Tour Players: "What I wish I had known in College" ✍🏻
Mikkelgolf.com Newsletter #7
During my time coaching at Baylor University, I got to work with Hall of Fame Coach, Mike McGraw. When I got to Waco in 2020, the world was shut down due to the pandemic. We weren’t sure if we would get to compete that year.
Together, we started brainstorming about what we could do for our players, for the college golf game, and for ourselves to stay relevant. One of the initiatives we started was the “Better Than I Found It Podcast”. The podcast is in many ways a continuation of Coach McGraw’s book (of the same title) and it’s still running to this day. I highly recommend you check it out if you haven’t given it a listen yet.
Today I wanted to highlight one of the episodes we put together while I was in Waco. Coach McGraw reached out to several Tour players with a simple question: “What is something you wish you would have known in college?” There is a lot of great information in these answers below…
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—-Below are the responses from Tour players. You can also listen to this particular episode from the Better Than I Found It Podcast HERE.
“What I Wish I Had Known in College…”
“The thing I wish I had known was how important it is to really learn and understand the best way to prepare Monday through Wednesday of a tournament week. Everyone is different. Purposeful practice is better than wasting time, just going through the motions.” - - Kyle Jones
“I would say begin now creating a routine/prep work for every event you play in. Nearly every professional has some routine, whether it’s short or long, they have something.
The problem with trying to create on when you turn pro is you start to copy other pros and end up not creating one that focuses on your needs. The prep work/routine will continuously evolve, but if you start earlier-on (now) and really have it down, once you turn pro and start traveling for multiple weeks, the ‘down time’ away from actually warming up and playing will become easier. Because of this, time management will be more efficient.” - - Collin Morikawa
“Lots of things come to mind, but I can narrow it down to two specific attributes that professional golfers have that separate them from good college players.
The first is KNOW THYSELF. Every player must know and understand their strengths and weaknesses, from a swing perspective to a mental and emotional perspective. They need to know themselves and be comfortable with the tools they have. (ex. Matt Fitzpatrick). Players also need to practice situational golf and understand how the situation may dictate your play. (ex. Theegala at Hartford this year. Trying to hit out of that bunker on 18 with a one stroke lead was reckless to say the least).
Secondly, and I can’t overemphasize this enough, but STAYING IN THE MOMENT is the simplest (and hardest) thing for anyone to accomplish. That will be an everyday challenge for a lifetime.” - - Hunter Mahan
“I wish I had known how much more golf I was expected to play. College/amateur golf felt like it was twelve college events, 7/8 amateur events through a twelve-month schedule, so around 20 events, most of those only three-day events. Whereas, on Tour, it is anywhere between 30/35 weeks a year, six days per week. College golf was, at the most four days per week.
It took me a while to figure out a plan that worked for me to keep my body and mind fresh, but the only way to learn that was through reps. Anyway, it is a shock to the mind and body right away after turning pro. I wish I had known that and been more prepared.” - - Peter Uihlein
“Man, that’s a tough one. How about this: it’s never as bad as you think or as good as you think it is. In college, we live in a society where we are always comparing…just run your race.” - - Harold Varner III
“I didn’t understand how good professional golfers were. It hit me in Q School my first year when I was playing against men who had families, and I realized golf was their way to provide, not just a sport they loved. Yes, I enjoyed working hard, but there was a difference between working hard and trying to be my best, a big difference.
When I turned pro, I was so focused on just getting to the PGA Tour, and one day it dawned on my that if my sights were set on that alone, what was next? I had to recalibrate and set bigger goals for myself. Once I realized that I need to attempt to become the best player in the World, it changed my everyday attitude and approach to my craft…I fell in love with GETTING THE MOST out of every day.
Finally, I wish that in college I would have had bigger and greater aspirations than I had. It took me a couple of years as a professional to realize that I had to flip-p my mindset from ‘I gotta get to the Tour’ to ‘I need to figure out how to get better TODAY.’
So, figure out how to fall in love with getting the most out of each day. 99% of the guys out there are attempting to be more focused and to OUTWORK you…don’t let them do that. - - Talor Gooch
“For me, I think I struggled (and still do) with designing practice for myself. What we did in college was so good. I was able to learn so much from team practice, and following Cory, Bobby, and JT around, that I never learned how to practice on my own. I was great in a team setting, but when I moved to Sea Island, I had a hard time with practice by myself. I would encourage your players to find a way to make it fun, and know that they’re getting good work in.” - - Trey Mullinax
“I wish I had realized the value of knowing my swing and my tendencies. It’s important to have a good swing coach, but more important that he educates you on what causes your misses…this way, you can correct yourself during the round. I have learned that being consistent with a good warm-up routine in the locker room or gym before the round, activating your body in the proper way.
You can NEVER be too good from inside 150 yards. If you don’t know your distances, you will never reach your potential as a player. Also, I have learned to BE YOUR OWN BEST FRIEND on the course. I didn’t know that in college. Beating yourself up is a complete waste of time, and only helps your competition.” - -Bo Van Pelt
“A few ideas come to mind. Learning to GO LOW. Literally, trying to play the front tees, or anything to teach yourself how to go as physically low as possible. You have to shoot 5-under or lower every day on these tours.
TIME MANAGEMENT is something I wish I had done a better job of in college. Ask yourself if you need the extracurricular activity. ‘Will it benefit me in the long run?’ Also, working out…it is very important, but more specifically recovery. I didn’t do any recovery on a scheduled basis…you need to get ice, Normatec boots, Theragun, etc…Very important.” - - Cooper Dossey
“I would say I wish I would have had a more holistic point of view. What I mean by that is not just focusing on the physical components of my golf game. I learned that you must also take care of your body and your mind. At the professional level, there are such slim margins between different guys that having a great mental game and fit body can give you an edge. Sam Bennett is a great example of a guy who knows who he is, and he has a great mental game because he has a strong belief in himself.” -- Mark Reppe
“I wish I had known how to be in total control of my mind when I walked into professional golf as a 20-year-old. Stepping out of your comfort zone more and more in college will only help you in pressure-filled situations in professional golf and in life. It’s not an easy life, grinding every single day, but it can be very rewarding.” - - Robby Shelton
“If I had to answer that I would probably say that I wish I would have told myself or known that there would be setbacks along the way. You become such a good amateur and college player that you think things will work out automatically out of college. Sometimes they do, and you should always push yourself to make that happen but knowing there will be a setback or two along your journey, just makes you more comfortable when that moment comes.
That way you can face it, understand what went wrong, and get back on the trajectory needed to keep succeeding.” - - Max McGreevy
“I wish I would have invested the money in myself and gotten a world-class team around me from the start. If you can afford it, it’s worth it. No world-class player has ever gotten to where they are without a really good team around them.
You can’t name a player in the top 20 in the world who doesn’t have multiple people on their team.” -- Webb Simpson
“Two things: the ability to say NO and time management. Once you get on the PGA Tour, you get lots of club reps wanting you to try their product, media wanting to talk to you, sponsors always wanting your time. You have to learn to say NO. And it’s okay to say it. You have to do what’s best for you to play well every week. There’s a time and a place to fulfill the requests that come in.
Time Management: I’ve always been great at scheduling my time, but I’ve seen other pros who aren’t. Plan your day/week out. Practice time, workout time, sponsor time, relaxation time. Treat is as if you were working a regular job. The more diligent with this part, the better- prepared you will be, and you won’t always be playing ‘catch-up’.
Do NOT rush your practice and get side-tracked that keep you from fully completing your practice that you want to.
TIME IS A COMMODITY. You only have so much daylight everyday to improve your game, so make sure you are using it wisely, both at tournaments and at home.” --Billy Horschel
“I think that I would have honestly had different expectations of my coach. If I had known it was on me to get better and not rely on him. If I had gone to him with my own ideas of how to get better, I think it would have been beneficial early on in my pro career.
Instead of just leaning on my instructor, I should have been more proactive and professional. It’s really about you being mature enough to accept responsibility for being as good as I can possibly be…in other words, to LEAD in my own development, and not just wait for somebody to show me something.” --Mitchell Meissner
“I wish I would have known that, statistically, I should be playing away from certain pins and yardages. This will actually improve my scoring, and better prepare me for championship golf.” --Notah Begay
“One thing I wish I would have known in college is that I didn’t have to be perfect to be good, being me is good enough. It’s easy to think that to get to the next level (pro golf) that you have to “reinvent” the wheel. You don’t have to do that to be one of the best players in the world.
I should have been aware that the blueprint that got me there was good enough, I just had to trust that and execute it on a daily basis…efficiency over quantity in preparation.” --Davis Riley
“I wish I would have known what effective/disciplined work and practice was while I was in college. I used to think it just meant being at the course all day for 8-10+ hours. Now that I have a plan, I can get a ton of quality work done in 2-3 hours. There’s obviously times to spend all day at the course, but with no plan or discipline, it might not be quality.” --Taylor Moore
“I wish I had known several things. When your game does not feel good and you feel like you’re miles from playing well, you’re really never that far away…one good shot or feel can turn it around quickly. Also, when things aren’t going well, don’t wait until the back side or tomorrow to regroup. Get your attitude and determination to change things NOW, not later.
When trying to get better, if you can improve just one shot per day (4 shots per tournament), that is approximately 40 places on Tour, so lots of money. One more fairway, one more green hit, or one more made putt…think of it that way, opposed to redoing your whole game. Attitude is your most important skill. Most shots are missed before they’re hit (attitude). I had to learn all these things as a pro.” --Bob Tway
Warm regards,
Mikkel Bjerch-Andresen
Golf Coach & Analyst
Oslo, Norway