Jacob Golliday, Dormie Network Ambassador — *Jacob Golliday*

Standing a lean 6 feet and 180 pounds, with the chiseled build of a former college baseball player — not to mention the long hair and equally lengthy beard of a current hippie — Dormie Network Ambassador Jacob Golliday cuts a memorable figure on the golf course, before he ever even puts a tee in the ground.

Once he bombs one of his drives, heads really begin to turn.

In just three years, Jacob has become one of the most familiar faces in the world of long-drive competition. Part of the reason is his catchy appearance and Instagram username, @jesusofgolf. Another is his meteoric rise in the sport.

Two years later, Jacob was ranked Top 25 in the world in long-distance driving. He has hit a drive 456 yards in competition and started thinking, “Well, I guess I can maybe make a little money in this. I was ready to roll this year, then COVID happened.”

Stealing the show

In the fall of 2017, Jacob accompanied one of his friends to a long-drive qualifying event and at the last minute, he signed up to compete. Using his friend’s driver, Jacob qualified to go to the World Long Drive Championships. There, he only lost one round, to eventual world champion Justin James.

Though relatively new to long-distance driving, Jacob, 30, has been around the game of golf all his life. His mother, Nancy, played golf collegiately for the University of Minnesota, at the same time that future PGA Tour star Tom Lehman was starring for the men’s team. In the early ‘80s, she ran the prestigious North & South Amateur Championship in Pinehurst. Growing up in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Jacob would vacation to the North Carolina Sandhills with his family during the summer.

Jacob played golf on his middle school team. But once high school rolled around, baseball grabbed his full attention. He played baseball at three different colleges during his career, finishing at Francis Marion University, a Division II school in Florence, S.C. “I had a lot of fun with that,” he said. “I had a couple of bad injuries my freshman and senior years, and just thought: all right, I’m done with baseball. I just want to see what else is out there.”

After graduating from college with a bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems, Jacob moved to California and fate brought him back to the golf course. “I had my clubs shipped out. Sure enough, when I started hitting golf balls with everyone out there, just like on the east coast they said, ‘Dude, you hit it really far. You’ve got to start playing,’” he said. “So I thought ‘Alright, I’ll play. I’m turning 26. I’ve got nothing else to do in life.’”

Getting serious with the game

Jacob eventually moved to Pinehurst, where he met Dormie Club General Manager Tony Chapman. The two have competed in some mini-tour events together and when Jacob is in town, they play together about once a week with a strong group of Pinehurst-area players.

Far more than just a prodigious driver, Jacob is a solid all-around player and is currently focused on competing in a number of professional tour events. “I started with golf and that’s always been the end goal,” he said.

Jacob’s game is comparable to Bryson DeChambeau, one of the PGA Tour’s hottest young stars. “We’re very similar speeds on the golf course,” he said. “I’m probably 190 (mph) ball speed, and can get up to 204 – 205 on the golf course, but not much more. I’m maybe a tad bit faster and a bit more efficient with my swing. I don’t think I look like I’m swinging quite as hard as he does, even though I’m hitting the same speeds.

“I said it five years ago when I first started playing golf around 2016. I came out here with about the same numbers — I was super-fast, right out of college baseball — and I always said, ‘Whoever can do this on [the PGA] Tour is going to make a lot of money.’ When you’re carrying [the ball] 340 [yards], it makes the game easier. My iron spin control is identical in every shot with the shot I want to hit, so I know my distance controls with the wedge. That’s why I can shoot some low scores and you know, make some money playing golf.”

Charismatic, mindful, and always up for a match

His warm, outgoing personality, combined with his eye-popping talents on the golf course make Jacob a natural to help entertain.

“We’ve done events with Jacob at Ballyhack and then Victoria National,” Chapman said. “He’s a good dude, ultra-long, and very personable. He’s going to do our ‘Dormie Day of Giving’ event, so he’s going to hit balls on No. 10. We’ll probably auction off a stay-and-play at one of our other properties to see if we can raise some more money for charity. They have a chance to play off his drive.”

Jacob and another of his long-drive friends, Wes Patterson, are also planning a charitable event in October, when they will play 1,000 holes of golf during the month, covering all six Dormie Network properties. They plan to challenge some of their athlete and celebrity friends to join the cause.

Jacob said his relationship with Dormie Network feels like a perfect fit.

“I really liked their approach to the game of golf and the way they approach the experience,” he said. “It matches my mindset toward life in general: ‘Appreciate the experience and don’t try to get so caught up on all the things you got going on. Try to focus on what’s present at that moment.’ I saw they’re doing that in the golf realm.

“I just love everyone involved with the network, and I think we’ve got a lot of good things in common. It gives me a place to practice, play, to bring in some of these athletes and play with all Dormie Network members. I’ll be at the courses – if someone wants to play, let’s go play.”

All photos courtesy Matt Cardis / Golf in Your State.