Opinion & Analysis

NBA Hall-of-Famer Rick Barry wins RE/MAX Long Drive title

Published

13 years ago

Sep 22, 2013

NBA Hall-of-Famer Rick Barry won the Masters Division of the 2013 RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship in Mesquite, Nev., with a drive of 334 yards, which was 10 yards farther than his nearest competitor.

Barry, 69, is no newcomer to the Long Drive circuit. The 6-foot 7-inch former NBA forward started his long drive career in 2005, and his four WLDC wins have come in three divisions:

2007 RE/MAX World Long Drive Champion, Grand Champion (55+)
2008 RE/MAX World Long Drive Champion, Grand Champion (55+)
2010 RE/MAX World Long Drive Champion, Legends (60+)
2013 RE/MAX World Long Drive Champion, Masters Division (65+)

Barry also competed in the Legends Division in 2013, but his longest driver (338) fell two yards short of Miguel Jaime.

Barry played college basketball at the University of Miami and was the second-overall pick of the 1965 draft. He was named NBA rookie of the year in 1966, and is the only player ever to lead the NCAA, NBA, and ABA in scoring. He had a unique underhand style when shooting free throws, which was often criticized, but was highly effective. During his professional career he scored more than 25,000 points, had four seasons where he averaged more than 30 points, and had over 1,000 steals.

Barry played for the San Francisco Warriors (1965-1967) in the NBA, then in the ABA for the Oakland Oaks (1968-1969), Washington Caps (1969-1970), and New York Nets 1970-1972), which was followed by a transfer back to the NBA’s Golden State Warriors (1972-1978) and then Houston Rockets (1978-1980).

The RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship Open Division Final Event will be held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 30^th, with a winner-takes-all purse of $250,000. To follow the action and learn more about the long driving community click here.

Opinion & Analysis

AVL: My U.S. Amateur local qualifying experience

Published

6 days ago

Jun 5, 2026

Andrew Von Lossow

This past Monday, I played in the U.S. Amateur local qualifier at Rock Creek Country Club in Portland, Oregon. A full tee sheet from 7:30 a.m. to 1:55 p.m., the top 11 scores would make it to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying.

I teed off at 10:48 a.m.. With the 7:30 am tee time, you can get a feel for the leaders’ pace, and they were off and running on the challenging setup at Rock Creek.

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Getting to the highlight of the round on the par five 17th, a drive up the left side and 212 yards left to the front hole location. I took out a 5-iron with plans of middle of the green. The ball ended up 8 feet left of the hole, pin high. A slight downhill putt dropped in for an eagle 3 on the 17th. With the cut line looking to be anywhere from -2 to even par. This was the boost I had been waiting for all day.

With making par from the trees on 18, it was time to wait for a potential playoff with a posted score of one under par 71.

Three hours later, it was playoff time. 8 players for 6 spots. I made par on the playoff hole, which was good enough to advance to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying in July. USGA qualifiers sure deliver on all of the emotions in golf!

Club Junkie

Building my 2026 gamer WITB: Ranking the contenders and new putter projects – Club Junkie Podcast

Published

1 week ago

Jun 4, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

The annual What’s In The Bag build is underway, and on this episode of Club Junkie, Brian breaks down the clubs currently leading the race for a spot in his 2026 gamer setup. From drivers and fairway woods to irons, wedges, and shafts, he ranks the equipment that’s performing best and explains what’s separating the front runners from the rest of the field.

Brian also heads into the workshop to discuss several putter projects currently on the bench. From head options and shaft choices to build ideas and testing plans, he shares what he’s working on and which putters could become serious contenders for the bag this season.

If you’re a gear junkie who loves equipment testing, club building, and the never-ending pursuit of the perfect setup, this episode is for you.

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Club Junkie

Tour Edge Exotics mini driver review + TaylorMade Spider ZT Max first look – Club Junkie

Published

2 weeks ago

May 28, 2026

Brian Knudson

On this episode of Club Junkie, I put the new Tour Edge Exotics Mini Driver to the test and break down the performance, forgiveness, distance, and where it fits compared to a traditional driver or strong fairway wood. If you have been curious about adding a mini driver to the bag, this one is worth a look.

I also dive into the new TaylorMade Spider ZT Max putter that was recently spotted and discuss the growing zero torque putter trend. Plus, there is a closer look at the new Project X Titan Yellow shaft showing up on the PGA Tour and what makes it different from other profiles currently out there.