Putt for show, drive for dough.
An Okotoks area golfer will let the shaft out in the Sooner State as River’s Edge pro Daniel “SmackIntosh” McIntosh heads to Thackerville, Oklahoma for the World Long Drive competition on Oct. 6-12.
“This will be my sixth-year in row,” the 27-year-old McIntosh said. “The best year was in 2014 when I was the longest lefty at 419 yards.”
McIntosh qualified for this year’s championship by finishing second in a double-elimination knockout in Toronto in June.
He did it the hard way — failing to advance in an early round so he had to come through on the backside.
“I had one tough round and dropped down to the losers bracket,” he said. “But, I fought through.”
McIntosh faced Travis Holland from Lloydminster in the second-place final.
Each golfer has eight balls, and the one with the longest drive wins. The ball must land on a 60-yard grid.
Holland had posted a 310-yard drive when McIntosh stepped to the tee for his final drive.
“He was out of balls and I knew I had to beat 310 with one swing,” the MD of Foothills resident said. “I made sure I hit it in the centre of the face, the middle of the grid, 80-per-cent swing, hit it 314 and I was on my way.”
He admits being a golf pro in the Foothills has its advantages.
McIntosh not only gets in plenty of practice, he has hit drives for a small fee on one hole at best-all tournaments for golfers at River’s Edge and High River’s Highwood Golf and Country Club.
“Some days I would hit 200 balls,” McIntosh said. “It was the best practice for me. Guys were paying me to hit a drive, I’ve got the pressure and I build the stamina to hit the same drive for the last group as I did the first group.”
He said hitting four balls per group on a 30-yard wide hole at the tournaments will help him in Oklahoma.
“I have half the balls and half the grid,” McIntosh said with a smile. “If I can practice on a grid like that, it looks wide open when I’m out there.”
It’s more than just brute strength.
McIntosh works with his former Okotoks Outlaw Midget baseball battery mate Stewart Barcelo of W8 Trainer in Okotoks to give him the proper flexibility to swing the club-head faster.
Speed and strength is the key to hitting a golf ball longer than two full CFL football fields.
“Strength and a large range of motion is going to produce the most speed,” McIntosh explained.
He’s hoping to move up the ranks from his 15th place finish in 2014.
It will be tough.
He will face former world champion Joe Miller in Round 2 and another world champ in Ryan Winther in the third round.
“Right now I am putting up the best distances I ever have,” McIntosh said. “I needed to add about five miles per hour ball speed. The top guys are hitting about 219 miles per hour ball speed and I am at about 212.
“It just takes hitting a good ball in the grid.”
For more information go to worldlongdrive.com
