Wilson drives long

One would think Kyle Wilson’s former baseball skills would translate

to his recent success in golf’s long-drive competition.

But Wilson was a pitcher.

One would also think Wilson is a big guy, being able to smash the

small-round ball more than 400 yards.

But at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, he’s pretty average, compared with

some of the other long-ball blasters out there.

Wilson credits the majority of his ability to just hitting the

ball squarely on the club face, with a slightly increased club-head

speed.

Pretty simple, considering his drives average between 360 and 390

yards.

“I’m making improvements every year,” he said. “I’m making

improvements in distance, in my swing and I’m stronger than I was

last year.”

Wilson, an assistant professional at Costa Mesa Golf & Country

Club, relishes the long-ball competition. He has competed in numerous

tournaments, the most notorious of which -- the RE/MAX World Long

Drive championship -- he qualified for last year.

He just missed qualifying for this year’s event, but is making it

a goal to get back next year.

And while the long drive championship is the Super Bowl of his

sport -- players compete for a $450,000 purse, all televised --

Wilson has had success in other tournaments.

“I had a pretty good year this year,” he said. “I can’t complain.

I would have liked to make the world championships, but I won some

other events.”

Wilson, who reached the second round of the world championship

last year, won the American Long Drivers Association national finals

in Primm, Nev. in February. His winning drive soared 403 yards, a bit

longer than the average golfer.

“It’s not about changing your swing for a long drive,” he said.

“You have to try and gain speed and strength while putting more power

behind it. For me, my swing’s always been decent, but I’ve been

increasing my strength factor.”

Wilson hasn’t always been a long driver, however. In his third

year competing in the event, Wilson used to play the actual sport of

golf, competing in amateur tournaments. And before that, he was a

baseball player for Estancia High, Orange Coast College and Long

Beach State.

He was always a golfer on the side, though. His father was a

teaching pro and taught him the game.

After finishing collegiate baseball, Wilson thought he would give

competitive golfing a try. But after little success in amateur

tournaments, he said he went into long driving.

“I’ve always been able to hit far -- that’s never been an issue

with me,” he said. “It wasn’t always straight, but always far. That’s

kind of the reason I got into it.”

Wilson, whose driver choice for playing golf is the Taylor Made

R7, while his driver choice for long balls is a Kent Sports Alpha

Series, said his average club-head speed is 140 mph. His average ball

speed -- measured directly after contact -- is 200 mph, he said.

In last year’s world championship in Mesquite, Nev., Wilson said

he hit a ball 400 yards in the first round to advance.

But the key to hitting the ball long can sometimes be deceiving,

he said.

The biggest two factors to hitting the ball far are hitting

squarely on the face, and the club-head speed, he said.

Wilson said his main goal in the future is to get back to the

world championship in Mesquite.