Does Golf have the Most Successful 'Sub-Sport' in Long Drive

2bGood · May 18

After a few drinks, I found myself wondering why home run derbies never really took off as a standalone phenomenon. Sure, they’re a fun feature at the All-Star break, but they never broke away to become their own sport.

And that got me thinking: it’s actually pretty unique that long drive competitions did manage to branch off from golf and carve out their own identity. I shares nothing with the pro game - not the same players, events or locations. It not like it even part of any PGA "all star" event.

In most sports, there are moments of individual brilliance — slam dunks, penalty shootouts, three-point contests — but they tend to stay tucked within the structure of the broader game. They rarely evolve into their own spectacle with dedicated athletes, tours, and fans. Yet in golf, long drive did exactly that. It broke free.

What is it about golf (or distance) that allowed something like long drive to exist outside the game that birthed it?

2bGood · May 19

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Mych · May 19

Could you consider the marathon as a sub-sport of Track & Field? If so, I think that's the winner by a mile (or 26.2 of them, ba-dum-tss).

I think Long Drive is intriguing because we all have seen that freak who goes to the course and hits 13 drives OB, but the one that stays straight goes 350+. Nobody cares that he shoots 110, so when you get paired up with him the whispers are "watch how far he hits the ball". I don't think that really exists anywhere else. I think we all feel like pro golfers are holding back a little also and that most of them are playing at about 80-90% effort, so it's interesting to see people who are pushing the boundary and going way closer to 100% effort. For other things like the HR Derby and Slam Dunk contest, they're still not maxing out their effort, they're really turning it into an endurance or creativity exercise. Long Drive is like a combination of golf and powerlifting, which is an oddly captivating combination.

Edited May 19 by Mych

Petethreeput · May 19

I actually would say the most successful spin off is beach volleyball.

As for the attractiveness of the long drive, for me personally, I haven't been bitten by the bug so I can't speak to it.

j.b.newton · May 19

Some may argue that Pickleball is a sub-sport of Tennis.

TiScape · May 19

Beer pong 🍻

2bGood · May 22

On 5/19/2025 at 10:15 AM, Petethreeput said:

I actually would say the most successful spin off is beach volleyball.

As for the attractiveness of the long drive, for me personally, I haven't been bitten by the bug so I can't speak to it.