2008 RE/MAX LDA
WORLD Long Drive Championship
…This year’s RE/MAX LDA World Long Drive Championship proved to be even better than anyone could have expected. The new location and the brand-new grid proved to be fabulous. The grid lies just under a giant and picturesque mesa bluff. As you drive up the road towards the grid, you are already anticipating a great event, and this anticipation was rewarded with thrilling contests in all of the divisions.
To many people Jamie Sadlowski was considered to be the favorite for the Open Division Championship, based upon his strong showing in the last three Tour events; however, Jamie got off to a horrible start, going OB in his first round, and making a detour into the Loser’s Bracket. More surprising was the fact that many of last year’s finalists, and several of this year’s LDA tour winners along with many former champions got sent home early.
HOUSE OF FORGED / LONG DRIVE TEAM was honored to have a total of four competitors among the final eight in the TV Round, which in addition to Champion Jamie Sadlwoski; included, Dewald Gouws, Joe Shuba, and Vinny Ciurluini.
DEWALD GOUWS
Second Place
…DEWALD GOUWS (pronounced Devold Houssshhh), is a newcomer to long-drive from South Africa, who thrilled the crowd while taking 2nd Place. Dewald matched Jamie’s 415-yard drive in the finals shoot-out, and then he pounded a 411-yard drive to defeat Derek Hines the semi-finals. Unfortunately, Dewald didn’t hit a good ball in the finals to match Jamie’s record-breaking 418-yard drive. This young man has a brilliant future ahead of him in long drive, so look for him to bring a lot of excitement at the world championships.
We congratulate Dewald Gouws on a wonderful performance at the World Long Drive Championship. We are honored that Dewald was using our WHUP-N-SHAFT long drive shafts in all of his competition drivers.
JOE SHUBA
Sixth Place
JOE SHUBA burst on the long-drive scene in 2007, when he made it to the Saturday morning final 24 competitors; however, in 2008 Joe was a man-on-a-mission to go all the way. Joe just barely fell short of his goal. He thrilled the crowd during the preliminary competition, regularly hitting balls over 420-yards, and averaging well over 400-yards. Unfortunately, Joe did not catch a good ball in the finals, and his 387-yard drive wasn’t enough to make the Final 4
Joe Shuba is an exciting and an imposing competitor. Based upon his rapid progess, Joe will be a-force-to-be-reckoned-with next year.
We congratulate Joe Shuba on a wonderful performance, and we are honored that Joe was using our WHUP-N-SHAFT long drive shafts in all of his competition drivers.
VINNY CIURLUINI
Seventh Place
VINNY “PASTAMAN” CIURLUINI is no stranger to the TV Finals round of the RE/MAX LDA World Long Drive Championship with this being his fourth trip into the Finals. Vinny put on a wonderful performance.
Unfortunately, he had to hit first in the finals, which put him in a disadvantageous position. The bad news for Senior Division competitors is that Vinny will also be eligible next year to compete in that division, so along with making life miserable for the top Open Division competitors, Vinny will likely be one of the favorites to win the Senior Division next year.
We congratulate Vinny on a wonderful performance this year, which also included a victory at the LDA’s Diamond-in-the-Desert competition, as well as a hard-earned 3rd Place at the LDA’s inaugural Canadian Long Drive Championships.
We are honored that Vinny Ciurluini was using our WHUP-N-SHAFT long drive shafts in his competition drivers.