Xander Schauffele taught me 10 lessons in an hour. Here they are

On 1 pleasant southbound Florida greeting successful early December, Xander Schauffele meets america connected the sun-soaked driving scope astatine Dutchman’s Pipe, a caller backstage nine conscionable a short thrust from the West Palm Beach airport. He’s joining america for an section of ‘Warming Up‘ and while he’s understandably skipped his emblematic pre-tournament regular — physio, past putting green, past chipping greenish — he greets america pinch a grin, grabs a wedge and gets to work. For the adjacent hour, he’ll play golf, talking astir everything from his root communicative to really he hits a cut, to Tiger Woods’ low-spin, wind-beating 9-iron astatine the Masters.

In the process, we study plentifulness from what he said and really he said it, astir play and astir Schauffele, too. Want to study thing astir the crippled and want to cognize what it’s for illustration to walk immoderate clip pinch golf’s latest two-time awesome champ? Watch the video below. Or, if you’re much successful the reference mood, support connected going. Either way, enjoy!

1. He’ll watch sum earlier a round

I asked Schauffele to ideate he was warming up for the last information of a awesome wherever he was successful contention and this was 1 absorbing insight; I’ve ever wondered really guys successful contention astatine big-time tournaments grip this. What’s it for illustration to person play connected TV connected earlier their information erstwhile you’re a featured portion of the coverage? Some disregard it. But not Schauffele. While he’s wary of watching excessively acold earlier his tee time, erstwhile conditions whitethorn beryllium dramatically different, he’ll flip it connected 3 aliases 4 hours earlier he goes out.

“I for illustration to,” he says. “I’ll watch a small spot of coverage. Maybe I’ll spot a putt to a pin that guys are making aliases missing for immoderate logic and effort and retrieve it. I’m present to get immoderate separator I can.”

2. He likes to beryllium ‘playful’ successful his warmup

Playful pinch changeable shapes, specifically. As he starts pinch wedges and useful his measurement down done his irons, Schauffele will operation up his shot flights to settee successful connected thing comfortable for the round. Calibration, he says, is 1 of his father’s favourite words — he’s adopted it, too.

“I’ll effort and deed small cuts, small draws. I’ll spot what sticks, what doesn’t,” he says. “And past I cognize definite tendencies successful my plaything that would beforehand 1 point aliases another. And if I’m hitting a trim aliases draw, 1 aliases the different better, I’ll favour the worse one.”

Schauffele has an easier clip hitting a tie — gun to head, he says, that’s the changeable he’d thin connected — but he likes to beryllium capable to activity the shot some ways.

3. He thinks there’s a existent quality betwixt contending and winning

We often wonderment this from the outside: Is location thing different betwixt the guys successful contention and the guys who really extremity up pinch the win? Or is it fundamentally luck and chance? Schauffele contended successful awesome aft awesome but didn’t break done until this summer, erstwhile he bagged 2 of ’em. He thinks the quality betwixt contending and winning is very real.

“You ne'er cognize really you’re going to respond erstwhile you’re successful the spot,” he says. “You believe everything you’re expected to do the correct way, the process, each this stuff. But I would get successful immoderate of these spots and I felt for illustration location were definite holes successful my game.”

He cites Carnoustie arsenic an example, calling backmost to the 2018 Open Championship wherever he was successful the operation connected the backmost 9 Sunday.

“The measurement I was swinging the club, it was difficult for maine to deed a controlled benignant of cut; everything was disconnected the toe, crashing left. And that’s still my inclination now; I conscionable person much of an knowing of it. But I’d get successful these spots and I would spot this backmost correct pin. I’m like, ‘Well, the cleanable changeable is simply a cut.’ And I’m sitting location and [I’d been] truthful disciplined the full tourney to effort and conscionable deed for illustration a debased draw, conscionable near of it. And past each of a sudden, you know, I’m truthful good, I’m going to effort and deed the trim and past I messiness it up. And now you’re each successful your head. You conscionable commencement to unravel. And truthful a batch of that was happening to me, wherever I felt my crippled was truthful close, I didn’t judge what I had. I ever wanted more.

“And truthful I conjecture it’s for illustration the pursuit of perfection to wherever you want to deed each the shots astatine the correct clip successful the large moments. And on the measurement you study it’s not really each astir that.”

4. He leans connected his talented neighbors for training

Schauffele moved to southbound Florida, wherever he lives adjacent big-time pros for illustration Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler and plentifulness more.

“That’s different bully portion astir being here,” Schauffele says. “There’s truthful galore awesome players to play pinch here. So benignant of my full woody is if I play 9 holes aliases 18 holes and if I’m capable to get 1 aliases two, moreover conscionable 1 unit putt, like, the full time is worthy it. If I’m capable to deed for illustration 2 aliases 3 pressured robust shots that I have to hit, the full day’s worthy it.”

Iron sharpens iron, they say. Apparently irons do too.

5. The upwind astatine Augusta is arsenic crazy arsenic they say

Schauffele had a famously unfortunate acquisition pinch the upwind astatine Augusta National when, while successful contention connected Sunday, he deed 8-iron into the h2o short of No. 16. That still stings, but aft respective much trips to the Masters, Schauffele knows he’s successful bully company. After all, he still recalls successful item the acquisition of watching Tiger Woods make the seasoned play astatine No. 12 successful 2019, erstwhile astir of his title recovered the h2o short and he deed a no-spin 9-iron to the halfway of the green.

“The swirl successful the trees is insane,” he says. “I really want to conquer the place. I mean, I consciousness for illustration I’ve played beautiful good there, but it’s a really nosy spot to beryllium successful contention, conscionable pinch the history and knowing a batch of the shots and being successful a batch of the spots … like, I cognize precisely really the shots are expected to work. If I tin execute it, it’ll beryllium good, you know? And truthful there’s a different sensation erstwhile you’re playing location versus different majors.”

6. He still loves hitting balls

Schauffele is astatine location connected the range.

“My first emotion was, for sure, the range,” he says. The scope was 1 circumstantial driving scope successful San Diego, adjacent what was then-Qualcomm Stadium. “That’s benignant of really I fell successful emotion pinch the crippled astatine first was conscionable sitting location beating play balls. Just emotion watching the play shot fly.”

He learned to play astatine a people called Doubletree, wherever his dada befriended the head of play and she fto him learn; he’d commencement from the 100-yard marker and, arsenic he sewage older and better, backmost to the 150, past the 200, past the reddish tees and truthful on. That people is an flat complex. The stadium isn’t called Qualcomm immoderate more, either. Schauffele’s 31 now. But he says this is conscionable the beginning.

“I haven’t entered my premier yet,” he says matter-of-factly.

7. A driving-range shank doesn’t faze him

Not anymore.

“I utilized to shank it a lot. Warming up successful college, for immoderate reason,” he says. “Not a lot, but like, location were astir apt 4 tournaments successful a statement wherever I hoseled it, and it benignant of helped maine understand really insignificant a warm-up is. It was a large learning instruction for maine then.”

8. He’s a different personification disconnected the course

Schauffele knows that he keeps things even-keel connected the course. But distant from competition?

“If I’m pinch my buddies or, y’know, retired to meal — which seldom happens — my woman would say, like, I’m goofy. Very different than what I americium connected the course. And I effort to beryllium the aforesaid personification connected and off, but I can’t attraction and beryllium goofy astatine the aforesaid time.”

9. He’s ne'er been precocious to a tee clip — but he’s been close

Schauffele takes a somewhat nonchalant attack to his presence connected the first tee. He ne'er leaves himself clip to deed arsenic galore drivers arsenic he wants to, he says. So his caddie, Austin Kaiser, will often time off the scope earlier he’s ready, sending a beardown proposal to his subordinate that it’s clip to get going.

“The worst was astatine the PGA astatine Harding Park,” he remembers. “I had to do a small quick-step.” Schauffele sewage crossed the statement pinch 38 seconds left, realizing he’d fixed the starter a scare. Even better, his playing partner, Steve Stricker, still hadn’t arrived; he made it pinch six seconds left.

“Of course, I get up location and I snap-hook my tee changeable and past Stricker hits the fairway,” he remembers. “I was like, ‘this feels right.'”

10. He has a first-tee mantra erstwhile he’s nervous

“It’ll beryllium complete soon.”

Undeniably true.

You tin watch the afloat video below.