Long Drive Professional
Mathew “HOSS” Vilade
Sends Scruffy 385 yards!

If you just look at me you can see why I can hit a long drive and why people call me Hoss. I have known a few other guys with the same name, but none like the "HOSS' I am about to introduce to you!

Mathew “Hoss” Vilade and I became pals through Scruffy and let me tell you…he is the real deal, - just listen to this. He lives in Texas, because New Jersey wasn’t big enough; he can hit a golf ball incredibly hard and unbelievably far! Just between you and me, with a swing speed of 150 mph and a ball speed of 215 mph and all that meat…what would you expect?

(Side Bar - click below on "Striking the Ball" for a tip on how to hit a long drive from Matt "Hoss" Vilade!)

Matt holds the RE/MAX Mesquite Grid record with a drive of 473 yards!! That’s right - I said 473 yards! That is 1,419 foot-long hot dogs all lined up end to end! (I got that little tidbit from Count). Matt is a Professional Long Driver, a Professional Sports Entertainer, member of UST High Performance Driving team, an ALPHA staff player and a member of Team Power Tech. With finishes of 19th overall on the 2007 LDA tour and 3rd Place at the Diamond in the Desert, he earned a spot at the World Finals (October 22-27, 2007).

In case you aren't familiar with this competition, let me give you a little background information. The RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship brings together an international field of golf's biggest hitters. It offers long drive's largest purse, $550,000, and pays the open division champion a cool $125K. In the sport of professional long drive, the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship is the red carpet event. It's the Oscar, Emmy, Tony and Golden Globe, all rolled up into one. In a word, it's huge, and takes place in scenic Mesquite, Nevada is where long drive careers are launched and reputations are made. The 2007 RE/MAX WLDC aired on December 25th and we hope you were watching.

I know you will want to join me and the Pals in congratulating Matt "Hoss" Vilade on his performance at this Championship and to let him know that we are proud of him!

The Pals also want to congratulate Matt and his wife Danielle on becoming the proud parents of future long drive champion, Cooper Hudson, born January 29th 2008.

Mathew has sort of adopted me as his new best “cartoon character” friend...he has my mug shot hanging in his office and has even had some folks thinking it is a caricature of him...can you imagine that? Anyway, Scruffy sent Matt some Scruffy & Pals golf balls and asked if he would test drive them. He agreed and, during a recent Shriner's Children's Hospital fund raising event in which he participated, he teed up Scruffy and sent him screaming 385 yards! Here is what he had to say...“Scruffy spun a little bit more than I would have liked, but I got him out there at 385 and change.”

385 yards!...that is the length of three football fields plus Tiger Wood’s yacht and 49 foot long hot dogs!

So, buy some of our golf balls...they are not just for collecting...they really perform...just ask Matt.

In the left photo below, you will see Matt at address with Scruffy on the tee. In the right photo, the crowd at the Shriner's Charity event watch as Matt winds up his backswing for the launch that sent Scruffy sailing!

Here are Mathew’s Bio and Stats:

Home Town: Gladstone, NJ
Current Residence: Hideaway, TX
Family: Danielle Vilade – Wife , Diz - Dog, Cat – Hooligan
Height: 6 ft, Weight: 292 lbs
2 X Re-Max World Long Drive Finalist
2007 Rookie Season on LDA Tour
2007 LDA Desert Launch Top 10
2007 Diamond in the Desert 3rd Place
Set Diamond in the Desert Record of 473 yard drive
Top Swing speed: 149.4 velocity
Top ball speed: 215 velocity
Longest Drive: 473 yards Mesquite, NV Feb, 11 2007
Over ten 400 + yard drives in competition
Handicap 6
Former Club Professional Neshanic Valley, NJ
Former Professional Club Fitter in Callaway Performance Center.

Matt has been a special Olympics coach, which gives a great example of the kind of heart he has for those in need. He was an accomplished bowler on the NBT Tour and has also held the title of New Jersey State Heavyweight Tae Kwon Do Champion and District Wrestling Champion. He is a member of the UST HIGH PERFORMANCE DRIVING TEAM.

And now he is an official member of Team Scruffy & Pals!

Matt has agreed to give us some tips on how to hit a long drive. Click below for his first lesson.

Striking the Ball

Before you leave this page, why not visit our Pro Shop and order a sleeve of Scruffy and Pals golf balls to use at your next golf outing? Matt's test drive is proof that they are a quality product and they may even give you the jump start you need for your game. Please remember to carefully place us on the tee so we are facing down the fairway. We hate getting hit in the face with those big-headed drivers!