Matt Nicholls ready for Gold Coast Festival of Golf and 2025 World Long Drive Tour
He’s the construction worker who travels the world playing golf and can drive the ball longer than the game’s highest earners. Meet the Aussie tradie who could be Queensland’s very own Happy Gilmore.
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In a tale out of the book of Happy Gilmore, Australian construction worker and long driver Matt Nicholls is set to take on some of the world’s best power hitters in the upcoming World Long Drive Tour.
As a talented junior golfer, he boasted an impressive +3 handicap but in a faithful moment five years ago, swapped his irons and putters out of his golf bag for a set of bigger and more powerful drivers and has not looked back since.
The Queenslander is set to take on some of the nation’s most powerful hitters in the third round of the Australian Long Drive Series at Sanctuary Cove on March 8 during the Gold Coast Festival of Golf.
Nicholls boasts a longest drive of 410 metres, or roughly 448 yards – which is almost 150 yards further than the PGA Tour average driving distance.
While he could make most Par 4 greens with that distance, in order to perfect his craft, he has given up regular golf and is now fully committed to driving.
“It’s a complete different aspect of the game to normal golf,” he said.
“What we do, it’s very taxing on the central nervous system.
“We will go into a speed training or a power session and we’ll hit hundreds of balls as fast and hard as we can and then the recovery is also as just important as hitting the ball.
“It’s a balancing act between doing enough strength training, enough hitting golf balls and enough rest to make sure that the body is recovered (and) the body’s working at its maximum capacity.
“Because the way we swing the club, it is pretty intense, it’s pretty good.”
As he balances a family life, full-time job and career on the long drive tours, Nicholls revealed the challenges he faces juggling all aspects of life.
“It’s never ending life just doesn’t stop,” he said.
“When people say ‘Life’s busy and I’ve always got something to do’, I’d love them to have a look at my life and see what it’s like.
“It’s getting up at 4am, I might jump in the pool or go to the gym before work and then at work I might walk 15-20,000 (metres) lifting, carrying, doing whatever I’ve got to do and then psyche myself to go do a hitting session and a speed session.
“And then resting and making sure the body is ready to perform at peak capacity whenever we need.
“It is a juggling act, at the moment I wouldn’t have it any other way, I’m thankful for everybody that has supported me for the journey so far.
“I’ve got some great sponsors on board that without them it wouldn’t be possible.
“Hopefully in the future it’s a bit more of a permanent thing but at the moment I do the best I can.”
Nicholls will line up in the World Long Drive Tour season opener next month at the iconic Mesquite, Nevada course and revealed his has goosebumps every time he imagines competing there.
“It’s very famous, Bryson (DeChambeau) did the World Championships there a few years ago and actually finished second and we’ve got an event coming up over there in the desert,” he said.
“Every time I talk about it and think about physically being there and competing at this place where all of these superstars of golf have been and done what we’re about to do, I can’t explain the feeling I have got.
“I can only imagine once I’m actually over there and amongst just the amphitheatre of what Mesquite is going to be, it is exciting I can’t wait.”
Nicholls shared his excitement to compete at Sanctuary Cove for the third leg of the Australian Series.
“The last couple of years Golf Australia have jumped on board and they’re holding events for us which is massive,” he said.
“Every opportunity and chance that we all get, we love to put on a show, we love to have fun. “The more people that get down here the better.”
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