RAY BEAUFAIT

RE/MAX World Long Drive Competition Results
Ray Beaufait - RE/MAX World Long Drive Finalist 2007
Hi, my name is Ray Beaufait. At the age of 64, in June of 2007, I become a world long drive finalist. It was a 3 year journey of successes and failures..

In 2005 - 2006 - 2007 I entered 14 local qualifiers for the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championships. I qualified for all 14 district competitions in my age group. (12 wins and 2 second places)

I competed in 10 District events with many near misses and failures before finally making it to the world finals.

Before the age of 60 I never competed in long drive competitions. Because of the distances I could hit a golf ball my golf buddies convinced me to compete in a local contest in Phoenix, Arizona. I entered the local and to my surprise I won the local hitting 318 yards. With the help of my friend, Steve Griffith 2005 WLD Champion and a few swing changes, and some basic exercises I added yards to my drives all after the age of 61.

Most all of my drives in the WLD competitions were 300 yards plus, maxing out at 365 yards.

Below is a video of a TV newscast, a radio interview and a newpaper article on my reaching the World Finals.

MULTIMEDIA

Louisville - Southern Indiana TV Newscast - September 11, 2007 - Click the video

Louisville Courier-Journal News Article - September 8, 2007

790 AM WKRD Radio Interview October 16, 2007 (1 MB)

Summary Of My RE/MAX World Long Drive Competitions

Below is a summary of all my results in RE/MAX - LDA competitions.

In 14 local district qualifiers I have hit winning drives of 335, 324 twice, 320, 318 twice, 308, 307, 305 twice. 299, and 277 yards..

In 12 Districts competition events I have hit drives of 365, 352, 345 twice, 342, 339, 332, 329 twice, 328, 320, 319, 310, 306, 308, 305 and 302 yards. I made it to a shoot out final in 8 of the 12 district events I competed in starting in 2005. I have had the longest drive leading to the shoot outs in at least half of the districts I competed in. Before I won the District 14 event, I failed to make it to the World Finals although coming close at least 8 times. I put on a lot of miles driving back home thinking of what might have been. Some times even feeling sorry for myself. All the failures and fustrations just made me more determined to succeed.

Persistence, desire, determination and hard work finally paid off. For 3 straight years I worked out daily and hit so many golf balls my hands would blister. But, all the work outs, range balls, miles driven, and lonely hours in a motel room finally paid off.

Being a world finalist, for me, was worth every bit of the effort I put into it. It was an exciting and very rewarding experience to tee it up against former world champions and the longest hitters in the world. After a lot of time, sweat and effort I now had the chance to be a world champion.

The LDA and the sport of Long Driving is growing larger year after year. Every person that plays the game of golf wants to hit the long bomb. The LDA allows the longest drivers in the world, professional or amateur, to get together and compete. No one in the world drives the ball as far as the LDA competitors. Not even your heros on the PGA tour. Except for maybe Bryson DeChambeau.

The remainder of this page is a history of my failures and successes.

Below in chronological order is a history of my experiences in World Long Drive Competitions. There were many highs and lows during those 3 years in competition. It took me many District competitions to finally qualify for the world finals. Through out those 3 years I continued to pursue my goal and finally achieved it. This is a message for all the young guys and older guys to just keep working and stay with it if you have the desire to "hit it long". Don't give up. I had my doubters and my supporters through out this experience. I ignored the doubters and gained confidence, support and guidance from my supporters. (I had many supporters but none more than Steve Griffith, Kent Eaton and Russell Alexander)

2005

2005 Local Competitions to qualify for the Districts


April 8, 2005 RE/MAX District # 3 (AZ - NM) (318 yards) (1st Place)	May 28,2005 RE/MAX District #15 (IN - OH) (335 yards) (1st Place)	July 9, 2005 RE/MAX District #12 (KY - TN) (305 yards) (1st Place)	July 30, 2005 RE/MAX District #14 (MI) (284 yards) (2nd Place)	August 6, 2005 RE/MAX District #16 (IL - WI) (318 yards) (1st Place)

I qualified to compete in 5 Districts in 2005. AZ/NM - OH/IN - MI - KY/TN - IL/WI

2005 District Competitions

IN/OH District #15 (August 6, 2005)

Competed in my first State or District long drive competition. I was very nervous and excited not knowing what to expect. It was a complete disaster. I had a lot of friends attend and they watched me hit 12 balls OB and go home. I was so embassased, but I got over it and went back to work on my swing and workouts..

Michigan District #14 (August 13, 2005)

Competed in my second State or District long drive competition. I was still very nervous and excited not knowing what to expect. After competing in three preliminaries I made it to the shoot out finals.

In the finals I hit a drive of 329 yards which was 7 yards short of sending me to the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championships. The winning drive was 336 yards. I was not real disappointed as I knew I hit it well in the finals. I just got beat.

KY/TN District #12 (August 27, 2005)

I also made it to the finals of district #12 after a couple of preliminaries. I had the longest drive of all the competitors in my division during the competition, 329 yards which was 24 yards farther than any other competitor leading into the finals shoot out.

Unfortunately I blew it in the shoot out, barely missing another chance to go to the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship finals in Mesquite, NV. This district still haunts me today as I know in my heart that I should have won walking away.

Hurricane Katrina

I gave up my chances in the other 2005 RE/MAX districts I qualified for. I volunteered to help with the Hurricane victims of Katrina.

I was in the New Orleans area on a Disaster Assistance Team of the American Red Cross. My job was reconnaissance surveillance for the Red Cross Damage Assessment headquarters.

My time in the Hurricane area conflicted with the dates of the remaining district competitions.

Chris - Myself - Gordon - Hurricane Katrina

Click here to view a web site and video I created on my Katrina experiences.

2006

2006 Diamond In The Desert Classic

March 3rd and 4th 2006 I competed in the International Diamond in the Desert Classic in Mesquite. During the competition I hit drives of 342 yards, 339 yards and 321 yards. Again I reached the shoot out finals.

I needed just one good drive to go to the 2006 RE/MAX World Long Drive Championships in October. The winner of this competition would be exempt for the 2006 World Finals. The winner did not have to compete in the 2006 RE/MAX locals and districts to make it to the world finals.

Unfortunately in the finals I failed to hit any balls in the grid. Of course I was very disappointed, but life goes on.

2006 Local Competitions to qualify for the Districts

May 21, 2006
RE/MAX District #12
(OH/IN/KY) (290 yards)
(2nd Place)

June 3, 2006
RE/MAX District #11
(MICH) (305 yards)
(1st Place)

June 17, 2006
RE/MAX District #10
(IL/WI) (320 yards)
(1st Place)

September 14, 2006
RE/MAX District #6
(AK/KS/MO/OK) (324 yards) (1st Place)

I qualified to compete in 4 Districts in 2006. OH/IN/KY - MI - IL/WI - AK/KS/MI/OK

Competition is always tough, especially competing against experienced RE/MAX World Long Drivers. Experienced stronger hitters are coming into the super senior division every year. Win or lose it is a great experience meeting and competing against the best long drivers in the world.

2006 District Competitions

OH/IN/KY District #12 (August 6, 2006)

I competed in district #12 and reached the shoot out finals. To get to the shoot out finals I hit a drive of 332 yards. I was the oldest competitor in the field at 63 years old.

During the shoot out I hit a drive of 355 yards. A drive of 360 yards won the shoot out and the competition. Again, I was beaten in the shoot out finals.

My drive of 355 yards was the 2nd longest of the competition.

Michigan State District #11 (August 13, 2006)

I competed in district #11. Again, I am the oldest competitor in the field. Hitting into a strong head wind I hit drives during the competition of 320 yards, 319 yards and 305 yards.

The winning drive for the competition was 320 yards which equaled my best for this competition. Unfortunately for me the winner hit his drive in the shoot out, whereas I did not make the shoot out.

I missed the grid (40 yards) in my last session. Close again, but no cigar.

IL/WI District #10 (September 10, 2006)

I competed in District #10. Again, I am the oldest in competition. The conditions were horrendous with a driving rain and winds in our faces of 30 MPH or more.

I hit drives listed as 297, 294 and 289 yards. The winning drive was 312 yards. The only thing I can say is congratulations to the winner as he was hitting in the same horrible conditions we all were.

AK/KS/MO/OK District #6 (September 15, 2006)

On September 14, 2006 I competed in the District #6 local and qualified for the districts. During the locals competitions I had drives of 312, 314 ,316, 318, and 324 yards. We were hitting into a slight wind.

The following day the District competition began. Weather conditions were perfect with low winds and no humidity. During the actual District Championship I hit drives of 365, 352, and 345 yards. This put me into the shoot out finals.

I had to beat 351 yards to go to the world finals in Mesquite. I had already beat that mark twice in previous sessions. I did not hit my best in the shoot out and only managed to hit 328 yards.

For the 5th time I have been beat in the district shoot out finals, Four of the six finalist in the shoot out were previous world finalists in Mesquite, Nevada. I was the oldest competitor in the shoot out finals.

One of the finalist in the shoot out of this district was Doug Miller who eventually qualified in the Texas district. Doug went to Mesquite and won the super senior world championship.

2007

2007 Diamond In The Desert Classic

Feb. 9th and 10th I competed again in the International Diamond in the Desert Classic in Mesquite. During the competition I hit a drive of 308 yards in the Local that put me in the District finals. Unfortunately I only hit 284 in the Districts that did not get me in the shoot out. I did not catch one good ball that evening.

The eventual winner only hit 293 yards to win a trip to the world finals. (John Joseph) Hitting conditions were poor as it was in the evening and temperatures were in the low 50s with heavy air. Even the younger divisions were only hitting about 300 - 320 yards.

2007 Local Competitions to qualify for the Districts

February 9, 2007
RE/MAX DIDC
(Mesquite, NV) (308 yards)
(1st Place)

April 28, 2007
RE/MAX District #12 (OH/IN/KY) (299 yards)
(1st Place)

May 19, 2007
RE/MAX District #6
(MO/OK/KS//AK) (324 yards)
(1st Place)

May 19, 2007
RE/MAX District #10
(IL/WI/IA/MN) (277 yards)
(1st Place)

August 9, 2007
RE/MAX District #11
(Michigan) (307 yards)
(1st Place)

2007 District Competitions

OH/IN/KY District #12 (August 5, 2007)

I competed in district #12 and reached the shoot out finals. To get to the shoot out finals I hit drives of 295 yards and 302 yards in rain and sloppy conditions..

During the shoot out I hit a drive of only 285 yards. A drive of 290 yards by Jim Laska won the shoot out and the competition. Again, I was beaten in the shoot out finals.

My drive of 302 yards was the longest of any Grand Champion in the competition.

Michigan State District #11 (August 12, 2007)

I competed in the district #11 and reached the shoot out finals again.......I was the leader going into the winners bracket. I hit 4 drives in the grid all over 300 yards with the longest at 306 to get me in the finals.

In the finals I hit three drives in the grid over 300 yards with the longest being 310. I had one 318 yards out by a yard. I was beat again by a 317 yard drive by Bill Hopper.

So close but so far away. I have now blown two chances this year that I believe in my heart I should have won. I think I just got beat both times by bad luck, timing and by two very good competitors . Life goes on.

Steve Griffith worked with me on swing techniques and power moves. At the age of 64 I qualified for the world finals. (longest 365 yards in competition)

Steve's ebook is as good as it gets. I recommend it highly to anyone who wants more distance off the tee. Steve's instructions helped me get to the world finals.

See the link below to his book on Amazon.com

PA/MD/DE/NJ District 14 (August 26, 2007)

WOW - I Finally Made It To the World Finals

I competed in District and won my first two sessions with drives of 290 in first and 285 in the second. Heavy rains the night before and distances were all carry with little of no roll because of high grass and wet soft grounds. This put me in the shoot out again. I was last to hit because I had the longest drive in previous sessions.

When it was my turn I had to beat 272 yards to win. My first ball went about 250 yards, my second was out by a yard at 290. My third ball was OB. I was beginning to panic but told myself to calm down. I knew I could beat 272 with a nice easy smooth swing. My 4th ball was hit down the middle and landed at 288 and I won. I was so excited and happy I was beyond myself.

This is my best experience I have ever felt in golf. My round of par golf, 9 holes at -6 (30), winning my handicap division in our club pro am, and my hole in one does not even come close to what I felt winning a trip to the world long drive finals. I was and I am still so excited by/for making it finally happen. Three years of almost getting there prepared me to win this event.

October 22 - 27 2007

I traveled to Mesquite and competed in my first World Long Drive Championship event. During the event I hit drives of 325 yards, 318 yards, 315 yards and two drives of 309 yards. My 325 yards was the 3rd longest of all other competitors in my division (Grand Champion aged 55+)(32 world competitors). The winning drive was hit by Rick Barry NBA HOFer, now turned long drive competitor at 348 yards. Fred Hooter was 2nd at 342 yards. I was the last competitor eliminated in the 4th round of competition which placed me at the actual number of 13th in the world, although I had the 3rd longest drive in the competition.

This event was exciting and a great experience for me. The LDA and RE/MAX WLDC sponsors and associates all treated us extemely well. I also played in the Pro-am and shot a 78 with 4 great guys from Mr & Mrs. T. I will do my best to get back to the world finals in 2008. Any golfer that hits it long should compete in this event. I guess I can sum it up in one three letter word. WOW!!

Beau Productions (BP) Historical Trading Cards Collectable Steve Griffith
World Long Drive Champion's Historical Trading Card

If you are interested in Steve's Novelty Trading Card (same as baseball cards)
as shown below you may purchase on eBay for as little as $5.00 or less.
10% is donated to the St. Jude's Children Hospital Charity Foundation.

Click or tap images if interested