The guys from paying They've kind of showed me how much the equipment matters. I just love that I can hit any shot.
I kind of want. We're gonna be able to tell some fun stories about what goes on here to help golfers play better golf.
Welcome back to the Ping Proving Grounds Podcast. I'm Shane Bacon. That is Marty Jerts and Marty, you got an exciting guest today.
Yeah, Austin is awesome to have you, have you on the pod, get to know you a little bit, and all of our listeners kind of want to hear hear your story here what you're up to.
All right, Well, thanks for having me on.
Yeah, well let's start with Cognizant because obviously getting a win this season on the PJ tourre I was reading a little bit about you know what you said after and you said, I've been dreaming about this moment my whole life. Kind of a weird finish, if you will, just the way it ended up, obviously being on a Monday finish. But can you kind of walk us through the week, walk us through that final round.
Yeah, I mean obviously it was from the start, you know, the game wasn't a good spot. And that's always a promising sign, but you never know until you te it up. And you know, I played well the first day and just you know, continue throughout the whole time. But then to have the rain delays and the you know, I played seven hole Sunday evening than the raindelais happened, and I was I was happy I finished out on the seventh hole, even though it was a you know, long
putt in the dark. But to come back and have a t ball, you know, make it feel as real and normal as I could. And I had you know, eleven holes the next morning, and uh, you know, and it could have helped me. You know, the fact that with the raindelais so it just it was really fun week. And I'll take a Monday finish every time if it ends up that way.
When you wake up on Monday, because you've kind of gone through it's Saturday night, right Saturday night, and the Sunday you're thinking about it, You're trying to get your rest, trying to go to sleep. Is it almost easier Sunday into Monday, considering you'd already kind of gone through those emotions, or is it tougher because you're like, I got to go through this whole thing. I just went through again.
I think it was a little tougher just because I had to do it was the same thing. It wasn't like, you know, it wasn't like it was just another tournament. It was the exact same experience, you know, but this time I actually had the lead versus where the night before I was tied for the lead, so I had kind of separated myself. So it was, you know, I guess a little bit more comforting in that way.
That golf course, I mean we put together for on the fitting side is some like strokes gained driving scores, and we used Kapalu as the easiest driving course on tour and that and PJ National is the hardest driving course on tour. How did you know in your ball striking stats are quite impressive tea to green. What was your confidence level going into that course and did things really match up with you, you know, the way you drive the golf ball off the tea that week.
Yeah, for sure that you know, the golf course suits my really well. I mean I feel like, for the most part, it's a drawing golf course off the tea, but I actually made an equipment change on Tuesday evening through in a different shaft in my driver, and it was ended up being the right one.
What initiated that change? What were you looking for?
Yeah, so it was funny. I was actually driving it fine, is the funny part too. And I was finished up my practice around Tuesday, and uh, Sam Stevens, another staffer, was on the tent tee and I walked over there and I just grabbed his driver. I was like, man, this feel pretty good. Didn't hit a ball with it or anything. I was just like, it looks good. It feels good. And I was like, hey, can can you
make me Sam's driver? And He's like, yeah, you're gonna want a little bit more a loft, but yeah, I'll make it for you. And then I didn't hit it until the Wednesday pro am and hit it great, played the tournament and drove it probably the best I've ever drove it. So it was funny. Still in my bag now.
Very amazing, Marty. I'm always I'm always impressed, shot surprised that tour players will tinker as much as they tinker, but then we'll be confident enough to throw some in the bag and be successful with it, go out there and win it. It's just the you know, I think regular golfers, amateur players, high handicapped players, they're more fearful of changing stuff in their bag. And I think when you hear from the tour players, it's like, no, man,
I like, if you're missing it left, you're missing right. Like, lean on the equipment if you can for sure.
I mean a lot of time, it's funny you'll be hitting drivers on the driving engine, you know, testing stuff, and you know you have a left miss with the shaft and then all of a suddenly thrown a different shaft and that miss goes away. It really is incredible what equipment can do.
I think it's pretty Yeah, the shaft side of thing is really amazing because it all you need is just this tiny little tweak to the face to path right, Like you can just change that face to path delivery like two tenths of a degree and that's all it's gonna take. So you know, was it was it a shaft field transition thing?
No? I mean it and what I've heard it's a similar shaft the one I played before. Yeah, it had a similar feel, similar you know, kickpoint and all that stuff. But yeah, it was just it was different and I needed that. And uh, but I think on the tinkering side, we were joking, like a lot of times with Dylan, I'll grab a different putter just to mess around with and end up throwing in my normal putter just because I need a different look for three days, you know, or whatever.
Just just to remind the other putter. Way, there is other ones out there they should be fearful of in golf. I mean outside of really the Caddy, there's not really teams you stick with throughout your career. You think about somebody like Steph Curry, you know, playing with the Warriors throughout their career. You're somebody that's been with ping since you were very very young. How did that relationship start?
Yeah, So I was playing in the It was a junior All starvant in Norman, Oklahoma, and Jeff Brown came out and watched me. We had no I did who he was, and he watched all all my rounds and by the end of it might I was like, hey, like I'm Steve, Like who the hell are you are you watching my son? And he was like, well, you know, introduced himself, and then after that I started working with h through that Ping junior program and I've been what is that now, thirteen years with Pinning and I'm twenty
five years old. That's pretty cool.
What were some of like the irons and woods you played at the very beginning?
So the first driver I got was the answer, yeah, driver? And three would.
Did you do you remember? Wasn't that the one that they you kind of you could color in really custom? It would you do to your?
Mine? Was all orange?
Okay?
Even the grooves of orange?
Yeah?
Yeah? And then uh, I think it was S fifty six is maybe irons or maybe fifty five, I can't remember what that and then Glide two point zeros and then the redwood putter I still using.
That the D sixty six still in the bag, Yeah, exactly, yep. And then uh, likewise, I think your your your dad, he's still he's been your golf code. Is he a golf pro or? And what what is that relationship like from a mechanics and coaching standpoint?
Yeah, So my dad played professionally for a little bit. He played college golf, and he's only my swing coach. That's his thing. He doesn't want to catch anybody else's touch me. So he uh, it's more kind of I bounce ideas off of him. And that's how we like to do it, more so than you know, dissecting the golf swing. He'd make sure the alignment's good and the ball position's good, and then you know, if I want to swing key or a swing feel, I'm like, hey,
what do you think about this feeling? And he's like, I hate it or I like it, you know, So that's kind of how we do it.
I love that. I always talk about steps with players. I mean you kind of like take these steps in junior golf into collegiate golf, and something happens. You win a golf tournament, you play well against somebody that maybe you're intimidated by, and your confidence grows. The way you played at the US Open last year, I mean, you had a great nine hole stretch, you know, tied the
low score. I think. Ever at the US Open you shot twenty nine, right, Is that what you did at l ACC What did that do for you the rest of the season into this year? Yeah?
I mean I think that week, especially just because I didn't feel like I had a great game that week and I was able to compete and still finish top ten. You know, I was struggling with the golf game most of last season, especially the ball striking inside of it, and you know, I was able to find little keys here and there, and you know, and I was still
able to compete. So that was confident, you know, confidence booster for me just knowing that, you know, without my best stuff last year, I was still able to, you know, almost win a golf tournament and then finish top ten in a major and then you know, stuff like that, even when I write out of my best stuff was encouraging.
You hear from players a lot. I mean we as golf fans. Typically if you're not watching PJ Tour live or you see and plus coverage, you're watching the players that are playing the best each and every week, and they're typically dialed. I mean, they're not missing a lot of fairways, not missing a lot of iron shots. Pro golfers miss fairways, they missed iron shots, they hit bad golf shots. There is something to seeing your maybe your B game be competitive against the best of the world.
And when you say, oh, my B game is successful, here, imagine what happens when I have my a game.
Right exactly, And that's good point you We'll miss a lot. I mean, it happens all the time. And I think it's kind of funny. We were talking about like last week in the signature events where we have you know, I played terrible after the first two rounds, It's like, well, shoot, I still got to go play two more, right, Right, Sometimes it's nice to go home and go figure some
things out. But yeah, obviously it's great having those you know, no cut events and stuff, but it's, uh, it's funny sometimes.
So if you're at an event like that in the signature events without cuts, right when you aren't playing well and let's say you're down towards the bottom of the leader board, what do you do in terms of a Saturday and Sunday to either work on your game or try to find something headed into another big week? All right?
Yeah, the mentality changes, for sure. It's not so much obviously you want to play well and finished well in that event, but you're more looking into the future, especially like last week coming into a major, I was just trying to find something, you know, trying to find the right swing key, trying to find the right feels and did.
You find anything I did, Yeah, definitely what you find.
Just figure out how to get the golf pull straight. That was the key, and I was really strong. I had tweaked my wrist early in last week, so I didn't get to practice before the event, and the chipping really kind of struggled because of that. That's the first thing to go. And you know, I was just trying to get the feeling back in that area and it seems to be back.
Growing up in Oklahoma. What were some of your favorite memories, you know, in terms of, you know, speaking to majors and the major the Major's head to Southern Hills. They've headed to Southern Hills a few times in your childhood. Do you have any any memories from from when the PGA was there at Southern Hills.
Yeah, some Me and my dad actually went out to that and to I remember vividly. I was I was young. I was like seven years old and Tiger Woods was walking up the walkway off of Eighteenth Green and I can't remember if you high five me. I definitely told people he high five, you know, but it was just a cool experience and like I remember him being like way bigger than I. Imagined and you know, all that stuff,
and it was just a cool experience. And then they had it back in twenty was it twenty was it last year?
A couple of years, two years ago, Yeah, two.
Years I wasn't I was on the corn Ferry Tour and I wasn't able to play. But we had the US or the Senior PGA at oak Tree National, where I play now. I think that was in twenty fourteen, and went out there and watched some of the legends. It was, you know, a lot of good golf in Oklahoma, Austin.
What is it like thinking back to being a kid seeing Tiger was you know him may or may not high five in years? Fist pumping your own I'm not sure.
I still can't remember.
Listen, we all go fishing. That fish grows every time I tell that story. What is it like playing a major championship now that Tiger's in the field.
That was cool this morning I was hitting I was hitting range balls and he was two spots down, and it's just cool. I mean peaking. Oh yeah, no, yeah. I remember in twenty nineteen and I was a sophomore in college and I qualified for the US Open at Pebble Beach and I was on the putting green, the one by the first t it's you know, by itself. Nothing else is around. And I walk out there and the putting green is just packed that you can't see it when I'm walking up, and Tiger is the only
guy on the green. So it's just me and Tiger on the funning green and I I had my coach in college guttying for me. I was like, is it bad if I take a picture right now? And he's like, yeah, I'll take plenty of pictures. You just go put so if you're well.
You know, he has the yardage book out and he hit one hand and maybe you had the phone out.
Of here exactly. Yeah, I mean so he definitely took a bunch of pictures, So that was cool.
Was he who you looked up to? I mean there's so many great players that went through Oklahoma State of imagine you're looking up some of those players. Just the guy you looked up to?
Oh yeah, I mean whenever I was a kid, I remember and uh that US opening at Tory Pines when he had that put on eighteen, I had my head tucked in the couch cushion, like I couldn't watch the pot. You know, he was he was the guy. He was the guy.
Yeah, Austin, Uh, let's talk a little bit about your iron. So you played Blueprint teas, right, and then Blueprint ass in the three iron right on tour, we have we have players in i two thirties, we have players playing mostly Blueprint asses and then a lot of mixed sets. You know, you you play the Blueprint t down to the three iron right, the Blueprint te or Blueprint ass three iron? Tell us what attracts you to that Blueprint t iron with characteristics and and yeah, why you like it?
Yeah? I remember, and when I was in college, the Blueprint came out and it was the coolest thing ever, you know, and it was I was just drawn to the forge blade look, you know, and I tinkered with some stuff last season before the tea's came out, and you know, once those came out, they're so clean looking on the back. And that's part of the game too, is you have to like what you look. So the
look is a huge thing to do with it. And they just kind of matched my game well, you know, I think contact wise, I catched the ball pretty clean, most of the time, and obviously I could probably use a little forgiveness every once in a while and go for the more game improvement. But I love them and they're they're clean looking, and they do what I wanted to do most of the time.
Growing up in Oklahoma, obviously going to college in Oklahoma, there's so many and you still live in Oklahoma. There's so many great players that live out there and play and practice. Who in that world did you look up to? Who in that world did you kind of pick their brain? And then when you started to have success, right, kind of like wrought off the jump and call it, who did you talk to about navigating that world, not just collegiately, but what you're going to do post Oklahoma State.
I thought it was pretty cool. The area I grew up in Oak Tree was a kind of a There was a bunch of us golfer, yeah, and it was like a pro golf it was. And I remember there was like three three guys older than me. There were seniors when I was a freshman, so whatever, it's difference that is three years. And whenever I was like ten years old, I wanted to be like them, you know.
It was like Nick Haye and Hayden Wood like I wanted to be like them, and then Kevin Tway and Robert Strubb were five years older than them, they wanted to be like them. And then there's a group of age, you know, a little bit below me that probably wants to be like me. And it's I think that's what makes that area so good at golf. It's just that that area. And obviously Ricky Faller when I was in
school was kind of he was always close. He came back all the time and wanted to help out the team as much as he could.
So it feels like there's like a fraternity there. I mean, for sure, such a great system. It's such a great you know college, it's such a great university. It's produced so many great players, and it feels like you guys aren't just close when you're there. It feels like when you get out on tour, you stay relatively close, you play practice rounds together. You talked to them and we
were talking before we got going. Scotford planks out there kind of helping you during the Masters, your first Masters there as well. I mean, that has to feel so cool because not every college, not every university has which you guys have.
Yeah, it's incredible to think about how many guys we have out on you know, PJ Tour and other tours. It's it's incredible. And when I first came out here, especially on the sponsor exemptions, you do, you know, you don't really have any friends out here, and you know, guys like Ricky, guys like Victor, you know, they were
really nice to people. I played practice rounds with them, and then now I got teammates of mine with Victor obviously, but then Sam Stevens as well, another guy, and you know, it's just fun, you know, have someone that you have that shared experience with and guys that shared the similar experience a couple of.
Years before you we ever move away from Oklahoma.
Nope, No, I mean I plan on doing stuff in Arizona in the future, but it will never be full time. I love Oklahoma.
Heah, yeah, all right, We'll see you in Arizona.
Yeah, winter time.
In the winter time, winter the driver, if you're exactly Yeah, but I will scrape up a lot more wedges in the in the desert.
Austin, tell us a little bit about how you like approach a week, Like what is your what does your Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday look like? How you kind of ramp, you know, get yourself ready for tournament week. I think it's there's
kind of two different tournament preps. There's the you know, a week off coming into a tournament, and then you fly in Sunday night and then you have a full week versus where you're coming from a different event, and that Monday is kind of more of a rest and recovery kind of day.
Typically, I like to just play nine hol days. When I first got out here, I played a little bit more. I played eighteen on Tuesday, but I wasn't in the programs on Wednesday. So it's you know, now that I'm in the prorams on Wednesday, it makes it really easy. I just played nine on Tuesday, nine on Wednesday, and
I go out. Typically I'm spending a little bit of time on the range, just trying to make sure I find the right swing keys, right feels for the week, and you know, I'd just like to keep it simp. I mean, just make sure my the main areas that I'm you know, my alignment, my ball position, like I was saying earlier, and then the swing path is somewhere within a realm that I can play with. I don't try to make it too perfect, you know, just kind of keep it easy.
Are you a technology guy or are you Are you a track man foresight? Are you looking at those numbers?
Yeah, use a track man, but I really only look at four numbers. The ones I really care about our carry distances, and then the swing path, attack angle, and then I like to see how fast I'm swinging it.
Obviously, that's I gotta know how fast I'm swinging.
That's really those are the That's really all I really care about.
Are you a stats guy, you're looking at strokes gains stuff, putting stats? You guys get into that or do you feel like you more just have a feel in a sense where things are at in your game.
I definitely like look at it just to get an idea of what the rest of the field is doing or you know, because sometimes you'll trick yourself, like you feel like you're hitting your rons good, and then you look at the stats and you're losing strokes on the field, and you can I don't wonder how, but then you kind of really dissect it and you see see where you lost, you know, when you mess agreeing with a
wedge that kills you and stuff like that. Yeah, but for the most part is if I feel like I'm swinging it well, I don't too much worry about the you know, the statistics on the teea green and short games where it gets a little finicky, I think sometimes because not all six footers are the same. You know, you have a six footer that's breaking you know, three feet, and then it's statistically the same as a dead straight six footer, but and it's really not.
Austin, when did you realize that this was going to be your thing? Because we've mentioned your success, I mean, collegiately you were great. Obviously you've now won on the PGA Tour. When did you realize I might have a future in this game?
I think at a young age I was. I played everything growing up sports wise, and I was always.
The best at outside of golf.
Football is probably what I was second best at, but I was just teeny my freshman year physical of high school, I was four eleven nine to nine pounds.
Whoa, come on, yeah, yeah, I don't fall here.
So that's whenever I gave up football after middle school. But you know, I think I always felt like I was good at golf, and you know, I had my dad telling me I was good enough, you know all this stuff, and I was winning all the junior events locally, and then you get to high school and kind of do the same thing. And I don't know if you ever really get the moment of like, I'm good enough to play on the PJ Tour until you actually went on the PJ Tour. Then you're like, okay, you know
what I am. I am good enough. But you know, I always felt like I had a chance. And then to go play at the best program in golf and all that stuff, it just it kind of helped build my confidence into thinking I could play out here.
Did you play in the Texas Oklahoma back in the day, Oh yeah, more better than the Air Force Base event. But the golfers had always killed me. It blew like thirty people. That'd be the one that always give me kills?
Is that where you guys put it's a good golf a little.
Older than you. But yeah it was great. It's a great really, but it woul always blow fifty. And I grew up in East Texas where there was no win and I was like I was like, this is not my game.
Yeah, So what adjustments have you made going from Corn Ferry Tour to PG Tour, you know, either courses, competition routine and how are you in you know what other what what other changes do you think you're gonna have to make in the future to continue with your successor Yeah.
I think something that I didn't realize when I was playing the corn Fory Tour I was still you know, fresh out of college, was how much it wears down on your body playing that much golf. I mean, growing up, even in a college schedule, you're not playing that much competitive golf. You'll play once every three weeks, once every two weeks, and then you're on the corn Fairy Tours. You play every week and you have to because they're trying to get on PJA Tour, and it really kind
of wears down your body. And I think that was the biggest suggestment I made on the PJ Tour was put in a focus on recovery and rest and you know, the maintenance in the in the weight room and stuff like that, just because I mean, it wears you down.
Yeah, what does that look like for you? Fitness routine A couple a couple of days in the weight room type of thing.
Yeah, I try to get I just really started building a team around me to where I have guys traveling with me now and you know, we try to get at least three or four days in the gym during the week, which it's hard sometimes with early two times and late tea times, just trying to find the right time. But that's kind of what I needed someone for because if it's on me, I won't do it. That's something that I figured out when it comes to the gym on the road, is it's easy for me to say, oh,
I'll do it tomorrow, you know kind of thing. But to have someone in there telling me, no, we need to get the done, it's really helped a lot.
Are you like a chef at the house guy, or you like an uber eatsre do we go? What are we going with?
Like?
Week to week?
The bad thing is taco Bell? Yeah, I have, yeah, and typically I have a courtesy car with me that I could easily drive to the taco Bell. But it's so easy to oppress. Know what's what's the taco bell order?
What do we get?
It changes? I'm everything on the menu talk Okay, it's one of my things.
So you're a democratic dial in Mexican pizza, I'm into it. Let me tell you about two thirty in the morning, if it's been a heavy night out, I'll go like thirty five dollars deep, which is a really good that's hard to do. You almost have to order everything on the you do you do. I don't consume it all, but I'll definitely want to have a little bit of a taste. That's very interesting. I'll have the taco bell thing. Yeah, what about the tattoo the World? You have a tattoo of the world.
It's the worst tattoo on the planet.
Seriously, you don't like it.
I've actually been to two sessions now with the removal.
All right, so when did you get it?
My I was eighteen.
That was a was the reason.
It's a it's a funny story actually, So this is why I'm going to Arizona in the wintertime, because there was nothing to do in the middle in the wintertime. So it was a it was a snowing day in December and me and my buddy had just gotten done working out, and uh we were at Qutoba and he was like, would you ever get a tattoo? It was like, I probably would, And so we had nothing to do.
So we drove to this tattoo are they called parlors? Yeah, and uh so we drove there and we were just like kind of looking through the booklets and what they had, and they were like, we have an opening for two and the like in an hour and an hour and a half if you guys wanna you guys want to get them today? We're like, sure, why not? And I mean, it's this is it's twelve o'clock in the it's noon on a Tuesday afternoon. There was no drinking involved. It was completely sober decisions.
It's sober and board.
So sober and board and ended up with the worst tattoo ever.
So what did your buddy get?
I can't remember. It was on his It was on his arm. It was a verse of some sort, but it was I can't remember what.
He's not taking that one. He likes it years off.
Yeah, and it hurts and you heard it's worse than the tattoo significantly.
How many sessions does it take to get it out of there?
They said probably ten, okay, but it's who knows how much it was just exactly.
Take a day when you're eighteen. When you're eighteen, on buying a car, on marrying someone, and on getting it.
That's very fad think about before you do it.
Also, what what's what do you think what would you consider the strength of your golf game. Strongest part of your golf game.
I'll say my driving. You know, I think I drive the golf ball consistently well, But I think that's the areas where if I'm struggling, that's when you'll see the score struggling because you know, that's the first thing that I really make sure is you know, in a good spot, because that's where I think, you know, it's my strength. That's where I score from. And I think statistically I
am one of the better drivers out here. I'm not, like I said, I'm not a huge statistical guy, but I think the stats says so.
One of the things we've knows about your driving is that you don't curve it a lot, right, You play a little draw.
I kind of if I'm just setting up square and I just swing, it's gonna draw a little bit. I like to work it both ways most of the time.
A little bit both ways with the driver. But in general, I think one of the things we've seen with your with your data is that you don't you don't have a big spin accident. It's like you don't curve it a ton. That helps unlock a little bit extra disc answer. I think that's one of those things that makes players sneaky long. Yeah, you know, is that you don't curve it a lot straight.
Right, Yeah? Yeah, typically I keep I like to keep the ball within the margins of the fairway and not start it outside of the fairway. Yeah.
And then what about your iron plate? Do you curb your irons a lot? Two different pins? And growing up at Oklahoma's windy you know, is that what's your strategy on shot shaping?
Yeah, I kind of. I play with flights a lot, and I'm bringing them down, bringing them up, curve them. I think that was something I struggled with when I go on tour. Was you see a lot of guys just hit one ball flight? Yes, And it was like I was thinking, do I need to change my approach
on how I play golf? Interesting just because that's what everybody else was doing, And you know, I tinkered with that and then realized I hit the irons better if I'm playing playing with ball flights, because it gives me something to focus on. I think that's something that helps me as a you know, I pick a number far I'm trying to hit it, the ball flight, I want which way I want it working, and it kind of helps me zero in on the flag.
So I think for the listener, Chane, that's another good example Austin talking about shot shaping the blueprint, T is like that's like your sports car, Like you can just dial it in in terms of your face to path things of that nature. Do you curve it based on pin location, wins, distances or.
All the above?
All the above, I think, And a lot of times it probably doesn't make sense the way I curved it, you know. I mean it's the back left pin and the winds off the right, and I'm gonna cut it into it, you know, so it doesn't matter.
It just was kind of like the walk up and see the shot, yeah exactly. Yeah.
And a lot of times when I walk a fairway or like when I get up to the te you know, I just kind of vision visualize the whole work in a certain way. That's just kind of how I've played it, yeah, and and trust it exactly.
Yeah. Have you had to change your goals this year? After the win? Do you write down goals or you a goal guy?
My cad is a goal guy, so it always makes me throwing a couple of goals at the beginning of the season and.
Ordered Taco Bell went on the PHA Tour. What else? But what else? What else? You're looking at for the rest of the year.
And now I feel like, you know, I think the main goal would be making making ees, Like I think that's kind of you know, I'm in a good spot for that, and that's kind of if you can do that, that means you had a great year, you know, And that's really where I'm the main goal. But then also somehow making the President's Cup. I think that'd be super cool.
Yeah, it'd be fun. And I mean, I'm sure people love to hit his t shots. You hit that straight round. I'll go in this one. Austin. We appreciate the time, man, great chatting with you. Good luck the rest of the season. Hopefully we see on the President's Cup team.
Thanks so much, hopefully so.
This is the Proving Grounds Podcast.