Dylan Naidoo is a South African Professional golfer and the winner of the 2025 South African Open at The Durban Country Club.
A former NCAA College golfer at the University of Arkansas, Dylan plays on The DP World Tour and the South African Sunshine Tour. He joins #OntheMark to share lessons learned from his life in golf culminating with the career highlight of winning his National Open Championship.
Dylan and Mark Immelman revist the 2025 SA Open victory and Dylan takes you inside the ropes, and inside his emotions as he elaborates on the tournament, his play, the emotions and the nerves he felt, and how he navigated the challenges en route to the win.
He also talks about his approach to game improvement and technique and shares insights on various topics including:
Playing “carefree golf”
A positive mindset during the struggles
Learning from career lows
“Ball-flight” golf instruction
Making small game tweaks in contrast to big overhauls for improvement
How he hits and shapes shots
Having a “go-to shot” under pressure
The value of being a student of the short game
Using statistics for success, and
Mental clarity on and off the course.
[Music] You know, tribe members, every win is great, but certain wins just hit different. And the South African Open in 2025 at Durban Country Club for me was one of those. And we have the winner thereof on the line. Dylan, how’s it? How are you? How you feeling, man? Good. Thanks for having me on, Mark. I’m I’m over the moon. It’s uh it’s been a couple weeks, but I’m still uh I’m still riding the high for sure. Has it settled in? It has a little bit now. You know, I’ve had to look at the schedule and where I’m going to be playing for the rest of the year. And uh so that’s all a little bit different to what I had planned for the year. So, uh it’s it’s starting to settle in a little bit now. Yeah. Okay. For the folks who listening on audio and they hear this cool sounding accent, uh yeah, it’s Dylan Naidu. um young South African star who recently won the South African Open and I’m so thankful you would join us. So, so before we go ahead and introduce you, I do want to know this. Um and this is for everybody watching and listening, right? Um you get the weather there was atrocious. Um the final round gets rained out. You guys know it’s going to happen, but you tied and you have to come back the following morning to play the playoff. So for all of the viewers and listening uh viewers and listeners Dylan first let’s go to the night before the playoffs what are the thoughts where’s your mind where are your emotions going this because this is up till to date would be the win the biggest win of your career for sure um so we we ended up playing off on the Sunday um with that rain that happened so we on on the Saturday night I was you know tied for the lead and my myself and my my caddy kind of we’re sending back WhatsApps back and forth of of our plan for the day, you know, pin positions, where we’re going to attack, where we’re going to play a little more conservative, and he kind of finished off the note with just uh you know, it’s going to be a bit rainy, it’s going to be a bit windy, and and just be ready for the for the war that’s ahead on on Sunday, you know, and we we kind of didn’t have forecast as much rain as what fell. It was supposed to be a little drizzle throughout the day, so I was just ready for a tough day on Sunday. Um, and obviously the the rain that fell was a little bit more than a drizzle. I mean, the golf course was essentially flooded. Um, and uh, we watch I I got there kind of maybe two two and a half hours before my tea off time and just watched this rain fall and fall and fall and eventually they call the players back in and it it actually got worse once they called the players back in. It just doubled down. Um, so we had so much rain and then following that they they called play for the day. So my expectation was a Monday playoff. Um, but they they were able to get kind of the 18th hole ready for us to play. And and so that was the the the the time that it took between when they told us it was it was called for play and when the playoffs started. It wasn’t I didn’t really have time to like sit and think about it for too long, which which almost worked a bit better for me. So, you get there and for the folks who didn’t see it or don’t know, Durban Country Club 18 is a shortish par for drivable um with the fairway that sort of crowns a little bit, rolls off on either side. Um it’s wet as you say. So, and then you’re there in the playoff. There’s two of you. Um I can’t remember the other person. Lori Caner. Lori Caner. All right. Well, we weren’t pulling for Lori. I’m sorry, Lori. Okay. and you get up there first and rifle one down the fairway there short of the green. Um talk I want to know how you’re managing the nerves because like I say I was watching this it turns out I turn on the TV and it’s the playoff and I was not prepared for this because we states um talk to me about how you manage the nerves of all of that. You know playoff um it’s it’s obviously a big deal. Yeah, I think um I I kind of went through my full warmup uh before I started. I I I do about an hour and a half of like uh from the physical warm up through to the time that we tee off, right? And it was a little bit odd to be doing that for, you know, 15 minutes of golf, but it’s just what that’s just how I get ready for golf, you know? That’s typ typically what I do. So, we’re doing that and and um throughout the week, the driving range was maybe a five minute drive away. And I I this time they they let us use the first the first T- box just to hit balls off. It’s just the two of us, myself and Lori. And um so we’re hitting balls and and by the time I’m finished with my warm up, I’ve got 10 minutes left. I would have taken 10 minutes, you know, to drive to the range and drive back. And I’ve got this little 10-minute interval before we’re going to go play off. And my caddy fortunately said, “Let’s go have a look at the 18th green and let’s burn some time there and and just figure out where we want to hit this T-shot, you know.” Um, you know, and I hit the T-shot probably within five yards of where I wanted it to go. So, that’s a nice feeling. Um, as as we’re walking up after the T-OT, um, I I saw where the ball finished up and it’s right along the crest of the green there. And fortunately, I was maybe 5 to 10 yards far enough up to where I didn’t have to chip it over the crest. I could just chip it along the crest. Um, and they made the shot a lot easier. Um, it still was under the situation though. Gosh, for sure. For sure. I know. I’m I’m making it sound a little bit easier than it was, but I think um one of the things that that also helped the nerves a little bit was I had played really well in the in the AF Aphrasia Maitius Open a little bit earlier uh in the season in December last year and I was, you know, in the lead for a lot of the event, European tour event and and so I felt a little bit more comfortable and and I I’d earned quite a lot of points from that event. So, by the time they had told us we were in the playoff, I knew that obviously I’m either coming out first or second, right? And um the points that I’d made for Maitius and a couple of other European tour events, I knew I was going to have a full card on the European tour for the following season with the points that I had made. And I think that gave me a little bit of like uh I could play a little bit more carefree, a little bit more courageous. it wasn’t as uh as much of like, oh, I need to win this or or you know, life’s, you know, going to be back to what it what it’s been on the Sunshine Tour. Um, and so it it made it a little bit more carefree, a little bit like uh if if I win, it’s great. If I don’t, I’m still going to be where I want to be within the next year or so. Yeah. Sensational. Right. We still haven’t introduced you, but I’m I’m hooked to every Yeah, that pitch shot wasn’t easy at all. sort of riding the crest of the slope. You’re up first and you sting it in there tight and you basically put the pressure on Lurorry and he doesn’t hit so good at one and he makes four four in the end. But then you got this little slidy sneaky downhill five-footerish and I I mean I I can I’ve stood over putts like that not to win big events like that and everyone watching this has. Um it looked like you were calm and cool as a cucumber and you knocked that thing right in the back. I mean, what a feeling. Walk us walk us through that experience, please. Yeah, I can. It it kind of goes follows a little bit of a course of the day. So, after they had told us that there’s going to be a playoff, there’s there’s actually open British Open qualifying spots at this event at the SA Open, right? So, one of the journalists comes along to me and tells me that uh you know, they want to do a little presentation, the RNA with the with the Open Championship flags. And so, that was really cool. I get my I get my open championship flag and I’m I mean I’m over the moon about just this experience, you know. And um one of the other professionals who who earned earned a spot, his name is Darren Fhart. He’s very well known in South African golf. A very very good player and uh and I mean as you say he’s been around the block a few times. He’s uh he’s done this a few times where he’s earned his British Open spot through through these events in South Africa. And so they do a little interview with with each of us and I watch Darren getting interviewed and and he’s very uh you know he’s very nonchalant about it. He’s very you know I’m so excited that I’ve I’ve got this spot. I’m over the moon you know but it was very I mean he’s a very laid-back character at the best of times and it didn’t change at all. And and so when I was standing over the putt uh just before I hit the putt I said you know I think I need to channel a little bit of of Darren Fhart’s energy. you know, just a little bit of h, you know, I’m here. I’ve got this putt to win. Oh, well, you know, if it goes in, it goes in. And, you know, I I was able to do that quite convincingly to myself until the ball left the putter face. And then I was like, geez, I really hope this thing goes in and it it it went right in the middle fortunately. Isn’t it crazy? You know, because as an I’m an onc course announcer amongst other things and and there are times we can see a golfer under pressure where stuff is moving fast inside the mind and you can sort of see like holy cow everything’s happening fast even though golf is a slow game mentally. But isn’t it crazy how on a putt like that it leaves the face and it takes so long in your mind before it goes in or it doesn’t? It’s just a crazy experience, isn’t it? For sure. I mean, there’s nothing nothing more I would have wanted than that putt to go in. And so, that was kind of the last thing that I was thinking about was the result of it actually going in. Um, and when it does, you like you almost realize that this this is the thing that you work so hard to do is to for the putt to fall, to win the golf tournament, and you you haven’t even thought that far ahead. you you you’re so focused on, you know, the the 1% along the way and then when this when this really big victory when this big victory comes, it’s like I I wasn’t even prepared for that moment to come almost. Yeah. I guess if there’s a lesson for aspirant professionals or tournament winners, it’s like prepare your fist pump or whatever it is before the like, oh shucks, what do I do now? Huh? Yeah. I was just so fatigued from the from the whole experience of the day and it just like just washes over you in that moment. It was really cool. Well, I felt it for you. Was so proud. Okay, let’s get to know Dylan, shall we? For the folks who don’t know, um, give us a quick the quick whistle stop tour through who you are as a golfer. That’s a difficult one. I haven’t been asked that before. It’s uh, you know, I’ve uh, I played I was a really really good amateur golfer, really good junior golfer. Um I I went to the University of Arkansas uh for two years. I spent two years there. Um and uh following that, you know, pro golf has has it’s been a journey for me. You know, I’ve seen some of the some of the far away parts of Europe on the challenge tour. I’ve seen uh you know, the corn ferry. I was a conditional member a couple years ago. Um I’ve seen the the the lower tiers of professional golf and what that looks like. And uh it’s uh it’s a grind, but I I think what I’ve done uh quite well is just always believed in myself and always know that I I can achieve and I can um get to the next level, but it’s going to take hard work. And uh I feel like it’s it’s been that steady progression throughout my pro professional career that’s that’s been so uh satisfying. Yeah. This is what I want to say and I want your commentary because you’ve lived it. Um, every young golfer is like, “Yeah, I want to they practice. I want to win events on the PGA Tour. I want to win majors and stuff like that or the European tour, whatever it is, but it’s largely not very glamorous unless you’re like one of the top top players in the world. You know, golf can be a grind and and traveling those many tours is not easy. So my observation and my question is like the thing that keeps one going because often times the players that make it to the top are the ones that outlasted the others. Did you ever something special that kept you going? Was it the self-belief or was it were there those times where you needed someone else to go, “Hey Dylan, you got this. Just just hang in there kind of thing.” For sure. And I think I’ve always believed in my dream. Um, and that sounds very airy fairy, but you know, when you’re when you’re staring at at at a year playing on the challenge tour that’s going to cost you, you know, a million rand, which is what $100,000, you know, a lot of money. Um, you you have to believe in that dream more than more than most people would would uh expect you to almost at that point. Um, I think the the thing that’s that’s so difficult is that you you don’t see the limelight when you’re in those those lower places. You see everyone else who’s on this grind with you. Um, you know, you get one or two stories of guys who who eventually get up to that top level, but it it takes a lot of um routines, a lot of processes, a lot of belief in structures that you’re putting in place. And I think that’s what that’s what I’ve done really well in in my time is is create good structures. I I’ve always wanted to create good processes that I feel is already at the next level so that when I get there it’s not like oh my oh my goodness I’m on the European tour. It’s I I’m going to do the same things that I was doing on on those lower stages. Yeah, that’s a good take. Um because you know as I’ve watched you from afar, you’ve always given off those those like I’m in control, I’ve got it vibes, you know because you’ve experienced it or you’ve seen it. Misery loves company. And when you got a bunch of golfers because golf is hard or aren’t playing very well, you get the group of folks that kind of just hang out with each other and just talk about the bad news and stuff that isn’t going right. But you got to from that stuff. For sure. And it’s I think it’s uh I’ve I’ve I’ve seen that too. For sure. You see groups of golfers who are who are going through the lows and it’s very easy to stop the hard work when things are not going your way. Um, but I I’ve almost found the lows to be catapults for my for my higher points in my golfing career. Um, it’s been able to teach me what doesn’t work. It’s been able to teach me um you know where are the biggest points of improvement the lowhanging fruits you know do I need to improve 2 3% or do you know imp do improve 30% on an area of my game you know and um I think being quite analytical quite thoughtful about golf has has been very very positive for me that’s an incredible take very helpful to everyone and it’s sort of an eye openener for me and something it galvanizes something that you see but you don’t really comprehend. Um, and so it’s with that that I want to follow up with like, okay, so you’re the young kid coming up in South Africa, you’re clearly talented, you win a big easy event, a big easy professional event as an amateur. Um, that’s playing a level above because look, we’re all trying to get to the next level, but every next level sometimes seems far away. help us, you know, in the efforts to get to the next level means you’re playing against players that are better than you to lift yourself to the place mentally and emotionally. Has Dylan Naidu got some sort of an insight or key there that can help? Like I said, I think my I’ve I’ve always believed that if you prepare like you’re already at the next level, then it doesn’t feel like a step up when it’s time to get there. Um, you know, I to be frank when I was playing in that big easy event, I felt like I was the best player there before I even teed it up. Yeah. I I was I was playing great at the time. I was playing super super well as a as a junior, as an amateur golfer. And I I honestly believed that it didn’t matter who I was going to play against. I I was a little bit of a cocky kid, honestly. But uh you know I I think that at the time it was just a it was a nice celebration of my golf. The form I was in at the time was amazing. I came came second at the Junior World Cup in toy in um in Japan just before that to to Hain Nean actually on on live and um I I I’d eventually just been chosen for the South African Eisenhower team. And it was it was kind of a one of those periods of my golfing career where I look back and go I was playing super well at the time. Okay. Um so then you do go off to college for a couple years. Um I’ve been a college co was a college coach for a while. It’s not an easy transition for the international kids to come to the States. I mean it seems all cool and such but it’s it’s a big step and there’s a lot of culture change and that sort of thing. Looking back, um I’d love you to share maybe a lesson or two that you learned from your time out there in Little Rock. Sure. It was in uh it was in Fedville, University of Arkansas. So, yeah. So, we were um we were a good team. I mean, it was a it was a really really strong uh roster that we had at the time. Um, and I think it was easy to get lost in the in the college system for me in that I felt at the time I was very golf focused. I felt like I lived and breathed every good and bad result that I had in the golf course and it felt like my self-esteem was a little bit too attached to my golf results. Um, and and I think the the culture of the team at the time was a little bit like that too. like if you if you’re playing great, you’re you’re everyone’s, you know, celebrity. And if you’re not, people just kick you to the curb. And um I think the thing that I learned the most during my college time was one that I need to sep separate myself from my from my golfing results from a self-esteem perspective. Um, and I think that gave me a lot of confidence in building a good process, learning that process is far more important than results. You know, I I I’ve had a few kids, you know, South African kids who who’ve asked me for advice now, um, who’ve said, “Oh, you know, the college coach is not picking me for the team. I’m so frustrated. I feel like I should be playing.” And and I think sometimes they get surprised by my response being that you’re not good enough right now in this moment and you have all the tools at your disposal to become a better player and so do it. That’s sometimes a little bit of a like oh my goodness really like you’re telling me that you’re not listening to my sub story. You’re not feeling sorry for me you know. Um, but I think the the thing that I learned the most was was that disconnect from my results and my self-esteem and just separating those two things. I wish you were on my team while I was uh Let’s go now um into this because well, one I read that you competed in some math olympiad when you were a kid. So clearly you’re a deep thinker and and so I’m curious about the whole college and and golf thing. But then I understand too that you’re a bit of a golf swing junkie and you’re very tech technical in your approach. Now my first question is and this is for all the listeners because I’ve taught golf since like 1995. Um and I’ve seen all the comingings and goings. But the older I get sort of the wiser I get and the more I get wise I recognize that this technical stuff’s important but you got to bring a playing aspect to everything you’re doing. So help us help us navigate that too because nowadays with the advent of the internet and podcasts like this and stuff, information is rampant, but figuring out what’s applicable to you is is to me the key because there’s so much stuff out there. Um, your insights, please. I think there’s there’s two things that I’ve I’ve really found beneficial for myself as a golfer. First of all, the golf ball doesn’t lie. The ball flight of the golf ball does not lie. So, how do when you say that, okay, the golf ball doesn’t lie, you’re missing it left, you’re missing it right, how do you how do you uh, you know, put a full picture of what’s going on? And I think the best way to do that is through stats and through having a a good understanding of who you currently are as a golfer. I think that’s the first step to building performance. Mhm. Um once you’ve done that, you know, it’s easy to get involved with, you know, the club festability and uh uh rate of rotation and blah blah blah, you know, all the the fun nerdy terms, but I think sometimes the smaller little tweaks are what’s more necessary for a player than big overhauls. Um, and I’ve seen it with players who I consider them at times to be far better than me who’ve gone undergone, you know, massive swing overhauls and tried to look prettier and at the end of the day have become worse golfers. M um I’ve seen I think the I think that one of the one of the things that I I’ve seen with myself um probably in the last two or three years I’ve become a slightly worse ball striker but my scoring average has gotten better and better and better. So so so what are we putting that down to? Uh a couple things. First of all, um, becoming a much much better student of the short game and understanding what I need for from from a putting perspective, from a short game perspective, understanding that, building a good plan. Um, and and I see my scoring average would get better and better every single year. Uh, and then secondly, one of the one of the things that’s been very positive is understanding equipment too. Yeah. and building a picture of what equipment can do to change your dispersion on the golf course, too. Yeah. Brilliant. I want to go back to I mean, there’s so much insightful stuff there. I love Student of the Short Game. I’m going to use that if it’s okay with you. Um, for sure. The the small tweaks versus the big overalls. Because the big overalls, it’s so easy to hook up with a teacher and he goes, “Well, yeah, and yeah, and yeah, and this and this and that.” And then you’re like, “Okay, cool.” because we all desire for better and we’re like okay we believe this is going to make a difference and I’m so excited that you would recognize that actually you might not hit the ball as well as what you used to but you’re scoring better because every decision that must be made must be with a view to improving the ball flight and scoring better. So um you talk about using stats for success and good decision making. Um there’s a discipline to me in that cuz sometimes you can look at a thing and go whatever and then just go ahead with whatever you were doing because that seems cooler. Talk about the discipline to look at this and go okay I’m not going to take this personally but this is just who I am. It’s a snapshot of me and I’m going to really react to this and do the appropriate thing for sure. I think that is exactly how I’ve been with it. I’ve used it as a this is who I am in this present moment. Mhm. That doesn’t mean that’s this is who I’m going to be in the future. This doesn’t mean this is who I was in the past. This is who I am now over whatever 3 to six month period. Okay. Can we build small changes that are going to improve me.34 of a shot over the course of a round? Because in the pro level that’s even that is a huge step. Huge step.5 of a shot per round. So I I think as I’ve become a better professional, I’ve realized how small the margins are between being a average player on the South African tour and winning on the DP World Tour. It’s not it’s not that that far removed and I think players think it is. Um so why would you throw, you know, everything that you are as a person away and risk it with something that you don’t know is going to actually improve you as a golfer? There’s there’s value. It’s the old proverb that goes a bird in the hands with two in the bush. It’s like, okay, this is who I am. I know who I am and just work on that. Along those lines, I want to talk to you too about those small tweaks because you can talk to this and I want you to teach people that under pressure, it’s like golf swing theory kind of goes out the window. It’s like I just got to make like one stroke less than that dude over there and then I win. So it almost becomes it becomes the sport of it then and not the theory of the golf swing. Yes, 100%. I think there’s a a very clear distinction for me between an in tournament block let’s say 3 four weeks of of tournament play versus a offseason period of of three four weeks where you can actually you know really delve down and and try and make you know I say significant but that’s not what most people would consider significant changes. Um, and I think the the the clarity with which you need to play golf has been so important for me as a player. Once I have clarity in my golf swing, once I have key understanding of, okay, for this week, this is the feel that I’m going with and we’re going to run this till the till the the the wheels come off of it, you know. Um, and it’s it’s exact. Sorry, those feels vary. You get different feels every week, of course. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I mean, I I’ve I’ve I’ve said this before, but um my my I could almost say like swing A, B, C, and Dish. Um and and for for Durban Country Club for the week, it was kind of swing B. And that’s the feel that that worked really well for that week and kind of for the for the weeks after that. But feels change. You know, the ball, like I said, the ball doesn’t lie. And when the ball starts stops going where it’s supposed to be going, you can make small alterations to bring it back in line. I’m so proud of you that you’ll be so wise, such a tender age to be able to go because so many folks are married to something that works, right? And I see this mentality and I’ve seen it for many, many years that if if one’s good, two must be better and then they’re like, “Okay, I’m doing this and so I got to do more and more and more and more and then they help themselves so far away from who they are as a player that then they can’t establish who they originally were.” Is that what you’re sort of saying to me? For sure. Yeah. And I think um just the the the concept of knowing that I am enough, that I will figure it out, that it’s not I don’t need to be someone that I’m not. I don’t need to be a player that I don’t need to be Tiger Woods. I need to be Dylan Naidu and I need to just find the best version of Dylan Naidu and the skills that I have available to me for this week of golf that I need to play. Um that doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m going to be happy at the end of the week with um with with what I’ve got. you know, maybe I’ve only got my B game this week, but let’s make it, you know, the best B game I can possibly use for this week and then go back and and make it a for the week after that, you know. Hey, you talk about the golf ball that doesn’t lie, which is gospel truth. Um, I want to know this in terms of cuz you’ll hear and I feel like Tiger Woods almost ruined a lot of golfers where he’s like, I’ve got to have my nine shots, you know, high everything from high draw, high head. Yeah. Yeah. I see you shaking your head audio listeners. Is he shaking his head and scratching his head right now? So, you are the kind of guy that takes more ownership of one and does one shot well or do you go and try and work on everything? No, I’m very very much a a oneshot guy. Um I I will hit my draw with my irons until the cows come home. I’ll keep on doing that and I’ll keep on doing that. You know, I think it’s um it’s made it made me a really good wind golfer. Surprisingly, people would disagree, like people would expect that you have to shape it both ways when you play in the wind, but I actually just start my draw further right and just kind of work out exactly where I need to aim it and and go from there. Um, you know, you can there’s subtleties to it. You know, less draw, slightly more draw, you know, slightly higher, slightly lower, but I I I know what my stock shot is and we can kind of, you know, build little pieces off of that. But it doesn’t I mean I’m probably hitting 90 to 95 of my shots 95% of my shots with with that stock you know idea of my golf swing. I heard a wise man once say and now you’ve confirmed this. He was like why try and develop nine shots if you can’t be good at one. He’s like rather Yeah. Exactly. Hey. Exactly. For sure. Said let’s get really technical on this. Um, like I’ve I’ve got a young golfer who’s pretty talented and you know really ascending in the game and they’ve got they got the the good golfer stuff in them kind of like you and naturally hit a draw. Now you drawers of the golf ball if you miss it starts turning left too much. So then typically you force the path more to the right or you aim more to the right etc etc. And so I’ve just taught her to sort of understand where their on a launch monitor kind of their swing path window is. M sometimes when it’s to the right of that then she feels fade fade moves and I use that term loosely but she’s still hitting a draw. I see you nodding and smiling so I I know you’re kind of there. Talk about it some please. Yeah I mean I I I I can’t I can’t feel left enough. I I try and feel my swing direction move as far left as I possibly can. It’s like minus two swing direction with a five down angle of attack. So we’re still hitting draws, you know. Um, I tend to I I I play play some of my best golf when I when I hit like pool draws. So, I’ll kind of aim my body my body alignments are kind of right of of of finishing line more kind of towards start line. And, you know, I feel pull draw. I feel I feel like I’m actually feel more I’m trying to feel pull fade and it it still draws. So, I don’t I I I I can feel as much left as I want. I I don’t really ever fade. Lovely. Okay. So, that’s the truth of it. But now I know because my podcast is about introducing bright minds and helping people to understand. Folks are like, “All right, that’s cool. I don’t hit a draw, Dylan, but I want to hit a draw.” So, I’m sure you get this question when you’re playing in proams and folks like, “Hey, bro. I mean, you hit this pretty draw. I’m slicing it. What do I do?” So, so help the slicer of the ball watching listening kind of. What are the draw keys here that you would advise? Yeah, that’s a that’s a tough one, Mark. you know how how varied golf swings are. I mean, I would say generally it’s kind of that like choppy slice, right? It’s that like arms kind of coming over the top, you know, hectic uh leftward uh movements with the with the upper body. So, I would say probably the two things that I would maybe 80% of golfers who cut it could probably do better is, you know, try and feel like the shoulders stay a little bit more close to the target for as long as they can. Love that. Um, you know, I I that’s what I feel if I’m really trying to draw it, maybe ball position a little bit more back would kind of help a little bit, but it’s it’s so very so tough to to give advice to people who I’ve never seen swing a golf club. No, certainly. But but you know, you’ve nailed it because whatever because what you’re saying with your back to the target, that’s going to force the path for the right-hander to the right. And if you do that with Sure. For for most for most people, which I think brings up another avenue of conversation because if you turn on social media or YouTube or Twitter, you’re hearing everyone talk about rotate, rotate, rotate. You’re hearing about rotate. You’re hearing about ground reaction forces and you’re hearing you’ve touched it already uh the lack lack of rate of closure club face stability um where you’re saying yo slicer you don’t have to turn as violently just turn enough to support this proper path for sure and it’s yeah I I’ve I’ve heard you know a lot of people and you know even even some some guys who I played college golf with they’re just like oh just rotate like just turn harder but it’s more how then actually you know you know just rotate. I think there’s subtlety to it is understanding kind of the the the fascial slings like which part of your body is turning which part of your body is resisting turn. I I I like to feel the battle between my my upper body and my my left hip. That’s kind of the a nice sensation for me like the two are battling each other. my left shoulder is kind of trying to stay as much um against the turn as possible while my left hip is opening as hard as I possibly can. So, I I think that yeah, I I don’t like just the the open chat about rotate, especially for faders. It doesn’t really make too much more sense to rotate any harder. Um but it it’s very personto person. I don’t like to give advice for for just the masses because it’s tough to to pinpoint because you have someone I actually really like playing pros with like hookers, guys who really turn the ball a lot because those are the guys who I can fix in like in five minutes, you know, but the guys who faded, I just go, “Oh yeah, nice shot.” Like keep on going. I don’t talk too much about technique with them. Well, yeah. Okay, that’s why you’re wise. But uh but I’ve got to ask you because you’re right. Not everyone can take the same medicine, but the the elements, the principles kind of remain true. And what you say there about the upper body, lower body relationships is one of the keys in my opinion. But I do want to say this. Um, I’m a big one as an instructor for not eliminating movement. And a lot of hookers of the golf ball, they try and pull on the handle, they try and slow down the face, and so they’re not letting the club head go. They’re not releasing it. I watched you, now I didn’t see all of the the the rounds, but I watched you under the highest of pressure there in some tough conditions. It never looked like you were holding back, you know, unless you were creating some shot when you were making a free swing. The club head was releasing, there was no fighting off your draw at all. Am I right? Yeah. I I I typically do feel, you know, kind of hold on to the face a little bit as a draw of the ball. I I don’t feel like I can I can overdo that. I don’t feel like I can possibly overdo that. It’s just because I draw it. So, it’s it’s easy for me to to feel those fade moves as hard as I can. I still tend to draw it anyway. Um, but I have seen guys and and myself included, the ball flight tends to go too low and pro golf is about hitting it as high as you can into, you know, super firm greens and stopping the ball fast. Mhm. And so just understanding when and how to release energy can be really important. Um because like I said, I’ I’ve been through stages where I’m hitting the ball very low, very frustratingly low, and you can’t stop it into greens. Um and that’s that’s still something that I fight to this day. So there there’s a bit of both. I can see the the the positives and the negatives of both. Yeah, I love it. Um, I love I love the way you think about it, too, because it appears to me that Dylan knows who Dylan is and and you kind of know your keys. So, that’s sort of my parting shot. I’d love you to put a bow on this conversation to say like when you go and practice, are there little checkpoints that you just kind of hit on your way to finding your feel for the week? Is that sort of how it works? For sure. I think I kind of have like a a baseline of like first principles like things that I will always come back to. Um and then from there, you know, watch ball flight, watch the Trackman numbers and decide, okay, what is the best best path that we’re going to go down for this week? You know, is it continue doing what we’re doing because things are going well, or is it maybe we can adjust this and make small tweaks here and there? Um, but yeah, for the most part there’s there’s nothing ever super revolutionary. It’s just, you know, small tweaks here and there to to get the best performance out of myself. Incredible. So so insightful. And and I want to say, well, look, success is deserved and you’ve put in the work. Um, uh, my last question to you is where does it go from here? Now you’re kind of you’re exempt on the DP World Tour. You’re in some bigger events. Um, have you sort of have you charted the goals or is it just kind of like, well, I’m just going to keep doing the same thing and see where I go? There’s there’s obviously I mean there’s there’s 10 uh PGA Tour cards at the end of the DP World season, you know, non non-exempt guys who who could earn a DP a PGA Tour card. And uh I’m going to have to play my socks off, but that’s the plan. You know, I want to earn one of those 10 cards. Um I’m in a good position right now. I think I’m ninth on the race in Dubai. So yeah, it’s it’s it’s a dream come true this uh this winning of the SA Open, but there’s so many cool goals to to achieve this year. I’m so excited to to gain experience and hopefully play well along the way, too. Well, when you achieve that PGA tour card at yours end, I will be the first one to take you to dinner here when you’re in the United States. Dylan, I’ll hold you to it. Promise. Um, I love to see South Africans coming through. Um, for the folks who want to follow you some more, is there a website? Is there social media? How do they get more of Dylan Naidu, please? Yeah, I think I’m most active probably on Instagram. It’s Dylan Naidu98. Um, and uh, I’m also on on Twitter, Dylan, but more more football content there. I’m a big Arsenal fan. So, uh, yeah, it’s, uh, yeah, I’d say Instagram is the best place to find me. Dylan Naidu98. How do you become an Arsenal fan? Most South Africans are Liverpool fans for some reason. Well, how did this My my granddad was an Arsenal fan. My dad is too. And and it’s kind of it’s it’s come along to me and I I love it. It’s it’s it’s such fun. Right. Go gunners and you keep gunning here in 2025 and beyond. Thanks for joining us. I really appreciate you. Thanks, Mark. [Music] [Music]
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Oh wow, how exciting 🎉 Good luck at The Open, Dylan!