"It Only Takes One" - The Innovative Evolution of World Long Drive

When The World Long Drive states "It Only Takes One", they are referring to the nature of their tension-fueled gameplay format. World Long Drive, or WLD doesn't require four days and 72 holes of competition to determine a winner. Within six minutes of competition and eight balls hit by each athlete, only the one drive hit the farthest decides who moves on and who goes home. This elegantly simple storyline often produces dramatic final shot outcomes as the clock counts down that are more like a March Madness basketball buzzer beater than an golf tournament. And that's exactly what Golf Channel and WLD are looking for. This YouTube video gives you a feel for the Volvik World Long Drive Championship experience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukVfM8XaLMo Additional Links to WLD and our episode guests: World Long Drive http://www.worldlongdrive.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/WorldLongDrive @WorldLongDrive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WorldLongDrive/ Instagram: @worldlongdrive Join our mission to make golf more innovative, inclusive and fun... and WIN some awesome golf gear! As the creator and host of The ModGolf Podcast and YouTube channel I've been telling golf entrepreneurship and innovation stories since May 2017 and I love the community of ModGolfers that we are building. I recently launched our ModGolf Patreon page to bring together our close-knit community of golf-loving people! By joining you will get access to exclusive live weekly interactive shows where you can participate, ask-me-anything video events, bonus content, golf product discounts and entry in members-only ModGolf Giveaway contests. I'm offering two monthly membership tiers at $5 and $15 USD, but you can also join for free. Your subscription will ensure that The ModGolf Podcast continues to grow so that I can focus on creating unique and impactful stories that support and celebrate the future of golf. Click to join >> https://patreon.com/Modgolf I look forward to seeing you during an upcoming live show!... Colin HISTORY OF THE WORLD LONG DRIVE The World Long Drive Championships, known under its corporate sponsored title as the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship, is an annual world championship in long drive golf driving, hosted since 1975. The Long Drivers of America (LDA) took the reins in 1995 and RE/MAX became the title sponsor the same year; it evolved out of the original National Long Drive Championship, ran by Golf Digest. It used to be contested at a specially made complex in Mesquite, Nevada which is 60 yards wide and 450 yards long. It requires a three-step qualifying process and step one generally requires a drive of over 330 yards. The finalists of the competition can often hit the ball over 400 yards, over 100 yards longer than the average professional PGA golfer, although many of the drives are in the 360-400 yard range and some have won previous competitions with drives within this range and even less in earlier years of the competition. The most prolific winner is the Canadian Jason Zuback, who has won it five times, including 4 in a row from 1996 to 1999. In 2017, Swede Sandra Carlborg won her record fifth World Long Drive title, defeating Heather Manfredda with a 320-yard drive at Winstar World Casino & Resort in Oklahoma. In 2013, the event was held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the first time. Special Guests: Andrea Starkey - VP, Strategic Programming Partnerships at Golf Channel, Dean Jarvis - ParaLong Drive Cup Founder, Jeff Crittenden - 2017 World Long Drive Masters Champion, Jon Claffey - Vice President of Marketing for Tour Edge Golf, Justin James: 2017 World Long Drive Champion - Men's Open Division, Lisa Vlooswyk - Canadian Women's Long Drive Champion, Maurice Allen - World Long Drive Tour Pro Athlete, Michelle Sheptak - World Long Drive Tour Professional, and Sandra Carlborg - 5 Time Women's World Long Drive Champion.