“But it does hit the ball further,” the coach said. Hamm gave Shanahan an Air Hammer, but Shanahan said he can’t use it because he plays in several tournaments that don’t allow outlaw clubs. “Jack’s the type of guy that has a little bit different swing, but when he hits it, he can hit it 400 yards.” Shanahan met Hamm a couple of years ago at a driving range near Broncos headquarters in Englewood.
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“What’s really crazy about it is our driver goes 40 yards longer than theirs.”ĭenver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan can attest to that. “Callaway’s probably got a department that spends $30 million a year on research and development, where this company’s got me,” Hamm says. The story’s a lot different in the United States, as Longball tries to keep up with the Big Berthas and King Cobras.
Japanese business accounts for about one-third of Longball’s annual sales. You don’t think about when you made a 6-foot putt.” When you go play a round of golf and you hit that shot on No. “What is the thrill for a golfer that brings him back? It’s hitting the long ball,” Hamm says. The company slogan is “Distance is everything.” The company’s phone number shouts 1-800-TOO-LONG. But everything is built around Hamm’s affinity for distance. “I’d get the ball up on the green and then play croquet with it-back and forth, back and forth.”ĭespite his own short-game shortcomings, putters and wedges are included in the Longball line. So why is a guy who can hit the ball from here to the Mir peddling golf videos and unsanctioned golf clubs instead of winning millions of dollars on the PGA Tour?Īnother true story, Hamm says: He played a round at Inverness Golf Club a few years back and shot a 2-over-par 74-with 43 putts. “The next thing I know, I’ve got the whole (PGA) Tour standing behind me,” says Hamm, who later hits his one allotted drive 392 yards and walks away with the trophy. It doesn’t take long for Hamm’s 300-yard 6-irons to draw a crowd. Next to him is sweet-swinging Ben Crenshaw and down the row are Joey Sindelar and Curtis Strange. Hamm admits to being a little nervous while warming up on the driving range. The silver casserole dish-shaped trophy is inscribed with the words “1992 Phoenix Open Long Drive Champion.” “This is a true story,” Hamm says as he prepares to explain the trophy sitting behind his desk. Longball I see as a long-term product line. “This company’s not this one-shot-in-the-dark infomercial like the Miracle Mop. “My goal in this whole thing is that some day I’m in an airplane and somebody is reading a magazine and they’re like, ‘Longball, it’s synonymous with Top-Flite or synonymous with Titleist,’ ” Hamm says.