This episode is sponsored by super speed golf. You know, I'm probably just like you and have tried just about everything to hit the ball farther. And there are a few things that have jumped out specific tools and strategies that I think have had the biggest impact on personally myself. And then things that we have seen that a research base and proven at the highest level. One of those things is super speed golf their research back.
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The which is the post that goes. Along with this episode, we'll have the link on there or head over super speed golf.com to their website. They have the info there care command, that's enough. Great opportunity to gain 20 yards in two days, and get it customized for yourself for your body. To make sure that you remain, injury-free and swing it your best. Love this. Thanks for sponsoring appreciate 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. We have podcast coming out on a regular basis here on a podcast Spotify. By all the places you find your podcast, make sure to do that, if you are not on the email list to get all the updates, all our good free resources that we try to make and all that good stuff. Gulfside slab.com session cider
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.