Zuback can go the distance

By John Droke
Posted Thursday, June 26, 2008

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By John Droke
VIEW Sports Writer
GRAND BLANC— He may not be the best golfer in the world but five time longest drive champion Jason Zuback can definitely wow you with his ability to drive a golf ball.

Zuback showed his skills in front of an astonished crowd at Warwick Hills Tuesday afternoon during the Family Golf Experience for the Buick Open. Zuback’s amazing swing speed is what makes his drives travel at an unbelievable distance. The average PGA golfer swings the club at about 120 mph. Zuback has been clocked at 163 mph. The longest drive from where Zuback hit the ball to where it landed without a roll is 430 yards ... with a roll, it was 520 yards!

“I’ve spent many hours in the gym and have hit thousands of golf balls to be where I am at today”, said Zuback. “Whatever you do in life you should give it a 100% the entire way,” explained Zuback to about 100 or so kids on hand. Zuback’s ability to crush golf balls hasn’t come without some injuries in the past.

Zuback swings the golf club so hard, that he has had to have multiple surgeries because of all the torn muscles he has accumulated over the years. The Calgary native has played on the Canadian Tour and with many PGA pros, who even took a break from their Buick Open practice session Tuesday to come see his extraordinary ability.

In the presentation Tuesday, Zuback drove a ball about 150 yards with his lob wedge, 320 yards with a putter and several drives of around 400 plus. Zuback even used the back of the club to drive a ball 130 yards down what would be the middle of most fairways.

Zuback took a moment out of his routine to explain to the fans that he in fact does build his own golf clubs which gives him an extra boost on his drives, but still, 400 plus yard drives, that’s incredible.

Zuback explained to the large group of kids staring at him as if he was a golf superhero that to drive a golf ball well is all in the fundamentals that they would learn from any golf teacher. “Stance, grip, back swing, balance and finish is the key to any good swing no matter how far you are hitting the ball,” he explained.

In a brief demonstration, Zuback showed that you can swing a golf club as hard as you can and if you don’t have the proper fundamentals in place, you won’t have success. Even more impressive than the already 400-yard drives, Zuback wowed the fans with a left-handed 275-yard drive followed up by a shot that held an 11 second hang time. In his final stunt, Zuback drove a ball threw a 3-inch piece of wood that traveled out to about 250 yards down the fairway.

Following the show, the crowd was given an official Buick Open T-shirt and a sleeve of Pinnacle golf balls. “It’s an honor to have been invited today, and to be a part of the 50th Anniversary here at Warwick Hills”, said Zuback.