It has nothing to do with new technology and all to do with the mountainous nature of the Santo da Serra course with a European Tour player posting the first 400-yard plus drive in over five years in any tournament.
And the effort belongs to Argentina’s five foot eight inch tall Rafa Echenique.
Rafa Echenique now the longest driver on Tour. (Photo - Eoin Clarke/www.golffile.ie)
Using his TaylorMade RS 11 driver Echenique blasted the ball at the par five, 11th hole all of 423-yards to easily claim the Genworth Financial Services ‘Longest Drive’ after two rounds of the Maderia Islands Open.
It then left double Challenge Tour winner only 149-yards to the hole, and it’s little wonder he birdied the hole on day one and today the Argentinean walked off with an eagle.
“I hit the ball very strong and I’ve never ever hit a drive that long in my life,”said Echenique.
“The hole is downhill and the conditions on the course are very dry and the fairwaysare very hard as there’s hardly been any rain here for a while.
“I then only had a 140-yard pitching wedge into the green to walk off with aneagle.”
Echnique’s drive is 107-yards longer than that of Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts who is averaging 316-yards off the tee and 111-yards more than Spain’s Alvaro Quiros who is second in ‘Driving Distance’.
Given the nature of the mountainous Madeira course it seemed strange one of two holes to measure longest drives this week is the 11th.
Players stand on an elevated tee and hit to a fairway lying virtually at a 45-degree angle way below their feet.
To date, two other players have also posted drives of exactly 400 yards at the same 11th hole.
They are Italy’s Federico Colombo and Tour rookie, Joakim Lagergren who shares second place at 12-under par heading to the weekend.
However a check of the ‘stats’ cards for all players reveals that at the par five, 16th measuring 556-yards, and the second of the long driving holes, Colombo and Lagergren managed best drives this week of a respective 323-yards and 302-yards.
Echenique posted a best at 16 of 313-yards.
However Echenique’s main concern after the second round was rearranging his flights in missing the cut with a one over par tally.
Santo da Serra is hosting the Madeira Islands Open for a first time in four years and given the tournament is some six weeks later than its normal date players are taking full advantage of the much drier conditions.
It is believed the last time players were hitting the ball in excess of 400 yards was at the same course in the mid-2000s when similar conditions prevailed.
