Louis Oosthuizen’s graceful swing has long been admired for its smooth, mellifluous tempo and impeccable rhythm. Few would describe the diminutive South African as a bomber. But at the 2013 Ballantine’s Championship in South Korea, Oosty unleashed an incredible 500-yard drive that to this day is one of the longest tee shots ever recorded on a professional tour.
The remarkable feat occurred on the first hole at Blackstone Golf Club, a 583-yard par five, during the second round of the tournament. There is one caveat though: Oosthuizen’s drive was cart-path assisted.
The 2010 Open champion was neither holding a pose, nor watching his ball sail down the middle of the fairway after hitting his now-famous drive. Rather, his right hand dropped off the grip in disgust almost immediately and he watched on nervously as his flared drive headed where tee shots go to die. What Oosthuizen didn’t know was that his ball had skipped through the right rough and on to a kerbed cart path, where it bobbled along for almost two minutes.
Spectators were oblivious as Oosthuizen’s ball trickled past them and with the path about to make a U-turn downhill — which would’ve seen the ball travel at least another 100m in the opposite direction — the ball suddenly, and fortuitously, put the brakes on and came to a halt.
Oosthuizen, the player known as “Shrek” for his gapped grin and prominent ears, arrived not long after. Taking a free drop off the path, he needed just a wedge for his approach shot into the par five. Unfortunately, he couldn’t capitalise on his monster drive and walked off the green with a par.
Oosthuizen would finish fifth, three shots behind Australia’s Brett Rumford, who won a three-man playoff.