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College Golf Connection-Stewart Cink Exclusive
Interviewed by C. Lynn Northrup
Question:
Being a very successful PGA tour player, what would you tell collegiate and junior
golfers who aspire to play professional golf?
SC:
The main thing that kids that age need to learn is how to manage their time properly.
College teaches that in a way but once you turn professional and it’s your job then it
seems like you have a lot of free time because you don’t have the responsibilities of
commuting to the office. I feel kids carry on their life like they did when they were in
college and ending up wasting a lot of time.
Using this extra time effectively is what really helps to develop you. Once you start
getting into tournaments the volume of your competition increases dramatically. You
have to adjust for it. You have to be physically and mentally ready. Most kids who
are good enough to turn pro have a pretty good idea what to work on regarding their
golf game but it’s usually time management that trips them up.
Question:
What advice would you offer to college players considering turning pro?
SC:
It’s hard to give just one piece of advice because every kid is different. This is
difficult at that age because they are still maturing and developing. They have
different needs so it’s really hard to advise just one thing. As far as your golf game
goes, on the course, you have to realize that the most important part of the game is
scoring. Where pros excel is with wedges inside 120 yards and with putting. Almost
every player has an attribute that sticks with them. They might be a real long hitter,
a great putter, or accurate and very precise. But the one common denominator is
that all of them have is a good wedge game, a good short game and they practice
effectively in those areas.
Question:
What percentage of your practice time is devoted to putting and the short game as a
pro versus when you were in college?
SC:
It’s probably at least doubled since I’ve been a pro and it increases more every year.
I’ve been out there fourteen years and I keep learning more each year as to the
importance of this area of the game. Back in college I used to practice a little less
than half of my time on my short game and even less on my putting. Then when I
turned pro I just continued those same practice methods or techniques. That was my
regimen. But now I would say about 75 percent of my time is devoted to wedge play
from 50 to 120 yards, short game around the green, and putting. As far as the full
game, I practice driving quite a bit but spend very little time on my iron play
compared to my college days.
Question:
How do you use Dr. Mo’s drills in your practice regimen?
SC:
I do use Dr. Mo’s drills. In fact they are pretty much my entire practice regimen. Mo
has developed the drills over time for putting and the short game and I haven’t
changed them. These drills are the foundation of what we do when we get together
to work on my game. The good thing about Mo’s drills is that they all have a specific
purpose. The putting drills are heavily concentrated on ingraining your routine and
making it the focus of your putting. Not much time is devoted to practicing
mechanics, perhaps a little but not a lot. We primarily work on getting my mind in the
right place relative to trying to achieve a goal on the greens. Mo’s drills help ingrain
your routine or challenge you so that it really forces you to put yourself in what I call
manual override. This is when you have to pull yourself back into your routine. It is
similar to what happens when you are in contention in a golf tournament. Being in
contention tends to pulls you out of what you normally do to compete. The goal with
the practice drills is to put yourself in a situation where you have to manually
override getting out of your routine and then get back into it.
Question:
From the perspective of a college player and a college coach these drills are
something they could ingrain into their practice regimen in order to compete more
effectively. Would you agree?
SC:
I would say not only for college players, but that every level of golfer would benefit
from these drills. The good thing about Mo’s drills is that they have a score attached
to them so you can track your scores and monitor them over a period of time. I
wouldn’t measure them for just a week, but over the period of a year so you can look
at your scores and see a trend. If your scores are moving in a good direction, that’s
a great sign relative to your progress.
Question:
So do you do the 24 drill, the 3 – 6 – 9 foot putts around the hole?
SC:
Definitely, that’s a great drill and it’s crucial for your golf game because it focuses on
making the critical putts required for scoring.
Question:
What in college prepared you for the PGA tour?
SC:
My background in college was a little different than most kids. One of the main
things that distinguished my life from other kids is that I got married in college and
had my first child in college. That was a real crossroads for me and golf. In college, I
didn’t know for sure what was going to be my future or if I was going to be a
professional golfer. I knew I want to give it a shot but didn’t know if it was going to
work. I had to really prepare myself in case it didn’t work but I was ready to go. I
wanted to graduate and that was my number one goal. Graduating and getting that
degree was a priority. My time just evaporated when my first son Connor was born. I
had no time so I learned how to get a lot out of very little windows of practice time.
So I really got down to business and became serious about it. If I’m going to do golf, I’
m going to do it right, do it well, and I’m going to do my very best. The trajectory of
my golf game really took off at this point. I improved in dramatic fashion just because
I was forced to use my time better and became more focused on the future.
Question:
What are the biggest strengths or weaknesses you see in rookies who are out on
tour for one or two years?
SC:
The strengths are that the rookies are more seasoned from competition compared to
when I came out on tour. This is due to the fact that there are more tournaments for
them to play in. The AJGA has grown like crazy and college golf has gotten bigger
and better. There are a lot more opportunities for kids to get heated competition
earlier. Also, instruction, equipment, and everything else are just a lot better.
I see two negatives in young players based on using a standard of what is needed
to win on the PGA tour. First, they don’t always handle themselves that well
mentally. On the course they think about where they are in the tournament or how
much money they might be making. This tends to get them out of their rhythm
resulting in a couple of bogies or a couple of bad shots or in making bad decisions.
Second, younger players are inconsistent in their wedge play when they first get on
tour. It is critical to control the distance on those 50 to 120 yard wedge shots. Many
of the rookies just haven’t gotten there when they arrive on tour. They learn fast
because they only have one year to learn it or they’re gone. It’s hard to overcome
mistakes under 120 yards because that’s the scoring area.
Question:
What do see in the difference between medal and match play? You have done well
in the Accenture Match Play Championship and this is your fourth time on the Ryder
Cup.
SC:
It’s just a little different mentality. Match play format tends to put you in do or die
situations so it’s perform or pick up. Many times you will have to make a putt to tie
the hole. If your opponent knocks it up there close for birdie and you have a 25
footer, you treat that putt a little differently than you would in stroke play because
the next putt doesn’t matter. So mentally it’s easier to free yourself up in that
situation. That essentially represents the difference in the two formats. However, in
a format like the Ryder Cup or the President’s Cup where you’ve got team play,
whoever executes the shot best will win. It’s the same thing in stroke play, the best
execution wins.
Question:
What are your strengths in match play?
SC:
One of my strengths in match play is that I relish situations where my back is against
the wall and I have to perform. It’s a situation where now is the time to do or die. I
don’t think a lot of players care to be in that situation. My reaction to these situations
seems to be part of my DNA and I really like that part of match play.
Question:
What did you work on with Mo, Butch, and Chris (trainer) to get ready for the Ryder
Cup this year?
SC:
We’re in the middle of that right now. I have worked with Butch Harmon for a long
time, almost eight years. We almost always work on the same stuff. With Mo it’s kind
of similar, I just started working with him last year so it’s pretty new with him but we
work on ingraining the routine, situational differences and trying to down play the
meaning of putts, like a putt is to win or a putt is to tie. We try to treat each putt as if
it has the same level of importance. In addition to putting, we work on areas of
preparation with the short game. With Chris, I think cardio. Working cardio is a big
deal before the Ryder Cup because it is a 36 hole day, and its 36 holes of stress
starting on the first tee. It takes a lot out of you both physically and mentally. I sleep
better at the Ryder Cup or the President’s Cup. If you play two matches in a day and
both go down to the wire and it’s at the end then I’m asleep on the bus on the way
back to the room. It’s exhausting.
Question:
So Butch pretty much knows your game. Frank (caddy) said Butch has you do
tempo drills with your driver.
SC:
That’s something we do. Mechanically when my swing breaks down it reverts back
to old habits from many years ago. I just try to do a lot of drills that promote not
breaking down into those similar mechanical situations. Most golfers have one or
two little things they trend back to and they are just trying to avoid these tendencies.
No one is going to be perfect so you’re just trying to increase your chances of
striking the ball with a square club face and being able to control which way the ball
curves. Most players like to curve it both ways and the only way to do that is
maintain a square club face.
Question:
Do you do any game planning before going to the Ryder Cup?
SC:
No, we just develop our game plan after we get there and once we see the course.
However, I have the schedule mapped out in my head on what days I go to the gym,
what days I go to the media center, and also allow time for putting drills. There are
about 15 hours worth of stuff to do every day and only 10 hours in each day to do it.
The Ryder Cup is busy with stuff you don’t normally have going on. There are
photos, press conferences, meeting the bus at a certain time, dinners, and other
stuff that just crowds the picture compared to normal tournaments. Therefore, you
really need to plan ahead to allow time for everything.
Question:
Is there anything you would like to convey to college coaches and players as well as
junior players relative to our discussion?
SC:
I think they should read Dr. Mo’s books, they are really good. I don’t know how much
detail you guys go into when you talk about Mo’s drills and the reasons behind
them, but they are perfect for college teams. The coach can have these drills on a
hard card and distribute them to every player on the team and say this is what you
practice; this is how we do at our school. These drills are great. I think it is really
important to be organized and not hit a bunch of balls on the range, but hold
organized practice sessions where team members compete against each other. As a
junior golfer that was what drove me the most. I just tried to get better and to beat
the guy that I was playing against every day. We would play 36 holes and I would
just try to beat my friend. When he got better, I got better and vice versa. Kids in
college are the essentially the same age so they should fight it out and every
practice drill should be a competition.
Question:
Do you think our third book on practice and preparation will be essential for college
coaches and players?
SC:
Yes, if they are serious about their golf game they really have to have this stuff. This
is the real battle ground for advanced golfers. It is essential to fortify your mental
game around the practice green and your wedge shots. To some extent you need to
practice hitting tee balls in certain situations. What happens when you get into an
area where you have an uncomfortable tee shot? Kids probably get scared and just
hit the shot and then reload and hit a provisional. But you have to have a way to
deal with it when it is important to you. This is where the practice and the drills really
help.
Question:
Thank you very much for the interview and good luck at the Ryder Cup.
SC:
You’re welcome, it was my pleasure.
Interviewed by C. Lynn Northrup
Question:
Being a very successful PGA tour player, what would you tell collegiate and junior
golfers who aspire to play professional golf?
SC:
The main thing that kids that age need to learn is how to manage their time properly.
College teaches that in a way but once you turn professional and it’s your job then it
seems like you have a lot of free time because you don’t have the responsibilities of
commuting to the office. I feel kids carry on their life like they did when they were in
college and ending up wasting a lot of time.
Using this extra time effectively is what really helps to develop you. Once you start
getting into tournaments the volume of your competition increases dramatically. You
have to adjust for it. You have to be physically and mentally ready. Most kids who
are good enough to turn pro have a pretty good idea what to work on regarding their
golf game but it’s usually time management that trips them up.
Question:
What advice would you offer to college players considering turning pro?
SC:
It’s hard to give just one piece of advice because every kid is different. This is
difficult at that age because they are still maturing and developing. They have
different needs so it’s really hard to advise just one thing. As far as your golf game
goes, on the course, you have to realize that the most important part of the game is
scoring. Where pros excel is with wedges inside 120 yards and with putting. Almost
every player has an attribute that sticks with them. They might be a real long hitter,
a great putter, or accurate and very precise. But the one common denominator is
that all of them have is a good wedge game, a good short game and they practice
effectively in those areas.
Question:
What percentage of your practice time is devoted to putting and the short game as a
pro versus when you were in college?
SC:
It’s probably at least doubled since I’ve been a pro and it increases more every year.
I’ve been out there fourteen years and I keep learning more each year as to the
importance of this area of the game. Back in college I used to practice a little less
than half of my time on my short game and even less on my putting. Then when I
turned pro I just continued those same practice methods or techniques. That was my
regimen. But now I would say about 75 percent of my time is devoted to wedge play
from 50 to 120 yards, short game around the green, and putting. As far as the full
game, I practice driving quite a bit but spend very little time on my iron play
compared to my college days.
Question:
How do you use Dr. Mo’s drills in your practice regimen?
SC:
I do use Dr. Mo’s drills. In fact they are pretty much my entire practice regimen. Mo
has developed the drills over time for putting and the short game and I haven’t
changed them. These drills are the foundation of what we do when we get together
to work on my game. The good thing about Mo’s drills is that they all have a specific
purpose. The putting drills are heavily concentrated on ingraining your routine and
making it the focus of your putting. Not much time is devoted to practicing
mechanics, perhaps a little but not a lot. We primarily work on getting my mind in the
right place relative to trying to achieve a goal on the greens. Mo’s drills help ingrain
your routine or challenge you so that it really forces you to put yourself in what I call
manual override. This is when you have to pull yourself back into your routine. It is
similar to what happens when you are in contention in a golf tournament. Being in
contention tends to pulls you out of what you normally do to compete. The goal with
the practice drills is to put yourself in a situation where you have to manually
override getting out of your routine and then get back into it.
Question:
From the perspective of a college player and a college coach these drills are
something they could ingrain into their practice regimen in order to compete more
effectively. Would you agree?
SC:
I would say not only for college players, but that every level of golfer would benefit
from these drills. The good thing about Mo’s drills is that they have a score attached
to them so you can track your scores and monitor them over a period of time. I
wouldn’t measure them for just a week, but over the period of a year so you can look
at your scores and see a trend. If your scores are moving in a good direction, that’s
a great sign relative to your progress.
Question:
So do you do the 24 drill, the 3 – 6 – 9 foot putts around the hole?
SC:
Definitely, that’s a great drill and it’s crucial for your golf game because it focuses on
making the critical putts required for scoring.
Question:
What in college prepared you for the PGA tour?
SC:
My background in college was a little different than most kids. One of the main
things that distinguished my life from other kids is that I got married in college and
had my first child in college. That was a real crossroads for me and golf. In college, I
didn’t know for sure what was going to be my future or if I was going to be a
professional golfer. I knew I want to give it a shot but didn’t know if it was going to
work. I had to really prepare myself in case it didn’t work but I was ready to go. I
wanted to graduate and that was my number one goal. Graduating and getting that
degree was a priority. My time just evaporated when my first son Connor was born. I
had no time so I learned how to get a lot out of very little windows of practice time.
So I really got down to business and became serious about it. If I’m going to do golf, I’
m going to do it right, do it well, and I’m going to do my very best. The trajectory of
my golf game really took off at this point. I improved in dramatic fashion just because
I was forced to use my time better and became more focused on the future.
Question:
What are the biggest strengths or weaknesses you see in rookies who are out on
tour for one or two years?
SC:
The strengths are that the rookies are more seasoned from competition compared to
when I came out on tour. This is due to the fact that there are more tournaments for
them to play in. The AJGA has grown like crazy and college golf has gotten bigger
and better. There are a lot more opportunities for kids to get heated competition
earlier. Also, instruction, equipment, and everything else are just a lot better.
I see two negatives in young players based on using a standard of what is needed
to win on the PGA tour. First, they don’t always handle themselves that well
mentally. On the course they think about where they are in the tournament or how
much money they might be making. This tends to get them out of their rhythm
resulting in a couple of bogies or a couple of bad shots or in making bad decisions.
Second, younger players are inconsistent in their wedge play when they first get on
tour. It is critical to control the distance on those 50 to 120 yard wedge shots. Many
of the rookies just haven’t gotten there when they arrive on tour. They learn fast
because they only have one year to learn it or they’re gone. It’s hard to overcome
mistakes under 120 yards because that’s the scoring area.
Question:
What do see in the difference between medal and match play? You have done well
in the Accenture Match Play Championship and this is your fourth time on the Ryder
Cup.
SC:
It’s just a little different mentality. Match play format tends to put you in do or die
situations so it’s perform or pick up. Many times you will have to make a putt to tie
the hole. If your opponent knocks it up there close for birdie and you have a 25
footer, you treat that putt a little differently than you would in stroke play because
the next putt doesn’t matter. So mentally it’s easier to free yourself up in that
situation. That essentially represents the difference in the two formats. However, in
a format like the Ryder Cup or the President’s Cup where you’ve got team play,
whoever executes the shot best will win. It’s the same thing in stroke play, the best
execution wins.
Question:
What are your strengths in match play?
SC:
One of my strengths in match play is that I relish situations where my back is against
the wall and I have to perform. It’s a situation where now is the time to do or die. I
don’t think a lot of players care to be in that situation. My reaction to these situations
seems to be part of my DNA and I really like that part of match play.
Question:
What did you work on with Mo, Butch, and Chris (trainer) to get ready for the Ryder
Cup this year?
SC:
We’re in the middle of that right now. I have worked with Butch Harmon for a long
time, almost eight years. We almost always work on the same stuff. With Mo it’s kind
of similar, I just started working with him last year so it’s pretty new with him but we
work on ingraining the routine, situational differences and trying to down play the
meaning of putts, like a putt is to win or a putt is to tie. We try to treat each putt as if
it has the same level of importance. In addition to putting, we work on areas of
preparation with the short game. With Chris, I think cardio. Working cardio is a big
deal before the Ryder Cup because it is a 36 hole day, and its 36 holes of stress
starting on the first tee. It takes a lot out of you both physically and mentally. I sleep
better at the Ryder Cup or the President’s Cup. If you play two matches in a day and
both go down to the wire and it’s at the end then I’m asleep on the bus on the way
back to the room. It’s exhausting.
Question:
So Butch pretty much knows your game. Frank (caddy) said Butch has you do
tempo drills with your driver.
SC:
That’s something we do. Mechanically when my swing breaks down it reverts back
to old habits from many years ago. I just try to do a lot of drills that promote not
breaking down into those similar mechanical situations. Most golfers have one or
two little things they trend back to and they are just trying to avoid these tendencies.
No one is going to be perfect so you’re just trying to increase your chances of
striking the ball with a square club face and being able to control which way the ball
curves. Most players like to curve it both ways and the only way to do that is
maintain a square club face.
Question:
Do you do any game planning before going to the Ryder Cup?
SC:
No, we just develop our game plan after we get there and once we see the course.
However, I have the schedule mapped out in my head on what days I go to the gym,
what days I go to the media center, and also allow time for putting drills. There are
about 15 hours worth of stuff to do every day and only 10 hours in each day to do it.
The Ryder Cup is busy with stuff you don’t normally have going on. There are
photos, press conferences, meeting the bus at a certain time, dinners, and other
stuff that just crowds the picture compared to normal tournaments. Therefore, you
really need to plan ahead to allow time for everything.
Question:
Is there anything you would like to convey to college coaches and players as well as
junior players relative to our discussion?
SC:
I think they should read Dr. Mo’s books, they are really good. I don’t know how much
detail you guys go into when you talk about Mo’s drills and the reasons behind
them, but they are perfect for college teams. The coach can have these drills on a
hard card and distribute them to every player on the team and say this is what you
practice; this is how we do at our school. These drills are great. I think it is really
important to be organized and not hit a bunch of balls on the range, but hold
organized practice sessions where team members compete against each other. As a
junior golfer that was what drove me the most. I just tried to get better and to beat
the guy that I was playing against every day. We would play 36 holes and I would
just try to beat my friend. When he got better, I got better and vice versa. Kids in
college are the essentially the same age so they should fight it out and every
practice drill should be a competition.
Question:
Do you think our third book on practice and preparation will be essential for college
coaches and players?
SC:
Yes, if they are serious about their golf game they really have to have this stuff. This
is the real battle ground for advanced golfers. It is essential to fortify your mental
game around the practice green and your wedge shots. To some extent you need to
practice hitting tee balls in certain situations. What happens when you get into an
area where you have an uncomfortable tee shot? Kids probably get scared and just
hit the shot and then reload and hit a provisional. But you have to have a way to
deal with it when it is important to you. This is where the practice and the drills really
help.
Question:
Thank you very much for the interview and good luck at the Ryder Cup.
SC:
You’re welcome, it was my pleasure.
