It's no secret that golfers are hitting the ball further and further, with players coming out of college demonstrating ball and club speed that we have rarely seen before.
At the 2024 US Open, attention is on the likes of favorites Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy but, alongside the superstars of the game of golf, Charlie Reiter has been grabbing the limelight due to his mammoth tee shots!
A crisp little 199 mph ball speed and 360 carry for Charlie Reiter. Showed me a photo of his 216/380 numbers swinging a 48-inch long-drive driver a few weeks ago. pic.twitter.com/0zcXHzqV3iJune 10, 2024
When you think of the longest hitters in the pro ranks, you are likely to think of Bryson DeChambeau, a former US Open champion and a golfer who finished second at the World Long Drive Championships back in 2022.
However, if you were to check out the field at the 2024 US Open, no-one hits it as far as Reiter, who has been cruising in-and-around the mid-to-high 190s in ball speed and, if he really leans on it, can surpass the 210mph mark!
According to his coach, George Gankas, "the kid is a freak", whilst DeChambeau himself described Reiter as "crazy long" and "super, super powerful." In fact, at Pinehurst No.2, he put one tee shot 30-yards past DeChambeau's and even cleared the net surrounding the driving range with a 3-wood multiple times. Oh, that net is a 320-yard carry, by the way!
Get to know the big-hitting US Open pro better with these facts:
Charlie Reiter facts:
1. Charlie Reiter was born 20th July 1999 in Palm Desert, California.
2. At the age of four, he won his first golf tournament.
3. Growing up, his father played golf on the mini Tours and helped teach Charlie the game of golf.
4. At the age of 10, Reiter competed in the Golf Channel Amateur Tour National Championship at PGA West.
5. He attended Palm Desert High School and then the University of Southern California before transferring to the University of San Diego.
6. In 2017, he made the cut at the Australian Open and finished in a tie for 65th. The tournament featured the likes of Major winners Jordan Spieth and Cameron Smith.
7. During that year, he qualified for the 2017 US Amateur and 2017 US Junior Amateur, as well as securing notable victories at the AJGA Callaway Junior Classic.
8. His hobbies include surfing.
9. In 2018, as an amateur, he secured a sponsor exemption into the PGA Tour's CareerBuilder Challenge. He fired scores of 68, 70 and 77 for a 1-under total. In the process, he averaged more than 330 yards off the tee.
10. In his junior year at college (2022) he qualified for and competed in the US Open at The Country Club. He missed the cut following rounds of 76 and 75.
11. During that year, he became the SCGA Amateur Champion and turned professional.
12. Playing in the CareerBuilder Challenge, two-time Major winner, Jon Rahm, stated: “He (Reiter) hits it far and when I mean far, I mean really far, like he can easily get it past me".
13. In 2023, Reiter earned membership to the PGA Tour Canada circuit by one shot, with rounds of 70, 70, 64 and 69 good enough to secure him his card.
14. In 2024, the American shot a 67 at US Open Local Qualifying, before a 71 and 63 at Lake Merced Golf Club in Final Qualifying secured him a spot at the US Open for a second time.
15. As of June 2024, he has two victories on the Asher Tour, a professional circuit that is based on the West Coast.
