The guys from Ping. 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.
Hey, everybody, welcome back to the Ping Proving Grounds Podcast. I'm Shane Vacan, joined as always by Marty Jerts and Marty. There are special guests. There are exciting guests, and then there are guests that are playing arguably the best golf on planet Earth right now.
And we've got the ladder today.
Lauren cog I'm going to join us now from a sunny Scotland Lauren, Is that what we'd say today?
Beautiful Scotland off.
And on sunny Scotland. Yeah, you know, I feel like we got a little bit of everything typical typical Scotland. You know it would be I was in shorts at one point today and then there was raining sideways at one point today, So yeah, I got a little bit of everything.
Yeah, you were saying that the pro am was was kind of everything Mother Nature could throw at you, and that was the first time you've played the old course in your life.
So you got it in? Are we saying thirty mile an hour gusts is what we're going with?
At least?
Yeah?
I mean at times I think it was probably close to like thirty five. Yeah, I mean it was pretty brutal out there, but I mean it's what it's going to be like all weeks. So but it might as well get it in now too, Marty.
There are podcast bumps and then there is whatever happened with us and Lauren last week. We were actually gonna do a podcast with her last week and I think weather was an issue and your tea time got pushed back and it didn't work out.
So Marty, are we going with like the pre bump or the post?
Like?
How are we doing this?
Yeah?
This is a new we need a new name for this. You know, Lauren, you got any ideas here?
Yeah? I mean I would have done it had it not you know, been probably having to do it like nine to thirty my time and having to go then get up the next day. But yeah, I think you probably like a a pre It might be a little bit of a both, like a pre post bump.
There you go, there we go like that. I love it.
You were celebrating at the Don Vegan Post Scottish Op and I listened to you on the NLU Live show and then the pod and all of that.
It was funny.
You were doing your job if you will, you know, jumping in with the guys and doing that. And I know I'm going to get into your relationship with then LU in a little bit, but you were doing your job there. But it was so cool And if people haven't checked it out, make sure you go listen to the podcast because about every thirty seconds, somebody'd walk by and say congratulations. And I think, like Marina walked by at some point, I think, do you say, Cary Webb
was there as well. All of these people are walking by congratulating you as you're doing a live FaceTime in the US. I mean, that's kind of who you are in this space, and you know, I know you get a lot of I'm assuming you get a lot of comps to Max Homa on the men's side of golf, and I'm assuming a lot of that is not just your relationship with then LU, but just you know your journey and who you are and how open you've been
to everybody. But what is it like going from I'm a cool kid on the LPGA tour that's got these cool friends to now I'm playing some of the best golf on the planet and my confidence levels at an all time high.
Yeah, it's it's been a world when I would say the last like month or so, just between Avion and then going to Canada Portland and then last week in the best way of course, but yeah, it's I think what I learned after Canada was just like the coolest part about winning Canada was the all the support I got from my peers, you know, like I kind of stick. I am very friendly with a lot of people, and I have friends, but kind of when I'm at the course, I'm kind of usually in my bubble and I kind
of do my thing and then I leave. I don't really do, you know. I don't play a lot of practice rounds with my friends. I'm usually like now I want to go play at this time, So I'm just going to go play and I do my own thing. But I have a lot of friends, but I think it was a lot of the other people that I think, like Lydiaco like messaged me right like as soon as
I won. Nelly messaged me, Lexi messaged me, like Gin Young Coo messaged me, like all these people who have like, you know, looked up to since I came out here, and they're like now they respect me and they have again I think just under the radar, a just oblivious to myself, Like didn't really you know, think they knew who I was, but they did the whole time. But yeah, it's been wild. It's yeah, I don't really have a
lot of words to describe it. I'm just trying to go keep playing golf and see what happens.
Lauren, What what was it that that click there in Canada to get you over the hump?
Like, tell us a little bit about that week.
How are you feeling going into it, how you prepared for the tournament and just you know just kind of your position round by round and you know, how were you were you quite nervous come down the stretch and kind of how how it all came together for you there.
Yeah, I learned a lot, you know, the two weeks before at Avion. You know that was kind of really the first time coming down the stretch that I had had a lead at all. You know, I'd had like a first round lead, for the first time in the beginning year at Chevron, and then I think kind of coming down the stretch, I was kind of in contention, but I would never had the lead or anything newly kind of ran away with it most of it, but I kind of was the closest person to her for
a lot of the back nine. And then so Evan was the first time where like you know, I was stepping on the fifteenth tee and I had the lead on Sunday and I didn't quite get it done. But I didn't really feel like I lost that week so much as I just didn't win because Ayaka came out and shot five on her last five holes, like started making everything. So while I was disappointed, I don't think it it didn't really leave any scars or anything. I would say more if anything, was just like, Okay, I
know what I need to go do next time. And that off week, So my husband caddy for me at Evon, But the previous five weeks before that, I've been working with Terry mcnaura has been caddying for me, who was on a castorm Sam's longtime caddie, and so he came up because I live about an hour from where Slim is, and so he came up. We actually went and hung out with Bob Rotella for like an hour. He had never met Bob, so I was like, he lives in Charlesville where I live. I'm friends with him, Let's go
hang out. And then we went and played the Solon course. And I think that week, you know, I just was able to really rehash everything that happened at Evion and learn what I didn't do. And so come Canada, I
was in a very good space. You know. Terry and I were had just spent you know, a day and a half pretty much just together ourselves, and I just felt, I don't know, we were really starting to get in a rhythm as a team, and I think that was huge and I think a big reason why I was able to end up winning at Canada.
Lauren, I hear this a lot from people when they win, or even when they go from amutor golf, collegiate golf to pro golf, and they start to kind of understand that you look at your peers, or you look at the Lydia's or the gin Youngs or the Nellies, and you think they're perfect, and then the moment you get to start playing with them, or you see them playing in tournament golf, you realize that they're not perfect. They
make mistakes, they hit golf shots that aren't great. You know, maybe they make a bogeie here, And there is there a level of starting to get a sense of what you needed to do to not just win, but be able to kind of play a minus B plus golf and still see the results. Because the major results this year have been incredible. I mean, you've played great in
the big events. Obviously you have the two wins, but I just feel like the consistency has been there, and I'm wondering if there was something that clicked mentally for you where you looked around and said, these players, these great players that I love to watch, do it aren't perfect at the sport?
Yeah, for sure. I think you know, in college that kind of happened, you know, I think for those who don't know, I mean, I wasn't highly recruited in this in all of that, and so I remember getting paired with and when I was in college Stephanie Meadow, who's still out on tour with me, she was like number one amateur like most of college when I was there, and like in Leonda Maguire was you know, number one amateur most of the time the rest of the time
that I was in college, and so I remember getting to get paired with them for the first time and being like, man, I can't wait to see you know, like what do they do? Like what what can they do that I don't How can I get? What do I need to do to get better? And I remember being like, yeah, they do, like they make a few more puts than me or whatever, But there's not like anything that they did that I didn't think I could
also do. And I think that's kind of happened over the years as well on tour, finally getting starting to get paired with the Lydia's. I've been played with Lydia a few times this year, a handful of times the last year or so, and I mean, she's unbelievable with a wedge in her hand, but there's not really like anything else about her that I'm like, yeah, like I can't do that. I've never been paired with Nelly, never been paired with Lilia, but I mean I've been paired
with a bunch of me I've played. I've been paired with ruining a lot of the people now and there. It's nothing that I'm like, yeah, there's nothing that they can do that I can't do with a little bit of practice and work or anything. Right, I'm not saying I'm just as good at everything as them, but there's like you can look and see like, Okay, I can see that, I can see that I could do that.
Lauren, tell us a little bit more about working with Bob Rotella. I'm kind of interested in that. How long have you known him, and you know, how has he helped you, not only recently obviously, but just over the course of your your career.
Yeah. One of my really good good friends from Charlottesville, Bubba who love the shout out, He's really good friends with Doc and so I think about in twenty twenty one or so, he was like, you know, do you want me to just text him and see if he like he wants to go play golf? And I was like, yeah, that'd be awesome. And so that was kind of when it started. I just played golf with him, you know a handful of times. If I ever need to text him or anything, like, he's always willing to talk. But
that's Yeah, it's been it's been pretty cool. I mean, he has great stories, and he's worked with I mean name him. He's probably worked with them on the men's side, especially, you know, he works with Rory really closely, JT. Shane, Lowry, Paltt Padrag Davis Love the Third Like I mean again, like name him, and he's probably worked with them at some point. So you know, listening to some of the stuff that he has to say is is pretty cool.
He has great stories and again, and you go and think that you're the only one that's ever felt certain ways at times, and what you learn from them is like, no, you're not the only one. Everyone's pretty much gone through similar stuff at some point in their career.
Do you call him doc? Because that's really sick. Is that what you call him?
Do?
Like text him doc?
Yeah, that's what Bubba calls them.
So that's kind of what Yeah, I mean, it's it's uh yeah, that's kind of one of those.
Like doc doc. Rotella is another one, Yeah.
Because like like growing up myself, Marty, I'm sure you were similar.
Is Rotella was the guy.
I mean, he was the books I read through, I mean when I was having i mean, putting out of your mind is on the shelf behind me. I mean that's my go to and I'm really struggling. I think it's wild to think there are certain figures in this sport when you meet him in real life and Marty, I'll nerd out of the PGA show versus like I could see Mark Wahlberg walking down the street and I would nerd out more if I saw Rotella.
You know, like that's the that's the world I live. It's probably why I do this, But I mean, Rottella was our guy.
Yeah.
Yeah, I have his books on my bookshelf and my office at home because I was going to give him to my kid to read, and the pages are all falling out and I got notes all in there. I was just looking at it this a week or two ago. So Laura, that's super cool that you, uh yeah, you have this recent experience with him.
Yeah, I mean it was. It was awesome. I mean again, so Terry's been catting for forty six years and.
Just a couple.
Yeah, and like he had he had never met Rotella, and so I was like, oh man, I just want you guys to meet, Like I just want to listen to you guys talk and like I can't wait to hear like stories that you guys might go back and forth right, And Terry was like, no, I'm just gonna I just want to listen to him. He's like, I don't want to. And so what it ended up being
was like we were just talking about me. It was just me and Rotella talking back and forth about Evan pretty much, and Terry was like on the edge of his seat the whole time, just like loving it, as I'm sure you guys would have been.
Oh it was By the way, is there one thing that you said you did you talked about that he like pinpointed right away, you know, I mean like negative speak things like that that golfers can do. Was there one thing in those initial conversations that he saw in you, As you mentioned, you're not the first person to have these thoughts or these feelings or these situations that you're
going through. Was there one specific thing that he noticed with you and went, let's avoid this or we can change this so we can work on this.
Yeah. I think a lot of it for me has always been confidence, not just in terms of like putting or whatever, just like overall, like confidence in myself that I can win I can be, you know, a top player like he saw in me. He was. I remember he Bubba told me that. He's like he went to him after we're like nine holes in and he's like, so, like, what's this girl's deal, Like why is she not winning on tour right now? And he was like, One, at
that point, it was putting. My putting was awful, but two, it was a lot of it ended up being just like again, I wasn't recruited, like I walked on in Virginia, like I never thought. I like, if you would have told me at the beginning of this year that I was going to win once littlone twice like be on the Soul, I wouldn't have believed you. I mean, obviously that's what I was trying to do in working towards, but like that, my belief, just in my confidence wasn't
really there at that point. And I think Terry's helped me a ton with that because he's I mean, he was with Anica for nine years in her prime. You know that he has sixty nine wins with her, fifty five on the LPGA. Like he's been around the best, right, And so like when he tells me something. I'm like, Okay, like you've seen it. He's not gonna bes me. He's not gonna just tell me that just to make me if he wouldn't be working with me if he didn't
believe it. Because he's mostly retired at this point, so it's like him telling me certain things just has just because it's not anything that a lot of other people haven't told me, but like, for whatever reason, with him, it has just like stuck a little bit more. I think.
Yeah.
One of the things Lauren about tournament golf is just is so hard to win in general anywhere. I mean, Shane and I have a hard time winning our local club championship or a little match play thing. You know, when was the Canada? When was the last time you won a golf tournament? Was it on the Semetra Tour or Mini Tours?
Yeah?
I won, so right out of college, I turned pro immediately didn't have any status. So I played a couple of state opens in that summer getting ready for Q school, and I won both the Tennessee Open and the Colorado Stayed Open. And then twenty eighteen, when I was a rookie on the LPG, I went down and played an EPSENT event and ended up winning that EPSENT event. But up until then, that was twenty eighteen, so that would be the last time I'd won anything. You have money, I mean.
You're saying six years. I mean again to Marty's point, Yeah, that is. I mean, it's learned. It's situational, it's uncomfortable. It's like you get yourself in that position. Are you leaning on Terry more than you thought you would? Are you leaning on the rotella conversations? Are you leaning on your own confidence? Or are you just out there playing golf because you're trying to close out a golf tournament. It's a big, big golf tournament.
Yeah. When Terry and I first started working, like the first he came up, we were to start working at Mizuho, and he was going to be cadding for Nasa Hatiyoka at the Founder's Cup because the caddies that actually connected us, He's really good friends with Greg caddy's for NASA. But his daughter was graduating college, so Terry was going to take over for him that week just so he could
be there for his daughter's college graduation. But on his way up, he kind of stopped through Charlottesvie, and we spent a couple hours together just to kind of really get a feel for each other. How do I like things,
this and that. But a lot of what he said was like how important communication is, and like if you're feeling because I could, I was telling him at that point, you know, any type anytime I felt like I got into certain points, I could feel the anxiety, or I could feel the adrenaline, you know, like little things like that that or if I could feel uncomfortable whatever he knew. He was basically just like communication is the most important thing. Like I can't help you if you don't tell me
what you're feeling. He's like, I still may not be able to, but like I definitely can't if you're not telling me what's going on. And so I remember at Mizuho our first week, I made a birdie on the fourteenth hole, Yeah, fourteenth hole, to kind of get to
within like two of the lead. I saw the leader board just like on accident, and I got pretty like the leaders were still on like seven or eight, Like it was not even like I wasn't even really that close, but I got like pre jacked up about it a little bit, and I ended up making a couple of bogies coming in and I remember being like, man, I should have told him that I was feeling kind of
like some adrenaline on that fifteenth teen. I didn't, So I remember like texting me, I mean, like I felt it, I didn't tell you, like it won't happen again, like and so pretty much that's just what a lot of what I've been talking through him, you know, like a Canada Sunday morning, when during my warm up, I could definitely kind of feel I was getting a little quick just because you know, I'm excited, right I'm I'm one shot back of the lead, like I'm playing really really
great golf, and I could feel, you know, I was just in my tempo was just a little click and I could feel it. So, you know, I told him, and I'm sure he could see it, but I was so you know, he talked through I can't even really remember what he said, but you know, he's like, of course you're gonna want it, this is your dream. It's okay that you want it, but you can't let that extra energy like get in the way. You need to focus it in on what you're doing.
Yeah, I think just the just you've kind of learned that skill of self awareness. It sounds like, Lauren, right.
Yeah, exactly, yeah, and like again it's okay to feel those things. Everybody feels them, but I've learned that like keeping them internal, which is what I've done for most of my career, just trying to get over it. Like just know I can do it myself. You know, I can do everything myself. I don't need anybody's help. And it's like no, like people want to help you. People want to whether it's your swing or putting or whatever,
like Catie, like they they want it. They're there because they care, and so let them help you.
Lauren.
There's a lot of guys on Instagram that will tell you if you need any swing tips too.
I'm sure they could just reach out and hitch out there.
I've been getting a few of those lately, by the way, because I'm going through some swing stuff and I'm like, thanks, appreciate that.
I didn't know. I didn't know I was gonna get that either.
You told you told a great story on the NLU Live Show on Sunday about something Terry said to you. The Canadian Open to the leech Ravino line. Can you just share a what he said and be how that conversation started.
Yeah, I think I don't really even know how it started. I think we were playing a practice around either Monday or Tuesday, and he was like, you know, like Lee Chavino won three National Opens in a year. You know, we're going about to have three in like four weeks, Like, you know, we could do that, And then we ended
up winning Canadian Open. And then you know, last week we were talking on the phone about something about leading up or in the off week before Scottish and we were talking about something and he's like, you know, just you know, just letting you know about your letting the subconscious know. You know again like Lee Chavino won three National Opens in one year, Like we can do that too, two for three, two or three?
Now, by the way, what a call, Marty?
You just throw that out there, just nonchalantah, go, you know, Lee Trevino did this.
I think Tiger did it as well. Right, didn't Tiger pull that off as well?
You won?
I think you might have won the US the Open in the Canadian one year. I think maybe in two thousand, but not a lot of people have pulled off the three peats, So we're gonna be We're gonna be.
Pulling back in nineteen seventy one.
Too crazy, crazy, We're gonna be pulling very very hard, very hard for you. I mean, Marty, you're a guy that's played a ton of competitive golf, and you've won a lot of golf tournaments. You've played against some of the best players in the world. When you feel the leap happened, personally, how fun is it to ride the wave like for you? How fun is it to ride the wave when it's rocking and rolling?
Yeah? No, super fun. I mean I think my Lauren.
My like highlight of my career is I played in the PGA Championship at Bethpage and I made the cut. That was like my life's dream is a working golfer. And early in that week I had to practice around a range with Francesco Mollinario just won the Open Championship, almost won the Masters, and I kind of had that same experience you talked about, where, you know, here's one
of the hottest player in the world. I played a practice round with him and I was hitting better than him, you know, So it was that kind of got me over the hump a little bit and gave me that little confidence or that self belief that hey, I gave myself permission to do good, you know, and I had my team going a lot, a lot of just very positive things happening, not only with my mechanics and my
technical part of my game. But yeah, I think just having that, you know, something about having that holistic momentum giving yourself permission. I think that what you mentioned about the national championships in one year, it is that little seed in your subconscious that you know, maybe you realize is there when when you're out playing or not, but it's given yourself that permission to win.
Right.
Yeah, that talk with Ortella, that was one of the things that we talked about. Like he talked about how everybody has they're at this like comfort zone. Right for some people, He's like, it's people who shoot always shoot
between like sixty eight and seventy two. You know, there's this like subconscious like comfort zone that if they're you know, if they're six over with four to play, they're going to make some birdies coming in to shoot to get in that number, whereas they're you know, if they're six under through twelve, they're going to make bogies coming in and always kind of be in that that number that range, right,
because that's where they think that they should be. They're subconsciously, So that was a lot of what we talked about, or what he talked about, like just getting over that hump.
The next part was like you just have to start subconsciously, start thinking about it, like not really consciously, so that you're subconscious will then kind of take over, so like just thinking about not just hitting the shots and making the putts, but like thinking about winning and that type of sense, and a lot of it was like visualization and things like that talked about. But I was like, oh,
I've never really thought of it like that. You know, when I was in the early part of my career, all I was thinking about was the cut, right, So where was I always right around the cut?
Yep.
And then eventually I started to feel more and more comfortable, and you know, I wasn't really thinking about to cut anymore, but I was always finishing between like twentieth and fortieth and then eventually it's just gotten higher and higher, And yeah, I think that was part of it. Was Eviyon. I think showed me that No I could win out here. Even though I didn't end up winning, I think Evon showed me that I could, Lauren.
I wanted to ask about the relationship with no laid Up because you know, their buddies of mine. I've known them for a long time. I love what they do with their program with players, especially early on, you know with some of the players where I'm not exactly sure they knew what they were doing, but they wanted to kind of, you know, promote and throw some money at certain players out there that they liked or that they were following, or that they knew. How has that relationship
helped your confidence helped? You know, the people out there on social media, fans things like that, that are following you, that are interested in you. What has that relationship in dynamic been like over the last few years.
Yeah. So in twenty nineteen, they tweeted out that they were starting the Young Hitters program, which was basically their sponsoring Like, I think it's about six guys on the corn Ferry Tour, and I followed Tron and I followed like the main Twitter account. Honestly, at that point, I didn't even know that there was like five guys. Like. I listened to the podcast, but I mainly just listened to the interviews. I didn't really listen to the recaps
or anything. I was like, man, I do enough golf, Like I don't need to be capping every PJA tour event. But I loved the interviews. And then my husband started found their YouTube channel and so he was really into them as well at this point. And so I saw Teron tweeting out that they're thinking about doing maybe someone on the epsyn or LPGA, and so I was like, Okay,
I'm just going to shoot my shot. So I sent them a DM on Twitter in like March, and I think he posted it, which is like embarrassing going back and reading it now six years later or five years later. But he I messaged him in like the beginning of March, and in September he messaged me back being like, let's
do it. How much was always said like it was like circling He never yeah for six months and it was like just like it was like circling back, let's do this, Like that's literally all he said in it, Like it was like four words. So then I ended up meeting them. I ended up meeting Tron and DJ at a coffee shop in Jacksonville after the Semetro Tour Championship because I was gonna be driving back up that
way going back home, so I don't know. I talked with him in a coffee shop for like an hour and a half and just like handshake, like, hey, we're doing tourist Sauce in like two months. If you want to stop down in Pinehurst while we're there. I was like, all right, cool, sounds good. But yeah, So that's kind of how it started. And then this the relationship just kind of grew from there. You know, I got pretty
involved with you know, my husband. Again, my husband was a huge, huge fan of theirs too, and so he joined you know, the Refuge their message board, and so like, okay, he was loving it, So like okay, I'll get on it. And and I've done events and you know, I've gone to their n I t which is their like end of the year tournament that they do in I did win it in Yeah, I got Jackets twenty twenty one. It
was yeah, I mean and that, yeah, it was. They're they're They've just become really really good friends of me and my husband. You know DJ and Randy have both caddied for me at one point, Like DJ did a Epson event, Randy did the Colorado Open when he was a couple of years ago. Like yeah, I mean they're
They've just become awesome friends. And every time I'm around them, you know, they they all love golf, and it usually just makes me like golf a lot more than I sometimes just it's my job, right, So as much as I love it, I love it in a different way when I'm around them more just for the pure love of golf less is like no, this is just what
I love what I do. But because I don't get to do a lot of fun golf, right, most of my golf is work, and so it's always fun to get to go play golf with them because it's it's fun, and I always it recharges my batteries every time.
Lord, let's let's shift gears to the last two this week and last week's Uh Scottish Open? Have you had you ever been played golf over there or been over and played links golfer? Is this is this your first time over there?
No? My first time at the Scottish Open was twenty twenty two, so I played Scottish over there, and then I had to go do the qualifier for the British which was at North Barrack, which was awesome.
Was it North Barrick? What wow?
Yeah? Incredible? Yeah? And then and then I qualified for the British which was at Mirfield, So whoa nice, like incredible. That was like my real So like I cause I played Don Donald and I like dun Donald a lot, but it's not quite true Links golf, I would say,
just because it's a lot of elevated greens. It's not quite as firm as I don't know, like when I went and played North Barrick, like there was a be a bunker, you know, like two eighty out and I was hitting like four hybrid to stay short of it, like when it was down wind, just because the ball just like does not stop. And so like it's just very different, like that doesn't happen at dun Donald just because there's a lot more undulation and raised greens and stuff.
So like that was my first real like holy crap, this is what Links golf is. And then really struggled in the wind back then, and then last year I was like okay, I got to figure out the wind, the ball does a lot, especially off the tee. Like I got to get better at this, and so right before the Scottish last year, I actually switched from the PROV one X to the pro V just because I'd
kind of done a little bit of testing. I'd always played the X pretty much since college, and so I switched to the PROV because I was getting similar, similar, launch, similar everything. Just I was getting like a couple of undred RPMs less spin, and so I was like, oh, I mean just less spin a couple if it's only a couple hundred, like that makes a big enough difference to where like maybe my ball won't especially in crosswinds like do some crazy stuff. And so I switched and
it made a huge difference. I made the cut at Dundonald last time for the first time and played, I hit some. I played really well in the wind that week, and then went to Walton Heath, which was more park It's heath Landed wasn't really links. So this was my third time over playing link skullf Do.
You love it?
Like?
Is it? Are you into it?
Very much?
So?
Yeah, I don't know. I just feel like weekend and week out a lot of it's just like, oh, hit it as high landed by the pin, you know, like hit a straight ball.
Whatever, how far does my seven iron go?
That's what I'll hit it right exactly, Whereas this, it's like, I mean, I couldn't tell you how far I was trying to hit a lot of things, like I have my stock six iron carries about one hundred and sixty eight yards. Last week on the full pole, three of the four days I hit six iron and the yardage was between like one hundred and eighteen yards and one hundred and twenty five yards.
So sick god, I love that so much.
Like I mean, I was like in the whole before, similar yardage, but not quite as exposed. So I was hitting like eight iron from like one hundred and eighteen yards or like seven iron from one hundred and twenty yards, whereas like the next sold's way more exposed, a little bit more dead into and I'm hitting six iron like pin high and I'm not hitting full shots. I mean, it's just I'm just trying to get it just going through the wind as straight as I possibly can get
it and just get it going. I don't know, that's it's a lot more fun there's a lot more feel and like you have to be one more creative. It's it's a lot more fun.
I think it's it's fun, it's different, it's unique, and
again if you embrace it. As you mentioned the conditions this week expected to be windy and kind of nasty at Saint Andrew's, I was gonna ask you, I mean, not just because the way you're playing right now, because obviously you're playing as good as anybody on the LPGA Tour, and I know you're excited about this, and I want to ask a couple questions about the old course, but in terms of golf tournaments and anticipation and excitement, where does an Open at St. Andrew's Land on your list?
Is it a top the list? Is there anything that can beat this?
I mean, I think the only thing that will beat it will be Solheim an hour from where I live in a couple of weeks.
That'll be dirty.
Yeah, But I mean this is like, like both of these two events are like once in a career type opportunities. Getting to go play the Open at an old course and then playing the Solheim Cup in your home state, like an hour from where you live. Like those are like you know, people don't get to do like that doesn't happen for everybody, and so yeah, I mean I'm extremely excited, especially like you know, this was marked on the calendar as soon as I knew my dad, my
dad and my uncle are getting here tomorrow. So it's it's going to be it's gonna be an awesome week.
What was your first Uh, so you just went around it for the first time today where you just off the golf course when we're talking to you, now, what was your first impression? Granted you were out there in some pretty breezy conditions and kind rained on a little bit as I understand it.
Yeah, well, I mean, yeah, it was very windy, but I mean it was pretty windy last week at Done donald so that wasn't too too different. But it's a lot it's I had heard and again I've walked it before. Two years ago a friend of mine had a one more spot open up, but I let my husband play and I just walked.
Look at you.
It's like you don't need to get a Christmas gift or aniversary gift or stuff like that.
So I couldn't remember a lot of like the front nine, you know, I knew obviously I could picture like seventeen eighteen one, but a lot of the other holes kind of all blended together. But yeah, I mean there's a lot of just blind shots and you just have to trust that, like, no, this is where you got to go. And so a lot of what we were doing today was Terry just being like are you good with the line that I'm giving you? Are you good? Like does that look okay to you? You know, just making make
sure everything felt good. I mean there's times out there where like we're gonna be hitting in the rough, probably on purpose. There's a couple holes just trying to make sure you stay out of the bunkers, just because there's no really other way to other place to hit it. I think hold twelve specifically, like we're probably gonna be hitting it in like the right.
Ruck crazy golf hole, the crazy I contend, and I played a decent amount of golf around this great world. I don't think there's a crazier hole than twelve. And Laura and I Caddie did Saint Andrew's out of college for four or five months. I still don't know where to hit it on twelve. And I definitely don't know where to tell people to hit it. So I'd get on that times and i'd have some American golfer, you know, I'm carrying his bag, and I was like, I kind
of hope he doesn't hit my line. I'd tell him because if he hits, it's probably gonna be in a bunker, like that hole is just bananaly Yeah, I.
Mean, so the wind was pumping hard off the right, so I was pretty much going at the cart path today.
Which Marty, I mean, it's almost out of bounds, you know.
Yeah, I guess.
I guess technically now you're aiming on another golf course to try.
Yeah, And I actually ended up I think it ended up just going into the fairway, but like that's where I was aiming, was like at that right, but he was also saying like left and I might go left rough yeah yeah, yeah, So but like that's so like again like that like no one like where you're never going to try to hit it in the rough in the US exactly right, like we're trying to. Yeah, but like my pro am guy was like, you were aiming
down that way. I'm like yeah, Like he's like I was like, yeah, we're like Terry brought but out the book was like, yeah, those are the two places I have, Like that's where you need to go. And he was like it took him a while to be like because you can't really see the bunkers from the tee, right, So we're like, yeah, there's a bunch of bunkers like all right in there, so we don't want to be in any of those. There's no really place to hit it between them, so yeah, we're going to hit it
over here in the rough. And he's just like like what I was like, Well, Terry's going to like the water. He's like, yeah, the rough's fine. It's like pretty thin over there, like you have no problem getting in on the green. And as soon as he got up there, he's like, oh, I kind of see it now, but he was just like his mind was like he just couldn't comprehend them, Like, yeah, no, I'm trying to hit it in the right ruff pretty much and not right down the middle of the fairly.
What was the longest putt you had today, because there's some long ones out there.
Seventeen I think it was my longest one today. So I hit it right down the middle. We misjudged the wind just a little bit.
I thought it was what'd you aim at? By the way on the building? What was your line? Do you remember?
Yeah? So I think I was aiming again. One was pumping hard off the right, so Terry wanted me to hit it over the h and O in the hotel, okay, And I ended up hitting it kind of just over the l in hotel and it was right in the center a fairly so great, but it was like right down
the middle. But I had one hundred and seventy five yards I think to the pin, and and we thought like one seventy was playing like one eighty five, which is what we were trying to hit it, And it was like front, it was like kind of back right was the pin. And I ended up hitting like I tried to hit just like this punch like four hybrid, and the wind just didn't never really touch it. So I ended up going way back left of the green.
So I don't know. I probably had one hundred feet probably close to it.
Yeah, are you are you like this week? Will you be putting from off greens? You know to a certain point? Are you a hybrid chipper? Do you take like a seven iron, Like, what's your plan for shots that aren't on the putting surface, But obviously at St. Andrew's the grass kind of plays the same.
Yeah. I mean, if I can putt it, I'm gonna putt it for sure. But I also I don't mind hitting on tight low, so I will be chipping probably too. But it's just going to depend, right, Like if there's a huge like if I have a lot of if there's like some huge like some crazy stuff that if I putt it, I'm gonna have to put through all that, Whereas if I chip it, I can kind of chip it around it. I probably will. But if I can putt it, I'm gonna putt it. Absolutely. Eleven today, it's
like the Caddy's joke. It's like the shortest par five in the world, right, And it was pumping in off the left, like hard off the left and in and again just kind of the windows didn't really kind of get it, and I ended up in the over the green, which is like.
Dead dead dead.
I can't give you much advice, as I told you my advice on twelve, but I can tell you a couple of places not to hit it.
Yeah, as soon as you hit it and we saw it balanced Terry it was like, that's like, I cannot believe I just did that?
Or has has Terry caddied at before?
Oh seven? He cat yeah, O seven with Anika. They finished seventh. He has his book which is awesome from them, which is sick. I mean it's tiny compared to like the books that we have now. It's it's so small. But yeah, so he has and he has all the
notes in there from them, which is really cool. But yeah, I'm as I'm way long and end up going all the way down the swale up into just into the goal, like into the tall stuff, and I hit I took my three hybrid out and I don't know, there's no way I could ever do it again, but I hit it till like fifteen feet. It was unbelievable, like literally probably the best shot I've hit in like a really really awesome time. I was like, God, this is gonna be such a sick three. I ended up not making
the platt but save I mean Bogey. He was like on the tee, Terry was like, you're gonna make four here, probably a couple of times, and that's gonna be a great score. Yeah. No, it was. It's been It's been super fun getting to play it. Though. I'm excited. I'm gonna go play the back again tomorrow and so I'm really looking forward to that.
Nice Lauren.
Do you make any equipment adjustments for Dundonald in St.
Andrews's trip?
Over most of this year, I've used an H grind on my fifty eight degree, but I went to a tea grind last week.
That makes a lot of sense. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense with the turf over there.
Yeah, I mean I had used a tea grind most of last year, so it wasn't anything like, it wasn't new. It wasn't new, but the H grind is new, so I switched to that kind of towards I think during the Phoenix event I switched to the H grind. But yeah, so Jack, the LPGA rep brought me, had sent me one just in case I wanted it, and I definitely needed it last week. Like I was chipping around, I'm like, gosh, this It wasn't that. AHE grind is too much bounce,
so it was just too wide. The tea grind is just a lot thinner, so it just goes through it, Yeah.
Narrower for the for the firmer turf.
Yeah yeah, Lauren, you come off a win this past week and as we were talking about with St Andrews and the old Course in the Open, I mean, obviously it's a big week. You played great in the majors this year. We've talked about obviously the a couple of
top fives you've had. How do you get yourself right back into the mode where I'm going to go out and try to win versus being a bit exhausted or you know, putting a lot out there last week to win the Scottish How do you kind of recommit everything and re energize yourself to get prepared and ready to rock on Thursday.
Yeah. So Canada, I didn't really get to celebrate that much. I just how the travel ended up and a lot of my friends were gone. A lot of my friends were at the Olympics, so like a lot of my friends weren't around, and so it took me a couple of days I would say to kind of like really kind of get not get over it, but kind of
come down from the high and everything. And so we went to the dun Vegan, had awesome time, like a lot of my friends were like Caddy friends were there and friends, and so I didn't really have it, you know, I chilled out yesterday. I practiced just I went putted for about pready manage, but that was about it. So I haven't really had the had to come down because I think I actually got it. I got it all out, you know on Sunday. Yeah, it's felt a little bit
different this time. So but I also think, you know, I'm very much locked in on trying to get ready for this week, and I think that's what I'm really really focusing on. So yeah, I'm going to try to get some good rest here tonight. I have will later tea time tomorrow, so hopefully get to sleep in a little bit. And but I'm first off on Thursday. So first off, Yeah, so it's going to be early morning on Thursday at seven am.
Where's the range? Is it like on the new course? What are they doing for range?
Is it like over there by the clubhouse?
Kind of yes, yes, that's where they are, so.
They have set up on the new that's nice. You have to go as far as like the normal people
have to go. When you have to go all the way over there to that practice facility, Lauren, before we let you go, because we've had you for a bit, can you just talk for a minute about your relationship with Ping over the years and how that's benefited you throughout your career and how cool it is to have a club company that obviously Marty and I are such fans of, but to do so many things and has kind of a family environment feel to it as as well as being such.
A big brand.
Yeah, I mean I've pretty much played ping since I was like my first I think real set that I ever got fit for. My dad got me upset of ping irons and so the Ping G two L I still have, like the pitching wedge, the nine iron, and I think at the eight iron at my parents' house. So though I pretty much just always played ping my dad. My dad loved that, you know, they were with the you know, the whole color code and everything. As I
grew kind of just switched. And then when when I got to college, Brionna Mao was a teammate of mine, and she got she knew mister Solheim just because of the first tea, and so my coach was able to get a really good relationship with ping, and so I kind of I was able, and once I got into college I started. I came down there and got fit, like really got fit for the first time at ping, and so pretty much ever since then, they've I've just always play ping. They're the best. I think, you know,
great people like Scott walbo was. He's no longer the LPGA rep, but he has been amazing throughout my whole career. And I just personally love paying. I love the look of the Irons, I love the feel, I love everything about them, and so it's been awesome that I've been able to pretty much play them my whole pretty much since i've since I was little, since you.
Got into it. I mean, that's yeah, that's that's that's really cool, Marty.
Do you have anything else for Lauren before we let her rest go to bed and try to go win the Open?
Lord?
Just how excited for you are?
Are you about clinching your spot on the Solheim Cup and it being so close to home? Tell us just just let's end on that.
Yeah, I mean, it's I think it's just incredible. I don't really have many words yet. I mean, I'm so excited. I went I went to my first solhim when I was at Inverness in twenty twenty one, and I remember being like, man, this would be like absolutely insane to
be on the other side. And the fact that I'm going to get to do it, like I said, like an hour up the road from my house, like in my home state that I have lived in since I was ten, Like it's I'm I'm trying my best to kind of mentally prepare for the crowds, Like I don't know if I've ever played in front of that many people and just you know, the emotions of that week, then I'm probably gonna feel. That's what I'm kind of
trying to get ready for as the best I can. Luckily, Terry's been a part of nine of them, so he kind of will. Yeah, but it'll it's only a second one on the US side. He's done eight on the European side, so wow. So's I'm I'm just going to be trying to lean on everybody else you know that's been there that because that's what I think I'm thinking about most right now, trying to mentally prepare myself for one. How busy that week's going to be. From everything I've
heard from. You know, Alison Corpus is a friend of mine. You know, she was talking about just like how busy it's going to be. I saw Stacy at the Dune began like same thing, just like how big, Like how busy that week's going to be. So many people are already you know, I'm going to come watch you, like a lot of friends and people that I talked to in a really long time being like, Oh, I'm gonna
can't wait to see you there. So I'm That's kind of what I'm more trying to mentally prepare for is just the excitement that's going to be that week in the best way, but trying to then also be able to prepare and play well.
Yeah.
Well, and Lauren, you think about the year you've had, and you know, we talked about the two wins and playing so well in the Majors, but also the Solheim kind of switching gears with the dates and it being close to home, and all of a sudden you have this opportunity that if you play well, maybe I'll make the Soul I'm Cup team or maybe I'm I'm on the radar, and you have this great year with this Solheim coming up, I mean, it's the year, Lauren.
It just is.
It's your year.
This is this is you know what Scottie Scheffler get out of our fan right now.
That's what we're talking about.
Yeah, No, it's been, it's been. Well, it's I mean, I set the goal right at the beginning of the year. That's what I was trying to get ready for. Where I was, you know, I was trying to make the team. I think after evy On especially and even kind of before that, I was trying not to think about just making the team anymore. I was like, no, I know, want to make sure that I'm best prepared to win as many points as I possibly can, not just go and be on the team, but actually contribute and play well.
And that's what I think. That's where all my energy is going into right now, is just trying to maintain my golf as best I can throughout the next few weeks and the rest of the year. That's what I'm my gosh, how I'm gonna How am I going to going to keep getting better? That's where I'm That's what I'm trying to think about right now.
Well, right now, you're playing very good golf. So if you can keep this going. I think that'll play. Lauren, thank you so much. We really appreciate I mean, it's it's nine time, so we h, so we appreciate you. Uh you rolling with us for a bit best of Lux this week at the Open.
We are fired up for it.
We're fired up for the way you've been playing, and we can't wait to watch it the Solion Cup as well. Go out there and take down the old course. You know, just just keep hitting like you've been hitting it. This is the Ping Proven Grounds Podcast