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it. You are listening to the golf
Science Lab podcast. My name is Corey Walker, and I'm
on a mission. Figure out how to improve the
way that we learn and get better at golf.
I've been able to travel all over the world, talking to the
leaders in the industry from instructors, to researchers, to
Golfers themselves learning how they're getting better at golf
and what that means for you. Hey everyone, welcome back to
another episode in our, how to At or Pro Series this week.
We are sitting down with Scott Stallings.
I was able to catch up with him at the 3M open in Minneapolis
and really have a conversation. All about like how did he keep
jumping from 2 or 22 or and level 2 level consistently
getting better and growing. It's an awesome conversation in
great insights into the specific tactics, how we practice is how
he thinks about things in all of that before you get to it, a
quick overview. So you can just kind of have
Exxon his career. As a college golfer at Tennessee
Tech, he won seven times and is made and All-American in 2006
and 2008. 2009 he played on the Tar, Heel and Hooters tours.
Keeping the Nationwide tour in 2010 earned his card.
When to the PGA tour in 2011, one, The Greenbrier in 2011, one
a second time at the true South classic.
Now, Sanderson Farms championship in 2014, he won the
Farmers Insurance so he's had a fantastic career and he's right
in the heart of it playing some really good golf but let's Go
back. Let's go back to the start.
Where does this journey begin for Scott?
I played every sport growing up as a kid baseball basketball
soccer. And basically anything you can
think of. And yeah, I was decently
competitive in everything and I was but baseball is kind of my
first love and I was on a traveling baseball team and golf
is kind of something I did when the seat was Just kind of in the
middle of the seasons and when tiger win The Masters in 97,
that was the week. My birthday's last week in
March, and I've made my first ever hole-in-one nice, and then
tiger won the Masters and sausages on a golf high.
And we're getting ready to start spring practice to get ready for
this travel baseball team. And so Monday.
After tiger one, I remember calling my coach, we're getting
ready to have our first, like, we're gonna go throw or when,
you know, pretty low-key that I called my coach.
Yeah, we're on a team that is probably 60 games a year at that
point, which is nothing. Now for how baseball is but, you
know, for at that point in my life that was a lot and called
them and said I was done one going to play and I was going to
pursue Golf and by no means was golf the sport that I was best
at but it was just something that I just fell in love with
and of course of a couple weeks and happy that I feel like I
made the right choice. Choice, I think you did where
you better at baseball re better golf.
Now, this wave as golf was my worst sport, really?
But I mean I looked up a bladed, a 9-iron from like 140 yards and
it went in and then I watch this 21 year old kid just blow away
the field at the Masters and it was just like I want to do that.
That's awesome. How old are you that as 12,
right? Wrong or indifferent?
Like I was going to figure it out my way and you know, I Super
strong grip. I hit a big high draw.
My wedge is sucked. Yeah, my short game was average,
but I could hit a really long way, and I was a good ball
Striker. So I kind of, you know, looking
back. If I could teach myself how to
play, like, I know now I work from the Greenback, and it's
crazy. Like you see these programs,
like, I'm getting right play the front, this afternoon, like, I
could take your 20 handicapper and just go around and caddy for
my not change a single shot, or how they play.
But just tell them, what, like, where they need to be from
situational awareness from Certain sides of the golf
course. Me saves 10 shots off around
just by like a learning how to play better.
Not necessarily like, oh, you need to swing better, you need
to putt better. Obviously, all those things are
goes without saying that can lower score, but just from a
mentality standpoint of learning how to manipulate your way
around the golf course especially when you don't have
it and kind of just trying to figure out the best version of
what that day looks like, and it's pretty crazy if I like I
would love to go back to myself at, you know, that 12.
Old kid and like, man, your short game just keep getting
better at it. I think something really
interesting is like the basic question.
Like, what did you do to practice and get good?
Were you playing all day where you hitting balls where you with
an instructor? Like what did a day look like as
a junior golfer play golf? As much as you possibly can and
figure it out. Like, figure out how to dig it
out of the dirt figure out, how to put yourself in situations
and get out of it. Like, the, the way golf is now
from a performance standpoint of track.
Man and functional movement and you know, just the way the Body
Works and everything. I mean, obviously there's a time
and a place where that comes in but also I think that it kind of
takes the you know, a lot of people need to kind of focus
more on getting outside and figuring out.
My score is based on how I go from the T to get it in the hall
as fast as possible. All the other stuff happens off
the golf course. And like I struggle with that to
now especially with technology and what we have available to
us. us on tour, you know, you're talking about real small margins
and how to get better and just real incremental ways, I think,
you know, even myself is susceptible that from time to
time I was a pretty late bloomer.
I didn't get a ton of looks from college ended up playing in a
small School Division. 1 School, Tennessee, Tech.
And ultimately man that was probably the best thing that
ever happened to me. I had and as my career
progressed into freshman sophomore year at College, my
college coach had played on tour for a few years, and kind of
pulled me aside and said, man, I feel like you have the talent
and ability to make a run at it, you know?
He was always handing on me, make sure I did a little bit
more than everyone else and was willing to put the time and
effort into it and and still I mean I didn't know how to work
at it. I just thought time and volume
and just keep stacking hours. I mean looking at it now like I
had no clue what I was doing. I mean I feel like I have a
decent idea now but you know still my time management is the
key especially if you're going to be out here for a long time,
understanding, when you can put the hammer down and and really
grind it out and also understanding That, you know,
from a mindset perspective and how to kind of get away from the
game. And so when you show up, like,
you're ready to work instead of, ah, crap, I got to do this
again, you know, I enjoy the process.
I enjoy the, the trial and error of getting better and kind of
everything that goes along with that.
But, you know, there's definitely a give-and-take and
and there's a lot, a lot of poor decisions that hopefully lead to
better outcomes and better processes through the course of
a career. Why do you think you're able to
keep chugging along even though? Like you said, you'd do
differently now? I did a lot of things really.
Well, I was always a good ball Striker and I was able to kind
of get it around the whole, my length helped.
I mean, I hit it significantly shorter now than I did when I
first got on tour, but I do not hit it out of play near as much.
So there's it, I definitely give and take there.
I mean, I don't hit it short by any means.
But I've made some sacrifices equipment wise.
Body-wise and stuff like that, to make sure that I can, you
know, be able to do this for the Long Haul.
I mean, my back don't bother me anymore.
I don't hit the 30 yard hook with my wedge, you know, stuff
like everything that goes into being a more efficient and a
more productive golfer week in week out.
And, you know, I think people have to kind of figure out what
does that version. I know this is what I'm capable
of but is that actually feasible over the course of a 30-week
season? You know, instead of being the
flash in the pan like how can I be a relevant weekend with Get
out instead of just once every now and then.
How do you make that jump? Then you said, high school,
maybe not so much and then College.
You just it just kind of started working with a coach my
sophomore year of college, Brad Rose.
And the first thing he had kind of a very manufactured putting
grip held the putter to the way that I swung.
Like, I interlocked, I never anything, any different that's
just kind of what I did. And I had a really funky the way
my Left hand was sit on the putter was super strong, and I
remember the first thing he said, he's like, how's that
Honda? Like, I didn't know what that
meant and he said, you're a said, you drive a car like this.
And he put his hand up, like, you would put your on the
steering wheel of a car. He said, this is how you put,
and he changed my putting grip. And the next week, I won my
first college tournament and at Jacksonville State in Gadsden
Alabama. And it's just kind of, like, of
all from there, as far. Understanding what you do this?
Well, how can we make it a little bit better?
And, you know, that kind of, you know, working with him and kind
of figuring out ways to consistently get better and, and
making it where I knew what the go like, the long-term goal in
the short-term going, kind of how that met throughout was
something that we tried to work for tried to work for all the
time and it just kind of went from there, man, but that was
the first lesson I ever, Got. Learn how to travel learn, how
to be professional, everything that kind of goes along between
making a paycheck, learn how to manage sponsors, learn how to
manage, you know, your time and resources to be able to, you
know, fulfill a certain outcome. I mean, any kind of business
mindset. I mean, my business was golf and
you know, and 2010 I missed my tour card by shot and everyone
thought that was like this huge detriment that happened to me
but ultimately was the probably the best thing ever.
I mean, I spent my first basically Thunder.
Now, Korn Ferry web.com. When I played it was Nationwide.
Spent basically the first four events were out of the country.
I've never traveled out of the country to play golf anywhere,
let alone for my job. And I mean, that was like early
as December and second week of January, I was in New Zealand,
and trying to figure it out, man.
And Australia, Colombia Panama kind of everything that went
along with the schedule, that it was at the time.
And I mean, that was a huge time.
Matured a lot as a man. My wife was have, is very
fortunate to have my wife. Feel to go with me and and kind
of learn that process of being a husband and had a professional
golfer and and a man all at the same time and this is a lot of
maturity that happened and kind of progressed from there.
I played many tours out of college for about 18 months.
Went to q-school missed played a full year, q-school.
Miss my car by shot web.com or Nationwide.
Didn't get my card but it The time if you placed high enough
in the money list you basically got a free run at finals and I
played a practice round Scott, Brown and Orange County
nationally told me on the fourth hole and he said, buddy, I don't
know. He said, if you don't get your
card this week, you're never going to get.
And I mean, I was a guy, hit a huge draw with my driver and
just bombed it and or it was long.
It was wet. And I finished, I think I
finished like, 6 in the tournament and he literally,
Told me on the 4th hole of the practice round.
He said, if you don't get your card this week, you're never
going to get it. Pressure is on so I'll never
forget that. So we've heard a bit of his
story. Kind of what are the actions
that took? One of the things that happened
along his career? Let's shift gears in our next
segment. Let's look at the tactics and
routines and the habits and the practices and the games in
particular, actually discusses a game that he's using Right now
to go out and practice and I thought it was so good that we
made this cheat sheet for the game.
We transcribe, what he what he says and kind of gave you a
little game plan so you can go out and test yourself but it's
on the show notes along with this golf stance live.com /.
Scott you'll see a button in link to download that.
All right, let's get into these strategies.
I've never really been a range guy.
I will play in practice a lot on the golf course like my I do a
lot now at home. I'll get up super early in the
morning. Go first off and play a couple
balls or I go like really late in the day and play a few balls
and play a couple different games on the course between
myself from what can games you play in proximity to holes.
When I do you take scoring averages and especially with the
data that we have, you know, like strong areas and weak
areas. But the biggest thing is As I do
one with his wedge game you break it up into four. 25-yard
segments, 50, 75 75 100, 100 125 125 to 150 and you go for balls
in that general area, you never hit a ball from the same yardage
you never because in golf you can't drop one and hit it again.
You always go through your process routine and everything.
And so basically the stats that we've gone off in the last 10
years, what was the closest proximity to In that generalized
25-yard area. So in 2013, when Justin Rose won
the US, Open his proximity to haul from 50. 75 yards with 6
feet, 8 inches. That was his average.
Wow. From 50 to 75 that is
ridiculous. Yeah.
And and the numbers obviously, get further and further away the
further you go from the whole but we found over the course of
shotlink data. We picked the best and over the
ten-year period that they've been able to keep the data.
And that's the number we use. So two of the four balls from
that, you know, 25-yard segments have to be inside the best.
The other two can go wherever, but if you get more than two, it
adds up. So say you went to 125 to 150
only got one. If you carry one over it Kyle
allows the game to continue and you do it over and on whole
period and you kind of bounce back and forth and you start to
see your strengths and weaknesses.
Using one Club using multiple clubs and just trying to figure
out how to, you know, I'm in the situation like how to deal with
it. And your kind of, I do way
better with games like that sitting on the, on the Range
hitting balls, like my coach Scott Hamilton and tell you that
I've definitely got driving range.
Add golf is very counterintuitive to my
personality and so any anything that involves like getting into
it and kind of figuring out how to make a score, make a shot
like that. That way more intrigues me than
sitting in a bay hitting balls on a track, man.
The range is more a technical thing.
Like, how I do on the Range is completely irrelevant to my
score on the course because I feel like.
So, for instance, testing the driver shaft here on Monday in
Minnesota and, you know, messing with some spin numbers and just
trying to find a more optimal version to cut down a couple
hundred RPMs and just try to make hey driving it nice.
But it could we make it a little bit better?
And you kind of get that give and take and and kind of deal
with it. You're basically dealing with
Monday afternoon numbers and trying to extrapolate and
compare it to what it be Sunday afternoon coming under the gun
where your swing speed, you know, is in that, you know, some
guys. Three some guys, seven miles an
hour. You know, if I'm swinging it 114
116 on Monday like it's going to be significantly higher Sunday
afternoon under the pump. And I just think that so many
people like, well, you know, it goes so much further in
tournaments, like, yeah, everything attention to Tail
focus. And so just with that mindset,
understanding that this is a process.
I'm going to be technical here. Well I'm gonna go on the golf
course. I got to go execute and learning
kind of the differences. Similarities between the two is
something that I think people struggle with.
Let's say your son decides to play golf, right?
He's trying to do it. What do you think would be the
biggest advice or things that you would help him with down the
road here if you if he chooses to go after but make him work on
his fundamentals and make them work from the Greenback?
Yeah. And ultimately let him give as
many opportunities as I possibly can to let them play.
And I think as a dad and a professional golfer and whether
is my son or one of my friends kids cows, like I want to be a
good golfer. That's I would tell them the
exact same thing whether he was my son or not and you see so
many people make mistakes of the perfect swinger.
I mean, you go up and down this range.
There's not many with perfect swings.
There's a lot of funky looking action out there but they know
how to get it done. And you know, There's more than
one way to do it and but just figuring out how to be that
version of yourself, more often than not, and come out here day
in day out with purpose and a plan.
And go out there and figure out how to execute.
Hey, thank you so much for listening to this episode.
Scott had so many good insights, and I just really appreciate him
sharing his story and a lot of the stuff that he is doing.
Now, the stuff that Heath, you know, thinks helped him achieve
the success that he has and all that good stuff is just a really
cool. Insights.
If you want to learn more about Scott, he is a really cool story
about some of the things that have happened in his health, and
his journeys, a professional golfer over the last few years.
The no laying up Podcast interview that he did was
fantastic. I would recommend going back to
that. If you haven't listened, to it
already and listen to that interview that they did with
him. Super, super good.
If you enjoyed this, as always, make sure to subscribe.
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go hop on the email list. This episode was hosted written
by me. Corey Walker.
You can follow me on Twitter at Corey Walker and was edited
mixed, and produced by just hit publish Productions.