Cover story
'It's not my life': Scottie Scheffler on focus, patience, and his keys to better ball-striking
It took Scottie Scheffler all of 92 professional starts to get to World No. 1. Tiger Woods (21 starts) and Jordan Spieth (77) are the only two to do it faster, and neither of those guys spent a year in the so-called minor leagues like Scheffler did.
His meteoric rise, which included a win at last yearās Masters Tournament, wasnāt the result of a breakthrough swing tip or new exercise routine. He had a season for the ages by being the same person he has always beenāconsistent and relentless. Schefflerās primary skillāaside from virtuoso hand-eye coordination and ultra-alpha competitivenessāis the ability to deal with only whatās in front of him. Many players get triggered by the past or the futureānot Scottie.
You might think that type of focus, to stay fully present at all times, is reserved for the gameās elite, but Scheffler and his longtime coach, Randy Smith, say itās a skill you can learn and use, too. It doesnāt mean turning into an emotionless robot on the course or training yourself to somehow go blank when the pressure turns up. In fact, it means letting yourself be more human and more reactive, but with a process on how to handle itā and how to embrace the challenge as more fun.
Read on if youāre ready to play more āin the now.ā
YOU DO YOU
With all due respect to the WM Phoenix Openās 16th-hole stadium hysteria, the beer-fueled rowdiness in the desert has nothing on the focused, patriotic intensity of a Ryder Cup crowd. The sound coming from the thousands surrounding Whistling Straitsā first tee for the 2021 singles match between Scheffler and then World No. 1 Jon Rahm āwas like being inside a jet engine,ā Smith says. āIāve never seen or heard anything like it in my life.ā
Neither had Scheffler. A year removed from being named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year but still winless at the top level, Scheffler did have success that hinted at his potentialāU.S. Junior Amateur champion, Korn Ferry Player of the Year. But on this stage, this early in his professional career, the moment could have been paralyzing.
āI didnāt have anything to compare it to,ā Scheffler says. āYou hear players say winning a match at the Ryder Cup is like winning a major. Thereās so much more weight because youāre also playing for the other 11 guys, captains and vice captains and the thousands of people out there. At the Masters, itās just me, my caddie and a small team. If I fail, they still love me. If you fail at the Ryder Cup, youāre letting down the whole country.ā
āWHEN IāM PLAYING MY BEST, IāM FOCUSED ON THE TARGET, THE SHOT SHAPE. . . . IāM NOT THINKING ABOUT SWING MECHANICS.ā
Once Schefflerās tee went into the ground that fall day, the stress and anxiety from the run-up to the match receded. He went through his usual routines and mannerisms, down to his familiar shirt-shoulder tug and thousand-yard stare. It was as if he was playing a random off-week match against his buddies with only $50 on the line.
āIt doesnāt matter where Iām playing, Iām just an amped-up person, excited to compete. The buildup can be a challenge, but when you get out there, all of that melts away. Then itās just, I know what Iām doing. I can play this game.ā
In that Ryder Cup match, Scheffler birdied the first four holes and never let the previously undefeated Rahm rally. He put the first singles point on the board for the victorious American team and went 2-0-1 in his matches. That performance set the table for an incredible stretch when, in the span of five events, he rose to No. 1 in the World Golf Ranking with wins at the WM Phoenix Open, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. If that wasnāt enough, he followed that with a victory at the Masters, his first major.
Your first lesson, Scheffler says, is to stick with your habits, your mannerisms, your style of playāno matter what youāre up against. The atmosphere might feel different, but youāre not.
DRIVER: STRETCH YOUR CHEST
Dan Winters
Transitioning too fast is a big reason you donāt hit it as farāor as straightāas you can, says Schefflerās coach, Randy Smith, one of Golf Digestās 50 Best Teachers in America. āIf you donāt get a full stretch in your chest on the backswing, the downswing happens too fast relative to your bodyās timing, the club gets to the ball too early, and a slice or pull is the likely result.ā Instead, keep stretching as you swing back. Donāt stop until you feel the weight of the clubhead ātip overā at the top.ā
YOU DONāT HAVE TO BE PERFECTā NOT EVEN CLOSE
Watching golf on television can give the impression that the best players in the world are flushing almost every shot. Itās true that a lot of things have to go right to win a tournament at any level, but that doesnāt mean itās necessary to stay mistake free to play really well.
āIn Phoenix [in 2022], I learned it doesnāt take perfect golf to win,ā says Scheffler, who picked up his first tour victory after a three-hole playoff against veteran Patrick Cantlay. āI came from behind there, and I made three or four bogeys in the first 12 holes on a course where you have to go out and make a bunch of birdies. When I got to Bay Hill, I was struggling. I had to keep telling myself everybody else was struggling, too, because the course was so hard. I thought, Just stay patient. Knowing itās OK to make some mistakes is freeing. You can stop thinking about whatās going to happen on the next hole, or what the guys behind you are doing, or where the ball is going to end up, and just try to hit a good shot. Then get to the next shot and try to do it again.ā
IRONS: TAKE THE SLAP OUT
Dan Winters
Scheffler hits more balls than virtually anyone on the planet, Smith says. He even carries a club with a reminder grip for practice. āEvery playerās grip drifts, which means every player needs to be checking it,ā Smith says. Schefflerās issue was the handle drifted up and his lower hand was almost off the club. The subtle change in feel made his hands more active, giving him the impression he was slapping at the ball. Your hands should play a more passive role in the swing, Smith says, so adjust your grip to reduce the impulse to hit at the ball with them.
PUTTING: NEUTRALIZE YOUR GRIP
Dan Winters
No matter what style putter or stroke you use, stability through impact is key, Smith says. For many players, that will be much easier with a simple adjustment: āYou have to be careful not to let the lower hand go on the handle in a ātoo strongā position, like it would be for a full shot,ā Smith says. āWhen both hands are neutralāmeaning the lower hand is weaker and oriented more toward the target, youāre going to have much more stability.ā
BURY YOURSELF IN THE PROCESS
At the 2022 Masters, his tee shot on the 18th on Saturday afternoon was like a needle scraping across a record. He pulled it deep into the thick line of trees and bushes that form part of the āvegetation tunnelā you have to get through to find the fairway. Before that big miss, Scheffler had been cruising, building a four-shot lead over Cameron Smith. As he got to the area where his ball landed, and it still hadnāt been located, his first feeling was a flash of panic and the next was to second guess: Why did that happen? Was I trying to hit it too hard? Was I not fully committed to the shot? āThose feelings and thoughts come firstāand thatās all right,ā Scheffler says. āBut how quickly can you reset and get into āsolutionsā mode? I have to go find my ball in the woods. OK, found it. Canāt hit it. What can I do? How do I get to a place where I can hit it?ā
Scheffler dropped in the pine straw and ripped a high, hard 3-iron that hit the green and ended up just off the back edge. He wound up making bogey, but it was more of a triumph than a defeat, preserving a comfortable cushion leading into Sunday.
āThatās the thing Tiger has been so good at,ā Scheffler says. āWhen heās in those situations, all heās thinking about is trying to execute the shot. He isnāt worried about if itās going to work out. Heās fully committed to what heās doing. Iām just trying to get as close to that as possible. When Iām playing my best, Iām focused on my target, the shot shape. Iām getting so focused on what Iām trying to do with the golf ball that Iām not thinking about swing mechanics. Iām not thinking about anything other than good rhythm and feeling where the shot is going.ā
SHORT SHOTS: FOLLOW YOUR PIVOT
Dan Winters
With all short-game shots, one thought that can dramatically improve the quality of your impact is Let your club follow your pivot. āIf your body stops on the way through, or you stop the club at the ball, youāll never have a consistent bottom to your swing, and there goes predictability and any consistency,ā Smith says. āPivot toward your target, and let the clubhead flow through the ball and finish at the spot you picked.ā
PRACTICE WITH REAL INTENT
The emphasis here is on the mental game, Scheffler says, but that doesnāt mean mechanics donāt matter. They do, but you probably have to change your relationship with themāand how you approach technical improvement. That was one of the biggest adjustments Scheffler made going from college golf at Texas to the PGA Tour.
āIāve always been very good at being focused, but I focused on random stuffālike games on the range and trying to hit a certain pole or something,ā Scheffler says. āKeeping practice fun is important, but ultimately the practice youāre putting in needs to serve what youāre trying to accomplish when you play. There are certain guys you can watch out on the range, like Patrick Cantlay or Justin Thomas, and you immediately see that theyāre intentional and focused. I used to be able to spend all day out there, but now I just donāt have as much time or energy because thereās just more stuff going on. I canāt be ready for what happens on Sunday if Iām wasting a bunch of time Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.ā
The takeaway for you is to come into a range session with a single, specific thing to accomplish. Treat it like a mission. āOne of the big benefits of the Ryder Cup was, for the development process, it showed me the max amount of pressure I could feel. That really informed the way I practiced after that,ā Scheffler says. āYou know what you were feeling and thinking over those shots, so you can start to practice to prepare for those scenarios.ā
PUT IT AWAY
At any levelāand especially at the highest levelāmanaging failure is a fundamental part of the game. Shots donāt always work. Players lose tournaments. Other players play well to win. Even Schefflerās career year ended on an off note when he let a six-shot lead get away on Sunday at the Tour Championship. Keeping the losses in the proper perspective can make them fuel for future success instead of scar tissue.
āTiger didnāt make every putt and win every tournament,ā Scheffler says. āWhat happened at East Lake at the Tour Championship, or being one shot away from winning the U.S. Open, Iām never going to forget those tournaments. Those experiences are good lessons when it comes to putting in the work. Even though the good and bad memories will stick with me, they donāt hang over my head every day. When I get home, Iām home. Iām just trying to have fun. Golfās one part of my life, but itās not my entire life.ā
Even there, heās fully present.