Drive for dough in 2015 KLPGA

People say, "Drive for show, putt for dough" in golf. However, now the saying needs to be changed to "drive for dough," which holds true at least for this season in the 2015 Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) where long hitters are sweeping most of major competitions and ranked high in the prize money ranking.

In the eleven competitions so far this year, golfers ranked in the top seven for the average drive distance won eight competitions. Kim Min-seon (sponsored by CJ O! Shopping) who topped the list of the average drive distance (with 252.53 yard) won one competition and ranked 6th in the prize money ranking. Lee Jeong-min (BC Card) and Jeon In-ji (Hite Jinro), who respectively came in the second and the fourth in the average drive distance, have embraced three golf trophies each. Park Sung-hyun (Nefs), who recently won the 29th Korea Women’s Open as her first career KLPGA victory, is known for her long distance drive. Bear’s Best Cheongna Golf Club in Incheon where the Korean Women’s Open was held is a 6,635-yard course and head wind blows in many holes, putting pressures on players to hit farther. However, Park won the competition with tee shots running 270 up to 280 yards.

Such heydays of long hitters, who are over 1.7m in height, are attributable to the fact that competitions were held in long golf courses (around 6,700 yards) with tricky greens to play. “The golf club that a golfer uses for the second shot makes a great impact on scores. If a golfer makes shots with a short golf club such as a pitching wedge, it will increase chances for a birdie,” said Han Yeon-hee, former coach of the Korea national golf team.

According to swing analysis by Ping Golf, a golf club sponsor of Park and Jeon, the driver head speed of the two players reach 100 MPH. “100 MPH is quite fast for male amateur golfers. An average head speed of female professional golfers is around 90 MPH,” said Kang Sang-bum, a marketing team manager of Ping Golf.

Long drive golfers who are now sweeping major competitions will compete in the KLPGA tour BC Card-Hankyung Ladies Cup, which opens in the Island CC in Ansan on Thursday. Lee Jung-min, Jeon In-ji and Park Sung-hyun will play in the same group for the first round. Jang Ha-na, who ranked third for the long drive distance (262 yards) in the domestic tour last year, joins the competition in Korea after having played in the LPGA, which makes more fun to see the competition among long hitters.

kjs0123@donga.com