Professional Long Drive Competitors Damien Payne and Heather LeMaster are presenting their FREE Power Golf Clinic at the Haggin Oaks Driving Range TONIGHT, Saturday, October 13th, at 8pm.
Who are Damien and Heather?
Damien Payne
Strong and steady, Damien Payne is a fantastic addition to the world of Long Drive. Always striving for more knowledge and power, he trains hard in the gym and on the range.
With a strong military background and a natural born athlete with competitive experience in soccer, lacrosse, baseball and basketball, Damien knows that turning his focus and lifestyle to Long Drive is where his heart lies. It all began in 2009 when he fell into the right place at the right time in Kansas City, MO. There he was practicing his golf, “as golf is the best place for business” and a man came up to him and peaked his interest in Long Drive by admiring Damien’s strength and natural ability to hit a golf ball hard and far. That man built and gave him a club which he used and won his first local competition in Hays, MO. He has been hooked ever since! Due to a near fatal injury in 2010, Damien did not compete. In 2011, he ran his own business while recovering and retraining his muscles. He finished phenomenally in the top 24 in the Aldila International World Match Play Championships. In 2012, he again advanced finishing top 20 in the Adila World Match Play Championships. This year he strives to be the World Long Drive Champion and will get there with his strength and dedication. In 2012, in competition Damien hit his longest ball of 457 yards! With an unmeasurable amount of strength and the fastest hips in Long Drive, Damien is the next up-and-coming star in Long Drive so watch for him as his career launches and his talent explodes!
Heather LeMaster
Heather LeMaster has grown up and lived in Sacramento her whole life. She has many interests, such as snowboarding, and snorkeling, but her two favorites are horseback riding and golf. She has competed with her horses all over the mid-west in the United States and has accumulated over 15 world titles including one when she was only 9 years old.
Her other passion, golf, began at a young age as well. She used to swing a driver club that her uncle custom built for her in the back yard. “I loved chasing the ball back and forth and keeping it away from our herd of dogs”. She started junior tournaments during high school and had a few JGANC and First Tee events under her belt, when she started working with a great local swing coach, Tom Morton, who helped Heather develop solid fundamentals and ball striking technique. In her senior year of high school, she started working with Coach Matt Kilgariff, who refined her game, and dropped her handicap from a 7 to a plus 2. Heather continued onto college in 2004 on a full-ride athletic scholarship for golf. She majored in Organizational Communications, and was awarded Big Sky Player of the Week in 2006. She helped her team make their mark in the Sacramento State history book by taking the team to regionals after winning the Big Sky Conference Championship in Arizona in 2007 with the lowest score. Heather graduated in 2008 and continued playing as a competitive amateur golfer for two years. In 2008 and 2009, Heather qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships. In 2010, she competed in four mini-tour events as a professional with a second place finish in one event. After an injury late that year, Heather took some time off from competitive golf.
In 2011, she found a passion and talent for hitting the ball hard and far, and started training for international and national World Long Drive Championships. So far, Heather has one win and two-second place finishes, and her sights are set on the World Long Drive Championships held in October 2012. In the meantime, you can find her in the gym alongside boyfriend and long-drive partner Damien Payne and on the range spending countless hours envisioning what it takes to be the next world champion.
The Haggin Oaks Golf Complex is located at 3645 Fulton Avenue in Sacramento, CA. Call 916-481-GOLf (4653) for more information.
