BETTER LUCK NEEDED FOR SA GOLFERS AT 2008 RE/MAX WORLD LONG DRIVE FINALS

South Africa's top long drivers in the hallowed sport of golf came unstuck at this year's world finals in Mesquite in the American state of Nevada during the last week of October.

While no South African has ever triumphed in the event, watched this year by more than 15 million viewers on global television, golf experts predicted that 2007 might be the year for a first victory in the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championships.

With a total purse of $500 000, golfers in North America can make a decent living from the sport and also by using their celebrity status to earn more at exhibition events.

American Mike Dobbyn won this year's final with a shot of 383 meters. In the process, he eliminated five times champion, Canadian legend Jason Zuback.

South African champion Nathaniël Barnes and his compatriot Jaco Vosloo were eliminated in the qualifying rounds on Friday, 26 October and Thursday 25 October respectively.

Sandy Smith, the host of RE/MAX World Long Drive events from Dale Hayes Golf Events, attended this year's finals and said "nerves as much as anything else", prevented a better showing from the local lads.

Hayes had predicted before the finals in America that Barnes had a real chance of victory.

Said Smith: "Nathaniël just could not get his power going this year. He was hitting the ball very straight, though. Now we must hope that 2008 will be the year for our boys."

Before Barnes and Vosloo jetted out to America, experts said the new South African wonder-boy of long driving, Rynhardt Combrink, presented the best future hope for a local victory.

Combrink could not make to the finals because the sponsors pay only for two men to attend the event. Combrink's third place at the South African finals meant he had to pay his own way.

Smith said Combrink's lack of experience in finals prevented him from winning the South African leg.

Everybody can see that Rynhardt is in all likelihood the man for the future. The tension at the big events, especially the world finals, is just quite unbelievable and it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to succeed.

"The sport of long driving is growing by the day and it has been the result of the RE/MAX sponsorship that it has been possible to flourish."

RE/MAX is the world largest real estate network and has been involved with the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championships for more than a decade.

SOUTH AFRICAN GOLFERS AIM FOR WORLD GLORY AFTER A THRILLING RE/MAX WORLD LONG DRIVE FINALS

GOLF GURU DALE HAYES SAYS NEW WORLD CHAMP WILL BE FROM SA

Consistency and raw power enabled Nathaniël Barnes from Gauteng to retain his RE/MAX World Long Drive South African title.

Barnes triumphed over rivals Jaco Vosloo and exiting new talent Rynhardt Combrink in front of a large crowd at the Nu Golf Driving Range in Germiston on Saturday. His winning distance was 384,25 meters.

According to Sandy Smith from Dale Hayes Golf Events, who hosted the event on behalf of title sponsors RE/MAX of Southern Africa, Combrink hit the ball consistently longer than Barnes during the day, but when it came to the final round, the more experienced campaigner triumphed.

Hayes has touted Barnes to go on to win the world finals in October in Mesquite in the State of Nevada in the United States. Barnes will compete against Canadian five-time champion Jason Zuback in front of a television audience of 20 million to achieve world glory.

Barnes and Vosloo received automatic invitations to the finals in America. Combrink will, however, have to receive a special invitation to also go.

Says Combrink: "If I can make it to the States in October, I feel this is my year. I really believe I can be world champion."

Barnes also believes he can win the world title: "I am now more consistent than before, and that is what you need to win in America. I feel ready this year."

Should either Barnes or Combrink, or indeed Vosloo, bring home the world title, it will be a first for the country.

Golf Guru Dale Hayes believes it will happen in 2007 and will vindicate his long-held position that South Africa has the strongest and most physical golfers in the world.

"It's great to know that we have so much talent among the longer hitters. If it were a team sport, surely we would have been able to beat all comers," enthuses McCool.

Tammy Wessels triumphed in the ladies division at Germiston and Mark Springer was the best senior. Barnes won R50 000 for his efforts. The prize money for the world finals is $US 500 000.

For information on the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championships, go to the RE/MAX website on http://www.remax.co.za .

Caption: THE STYLE OF A LEGEND: Nathaniël Barnes hits the winning blow at the weekend’s RE/MAX World Long Drive Championships SA final at Germiston over the weekend.

THAT WINNING FEELING: RE/MAX of Southern Africa's Ronan McCool and FNB's Sean O'Sullivan hand Nathaniël Barnes his winning check.

AS THE SPORT OF GOLF FLOURISHES, THE LONG HITTERS ARE BECOMING LEGENDS

Golf is arguably the fastest growing sport in the world, along with soccer, and is increasingly creating massive television audiences and inspiring millions to emulate the awe inspiring feats of Tiger Woods.

One of the big questions is: Will Woods become the greatest player of all time, surpassing the earlier achievements of Jack Nicklaus.

The brash young players of today, not yet in the league of the elder Woods, are increasingly playing their trade based around a power game. And nobody, no matter how traditional their approach, is calling for a return the wooden clubs to limit the average driving distances achieved on the world's major tours.

So, while Woods and South Africa's Ernie Els belt out drives in excess of 350 yards on the fairways of the world, a band of men and women have found their calling in golf's big cousin, the sport of Long Driving.

Even Els and Woods would have to admit that they have pondered one of the other Big Questions in golf: How long will golfers end up hitting golf balls, what with equipment improvements and more gym-infused muscle to go around the golf circuits of the world.

The world of long-driving already attracts a band of men and women dedicated to countless hours of physical exercise and bashing balls by the bucket-load to be ready for that one moment when it will all count.

The final of the annual RE/MAX World Long Driving Championships in Mesquite, Nevada in the United States attracts a television audience of ten million people. The final itself, where the legends of the game gets so hyped on adrenalin in the last rounds that the energy is higher even than at staged wrestling matches or big soccer games, is an event not to miss.

South African Dale Hayes says the days are just around the corner that big hitting champions are household names in America, where the country is golf crazy. Already Canadian pharmacist Jason Zuback has entered the Long Drivers of America Hall of Fame after completing a handful of world championships last year.

Zuback and Sean "The Beast" Fister and Art Selinger are known by millions of Yanks for their exploits.

Hayes, whose Dale Hayes Golf Events co-organises the local qualifying events with RE/MAX of Southern Africa - First National Bank is the presenting sponsor - says local lads Morne "Big Z" Zurnamer and Nathaniel Barnes and one time world record holder for longest drive Adriaan van Rensburg are leading the charge to greater glory.

"We have a strong golf culture in South Africa and our players like Ernie (Els) and Retief Goosen are tops. Our rugby players are known to be some of the biggest, so there is no reason why we cannot produce the world champion."

Zurnamer says the first word in competing in the big league is effort: "The sport is full-time for guys like Zuback and they make a good living doing promotional work in the United States. They also spend literally hours in the gymnasium to build strength to hit the ball, consistently long."

He adds that South Africa will in all likelihood produce a world champion. Follow the progress of the local legends as they exhibit their stuff at the local regional qualifiers, the first of which took place at the end of April at the River Club Driving Range in Observatory in Cape Town.

The South African final takes place at the end of September at the Nu Golf Driving Range in Johannesburg.

Since 1998 RE/MAX of Southern Africa has been involved with the championships. RE/MAX became involved in 1995 in the United States.

As golf produces the stars of tomorrow and proliferates, the sport of long driving gives us new legends and the RE/MAX brand, already one of the most distinguished in the world, continues its surge upwards, like the famous balloon that epitomizes excellence and drive.