Record driving distances of 480 yards by men and 400 yards by women have been achieved with Volvik coloured golf balls during recent qualifying events for the 2017 Volvik World Long Drive Championship taking place in Oklahoma early next month.
The latest record came last weekend at the UK’s American Golf Long Drive Championship final at Heythrop Hall in Oxfordshire, when 33-year-old Glaswegian Ilona Stubley hit the longest drive ever recorded by a female in the three-year history of the event at 338 yards. Runner up in the ladies competition was 14-year-old prodigy Elle Gibson from London, who drove a pink VIVID XT ball a distance of 326 yards on her way to the final.
Former 2015 champion Dan Konyk from Huddersfield, who hit a 430-yard drive on his way to the final, qualified for his 13th World Championships when he saw off Germany’s Timo Petrasch in the American Golf Under 45 final using an Orange VIVID XT ball. In the Over 45 category, won by Charles Seo from London, William Hunt Tyrell recorded the first 400+ yard drive in the Over 45 category with an eye-popping hit of 413 yards.
Last month, New Zealand’s Phillis Meti set a new record for the longest drive by a female competitor when she hit the Volvik ball 406 yards in Denver. On the same day, American Maurice Allen went to the top of the World Long Drive men’s rankings with a massive drive of 480 yards with the VIVID XT ball.
Volvik, the brand leader in multi-coloured performance golf balls, is the official sponsor of the World Long Drive Championships, which will be screened live during prime time on the Golf Channel (5-6 September). Participants in the Championships use the four-piece VIVID XT ball that comes in pink, orange, yellow and green. Its double-core structure has an inner core repulsion and 332 dimples provide distance and consistency.
“The VIVID XT ball is id eal for the long drive players and as distance records tumble, so golfers appreciate how well Volvik balls perform,” said Nigel Freemantle of Volvik’s UK distributer Brand Fusion International.