F.A.Q.
… Answers to frequently asked questions
HOUSE OF FORGED:
… How is a small company like HOUSE OF FORGED able to dominate the major shaft companies in long-drive competition?
… While most the the major golf shaft companies spend their money on advertising and promotion (while adding-on a huge profit-margin for themselves and their stockholders), we invest our money in quality shafts. If you use better quality materials, and better engineering, and better equipment, and if your shafts are made by trained professionals in the USA (rather than in Vietnam or Bangladesh, where they are just learning how to make shafts), you can easily achieve in manufacturing a far superior product.
… How can your long-drive shafts help the average golfer to gain added distance to their drives?
… Just as NASCAR and FORMULA 1 auto-racing serve as a proving-ground for the automobile equipment, which later finds its way into our passenger cars and trucks, we compete in long-drive to perform similar testing on golf shafts, while proving the superiority of our shafts… Our standard (46”) driver shafts, which are suitable for the average golfer, are made with the same materials, with the same engineering, and by the same trained professionals as our long-drive shafts, and these standard driver shafts can provide the average golfer with the same characteristics as our long-drive shafts; namely: greater distance through better energy transfer for higer ball-speed, along with a more boring ball-flight with less side-to-side dispersion, which is achieved through a lower ball-spin rate.
… Are your shafts legal for use in USGA or other sanctioned golf competitions?
… Our shafts are fully legal for any sanctioned golf tournament, which is governed under typical PGA or USGA golf regulations.
… Do you offer sponsorship to individuals who compete in Championship Long-Drive competition?
… Like many of the other companies who participate in Long-Drive, we sponsor several top long-drive competitors. Since more than (200) individuals qualify to compete in the RE/MAX LDA World Long Drive Championships each year, and since we are just a small, family-owned company, we have to limit our sponsorship to only those competitors who have proven that they can win or make the finals of these events. As such, we cannot offer shaft sponsorship to “hot prospects” and/or those competitors who have achieved moderate success. In many instances, we can offer discounted rates on shafts or shaft packages, which might prove attractive to individuals who do not meet this criteria, but who wish to use our shafts and who deserve to have some form of sponsorship through discounted pricing. We recently named Neil Simpson of Phoenix Golf World and Owen Hanson of Smash Factor Golf as being our National Tour Representatives and Co-Captains of our Long Drive Team, so hook-up with those guys if you believe that you are worthy of some form of sponsorship.
Do your warranty your shafts for breakage?
Standard Driver Shafts = We generally offer warranty-replacement shafts to original owners for all standard 46” driver shafts, which were purchased from HOF or an authorized HOF dealer, and which were broken during normal use. Such shafts (along with the driver head) should be forwarded to House of Forged for inspection and replacement.
Long Drive Shafts = We generally offer a warranty replacement on long-drive shafts under the above terms. It is noted that many long drive shafts are broken due to improper installation (overheating the head), as well as being broken from hitting the ground repeatedly, or broken across the competitor’s back during the follow-through. Such use is not considered to be “normal use”. In those instancesm while we cannot offer a full warranty, we will offer a substantial discount toward the purchase of a replacement shaft.
LONG-DRIVE COMPETITION:
… What long-drive competitions are available to me, and how do I get-involved in long-drive?
… Long Drivers of America, whose website is located at www.longdrivers.com, is the unofficial sanctioning body of long-drive, and they have been running the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship in Mesquite, Nevada for many years. The qualifying process begins in February and it runs through August with Local qualifying, followed by Districct/Regional Qualifying at various locales throughout the USA and across the world. The best way to get information about the LDA is to go to their website.
… Are there any long-drive competitions (other than the LDA), which would be available to me?
… The best way to find-out about independent competitions and other grass-roots events is to check the www.longdrivers.com website or to go to the www.incepta.ca website, which is run by Mike Roach. That website reflects the schedules of various other long-drive organizations, as well as providing updates on local grass-roots competition.
ALDA - Jack Doherty runs some of the best regional long-drive events in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado and he is expanding his programs of long-drive competitions, and driving accuracy contests, as well as par three golf challenges. You can contact through his www.aldagolf.com website, and many of his events are listed on www.incepta.ca.
… I just want to find a place to practice hitting long-drives with somebody and/or get some help in long-drive = what should I do?
… If you make a post on the www.longdrivers.com website or the www.incepta.ca website, somebody will hook up with you to hit balls, and get you started in long-drive.
… What is the legal length of long-drive clubs?
… This might seem confusing, but it really isn’t. The maximum legal length for a driver to be used in a USGA- sanctioned event is 48”, which is measured from the butt of the grip to bottom of the head where the shaft would otherwise poke-through. For long-drive (and for convenience sake) the LDA chooses to measure drivers against the wall and sets the limit at 50”. Any 48” USGA-measured driver will always be under the 50” LDA length when stood-up against a wall; however, not all 50” LDA (against the wall) drivers are under the 48” USGA length, so if you want to use a driver for LDA competition as well as in a USGA tournament, make sure it is 48” or less by the USGA method of measurement.
… Can I compete effectively in long-drive competition with my standard length driver?
… It is simple physics that a longer driver can be swung in a larger/longer arc, so generally you can generate more swing speed (and potentially more distance) with a longer driver. For practical purposes, you might qualify or even win a Local event with a standard driver against guys who have long-driver clubs, quite simply because of your raw talent; however, it is unlikely that you will get through the Regional/District competition into the World Championships with a standard length driver... Just as a stronger bow will shoot an arrow farther, long-drive shafts are built stronger than most shafts and they can handle the increased load that is placed upon them without flattening-out in terms of performance both distance-wise as well as consistency-wise.
… Is there any money to be made by competing in long-drive, and what are my chances to get sponsorship in terms of free shafts/free heads/etc.?
… Jamie Sadlowski earned a $250,000.00 paycheck for winning the RE/MAX LDA World Long Drive Championship in 2008 and another $150,000.00 in 2009, while Bobby Wilson took home $70,000.00 in paychecks for his victories, so there clearly is some $$$ at the end of the rainbow.
That being said, making money in long-drive is very difficult and finding sponsors is also very difficult. The best way to get sponsorship is to locate a local golf dealer or club-maker, and convince them to contact House of Forged in order to establish a dealer account, so that they can sell the best shafts in the known universe… then offer to perform exhibitions for them with our shafts…, At that point both that business, as well as House of Forged, will be in a position to make the money that is necessary to properly support you with the equipment and the club-building, which will be needed to support your efforts..
… There are a lot of fun-people in long-drive, and you will find the competition to be very exciting and rewarding, so feel free to jump-in and join the fun.
All the best – See you in Mesquite,
Robert Kent, V.P.