This driving test doesn’t require long distances

Until recently, if you wanted to participate in a golf driving contest, it behooved you to be as big as a house, strong as a bull and still have the dexterity and timing to swing rhythmically through the ball.

If you could routinely drive a ball 350 or so yards and keep it in a designated grid, you might be RE/MAX World Long Drive Championships material.

For perspective, the longest winning drive in those finals is 412 yards by Jason Zuback. And that mark is nearly 100 yards shorter than the 510-yard district mark by one Ryan Gearhart. Yes, 5-1- 0.

But worry not, there is a chance for the Everyman golfer to vie for driving glory.

Two separate competitions — one for monster hitters, one for accurate hitters — will be held simultaneously the weekend of July 29 at Centennial Golf Club.

Medford, as it has been in the past, will host a local qualifier of the long drive variety. With only three qualifiers on the West Coast, it is expected to draw big hitters from miles around. The winner advances to the district finals in Washington, and that winner heads to the world finals in Mesquite, Nev.

That one is for a select few.

The other contest, the Pinnacle Exceptional Driver Championship, is much more open. Players are rewarded for both accuracy and length.

They try to hit five balls into a grid that starts at 200 yards and is divided at 10-yard increments. It also has three columns: 20 yards in the middle and 10 yards on the flanks. Maximum points are earned by hitting balls long and in the middle.

The winner here goes directly to the finals in Laughlin, Nev.

The entry fee for each set of five balls is $20.

To add to its appeal, proceeds from the driving contests will go to the Southern Oregon University athletic department.

The idea to bring both events to the Rogue Valley for one festive weekend was spawned when Bob Gervais, owner of RE/MAX Ideal Properties, and Tim Mort, who works for the company, attended a convention in Las Vegas. A long drive display was set up, and soon after, the two were entertaining the notion of hosting the events.

Long driving is great for big hitters, says Mort, "but it takes the rest of the golf community out of it. We have a very large golf community here, and we wanted to bring something to Southern Oregon that the average golfer could compete in."

He recognizes there are a lot of weekend golfers who drive it 250 yards and straight.

"I don’t think there’s a favorite to win," says Mort. "There might be a surprise, someone who’s not in the winner’s circle all the time. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a low-handicapper who wins it. It could be someone with a 15 handicap who is really hot that day."

Mort is no stranger to corporate golf events. He headed the Cadillac Invitational that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the National Kidney Foundation and now spearheads a RE/MAX tournament that benefits the Children’s Miracle Network.

For more details, visit www.longdrivers.com.

A VAST MAJORITY of golfers will never shoot their age, which makes Ken Gentry’s recent run all the more remarkable.

Playing at Stone Ridge and Stewart Meadows golf courses, the 73-year-old Medford resident has accomplished the feat seven times in his last nine rounds.

"It’s just amazing," he laughs of his monthlong hot streak. "I don’t know what’s going on, but I sure like it."

Needless to say, it’s hard to pinpoint a strength when every part of your game appears to be on. But Gentry says a tweak in his iron play — a slightly shorter back swing and a concerted effort to power through the ball — has helped.

He’s also driving the ball long and straight, always a nice combination.

"I know one of these days, the wheels are going to come off," says Gentry, "but I don’t know when."

It wasn’t Thursday, when he played a Stone Ridge club championship match against none other than course builder and owner Jim Cochran. A long hitter, Cochran also was a deadeye putter on this day.

"He knows the greens real good," says Gentry.

Gentry had a 1-up lead going into the par-4 16th hole, but Cochran was poised to square the match, having put his approach to about 4 feet.

Gentry hit next — once he caught his breath. It seems he’d left his wedge on the previous hole and had to hustle back to retrieve it.

"I was huffin’ and puffin’ a little bit," he says.

Then he knocked it in the hole from a 114 yards for eagle.

"It was just one of those lucky shots again," says Gentry, who won 2 and 1. "You have them once in a while. Even guys I play with, they’ll say, ‘There’s a Gentry bounce.’ When they get them, they say it’s rubbing off on them."

Gentry nearly shot his age at Centennial Golf Club recently. He was 1 under through 16, but a wicked bounce off the right side of the 17th green sent his ball careening into tall grass.

And, if you can believe it, shooting the magic number will only get easier for Gentry. His birthday is Saturday.

"I’ve had a lot of 74s," he laughs.

Have a local golf story idea? Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail ttrower@mailtribune.com.