World Long Drive champ Kyle Berkshire admits his long hair is a handicap, but he has ‘an emotional attachment’
Kyle Berkshire currently sits atop the rankings of the World Long Drive competitors, and he’s hoping he can use his booming tee shots to reach the PGA Tour.
Berkshire spent the first two years of his college career playing for the University of North Texas. He had always been a powerful hitter, but he was tempted to try his luck in the long drive world by a coach of his. He ended up winning his first long drive qualifier and went on to qualify for major long drive tournaments quickly.
Berkshire transferred to the University of Central Florida to be closer to his sponsors at the time. “I didn’t really have a plan after that current phase, but I kept building on it and getting better and it kind of turned into a nice career,” Berkshire admits.
He was the winner of the 2019 World Long Drive Championship and is confident that he will hold on to his ranking going into the 2021 season.
He shares some tips, tricks and fundamentals that have helped him reach the number one ranking in the world on my latest episode of the “WHY YOU SUCK AT GOLF!” podcast with Averee Dovsek.
In 2021, Berkshire plans to compete in a bodybuilding competition and take his strengths to new heights. He expects for his clubhead speed to get faster as he begins to get leaner with his dieting.
His longest recorded competition drive is 492 yards and with his increasing clubhead speed, he has no reservations that he will beat that swinging 156 mph.
Berkshire has spent some time working with Bryson DeChambeau and helping him bring his long drive talent into play on the PGA Tour. He admits that heckling him in their lengthy practice sessions has produced the best results out of DeChambeau.
“You have to put your mind in an uncomfortable spot to achieve extreme results. The mind likes comfort, so what we are doing is pushing the limits of what’s possible and with that comes discomfort,” he said. “You have to marry that feeling on the inside to produce results on the outside.”
In 2021, in addition to his bodybuilding and long drive training, he plans to sharpen his game up to land a spot on the PGA Tour.
“The obvious one would be to put it up, but I don’t actually like that one, because the weight on the top of my head from my hair kind of throws off my swing a little bit. To be clear, it certainly is a handicap, but I have an emotional attachment to my hair at this point.”
Averee Dovsek is a contributor for Golfweek, hosting the popular “Fitness with Averee” video series. Also, her podcast, WHY YOU SUCK AT GOLF! is available on multiple streaming platforms.
