The Loop

Long drive legend Sean "The Beast" Fister announces his retirement

October 07, 2015

After a long career, long drive legend Sean "The Beast" Fister is officially calling it quits.

Fister, 53, is a three-time winner of the Re/MAX World Long Driving Championship. Only Jason Zuback (five wins) has more victories in the annual event in Nevada.

Not familiar with his work? Check him out in action and see just how much strain he puts on his 6-foot-5, 245-pound frame:

The Little Rock, Ark., native was also the subject of a particularly entertaining "My Shot" interview in the March 2006 issue of Golf Digest. In one part of the Q&A with Guy Yocom, Fister, who once carried a ball 466 yards(!), talked about how difficult it is for him to play on a regular course.

My playing partners get tired of waiting, and they goad me: "You can't reach them," and "It's OK, if you drive the green I'll apologize for you." I've hit two people on the fly, one a guy I hit in the face and cut him around his eye and nose, another a lady I hit on the shoulder. They both went to the hospital. I've bounced balls into many people. I refuse to be goaded now and even give a speech: "You have to be patient with me because I've hit people before, and it's not pretty. It's fun to watch me hit it far, but it comes with a price."

People pay a price for golf lessons from Fister, who now lives in South Carolina, where he's also started his own custom-driver company. "The Beast" also makes appearances as both a public speaker and a public destroyer of the golf ball.

He may be done with big-time long drive competitions, but he still plays to a scratch a few times a month. And if you happen to be playing in the group in front of him, it's probably best to play extra fast.