UST Shafts Roar at the RE/MAX World Long Drive
click above to view an interview with Pat Dempsey |
The fast-paced RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship attracts big hitters from more than 125 countries every year in a quest for the longest drive title and a chance to win more than $500,000 in total earnings. The competition for 2007 reached new heights, and Long Drive icons such as Brooks Baldwin, Nyle Pruitt, Vince Howell, Kevin Bullard, Fred Hooter, Patrick Dempsey and many others trusted high-performance graphite shafts by UST.
Among the top performers were former NBA superstar Rick Barry, now 61, who won the inaugural Grand Champion Division title in a tight battle with LDA Hall-of-Famer Fred Hooter. Barry used a Proforce V2 LD shaft in his driver and prevailed with a 349-yard blast down the grid. California firefighter Sheila Kelliher unseated defending champion Phillis Meti in the Women's Division with a 329-yard drive which was powered by a Proforce V2 LD graphite shaft. In addition, the Proforce V2 LD shaft delivered second-, third- and fourth-place money positions in the Men's Open and Senior divisions.
Patrick Dempsey, who owns Horsepower Golf of Sunland, Calif., won second-place in the Senior division with a 366-yard drive. No stranger to hitting the long ball, Dempsey is the 2002 RE/MAX senior world champion and he co-designed the V2 LD shaft with UST engineers.
"I've competed in long drive events for many years and the Proforce V2 LD performs unlike any other shaft I've ever played. It provides an entirely new level of performance, especially for hitting the long ball," says Dempsey. "The Proforce V2 LD Series is an entirely new shaft concept and UST engineers have created a graphite shaft that is easy to load. It has an explosive release of energy at impact that is like a bullwhip."
The Proforce V2 LD graphite shaft, engineered by UST® (United Sports Technologies), features a longer-than-standard length to target golfers looking for an explosive release of energy in a longer shaft. The parabolic shaft design — made two inches longer than standard with an increased parallel tip section — provides a perfect release for all golfers.
Overall, the Proforce V2 Series is engineered to optimize performance with today's 400cc to 460cc driver heads. Larger driver and fairway wood heads have increased hit-ability for many golfers, but in most of these larger heads, the head's center of gravity (CG) has been moved further away from the center line of the shaft, a factor which places more stress and causes more twisting on the shaft. The V2's low torque design provides the power and control needed for 400cc to 460cc heads, plus the V2 prevents clubheads from twisting open on impact, decreases the amount of back spin imparted onto the ball and enhances shot dispersion.
Note: The event will be broadcast on ESPN2 on December 25th.
For more information on Proforce V2 LD, Proforce V2 shaft or other UST products, call 800.277.0534 or visit www.ustgolfshaft.com.
UST makes graphite golf shafts for golf consumers and supplies many original equipment manufacturers, such as Titliest, Ping, Nike, Callaway, Cleveland, TaylorMade, Adams, Nickent, Wilson, Sonartec and others. UST also produces and distributes such world-renown graphite shaft brands as Proforce, ACCRA, IROD and Frequency Filtered Putter shafts which are played in more than 100 tour events on the PGA, SPGA, Nationwide and European tours. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, UST operates four manufacturing facilities throughout the world and produces more than four million graphite shafts a year for original equipment manufacturers and custom clubmakers. For more information about UST, visit www.ustgolfshaft.com.
Most Popular Articles
2025 PGA TOUR Q-School Guide: Sites, Scores, and Who Advanced
Dec 5, 2025Second Stage is complete and Final Stage awaits at Sawgrass — follow every Q-School leaderboard and the players still chasing
2025 LPGA TOUR Q-Series: Final Qualifying Stage FINAL SCORING
Dec 8, 2025Helen Briem earns medalist honors, 31 players headed to the LPGA next year
2025 PGA TOUR Q-School Final Stage: Ewart Leads Five New TOUR Card Winners
Dec 14, 2025A.J. Ewart topped Final Stage at TPC Sawgrass, leading five players who secured PGA TOUR membership for 2026.
Australian Open at Royal Melbourne: Preview, amateur bios, and how to watch
Nov 30, 2025Rory McIlroy headlines one of the championship's top fields in years - at least four amateurs will have their chance at glory
Inside Gil Hanse’s Restoration of Baltusrol’s Upper Course: A Return to Tillinghast’s
Dec 11, 2025Renowned architect Gil Hanse reveals how he brought Baltusrol’s Upper Course back to life by honoring A.W. Tillinghast’s originalLoading latest news...