Bill Haas, Luke Guthrie, Zack Sucher, and host Tony Ruggiero sit down to take us behind the scenes at their off season preparation.
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Offer includes price reduction below MSRP and purchase allowance not available with special financing lease and some other offers. Take retail delivery by 9:3019. See participating dealer for details. [Music] Hi, this is Tony Rogerro the due sweeper. You’re about to listen to an episode of the tour coach, which is going to give you an inside look at coaching golf at the very highest level from on the PGA Tour with my guys all the way to here at Mobile Alabama in the DWER Dome as we help folks of all skill levels, all walks of life learn to achieve their golfing goals. All right, so we’re sitting here at CASA Golf Camp. This is year two, Jackson. We’re doing a podcast. We’ve got Zack Suker, Luke Guthrie. Yeah. Oh, Danny O’s here. Um Jackson Court, Bill Hos joining us for the first time. He’s our entertainment chairman. So, um I’m going to just start this off with a comment and then you guys can talk. I think it was really cool. Jackson, you can chime in, too. Um, I thought that one of the things that was really cool today and uh, Danny, you and I talked about it was how like we’re all everybody was working on their games. I mean, I wasn’t working on my game. I need some help, but um, how everybody kind of helped each other out there and like tour players helped each other. I thought that was pretty cool. Definitely. Not everybody jump in there at one time. I’ll go back to No, it was good. Like I we were grinding, working. You were stressed a little bit. Yeah, I’ve been kind of struggling the last couple days just with the block and um this is Luke talking. Yeah, Luke Guthrie talking here. Yeah, we basically we had to talk you off the ledge. And then uh let me glance over that part. But uh yeah, we were working hard and Lucas Glover was sitting right next to us and um yeah, he just kind of took a big interest and was helping out and stuff and um over the course of the last couple days, everybody’s just kind of paying attention to what everybody’s working on. And it’s just fun to listen to other people what they’re working on and trying to learn yourself. And it’s also comforting if you are kind of struggling. Not that other people are working on things. Yeah. Misery loves company, right? No. No. Just um everybody’s working towards the same goal here and just trying to get better and um it’s fun to support each other along the way. Yeah, I agree with what Luke’s saying. I you know, Lucas Glover for and me, this is Bill Hos talking. uh goes back a long way. Like I played high school golf against Lucas and he was probably the guy that I looked up to outside of my dad the most. Um he was a senior maybe when I was a sophomore or freshman and so he was way better than everyone. And I remember thinking like I know I’m not as good as my dad but I’m definitely not as good as Lucas Glover either. And so he was kind of a stepping stone of like I’d like to be as good as that guy. And then same thing in college. She went to Clemson, I went to Wake. There’s plenty other players, but Lucas has always stood out as a guy that I looked up to golf-wise um outside of my dad and uh and it’s it’s gone full circle to come to this point this weekend here. were all hanging out and uh Lucas, you know, took us out of the Bears club and to have him out there and him have interest in my game and helping me out with my game and my putting, my full swing, all that stuff, uh, it just means a lot and it and it helps, you know. I don’t know if he knows it or not. might just be helping because he’s a nice guy. But that stuff um it goes a long way and uh you know hopefully you he he him been having success lately and really playing well. I think we all envy that. We all want to be playing like he’s playing and um and why not pick his brain just like we would do with other players and the player next to you playing. you know, if we’re playing with Zack or playing with Luke and I see a shot they hit on the course, I’m going be like, “Hey, what were you what did you try to do there on that shot?” I think that’s something that we do on a daily basis. And having this group here together this week, it gives you that opportunity to do that, you know, all day, every day. We were talking, I think Bill, you and I on the drive into Bears today, and we were just talking about like the good things of playing with good players and coming down practice with them and like we all have fun playing. I mean, I know I kind of slowed y’all up today. Um, but, uh, you know, playing with good players and being around them, like I think that’s a huge thing for you guys to be able to play with good players all the time. Um, it’s fun to go play with your buddies and stuff like at home, but like playing with really good players makes you better. Absolutely. I think getting the ball in the hole is good at any time if you play by yourself, but you’re still trying to compete the competitive nature in, you know, and you see it. I mean, you just losing using Lucas as an example, watching hit hit a couple 3-woods last couple days into the wind over water and you’re like, I don’t know if I have that shot right now. And that just motivates you to want to do that. and a 12 handicap at home. You give him, you know, eight shots aside, y’all can play a game, but he’s not hitting that shot to make it better. And a guy like Lucas or guy like Zack or guy like Luke, we uh they can make it better. And I think that’s uh it’s important. [Music] I’ve enjoyed watching watching Luke putt the last few days. Evan’s struggling on that. And I I laughed when he said it’s good to watch other watching other guys work on stuff. Like I feel great off the tea. He’s struggling. My putter feels awful. He every putty hits he makes or runs the edge. And so I’m just watching, you know, his speed, what he’s doing, trying to pick up little things that I can work on that. And today feels a whole lot better. So hopefully it’ll go from there. But Jackson, what have you seen this week? It just feels like a big team, like a big family. And I think like for these guys having people in their corner that that I don’t know they can trust and depend on maybe even out on the road is I mean a big deal for them. I obviously can’t speak to that but I think um and I think it’s good having like I don’t know we’re all like having fun too. It’s not all serious. It’s not all work. I’m not. No. I enjoy that. Danny, have you had fun? I had so much fun. I just think like the biggest thing I’ve realized this week is Zach and I were talking about earlier, the group that you put together, the due sweeper group, just a bunch of the nicest guys on the PJ tour and in golf in general. Like it’s like you I feel we’re like do you actually go and like try to find just the nicest guys to work with? Don’t like I mean, I don’t I mean, I don’t, but that makes it so enjoyable as a team. Yeah. I think it’s tough in golf to find guys that like actually root for other people, really root for like other golfers to succeed. And I think we got a group where like honestly everyone’s rooting for the other person, which is nice. Bill, you’ve been out there a long time. People root for each other. Generally, I don’t know if it is that they root for other people. I think generally golfers are we’re watching the playoff at this moment of between u Justin Thomas the the the yeah the championship going on right now during Xander Justin and and uh per yeah so we keep looking at that while we’re going but I think generally well you’ve seen I would say lately you’ve seen when guys have won a major Justin Thomas when he won at Quail like Ricky Fowler and Jordan Spe all these guys were there on the 18th hole congrat congratulating them almost like it’s an AJA event, you know, like and I don’t know that that existed 15 years ago. Was it like there when you came out? No. Even when I was a rookie, you know, 10 years ago, I don’t think 14 years ago was not like that. I don’t think I don’t think other players were, you know, you only saw the player and the wife and the caddy, you know, that was it on the 18th green. And now it seems like there’s more players that are are just happy for the other guy. And maybe they were back then and they just didn’t do it. And maybe I don’t know, maybe it’s just a wonder why that though. Why do you think I mean I don’t know why it happened like that. But I do agree like and you see it more now like we’ve joked cuz Danny’s here like about social media and stuff but like you see it more now. we were talking about players like you see more now like I guess maybe it’s more like you know them or whatever but like you know you see who players are friends with like as of social media and stuff but um you know it’s kind of cool though I think it’s cool cuz like uh um I mean I think that’s neat that players pull for you I mean if if I’m not winning a I’d rather a buddy of mine win than some guy don’t like or whatever, you know. Um, but uh, but I agree with you. Like I think like uh, years ago, I mean, it just didn’t seem like it was ever like that. You never like watched the end of a PGA championship and there were four other guys standing out there waiting for the guy to finish. I mean, you never saw that. Never. I don’t remember watching golf as a kid in the 2000s when I was young. almost one time when somebody is out there on the green. 2000. Try 88. No, which I think that’s good for the game. I think it’s it’s good to show that these guys are supportive of each other. But the truth is if you get in the hole quicker than the next guy, you win. And whether or not you play you don’t you don’t get to play defense. The course is the only defense. And so I don’t know. I don’t know. I think everybody’s just supportive. If you play the best, you win. And I’m going to I’m happy for you. I mean, uh maybe financially there’s a there’s a difference. Back in the day, guys were playing for less money and they uh had to make some difference. And so every time they, you know, missing a putt maybe meant bigger, you know, to them, but and these days, these guys, if they finish second or third, they’re still pretty happy, you know, and so that has something to do with it. But but I don’t know. I I don’t I I think there’s a healthy group of young really good players that are just good guys and they generally just cheer for other people that they like and they probably play practice rounds together. They like each other and might as well be happy for them and then if they win hopefully the other guys happy for them. Yeah. I think it’s a little bit of it’s just the culture people. I think they’re good dudes. Yeah. Like, you know, you were talking. I’m gonna pick your brain a little bit just because you you haven’t we haven’t tortured you by making you on this. And I don’t know what Zach’s doing here with this thing he’s got going on. It’s cuz of me. I’m just watching Sanders practice swing right now. Just Yeah, he’s got a nice release on the follow through. I was just shadow boxing it during the broadcast here. Don’t mind me. Shadow boxing. Um, Jackson, give me a question. I bet a loss after that. I mean, He’s going to have to edit this. [Music] So, Bill, you’ve been out there a long time. I mean, I don’t make you feel old, but how has it changed since you’ve been out there? Like, I mean, just how you prepare, how you do things. I mean, how you think about the year starting off? I mean, I mean, a age is part of it. I’ve got three kids, you know, six, four, and two year olds. And, you know, I go play and practice as much as I can. But when I leave the course, when I’m playing, when I leave the course, when I’m practicing, I’m leaving for a reason, just to go pick up a kid at school, just to call the family, see how they’re doing. And I talked to some young players and you you like, “Hey, what are you doing this off season?” And they’re like, “Oh, I got I mean, I don’t even know what I’m going to do. I don’t I got I’m going to play every day and I’m going to practice and I’m going to and then the off time I’ll who knows? Who knows what I’ll do? Maybe go on vacation and go.” It’s just totally different. They got nothing to do other than play golf. And I think when you’re a young adult and or I’m not young anymore, if I’m a middle-aged adult and I have young kids, you you got other stuff that are important to you along with your job. And um I think the challenge for myself has been to try to balance that and to try to continue to be competitive along with along with being a good dad and a good husband and all that stuff cuz it’s hard I would think. Well, a 23-year-old, none of those thoughts are in his head. All all his thought is is about being a good golfer. And uh and I think that’s an advantage. U but with that said, if you’ve been out there for 14 years, you have an advantage on the 23 20 23 year old of of experience. And um you got to be able to do both. And there’s been plenty of people that have a big family, my dad included. He had five kids and he’s 66. and I just played with him the other day and he shot his age and he’s amazing. So like he’s like if I could he’s a he’s a goal of mine like to still be able to be maybe not be on tour like him. I don’t know that that’s u doable but to be as good as he is at his age is awesome and I think it’s I think it can be done whether you have kids or whether you don’t have kids or He did it though. He found a way to have a family and Well, I’ve seen it. I’ve I’ve I’ve lived it and so to see it happen and live part of it is it’s doable. But um you like you you weren’t to bring up somebody you mentioned a little bit ago, Lucas. So we had a junior camp down here at Old Palm where we’re going tomorrow in the summer. I don’t know this July or whatever. and we had like, you know, 15 good young players and he talked to him and practiced in front of them and one, you know, one of the kids asked like, “Hey, you know, kind of the same question like, what have you learned?” He said like same basic stuff about having a family and kids, but he’s like, “I’ve learned how to get all the work I need to get done in a shorter period of time because I’ve got other stuff I got to do.” And he’s like, I kind of wish id learned to do that earlier where I would just stay on the range and bang balls probably because I didn’t have anything else to do, but how to be more efficient. And I think that’s like but I think that’s a good part of getting older and more mature, you know? It’s like you learn the stuff you need to work on and how to work on it and just just go do it. Yeah. I think a family gives you structure and structure is good in any any walk of life. And so if it puts an emphasis on when you should and shouldn’t practice, then I think that can be good, too. I’m not I’m not saying that it’s a negative being older and having kids is a negative. I’m just saying it’s uh it’s different and it’s uh it can be challenging at times. And it’s I’m envious of the young guys though, for sure, to have a free reign of time and a free reign of practice ability and and also just young body. I watch all these young 23 year olds hammer it and it’s awesome. So, we were talking earlier, too, and and then I’ll let you guys talk about it, but like everybody’s different. Like, we talked on the we were in the car. I don’t know if we’re going to the turtle or what, but um but anyways, we were talking about how you don’t like to hit very many balls. Like, so I was like, “Hey, it’s a productive day.” And you’re like, “Yeah, hit a few balls, but I’d rather go do it on the golf course where it counts.” But like, everybody’s different. Like Luke would stand out there and hit a bunch of balls to a detriment. I would rather go out on the course like Right. But he’ll sit there. I watch you, you hit balls and we work a little bit, but then you know you’re over there in the cart watching the Saints, which is what I should have been doing. And uh but like everybody’s different, but like I think that’s cool about tour players is like everybody thinks everybody just practices all the time and hits a bunch of balls, but there’s just a bunch of different ways to practice and get better. Yeah, I agree. I I I saw it with my dad again. I I kind of somewhat try to Was he a big practicer? Not that I remember. I mean, I remember him being home when he was home and when he was gone, he was gone. I think when he was on the road, I do think he did a lot of practicing, but he wasn’t necessarily a 10 buckets a day guy. Like he hit balls, went and played, maybe hit balls after the round, but then he it wasn’t um I need to I need to hit a 100 wedges a day to get better at my wedges. I think it was um it was much more goal oriented, like I need to flight my ball down. So if I can go hit six balls and flight the ball down, well then I know I can do that. So let’s go take that to the course. Does that make sense? Like he needed a hundred flighted to be like, “Okay, now I got it.” I think he just said if he saw two, three, four in a row flighted, well, he knew he could flight the ball or whatever. I mean that that’s just an example, but I don’t think it takes a bunch of balls at a certain level to make yourself confident on the course, which is when it matters. We all can hit the range, right? You hear a lot of a lot of am, oh, it’s hitting good on the range. But it’s easy to hit the range. Like, it’s massive. And I think and I and I think a lot of guys, if you would tighten that down, meaning target area or height window, whether it’s flight it up high, left to right, right to left. Um, I think if you can be more specific on the range, well, then you do that a few times, six or seven balls, and then you take that to the course. And like Zach, I mean, you’re you’re a perfect example though of like a guy like you, we’ve worked for a long time. You hate hitting balls, but like you’re a guy that like can go hit four shots. He can hit two drive like walked up and he hit two drivers, asked a question, hit two good drives, and you’re like, “Okay, that’s that’s all I got. that’s all I need. But like there’s people that aren’t like that. But like that doesn’t mean you got to hit 20 damn drive. You know, you don’t have to hit 25 drivers in a row to prove that you know what you’re doing or you’re getting better at it. Yeah, exactly. I think uh I’m I’m getting slightly better at working on the range over the last uh last few years. But um yeah, I think exactly what Bill said. Like it’s easy to do it on the range and I don’t think it helps me a whole lot to hit I could hit 50 drivers if I wanted to. I think I’d hit a lot of them good on the range. I care a lot more about doing it when there’s hitting a fade, when there’s water, right, and nothing good left, actually being able to do it. And so, I think um once I can feel it on the range, it’s like, all right, I got to take this to the course and work on it because I I have a hard time actually seeing the results on the range translate to the course, especially when it’s under pressure or anything in a tournament. Um, so yeah, I like to I like to All three of you guys said basically the same thing. And that’s like to me what amateurs don’t do is they hit it on the range and then they but like all three of you guys worry more about hitting a shot that’s that’s uncomfortable for you. And like Luke for today was number one. We were in a cart together. Wind off the left. Trouble right. Been struggling with a block lately. Right. you struggle with a block. I mean, Bill, you’re the same way. Like, if there’s tr I mean, I know from past stuff, trouble, right? I mean, you’re the same way. I mean, like, and I think average golfers get better by just instead of beating a shitload of balls. They just go out there and they they go hit some shots that make themselves uncomfortable and learn to do it. Also, I’ve learned like I’m already turned 30. I’ve definitely learned I feel like you only have so many swings in your life and like I definitely don’t want to just sit there and beat like five buckets of balls and my body hurt the next day. It’s like I want to make these swings count. Kind of going back to quality time and stuff and uh and taking it to the course. I mean, you’re going to you’re going to swing a club like 40 times or something and compared to hitting three bags of balls and hitting the ball like 150 times and I don’t know. I used to do it that way and now at 29 my body hurts a little different after hitting three bags of balls and kind of want to make them count a little more. [Music] So Luke, you’re getting ready to head to Bahamas, right? Bahamas. You excited for this year? Definitely. Is this the mo is are you more excited this year than you’ve been the last couple years? Yeah, cuz I kind of feel like you are. Yeah, I have it. Last year at this our golf camp week, I was conditional, not sure when I was going to play and I’m full. Had a lot of good moments last year and and struggled towards the end. So, just looking to build on what we’ve been working on and just keep doing a lot of good stuff. I I’m doing that and like Zach said, the off season’s been great. I I haven’t played a tournament really since end of August and it’s been nice just to sit there and um became a father this off season and to have a little one. Congrats on that. Yeah, it’s pretty awesome. Little Ford. Yeah, a little Ford. Um it’s been a busy off season. He’s already attended the lesson. That’s true. He came up to Frederica. Yeah, he he was in the house wearing cried a little bit wearing baby vines. Barry had him in a little onesie. He was already hitting cuts. Better than his dad. Hitting cuts and rolling butts. I like that. No. So, it’s been a good good off season of some work, a lot of rest, um, hitting the gym a little bit, and just being with family. And like everybody kind of feel like feels the same. Like you want to be your best self when you’re out there, but it’s I I feel like it’s important, especially being from the north, to recharge and and stuff. I’m used to that time growing up. I had 2 three months where I didn’t really play much. And when I was younger and kind of the endless energy slash just had a lot of time to burn, I just sat on the range and just hit balls or chipped and putted just to probably kill time more than anything. And I I got worse in those time in those like 3 years that I was practicing more than ever. Eight 8 hours a day. And I got worse each each day like almost. So it’s nice to just kind of relax and be excited for the year to start. Bill, since you’ve been out there, the offseason’s changed a ton, hasn’t it? Like I mean I mean when you first got out there wasn’t this wraparound stuff and you you had more of a real off season, didn’t you? Yeah. I think before January 1 started the the new year. Now January 1 is what’s going on now is the ninth term of the year. So it’s it’s still an off season. I still think people feel like November, December is kind of the time for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and off season, but it’s the middle of the season like and there’s players there’s a handful of players that have had a great fall and they already know that their season is good season. And I think that’s a nice I think that’s the plus to the fall season is you can set yourself up for the whole year in about six set 6 to 8 weeks. And um I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I mean I think I prefer it’s kind of nice to know for the annual year the calendar year and the in the however you want to say it uh is the same like January 1 everybody starts at zero. That seems simple, but at the same time, I do think the fall uh the fall series is important. And I think it does give some folks some opportunity to play obviously. Yeah, there’s opportunity to play. And if you win in the fall, you get in the tournament of champions in the current calendar year, which that’s not talked about enough. I think it’s Wow, I didn’t think about that. Um, there’s people that won last year that get to play in the tournament champions, but they don’t get to use the points that they make this week in last year’s ter FedEx Cup. But the players that win in the fall, they get to win and they get to use the tournament of champions points in this year’s FedEx Cup. I don’t know if that makes sense, but Yeah. No, it does. Um, I’ve always thought that if you win and it this calendar year, it should go towards next year’s tour of champions cuz the tour of champions for the for the for the FedEx Cup year. You be you should play against the people that won in your current FedEx Cup tour year FedEx Cup FedEx Cup year versus the calendar year. It doesn’t make sense to me that now that we have a wraparound. I don’t know that the tour of champions should be in the middle of that. Um because people that won in the fall, they get to use the tour of champions and add to their season um of points and uh I I think if you win the fall, you should still get the tour of champions, but it should be in next year’s tournament. Next year’s tournament. Uh I don’t think that would change anything. Uh but would you move the time of the tournament or you still hold it? I guess in a perfect world, it would be the first tournament of the season, right? So September, that’s the issue, right? like we’re running along with sponsors, you’re running along with uh the time of year, whatever. It just it fits where it is because of the way they scheduled it before they switched the wraparound schedule. I never thought about the fact that the guys that win in the fall and there’s guys in this I saw get to play in this. So there it’s like double dipping to an extent. Right. Right. Double dipping for one event. you get one extra event and the bonus is it’s a 30man field or so, but that’s a lot of points. So, top 30 in any event and if you play decent, it’s probably top 15. That’s enough points to make or break a to make or break maybe making the tour championship. Like all these guys are probably going to have good years. They’ve won last year. They’re they’re being successful. But, um, I do think it it’s it would be it would make more sense if everyone was on an even playing field when it came to the tournament of champions. And I think it would be better if it was the start of the season. Not that we needed to got into an opinion there, but um, [Music] and I think you getting four shots is a bunch of We open to nine. No, I think I don’t guy’s good. He needs a new car partner. We’ll switch out tomorrow. [Music] I’m I’m really happy to have met Luke and Bill. They’re uh like I’ve obviously seen Bill on TV a lot growing up watching TV. And Zach and I, we were talking about like how Bill was way cooler than we thought he’d be. which I want to preace like I think they thought you might be cool. We thought you’d be cool but you’re cooler. Thank you. Thank you for making it sound less backhanded than [Applause] it’s got to be like up there. I mean it’s nice to be liked in person. [Applause] [Music] Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the tour coach with Tony Ruiro. If you enjoyed this, make sure to hit subscribe, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you are listening to this podcast so you can stay up to date cuz we have weekly episodes coming your way with fascinating people in the world of golf instruction at the highest level. Make sure to subscribe and stay tuned. If you want to learn more about Tony, head over to dweepersgolf.com to get all the details on what he’s up to. Maybe you want to see him, grab a lesson or go to one of his camps, pick up his book, Lessons from the Legends. You can do that there. If you want to see Tony in action with some videos and other content, head over to golfciencelab.com/tonony to get more info there. This episode was powered by the Golf Science Lab and was edited, mixed, and produced by Just Hit Publish Productions. If there’s one thing if you know about me, if you listen, if you’ve listened to the Deepers, you’ve come to see me, listen to me talk, is you know I’m big on loyalty. Uh we give 100% here at the Deepers. We put a lot of emotional investment into everything we do with every one of our players. And the same can be said for our partners and the folks that have been with us for the long haul and help the douche sweepers uh help our juniors, help us get to our tour players. And so I want to thank give a special thanks to our sponsors. Our sponsors are first and foremost Buick and our local Buick dealers here around the Southeast, Shrix on Cleveland Golf, who’ve been with me for over a dozen years and their belief and support of what we do here with the Deepers. Lastly, the folks at Vineyard Vines. The folks at Vineyard Vines love what we do with Junior Golf. They support us on the road. There isn’t a better family or group of people that are going to help us look our best, play our best, and have more fun than the folks at Vineyard Vines. So, special thanks to our sponsors. Please support those as you get the opportunity. And for more information about any of those, check us out at deuceweepersgolf.com. Or you can always check me out on Instagram at the dooswe. [Music]
