a Senior there should be a few in that division looking over their shoulders. Long Drive regular Ian Entwistle also had been making good use of his winter lay-off and has come back strong for the season.
Our gratitude to those who made the effort to be at Close House for the launch, it was good to see those players and we got some great footage and excellent publicity for the game.
Press Launch for European Long Drive Final 2009
There will be a press launch for the European Long Drive Finals at Close House, Heddon-on-the-wall, Newcastle-upon-Tyne on Tuesday 9th June.
National and local TV and magazines as well as some potential sponsors have all been invited and we expect a good turn out.
The launch will be around 11:30am outside the main hotel (a really spectacular historic building) followed by a long drive competition on the finals grid. This will be a small, relatively informal, event to give the media a taste of what is involved in long driving. The Entry Fee will be reduced to £25.
To add a bit of spice to the competition there will be two European Finals qualifying spots for the top two Open Division players. It will be the only opportunity for players to hit on the finals grid before the European Finals. If anyone is intending coming to Close House could they please let us know so we can issue the appropriate press notices to the media.
European Long Drive Championship Final 2009
We are thrilled to announce the venue for the 2009 European Long Drive Finals will be Close House Hotel and Golf, Heddon on the Wall, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK.
The finals will take place on Friday 11th to Sunday 13th September.
Close House Golf is by far the best venue we have ever been to in all the years of running long drive events in Europe. The tee and grid are certainly the best ever and will rival any previous grids, it is wide, flat and smooth. There is also plenty of space round the tee for a large warm up driving range and hospitality facilities.
Close House is easily accessible, being only 15 minutes from Newcastle Airport and less than 5 miles from the A1 motorway. One of the largest shopping malls in Europe, The Metrocentre, is very close and the hotels and nightclubs of Newcastle-upon-Tyne city centre are only 10 miles away. See www.closehouse.co.ukFriday 11th will see a Last Chance competition for those players not qualified for the finals at a regional round. A Pro-am competition will be held for sponsors and supporters on the Friday afternoon followed by a player reception at the fantastic Close House Country Club. More details will follow as the event develops.
Saturday 12th will see the first qualifying rounds of the European Championship. Sunday 13th will be the final knock-out rounds followed by the head-to-head final rounds and prize giving.
The staff and owners at Close House are very excited about the prospect of hosting the European Finals and we are looking forward to what will be a wonderful spectacle.
2008 NEWS ITEMS
Miller carries the flag for Europe.
Congratulations to those taking part in the RE/MAX World Finals last week, especially Joe Miller who posted some awesome distances to reach the Quarter Finals.
Overall performances were disappointing with many of the fancied runners falling in the early stages. Even some of the established stars, such as last year's champion Mike Dobbyn, going out of the competition in the first few rounds. A few things became obvious to all the spectators; no longer can a player just turn up to hit and expect to do well. The standard of golfer had risen enormously and total preparation (both in the gym and on the range) was going to be the only way of doing well. Quality of long drive has jumped in the past twelve months, so that pure strength, bulk and even good golf ability are not the only factors. Now speed and great athletic prowess also have to be included to compete at the highest level. If proof was needed just look at Jamie Sadlowski, who at almost half the weight of and around 9 inches shorter than Dobbyn posted the best distances all week thanks to hours of dedicated preparation.
Sadlowski's performances throughout the week were nothing short of astonishing. After driving his first set of six all OB he proceeded through the losers bracket (the hardest route) at times only progressing thnks to his final ball of a set. He posted the longest drive of the week in Round 4 with an outstanding 434yards!
The Europeans all drove well and achieved distances longer than any they had done all year. Nevertheless, with lengths of over 400 yards needed to progress, it was only Miller who lived up to expectations. Joe was disappointed to crash out in the quarters but in a great competition he carried the flag for Europe brilliantly.
Official results of the whole of the European contingent can be found on the results page.
FlightScope Set To Track 2008 REMAX European Long Drive Finals At Whittlebury Park
EDH Sport, manufacturer of the FlightScope family of innovative compact indoor/ outdoor ball flight monitor systems has confirmed that it will be providing tracking technology for the second year in succession to the REMAX European Long Drive Championships to be held at Whittlebury Park Golf & Country Club 13-14th September.
The company made its debut at the event in 2007 demonstrating outstanding precision and accuracy, recording hundreds of competitive drives including that of 2007 European Champion Patrik Andersson who drove his golf ball an amazing 324 metres. A specialist team from EDH Sport will be using a state of the art tracking system consisting of 3 Cheetah radar sensors located on the tournament tee. Statistics recorded by FlightScope, including ball speed, club speed and launch angle, will be made available to spectators and viewers in real time through integration with the television broadcast displayed on large screens and through the Eurosport broadcast.
For further information on FlightScope by EDH you can visit www.flightscope.com
About FlightScope
FlightScope was the world's very first 3D Golf Tracking Radar making its public debut 8th October 2001 at the PGA Tour in Florida. FlightScope Kudu is part of a tracking radar product range manufactured by EDH, the South African based technology company. The top of the range sister model, FlightScope Cheetah, is an outdoor golf ball trajectory monitor that measures the entire flight path of a golf ball in 3D with great accuracy. FlightScope Cheetah has the most extensive set of measured parameters on the market today. FlightScope RacquetRadar is used for serve speed and trajectory measurement at the Davis Cup and many other leading ATP and WTA tennis events. The FlightScope Speedball is the leading bowling speed measurement system used throughout the cricket world. FlightScope manufacturer EDH is based in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The company was founded in 1989 by Henri Johnson, inventor and electronics engineer. EDH develops products for both military and sports markets and has its core expertise in the design and development of 3D tracking radar systems.
For further information, please contact Andrew Keast
Tel: 01484 661290. Mobile: 07881 913810.
email: andrew@andrewkeastmarketing.com
Web: www.andrewkeastmarketing.comm
Skype: andrewkeast
RED BULL – The Official Drink of Long Drivers of Europe
LDE are pleased to announce that Red Bull will be the official energy drink of the RE/MAX European Long Drive Championship Finals.
Red Bull will be present at the UK Long Drive events and at the RE/MAX European Long Drive Final at Whittlebury Park in September with supplies of cold drinks for competitors and spectators.
Long drive golf will now be added to the Red Bull portfolio of extreme sports.
UK OPEN LONG DRIVE CHAMPIONSHIP - POWERED BY FREAK
Dates: Thursday - Sunday 10th -13th April
STACEY STORMS TO THE UK TITLE
Hail storms, a tornado, gale force winds, driving rain and beautiful sunshine; welcome to the English spring! The UK Golf Show was unique in that it was the only show to be held outdoors, at Whittlebury Park Golf and Country Club, Northants, thus taking the risk of all that the elements could throw at it.
LDE combined the golf show with a long drive competition courtesy of Callaway and Top-Flite. The event was to be the launch of the new power ball by Top-Flite; The Freak, and qualifying drives had to be made with Callaway’s new Hyper X and Hyper X Tour Drivers.
This combination certainly proved its worth. Players more used to hitting their usual high-spec long drive specialty clubs had no problem adapting to the stock offerings and were regularly peeling off 300+ metre bombs!
Qualifying was held on each of the first four show days. Thursday’s vicious head wind meant that Adam Stacey and Joe Miller’s 290 metre (320 yd) efforts were much better than the distance suggests. Friday meant a change to a down-wind grid and Paul Slater and Antti Saleva (Finland) battled it out for the day’s honours. Both racked up 360 metres (396yds) with Callaway’s brilliant off the shelf Hyper X and Top-Flite’s Freak balls. Saturdays better weather saw a constant stream of novice hitters, anxious to try this new sport. For a long time the days best was newcomer David Willmore with 320 metres (353yds) until seasoned player Paul Glazier hit 331 metres (364yds) with his only drives of the day. Sunday saw all the top players who had not previously qualified battling to reach the afternoon’s knock-out stages. Of these, Dan Konyk (324m) and Sweden’s Johan Tumba (322m) were the pick of the bunch.
Sunday afternoon’s Seniors final saw a great fight among five of the best from the previous days. Of these Ireland’s Mark Wright (268m, 294yds) narrowly beat Scotland’s John Kennedy by 3 metres.
The Open Division once again was a high pressure situation with the final six contenders going right down to the wire. Tumba could not match his earlier pace with 315m (346yds). Slater (320m), Konyk (286m) and Glazier (321m) all went close. However Antti Saleva’s 323m (355yds) looked unbeatable until the final competitor, Adam ‘Stinger’ Stacey tied with his first ball and slammed his second to 326m (359yds).
Stacey picked up the first cheque of the season for £2000 and set the mark for the others to match. The real winners, however, were the large numbers of new golfers at the show trying long drive for the first time. Our thanks to Callaway and Top-Flite for the opportunity to let so many newcomers try the sport and their superb equipment.
UK Senior Final Results
Hitting Order
Dave Edwards - 255
Steve Leak - 243
Ivan Sanders - 262
Mark Wright - 268
John Kennedy - 265
Winner: Mark Wright…£250Runner-up: John Kennedy…Hyper X Driver
Click HERE for full Open Results.
Added: 15 April 2008
REMAX EUROPEAN LONG DRIVE 2008 COMPETITION
2 Extra Dates/Venues have been added to the schedule (*):
Date Country Venue 10th May 2008 France St Omer, Lumbres 7th June 2008 Finland Espoo Ringside Golf, Helskini 14th June 2008 Sweden Brollsta GK, Stockholm 19th July 2008 England Farnham Golf Club, Surrey 17th August 2008 Scotland Palacerigg Golf Centre, Cumbernauld 24th August 2008 * France Ecos, Paris 31st August 2008 * Ireland Portmarnock, Dublin 31st August 2008 Switzerland RE/MAX European Final 13th-14th September 2008 England Click HERE for full details.
Added: 9 April 2008
UK OPEN LONG DRIVE CHAMPIONSHIP
Long Drivers of Europe would like to confirm the format for the
UK Open Long Drive Championship,
Powered by Top-Flite FreakDates: Thursday - Sunday 10th -13th April
Venue: Whittlebury Park Golf & Country Club, Northants, UK
Qualifying:
~ Thursday – Saturday: 10:00 - 18:00
~ Sunday: 10:00 - 12:30
Knock-out rounds:
~ Sunday 12:30 - 16:00Qualifying Round drives MUST be with Callaway drivers (supplied), Knock-outs any driver
Format: Top 4 Open, 2 Senior, 2 Lady advance each day to Sunday knock-out rounds
Entry Fee: £1.00
Prizes:
Winners each day receive Callaway/Top-Flite prizes
UK Open Winners:
Open Division Winner - £2,000
Runner-up - £500
Lady Division Winner - £250
Senior Division Winner - £250Hotels: www.virtuosoltd.com
More Information: enquiries @ longdrivers-eu.com
Click HERE for full details!
Added: 30 March 2008
REMAX EUROPEAN LONG DRIVE 2008 COMPETITION
Qualifiers for The RE/MAX European Long Drive FinalQualifying spots will vary at each RE/MAX European Long Drive event. The number of players progressing to the European Finals will be determined by the Site Director running the event.
Qualifiers for The RE/MAX World Long Drive Finals in Mesquite Nevada October 20 – 25• Top 5 Players Open Division
• Top 1 Player Senniors Division
• Top 1 Player Ladies Division
Date Country Venue 10th May 2008 France St Omer, Lumbres 7th June 2008 Finland Espoo Ringside Golf, Helskini 14th June 2008 Sweden Brollsta GK, Stockholm 19th July 2008 England Farnham Golf Club, Surrey 17th August 2008 Scotland Palacerigg Golf Centre, Cumbernauld 31st August 2008 Switzerland RE/MAX European Final 13th-14th September 2008 England Click HERE for full details.
Added: 30 March 2008
2008 Euro Final set to be the biggest yet!
Long Drivers of Europe are delighted to announce the RE/MAX European Long Drive Championship Finals will be held on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th September 2008 at Whittlebury Park Golf & Country Club, Northamptonshire, England.
By spreading the finals over two days we can accomodate even more players and concentrate the action into a much more exciting format.
The venue, close to the Silverstone motor racing circuit, is perfect for long drive and great for spectators. The facilities on-site will include grandstands and trade tents, a 2-tier driving range, state-of-the-art simulators and the best clubhouse facilities in Europe. See www.whittlebury.com for more information.
National finals in an extended number of countries (plus some regional qualifiers) will be held over the spring and summer and players can qualify for the European finals at any of these events. The format for qualifying will be as in previous years but different national rounds will have a various number of players qualifying from each. The top five players (Open) plus one Senior and one Lady will qualify from the European finals for the RE/MAX World finals in Mesquite.
The finals weekend will be preceded on the Friday by a pro-am for sponsors and guests
Updated: 30 March 2008
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