Bullard, who has been competing in long drive tournaments since 2002, will be competing on a reality show along with some of the other top long drive hitters in the world as well as against a group of NASCAR drivers.
“God has blessed me with the talent to do this and I am very grateful,” Bullard said. “It has been an unbelievable experience.”
The reality show, named Big Shots – Titans at the Tee, follows a group of NASCAR drivers as they compete on the newly created HorsePower Tee Shot Tour.
Those drivers – Elliott Sadler, Brian Vickers, Marcos Ambrose, David Ragan, J.J. Yeley, Kyle Petty, Stephen Leicht and Hermie Sadler – are partnering with some of the longest hitters in the world in a series of six Power Golf events that reward both accuracy and distance.
Those hitters are Bullard, Brooks Baldwin, Vince Howell, Scott Ionno, Danny Carl Luirette, J.D. Murkerson, Carl Wolter and Sean “the beast” Fister.
“The producers actually hand picked the top four hitters and I was one of the four chosen,” Bullard said. “That was a huge honor, because 32 other guys had to compete for the remaining four spots and one of those guys competing to get in was a three-time world champion. So it was real humbling to be named a core guy.”
The reason the 6-foot-2, 225-pound 30-year-old Cedartown native was chosen to be on the show was because of the success he has been having on the Long Drivers of America (LDA) Tour.
“I have been extremely blessed to have had several good years in a row on the LDA Tour,” Bullard said. “I’ve won five long drive championships since 2004. That is more than anyone else in the world.”
In 2004, Bullard finished seventh at the LDA Tour Long Drive Championship in Albuquerque, N.M., he won the SMT ACCUFLEX Long Drive event in Macon and he competed in the ReMax World Long Drive Championship that year.
The former Cedartown High baseball standout followed that with a championship in Metter, Ga. at the 2005 Southeastern Long Drive Event.
In 2006 Bullard really began to rack up the championships, as he won the U.S. Long Drive Tour Event in Little Rock, Ar. and he placed in the top ten in the 2006 Remax World Long Drive Championship.
In 2007, Bullard won the LDA Desert Launch event in Mesquite, Nv. and he won the 2007 U.S. Long Drive Tour Event in Cedartown. Also in 2007, he competed in the Remax World Long Drive Championship and he placed eighth in Dallas, Texas at the LDA Tour Long Drive Championship.
“I thought 2006 was my best year, but I was able to follow it up with an even better year in 2007,” Bullard said. “But now 2008 has even been better to me. I’ve been so lucky and fortunate.”
This season Bullard has positioned himself to make a serious run at the world championships in long drive hitting.
“I’ve gotten better each year and this is the best year I’ve ever had,” Bullard said. “I feel like I’ve prepared myself mentally and physically to win a world championship. I think I’ve done everything I could do to prepare myself.”
Bullard will try to capture the world championship in Nevada from Oct. 20-25 on ESPN. The world champion will walk away with $250,000.
“I truly feel like it takes three-to-six years of hard work and dedication at something to become the best at it,” Bullard said. “And I feel like I’ve put a gameplan in place and have executed it the best that I can.”
But before Bullard plays for the world championship, he will compete with some of the biggest names on the LDA Tour and in NASCAR on the SPEED network.
“This has been an eye-opening experience,” Bullard said, who also noted that some of the shows have already been taped. “To come from Cedartown and to get to where I am now, it’s truly a blessing from God.”
On the Big Shots – Titans at the Tee show, the competitors will be using only USGA-approved drivers and all play will be generated from a tee box located on an actual golf hole. Ten-yard scoring segments start at 220 yards through 400 yards, with each segment increasing by 5 points. Shots outside the competition grid do not earn any points.
Hosted by Rick Allen, the one-hour programs will follow the HorsePower Tee Shot Tour as it travels the NASCAR circuit, teeing it up at Cabarrus Country Club (Concord, N.C.), The Grande Golf Club (Jackson, Mich.), Joliet Country Club (Joliet, Ill.), Mark Twain Golf Course (Elmira, N.Y.), Maple Dale Country Club (Dover, Del.) and wrapping things up back in Concord for the championship.
“This show is the culmination of athletes from two great sports coming together to showcase their individual athletic abilities in a format that demonstrates to the world that these guys can hit the golf ball a long way as well as shape their shots with accuracy,” said John Mamoudis, President and CEO, HorsePower Sports Marketing in a press release.
“With the NASCAR drivers behind the wheel every day at speeds up to 200 mph and then involved with a golf competition in which ball speeds reach 200 mph, it make for a natural adrenaline rush that is constantly part of their lives.”
Bullard, who has two sons named Connor (age seven) and Grant (four) and is married to his high school sweetheart, Henslee, says that at the end of the day his goal is just to have been a positive role model for his two sons.
“They mean the world to me and my main purpose is to be a role model for them,” Bullard said. “I want them to realize that if they put in the time, the hard work and the effort that they can be successful.”
Bullard also noted that he wanted every youngster in Cedartown to know that.
“It doesn’t matter if you are playing baseball, football, fast-pitch softball, soccer or whatever, if you will dedicate yourself to working hard, doing what is right and keeping your grades up in the classroom then you can be successful,” Bullard said. “If I can achieve all I’ve achieved, then I know anyone else can as well if they just work at it.”
Bullard, who is sponsored by Callaway Gardens and Perennial Sports, often performs on corporate outings such as with the PGA Superstore and he participates in various charity events.
Bullard also plays at Home Depot Foundation Golf Tournaments across America and has performed for the Atlanta Thrashers and the Atlanta Hawks.
Bullard, who played collegiate baseball at Division II powerhouse Armstrong State in Savannah before playing for two years in the Arizona Diamondbacks minor league organization, has hit a golf ball as fast as 216 mph and his longest playing drive is a shocking 515 yards.
Now he will try and do Cedartown proud on the SPEED network before taking his crack at the long drive world championship.
“It’s so surreal to be in the situation that I am in,” Bullard said. “But I’m going to do the best that I can to make my family proud and to make Cedartown proud.”
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