Driven

Krank Golf ’s Vice President, Vinnie Rivera, Is Determined To Go The Distance

The guys at Krank Golf believe in long-shots—literally

Not only do they produce some of the most well respected custom, big-power drivers in the industry, they take to the course and teach everyday duffers just how rewarding a picture perfect tee off can be. The Green Magazine caught up with Vinnie Rivera, Krank Golf’s Vice President, just so he could share a few of the secrets of his long-driving science. We got more than we expected. Rivera is a true lover of all facets of the game and sees golf as a tool not only for physical empowerment, but for community empowerment as well. His insights served as a timely reminder that sometimes the best way to shatter golf ’s glass ceiling, is with a positive attitude, top-notch equipment and a drive that can put any naysayer to shame.

tgm: How long have you been golfing? What got you started?

vr: I’ve been golfing for 4 years now. I moved to Mesa, Arizona from Phoenix after high school and got a job at Sports Authority. I was a bike and snowboard tech and everyone at the store golfed. So I got some clubs one day and my first year here I golfed everyday at a little 9 hole public course called Riverview. It just grew from there.

tgm: Why did you get into long ball hitting?

vr: I was using an old Ping Eye 2 Persimmon wood head and I started off hitting it around 280, 290. Then I met a guy who had a couple of long drive sticks, which are 52 inches long, with the old Ping Carson heads on his drivers. He said hit one of these and my first ball was 340. Then I started building my own clubs at a shop and met a couple of guys who did long driving as well. That’s when I met Lance, the owner of Krank Golf. Now I’m the vice-president.

tgm: What the longest drive you’ve ever hit and what’s the key to your power?

vr: My longest on a golf course is 450 yards and on a flat range it’s 410. My background as far as sports was mostly just running. I was a cross-country runner, marathons, half-marathons, sprints. So I ran for a lot of club teams. I’ve been running since I was six years old and running gave me strong legs and a lot of explosiveness. So my power comes from my legs. That’s the brace of the whole thing and it squares everything up. And my family is from a Hispanic background and we’re all big people. I’m the smallest one and I’m 5’11” 220. So just being big and naturally strong—my upper body is pretty thick. My legs provide the torque. My arms provide the speed and the power on impact. I swing about 10 miles per hour slower than most long drivers, but I can still hit as far because long driving is all about position and impact.

tgm: What type of technology do you use to evaluate your swing?

vr: For getting maximum distance, and still having control, when I teach people I have them work from their impact position to the backswing because that’s what’s key. Launch monitors are good when you’re outside. Indoor monitors can’t really see the ball flight. But really for maximum distance and accuracy it’s all about the impact. So you want to be sure your body’s right behind the ball on impact and your right heel is almost down flat on the ground because that keeps you squared up.

tgm: To what would you attribute the fact that golf is gaining momentum within the Latino community?

vr: It’s huge. Of course it all goes back to the old school days. Chi Chi Rodriguez, Lee Trevino and all of those guys. It’s just grown so much. A lot of businessmen are also playing, as the Hispanic community gets bigger and Hispanic businesses grow. So there are a lot of big people on the scene, which is awesome for any community. The old school players have done well. But now there is a new era with guys like Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods of course. When they came to the scene people noticed that golf isn’t just an old time rich man’s sports. It’s for whoever has the skill. No sport was meant for a certain type of player or certain type of person. Which is good because a lot of latino kids, junior golfers, are taking up the game and its teaching them control of their bodies and minds. They’re thinking positively and they learn not to cheat on the course and off the course as well. It keeps them honest. It’s great to see how the world is changing everyday, I love it.

tgm: How does long ball hitting impact your overall game?

vr: It’s awesome. When you’re in the golf cart coming back or having a few drinks in the bar with the guys, you’re talking about that 320 yard drive you had on the ninth hole to beat them not about three foot four foot birdies that you made. That’s what it’s always been about—setting up on the first tee, with all your buds around and people watching, and just killing it 350, 360 down the middle and staying in control. Every time you do that off of the 1st tee it’s going to be a great round. And anytime you can hit your best drive, you’re probably going to have a good hole. Whenever you hit the fairway as deep and good as you can it’s a good hole. I’ve noticed a couple of times. When Lance and I play we mark down every fairway we hit and how far it was. When we look back on our scores we’ll notice that every time we hit the fairway at a certain yardage we’ll par it, every time we don’t hit a certain distance we boogie, when we hit it past a certain marker we’ll birdie it. So it helps us out a lot. The driver is the hardest club to hit in the bag because there is so much that can go wrong. It’s not like an iron where you hit down and square it up and that’s all. With the driver you have to be precise because you’re hitting on the upswing, not down.

tgm: Who would be your dream foursome?

vr: Definitely Trevino and George Lopez, and probably Tiger Woods. So you would have your old school playing style with Lee and you would have the new style with Tiger—that new mechanical swing that is so amazing. And then you would have George who is a funny guy. Golf can’t be serious all the time. That would be my number one set up. That would be a blast.

tgm: What’s next for Krank Golf?

vr: We’re focusing on growing the company. We go into stores this year and we hope to have four guys on the Champions Tour playing our clubs. We also plan to increase our work with charities and youth programs. Community service is huge for us.