My brother-in-law, Glen, was in Wyoming a couple weeks ago competing in an Open Long Drive competition and ended up winning a ticket to the Re/Max Long Drive World Championship Tournament in Mesquite, Nevada this October.

Longdrivers.com lists him as the Open Division Winner with a distance of 337 yds 24 inches. I’m looking forward to watching him progress through the 11 rounds that it takes to win the Championship in Mesquite.

(Photo credit to Glen’s talented wife Jackie Hutchinson. IMHO she’s the best photographer in Drayton Valley.)

From the Drayton Valley Western Review:

By Roszan Holmen

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2007—After winning the local and district long-drive competitions in Wyoming, Glen Hutchinson says he likes his chances competing against five-time champion Jason Zuback at the Re/Max World Long Drive Championship Oct. 22–27.

A professional golfer for the past eight years, the self-taught Hutchinson won his spot at the World’s after having the longest drive in every round during districts, which was held Aug. 25 and includes five states. During the final shootout, he beat out the second place finalist by a mere two feet, having hit 337 yards and 24 inches.

“They had to measure it, so it was quite a sweater,” said Hutchinson. The win, he said, felt great and made the 15-hour drive to Wyoming worthwhile.

“For not being from there, I actually had the majority of support from the people there because I had the longest shot from the day before,” he said.

At the local competition the day before, Hutchinson hit 377, winning the longest drive of the day a bye into the second round at districts.

Hutchinson is now gearing up for the world championships in Nevada by training, buying new clubs (“I do have a tendency to break clubs,” he admits) and securing a sponsorship from the manufacturer.

At World’s, Hutchinson will be competing against 128 athletes, including former resident of Drayton Valley, Zuback, or Golfzilla as he is also known.

Long-drive is like gorilla golf because you don’t have to finesse a shot, explains Hutchinson. “Most say the long-drive training is bad for your golf game but a lot of us are very good golfers.”

Hutchinson continues to play golf at all the local events. “I like the challenge. Golf is ultimately a humbling game. You can go out and shoot really well and you still have stuff to work on. You never get it right.”

Hutchinson says his goal is to be competitive in his field and maybe join a long-drive team that go to shows and events around the world, like Zuback.