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- Scottie’s a Pretty Average Kid
Issue No. 105 | August 23, 2024
Hey,
Something I want to write about next week is who excites you when you see their name pop up on a podcast. I have two answers, neither has anything to do with golf. Honestly don’t know if either of these people has ever watched golf. But when they show up on the feed of a pod I listen to, I get giddy.
Anyway, respond to this tweet (or if you don’t have Twitter, just respond to this email, and I’ll write about the reaction plus my picks next week).
Onto the news.
10 Sort of Golf-Related Thoughts
1. Max went on the NLU pod recently, and per the usual the entire thing is worth a listen. This exchange stood out, though.
I'm obviously a huge Kobe Bryant fan. I've watched a zillion of his videos. And if you deep dive deep into those the answer to all of to every question when people ask him — they ask him how he feels about losing — and he says he goes, “I like it.”
And ask 99 percent of people about Kobe, they always say you “Oh, this is not the attitude Team USA would have if Kobe was on the team.”
It's like, “No, it's exactly the attitude.” You put one foot in front of the other. Losing's OK because he says, “You know, you find something now that you can get better at.” Winning is more fun. And he says losing sucks. But the point is is like, “I'm not going to make every shot, I'm not going to win every game.” I'm not going to hole every putt.
But if I control all these things, I'm going to watch it add up at the end of a lifetime. And those are the things you end up being very, very proud of. So trying to have that perspective, I think it's quite important because I think it's also what makes you great. Like I think it's what takes you to what Scottie's doing and what people like Collin have done and Rahmbo and Tiger and Phil.
I think all those guys have the exact same mentality. You know, I talked to Justin a lot about mental stuff and like, that's what it is. It's just a foot in front of the other end and stick to your to what you to what your process is. And yeah, then you win.
Those are the things I think that get just so [looked over]. “Oh, he hates to lose.” It's like, “I don't think that's it, man.” I think he's really understanding that like some are good and some are bad. But if I approach them all the right way and I work my ass off in the right ways, I'm going to make more than I miss.
And yeah, then you win.
It’s so low-key and maybe not as sexy as it seems. What Max is describing here, though, is just process. We are so obsessed with outcome, with numbers and stats and who did this and that and all of it. That’s part of the job, of course, but as a player it must be so difficult to not get wrapped up in all of it, to not get entangled, to truly trust process.
Here’s how Soly responded.
You're talking about Scottie, I think he is truly released from the result and is focused on the process. And I think that's very very hard to do.
And Max with the last word.
It's his greatest skill. Yeah, I mean, I know he's the best at hitting. It's his greatest skill.
I wrote about this after the Masters, but Scottie’s baseline mindset — his baseline — is what everyone else in golf is voraciously attempting to attain. His baseline! It truly is his greatest skill and likely his most unappreciated.
2. In Wednesday’s newsletter, I wrote briefly about Jack Nicklaus’ 19 runner up finishes and a reader pointed out how close he is to winning 37 majors. Illustrator Jason Page gave me this feedback: I would LOVE to see exactly how many strokes away he was. This makes me think of the Bryson-Daly video where Daly said if he could have putted a bit better no one would have heard of Tiger. Absolutely insane statement.
True that that is an insane statement, but I went and looked up the Nicklaus numbers. Here are all of Jack’s second place finishes, who beat him and how many that player won by.
So the official answer is that Jack is 66 shots from having 37 majors, which is higher than I thought it would be. He only lost five majors by one shot or in a playoff. Compare that with Phil’s runners up.
Nicklaus is 66 shots from 37 majors, but Mickelson is just 39 shots from having 12 more majors and being tied with Nicklaus.
All of this is nonsense of course because the scores are the scores. But it’s still so fun to think about. Also, one thing I forgot: Stenson and Phil were each other’s silver medalist during each other’s Open victory. Phil won the Muirfield Open in 2013 by three over Stenson, and Stenson did it three years later at Troon.
3. I think … I’m a Xander quote guy now? How did this happen?!
He had this gem on Tuesday.
Now not being so new to [golf], that sort of honeymoon sitting on the range as a 12 year old, 13 year old hitting 600 to 1,000 balls, I don't do that anymore, but I really enjoy the sort of process.
I like, whether it's my trainer telling me we need to go from A to box C this off-season, this is how we're going to do it, or my putting coach telling me I need to hit this many putts and see if I can get this result or Chris telling me that I need to get my swing speed or the club to shape or move this way in the next week or two, see if I can do it.
There's so many little challenges that present itself week in and week out in golf because there's so many variables and so many moving things.
I just really enjoy that challenge. It's an ongoing battle. It's a really hard one to win. New opportunities always seem to present themselves.
That's the part of golf I love the most.
Xander perfectly describing why all of us love golf so much is not something I saw happening this week.
4. I flipped on NBC on Sunday to watch the Memphis event, and the lead in programming was something along the lines of “Life with the Schefflers” or something like that.
Anyway, I caught the very end of it, and a quote from Scottie’s dad hit me pretty good. You can watch it here.
“I think we’ve done OK for average parents. Scottie’s a pretty average kid, I would say. [pause] An extraordinary talent.”
This sounds like fake humility, but I actually think it’s quite important.
Because what I hear him giving is this: A sense of freedom as a parent. Said another way, it might look like this: “If we can even raise a child who cares this much about other people and is this thoughtful and kind, then you can do it too.”
In a world drowning with impossible-to-meet expectations, that’s a really, really important message.
5. It’s also a message worth revisiting in other realms.
This week I was listening to this conversation on writing between David Perell and Packy McCormick. It’s terrific, and one of my big takeaways from Packy is that you don’t have to be a great writer to be a professional writer.
I try to find time between when my kid’s diaper needs to be changed, and when I have another call, and then I just write something. And I don’t think very deeply about the sentence structure and all of that. But I don’t think it matters … in some cases it does. Some people are excellent writers and you read them for their wordsmanship (ed. note: not a word) and all of that, but I don’t think it matters as much as people think.
So maybe this is just a PSA that if I can write, you can write. It can be intimidating to hear writers talk and be like, “Wow, they put so much into this.” And it’s like, “It’s not that. It doesn’t have to be that much.”
If I can write, you can write. It’s easy to hear Papa Scheffler — who I did not envision ever comparing to Packy McCormick (!) saying, If I can parent, you can parent. And I would echo that.
I know a lot of you have kids and some of you have young kids because you have emailed me about it and we have commiserated and rejoiced and everything in between.
Parenting is hard. No way around that. I keep thinking it will get easier, and it keeps getting more difficult. But let this be your weekly encouragement. If I can parent, you can parent. No matter what the world tells you.
6. I enjoyed this little riff from Joseph LaMagna about the PGA Tour’s 2025 schedule, which I thought was mostly fine but probably a little uninspired.
The PGA Tour’s attitude is that if you think the product should be improved, you just don’t understand it. Think there should be pace of play improvement? You don’t get it… Think there should be different formats? You just don’t understand how it works. New venues in major markets? Here’s what you don’t understand.
Maybe the lack of understanding isn’t on the fans’ end 🤷♂️
I more or less agree with this. My only pushback is around who exactly represents the PGA Tour. If it was purely the suits and the executives, I would be more willing to go all in on JLM’s position. But we all know it’s not. We all know it’s the players, and the players hold not implicit power like they do in other leagues but explicit power. They literally run the league!
So my optimism about things like what JLM wrote above is rarely high because I’m unconvinced that the players care about anything other than what benefits them. Which, by the way, is exactly how you and I would behave in that scenario.
The whole thing just kind of stinks.
7. Also, are we positive the Tour isn’t just trying to wait out the PIF until that $300M in Bryson, Phil and DJ contracts runs out?
This Financial Times article is damning. Specifically these three quotes.
“Client interest has reduced materially, partly because we are screening more carefully, partly because there’s not been a tremendous amount of success from these efforts and roadshows,” said the Dubai-based banker. “People realise it’s not just about showing up and expecting a cheque.”
“For the last eight years, Saudi Arabia has gone out to the rest of the world with an open hand of money. Now the fist is clenching and pulling back to the country,” said a London-based investment banker. “It’s part of the maturing strategy. They could not have gone on like this forever.”
“There is a pause in terms of spending, definitely global investments are not going to be there in a major way over the next two to three years,” said a Saudi executive. There would be exceptions, he explained, particularly in areas deemed to add value to the kingdom, such as manufacturing, artificial intelligence and technology.
People realise it’s not just about showing up and expecting a cheque.
Does that mean curtains for the Iron Heads? Or is golf so embedded in the Kingdom that MBS gives Yasir a pass to keep rolling? And is any of this — any of it — something the Tour wants to bet its future on?
Also, this absolutely sent me.
8. I don’t know who this cat is, but I saw this video and quote floating around on Twitter, and it’s worth sharing no matter the source.
Hopefulness is not a neutral position. It is adversarial. It is the warrior emotion that can lay waste to cynicism. Each redemptive or loving act, as small as you like — such as reading to your little boy or showing him a thing you love, or singing him a song or putting on his shoes keeps the Devil down in the hole. It says the world and its inhabitants have value and are worth defending. It says the world is worth believing in. In time, we come to find that this is so.
9. If you haven’t heard Hovland explaining what’s wrong with his swing and his game, you should go listen to it. It’s as clear and concise of an explanation as I’ve ever heard from a pro about what’s wrong with his or her swing.
It also treats the listener/viewer/consumer they understand golf without purposefully over- or under-explaining for the sake of being patronizing. That’s a tough middle ground to hit.
Anyway, go listen to it, and then read the comment by TJ below, which I thought was terrific. Twitter continues to be absolutely awful in most ways, but it’s so difficult to quit because occasionally you’ll run into well reasoned and reasonably written commentary from folks like TJ, and there’s just no other place like it on the internet.
10. I received this great email from Sean M. — someone who loves Massachusetts golf more than anyone you know loves anything — this week.
Here it is.
I've been thinking a bunch about Olympic team golf. I love it and want to see it happen. Mixed alternate shot would be incredible.
I think there's a way around the "it's too much golf" complaint. Maybe there are different players in the team event? Maybe players get the option to play in both, but then we go down the world rankings if players defer.
Maybe Xander doesn't want to chase two medals (wut?), so the U.S. goes to the next player in the world rankings ... his buddy Cantlay would get the nod (as of today). After Cantlay? Bryson and then Sahith.
We had players suing their national Olympic federations to get into Olympic golf!
The fact that we're letting American players be the only ones who sound off on playing "too much golf" in the Olympics misses a lot of the point. Like you said, "everyone knows the Olympics" (and the Aces...). Countries have national development teams that have players that would love to compete in the Olympics in a mixed alt shot event.
The Olympics also has this incredible ability to tap into the ages of the competitors. Simone Biles winning gold as a 27-year-old gymnast is insane. 17-year-old Chinese divers are also insane. Quincy Wilson, the 16-year-old track phenom gets people excited and interested and wondering what he'll do in 2028. Golf could also tap into that aspect of things.
Have a trial, that's how we got Quincy Wilson in the 4x400 relay. Rahm wants teams hand-picked. I'd love a team trial with 30 American pros and 8 amateurs.
I'm glad we're at the point of trying to enhance and improve Olympic golf instead of wondering if it's going to survive.
I don’t know that I love the idea of a team trial with eight amateurs, but I do like the way Sean is thinking about this. I’ve probably said this before, but some of my favorite events in the Olympics were the swimming and track mixed relays. They were enthralling. I loved them. I’m not saying mixed golf could rise to that level, but at least give it a try!
One thing we do so poorly in golf is showcase all the various ways it can be played. We take a somewhat interesting one (72 holes, individual stroke play) and make it the primary one. I understand this for TV, determining the best champion etc., but any opportunity to drag the other ways back into the spotlight should be taken advantage of.
We’ve probably also said this before, but receiving emails, like Sean’s, from you readers is to us what PIF had hoped for with LIV. Inspiring, uplifting and growing the [Normal Sport] game.
Speaking of readers, thanks for reading until the end.
You’re a sicko, and I’m grateful for it.
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