Tee it up and take a nice, long drive Two contests offer area golfers a chance to win money, bragging rights

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Hitting crisp iron shots into greens is nice and sinking long putts isn’t bad either, but nothing sets a golfer’s spirit soaring like a well-struck driver.

Using all your big muscles, the smart click as club meets ball, and the sight of the ball disappearing down the fairway all contribute to the feeling that reminds golfers why they want to play the game.

Chris Murphy, the men’s basketball coach at Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, will be giving golfers throughout the Northeast an opportunity to catch that feeling as he holds a pair of long-drive competitions at Rocky Knoll Country Club in Orrington this summer.

The first, a local qualifier for the $350,000 ReMax Long Drive National Championship, is slated for July 19. It’s the only ReMax qualifier currently scheduled in the state and one of the few in New England. A second one, called the Maine State Long Driving Championship, will be held Aug. 16. In case of rain, each will be held the following day.

“It’s like the home run hitting championship in baseball,” said Murphy. “It has a certain mystique and might turn out to be quite popular.”

Murphy will be participating as well, because “I’m old enough that I can compete in the senior division.”

Seniors (ages 45-54) is one of six divisions to choose from. The others are open, super seniors (55 and older), women (all ages), junior boys, and junior girls (15-17).

“ReMax does have a 14-and-under division, but I’m not going to try that this year,” said Murphy.

For those groups with age restrictions, a competitor must be in that age range on the day of local qualifying.

Competition is open to pros and amateurs, but only pros can collect prize money.

“You have to decide before competing if you’re going to be an amateur or a pro,” said Murphy.

The local qualifier entry fee is $30 for the open and senior divisions, $20 for super seniors and women, and $10 for juniors.

For that fee, each competitor gets to hit six balls within a five-minute period, and the longest of the six is the one that counts.

Players can hit more than six balls, but they have to pay another entry fee (in the same division) to do so.

As many as six people can qualify for the district tournament in each division, depending on the number of people participating.

If unsuccessful at Rocky Knoll, competitors can try again at another site. Others are scheduled for New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

Qualifiers advance to district play in New York on Aug. 16, and the national championship is Oct. 15-18 in Mesquite, Nev.

The driving range at Rocky Knoll will measure more than 400 yards, but Murphy doesn’t expect to have to use all of it.

“I expect the winner to be between 320 and 350 yards,” he said. “There are definitely guys who can hit that far here.”

Last year’s winning drive at the national championship was 384 yards.

There are minimum distances required for each division, except juniors, in order to advance. It’s 270 yards for the open division, 250 for seniors, 230 for super seniors, and 200 for women. The women and super seniors will use a different tee box closer to the grid.

There is also a 52-inch length limit on the clubs, which at the local level must not be on the USGA’s Non-conforming Club list. At the district and national levels, only Long Drivers of America-approved clubs can be used.

For other rules and information, check the LDA Web site, www.longdrivers.com. Murphy can be contacted at his MMA office at 326-2452.

For the Maine state championship, the rules will be basically the same, except the junior divisions will cover all ages 17 and under and there will be no minimum lengths. The entry fee will be $20 for adults, $10 for juniors.

“If it looks promising after the first year, we’ll do it again,” said Murphy.

Tin Mountain Roundup

The second Tin Mountain Roundup is scheduled for Friday through Sunday at Sugarloaf Golf Club in Carrabassett Valley.

Golfers who bring three canned food items can play for $25, cart included.

Only one tee time before 1 p.m. per guest is available with this offer, but a second tee time after 1 p.m. can be reserved at $25 with a second donation of three items.

Reservations are required for all tee times. Call Sugarloaf/USA at 1-800-THE-LOAF or log on to www.sugarloaf.com to reserve a time or for more information.

Dave Barber can be reached at 990-8170, 1-800-310-8600, or by e-mail at dbarber@bangordailynews.net.