Part 1 - What I Would Tell My Younger Self About Golf

If I could sit down with the younger version of myself—the girl who loved to compete, who wanted to hit the ball farther, who thought every bad shot meant she wasn’t good enough—I would have a lot to say.

I would probably start with this:

Relax. You don’t have to figure it all out today.

Golf is going to teach you far more than how to swing a club.

It’s going to teach you patience. Resilience. Humility. Confidence. And, most importantly, how to keep going when things don’t go the way you planned.

Stop Trying to Be Perfect

I spent a lot of time thinking that better golf meant making fewer mistakes.

It doesn’t.

Golf is a game of misses. Even the best players in the world hit bad shots. The difference isn’t that they never make mistakes—it’s how they respond when they do.

So I would tell my younger self:

Don’t let one bad shot become five bad holes.

Take the information. Learn from it. Then hit the next shot.

Your next shot has no idea what happened before it.

Don’t Compare Your Journey to Anyone Else’s

This might be one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned.

There will always be someone hitting it farther. Someone younger. Someone stronger. Someone who seems to have everything figured out.

Let them.

Your journey is yours.

I didn’t become a World Long Drive Champion overnight. There were years of training, losses, setbacks, frustration, injuries, changes to my swing and plenty of moments when I wondered if all the work was worth it.

The funny thing is, those moments were part of the journey.  Because one day, you’re going to look back and realize that the journey—the wins, the losses, the failures, the breakthroughs, and all those years nobody saw—was the real championship.

And you’re going to be damn proud that you never quit.

Love your older self,

Kelly Rudney

About Kelly Rudney

Kelly Rudney is a professional long drive athlete and the 2025 World Long Drive Women’s Champion. A three-time Canadian Long Drive Champion and two-time XLD World Long Drive Champion, Kelly has built a career around seeing just how far she can push herself and the game.

Her path into long drive started almost by accident. In 2019, she paid $5 to hit three balls at a long drive booth at the Toronto Golf & Travel Show. One traveled 275 yards, caught the attention of the guys running the booth, and set her on an entirely new path.

Six years later, at age 50, Kelly became the oldest woman to win the World Long Drive Championship, taking down the world’s top-ranked competitor in the final. During the competition, she also hit a 413-yard drive, tying the world record at the time.

Now one of the most accomplished athletes in women’s long drive, Kelly continues to compete, train and challenge expectations around power, performance and longevity in golf.

Photocredit: @viperkraft.kreative