By: Jason Yang

Randy Smith told Scottie Scheffler to “let those feet fly.” He worked with the young golfer to develop his swing, practice freely, and let him turn into the person he is today. Smith first met Scheffler in a youth lesson that was supposed to be 10 minutes, but Smith saw something special in him and kept teaching him until the lesson was somehow one hour forty minutes long. Years later, now, Scheffler is now an emerging legend. He had eight recent events, and he won five out of eight of them.

As a fellow golfer, Bryson DeChambeau said, “He is the gold standard right now, and we’re all looking up to him going, ‘All right, how do we get to that level?” Coach Randy Smith, now 72, he walked along Pinhurst No. 2’s back nine trying to explain what often gets confused in golf. Smith said, “The head’s gotta move, man, that’d be like telling a basketball player to keep his eye on the ball during a free throw.”

Smith deals with struggling players by taking them out to the course, placing them behind a tree, and then telling them, “You gotta slice this sucker 40 yards to get to that target. Figure it out.” That allows the player to stop thinking and lets them develop a swing to take the shot. On Tuesday, Scheffler said, “He gave me a little tip with my grip. I hit a couple shots, felt exactly what i needed to feel. Then it was over, from there.”

Randy Smith deals with problems with students based on the student, not him, and that is what helped Scottie Scheffler become the top golf player he is today.