Volvik bolsters long drive roster, prepares for long term commitment to long drive
Volvik, the #1 Color Golf Ball on Tour, announces the signings of two World Long Drive athletes to their professional staff for 2017.
Volvik signed Tim Burke to an endorsement deal that will see him wearing Volvik branded headwear at every event and playing Volvik golf balls in the exhibitions he is a part of. Burke is a two-time World Long Drive Champion and is one of the longest hitters of the golf ball in the world.
“I am extremely excited to join Team Volvik,” said Burke. “They see that we can grow the game of golf by doing things differently, while still providing extreme performance. The fact that they see long drive as another way to grow the game and to change the game is really refreshing. Having their golf balls at the WLD Finals this year was so much fun. The balls performed extremely well and were so much easier for everyone to track and to see.”
Burke is the 2013 and 2015 World Long Drive Champion and holds world records in Fastest Swing Speed (156 mph) and Fastest Ball Speed (228 mph). Burke attended the University of Miami where he participated in the ACC Baseball Championship and College World Series in 2008. Burke competed in his first Long Drive competition in 2009. After finishing 20th out of 150 players in his first event, he joined the Long Drive Tour, leaving his career in finance to train and focus full-time on long drive. Burke placed first at the 2014 Bluff City Shootout on the LDA and was named the champion of the 2012 LDA Tour.
Burke will be at the Volvik booth #717 at the PGA Merchandise Show to participate in a signing ceremony and a meet and greet to officially kick off his endorsement deal with Volvik. Burke will have his signing ceremony and a meet and greet at the Volvik booth #717 (Thursday 10 AM) and will give daily clinics at the Volvik’s ETC (11 AM Wednesday, 11 AM Thursday).
“I just love these golf balls,” said Burke. “I’ve been playing the Bubba Watson ball, the S4, in stroke play and think it’s amazing. It’s very responsive, both off the tee and around the greens. It wants to stay straight off the tee. I am also excited to try the new long drive ball, the VIVID XT, which I understand will be a higher compression matte finish version of the VIVID ball. If you haven’t seen the VIVID yet, you need to, they are amazingly cool.”
Volvik also announces the re-signing of longtime staff member Maurice Allen. Maurice Allen won his 2nd straight Long Drive European Tour Championship in 2016. He was the first back-to-back LDET Champion in its history.
His longest drive of the year was a staggering 438 yards, a feat he duplicated in LDET play this season, once with an Orange Volvik Vista iV golf ball and the other with a Pink Volvik Vista iV golf ball. 438 yards is the 2ndlongest drive in LDET history.
“It’s great to be back with Volvik and to see that all of the hard work we have put in the past five years has led to something really big with the future of long drive,” said Allen. “Volvik is like a family to me so to see them doing so well and starting to really change the game is what it is all about for me.”
At the upcoming PGA Show, Allen will give daily clinics at the Volvik’s ETC tent (3:30 PM Wednesday and Thursday, 11 AM Friday) and will do a meet and greet at the Volvik booth (Friday 10:30 AM) .
The LDET has been sponsored by Volvik the past three years. At every event, different color Volvik golf balls are used by the long drivers in order to increase overall visibility for the competitors, spectators and judges alike.
Volvik was the official golf ball of World Long Drive qualifying series and championships in 2016, which aired primetime on Golf Channel in October. Volvik’s Pink and Orange Vista iV golf balls were used in drives measuring more than 430-plus 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 WLD championship against Ryan Steenberg in the finals with a 423-yard drive using a Pink Vista iV golf ball. Miller hit a 439-yard drive in the semifinals.
“That’s a quarter of a mile with a Pink golf ball!” said Volvik National Director of Sales and Marketing, Jon Claffey.
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 is also now the official golf ball of World Long Championship Drive championships and qualifying series. The winner of the 2016 WLD won with drives of 439 and 437 yards with orange and pink Volvik golf balls.
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
