I have this totally crazy goal to win a national open.
I put it out on social this spring and Scott Dawley commented asking if I'd looked at the Speed Golf Open.
Couldn't stop thinking about it.
I hate running. I hate the gym. But I know I should be doing it.
So I signed up and put the date on the calendar: July 25-26.
My first ever run was May 1st. It sucked. I kept trying to run 2-3 miles at least 2x per week.
A month out I flew to Kentucky and played my first ever speed golf round... shot 85 in 70+ minutes, and it was brutal.
Came home and played five more times, usually at 8pm after the kids were down.
My big goal for the US Speed Golf Open was 75 in under an hour.
Day one I shot 75 in 59 minutes with a birdie on the last. Day two, 77 in 56. I never shot that low in a single practice round.
Honestly... Shocked I pulled it off.
Here's what I learned.
You can hit great shots without thinking or trying that hard.
This is the one that got me. My average heart rate was around 172 for my entire second round.
At 172 bpm I made a bunch of putts.
I hit some amazing shots right next to the flag. (on one I hadn't even finished my grip when I started the takeaway, and I striped it 😂).
It starts to really break your brain when you think about it: I was doing none of the stuff that I'm supposed to, like...
a clear pre-shot routine
making sure my aim is correct
calming my brain and my heart rate
getting perfect yardages and targets
and makes me really think... So what matters?
Here's a concept from this: When the shot's so rushed you can't think about what might go wrong, you stop trying to avoid the bad shot and just hit the one in front of you. That's all there is.
A full bag and all that time add less than you think.
4 clubs (3i, 9i, 55 degree, putter) and I played maybe 3-4 shots worse than my normal tournament game. (my guess)
Speed golf shows you your real swing.
My bad miss creeped in a few times. A pull snap hook with a three iron off the tee. The one thing that I knew to do to fix that was just to try to get really aggressive rotating through the ball and turning as much as I could. When I do that, it won't go left That's about the only swing thought I could muster.
My putting got better, not worse.
I'm a broomstick guy in normal golf. Couldn't use it here, so I switched to a claw grip on a normal putter and figured I would putt like crap.
I only had two three-putts in 36 holes and made a bunch of putts. 👀
I added one little rehearsal stroke to feel the distance and pace before each putt, and hit it.
Reps might beat practice (Controversial idea). 🤔
This might be a controversial idea, but playing speed golf, you get in a lot of reps playing golf on the golf course
And if I was trying to get someone better at golf, having them play more golf might be helpful
So I'm curious: do you get better by playing golf, 18 holes in one hour in a day, or spending one hour practicing on the driving range
There might be something to just getting more on-course practice in by playing speed golf than any other way to improve
Keep the ball in front of you.
The one thing you truly can't do in speed golf is lose a ball.
I didn't lose one all weekend, which is huge, because there is nothing more depressing than walking around looking for a ball and know your killing time.
So the ball stays in front of you.
Short enough that you always see it. Miss a green, chip on, two putt, move on. Take your bogey and go.
Where I struggled.
I would go on runs of great golf if I got good yardages for my 9-iron and sand wedge, but any time I really had to hit half shots and get creative with stuff, I struggled
But I'm bad at those in regular golf too. 😁
Will I keep doing this?
Yea no doubt.
I love the aspect of competitive golf where you have to push yourself mentally and with your game and skill.
But there is something about adding in this idea where you have to push your body to its limits that is addicting
I remember on the second day running up the 13th hole feeling so bad I had to stop and walk for a few seconds. Looking down at my watch and seeing my heart rate at 189 😂
And just telling myself to keep going, keep running, don't stop
There's something about pushing yourself that you just wanna go try and do it again and see if you can get better
One more thing.
When it was all over, Scott offered me a spot on Team USA. World Championships, New Zealand, in November.
My passport's expired and I have no clue how I'm pulling this off. But there's a new date on the calendar now, and it's all I can think about!
Thank you to Scott Dawley and Jason Hawkins for being my coaches and encouraging me through this whole process!!!
Great work by the guys that finished in the top three. Super inspiring and some incredible work.
Huge thank you to the crew for running along and filming everything.
Props to my wife for surprising me on day 2 to support and encourage. So grateful!!!
Huge thanks to Dylan at Garmin for believing in this crazy idea and sponsoring this project, as we wouldn't have been able to do it without their support
How Stress and Speed Influence Your Golf Swing (And What the Pros Do Differently)
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