September 12, 2025 • 7 mins
It all tees off at Templeton Golf Club next week.
The club is playing host to XDL’s Christchurch Regional Champs 2025 on Friday next week, one of the five regional competitions before Nationals in November.
Lesley Murdoch caught up with XDL Founder Olna Ford ahead of the competition.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
What a treat for us.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
We're talking with Olna Ford, who is the brains and
inspiration behind not only the XDL Regional Championships at the
Temperton Golf Club next Friday, but Olna has staged forty
of these events in eight countries around the world, and
she joins us, good morning, very.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Good morning, Leslie. Hi everyone, Well, how.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Cool is this? Everybody loves competition.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
May not be the most skillful people, but we love
a competition where we can either throw a ball a
long way or hit a ball a long way, whatever
sport it is. And you have captured this in the
XDL Regional champs.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Thank you, Leslie. Cleina is certainly a long drive to
get to here, and I do include that kind this morning.
But you know it's ironic. I can't even hit the ball.
I don't even take golf, but.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
You've obviously got the organizational expertise to put something like
this together.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
You've captured it.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
Thank you so much. Well. When I got into the
sport back in twenty sixteen, was purely by chance, and
you know, I was promoting a golf is that no
one wanted, and I realized that, you know, revenues were down.
Traditional memberships were no longer required to play golf, and
I put together the Celebrity Golf Tournament back in twenty sixteen,
(01:17):
and the very first one was you know, caught the
attention from our long drivers overseas and I sponsored them
in and the rest is history.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Wow, because what we should give some history. If people
don't know what we're talking about. A PGA Tour player
off the t averages ahead of two hundred and seventy
nine meters long drive, they can hit three hundred and
twenty six off the tea. The World Men's Championship in
twenty twenty four was won by Sean Johnson, who drove
the ball three hundred and seventy six meters. The World
(01:49):
Women's Championship was won by our very own Phyllis Metti,
who hit the ball two hundred and eighty three meters
off the tee. And this is just phenomenal, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
You're correct, and you know we're driving world records and
practice that's the exciting part, you know. So a lot
of those aren't documented, you know, And I feel like
we're just arriving, Leslie, because you know, it's been a
tough time who would have thought a pandemic was going
to be thrown into the mix. So if we've achieved
what we have thus far, you know, twenty twenty sets
(02:22):
is looking pretty good.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Oh fantastic. The event next week though at Temperton Golf Club.
What's happened? How do you organize this? Who's involved? How
many entries, et cetera.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Oh, look, it starts with the clubs wanting these events.
So thanks to the wonderful team and as they're at
Temperton Golf Club. Look, our regionals have been something that
we're have been aspiring to for quite some time now,
lack of sponsors obviously being a hard time post pandemic.
You know, we need that door open first with the
club and then it starts from there. This event is
(02:55):
all about the locals, the local sponsors, about the club.
So the first contact is normally going through to our
website at xdrworldwide dot com, and then we pass those
registrations onto the club and they link up with the
players and you know, all the registrations go to the club.
So this is real good revenue and we're just beginning.
(03:17):
So this particular event on Friday is next Friday, is
a media event the courses closed got around I believe
just over thirty registrations across the women's, Men's and Masters,
which is fantastic. Wow.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Does have we got any stars that are entering or
are they just sort of even day hitters.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
Absolutely. I call all of our registrations the beginners or
pro stars, but the ones that are going to stand
out to the crowd. And I think we're going to
you know, keep a good eye of as the New
Zealand Long Blacks is going to be a few of
those hitting on the tee. Our New Zealand champion, George
Wardow who's our Men's Open. He's a really big hitter,
(03:58):
travels the world and you know he's going to be one.
Also Greg Mooney our Master's New Zealand champion, both in
New Zealand Long Black. So I guess they are the
ones to keep your eye on.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Can spectators attend.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Absolutely? This is all about you know, bringing people to
the tea, getting them involved and hopefully you know, signing
them up for next year. And really this is you know,
just to trial out for those beginners heading worth the
pro So this is your pro am for long Drive.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
So what days and what times the Specta Friday.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Yes, good Christian Friday's nineteenth at Templeton Golf Club and
we are teaming up at ten thirty. It should last
tour about twelve thirty. This is about high performance sports,
so we don't want to, you know, keep the players
on the tea too long. We want the big drives.
So and you know, if you want to meet and
greet some of the players, I'll be there around nine thirty.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
And is this christ such event? I mean, do any
other clubs want it? Or how does it fit into
your schedule?
Speaker 3 (04:58):
Thank you? So yes. Our next event aster from Templeton
is the Auckland the first Auckland Regionals and I'm very excited.
That's that Walkworth Golf Club even got our promo on
a back of a bus to excite the region. And
you know, I guess these regional events are just going
(05:20):
to grow next year because that's our plan. This December
we're announcing the Four Pillars, which is also revealing our
first franchise which has been sold in the Hawk's Bay,
our drive trailers which we'll see on road eventually, and
our powerhouses. These are our coaching and club fitting for events.
So you know there's going to be a lot of
engagements with the public eventually. It's just been a tough
(05:43):
time to get to hear.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Well, I'll tell you what.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
We're looking forward to seeing what happens next Friday and
hoping to get a report of course on the program
next week.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
But we congratulate you on Afford. This is true.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
It's triumphant to get something like this and it's certainly
got legs. And as I mentioned right at the beginning,
people love a competition.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Well done you.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Oh, thank you so much. And can I just say
I did get permission to mention a real great the
huge thank you to our local sponsors who have pulled
this event together. You know, we've could have done it
without the club, you know, good Winen Extractions and you
know started it off and got the ball rolling and
we've even got called trapped Christ to it. Bringing a
(06:24):
beautiful vehicle to the tea so that we can cross
promote the word drive and you know, support local businesses
at the same time.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Well that's what we're about as well. So good on you.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Thank you so much, Old Afford. We're all a bit
for finding out about the XDL Regional Champs.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Thank you, thank you, so much, Leslie and thanks to
the team there hope. To everyone on the tea on
Friday next.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Week, absolutely well, you've given us something that we can
look forward to to next week.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Brilliant.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
For more from News Talks, there'd be listen live on
air or online and
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Keep our shows with you wherever you go with our
podcast on IR Radio.
What a treat for us.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
We're talking with Olna Ford, who is the brains and
inspiration behind not only the XDL Regional Championships at the
Temperton Golf Club next Friday, but Olna has staged forty
of these events in eight countries around the world, and
she joins us, good morning, very.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Good morning, Leslie. Hi everyone, Well, how.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Cool is this? Everybody loves competition.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
May not be the most skillful people, but we love
a competition where we can either throw a ball a
long way or hit a ball a long way, whatever
sport it is. And you have captured this in the
XDL Regional champs.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Thank you, Leslie. Cleina is certainly a long drive to
get to here, and I do include that kind this morning.
But you know it's ironic. I can't even hit the ball.
I don't even take golf, but.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
You've obviously got the organizational expertise to put something like
this together.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
You've captured it.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
Thank you so much. Well. When I got into the
sport back in twenty sixteen, was purely by chance, and
you know, I was promoting a golf is that no
one wanted, and I realized that, you know, revenues were down.
Traditional memberships were no longer required to play golf, and
I put together the Celebrity Golf Tournament back in twenty sixteen,
(01:17):
and the very first one was you know, caught the
attention from our long drivers overseas and I sponsored them
in and the rest is history.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Wow, because what we should give some history. If people
don't know what we're talking about. A PGA Tour player
off the t averages ahead of two hundred and seventy
nine meters long drive, they can hit three hundred and
twenty six off the tea. The World Men's Championship in
twenty twenty four was won by Sean Johnson, who drove
the ball three hundred and seventy six meters. The World
(01:49):
Women's Championship was won by our very own Phyllis Metti,
who hit the ball two hundred and eighty three meters
off the tee. And this is just phenomenal, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
You're correct, and you know we're driving world records and
practice that's the exciting part, you know. So a lot
of those aren't documented, you know, And I feel like
we're just arriving, Leslie, because you know, it's been a
tough time who would have thought a pandemic was going
to be thrown into the mix. So if we've achieved
what we have thus far, you know, twenty twenty sets
(02:22):
is looking pretty good.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Oh fantastic. The event next week though at Temperton Golf Club.
What's happened? How do you organize this? Who's involved? How
many entries, et cetera.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Oh, look, it starts with the clubs wanting these events.
So thanks to the wonderful team and as they're at
Temperton Golf Club. Look, our regionals have been something that
we're have been aspiring to for quite some time now,
lack of sponsors obviously being a hard time post pandemic.
You know, we need that door open first with the
club and then it starts from there. This event is
(02:55):
all about the locals, the local sponsors, about the club.
So the first contact is normally going through to our
website at xdrworldwide dot com, and then we pass those
registrations onto the club and they link up with the
players and you know, all the registrations go to the club.
So this is real good revenue and we're just beginning.
(03:17):
So this particular event on Friday is next Friday, is
a media event the courses closed got around I believe
just over thirty registrations across the women's, Men's and Masters,
which is fantastic. Wow.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Does have we got any stars that are entering or
are they just sort of even day hitters.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
Absolutely. I call all of our registrations the beginners or
pro stars, but the ones that are going to stand
out to the crowd. And I think we're going to
you know, keep a good eye of as the New
Zealand Long Blacks is going to be a few of
those hitting on the tee. Our New Zealand champion, George
Wardow who's our Men's Open. He's a really big hitter,
(03:58):
travels the world and you know he's going to be one.
Also Greg Mooney our Master's New Zealand champion, both in
New Zealand Long Black. So I guess they are the
ones to keep your eye on.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Can spectators attend.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Absolutely? This is all about you know, bringing people to
the tea, getting them involved and hopefully you know, signing
them up for next year. And really this is you know,
just to trial out for those beginners heading worth the
pro So this is your pro am for long Drive.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
So what days and what times the Specta Friday.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Yes, good Christian Friday's nineteenth at Templeton Golf Club and
we are teaming up at ten thirty. It should last
tour about twelve thirty. This is about high performance sports,
so we don't want to, you know, keep the players
on the tea too long. We want the big drives.
So and you know, if you want to meet and
greet some of the players, I'll be there around nine thirty.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
And is this christ such event? I mean, do any
other clubs want it? Or how does it fit into
your schedule?
Speaker 3 (04:58):
Thank you? So yes. Our next event aster from Templeton
is the Auckland the first Auckland Regionals and I'm very excited.
That's that Walkworth Golf Club even got our promo on
a back of a bus to excite the region. And
you know, I guess these regional events are just going
(05:20):
to grow next year because that's our plan. This December
we're announcing the Four Pillars, which is also revealing our
first franchise which has been sold in the Hawk's Bay,
our drive trailers which we'll see on road eventually, and
our powerhouses. These are our coaching and club fitting for events.
So you know there's going to be a lot of
engagements with the public eventually. It's just been a tough
(05:43):
time to get to hear.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Well, I'll tell you what.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
We're looking forward to seeing what happens next Friday and
hoping to get a report of course on the program
next week.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
But we congratulate you on Afford. This is true.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
It's triumphant to get something like this and it's certainly
got legs. And as I mentioned right at the beginning,
people love a competition.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Well done you.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Oh, thank you so much. And can I just say
I did get permission to mention a real great the
huge thank you to our local sponsors who have pulled
this event together. You know, we've could have done it
without the club, you know, good Winen Extractions and you
know started it off and got the ball rolling and
we've even got called trapped Christ to it. Bringing a
(06:24):
beautiful vehicle to the tea so that we can cross
promote the word drive and you know, support local businesses
at the same time.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Well that's what we're about as well. So good on you.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Thank you so much, Old Afford. We're all a bit
for finding out about the XDL Regional Champs.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Thank you, thank you, so much, Leslie and thanks to
the team there hope. To everyone on the tea on
Friday next.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Week, absolutely well, you've given us something that we can
look forward to to next week.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Brilliant.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
For more from News Talks, there'd be listen live on
air or online and
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Keep our shows with you wherever you go with our
podcast on IR Radio.
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