Highlighting one of the game’s true good guys and GREAT players, Gary Woodland. Gary’s been wowing us with his stinger for nearly 20 years, so we wanted to take a look back at him seeing those numbers for the first time, thanks to @CDW, as well as other fun look-backs and a putting drill to get your game in better shape.
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The Stinger. It’s so funny to me. This is a shot put in my arsenal 20 years ago. Just like that. A shot that’s still a massive deal when I have to get the ball in the fairway. Launch negative 2.3. [Applause] don’t get loose as quickly as I did when I first started a CDW 14 years ago. Takes a little longer to get loose. The win in Tampa there in 2011 was was everything for me. I mean, looking back, the numbers were very surprising. And that was one of those days. All the lines seemed to be popping up right in front of me. Tried not to think about this is the moment to win my first PJ tour event. It was a putt that I’ll never forget. [Applause] 2000. I mean, the first thing that stands out is I don’t have any gray hair, so it’s been You can tell I’ve been on tour a long time. It’s funny to me because back then we didn’t have the strokes. Like I can see this the stats now. We didn’t have that back then. That just shows you how much all this has evolved the technology in the last 15 years. But it’s nice to look back and see some of these memories. Technology gets better every year. It gets more accessible. The stats now is out there for everybody. And at first, I think we were learning how to do it for the tour pros, but now we’re learning how to give that information to everybody. We’re trying to get more innovative, right? We’re trying to grow the game. We’re trying to do a lot of things. And how we continue to grow is has been a beautiful thing. Over to Gary Woodland here on 12. Oh, it is not done. Gary Woodland, I really I like this golf swing. You can see here how how short a parallel I am. Hands are in a perfect position. And you got the triangle that everybody talks about right there. You can see I’m fired into my right side. So all my energy is into this right hip right here. I think it’s funny to see myself break down a golf swing. But that golf swing that I just broke down is one I’m trying to emulate today. And I have the data here and and the information and video to see it. And starting to get back to that point. Gary Woodland. Long second shot. Oh, it plays those long irons so well. That was vintage woodland right there. You talk about technology evolving over time. I have real-time data now right in front of me where I can sit here, I can see how the club’s moving. Distance control is the biggest thing on the PJ tour for me. I see the elite ball strikers having the best distance control. It’s amazing to have this technology that we didn’t have 15 years ago. Yeah. When this guy wants to, he can absolutely smash it. Beautiful swing right down the center. So straight that tracer. Yeah. Looking at the stats and the numbers this year, this is the most accurate I’ve been since 2019. It’s the first time I’ve been in this top 100 since 2019 when I won the US Open and playing the best golf in my career. It’s it shows that there’s a big advantage from playing from the fairway. Tied the course record on Sunday last week. Best finish since he won the United States Open. Oh yeah. Any questions? 90% of the stuff I’m doing right now is that setup to really simplify the golf swing. So over the years, my grips got extremely weak. When I get it weak, now I’m the club face is able to move a lot more. So a little bit stronger in that left hand. I can see one knuckle on top. Club face is more stable and allows me to be more free throughout the golf swing. This is Gary Woodland at 18. Big drive here for Woodland. And what a shot. One of the closest we have seen all day long. When I’m out on tour, the one thing I really like to check to know where my game is. I like to see proximity. You know, growing up, it was just you just check how many greens in regulation you hit, but it’s one thing to hit a green, it’s another thing to hit it close. Now, we can really dive in and get deeper and see, I’m hitting greens, but how close are we hitting? How many birdie chances are we really giving ourselves? So, the proximity is a big deal. This year I was able to see I was 24th in proximity this year just round around around 35 feet. That’s a big deal for me. That means I’m evolving. I’m getting better from where I’ve been the last couple years. That’s something I focused on and it’s it’s awesome to see the results in real time. Gary Woodland, one of the best Stinger long iron players that you are going to see on the PGA Tour. I love to see these old swings. Yeah. Launched 0.1. So, it launched at zero, 11 degree difference launch. It’s awesome to see these numbers. I’ve never seen the numbers with a Stinger. It’s funny with the Stinger. This is 2019. This is right after the US Open. Obviously, the best time from a golf standpoint in my career. This was the first time I’d ever seen the numbers. Since then, I’ve seen the numbers cuz I like to see how low I can launch it. It is pretty pretty fascinating to still see me be able to hit the same shot that I I learned over 20 years ago. So, I have a couple different versions of the Stinger. Really, it’s the same shot just with different clubs. And it’s really when I pull it out, it’s all golf course dependent. This first one will be the two iron. I’m going to tee it down low. I’m going to move it back in my stance. And the key for me is I try to keep the logo of the glove at the target as long as I can. Gary Woodland for birdie at five. Beautiful shot coming in here. Takes advantage. Let’s get a go. We’ll see how we’re doing. This putting stats and drills are something that I really looked at after 2019. From 48 ft was a stat we thought that I could get the most improvement by just focusing on that. I’ve statistically gotten better through that. It shows that I was 143rd a year ago up to to 44th this year. That’s the kind of improvement focusing on little things, diving into the stats, diving into the data, and you can see big gains in a short period of time. As we get more information and more data, my game evolves, we keep adding more and more drills. Boy, is that rolling good. Oh, it looks real good. Nice birdie, Gary Woodward. The average winner on the PJ tour on Sunday makes roughly 100 ft a putt on Sunday. So, we put a drill together to challenge myself, but also not lose focus of what I’ve been doing well inside 10 ft. We’re looking at Gary Woodland for birdie at 14. So, I have a 5-footer, a 10-footer, a 15, and a 20footer set up, and I’m able to go through. I’m able to still focus inside 10 ft. I’m able to focus outside 20 ft. It’s a challenge. I’m trying to add up and trying to beat 100 ft to beat that winner on Sunday. [Music] It’s a drill I do every week and every day when I’m home just to give myself a lot of confidence. Let’s go. I’m off to a good start today. [Music] Big break. Let’s go. Three for four. That’s a huge start in this drill, but it’s it’s amazing to take the data, put a drill together, and see the results so quickly. No one is making it from here. Everyone is missing it left. Not Carrie. The partnership with CDW for the last 14 years has been amazing for me. It’s one where we’ve grown together. They’ve been instrumental in me continuing to improve as a player, and I look forward to continue to dive into the data and get better. [Music]
