Canadian National Long Drive Championship
Uses New Nike Golf SasQuatch 460 driver to hit bomb
BRAMPTON, Ont. (September 12, 2005)–Calgary’s Lisa Vlooswyk used a new Nike Golf SasQuatch (SQ) 460 driver to capture her fifth consecutive national long drive championship this weekend with a 271-yard bomb into a 30 km-h headwind.
“The wind was tough,” said Vlooswyk, who is sponsored by Nike Golf Canada, “but it’s also hard to defend when everyone is gunning for you.”
Vlooswyk won the championship on her third of six drives, besting four other competitors during the Canadian Long Drive Championship on September 10 in front of boisterous fans at a driving range in Brampton, Ont.
Vlooswyk’s first two drives went outside a 40-yard grid and out of bounds. With the clock ticking—competitors have five minutes to hit six drives—she hammered her third 271 yards which stood up as her best.
“What a relief after that third shot,” she said. “You know you’re on the clock. Your hands are shaking. I just bore down and let it rip.”
Vlooswyk used a new Nike Golf SQ 460 driver with 9.5 degree loft, and a 47.7-inch Matrix shaft, which she put in her bag seven days before the competition. The SQ, just announced on August 25, is Nike Golf’s newest driver since the Ignite was released two years ago.
The SQ uses geometry to push the maximum allowable breadth-to-face length ratio allowed by the USGA and moves the centre of gravity lower and deeper into the clubhead. The SQ has a larger sweet spot, more forgiveness and launches the ball higher with lower spin for maximum carry and roll.
“The ball came off the face of the SQ so quickly,” Vlooswyk said. “I was getting great roll, great trajectory with it. I can’t say enough great things about that club.”
“Lisa proved once again she’s the dominant long driver in Canadian women’s golf with her fifth consecutive victory which puts her in a league all her own,” said Vitalis Gomes, Marketing Manager of Nike Golf Canada. “Nike Golf Canada is proud to sponsor such a great athlete.”
Vlooswyk earned an automatic bye into the competition because of her past championship wins. Four other competitors went through qualifying sessions to get there.
She is the first woman to hit a golf ball over 350 yards in competition, which she accomplished in winning the 2004 Tour Championship of Long Drivers of America Tour event in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Vlooswyk, ranked fourth in the world, is off to the International Cup, Sept. 23-24 in Kingston, Jamaica, where she’ll be the only female on a Canadian team of five up against some of the best long drive hitting teams from seven other countries.
She is also gunning for the 2005 Women’s World Long Drive Championship title to be held Oct. 18-22 in Mesquite, Nevada.