Wilson sporting tee goods

His swing is as smooth as butter, hardly resembling the extended

backswing and subsequent thrusting follow-through displayed by John

Daly.

But the ball still goes far, really far.

As the group that featured Tom Jackson and Dan DeMille, two

members from Santa Ana Country Club, along with yours truly, came to

the par-5 fifth hole on Coto de Caza Golf & Racquet Club’s North

Course during the Goodwill Golf Classic June 30, there stood Kyle

Wilson beside a bag containing Taylor Made drivers, which included

the club he would use to send golf balls on the flights of their

lives.

The tool the former Long Beach State and Estancia High pitcher

used: an SMT Nemesis, in Wilson’s case, measuring 52 inches. It

doesn’t have grooves, allowing the ball to “jump off the clubface

with less resistance,” Wilson said.

Wilson now cranks golf balls down the fairway in long-drive

competitions in addition to his duties at Costa Mesa Golf & Country

Club as a starter.

A few weeks ago Wilson finished third in a district qualifier in

Houston for the ReMax World Long Drive Championships. By virtue of

his victory in May at a regional qualifier in Las Vegas, the

28-year-old has already qualified for the district finals --

encompassing California and Nevada -- to be held Sept. 13-14 in

Mesquite, Nev. The world championships are slated for October at the

same site. Wilson might compete in another competition -- in Oklahoma

-- early next month to give himself a better chance to get into the

finals of the world championships.

The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Wilson has forearms that double the size

of mine, perfect for blasting drives far into the air.

For $10 our group could use Wilson’s drive as a starting point to

progress toward the hole. On every hole each team used the best drive

and all players then hit their own balls into the green and,

hopefully, into the cup. The team then took the best score from its

group members.

Wilson stepped up the ball, whipped the club using his torso, and

sent the ball sailing, clearing a row of trees overhanging the rough

along the right side of the fairway.

The ball flew as if it was connected to a tightly wound string,

definitely the straightest ball I saw hit that day.

“That is the best one of the day,” Wilson said.

And while several groups would follow ours -- we teed off on No. 1

-- it would be hard to imagine Wilson hitting a ball that straight

and that far too often.

But maybe I’m thinking about my game -- which lends itself more to

wayward tee shots that cause me to traverse a few extra yards over

the course of a round -- instead of Wilson’s.

When asked if he knew how far his furthest drive went that day,

Wilson replied, “I heard it was between 365 and 370.”

Keep hitting them straight Kyle.

*

Standing on the first tee that same day, Daily Pilot publisher Tom

Johnson and Dan Rogers, Costa Mesa resident and president and chief

executive officer of Goodwill Industries of Orange County, readied to

hit their drives.

Rogers, who said he is a 12 handicap, struck his ball solidly,

sending the drive into the fairway of the par-5 first hole, which

requires a tee shot that clears at least 125 yards over a gully.

Johnson, wearing his yellow UC Berkeley cap, followed with the

best drive of the group, straight ahead into the fairway.

After his drive, Johnson said with a smile, “I had one of my guys

watching. I had to hit it good.”

Nice drive Tom.

*

More than 170 golfers converged at Coto for the tournament, which

raised more than $125,000 in gross earnings to help fund Goodwill’s

education, training and employment services for people with

disabilities and other barriers to independence.

Buck Johns and Mitch Johns of Newport Beach, along with teammates

Ed Halverson and Ken Purcell, shot a 49, good for first low net on

the South Course. The team from First American Financial defeated the

foursome of Jeff Bourum, Arlene Hazelrigg, Jeff Kirby and Ralph

Molyneux, which shot a 51.

Costa Mesa resident Bill Taylor, along with Wayne Curtis, Brian

Horton and Bill McMurray, shot a 64 to finish second, one shot behind

Greg Baird, Gary Brooks, Tony D’Asaro and Russell Leatherby in low

gross on the North course.