When it comes to the world of hitting a golf ball as hard as humanly possible, there aren't many better than Kyle Berkshire, with the American a two-time World Long Drive champion.
He holds a number of records, one of which came just a fortnight ago, when he bettered his own ball speed record, registering an outrageous 241.6mph! Now, at Rochelle Ranch, Berkshire has produced a mind-boggling tee shot of 579-yards. Yes, you read that correctly!
Taking to Instagram, the American wrote: "NEW WORLD RECORD DRIVE!! (579.63 yds) Had a ton of fun pushing the limits at Rochelle Ranch Golf Club and hitting the longest recorded drive in golf history! It was a battle, with Mother Nature giving us some issues in the form of rain and cold weather (55-57 degrees) but with a 17-22 mph tailwind off the right and 6700 feet of elevation, I was able to hit a perfectly optimized 233 mph rocket that carried 512 yards and ran out to nearly 580 yards.
"I want to thank the countless staff, volunteers, fans and city officials from the town of Rawlins and the state of Wyoming for coming together to help make this happen, as well as the videography & production crew from @thebombersclub for capturing the moment. This is truly one of the biggest achievements of my career. However, I think I’ll have to come back in the spring when it’s warmer to chase 600.
"I would also like to give a shout-out to @cobragolf for making me incredible driver heads that can withstand 158+ mph swings in 55 degree weather and send a golf ball nearly 600 yards, as well as @theneturn for providing me with a net that I could trust and get loose with before I made my record attempt. All in all it was an awesome experience attempting something like this and I’m looking forward to doing more stuff like this in the future! LFG."
As of writing, the official world record for the longest drive recorded is held by Mike Austin who, at the 1974 US National Seniors Open Championship in Las Vegas, posted a 515-yard tee shot with a persimmon driver, balata ball and a near 30-mph wind behind him.
In Berkshire's case, he was targeting two specific drives to beat. These were Scott Smith's drive, which was a 539-yard bomb in 2005 at a Long Drive event and Mike Dobbin's in 2007, which registered 551 yards!
In the video, which was posted to Berkshire's YouTube channel, 'The Bombers Club', the 26-year-old took around 20 balls to break the record. Not done there though, Berkshire is now aiming for 600-yards or, to put it simply, around 5.5 football pitches!
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