Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Gilder
Jeff, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Back in 2013 our marketing company began supporting Para Long Drive, an organization developed to get wounded veterans and other adaptive athletes into the sport of long drive golf. I traveled with them, covered their events, and captured their athletes’ stories through interviews. We held their National Championship in Myrtle Beach in 2017 where we created an able-bodied long drive event and the Para Long Drive Event. For the televised finals we paired the able-bodied winner against the adaptive winner. We were bombarded with interest and formed the Amateur Long Drive (which later became Ultimate Long Drive) series as the result. We’ve grown since then to hosting over 200 events annually around the world via sanctioned international qualifiers, leagues, the North American Tour, and the annual ULD World Championship. We’re an inclusive series with age divisions from 7U to 85+, amateurs, professionals, adaptive, military, and first responders.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We’ve managed steady growth. The Covid pandemic created major obstacles for events of all types, but we managed to get in around 40 events that year. In 2019 we partnered with the Golf Channel (who at hat time owned World Long Drive – WLD) to create a feeder / farm system for the sport. At that time we were an amateur only series and WLD was an élite professional series. In 2020 during the pandemic TGC pulled the plug on WLD. We added a professional division to fill their void. The struggles henceforth have been financial. Sponsorships are needed to support this type of operation. Justification for sponsor dollars is tough without expensive television exposure. Sponsorships, period have been tough.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
ULD is a sports event company headquartered in Longs, SC. We host long drive competitions in the USA and sanction long drive events and series in other countries. The goal is to qualify the best long drivers in the world for the ULD annual World Championship. For 2025 we are entering our 9th season.
In addition to our leagues, series, and sanctioned events, we operate ULD Academy. The academy teaches golfers how to gain club speed and ball speed. ULD Academy is not just for long drive, it is for any and all golfers because “nobody plays better from farther back”.
We’re unique in this industry because were 100% inclusive. In years past long drive was mostly available only for elite pros. We have age divisions from 7u to 85+ (7u, 9u, 11u, 13u, 15u, 17u, Open, 35+, 40+, 45+, 50+, 55+, 60+, 65+, 70+, 75+, 80+ and 85+. All adult divisions are available for amateurs and pros. We also have adaptive divisions for anyone plying with a disability as well as military and first responder divisions.
We have partnered with WingDing MEDIA™ to produce and distribute video/television content of our events. We produce 42 weekly “Smash Factor” shows that cover news, schedules, results, and interviews that are distributed via the WingDing MEDIA Platform along with live streams form the North American Tour and annual World Championship.
It is our goal to create a solid foundation for the growth of this sport for decades to come.
What makes you happy?
It is extremely gratifying to see so many people show up and enjoy what we created. There’s an air of gratitude that permeates all our events. There are those in the industry who still believe long drive should be reserved for the elite professionals. We do not. Period.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ultimatelongdrive.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ultimatelongdrive1
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/ultimatelongdrive
- Twitter: https://x.com/uldchampionshjp
