World Long Drive champ Berkshire launches lofty goals
WEST PALM BEACH — Air traffic controllers at Palm Beach International Airport might have noticed some blips on their radar recently, but not to worry. It was just World Long Drive champion Kyle Berkshire and his buddies launching some bombs 41⁄2 miles away at Bear Lakes Country Club. Berkshire and his pals can hit it high (250 feet) and hit it long. How long? Berkshire broke the world record last month when he hit a 579-yard drive in favorable weather conditions at Rochelle Ranch Golf Course in Rawlins, Wyoming, about two weeks before he won his third world long driving title. Think about that … Five hundred and seventy-nine yards, with a carry of 512. That's twice as far as most pros hit it and three times as far as most amateurs. Who cares if the ball was helped by a tailwind of 17-22-mph with 6,700 feet of elevation (though the temperature was in the low 50s)? That would be long enough to drive almost every par-5 in the U.S. “Oh, that's it!” Berkshire screamed on video after his world-record drive. “That's it!” While having lunch in Bear Lakes' new clubhouse last week, Berkshire reflected on that moment. “When I caught that ball, I knew it was the hardest ball I hit,” said Berkshire, a 27-year-old Orlando resident who is known for his long dark hair. “It was also spinning enough to stay in the air with a tailwind. With the wind coming off the right, I had a 10-yard-wide window where the ball would carry into the fairway. It felt amazing.” Berkshire understands most golf fans focus on the yardage of his drives, but he and his peers use the ball speed coming off their extended drivers as the true barometer of their talent. Berkshire set a world record with a ball speed of 241.6 mph.
When asked what means more to him, the world record or the championship belts he received for the three world titles, his answer was quicker than his swing.
“As an athlete I care about that belt more than anything,” Berkshire said. “When my career is over, I want to leave a legacy of being the greatest. You have to have the belts. Like in basketball, you have to have the rings. If you want the belt, you have to be clutch.”
Plans to play on PGA Tour ended at North Texas
Berkshire had aspirations of someday playing on the PGA Tour when he was competing collegiately at North Texas, but that changed during a practice round his sophomore year. A backup on the course allowed his entire team and coaches to watch as he pumped a drive 440 yards on the 17th hole. It was at least 70 yards past everyone else.
“When my entire team and coach saw that, my path was pretty much set,” Berkshire said. “I had to decide if I thought I could make my (PGA Tour) card first or win a belt first. I felt I could get a belt in three years, and it would take six years to get a card.”
Turns out he’s as accurate as he is long: It took him three years to win his first world title. Now he’s not worried about the other.
“Once you have the belt, you can make a very, very good living out here,” he said, smiling.
Berkshire has made millions by being known as the guy with the long hair who hits the ball a very long way. Berkshire said his bouffant happened organically.
“I went to the barber shop in early 2018, and the barber never showed up,” Berkshire said.
“In a couple weeks, I played on TV and my hair was just long enough for announcer Jonathan Coachman to mention it. Once I heard that, I let I grow, and it became a thing.”
Berkshire was at Bear Lakes last week filming his ever-popular “Bombers Club” YouTube podcast with buddies Billy Ray, Bobby Bradley and Karol Priscilla. In the videos, they play matches, trade barbs and hit 400-yard drives while showing a cooler, younger side of golf.
While Berkshire said he loved the Jack Nicklaus-designed Lakes and Links courses, the Bombers Club folks didn’t mind making their own design: One of the competitions was hitting from the 15th fairway on the Lakes Course to the par-3 14th. It was a 341yard carry -- into the wind over water. Berkshire won by hitting his regularlength driver to 25 feet.
“I love doing the show because I can be myself,” he said. “People only see me in a serious lens when I’m competing. This allows me to show my personality.”
Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher: Don’t be fooled by Berkshire’s image
Kellie Stenzel, a Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher who has worked with Berkshire on the Bombers Club, said don’t be fooled by his image.
“It’s easy to look at him and say he’s the long-drive guy with the long hair,” said Stenzel, a Palm Beach Gardens resident. “But when Kyle starts to talk, he’s so smart and thoughtful. There is an intelligence behind the talent.
“And who doesn’t want to hit the ball farther? We all dream of that.”
Berkshire agreed that there is more of a mental approach to his sport than most fans believe. It’s not just hit, scream and hit again.
“A lot of people think long drive is just bashing a ball over and over, but there’s a skill to it,” he said. “If you both swing the same speed and one hits it further, that’s the skill of the game. That’s why the fast guy doesn’t always win. We’re not just wailing away with no regard to consistency or accuracy.”
Berkshire is friends with major champion Bryson DeChambeau and they often talk about their search for more clubhead speed and distance. Unlike DeChambeau, Berkshire has yet to experience his dream of playing on the PGA Tour (hear that, The Classic in The Palm Beaches officials?) or Korn Ferry Tour on a sponsor exemption. Why not? We all love the long ball.
“I play mini-tour events, and I can hang with them,” Berkshire said of professionals. “I’m not getting blown out. I usually shoot low-70s.”
The only concern: Is there a course long enough?
Three boys basketball players who forged postseason success in Palm Beach County last winter will be taking their talents to Fort Lauderdale for the 2023-24 season.
After defending the championship for 3A in 2022, powerhouse Calvary Christian knew it had to go back to the drawing board to return to its winning ways. A 7-15 finish competing independently last season meant redesigning a path to the FHSAA playoffs that happens to include stars from local teams Jupiter Christian, Somerset AcademyCanyons and Suncoast.
Stone Bureau, Sr., PG
Transferred from: Suncoast
This season already was going to be an adjusting period for Suncoast after losing the small forward of its highscoring trinity, Nate Sasser, to graduation. Alas, the Chargers knew they’d return three seniors: 6-foot-9 Ian Smikle, shot-blocking point guard Stone Bureau and Jeremiah Police, who will be counted on to take an even bigger role at forward.
Police and Bureau both made offseason exits, Police to Westminster Academy, Bureau to Calvary.
Rest assured Suncoast will get the glue for its offense to put together another deep run through the playoffs in Class 5A, but it’s hard to know whether it’ll be as strong as Bureau. As a junior, he finished Suncoast’s 22-6 season ranked No. 14 in the state in steals per game, averaging 4.3, and No. 25 in the assists per game, averaging 5.8 through 26 appearances.
The Eagles receive a quarterback, as well as a skilled defensive rebounder in Bureau, who came second on the roster behind Smikle with an average 7.2 per game.
Cayden Daughtry, Fr., G
Transferred from:
It’s a miracle that Palm Beach County was able to keep a hidden gem like Bureau as long as it did. That being said, any fan who kept up with the Cougars of Somerset Academy-Canyons last winter knew that Cayden Daughtry wouldn’t last long.
He may only be a freshman, but this winter at Calvary will be Daughtry’s third season on varsity, coming off of an eighth-grade season spent averaging 21 points per game. Daughtry led Somerset to a 20-7 record and 4A region semifinals after upsetting second-seed Cardinal Gibbons in the first-round. That game, Daughtry dropped 28 points with an effective field goal percentage of .700.
If you thought that was the best game of his green career, think again. He went viral at the top of the season with this Cardinal Newman stat line: 41 points − seven three-pointers − seven rebounds, two assists, and three steals.
Backed up by the numbers, plus offers from Florida State and Arizona State, Daughtry is a big-time ball handler and a big-time get for Calvary, certain to be in control this winter with the 14 year-old phenom on the floor.
Collin Paul, So., SG
Somerset Canyons
Transferred from: Jupiter Christian Daughtry isn’t the only young piece from Palm Beach that Calvary’s rebuilding with. Sophomore shooting guard Collin Paul was supposed to be helping Jupiter Christian stay on its feet after graduating standout seniors Jeremiah
Augustin, Matthew James and Aidan Walker.
Paul was second in scoring, averaging 11. 2 points per game, and the team’s top passer, averaging 3.4 assists per game as Jupiter Christian navigated a 22-4 road to 2A region semifinals.
Now, it’s the Eagles who feel safe and sound with the 6-6, 190-pound big body attacking the rim and the opposition while dominating the pass game.
The Post reached out to coaches at Suncoast, Somerset Canyons and Jupiter Christian for comment, but none were received.
More noteworthy offseason transfers
Mason Alexander, Jr., G − Palm Beach Central to Dr. Joaquin Garcia
Ty’Rique Alty, So., G − Palm Beach Central to Inlet Grove
Ian Astiazarain, Jr., G − North Broward Prep to Saint John Paul II
Jermaine Council, Sr., PG − King’s Academy to Cardinal Newman
Tommy Errico, Fr., G − Oxbridge to Saint Andrew’s
Decarious Jenkins,
Beach to Santaluces
Bryan Joseph, Sr., G − Boynton Beach to Palm Beach Central
Mario McDonnough, Sr., G − Forest Hill to Palm Beach Central
Gabe Nesmith, Fr., SF/SG − Oxbridge to Montverde Academy
Lawrence Noegel, Jr., F − Wellington to Cardinal Newman
Jeremiah Police, Sr., F − Suncoast to Westminster Academy
Tamari Reed, So., G − Pine School to Dwyer
Andrew Signorelli, Sr., PG − Cardinal Newman to King’s
Sean Standifer, to Lake Worth
Akeim Strahan, Sr., G − Saint John Paul II to Palm Beach Central
Emilee Smarr is a sports reporter for the Palm Beach Post. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.
Sr., G − Boynton
Jr., SG − Wellington