On one nice south Florida morning in early December, Xander Schauffele meets us on the sun-soaked driving vary at Dutchman’s Pipe, a brand new non-public membership only a brief drive from the West Palm Seashore airport. He’s becoming a member of us for an episode of ‘Warming Up‘ and whereas he’s understandably skipped his typical pre-tournament routine — physio, then placing inexperienced, then chipping inexperienced — he greets us with a smile, grabs a wedge and will get to work. For the subsequent hour, he’ll play golf, speaking about every little thing from his origin story to how he hits a reduce, to Tiger Woods’ low-spin, wind-beating 9-iron on the Masters.
Within the course of, we be taught lots from what he mentioned and the way he mentioned it, about golf and about Schauffele, too. Wish to be taught one thing concerning the sport and wish to know what it’s wish to spend a while with golf’s newest two-time main champ? Watch the video beneath. Or, when you’re extra within the studying temper, carry on going. Both method, get pleasure from!
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1. He’ll watch protection earlier than a spherical
I requested Schauffele to think about he was warming up for the ultimate spherical of a serious the place he was in competition and this was one fascinating perception; I’ve all the time puzzled how guys in competition at big-time tournaments deal with this. What’s it wish to have golf on TV on earlier than their spherical while you’re a featured piece of the protection? Some ignore it. However not Schauffele. Whereas he’s cautious of watching too far earlier than his tee time, when situations could also be dramatically completely different, he’ll flip it on three or 4 hours earlier than he goes out.
“I wish to,” he says. “I’ll watch slightly little bit of protection. Perhaps I’ll see a putt to a pin that guys are making or lacking for some purpose and attempt to bear in mind it. I’m right here to get any edge I can.”
2. He likes to be ‘playful’ in his warmup
Playful with shot shapes, particularly. As he begins with wedges and works his method down by his irons, Schauffele will combine up his ball flights to settle in on one thing snug for the spherical. Calibration, he says, is one among his father’s favourite phrases — he’s adopted it, too.
“I’ll attempt to hit little cuts, little attracts. I’ll see what sticks, what doesn’t,” he says. “After which I do know sure tendencies in my swing that may promote one factor or one other. And if I’m hitting a reduce or draw, one or the opposite higher, I’ll favor the more severe one.”
Schauffele has a neater time hitting a draw — gun to move, he says, that’s the shot he’d lean on — however he likes to have the ability to work the ball each methods.
3. He thinks there’s an actual distinction between contending and profitable
We frequently marvel this from the skin: Is there one thing completely different between the fellows in competition and the fellows who truly find yourself with the win? Or is it mainly luck and likelihood? Schauffele contended in main after main however didn’t break by till this summer time, when he bagged two of ’em. He thinks the distinction between contending and profitable could be very actual.
“You by no means understand how you’re going to react when you’re within the spot,” he says. “You follow every little thing you’re presupposed to do the precise method, the method, all these items. However I might get in a few of these spots and I felt like there have been sure holes in my sport.”
He cites Carnoustie for example, calling again to the 2018 Open Championship the place he was within the combine on the again 9 Sunday.
“The best way I used to be swinging the membership, it was arduous for me to hit a managed form of reduce; every little thing was off the toe, crashing left. And that’s nonetheless my tendency now; I simply have extra of an understanding of it. However I’d get in these spots and I might see this again proper pin. I’m like, ‘Properly, the right shot is a reduce.’ And I’m sitting there and [I’d been] so disciplined the entire event to attempt to simply hit like a low draw, simply left of it. After which hastily, you understand, I’m so good, I’m going to attempt to hit the reduce after which I mess it up. And now you’re all in your head. You simply begin to unravel. And so quite a lot of that was occurring to me, the place I felt my sport was so shut, I didn’t settle for what I had. I all the time wished extra.
“And so I suppose it’s just like the pursuit of perfection to the place you wish to hit all of the photographs on the proper time within the massive moments. And alongside the way in which you be taught it’s not likely all about that.”
4. He leans on his gifted neighbors for coaching
Schauffele moved to south Florida, the place he lives close to big-time professionals like Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler and lots extra.
“That’s one other good half about being right here,” Schauffele says. “There’s so many superior gamers to play with right here. So form of my entire deal is that if I play 9 holes or 18 holes and if I’m in a position to get one or two, even only one stress putt, like, the whole day is value it. If I’m in a position to hit like two or three pressured iron photographs that I have to hit, the whole day’s value it.”
Iron sharpens iron, they are saying. Apparently irons do too.
5. The wind at Augusta is as loopy as they are saying
Schauffele had a famously unlucky expertise with the wind at Augusta Nationwide when, whereas in competition on Sunday, he hit 8-iron into the water wanting No. 16. That also stings, however after a number of extra journeys to the Masters, Schauffele is aware of he’s in good firm. In spite of everything, he nonetheless remembers intimately the expertise of watching Tiger Woods make the veteran play at No. 12 in 2019, when most of his competitors discovered the water brief and he hit a no-spin 9-iron to the middle of the inexperienced.
“The swirl within the bushes is insane,” he says. “I actually wish to conquer the place. I imply, I really feel like I’ve performed fairly effectively there, however it’s a extremely enjoyable place to be in competition, simply with the historical past and figuring out quite a lot of the photographs and being in quite a lot of the spots … like, I do know precisely how the photographs are presupposed to work. If I can execute it, it’ll be good, you understand? And so there’s a distinct sensation while you’re taking part in there versus different majors.”
6. He nonetheless loves hitting balls
Schauffele is at dwelling on the vary.
“My past love was, for positive, the vary,” he says. The vary was one particular driving vary in San Diego, close to what was then-Qualcomm Stadium. “That’s sort of how I fell in love with the sport at first was simply sitting there beating golf balls. Simply love watching the golf ball fly.”
He realized to play at a course referred to as Doubletree, the place his dad befriended the director of golf and she or he let him be taught; he’d begin from the 100-yard marker and, as he obtained older and higher, again to the 150, then the 200, then the pink tees and so forth. That course is an condominium complicated. The stadium isn’t referred to as Qualcomm any extra, both. Schauffele’s 31 now. However he says that is just the start.
“I haven’t entered my prime but,” he says matter-of-factly.
7. A driving-range shank doesn’t faze him
Not anymore.
“I used to shank it quite a bit. Warming up in faculty, for some purpose,” he says. “Not a lot, however like, there have been most likely 4 tournaments in a row the place I hoseled it, and it sort of helped me perceive how insignificant a warm-up is. It was an enormous studying lesson for me then.”
8. He’s a distinct individual off the course
Schauffele is aware of that he retains issues even-keel on the course. However away from competitors?
“If I’m with my buddies or, y’know, out to dinner — which hardly ever occurs — my spouse would say, like, I’m goofy. Very completely different than what I’m on the course. And I attempt to be the identical individual on and off, however I can’t focus and be goofy on the similar time.”
9. He’s by no means been late to a tee time — however he’s been shut
Schauffele takes a considerably nonchalant strategy to his arrival on the primary tee. He by no means leaves himself time to hit as many drivers as he desires to, he says. So his caddie, Austin Kaiser, will typically go away the vary earlier than he’s prepared, sending a robust suggestion to his participant that it’s time to get going.
“The worst was on the PGA at Harding Park,” he remembers. “I needed to perform a little quick-step.” Schauffele obtained throughout the road with 38 seconds left, realizing he’d given the starter a scare. Even higher, his taking part in accomplice, Steve Stricker, nonetheless hadn’t arrived; he made it with six seconds left.
“In fact, I stand up there and I snap-hook my tee shot after which Stricker hits the golf green,” he remembers. “I used to be like, ‘this feels proper.’”
10. He has a first-tee mantra when he’s nervous
“It’ll be over quickly.”
Undeniably true.
You possibly can watch the total video beneath.
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Dylan Dethier
Golf.com Editor
Dylan Dethier is a senior author for GOLF Journal/GOLF.com. The Williamstown, Mass. native joined GOLF in 2017 after two years scuffling on the mini-tours. Dethier is a graduate of Williams Faculty, the place he majored in English, and he’s the creator of 18 in America, which particulars the yr he spent as an 18-year-old residing from his automobile and taking part in a spherical of golf in each state.
