Alumni Power Play: Arts & Sciences Alum Is a Long Drive Golfing Champ Stories You May Like Math Major Wins Silver in an Unlikely Sport: Chessboxing She’s Got Game: Sarah Spain ’02 Is a Star of Sports Journalism Alum Scores as Team Owner in First Women’s Pro Volleyball League After competing in track and field for the Big Red, Troy Mullins ’09 parlayed her athleticism into success at smashing the ball By Melissa Newcomb When Troy Mullins ’09 headed out to study abroad in Beijing her senior year, she packed a set of used golf clubs—toting them halfway around the world on the off chance that she’d have time to use them. Having bought a bike in Beijing, she’d take solo 25-minute rides from campus to a driving range she’d found. “I’d have ‘me time’ and go hit a bunch of balls,” recalls Mullins. “I had no idea what I was doing, but nobody cared.” At the driving range in Beijing. Eventually, Mullins not only improved her technique—she went on to a pro career in long drive golf, in which athletes compete to hit the ball the farthest. The first Black woman to win a world long drive tour competition, Mullins holds the record for the longest drive by an American female golfer, at 402 yards. (Only five women in the world have ever hit a drive more than 400 yards in competition.) The first Black woman to win a world long drive tour competition, Mullins holds the record for the longest drive by an American female golfer, at 402 yards. Mullins traces her interest in golf to her childhood in L.A., when she’d watch her uncle play in tournaments at a local country club. On the Hill, she majored in China and Asia-Pacific studies in Arts & Sciences and was a heptathlete on the Big Red women’s track and field team, developing the athleticism and strength that would later allow her to generate power in her swing. In Barton Hall with track and field teammates. After returning from China, Mullins continued to golf for fun—until an observer put an idea into her head. Stories You May Like Math Major Wins Silver in an Unlikely Sport: Chessboxing She’s Got Game: Sarah Spain ’02 Is a Star of Sports Journalism “They said, ‘You know, you could turn pro at this’—and then the challenge was on,” says Mullins, who immediately spent her savings on a coach and got a job at a golf course. Broadcasting at a LIV Golf event. She played in her first long drive tournament in 2012, taking second place; just five years later, she won the Mile High Showdown in Denver, where she set her record. As she explains, long drive events have a much different vibe from traditional golf tournaments and their hushed crowds: they’re fast-paced, with music blasting and spectators cheering. “Going into my first long drive competition was wild,” she recalls. “There was cheesy rock music playing so loud I couldn’t even think. But the women were so welcoming and fun.” Ranked as high as third in the world, Mullins has competed abroad in Morocco, Saudi Arabia, England, Ireland, Japan, and Spain. She also has worked in broadcasting with the Golf Channel, and with LIV Golf as an on-course reporter. Going into my first long drive competition was wild. There was cheesy rock music playing so loud I couldn’t even think. But the women were so welcoming and fun. On a typical day, her training routine comprises starting golf practice at 6 a.m., breaking for lunch, then doing a variable workout like hiking, biking, boxing, Pilates, or yoga. She credits her success to being an athlete first and a golfer second—noting that the strength and coordination she has developed through different sports translates to powerful swings, even if it comes with untraditional technique. Now living with her family near Palm Springs, CA, Mullins stepped back from golf after the birth of her daughter—who’s now 16 months old—but recently returned to training and playing. “I have to make sure if somebody breaks my record, I have the chance to reclaim my title,” she says. With her daughter, Dylan. “The satisfaction of hitting a good shot, and the sound that it makes—that’s what I’m always chasing.” Top: Mullins competing at the World Long Drive Championship in 2016. (Cy Cyr / Golf Channel; all other images provided.) Published Dec 22, 2025 Comments Ronald Jenkins 22 Dec, 2025 Great Ambassador for the game with a Cornell degree to match in something hard Reply Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Class Year Email * Save my name, email, and class year in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ Other stories You may like Glorious to View Something Old, Something New: East Hill, Then & Now Alumni Bestselling Children’s Author Weaves Tales of Wonder Alumni Gary and the Chocolate Factory: Alum Is Living the Sweet Life