Joe Miller wins 2nd title at WinStar Casino and Resort
In their first year as official golf ball of World Long Drive, Volvik is experiencing major buzz after receiving primetime exposure during Golf Channel’s live back-to-back nights of coverage of the 2016 World Long Drive Championship, Oct. 11-12 at WinStar World Casino & Resort in Thackerville, Okla.
Volvik’s Pink and Orange golf balls were used in drives measuring more than 400 yards in the Open Division finals, far surpassing the average distances measured in previous year’s finals.
England’s Joe Miller won his second overall championship against Ryan Steenberg in the finals with a 423-yard drive using a Pink Volvik Vista iV golf ball. Miller hit a 439-yard drive in the semifinals. That’s a quarter of a mile. In 2015, the distance that won the event in the finals was 394 yards, accomplished by Tim Burke.
“It was a great night for the sport of Long Drive and for Volvik,” said Volvik president Don Shin. “To see our colored golf balls going such extreme distances showed the golfing market that Volvik is the real deal and that the color golf ball market is exploding for a reason. You can see these golf balls so much easier in the air and on the ground, even when they are flying over 430 yards. It showed everyone that our niche of combining color and extreme high-performance is something for every skill level and swing speed and that color golf balls can benefit any player.”
Miller, 31, defeated Steenberg of Rochester, N.Y. Steenberg hit first, posting a drive of 412 yards. Miller, who in previous rounds had hit two drives of more than 435 yards, crushed a Volvik ball 423 yards to win the championship.
“A real honor to be standing here,” Miller said as he received the $125,000 champion’s check and the World Long Drive title belt. Asked if he wanted this title more than the one he had won in 2010, he said, “Yeah I did, I think. It’s been building up since 2010. [I’ve been] working hard, training hard.”
Miller hit the longest drive of the event – 439 yards – to eliminate Justin Moose in the semifinals. Moose’s best drive travelled 410 yards. In the quarterfinals, Miller eliminated Mitch Dobbyn of Arlington, Texas with a 437-yard drive. That was a whopping 74 yards past Dobbyn’s 363 yards. Steenberg reached the final by beating Justin Young with a drive of 413 yards in the quarterfinals and winning his semifinal against Justin James with a drive of 416 yards.
Four different brightly colored Volvik golf balls (Green, Orange, Pink and Yellow) were used in every long drive category at the World Long Drive Finals, including the Masters and Women’s championships. Phillis Meti won the Women’s division in an exciting finish with a 310 yard drive on her final ball and Tom Peppard was crowned the 2016 World Long Drive Masters Division champion with a drive of 346 yards.
The ball has been used in competition throughout the Long Drive season in 2016, in the six regional qualifiers leading up to the Championship. The new ball accounted for distances consistently in excess of 400 yards for the qualifying competitors, and helped to increase overall visibility for the competitors, spectators and judges alike.
“The decision to partner with Volvik as the official ball of World Long Drive was made with a lot of benefits in mind,” said Larry Holm, Senior Director of Live Tournaments for Golf Channel. “Their signature colored golf ball offering is a perfect fit for the World Long Drive Championship airing in primetime on Golf Channel under the lights, making it easy for competitors, officials and fans in attendance – along with those watching at home – to track the flight of the ball in the air and as it lands on the driving grid.”
The 95-compression Volvik Vista iV 4-piece golf ball now being used in competition at Long Drive events is known for being a perfect ball for faster swing speeds and when hitting into the wind. The Zirconium cover on the Vista iV is more durable than Urethane and allows for a greater transfer of energy to provide longer flight time.
Results in the 2016 Callaway World Long Drive Qualifying Series events leading up to World Long Drive Finals further demonstrate the distance benefits that the Volvik ball is providing, as evidenced by Ryan Reisbeck, who won the WinStar kickoff event with a final drive of 446 yards.
“I love the feel of the Volvik Vista iV,” said Reisbeck. “It’s a very long ball with great playability. My two longest balls in competition were with the Volvik Vista iV, 475 yards and 474 yards. That’s all the proof you need to know the ball is long, very long.”
Another instrumental component of the Vista iV is that it is the only 4-piece golf ball in the world manufactured in the full spectrum of color (Green, Orange, Pink, Yellow, and White). “The bright Volvik colors make it easy to follow the ball in the air and when it lands past the other player’s drives,” said Reisbeck. “Volvik makes a fantastic golf ball that brings more excitement to the game of golf.”
About Volvik
Volvik is the #1 Color Golf Ball on Tour with over 75 professionals using Volvik’s ultra high-performance color golf balls on the world’s professional tours. Since 2012, players using Volvik golf balls have earned over $9 million in prize money on the PGA TOUR, LPGA Tour, Champions Tour, Web.com Tour, Ladies European Tour, LAGT and Symetra Tour with 15 victories and over 130 Top 10 finishes.
Volvik has experienced more color golf balls in play on the world’s professional tours than any other manufacturer in the history of golf. Volvik is dedicated to the production of specialized 3- and 4-piece multi-layer golf balls that feature 41 worldwide patents.
In over 35 years of golf ball production, Volvik has developed a reputation based on highly innovative development, quickly becoming one of the most significant and trusted golf ball manufacturers in the world.
Contact:
Jon Claffey
National Director/Sales and Marketing
Volvik USA INC.
Email: jclaffey@volvik.com
Office: 407-649-0013
Fax: 407-649-0015
