Alpharetta Neighbor Newspaper
Local golf pro chases passion
By Ryan Peck
Golf came naturally to John Marshall. As a youth in upstate New York, Marshall picked up the clubs when he was 14 years old. It took but one year for him to carry a single-digit handicap. A few years later while playing at Ithaca College, Marshall was a two-time team captain and a conference champion.
Golf continued to be a passion of his following college. Marshall stayed involved with the game, as he served as a public relations consultant for the now-defunct AT&T Classic, as well as some LPGA events, among others.
His competitive nature came to a head in 2002. Marshall had always been a fan of the Long Drive competitions that were televised by ESPN. That year, it was announced a Super Senior Division (age 55 and up) would be introduced to the fold. Marshall turned 55 in 2003, and his next goal was clear.
“I had always been long as a golfer. I thought it would be a good fit,” said Marshall, 61, who teaches lessons at the Alpharetta Athletic Club in Milton. “When you get to be 55, there are not a whole lot of things you can compete in that are significant. It was something I could compete in on a national level.”
The road was not easy at first. Marshall always had the distance, but initially struggled to keep the ball on the 50-yard wide grid to qualify his drives during competition. He researched the Mike Austin method, named for the deceased British-American golf pro who is credited with hitting the longest drive (515 yards) in tournament play. Austin was a kinesiology expert, whose methods allowed Marshall to improve his drives and hone accuracy. Marshall studied in California under Dan Shauger, an Austin protégé. Today, Marshall is a two-time American Long Drivers Association Super Senior National Champion, with a long drive in competition of 343 yards.
Marshall is renowned in these parts as a foremost authority on the Austin method. He has instructed golfers from all across the nation, helping them improve their long game. In October, he will compete in the World Finals in Mesquite, Nevada.
“It’s been a great thing for me,” said Marshall. “Not only as a competitor, but as an instructor.”
Golf Styles Atlanta
PERSONALITIES: The Big Knocker
By Ronnie Musselwhite
It's nearly 7:00 p.m., and John Marshall is still warming up. For more than a half-hour, he's been stretching and hitting wedges and short irons, slowly working his way through his bag. Finally, he pulls out driver - all 48 inches of it - and sticks a peg in the ground. A smooth swing followed by a mini-explosion that breaks the click-clack monotony of surlyn pinging steel and heads begin to turn.
As Marshall continues, he draws more glances as disbelievers watch the ball sail off his clubface 320 yards or more down range. Before long, all eyes at Heritage Hills Golf Center in Austell are focused on Marshall.
It's not that the 320 mark has never been broken - it's just not every day that you see a 57-year-old man doing it. Marshall isn't entirely comfortable with the silent stares, but he has slowly become accustomed to them. For the past two years, he's competed on the Long Drivers of America circuit, where oohs and ahhs come with the territory.
"This has been an unbelievable experience," Marshall says of the competition. "It's an adrenaline rush that at my age most people don't get to experience."
In 2002, Marshall saw a long drive event on television. The announcers mentioned an over-55 division and Marshall, who was turning 55 the following February, jumped at the opportunity to try a different avenue in golf. He started working out (Marshall hits a few hundred balls four to five times each week, lifts weights and practices yoga) and after his birthday began entering local and regional qualifiers in an attempt to qualify for the long drive super bowl: the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship.
In his first season, Marshall won eight local qualifiers and competed in three district events. He finished second in his second district qualifier and in his third - in Florida - Marshall needed just one drive of 287 yards to win and advance to the nationals.
"I gagged my guts out," says Marshall. "After that first year, I stepped back and realized that I had to get more accurate."
To improve his performance, Marshall began working with Gio Valiente, a sports psychologist and professor at Rollins College in Florida who mentors a number of professional golfers, including Chris DiMarco. He also sought swing training from Los Angeles-based instructor Dan Shauger.
"He teaches a revolutionary method that goes against the tenets learned over time," Marshall says. "I've always been a bit of a shut-face player and had a difficult time keeping the club square in a traditional method. Now, I feel like I'm swinging in a natural way."
Last year, Marshall qualified for the RE/MAX World and finished 15th. Earlier this year, he won the 2005 American Long Drivers Association's national championship, which earned him an exemption into the 2005 RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship finals scheduled for Oct. 18-22 in Mesquite, Nevada.
"I have mixed emotions about not having to play in the local qualifiers because I like getting under the gun and competing," Marshall says. Still, he isn't complaining about knowing he has a spot in the national event.
When he's not banging balls or traveling across the Southeast for long drive events, Marshall operates a media relations company in Smyrna. Surprisingly, he plays very few rounds of golf each year, though he took up the game at age 14 and captained his golf team for two years at Ithaca College in New York.
"I don't have the game to compete and be moderately successful in Georgia because there are so many good players," says Marshall, adding that he's like anyone else and can "shoot 74 one day and 83 the next." In that sense, the long drive circuit has allowed him to fill a void by utilizing what has always been the strength of his game - power.
As much as he thrives on the adrenaline rush of competition, Marshall most enjoys the people he meets on the tour. "The camaraderie is the best part. You make so many good friends because you're all at many of the same events and all have a common interest. We take it very seriously, but nobody gets arrogant because we all know what it's like to struggle. We've all been there."
