By: Nina He

Randy Smith is the coach of the best competitive golfer in the world, Scottie Scheffler. What are the secrets behind a swing and a satisfying smack against a golf ball? How did Scheffler win five of his last eight events? Whatever they are, Smith knows them all.

When Scheffler was 7, he met his future coach at Royal Oaks Golf Course. What was a 10 minute lesson turned into an hour and 40 minutes. Smith knew immediately that Scheffler was special.

Scheffler began playing golf with Smith as his coach. His teaching tactics are unconventional, but they work. In a recent interview, Smith said, “You know, the body moves in response to action. Most people say, ‘You have to make the body do this to create this and this.’ That’s bulls—.”

Smith picked up an invisible baseball. “I’m gonna throw this ball right at Scottie’s ass.” He threw it.

“See, there were 42 things going on to make that motion. No one told me to shift my weight into my hip or use 30 degrees of knee bend or tilt my shoulders to the angle or the throw or…”

Smith says that in order to keep little kids interested in playing he tells them something to do, but not what to do. Then, he starts teaching them technique. When the coach is dealing with a golfer that’s having trouble, he takes them out of the course and onto a fairway. Pointing somewhere in the distance, he’ll say: “You gotta slice this sucker 40 yards to get to that target. Figure it out.” Then, the player stops thinking about technique and hits the ball.

“…If they’re out there 170 yards, middle of the fairway, staring at the pin, they’re thinking about all kinds of other stuff,” Smith said. “You gotta get that out of there.”

With this straightforward and simple technique, Smith shaped Scheffler into the world’s best golfer. Don’t overthink things, keep everything simple. If everything is very detailed and difficult, it just causes more confusion.

As he prepared for coaching Smith at the upcoming At the U.S. Open (the annual open national championships) in Pinehurst, MA, Smith studied the carpet of green, with its rolling green fairways and curving paths.

Pointing to his left, Smith said, “Ninety-nine-point-nine percent is here.” Pointing to his right, he said “There. What shots to hit and where. How about here? Maybe there. Where to hit it low. Where to hit it high. That’s uphill. That’s downhill. Where is the false front? Where’s the best way to access this pin, that pin?”

After a few minutes, the old coach raised his hands.
“Target. Feel. Create.”