WORLD LONG DRIVE CHAMPIONSHIP — “2017 Mile High Showdown in Denver, CO” — Pictured: — (Photo by: Tom Cooper/Golf Channel)
Los Angeles Native, Troy Mullins speaks five languages and had dreams of becoming a U.S. ambassador to China, but fate has dealt the charming beauty another option. Known by the moniker “The Trojan Goddess,” 25-year old Mullins has pounced onto the golf scene, as one of the longest drivers in the world, winning the 2017 World Long Drive Mile High Showdown for her first televised title. She’s a champion outright and watching her hit, her strength and agility are seemingly heaven-sent powers.
The Cornell University graduate earned a B.A. in China Asia Pacific Studies and International Relations. Not quite sure whether law school was really what she wanted next in life, she kept her options open. Her love for golf started after graduation when the Los Angeles native visited a driving range with a friend and fell in love with watching the ball fly. The seasoned athlete is a former member of Cornell University Women’s Track & Field team and has visited China five times. She spent her senior year studying abroad at Beijing’s prestigious Peking University, while there an instructor helped her fine-tune her swing.
She speaks golf well– along with five other languages, including Mandarin Chinese, American Sign Language, and Spanish. For this heptathlete speed and power run in her genes. Her father, Billy Mullins, a world-class sprinter, holds the world record in ’78, ’80 for the 400m and 400m-relay, he was set to compete in 1980 on the U.S. Olympic team, until the boycott of the Moscow Olympics prevented it. For his daughter Troy, it only took a few pointers by her coach to bring out the effortless power of her golf swing. Her Private Track coach, Chuck DeBus has said, “with her lower body strength and speed, Golf is the perfect sport for Troy.”
Troy Mullins, WLD Ak-Chin Smash in the Sun–Season: 2018 (– (Photo by: Cy Cyr/Golf Channel)
Mullins placed second in her very first competition, the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship (2012) with a drive of 321 yards using a regular-length driver. The dynamic hitter took sixth place (2016) at the Golf Channel World Long Drive Championship, winning a $7,000 purse, a trophy, and strong bragging rights. Then, knocked the socks off of her growing fan base by winning the 2017 World Long Drive Mile High Showdown in July, with a drive of 374.
At 5-foot-8, with a 4 handicap, Mullins has only been playing golf since she was 21. She worked at different golf courses to get free play, free balls, free practice. To support her ambitious golf dreams she also started a homeschooling and tutoring business to work with youth. Mullins believes that she can make it to the LPGA Tour. And, it’s a strong possibility, too; because she qualified for the 2012 U.S. Mid-Amateur even before the long drive competition.
This woman of color is at the top of her game on the , a showcase for women who can drive the ball way out of sight. Founded in 2000, WLD is no LPGA, but rather a sport where a hard-core golf swing aligns with the excitement of trash-talking fun, muscle-power, and force –worlds apart from the more restrained game of the LPGA.
“I’m still shocked. I can’t believe it,” Mullins said in an interview with the Undefeated.com. “I kept my head down [on that last ball], and I didn’t even know if it made it in the grid. I’m really proud of myself. … I’m doing this on my own, not sponsored. I come here with my two clubs and I’m doing it. And I think this is a great way to get people into the sport. This is how I got into golf, just coming out and having fun”
In a sport that is not very integrated with women of color, Mullins expressed her concern about sponsorships in the Undefeated.com interview. “…I’ve heard of a lot of stories of other-race women getting sponsorships, and they’re not better than me. We can get the same scores, but there’s something there. And I haven’t quite figured out what that is. It seems like as a woman of color I’m only getting recognition now because I’ve won. And it’s tough. It’s hard. And then on top of that, going to country clubs, I’m usually the only African-American woman or African American in general….You don’t meet many of us. It makes it tough. It’s different.”
Troy Mullins, WLD Ak-Chin Smash in the Sun — Season: 2018 (– (Photo by: Cy Cyr/Golf Channel)
It’s a busy life for Mullins who keeps a daily schedule that begins at 5 a.m. with exercises of either yoga, Pilates or spinning. Then, mid-morning she is on the golf course playing or driving balls. Her afternoons are filled with satisfying her business efforts, tutoring and homeschooling youth.
“It’s hard,” Mullins said. “Basically, I don’t have a social life. I work on the weekends. I wake up early and I go to bed early, and especially now if I’m going to be playing more tournaments. It’s really tough because golfing takes about five to six hours a day, not including any practice,” said the once child actress to the Undefeated.com, mentioning that she has been inspired by Tiger Woods, Marion Jones and even Serena and Venus Williams. Mullin’s lean, toned physique comes from growing up with a love for volleyball, swimming, tennis and track and field.
