Menu
Download the app

SBJ subscribers – Enhance your experience with the revamped iOS app

People and Pop Culture

Plugged In: Art Sellinger, Long Drivers of America

Nothing captures the imagination of golfers more than hitting the ball farther. Art Sellinger knows that; he’s built his business on it. Long Drivers of America, where Sellinger is CEO, was founded 20 years ago, back when Sellinger was one of the longest-hitting golfers in the world. Sellinger now is the guy who runs the clinics and events, most notably the company’s annual Re/Max World Long Drive Championship.


You see Rory McIlroy generate 180 mph of ball speed, and that’s impressive. Our guys in Long Drive are making the ball go 220 mph or faster, 25 percent faster than what you see on TV each week. We have incredible athletes who can fly a ball 400 yards. So every week, every day, we’re talking internally about what we can do to promote them.


Photo by: JON ESTRADA
On switching from ESPN to Golf Channel for the championship this year: We spent 18 years with ESPN and they’ve been a great partner. The tournament player is different than our guys, but we want to keep that strong connection to golf and we felt we could best do that with Golf Channel.

Turning point during 20 years of the long-drive business: It would have to be when we went to the long drive at night around 1995. In the original days, the competition lacked excitement. One of the problems was that you couldn’t see the ball. At night, the lights reflect off the ball and it’s kind of like the ball lights up. It just made for a cool atmosphere.

On whether long-drive specialists can make it in tournament golf:
We’ve had three guys on “Big Break.” We’ve had a couple qualify for the U.S. Senior Open. Some have played mini-tours, and a few have played on the Web.com Tour. I personally think you have to pick one or the other.

On the last year of Re/Max’s 20-year run as title sponsor: They’ve been incredible. They’ve really helped with a grassroots push for the event, through their local agents. From a branding standpoint, their balloon has been the icon, but we’re also a property with weekly events around the calendar. We’ve got local and regional qualifying, and international players now. We need a partner who will see the value in that type of branding.

On drug testing long-drive competitors: We do drug test through random testing. We push a clean message with our events. When people think of long drivers, they tend to think of bulk, but our guys are all different sizes. Jamie Sadlowski is 5-11, 168 pounds. Tim Burke is a former pitcher who’s 6-6, 225. Bulk and size in the chest and biceps doesn’t guarantee that you’ll hit the ball far. Guys thick in the chest generally can’t generate the same speed as long and lanky guys.
 

— Michael Smith

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2014/08/04/People-and-Pop-Culture/Plugged-In.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2014/08/04/People-and-Pop-Culture/Plugged-In.aspx

CLOSE