Dominguez has the long bomb bug

Ricky Dominguez is prepared to travel offshore to ensure he’s ready for the return of the Long Drive World Series to Dubai and possibly Abu Dhabi next year.

The Dubai-based South African amateur may not have made it to past the seeding round of last month’s inaugural LDWS tournament in Dubai but he’s hooked on the long bomb feeling.

“I would like to get to the U.S. and partake in some of the competitions over there as this is most certainly something I enjoy, smashing the golf ball. I really want to focus on getting it right for next year,” said Dominguez who reached the tournament with a 351.7 yard simulator smash in an eGolf Megastore wildcard qualifier.

“I have always considered doing long drive but was never given the opportunity as the competitions usually take place in the U.S. The opportunity through eGolf was the perfect platform so once I heard about it, I jumped at it.”

To say it was an eye-opener is an understatement although Dominguez’s seeding round best of 318 yards wouldn’t have been out of place in the competition proper. From equipment to tactics, the 36-year-old has banked a wealth of information from a whose who of the long drive world. For starters the Callaway Epic (12.5 degree) Sub Zero driver he borrowed from eGolf, reshafted with a 48 inch, 83 gram extra stiff shaft, was the wrong choice of weapon in the 25mph wind.

“I didn’t have the right equipment given the wind factor so I would definitely invest in appropriate long drive equipment. The guys were using 2 degree, 84 inch, 35 gram XXX stiff shafts,” he said.

“I’ve already been researching that and after seeing most of the guys using the Krank driver, I think that will be the brand I go for. The other thing I learned is to take your time and focus on six to eight good balls in the given [seeding round] five minutes rather than trying to hit as many as I could.

“The wind was really pumping which makes you over compensate by hitting harder and in turn you swing even faster, which was not good. I only managed to get two balls on the grid.

‘’I was nervous being the first time I’ve done an event like this and with such a big crowd, not to mention the fierce competition who are the world’s best. It’s definitely intimidating.”

So what do you think you could achieve with more experience and the right equipment?

“If I really go after it using the 48 inch shaft, I think I could get around 385 to 390 yards. I’ve had a few of those in Dubai. In a regular round it would be about 350 on average with standard equipment.”