Ben An on his swing changes, advantages on harder courses, and why he’s so loved on social media

PGA Tour professional Ben An joins GolfWRX’s Matt Vincenzi to discuss the changes to his swing under Sean Foley, why he has an advantage on harder courses, the rise of gambling in golf, and why he doesn’t understand the animosity between PGA Tour and LIV fans.

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all right I’m here with Ben on I’m really excited for you to join I’ve been love watching you play golf this year how’s everything going uh everything is great I just came back home um two days ago and enjoying my time off awesome uh just right away you’re having an incredible season um is this the best golf do you think you’ve ever played so far in your life yeah I think so I’ve been playing pretty Ste um every week feels uh very consistent so yeah I feel like this is uh so far I mean I got a long ways to go but yeah it’s been the best golf I’ve been playing you are yeah you already have five top 10 finishes this year uh what do you think the difference is in terms of why you’re playing just so great um uh technically I’m better um than last few years feel like I can control the ball uh more consistently you know I could have a bad days but you know out of four days maybe you know one day I could have an iffy day but other three days it feels pretty in control so um that’s why I think I’ve been playing pretty consistent you’re one of the best drivers of the golf ball in the world and we’ve seen lately players kind of try to chase speed and we saw Xander do that last week at the PJ championship did you ever have to make a a concerted effort to chase speed or were you always naturally one of the higher speed guys I think I was average just say before um I was working with Sean you know I was um 172 ball speed 173 ball speed uh but we weren’t trying to change the distance but it somehow it got up to 180 you know on the course I think gets up to3 these days um we’re not we never try to hit it farter but we got the spin rate down uh to the optimal I guess um and then swing feels better and then more consistent and you know everything kind of clicked and it was 183 we never tried to change distance but it’s been I’ve been gaining on the distance for last two years so it’s good yeah absolutely um so you went from the youngest winner ever of the of the US Amer you went at Wentworth early in your career and then a few years ago you kind of hit a spot where the results weren’t there how hard was it at that point when you were struggling and to make it all the way back to where you’ve G now 23rd in the world um yeah I I was playing decent golf W the won the one worth and then got on the PJ tour um got my membership and played pretty steady right like inside top 100 uh finished top 50 in the FedEx but I never kind of broke the top 30 in the world again you know I never got into FedEx top 30 in FedEx so I feel like I needed a bit of a change um trying to get it better um and then you know I’ll start working Des sea um and I lost my card I feel like you know it was a it was pretty hard right like losing the card is never fun but I know we all thought it was like a one step back and you know two setep forward so um and you know I spent the year in the corn fairy tour and last year was a decent year and and this year you know I you know I think I believe this is the highest you know wall ranking Point wall ranking spot I’ve ever been to so you know the things are obviously getting better so you know that was a great decision I guess to you know change coaches because it’s pretty hard right to change coaches during the middle middle of a I I thought I had a decent career you know I wasn’t really struggling that much but I just wanted to get better so I did that and struggled for a year and then you know it all paid off at the end I think um it was a great decision and and I feel like I’m the better better golfer than the last couple years so you know it was it was tough but it wasn’t wasn’t you really disappointing you it was disappointing but it wasn’t like no I wasn’t really down because everyone around me um my team all had a you know belief in me that you know we just spend a year or two you know in Co f tour and we’ll get back stronger than ever so which it it did so yeah that was nice right right and did you in that time did you make any technical changes yeah um there a few changes you know since working Sean and um got my face a little stronger if I want to be really technical if any my face a little stronger um I tend to open it quite a bit and the back swing um almost s like a bunker shot with the full swing so the spin kind of went up I was hitting it wiping across a little bit but now it’s more of a draw be my shot shape and A Little Bit Stronger CL face and that took a while it took about a year and a half to get kind of used to it now we don’t really get it that far off I guess um so you know it it was pretty hard at first but now I feel like I’ve been taking off and there’s not much change we need it’s kind of we just got to stick to it with the same stuff for last year and a half or so so yeah your finish at Augusta was the tied for the your best ever finish at a major do you think that new kind of draw path it was helpful for Augusta uh possibly but you know I I hit a great that week I I don’t think I hit it any better other weeks I think that week was my best ball striking week I think my putting wasn’t very good that week um struggle a little bit with the short puts but I have tons of Birdie chances out there all week um I think I yeah maybe it suit my game but you know I was driving is still good I was like you know hitting over the trees you know everywhere just just the ball striking was very solid so just you know if you’re ball striking solid there is is a good it’s a good place to be right so you mentioned the the shorter putts and throughout your career that’s kind of been one of you know your your only weaknesses and this year yeah you know you’ve you’ve been gaining putting more often than than not and you’re having a solid putting year yeah what would you tribute that to is that that the new lab putter or the stroke or what’s what’s kind of changed um yeah I guess the the putter house but you know we me and my coach John Graham we’ve been working on know putting for two years two three years now um we are like I said we are seeing a lot of progress we’ve been putting a lot better than the last couple years um we’ve been gaining more than losing more um yeah some best stretches in know that Masters and the Valero those stretch harbort toown but you know last Wells Fargo I was first in the putting which it never happened before for me and and even at PGA I put a decent you know over a whole week I think gained a little bit at the end so I feel like it’s a it’s a progress right there’s never I don’t think there’s a quick fix to good game of golf I think takes time and we’ve been sticking with the same putter for year now I know I I used to be a very reg I changed my Putters regular so I have tons of putter sitting around my house right here but uh I’ve been us the same putter been sticking with the same method you know the green readings and you know and then I feel like it’s getting better and better and we’re heading to the right direction so I think the stats kind of show that this year um I think the the long poter helps me quite a bit as well it takes my hands out of it um I used to use my hand a lot when I po so the distance control gets a little bit off um but now it’s I think it’s more consistent so I can you know that that’ll help my green readings better you know with a more consistent speed so um I think everything just feels like it’s clicking the ones we working on the green readings and also you know the speed controls um and I guess know the long poter heal awesome yeah so you you were right about the 23rd ranking being your highest of your career uh so You’ you’ve achieved that you’re you’re some serious great finishes and Big Time events what are your goals now going forward now that you’ve reached this level uh I I’d love to get in the top 10 in the world you know I’ve never done that before and my coach Sean’s always tell me about it so it’s almost like hypnotized me like you know hey Ben you’re the top 10 golfer in the world you gotta you got this I’m like okay maybe but like you know now now I’m seeing it a little bit more I think and compete with against the best players in the world um you know um hopefully you know I’ll get a win this year if not you know just top 10 in the world or or top 30 in FedEx because that was my main goal starting this year because I never finished top 30 in the FedEx so um obviously I got a few more weeks to play but um yeah that was one of my goals and hopefully I get a win next couple events you know if not then I’d love to play this consistent golf I think this is pretty good you know like and then eventually I’ll get a chance you know for a win at the PGA Tour so it’s got I just want to play good golf I think that’s my main goal consistent and and a decent goal do you think um you lost in a playoff at Memorial uh to Bryson right uh do you think that’s a good spot for you up in a couple weeks yeah I I I like that place no Memorial is is a great track um you know used to hit a far and and kind of straight because Rush could be long or very long um I always like the place you know but we’ll see hopefully my game shows up and if my game shows up there I think I have a I’ll have a very good chance and uh um yeah there yeah I think my record was pretty good there so you know I’m I like my chances so speak speaking of Bryson uh he kind of captivated the the golf world last week at the PGA um and I’m sure you saw some highlights and stuff do you think are we missing and I I just know you just as a fan missing kind of all these players together do you think the golf world needs something to come together for these two tours yeah I mean we saw it last week I watched the whole back nine you know PGA um yeah we definitely miss some of them up there not I wouldn’t say the whole whole league but um yeah definitely so there’s still a few of my friends out there I see here in Lake Nona no T polter and those guys and yeah polter senson and those guys are going into know the late half their stage of a career so you know but um you know definitely T and um Bryson Brooks those guys are still you know you can see as in the major result they still compete they can still compete with the with the the regular tour so um yeah we’ll love to see something happen very soon and I mean I’m not in the boards I don’t know what’s going on I have no idea if it’s gonna happen or not but uh yeah we we’ll definitely miss some of the guys you know we love competing um in the majors you you know those four majors like Masters was a great one you know this PGA was great I’m sure the US Open will be the same you know we will see some competitive golf but um I mean I got no controls of it I love to play against those guys but you know that’s good for good for fans too I think I think I’m sure the fans loved it last week and as I’m one of the golf fans I love you know watching Dyson play he’s a definitely a character that I guess we don’t have in PJ tour anymore since they left so yeah it’s nice to see him play well and then you know I mean I I just like to see xandre win after the great performance of all as Fargo I’m sure he felt very gutted for not winning but um you know he got him right back the following week which is very impressive and that was a great golf he played yeah I’m sure he’d rather have the major um yeah so so there’s a lot of talk about like the Liv schedule and whether these guys are benefiting from it or whether it’s costing them there’s a lot of analysts out there that say there’s no way they can remain sharp with their schedule and there’s some people like Bryson who say that it gives them more time to practice and do you think it’s a that schedule could be helpful or do you think that’s kind of just you know propaganda of them saying that they prefer that schedule or you or do you think maybe it depends on the guy I think it’s a preference right like for for um for me I like the current schedule in the PJ that’s when you play wall right you have four month off for for T like last year I mean this year like if I you know get in top 30 or top 50 in the wall if the schedule know Remains the Same you know I can take the whole fall off which is like three and a half month you know I can work on my game you know that’s the that’s the best part is I can really really have offseason now if you have a right decent schedule so but like I say for some people they love the short uh for me you know I don’t like playing that much I like to play a couple weeks on a couple weeks off you know just maybe because my like you know I’m not the youngest guy in tour anymore so I need some time off you know I would like to spend time at home you know um working on stuff here and there I’m That Kind type of guy so know it’s all the preference I think for some people it worked the 14 events schedule works but you can see also see some people go play extra events um to keep him sharp so um yeah like for Bryson you know he he loves his schedule is great but um you know for some I guess it doesn’t work that way it’s all the preference I guess there’s no good and bad I think um it’s this what they like you know for Bryson I guess it’s working out great but maybe some others maybe it doesn’t yeah um so when you see these guys around do they ever try to like sell you on how great it is or anything oh No never they never say like even like I said I live by polter or someone I see them all the time they never try to sell anything but you know I asked them know we they know what PJ tour is like so when I ask them yeah how’s it how’s it over there it’s say oh it’s great you know this you know they never try to sell me anything but we just no I mean they’re not the well I’m sure there are other players who does that to other players but to me like you know they yeah they never try to sell it or anything but just it seems like they’re enjoying their life it’s good right so so with your your great golf I mean seems I don’t want to jinx anything but it seems like presence cup definitely on your radar uh how how important is that to you oh it’s very much I think it’s a big trophy for me um you know you play well you get in right so last time I played in 2019 I really had a one of the great greatest time in my life you know it was although we lost but you know we had a great time there we were very close um you know it’s a one of the the team events in every two years for international players so we I was I was very looking forward to it this year then the last one I missed out but um yeah this one definitely I love to make the team um it’s one of my goals this year um you know it’s uh you know hopefully we can we can beat him this year but um yeah let me get on the team first and then we’ll see what happens but um yeah that’s definitely one of my goals there a lot of fans I think the President’s Cup is an awesome event but there a lot of fans out there who I know think if you guys were able to add the neans and the cam Smiths of the world you guys could really beat the American team and I I I feel that way too do you think that they should be able to play on the team um yeah we’ll will’ll be a great addition to the team but I feel like we’re missing like you said those cam Neeman and maybe Dean berme he’s been playing great some last week is having some good golf but um you know it’s just a just the rules of now right you know it sucks to not have the team but it’s kind of I mean same for us team right they’re missing few players as well so you know but yes we need to have a win in our international team but it’s up to Mike and the PJ tour to decide so it’s R by the PJ tour not the PJ of America like right AC you know they they could add Bryson or or Brooks to the team they qualify but this is a little different kind of um organization running so we’ll love to see him on the team again very soon but just doesn’t have that criteria anymore you know they’re out of the wall rankings so it’s kind of had him have him on the team so you know as of now I mean this year I don’t see it happening but hopefully you know we’ll like I said we’ll figure something out we’ll figure this merge or or something out in the next few years and hopefully see when the team because they like you said they’re a great player that we miss out um but I think even the teams we have right now I think is pretty good um yeah playing Canada will help us this year um we’ll see what happens but um yeah we’ll miss him but hopefully we’ll have a strong enough team to have a compete against the US team this year um so you played at FAL obviously last week do you there’s another thing that’s been highly debated you know online between fans do you think that was a major championship test or do you feel like a major needs to be more difficult um I just played Wells Fargo last last week and Bala so you know for as a pro I don’t want to play this tough Golf Course every single week yes it’s it’s once in a while it’s fine right it’s like a having you know Honda Bay Hill TPC those three weeks in a row could be very punishing you know a lot of a golf like a hard golf to be played but Wells Fargo last week was very U um was very different right because greens are very firm I never seen it that tough but last week it didn’t feel like a major week the course setups because roughs are long but greens are still soft you know everything around the green wasn’t that punishing because if you miss the green he can still get up and down can still get a close but um I think it’s a major golf course but just so weather didn’t cooperate you know all the rains we had before we started um of course was amazing I think it was a great setup it’s a long enough Golf Course tough part Theses um you know we had the drama like I saw a lot of people say it’s too easy but people still I see a lot of people still liked it know coming great leader board great Dr yeah great leaderboard tight leaderboard you know everyone was in it until the last few holes um yeah I mean doesn’t have to be tough I guess to be the I mean he has 20 what 21 under one I think at the end 21 um yeah it’s tough but you know we we kind of need it once in a while right like because yeah um I know the US Open will be very tough so um I mean yeah it was a lot of birdies and stuff but personally I think course is great but just unfortunate how the weather turned out was too wet it could have been a lot harder when the weather was dried out but but um you know just one of those things they can’t really do much about it I think they did the best they could um yeah it was a good golf course I think yeah you so you mentioned not loving playing all these weeks on tough courses which makes complete sense but do you think you have a better chance at winning or an advantage on a harder course because your ball striking is so Superior to so many of the players yeah I agree like like especially the walls right I hit the ball really high I have a lot of spin on the ball um I have definitely have Advantage because you know I was able to stop the ball in the green quicker than the other people um especially when the pins in the front or something I have eight iron in I can stop the ball quickly than the six-yard so having distance in the in the ball striking it helps in a tougher Golf Course um but you know it still have to play well so um like last week PJ greens are s but you can see all the top ball Strikers is still were up there you know they can’t really like you know John I remember John said you know if you don’t have the ball breing than that golf course you’re not making any birdies but if you do you’re making a lot of birdies so I think last week was kind of one of those go courses like you know I struggle on the third round I didn’t hit the ball very good T the green and I just could not get any birdies or birdie chances U but last round I was hitting the ball really good and every hold is a bird CH so you know definitely the longer and tougher it gets the ball striking helps to score lower I think right so for Pinehurst I mean wor it’s probably gonna be really firm and fast and you have that high Apex height which should be an advantage there do you think that’s maybe a good setup for you and have you played there before uh I played there long time ago 2008 US Amer so I don’t remember any any of the holes but I I know they went to a lot of changes after that for 2008 I think so I haven’t seen the course but I know it’ll be firm and like almost like lyy I heard because last time when Martin Martin kimer won I think the course was very dry and he was putting it off the greens from everywhere yeah um so yeah it’s the fmer you know obviously it’s tougher right you got to think about it a little more you got to think about where to pitch it and stuff where to leave yourself you know I think that golf is more I switched my game more I think because you know I I have to really hit the right shot in the in the right spots so yeah I’m looking forward to it and haven’t seen the course yet but um yeah hopefully it’s it’s a weather weather cooperates I guess so you’re around the green game has always been a strength you’ve gained Strokes around the green for most of your career do you prefer the hitting those out of the rough or would you rather those firm tight lies like Augusta or Pinehurst um I mean nobody likes a rough I guess I don’t because the only thing is I I don’t know how it’s going to come out at the rough that’s kind of guessing most of the times um I love to chip from the tight lies you know like a Honda and and bay Hills and off the green you have this I don’t really mind the grain because I’ve always live in Florida for a long time so I know how to deal with him but um I love to chip kind of into the hills and bump and rolls and you know tight lies I I kind of like that but rough is like you know I don’t I don’t find anyone liking the roughs because you know you don’t know how it’s going to come out you could get some bad lies you can get some good lies um you know especially last week was very tough for underg green um you know was kind of I think it was a Bluegrass rough you know it’s very uneven um you can get some nasty lies you can get some great lies um yeah but um I I think I prefer the the false off you know little undulations here and there yeah and you typically putt your best on on Ben crft do do you like statistically it it shows that way do you do you feel that way when you’re putting uh no yeah that’s I don’t I don’t really thought about it I guess you know I I think I put on the some of the Bermuda greens as well I struggle in the PO but everybody struggles in the PO greens I think uh percentage is a lot lower so you know CU I asked a lot of players like know I I know I struggle on the pose a lot when I go to West Coast so I ask how do you deal with him and they’re like just they just know the chances are very low making you know even the three Footers four-footers those guys who grew up there they know the the the percentage that they don’t get frustrated is easier than other people like you know me because that’s a that’s a difference you know I don’t think they make more they just know it misses more so um but for me I don’t really know what greens I put well I know I’d like the B Green I don’t know why because I like I said I spent most of times in Florida so maybe I like the Bera greens better but you know that’s kind of a good news that I’m good at bent greens because I think Memorial is a bent green um like yeah so we’ll see but I don’t really have that some of the weeks I feel like my green WIS are a little bit sharper than the other days um because I use the aim points I use my feet a lot um some days you know let me warm up let me check our numbers and the slopes you know I feel more dialed in so that week’s I think a pop better because obviously I’m reading the greens better that week so um yeah we’ll see just just a f based in the field so I don’t yeah it’s good to know that I put well in the pen creen so kind of non-golf question here have you seen more like since gambling’s been mainstream have you seen more fans talk about that like at the course and like you know saying they they bet on you or or things like that yeah I mean I I guess because a lot of people last week I had a lot of support you know um I heard a lot of guys yelling Ben you know um was I mean obviously there a lot of people last week there a lot of fans came out um but you know a lot of weeks I hear the yeah I mean I need like I hear a lot of I need you this week Ben I’m tell him like you know you know like you don’t need anything but say pay taxes or anything but you know yeah it’s I get I get a lot of message in Twitter and you know Instagram stuff you know when I don’t play well you know they send a message you know I bet you you know this much money I lost him and like yeah so you know it’s it’s unfortunate but you bet on me should you know it’s like a it’s like investment right it’s a wrong investment you should have invested in me should have done someone else but uh yeah it’s gambling is uh there always fans you know that crosses the line you know like this is too much you know I I love the supports I’m getting what especially when you play well everyone loves you right cuz because they bet on you you play well but uh I have a lot of friends who bets on me and just like for for support right like I like this guy LP a little bit but it’s just it’s golf right and even the numbers is great like I said the odds are good but you know I have might have a one bad week or you know one few bad days you know it’s just not going to compete you know just so hard there’s so many good players out there um right but um yeah I I I I hear them a lot this year especially like a lot of young people on the course they’re they’re really into it even I he heard um at the walls when I was playing with Lee Hodes they’re betting each other I can hear him like Hey Ben like closest pin for a thousand bucks or something like that and those are like you know young I don’t know looks like teenagers and stuff we just ignored them but can hear him a lot of young fans they they they’re betting on you or other players um I guess it’s good to see you know as long as they don’t like I said they don’t cross the line you know they can bet how many how much money they want but you know just as long as they don’t you know Hackle Us in the golf course I guess it’s all good yeah you you’ve kind of become like one of the most popular players on like social media everybody loves you do you see that and and why do you think that is I don’t know maybe the good golf this year you know I guess a lot of people benefited from being playing good this year that’s why they I I hear a lot of support on the golf course and the on the Twitter and and everywhere so so it’s it’s a good thing you know you play good golf you you engage a lot of fans um you know I think that’s the fastest way to have more fans is playing good golf and I can feel it this year because I’ve been I’ve been playing some good golf so yeah um so you’ve been like active on social media but then you also said that you want to take a break from social media so overall as a pro athlete like what are the pros and cons of being on social media as a as a pro golfer the pros I don’t know much about the pros for me like I just like I just like reading some I know there’s some know funny rumors here and there looking at the the news I guess you know it’s the things you cannot get from the mainstream news you know like the little gossips here and there I guess they’re not even Pros but you know I hear a lot of support you know a lot of friendly messages from from the followers and everything I think those are the pros right all the support you can kind of feel that you can look at it um the cons is like lot you know takes a lot of energies out of it you know like I said there might be some messages that’s a little aggressive or you can hear some nonsense from other people you know there are a lot of fights going on on the Twitter these days um between the you know the pro PGA fans and you know Pro live fans and just listening to them is it’s exhausting like you know it’s um to be honest like I don’t know why they’re so mad about uh no not having the live golfers on PJ tour or like you know why they’re so mad about having you know you know other whatever the players you know like it’s it’s we play in the tour and you know we we’ve been quiet I see all the fans kind of fighting each other I’m like yeah there’s no point I think there’s no point they’re not doing the negotiations you know the the pros are or the you know investors are so it’s just a it’s a very weird world I think that Twitter especially it’s very weird you know it is it is I mean you’re saying the pros you guys aren’t fighting back in po so why are the PJ tour fans fighting against the live fans like yeah like I I I don’t have anything against those guys I mean no I saw a familiar face like you said I saw Dean last week I saw Neiman last week I saw many guys you know we just just like they’re on a different tour you know it’s not like we’re at the War I mean right maybe some guys maybe think that but I I don’t because it’s a it’s a choice they made and then you know they under the another tour it’s good to see them with the majors but hopefully you know we can compete in one they hopefully some both of both of our tour can come up with something you know something reasonable right because yeah I hear a lot of people say oh they shouldn’t come back to tour you know they should or should not you know it’s as of now is there’s no way for them to come back because that’s the rule I guess you have to play 15 events over here to keep your card that’s been always there because when I play on the European tour I still have to play the minimum over here to keep my card you know and for them it’s a lot harder now because they had to play 14 over there and 15 over here I mean it’s almost impossible to do that so so maybe there will be a change in the rules here and there but at the end you know yeah that’s why I try to spend less time on Twitter there’s a lot of long nonsense and I’m I’m the type of guy when I see some wrong informations I don’t want to I don’t want to argue with but but I don’t yeah so I just say out of it I just look at some stuff but there’s a lot of fascinating interesting use like rumors out there in the Twitter because you can write whatever you want right just like you know Start Spreading the rumors like you know I heard a lot like two years ago know with all the Korean players some Korean players are going to live you know I’m like I just spoke to him yesterday he’s not anywhere that kind of stuff but um yeah it’s a it’s an interesting world I think it’s it’s it’s a lot of it’s good send bads you know I can see like I love following Michael Michael Kim’s tweet you know he he gives a lot of lot of great informations out there he throws a lot of um he helps a lot of other people so you know that’s the pros and the I think that’s the best way of using the the social media as a pro you know that’s a how to engage with the f um with the fans and you know he’s been doing great um so you know it’s it’s not a NE necessar a really bad world but just takes a lot of energy I think so right that’s what I said I try to get a little bit less time on it and and try to do as minimal as possible but I still want to engage with the fans you know if someone takes shot at me I I definitely want to get him back because then you know they they like those stuff right they they like those little things and that’s that’s that’s just who I am like I said if I want see something I want to go at him so I do that sometimes hopefully you know not after the bad round of golf but uh yeah yeah this is this is me yeah yeah well that’s great and uh you’ve been really generous with your time today so I’m going to let you go and and get ready get your practice in whatever you got to do and uh good luck at Memorial good luck at the presence cup hopefully and good luck in the next few Majors I have really high hopes for you and you’re having a great season so congratulations so far thank you thanks man