September 16, 2014 – Long Drive is no longer just for strong hitters or professional competitors. We’ve been shown this in Izki Golf, Urturi (Álava, Spain), where a new event has taken root for golf amateurs in Spain. It’s been a great weekend focused on the long drive, promoted by the Power Academy of Gerard Pera and the first edition of the Spanish Amateur Long Drive Cup, which has attracted great interest in this specialty.

In this first event of Amateur Long Drive at Izki Golf, backed by the Federación Alavesa de Golf, thirty golfers participated with plenty of public to enjoy a great golf festival, surrounded by music, shows, demos, barbecues, raffles, prizes… and the challenge for everyone to send the golf ball even further.

The event began with great expectation on Saturday 13th September. The participants in the Power Academy learned about the theory of power applied to golf to improve distance from a professional expert as Gerard Pera. On a stage outside, the Spanish Long Drive Champion emphatically conveyed the essential technical and physical matters of Long Drive.

Then the action began, applying the technical concepts on the driving range, including video swing analysis. It was an intense day that ended, in the afternoon, with the participants playing the 18 holes of the golf course with Gerard. And all enlivened by the presence of leading brands such as Munich footwear, SKLZ training products and the XXIO and Srixon drivers in their tent with demo clubs.

Then it was time for the competition on Sunday 14th, in a very different environment to what the pros are used to, as it was focused on enjoy a day of golf, where all the amateurs can take part learning and playing. But before, a brief chat by Gerard Pera served to introduce the contestants on the concept of Amateur Long Drive, and the importance of fitness with a series of technical recommendations for improving the driving distance. Gerard then displayed his explosive drive (hitting a ball to 399y!), his iron game, and even hitting long distances with the putter, as well as entertaining the show by exploding a watermelon.

After the barbecue came the Finals of the Spanish Amateur Long Drive Cup, with the top five in each category: Four balls per player in a maximum time of 2 minutes, to a field 44y wide, counting only the distance achieved with the longest ball staying on the fairway. The Bushnell rangefinders were out there working when one of the favourites in theSenior Category, the Spanish player Juan Pagan, the amateur Long Drive Spanish champion of 2012, went to 310,6y in the qualifying round in the morning.

It was a shame that he couldn’t do it again in the finals when he came in to win, but couldn’t keep any golf ball on the grid, despite a shot of 345y that finished out of bounds. The champions of the first Spanish Amateur Long Drive Cup by categories are:

Under-21 Category

• Champion: Jon Hernando, 290,90y
• Longest shot of the day: Jon Hernando, 290,90y

Ladies Category

• Champion: Amaia Latorre, 232,94y
• Longest shot of the day: Amaia Latorre, 262,46y

Senior Category

• Champion: Manuel Bermúdez, 291,99y
• Longest shot of the day: Juan Antonio Pagán, 310,58y

Veteran Category

• Champion: Luis Pereda, 295,27y
• Longest shot of the day: Luis Pereda, 295,27y

Two intense days of Long Drive, morning and afternoon, where amateur golfers have been able to get out of their heads that the Long Drive is only for strong golfers. An event designed for amateur players, even if they don’t hit that far. The first players have already started to see it in Izki, but more and more players will find out that any golfer has potential for improving distance and accuracy with the driver.

The organization of Buengolpe, Power Academy, musicaparamiboda.com, Viajes Artaza and Izki Golf, and the sponsors of the Diputación Foral de Álava, Srixon, Lea and Donnay, can all feel proud about having accomplished the target of bringing the Long Drive to the amateur world. The experience of the participants, the real stars of the festival, was phenomenal and they were quick to ask for a repetition of the event next year, which will surely take on a bigger dimension in 2015.

Por MIGUEL ANGEL BUIL