- Normal Sport
- Posts
- Scottie Scheffler's SAT
Issue No. 108 | September 4, 2024
Hey,
We did a Seamus headcover giveaway to one new person who signed up for the newsletter since last Thursday. A bunch of new folks signed up (welcome!) and we gave this headcover to Alex C.
It’s not the only giveaway we’ll do this fall, and I promise we’ll do more of them for those of you who are already subscribers to the newsletter.
Watch this space.
Onto the news.
Two Things I Loved
1. I have this theory about Scottie (I have a lot of Scottie theories, tbh). I can’t remember if I’ve written it. I’m sure I have somewhere. Anyway, it’s about how he’s not on social media and how much I think that helps him.
Everybody is on something. Instagram, Twitter, TikTok. Most people who say they’re “not on social media” — especially pro athletes — really mean they are just lurkers who have other people post stuff for them.
We all want to know what other people think about us.
Quick aside: One thing that amuses me in conversation is how taboo it is to admit you’re on Facebook all the time. “I saw this thing on Facebook. I mean I only get on there once or twice a year, but I saw this thing …” /end aside
As far as I know, Scottie is actually not on social media. I think that is meaningful because I know how difficult it is for me to block out noise, and I get about 1/1000th of the noise I’m sure he gets.
Guys are grinding to be a 1 percent better putter or 2 percent stronger or for 3 MPH more ball speed, but the real competitive advantage that doesn’t get talked about in modern golf is reducing the volume of noise in your brain.
JT talked about this as it relates to Scottie on Sunday.
“I just think how well he plays when he's the guy to beat every single week [is what he’s elevated about his game this year],” said JT. “I don't think people understand how hard that is to do, when you're expected to win, when you're the favorite to win, when every single thing you're doing is being looked at, good and bad, on the golf course, and how hard it is to get in your own little zone and own little world and truly just quiet the noise. It's something that is just as much of a skill as being able to hit a driver in the fairway or an iron on line. He's clearly figured that out very well.
“You constantly have reminders, whether it's from people, social media -- he's not on social media, so that definitely helps. You're not constantly reading stuff about yourself and what people are saying about you. All Scottie wants to do is just play the best he can and win as many tournaments as possible, and he's doing a pretty good job of that.”
The allure of being on Twitter or Instagram is strong. Especially with the lonely lifestyle those guys live, the illusory pull of companionship brought about by those platforms is compelling. To not be on them is a form of discipline that has helped shape one of the best ball strikers of the last 25 years into one of the most mentally tough players in the world as well.
It’s something that doesn’t get talked about enough.
And I don’t know why more top guys don’t try it.
2. If you haven’t seen the video of Sahith talking about his self-assessed penalty from Saturday, go watch it. Butterfly effect and such, but that penalty cost him $2.5 million and the OWGR title this week. He couldn’t have known that at the time, but based on the way he responded, I assume that knowledge would have only made him double down on his choice.
I’m not sure we should be praising guys for playing by the rules, but given how the last several years have gone, Sahith gave a great example of what golf is supposed to look like (it reminded me of the Blayne Barber Q-school situation from 2012 — an insane sentence, I know).
We can sit here and holler about whether this should even be a rule or if players should be managing the rules of golf in this way, but the reality is that this is how the game is set up for now, and instead of seeing how much he could legally get away with in front of a rules official, Sahith disallowed himself from getting away with anything at all.
It’s fun when the best players are not only the most likable but also the most reasonable. It is unreasonable and frustrating when a player — in a game built on calling your own fouls — tries to hack his way to victory, daring the sometimes-there-but-often-not officials to stop him. (Who am I referencing? Rory saying you need villains for a tour to work is a thing that comes to mind).
It is reasonable and amenable (and very normal sport, btw) when a player says I think I saw a couple flecks of sand fly back, and I don’t want to try to fall asleep wondering if I actually saw it. If you have played golf competitively, you can probably relate. It’s unique, yes, but also emblematic of the game as a whole. For though the leaderboards are 30 or 70 or 156 players long, the antagonist is often the same as the protagonist.
For we are rarely playing against the courses or against the opponents thrown our way as often as we are playing against a much tougher opponent to defend and defeat. The internal opponent that wars and rages and seems to keep us from doing what we want to do in favor of what we do not want to do.
The opponent we know best.
The indefatigable self.
Sand grain: “My sneeze cost him how much?!”
Normal Sport
1. Here’s an SAT word problem for you: Scottie Scheffler played 20 golf tournaments in 2024, and all but one of them was an official PGA Tour event. Scottie won 7 PGA Tour events and 7 OWGR events but somehow won 8 events overall. What happened to Scottie?
2. A two-time major winner saying this about the denouement of his league’s season is probably an indictment: "I knew that was kind of the goal for the week, right, to come out on top on this kind of fake leaderboard and see how things played out."
3. I would say this is bizarre but I’ve seen some of the stuff that goes on at media row at the actual Super Bowl.
4. Counting Spieth’s major wins after he gets that wrist fixed.
5. Another SAT question. This screenshot is …
A. From a commercial during the Tour Championship broadcast.
B. From the Tour Championship broadcast.
6. This man made $62 million playing golf this year.
JM: “Give me a Global HQ’s worth of donuts. Or whatever makes sense.
We just gave Scottie $25 million for winning the FedEx Cup. He’s worked here for about five years.”
Staff: “Okay.”
Question of the Week
Last week, I dropped my two “I’m out of my mind excited about this guest” podcast guests right now. The folks I get the most hype for if I see them as the subject of a pod.
As a follow up, here’s an email I got on that subject from reader, Matt E.
I racked my brain attempting to think of names that answer your question. And while I did think of a few names, I noticed that it wasn’t as much about who it was but rather the characteristics of the individual.
I get excited to listen to a podcast or TV/radio segment when a guest is announced who embodies a few traits I find interesting and important.
It takes no effort on my part to listen closely and retain the commentary of media personalities who dig deep and articulate what they have dug up. With golf it’s people like KVV. With baseball it’s Tim Kurkjian (his love for baseball is unmistakable and comes through in his reporting).
With the NFL it’s Albert Breer (he has a thoughtful answer for every question). And with the NBA, the pair of Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser is a W. The way they are able to agree or disagree on a list of topics with ease and let the audience decide for themselves is award winning and unmatched.
In all of these example, their questions and acquired answers are thoughtful and valuable — rather than hyperbolic clickbait. Thanks for asking the question, KP, and allowing your audience (me) to participate.
Stat of the Week
Whose resume would you rather have?
Resume 1
• 10 PGA Tour wins
• 1 Masters win
• $55 million (official money)
• 30% top 10s
• 1.4 strokes gained/round
• Olympic medal
Resume 2
• 7 PGA Tour wins
• 1 Masters win
• 1 Players win
• $29 million (official money)
• 87% top 10s
• 3.4 strokes gained/round
• Olympic medal
The first resume is Hideki Matsuyama’s career.
The second is Scottie Scheffler … since March 1 of this year.
The Infirmary
A couple of submissions this week.
1. I went on a one-day golf trip last weekend with some close friends. We drove up to a great spot in Oklahoma and played 36 on the day. On our 33rd hole — after plenty of conversation about what’s going on in all of our lives — I looked over at my buddy, curious, and asked him, “Hey, what are you reading right now?”
His response … “I think it’s right to left.”
2. This is sociopathic stuff! 2013 Sergio vibes?!
3. Yes, but I don’t hit that shot shape, which feels problematic. (also, don’t know how I’m stumbling into tweets from October 2023).
Quote of the Week
Adam Scott on Scottie Scheffler.
I think it is on par with those great years of Tiger's. I think it's very hard today for anyone to separate themselves as much as Scottie has. I don't think we've seen that in a long time. I think it's harder to do it today.
One of my hottest takes is that the Tour is a lot more difficult now than when Tiger was melting people’s faces. It’s not really that hot of a take, but it certainly sounds hot. Also, for the obvious “but what about Cam and DJ and Bryson and Brooks?” rebuttal, read this.
Take(s) of the Week
• I made fun of Scottie for going wired headphones on a day when he stood to win more than Christian McCaffrey will make this entire year.
I was then informed by many people that wired headphones are back in.
And now I’m wondering if I’m the Old.
• Here’s another take: The Saudis should have gone after the YouTubers. Fly them all over the world, let them eat minutes away from the PGA Tour. From a business perspective, it would have been a lot smarter. Although from a status standpoint, I’m not Yasir wants to be kicking it with Luke Kwon and Fat Perez as much as he does Phil Mickelson and Pat Perez.
• I hope to someday write the golf/Bible crossover book. No idea how it would be structured or formatted, but it is very much the center of the center of my Venn diagram.
Rock the Vote
OK, this quote got me fired up. The phrase “a deep water specialist” is so awesome. I love it.
I want your take though, and I didn’t want to limit the choices here. Hell, I don’t even care if you put a golfer. Just click one of the poll choices and leave your answer. I’m only looking for comments. Who do you think of when you think deep water specialist. I’ll give my answer — I’m thinking someone who played at Fenway in the late 90s — next week along with the best comments on here.
Best Deep Water Specialist |
Last Week’s Results
If you missed last week’s newsletter, I dropped my family’s NFL teams draft. Adapted from the Ballknowers, it’s a season-long race where you get 5 points per regular season win, 10 for playoff wins and 15 for a Super Bowl.
Here are the teams.
And the comments.
“Yikes. This is a runaway for Dad.”
“Definitely NOT mom” (ed. note: love to hear it)
“Bears! Niners. Jude has it in the bag”
“Jack crushed this! Browns are probably the worst team there and they should be around .500 with that D. Hate to do it, but I don't know if Hannah will even crack 100 points...”
“Kyle definitely has 5 deep playoff teams. Maybe one of Super Bowl winners”
Corrupt Golf Media
👉️ I am a sucker for stuff like this, but the H&B fall line looks awesome.
👉️ Jamie Kennedy dives into what it looks like when an elite (like elite elite) ball striker figures out how to be a zero (or average) putter.
👉️ This on addiction by former pro Steve Wheatcroft is really good.
👉️ Speaking of addiction, I loved this piece on Willie Cauley-Stein and his journey (which includes golf!).
👉️ I was going to do something on how absurd it is that the OWGR lists the team portion of LIV as a reason it won’t count LIV events (the integrity of the tournament could be manipulated!) but nothing on how manipulated the Tour Championship (which absolutely should not be an OWGR event!) is.
The more you care about the sanctity of every stroke and the purity of a ranking system, the more compelling this argument becomes. I find it to be a strong argument, even if the scenario Waugh references is rare. However, I do find his rationale impossible to square with the OWGR awarding world ranking points based on one’s positioning on the gross shadow leaderboard at the Tour Championship.
When Scottie Scheffler hit a conservative wedge shot into the 72nd hole of this year’s Tour Championship with a four-stroke net lead, he wasn’t worried about advancing his position on the gross leaderboard. Isn’t that a conflict?
👉️ Who would make the Euro Tour HOF if there was a points system?
👉️ This pod on high agency people and some other business ideas is really good. So is this older interview with Matt Levine, which if you enjoy Ben Thompson, you will almost certainly enjoy Matt Levine.
How is This App Free?
• This was in response to one of my tweets about what Scottie accomplished this season. It leveled me.
• Dylan’s charts are next level.
• This is like the social media accounts for college football teams that have to tweet scores like, “Iowa is down 44-6 going into the fourth quarter at Ohio State.”
• Crying.
Love Your Work
This is something I have been feeling but have not been able to articulate as well as Justin did below.
The CEO of Patreon, Jack Conte, recently pointed out that we're seeing the death of the follower. I took note of this because I remember Nat Eliason saying the same exact thing at a dinner months ago.
The algorithmic ranking concept that Facebook started in the early 2010s has recently been perfected by TikTok (and now all other platforms mimicking it). This trend changes the economics of creator businesses. It increases the value of deep connection around sophisticated topics, as the profit of mass-appeal gets competed down by everyone aping into the same trends.
If you simply don't do that, and you go a completely different, independent way, you'll stand out as particularly interesting to the most sophisticated people. Not because the tech is incentivizing this approach, but precisely because it's incentivizing everyone else in the other direction.
This is the part I love: It increases the value of deep connection around sophisticated topics, as the profit of mass-appeal gets competed down by everyone aping into the same trends.
Golf isn’t necessarily sophisticated — at least not at the non-Bryson level — but I very much enjoy running the other way, not trying to ape into the same trends and just talking about what I think the people I actually want to talk to are talking about.
It’s quite wonderful and barely feels like work at all.
Thanks for reading until the end.
You’re a sicko, and I’m grateful for it.
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