What does it take to play golf at an elite level? University of Minnesota Golfers Bella and Reese McCauley are this week’s guests on the 2nd Swing Thoughts Podcast to share their experiences of playing golf against some of the best players in the country. Bella and Reese go into detail on a variety of topics including the transition from high school golf to college golf, the mental approach they take when competing, and how they prepare for marquee events during their offseason.
2nd Swing’s Drew Mahowald and Sean Bower also discuss Keegan Bradley’s big win at the Travelers Championship and his chances of being a playing captain at this year’s Ryder Cup, along with a look into his WITB plus Minjee Lee’s Major Victory.
00:00 Introduction
01:30 Keegan Bradley’s Win
07:55 Keegan Bradley WITB
10:00 Minjee Lee Major Win
13:15 McCauley Sisters
13:50 High School Golf vs. College Golf
16:10 Offseason Preparation
21:55 Advice To Junior Golfers
24:40 Mental Approach to Elite Golf
30:45 Conclusion
The 2nd Swing Thoughts podcast, presented by 2nd Swing Golf, covers anything and everything in golf equipment and club fitting. The 2nd Swing Thoughts will feature experts in the golf industry sharing insights and latest trends in golf clubs and club fittings. 2nd Swing Thoughts will also cover the latest in professional golf.
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on this episode of the Second Swing Thoughts podcast we’re talking about a crazy finish on the PGA Tour We’re talking about a major in the women’s game on the at the women’s PGA Championship and we have the McCauley sisters back on Talk about their season and what lies ahead this summer for some competition That and a whole lot more on this episode of the Second Swing Thoughts podcast [Music] Hey golfers I’m Drew Mold of Second Swing Golf here in the studio with Sean Bower co-host of the podcast Back this week we’ve got another exciting episode here Um both in terms of just the the golf in the pro golf landscape Very exciting weekend And then we also have the Macau sisters back to talk about uh kind of what the season looked like for them and then what’s also coming in the summer as well uh for competition’s sake and how they you know how their summers may be a little different now than they were uh previously um back in the day So we’ve got that Um yeah this is going to be a big one I think
Yeah really good stuff from Bella and Ree Um kind of giving you that inside look at how you know a division one golfer approaches their off season right You know the college golf season’s interesting where you have a fall season a spring season and then you kind of have two in between seasons And obviously it differs what you do during the winter versus what you’re doing during the summer So I think you’re really going to enjoy that and kind of get an inside look at how they approach you know the game from that standpoint But uh first let’s get into the turn because we had ourselves quite a finish on the PGA Tour Uh one of the crazier finishes I can think of when you consider just the momentum swing that happened there on the 72nd hole Of course
Keegan Bradley makes birdie trailing by a stroke Tommy Fleetwood misses a short par putt that was you know just outside of Keegan’s So Keegan goes from potentially losing the tournament to maybe just getting into a playoff to winning it all within you know five minutes of each other So a pretty pretty crazy tournament
Yeah
Um huge win for Keegan He’s been playing some great golf and uh maybe setting himself up for a spot as a play RDER Cup captain
now And he has said over and over that he will not make himself a captain’s pick Um it’s really looking like that is the best scenario for Team USA is for Keegan to be a captain’s pick As at at this point I think he was ninth in the standings It still would take you know something somewhat crazy for him to get into the top six Um but I I think it’s goes without it’s it’s almost certain right now that he’s a top 12 American player in the game right now So I think any any American golf fan is rooting for him to be on the team right now um whether that’s you know as an automatic qualifier or as a captain’s pick but I hope he kind of does some due diligence on it and you know makes the the call I I hope to be on the team Um so it was great to see him win Obviously the Fleetwood story is unfortunate and that’s now 42 top 10s on the PJ tour without a PJ tour win He has won you know elsewhere internationally on the you know DP World Tour but um does not have the PJ tour win uh despite so many close calls over the years And it really looked like this is kind of the one like if you if it doesn’t happen this week is it ever going to happen I mean he was he had a three- shot lead I believe around the back nine at one point And he kind of gave it to Keegan there too I mean obviously Keegan made that long birdie putt I believe on 14 or 15 then made the birdie on 18 So he kind of took some of it back as well but Fleetwood shouldn’t shouldn’t have been in that position either
Yeah I felt felt bad for Tommy Um he’s you know I I will give him you know give him his props though He he met with the media after He owned it He was open about it Obviously very frustrated You could see that cuz he knows he let that one slip away
Um two poor shots and then on that par putt you know it looks like it hit something that Yeah Now if it doesn’t hit that does it go in and we’re at a playoff Who knows But ultimately um yeah he’ll kind of be regretting that that second shot and then his his third not getting that up there close
Right I also do want to give a shout out to Russell Henley as well Um did he did he finish one back Is that what it was
Yeah And he
he finished one back and he called himself for a penalty It was the day before um or maybe two days before uh where I I don’t know the whole story for sure but I my what I saw was that he basically saw the ball move like a dimple and uh you know there was no video evidence or anything and the officials said I don’t know for sure you know if this moved They couldn’t tell and Russell just basically said I I saw it move I’m certain it moved So he called the penalty on himself and ultimately it cost him quite a bit and uh you know at the end of the day but um kudos to him is kind of the that’s the whole integrity of the game piece right that we talk about So I wanted to give Russell Henley a shout out for a great week and then for that as well
Yeah So yeah So kudos to him as a heck of a chip in he had there on the 18th hole Fleetwood you know he’s got to get one soon He’s you know sometimes the golf gods maybe work in your favor A guy who who owns the moment owns up to it speaks about it after Hopefully that gives him some good you know juju moving forward But as as to Keegan as the playing team captain um like you said he he’s definitely one of the 12 best
Yeah And I know he said that he would only play on it if he autoqualified but if you’re one of those US players that’s on there don’t you And you feel like hey he gives us the best chance at winning Do you think they’re you know they have to go and tell them like you know I know you said that but
you finished you’re ninth in the standings right now Let’s say you finished you know right around there You’re you know seventh or eighth place Like you were pretty dang close to autoqualifying You’re one of the best players And then you look at that the way he played that 18th hole on Sunday That is like the pure rider cup right there You just put in the pressure on your opponent at all times You find the fairway you stick it close Now all of a sudden you know Fleetwood you know if Keegan has 20 ft for birdie that’s not as much pressure on Fleetwood to get up and down for par because he’s probably thinking well he’s still got to make a 20ft putt I’m all right
But Keegan’s in there close now Fleetwood’s like I have to get this close just to get to a playoff
And obviously and you know and talk about a guy that reacts to the crowd and plays with the crowd I mean obviously that was in kind of his hometown area so he’s a fan favorite up there but he he to me unless he just falls apart the rest of the season I think he has to be on it
He should be
uh because I think it gives the US the best chance to win It creates a
a bigger rooted interest for USA Obviously I don’t think he’ll be It’s not like he’s going to go out there and play every session He’s probably going to you know play a couple sessions
and and then focus on his other duties outside of that Yeah it’s he has to be on the team And I think his style of play also meshes really well too with other players where he’s not a bomber off the tea but he hits a lot of fairways He’s more a more accuracy oriented where some of these guys are so focused on hitting it kind of far and overpowering the golf course So yeah we’ll see what happens Um and if he gets another win he’s probably going to climb up there anyway Uh but he’s certainly to me at this point as of you know middle of June or whatever we’re at now late June he is for sure a top 12 American player and should be on all he has to do is just go win the open and he’s not a qualifier So
but yeah so that was great tournament I just want to give a shout out They need to have more tournaments up in just the northern part of the country but the northeast
Um that course uh TPC River Highlands is just it’s such a cool looking course
Um there’s a lot of riskreward you know you have all the water in play
Um really cool course And I remember when they played you know the eighth or what used to be the Wells Fargo
Um the name of it now that they played at the Philly Cricket Club Remember a lot of guys Yeah The truest I remember a lot of guys kind of commenting that during then is like “We need to have more tournaments up in this area of the country.”
Yeah
They’re different than what the PJ tour sees down in Florida and Texas and California Um so just a big shout out there I really enjoyed watching that tournament I enjoyed that course Um let’s do a quick look at Keegan’s what’s in the bag before we move on here
Um he’s going Ping G430 LST with the driver Then he goes uh Tailor Made Qi10 He’s playing a an HL 3-wood so 16 12 degrees And then actually I believe it was new this week or recently new but it’s Tailor Made Qi 357wood He had been playing a fivewood previously
Um both playing that Aldo Rogue White uh shaft in there And then his irons uh you want to talk about the hottest brand in golf right now Strickson with another win that’s three straight wins but he goes back a generation playing the Mark 2’s uh combo the ZX-5 ZX7s Then he plays one ZForgged pitching wedge
Yeah
And then goes Cleveland RTZ tour rack uh wedges and then plays the AI1 Cruiser Jailbird Obviously he had played the Versa Jailbird previously just moved into the newer version of it Um so really cool bag too
And one note on the wedges of course we have some content on those We got to talk to Rob Waters He’s one of the um kind of the reps on you know with the Cleveland Tricks on Tour team who works pretty directly with with Keegan on all things equipment And we talked to him about the exact wedge setup that Keegan likes And we got to film those wedges being made And at the time they were for Augusta So a slightly different build but nonetheless he kind of plays a unique uh loft configuration And there are 52 55 and 58 in his wedges which is definitely you don’t see threederee increments very often with wedges out there So uh something that um just wanted to take a note there You can find that you know on our on our YouTube uh channel as well
Yeah And I think I saw out there Cleveland Stricken uh especially on the stricken side because they’re more of the Irons I think they have either eight or nine PGA Tour wins including majors this year Yeah I mean and then that doesn’t even count the guys who might have a cuz if you put Sheffller in there for playing some Z85s or you got you know some guys just play Cleveland wedges you know so uh really really good year for them Obviously
they got a lot of fitters choice winners in there from our side Um so really big big time year for Cleveland Stricken And then wrapping up the turn here we’re going to the LPGA side The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship was played down in Frisco Texas down right next to the PGA of America headquarters And Mini Lee captured her third career major
Yeah
Um she’s now has three of the five legs of the LPGA because they have five majors Now the LPGA recognizes if you win four of them they recognize that as a grand slam but I think I saw Lydia Co say “Well the real slam is all five.” But right
um three three majors for men And obviously you know Min Woo is her brother both really good players but I think Mini you know Minu is very popular on social media and whatnot but Men G kind of lets her game do the talking She’s a really really good player
Well they I think in the women’s game you know you see the peaks of players so much earlier in their careers Um and so for her to get a third one is obviously that’s a pretty strong accomplishment I know there was some chatter this week as far as this event um and the how c how tough the course played and um I I kind of agree with that and I know we We just talked about the US Open being super tough and we loved watching it and stuff but I will say there was a pretty clear couple of players that managed the conditions um the wind everything the best and you know they were the on top of leaderboard and obviously Men Lee won it and so in that sense you have to credit the PGA for the setup and the fact that the best player for that week was the far and away the best scorer of the week and so yeah it might have been tough and it might have been frustrating but I think it’s also So just like we say for the for the men that it’s nice to see them struggle and and put up you know 73s and 74s as good scores It was it’s not I mean it’s nice to see that on the women’s side as well where you know battling tough conditions firm um with a lot of wind out there at that course Um it was good to see it I think good mixup Yeah And the big thing for you know Miy had was at last year’s US Open It was in up in Indiana I believe and she kind of was tied for the lead final round and kind of fell apart
Um and then had really been struggling with her putter um she had kind of played a traditional putter for most of her career Um it was either last year or two years ago but either way um she had made a switch into a long putter Um and then this year she is I think like she’s in the top 10 in strokes gain putting on the LPJ tour and I believe she led the field at the PJ Championship this past weekend And that just goes to you know show you you know when you’re willing and you know willing to try different stuff
Yeah It can totally turn your game around
Can turn your game around We’ve you know we’ve had plenty of fitters on here talk about just you know the improvements they’ve seen guys playing whether they’re going to you know the sweeper or those longer counterbalance putters and the stability it provides So kind of speaks to just the importance of you know making sure you’re finding that that right fit for you But uh yeah that wraps up the turn and um we’ll get right into keeping it with women’s golf here We’re going to go right in with the McCully sisters here D Yeah Uh we got both Bella and Ree Uh we just it’s kind of good to get an update from them uh as of course elite elite players in their own right Um you know what their quoteunquote offseason looks like when it’s funny that you know a couple of their pretty significant tournaments or events that they would play in are also during the summer So how they manage that the practice time leading up to it and if they take any time off So interesting to hear that from you know high level division one golfers here [Music] Okay we now welcome back to the Second Swing Thoughts podcast two special guests Bella McCauley and Reese McCauley Um first of all it’s always great to have both of you join us Um we’ve got we filmed some content earlier today Uh that was a lot of fun And um wanted to just talk about your golf season now that the season is is done at least in terms of the the Gophers your third season Reese’s first season Um I guess Bella just what was it like for you Um you know now that you’ve been at this college golf thing for a while but now to see your sister kind of go through it for a year How do you how do you think she handled it
I thought you did so well I thought you did really well Um I think it’s like it’s sometimes even like a harder transition with just like some of the non-golf aspects like with the school schedule and figuring out life on campus and just kind of like all those adjustments Um but I thought you did really well and I think um it’ll definitely be like easier heading into sophomore year for sure Yeah I know We were talking a little off air uh just about how it seemed like for you the first semester may have been like a kind of a wakeup call in a sense and then things got better throughout the year and and you I mean it was a lot smoother I guess maybe second semester but kind of talk us through how
you know things are a lot different than high school uh in terms in terms of the workload of school but then balancing that out and a lot more travel
how kind of can you summarize the whirlwind that it was as a freshman year player
for sure I think it is somewhat helpful though actually like the way that we grew up is like because because we were homeschooled and we did online school and stuff It actually wasn’t terrible once I got to college cuz I already had my own schedule all the time and I just had to be like super proactive in like getting my homework done when I had to do it or whatever
So it actually wasn’t terrible Um but yes definitely like going to classes My whole like fall semester was like all inerson classes and then uh the spring semester was like mostly online but a few in person And so um yeah it was definitely a whole another level of like just workload because I was used to like that workload with school and then that workload like with golf and traveling but then having those two together was definitely like another level for sure another level of busyness But um it was super fun though It was
yeah really fun with the team being able to be teammates with Bella Yeah we normally did that kind of travel in the summer for tournaments when school’s obviously out and so doing that like on top of that school workload in the winter but then having them together was
So now it’s very different because now both of you have I mean it’s summer now and you’re not the the junior tournaments are no longer on on the schedule So that probably
opened I know you’ve you’ve talked about this before where
there are times of the year where you just kind of don’t even pick up a club Yeah you know you you set aside some time to do to not do that Are you gonna be the same way now that you have kind of the summer
a lot more open than you know it used to be for you
Yeah for sure I took a little bit of time off right after the season like maybe like a week week and a half and then and then got back into it and so now um yeah I don’t know I don’t like to take like a ton of time off
You’re less of a time off kind of person
Yeah I like to have like consistent like
like a day off a week and like keep that consistency
I see um where Bella can be like “Oh like whatever like like I don’t need a day off or whatever.”
And then take more of a longer period off
Yeah
Um if I’m like an I’m like an all or nothing person where if like if I like need a break like I’m like I’m not touching the clubs it’s going in the closet I’m needing like I’m going to take like a good two weeks off So like right now I just finished Palmer Cup and like now I’m taking some time off and then I’ll get but when I get back into it for prep like for another tournament like I’ll be like
I’ll be like at it’ll be like at a 10 like it’s it’s like all or nothing for me
So you’re not like during these times you know we’ve talked a little bit in the past about the time that you guys that you both put into the game of golf So when it’s time to prep for you know an event this summer what kind of time is is that going to be
for for we have really similar but I would say I will like leading up to so one of my next things is like the USA qualifying which is about a month out from now
And yeah you’re in that too And so I think like
normally like four to eight hours a day
six days a week
Yeah will be like the normal schedule And if it’s like the seven eight hour days
40 hours a weekish
Yeah Like Yeah Like normally um if we’re doing like the seven eight hours days that that includes like a round of golf So like that’s like four hours of that But um definitely try to get some like practice out there too Like if we’re going to be out there play a golf round we’ll try to do like another three-hour like like just practice session afterwards or before So it it definitely is like long days out there but we love it And like we we’re able to like play with friends too or we play together that makes it super fun But
they’re definitely long days like leading up to Palmer Cup like I was I was in grind mode like was at the course for a long long periods of time
So what is on this on the schedule for event You said US am qualifying Is there anything else
over the summer months that you guys are planning on competing in before you know the fall season
Yeah I just have like actually next week I have the uh the Minnesota women’s match play It’s at Spring Hill So I really love that course It’s probably like one of my favorites in Minnesota So I’m really excited to play in that And then and I love playing in match play too I think it’s superatch format
So yeah I’m playing in that And then yeah we’re both doing the USM qualifier
And then depending on
on how that goes that might do the state open Okay So
Gotcha Um because yeah those are I mean the state open miss match play obviously USM those are those are big deals So
that would be fun Yeah Hopefully hopefully USM works out but obviously state open’s a really good one as well And so um and it’s actually at the Royal It’s actually at the Royal this year which for anyone who follows college golf our second our college like one of our first college events of the year in the fall is at is at the Royal for the Anukica So that’s that we were like “Oh that would be a good way to kind of prep leading up to it.” So um but yeah either way like a good summer schedule definitely not too busy which is kind of like the way we like it just because fall and spring are so packed on either end
right Your your fall and spring you’re you’re basically non-stop you know You don’t really get time to yourselves Yeah
Yeah So with when does the fall season then kind of
you know do you guys have a prep time individually for yourselves before the season or do you kind of you know all right season starts on this date and now we kind of go full full it or what
Yeah like we prep a for like a few weeks ourselves coming like leading up to the season and then it starts
in like September
Yeah So we so because of like the way like our school is and like because our championship season’s in the spring like we the earliest we can report back is literally like August 31st or like September 1st like one or the like it’s like literally like September 1st So and they can’t really mandate us to be there earlier So a lot of people come filtering back like those intern like our internationals and whoever like maybe like a week prior just to kind of get like time zone adjusted But um but yeah like it’s like for us you know we’re we’re trying to like mentally prep for like fall season because once we get back we actually may have like a week of qualifying maybe like the past couple years we’ve had like a day of qualifying and then we go to our tournament So for us it’s like mentally like we’re preparing for it you know weeks in advance before even the team comes because then once it once they come like it’s go time We don’t really have a lot of time really hit the ground running it sounds like where it’s like
season starts you know officially on this date and then you might have you know a big event you know a few days later
Exactly That’s exactly
So we’re prepping for a while before
last year Yeah For like two months
Like last year I think we maybe had like one like practice day or like one round of qualifying before we left for our tournament Like it’s it’s there’s like almost no and that’s like that was like not how it was my freshman year I don’t know how it will be this year depending on schedule but
the fall season’s shorter so it’ll just last like five weeks or so
Yeah it’s a lot
And then Yeah And then we have a little bit of time off
and then just like some practice It’s definitely a different schedule though Like you just have to be like kind of ready to go once the fall starts because then you’re just hitting the ground running but it’ll be really quick and then spring is just kind of a lot more of like marathon golf like kind of spread apart
right
100%
Interesting Okay So now so Ree having completed a year I think I’ve asked Bella this before
Yeah On on uh different occasions but having completed a year your freshman year you’ve got you’ve kind of figured out maybe uh the balancing this the school and the you know the social life and the golf
Yeah
Is there let’s say there’s a you know high school player tuning in right now or listening to you Would you have any advice for them if they’re maybe maybe this fall is going to be their freshman year you know what would you tell them Yeah for sure I mean I feel like Yeah I’d say one is just like work hard Like two just like know that you just have to like experience it to like really fully know I feel like I like was pretty prepared actually like mentally and even like physically and everything but just actually like being in it is just like a whole another thing and and like you just learn so much So I’d say just like yeah just like enjoy it where you can like learn things and like pick up Yeah like what to learn as you go
Um and then go into it humble I would say that it humble
Yeah Because we even talked about that like before like this past year is Bella was like “Yeah like it’s pretty different where like in high school you’re kind of like
Yeah I I’ve actually even talked about this with like friends now who are about to go to college is um is in high school like you’re kind of like the best on that team and like you’re really good in high school and you know like play some tournaments and like get a taste of how good players are but then you go to college and and like you’re definitely everyone’s that good like you’re not the best So just like going into it humble and like hey like I’m just gonna
work hard and do my best and just like a different mindset It’s a lot more you can be more aggressive
It can it can depend on like how you want to take it Like some people take it and they’re like kind of like freaking out They’re like I I wanted to be the best but I’ve always like taken it and been like run with it and just get better
And I kind of like I kind of have always taken it as a positive Like I guess this frees me up like
you know the odds of me winning aren’t as aren’t as likely So let’s just like give it all we have and like have fun And also knowing like if you are losing like these are some of the best in the world and that’s just how it’s going to be And it’s just everyone’s just you know it’s just a fight every every day
But every tournament but um it’s so cool to play with those players too And then get that experience Yeah It makes you so much better for sure
But it’s just definitely a different mindset too
Really good experience But yeah different mindset So I’d say just like enjoy it work hard and stay humble
Stay humble I like that I mean it is in a sense though it it for a lot of these players it is it’s a big difference from you know a kind of being in that number one or that number eight group in high school and you get to play with the you know the few of the really topofthe line players all of a sudden you go to you know division one golf here in the in the Big 10 conference and
all kinds of talent that you guys are playing with every single week And so
it also probably puts a little more stress too on on trying to get the mental part down as well because you you kind of know at this level okay everybody’s talented everybody can go out and make birdies everybody can go you has the game to go shoot a 67 out here or something like that but then it’s
okay how do you handle the mental part of it and that’s the next challenge at that level I imagine for you guys kind of both to to handle and you know obviously you have the experience now of three years doing that and um
Reese is uh taking notes Yeah I was actually been thinking about this because I feel like Bella like really handles like the pressure rounds well Like I’ve like had a good round before and then like you can feel the pressure but I feel like Bella like you handle that really well Actually I actually like am curious how do you like handle it well or like what are your thoughts Like if you have like a really good round day one let’s say even Yeah like in college and like you shoot like you know like 65 66 or whatever and then you’re and like you’re going into day two what like what’s your mindset
Yeah Sorry
No this is great That’s a great question
I’m actually wondering that’s like so nice I I
actually want to know I I feel like um okay like I don’t know I I just feel like I’m used to being in like like pressure situations and I try to like normalize it as much as possible and like being like you know
just like being in it so much like almost like trains you to still do that
Yes I like one thing I almost always say to myself is I’m like I’ve been in a I’ve probably been in a more pressure-filled situation Like I’m like teeing off in the US like I played in the US Open four years ago and every time I’ve like played in a really like pressurefilled event like moment since I’m always like it’s not as bad as that first T- shot Like it’s not as bad as that first T- shot Like no matter what And so like always just being like
like and also being like you’ve got nothing to lose Like at the end of the day like I literally will say that to myself like on the golf course I I like I talk to myself a lot on the golf course especially in like some of those like moments but being like “Okay having just full conversation.” Yeah Yeah Like just to like keep yourself calm but I’ll just literally be like you know at the end of the day like let’s say I did lose Let’s say I literally went double double Okay Life goes on and like you’re moving on and there’s going to be another event And so being like okay the only way I’m going to be upset with myself is if I freak out and I like don’t just like put it past me and try my best Like if I’m trying my best and I know I’m giving it my all I’m never going to be upset with myself no matter how it ends Like obviously we’re competitive but like you’re putting your all out there If I’m practicing hard trying my best like what else can I do And so then I’m just like So then I’m playing from this like this spot instead of being like freaking out I’m playing from this spot of like okay all I have to do is try my best I already did the practice
That’s already done Like let’s just go and try and all you have is like you have a shot You’ve got like
you got a good shot And like so but it’s just like that mentality and like frees you up and then that’s like when I played my best of being like and then I also try to just keep my mind on different things Like I’ll be like so I like play from that mentality when I think about it but then I try to be like
all right like you know let’s what are we going to get shopping like I’ll just be like I’ll be like all right like what’s a cute outfit like I’ll just chat with like my competitors So like trying to like keep my mind on different things too But that’s like try when I really think about it and like I’m in a moment that’s like my mentality of being like okay like
it’s kind of like selective I don’t want to say selective but you got you’re kind of picking the spots to lock in in a sense
Yes% You know in between shots like you said you’re trying to think about something else Get my mind off of it and that way it’s not totally stressing your mind the whole time
Yes Yes
And when it’s time to lock in and hit and focus on the shot Okay you can do that and you’re not worrying too much about the added distress of you know what the moment means or what this particular shot or this particular hole means for for the event
I mean I mean literally one thing I’ve always thought about is I’m like it’s really like like 90% of it is really just like the practice that goes into it beforehand And if you’re practicing beforehand as much as you possibly can like when you’re in that moment like you’ve done everything you can do You really have Like when you’re at a tournament like you you’re like it’s really like almost like the tip of the iceberg Like you’re just seeing like the like that that one day of how you’re playing when really 90% of it is just like everything you’ve been doing for the last like months leading up to it And so it’s like if you put in all that work you’re going to be just fine Like it just depends on how this day plays out And so like that just totally frees you up to be like I did all that work that 90% of the work Let’s just see what today brings That sounds like someone who you know has it has it mentally locked in once when when it’s time to hit hit the big shot or whatever you know
True
It’s definitely different and everyone’s different Like you know I know some people who like you know want that pressure and like sometimes it is fun I do enjoy it but I almost have to just like
take myself out of it and let myself go of it
And then that’s like how I end up like how I like normally end up playing my best or like can finish strong But everyone’s a little bit different I’ve heard different ways So um but that’s just that’s just what’s worked for me
Yeah I mean this is an an age too as we talk about you know the players that might be trying to go to college golf you know or there are I’ve been that player where you’re you’re on the bridge of trying to play college golf and then it’s either qualifying with that or playing in your first college event or things like that where it can kind of be like oh my I’m I’m I’ve made it to this point now This is this is the next stage This is the big time
And adjusting to that And it sounds like kind of as you said you know you’re just think back to the practice and how many times you’ve hit this shot
Yeah
You know because I’m sure I’m sure every shot on the course you you guys have done enough practice where you’ve
any approach shot any chip shot any T-shot you got this the shot you’re trying to hit you’ve probably hit it thousands upon thousands of times
100%
Just trying to reverse
like increases the confidence like oh look I’ve done this before
100% Yeah Well uh it’s been it’s been great to chat with you both and we have obviously a couple we mentioned the the competitions this summer We’ll be following Reese at the match play here soon and um it’ll be uh we’ll connect with you guys here soon We got some content we’re filming as well throughout the summer
We appreciate you guys joining Yeah Bell and Reese joining the show It’s always great to have you guys Thank you so much [Music] So that was Bella and Reese Macaulay Um I will say we’ll we’ll start right off with it here You know Reese mentioned briefly that she had you know the Minnesota women’s match play tournament coming up and she you know just went out and won it Uh so that was kind of cool Yeah she went out and won the Minnesota women’s match play since we recorded that Uh so that was really cool and of course um you know that’s that’s a that’s a pretty significant win for her and her young amateur career
Yeah Yeah she uh you know says she really likes match play and clearly that showed going out and winning that cuz match play you know anything can happen
you could shoot a better overall score and still lose in match play Um so pretty pretty impressive there and yeah both of them are going to be gearing up now here for the you know the US amer um they’ll have qualifying coming up so hopefully both can punch their ticket there and
we’ll follow them along We always always enjoy hearing from them the the amount of practice they put in is
it it’s it almost sounds like fake when they say the number of hours like it’s like how I mean I get it in the sense that you know growing up obviously you have the time when you’re not you know an adult with a with a full-time job or anything like that but um that they’re able to put in that much time and they don’t get like tired of it or sick of it is is kind of crazy
Yeah Like here I am like trying to you know I maybe I get 30 minutes to an hour a week of practice Right Right And then it’s usually playing once or twice hopefully on a good week Um
they’re doing what was it
four to six hours six weeks a day Like that’s basically a round of 18 plus
plus some practice Practice So pretty And that goes to show you what separates the
the really really really good players from you know the the everyday golfer is just the dedication they have to their craft
Yep It’s that’s what it takes to be that level you know of golfer where you’re getting invited to Augusta National you’re getting you’re you’re winning Minnesota match play Uh that’s the type of uh competition and that’s the type of dedication and skill that you need So yeah
um yeah it’s awesome to talk to them and we got some more content with them coming
I know we got some more content coming up on YouTube with them here you know later this summer But what else we got on deck here for the next week or so
Yeah we’ve got there’s a I mean I not going to talk too too much about this because I can’t But there’s some exciting launches coming up some new products that are going to hit the market So stay tuned for those some really exciting ones there We’ve got our series of live at lunch is continuing this week I will be out of town but we have Mizuno irons So K is going to join us He plays Mazuno irons He’s played several models in the past So he’s going to join We’re going to talk about some older models of Mazuno irons and then compare them to some new ones Um Fitter’s Choice I believe is all wrapped up now We’ve got all of our if you haven’t seen them yet um go check them out on the YouTube channel Our our fitters basically voted on all these various categories for the best clubs of 2025 and then we highlighted them and tested them on Trackman So really good stuff there Um otherwise a lot more stuff from the tour truck uh tour trucks coming as well We have a Gary Woodland 3-wood build uh later this week on Friday So he’s got a wild setup in his 3-wood shaft in particular
Yeah looking forward to that Yeah on the second swing side um you know we still have our best value clubs Speaking of best value clubs Keegan Bradley just played a pair of them in his win Stricken Mark 2 ZX-5 ZX-7 You know if you need the game improvement the ZX-4 um fantastic clubs Um obviously come in for a fitting make sure those are the fit for you and then let our fitters kind of you know set you up into the right shaft and you know the right lofts and lie angles for you But great stuff there So make sure you check those out And then uh this is you know it’s a second swing thing but uh Drew here uh he’s being too humble and not wanting to brag about it but uh he has qualified for the state amter after uh you know making the cut on the number yesterday So congrats Drew
Yeah thank you Yeah so uh the state am is July 21 through 23 at uh the classic Maddens up north here which is supposedly an awesome golf course I have not played it yet so I’m looking forward to that experience But it was lot of it was a grind yesterday and I almost flew wooded at the end there and choked her away But um we we stayed we stayed above ground just barely
We like to call that Vanderveld not Fleetwood
Vanderved Yeah But if you need a caddy I I might know a guy So
Okay good to know Good to know
Um yeah that wraps up uh this episode of the Second Swing Thoughts podcast As Drew always says make sure to smash that subscribe button follow us on YouTube your favorite podcast platform and obviously comment any questions you have for us We’d love to help answer them And uh yeah we’ll see you back here next week [Music]
