I like real stories about real people and I stumbled across a story about a 65 year old man who has the worlds longest golf drive record. Ok he is dead now as he died in 2005, but he achieved this when he was 65 .No Tiger Woods,Dustin Johnson or John Daly, but a pensioner who has been teaching other golfers how to swing their clubs for decades. Here he is below at a golf swing course he was holding in 1997. Doesn't look like much I know and would thrash the pants off most golfers who think they have a big swing.
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His world record is the longest drive in golf and it was recorded as 471 m or 515 yards whilst playing in a tournament in 1974 at Winterwood golf course on the 14th hole. The course has since been renamed and is now called the Desert Rose Golf Club based in Las Vegas,Nevada.
What made this guy different was he had a nickname of the "golfing bandit" given to him by the players he would challenge for bets. Going back to the beginning he ran a golf shop during the depression and then during the winter months traveled to Florida to play against vacationing gangsters from Chicago for money. After the first year they wouldn't bet against him anymore so he found a new revenue source. He used a left handed set as his handicap or he would play one handed. All these side bets lured people in and the one bet was scoring par on a hole using a coke bottle which won him $5000. That was serious money for those days and he was doing rather well.
This guy was a one off and they must have broken the mold after he was made. In the 1930's he moved to Los Angeles as a golf pro for one of the clubs and his room mate was Errol Flynn the renowned actor and ladies man. His reputation grew as a great golf teacher and even Howard Hughes sought him out for lessons. He was a freak as not only did he star in movies but could sing opera and spoke several languages, he was a real character.
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There are several amazing things which make his drive even more incredible. Firstly his age as he was close to 65 and playing in the seniors tour. His ball drove the par 4 green and bounced and rolled onto the next tee box. The players in his group measured the next tee box to the tee to get the correct yardage of his drive. He had a 25 mph tail wind and the hole is on level ground. The ball was a balata which is known for being softer than the normal balls and his driver had a wooden head.
Imagine what he could have achieved with today's equipment in the same conditions. His swing is still taught today by golfing pros and he believes it is down to suppleness and speed. His technique used a rolling grip which has disappeared now in his training since he had a stroke.
It is not down to size or strength but how fast you can swing the head of the club. Brut force will only get you so far as the average golfer swings at 85 mph and a big hitter swings at over 150 mph. I am sure they will most likely make a film about this guy at some point as his life was just too eventful and interesting. He is a true legend of golf and a real character.
