The World's Strongest Man Took On A Long Drive Contest...And His Results Are Staggering

Being able to hit the ball far is an ever-increasing advantage in the modern game. Success on the PGA Tour is not dictated by one's distance off the tee, but an overwhelming percentage of the game's best players are blessed with an ability to drive the ball well in excess of 300 yards on average.

But those distances are dwarfed when it comes to the distances recorded by long-drive competitors. Using specially constructed drivers with no grooves, these players only task it to hit the ball as far as humanly possible.

Current world long-drive champion Kyle Berkshire holds an in-tournament record of 480 yards, with the American also recording a mind-boggling tee shot of 579 yards last year when hitting with a tailwind behind him.

Physical strength and explosive power are huge advantages when competing in long-drive competitions. So what would happen if the world's strongest man - blessed with an abundance of both - entered a competition?

Well, Canada's Mitchell Hooper, who won the most recent edition of the World Strongest Man, put that to the test recently - and his performance is certainly noteworthy. 

Taking part in a local tournament near his hometown, Hooper featured alongside 25th-ranked world long-drive golfer Cody Billinghurt and immediately found success, recording a mammoth drive of 388.4 yards in the opening round!

While the remarkable distance may come as a shock, it is perhaps no surprise given the 28-year-old has a storied history with the game as a junior player. 

"When I was a kid I played on golf tours when I was growing up," Hooper explained in the video. "And then going into grade nine, I was invited to go down to Orlando with Sean Foley who was coaching Tiger Woods at the time.

"He was running a small high school academy where you would go to high school for part of the day and play golf for the other half. I went and played and was invited to join but it was too much for me.

"My mum asked if I wanted to do it and I basically said that I didn't want to. I eventually chose to play football rather than golf but I've played with guys who are now on the PGA Tour and all the smaller tours.

"Obviously, my strength was in hitting the ball hard and far and it's one of those things that's like riding a bike; you can pick it up relatively quickly if you did it as a kid."

Hooper made it all the way to the third round of the tournament where he was eventually eliminated, despite producing a best drive of over 370 yards. In the end, it was the aforementioned Billinghurt who would take the title, producing a remarkable 428.4 yards drive - coupled with a ball speed of 234.6mph - in the final. 

The Canadian strongman may not have done enough to win but his distances are certainly something to marvel at, especially for a man of his hulking size and physique.