Torquay’s big-hitter set to take on the world

BIG-HITTING Torquay golfer Jason Loftus is ready to take on the world.

The 51-year-old (pictured) has qualified for the World Long Drive Championship after claiming the master’s division of the Australian Long Drive Championship in Sydney recently.

Loftus will fly to the United States in September to compete in the master’s World Long Drive Championship and is confident his game will stand up on the big stage.

“Long Drive is massive in the US, so I want to go over there and give those Yanks a run for their money,” Loftus said.

“It’s pretty daunting (to go over there and play).”

Loftus also qualified for the Pacific Rim Long Series in the Cook Islands in June as part of his Australian win at Stonecutters Ridge Golf Club.

The Torquay Golf Club member won the Australian title with a 267m drive in seriously tough conditions — hit- ting into a 40 knot head wind with an uphill fairway.

Loftus said in practice before the event he was clearing the 330m marker on the full, but conditions during the competition meant that was impossible.

Still his 267m drive, a low draw, was enough to defeat former Australian champ Graeme McCurdy.

“In the comp you get eight balls in three minutes. You’re hitting with really loud music, people are talking, there’s lot of distractions,” Loftus said.

“Out of those eight balls, I probably got two in grid. I got up to about 280m, 290m but they were out of bounds.”

For those trying to get a concept of the distances Loftus is hitting, he has driven and been through the back of the 356m par four 14th at Torquay.

“If I’ve got wind and I get onto one then that’s the sort of distances I can hit it,” the seven handicapper said.

“I’ve been training to hit the ball long for over 15 years.

“(Hitting the ball far) is about lagging the club and transferring your power and keeping the club head square.

“Less spin is crucial too, I’ve got a low-degree driver. But it’s mainly lag.”

The World Long Drive Championship is a massive step up in standard with golfers playing for a significant purse starting at over $66,000.

Loftus said he had several potential sponsors to help him get to America.