Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2024 - 27

Eagan's Anna Drahos returned to local
amateur golf after college, but a chance
trip through the Minnesota Golf Show
introduced her to long drive competition,
which she says has improved her golf and
stoked a renewed fire for the game.
" I love it, " Drahos says of consistently
hitting 300-plus-yard drives. " That's why
I've done long drive, because I've had such
a blast hitting it so far on the course. I
love the first time I join a group of guys-
because it's usually guys-and they watch
me hit, and then just seeing the look on
their faces. That's a highlight. "
Going the Distance
Drahos grew up a multi-sport athlete-
basketball, soccer, softball, track and
swimming-but she's always had a golf
club in her hands. She was captain of her
swimming and golf teams at Eastview
High School and her ability to hit for distance
was apparent even then.
" I have always been able to hit the ball
far, " Drahos says. " In high school, that was
the one thing I could do really well. "
But Drahos focused on academics
in college, graduating in 2013 from the
University of Minnesota. Now 31, she has
spent the last six years getting back into
golf. She competed in local amateur tournaments
(winning the first flight of the 2022
MGA Women's Mid-Am Championship)
and was wandering around the Golf Show
when she spotted the long drive booth.
" I joined Ultimate Long Drive [ULD],
which is geared toward amateurs, and
started competing, " Drahos says. " It motivated
me. It started as kind of a side hobby
that was fun to do and it was raising my
golf game. If I'd heard about long drive
earlier, I probably would've been doing it
for the past 10 years. "
Drahos started entering competitions
in the spring of 2022 and quickly excelled.
Competing in ULD, she won the National
Amateur Event and then entered the World
Long Drive (WLD) championship, where
she took second place in the amateur and
pro divisions. Buoyed by that success, she
turned pro in 2023 and continued her
meteoric rise in the game.
For the Good of Her Game
Relatively unique in the golf world, Drahos
keeps playing amateur golf events alongside
participating in long drive (LD). In
2023, she competed in five LD events plus
four amateur events (the MGA Women's
Amateur, the Mid-Am, the Minnesota
State Open and USGA Mid-Am Qualifier).
She also plays several pro-ams each season
with her partner Thomas Campbell
(they've won 10 events together in four
years), and she uses the winnings (although
within the amateur status limits) to help
finance her LD events.
" If I want to hang out with people and
enjoy a course for a few hours and beautiful
weather, I pick golf, " Drahos says of
her preference. " But if I'm looking for that
Her first professional event was in
Mesquite, Nevada, followed by another in
Hobe Sound, Florida, and Drahos finished
each in the top 10. She traveled to La Salle,
Colorado, and reached the semi-finals,
which she lost to long drive legend Phillis
Meti from New Zealand. Drahos, who
stands 5-foot-4, then lost to the 5-foot-11
Meti in Kingsport, Tennessee, finishing
in eighth place. And this past October,
Drahos battled Meti again in the semis of
the WLD championship in Atlanta.
" If Phillis Meti had gone OB like I did, I
felt like I would have won it, " Drahos says.
" Another loss to Phillis-she is really great.
She is the Goliath to my David. "
competitive edge and to maximize on
something that I feel is the best part of my
game, that's when I pick long drive. I compare
it to running. I consider long drive
more of a sprint. I prefer the sprint. "
Long drive is her focus, as she finished
the 2023 season ranked T-7 in WLD
points. She took a short break after Atlanta
and then got back in front of a Trackman
(she works part-time at a golf simulator for
free sessions of her own) to prepare for the
LD season that begins in March.
Drahos'
training consists of working
through her entire bag, and she says that
being in the LD has made her better on
the course. She admits to swinging hard
when in LD competition, which many golf
instructors don't recommend for the course.
" Long drive enhances my game; other
people might disagree, " Drahos says. " But it
matters whether you are just working with
your driver or you work with all of your
irons. I always work with my irons first and
make sure I am hitting them in the center of
the face before I move on to my driver. "
And she has receipts: Drahos started off
2023 with a 9.0 handicap and finished at
4.7. She credits her work in the simulator
for improving her all-around performance
and plans another offseason of work.
" I've gotten more awareness of how I'm
hitting the ball, " Drahos says. " Growing
up, I didn't really think about it-hitting
the ball was a habit more than anything.
This past year, [I learned] you really have to
think about your body weight shifting and
how you're turning. You learn more about
yourself and how you're hitting it in LD. "
Drahos is entering only her second professional
LD season this spring, but just like
taking a strong swing at the ball in competition,
her plans and goals are equally bold.
" I would love to be one of the top amateur
players, and my goal is to qualify for the
USGA Mid-Am event, " she says. " Being a
top mid-am player would be great-and getting
to a scratch handicap would be, as well.
" But long drive is the big goal. I want to
be number one. I want to set a new record.
It's a pretty hefty goal. So, I am just focusing
on training this offseason. Strengthening
myself and hitting in the sim. "
mngolf.org
Directory 2024 MINNESOTAGOLFER
27
PHOTO: JEFFREY M. LAWLER
http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2024

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