London City Airport

[The_Power]

Check out this article on the web covering Long Drive and the London City Airport gig.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/sport/articles/16469135?source=Evening%20Standard

[Snake]

Hi Phil

I thought you may be interested that the recent runway challenge actually made it on to the Australian news. It showed Phil Slatter hitting his winning drive and the short interview he did post the event. It's always great for the sport to get this sort of coverage.

Simon from Sydney

[The_Power]

Hi Simon,

Great to hear that the event was also shown in Australia and you are spot on, it?s media coverage that will drag this sport into the 21st Century. We had excellent TV, Radio, and Newspaper coverage which should set the stage nicely for the upcoming 2005 European Longdrive Tour.

Hitting down a runway is great fun; we had 8 drives over 650yards and Paul ?St George? Slater?s mammoth 720yards with a 2.5 degree driver, which proved optimum for the unusual grid conditions! An airport runway is not as wide or as smooth as you might imagine (at least this one wasn?t!), a ball hit right down the centre of the runway could still take a big kick to the left or right and leave the runway long before its true distance potential is realised. None of the big drives actually came to rest on the runway, which leads me to believe that bigger distances are certainly possible.  

I read that one of your Australian tour pro?s, Stuart Appleby, hit a ball 696yards down an airport runway in Melbourne only last month. I?ve got a feeling we are going to see a few more of these types of longdrive publicity events this year.

Phil ?The Power? Naylor

[golfdude]

Phil,

Excellent article.  Job well done on your interview.

Alan Reed

[Snake]

Yes, Appleby got one away recently down a runway in Sydney. He is no where near as long as the long drive guys. Unfortunetly, the organisers of the event didn't invite any long drive competitors to have a go. The long drive circuit in Australia still goes under the radar a bit but that is changing all the time. Aaron Davidson, currenly ranked number 2 on the long drive circuit and who is also a pro, recently made the cover of Golf Australia. The was also a 6 page article featuring Aaron and Steve Kennedy (ranked #3 and who won the Australian Chanpionships last year). So it was a big week for long drive promotion in Australia with the magazine and the news story about your guys in the UK.

All the best Phil

Regards

Simon

[cyberdriver]

g'day simon.......most impressive performance at the jacobs creek open........424 yds.........badluck in the final........i have begun a thread on the aussie forum site.......if you like, why not share your experiences of the event.........cheers for now...........tony

[Snake]

Thanks Tony. That drive felt pretty good. I hit one 381m a little earlier in the day which didn't feel as if I caught all of it, but that drive (which was only 60cm under the Australian record) was right off the screws and straight down the middle - great feeling! There were some good distances hit that day due to a nice tailwind. I think it was the first time in the over 2 year history of long drive events in Australia that we've had a tailwind! A few times we've had winds that have been diagonally down the grid but never straight behind. Actually, I would have felt a little bad for Aaron Davidson, who hold the Australian record of 387m, as there wasn't much wind the day he did that.

While I'm bragging Tony, I've got to tell you about a drive I did the other day while playing at Riverside Oaks here in Sydney. The 18th is a 392m par 4. I had another good breeze behind me. I drove it over the back of the green. I estimate somewhere between 410-420m. It was my longest drive ever on a golf course. I've got to give Mercury a little plug as well as I'm having great success with the Mercury Savage shaft and head. I've now had a 1st and a 2nd in the first two events of this year since changing to Mercury. And no they don't pay me.

Regards

Simon

[Pennolino]

Ryder Cup style...America vs. Europe?

Let's do it!!! We can make it happen with the help of sponsors on your end. Whomever is interested in making this happen please contact me.

Paul Pennolino
The Players Tour
www.theplayerstour.com
paulp@theplayerstour.com