Jake Knapp talks about his experience since winning the 2024 Mexico Open at Vidanta and the changes in his life with John Swantek on the Talk of the TOUR podcast. He also discusses his clubhead speed and how he generates power effortlessly, his passion for team sports, how golf allows him to experience the pressure and responsibility of being the clutch performer and his excitement for the rebranding of the Anaheim Ducks and the new retro look of the team’s uniforms.
PGA TOUR LIVE and GOLF Channel host John Swantek has conversations with top players and discusses trending topics with leading broadcasters and content producers in the golf world.
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well it’s nap time here on the talk of the tour podcast looking forward to uh this one if you welcome in the champion from the Mexico open at viansa Jake naap competing in this week’s John Deere classic out there in the Quad Cities Jake it’s good to see you I appreciate the time how’s it going out there at the jdc it’s uh it’s going pretty good got over yesterday and and did some putting um caddy walked nine holes and then getting ready to go out and play some golf this afternoon and see what it’s all about pretty cool place isn’t it a little small Market uh fabric of the PG tour through the years for sure yeah I mean obviously I’ve you know with me being in college and then Jordan winning here when he did and the way he did and yeah this event just always kind of had some cool memories in terms of watching on TV so I’m excited to finally be here and play it so how has life changed for you since winning or maybe it hasn’t yeah um a little more attention obviously uh so that’s different but my life’s somewhat of the same I mean still live in the same place and have the same friends and family and um have the same job so it’s just been a bit busier I think just trying to adjust to the new schedule and um just everything kind of going on it’s kind of nice now going to tournaments and people actually know who I am rather than asking what my name is so for the most part you know showing up golfing every day so keeping it pretty simple well that does come at a price for some people right because you’ve sacrificed whatever anonymity you may have had in your life prior to that you cool with all that yeah I think it takes a little adjusting for you know the first uh first few months maybe you go to a grocery store and you get recognized or you just go anywhere and you feel like you know I think I don’t think the hair does me any favors and whatnot too so stick out like a sore thumb sometimes but uh but no I don’t mind it I think I think especially you know in tournaments if you can you know sign an autograph or take a picture of somebody and you know take 30 seconds and make somebody else’s day it’s the least we could do so many doors open up when you win on the pj2 it’s a lifechanging uh moment for a player and sometimes though this sounds counterintuitive guys win and they decide all right I’m going to change something right in an effort to get even better um end up backtracking a little bit how do you sort of U decipher Jake between all the things that are available to you as a winner what do you what do you decide to take what do you refrain from taking and who helps you arrive at those decisions yeah um I mean for me that’s that’s where you know kind of my team comes in handy I’ve had like the same same group around me for long time you know John or t has been you know kind of my my life mental golf coach for my entire life and then Dana helps me with some swing stuff when I need it and um you know it’s I think talking with them about you know what areas I believe I need to get better at um and maybe what areas even when you do win I’m sure it’s not perfect from start to finish so trying to find out like okay what kind of was starting to crack under pressure and how can we make that better and you know for me I’m trying to change as little as I can now I leave most of that stuff to to the offseason and then you know fully commit to something pretty much for the entire season and then kind of go year by year but for me I think just trying to build overall consistency and I think you know sure there’s some things you can kind of change in order to get there but at the same time it’s also you look at the PGA Tour you look at some of the swings out here and there’s some some interesting moves that work really really well and I think if you just own own what you do it’s going to work out for you well yours is an action that a lot of people are envious of uh since they’ve seen it under the pump there in in Mexico Club head speed of 125 miles per hour plus you may not be able to answer this question you’ve probably been asked it a lot Jake you may be more of a field player than a technical guy how do you how do you generate all that club head speed and make it seem so lacking in in energy and so effortless I think uh I think first part of it was having an older brother that was a foot taller than me my entire life and hit it a mile so um I think that definitely helped I was always somebody who was super undersized for my age and and didn’t hit it anywhere and always wanted to keep up with him and all his friends so just kind of taught myself how to hit it far I’d shut my stance and um had a really really strong grip and just hit big row hook draws just to try to get it out there as far as I can um probably in like sophomore junior in high school I grew like 6 eight inches and went from being 5 foot three to 5 foot n 5 foot 10 and then all of a sudden just started hitting it far in general and for me the goal’s always been to you know college I was probably at my fastest in terms of if you asked me to swing hard I would probably swing slower because I didn’t know how to I could just always swung 100% um so the goal for me is always just been to try to swing at the same speed um at that quick speed but with less effort so for me I do that kind of taking care of my body getting into the gym and and making sure I take care of it that way and you know for me I don’t feel like I have to work that hard to to get it around 126 or 27 these days you mentioned your brother I know you guys were very close you kind of grew up in the game when you were kids and it was not a country club background there in Costa Mesa California tell me about the 36 hole mun that you guys cut your teeth on yeah yeah um we call it coasty national um right across right across the street from where we grew up uh it’s just 36 holes you have Los logos which is probably right around 6800 yards or so par 72 and then you have M Sal Linda uh that’s probably like 6400 par 70 you know both have kind of like their own unique style Melinda’s like got more driveable par 4S and short holes obviously you want to go low and then Los logos has some some better holes but yeah it’s just it’s just as public as you can get you know I mean wear basketball shorts and a t-shirt no dress code no nothing like that and um grew up kind of riding my bike over there as a kid or just walking across the street so that’s where Johnny or coach you know still is to this day and um you know I know my brother takes over his little one and a half-year-old over there to putt every once in a while so it’s a it’s always had a special place in our heart that’s so cool are you a big deal when you go back there now I haven’t been back in a while now I mean I probably probably haven’t been back since I we usually go you know back around Christmas and what not and then now that I live in Scottsdale I’m going to try to make some more trips out there but you know I still talk to to Kyle and Sean and Brad and all the guys who still work in the Pro Shop they’re still my number one fans and um you know that’s what I mean when my family and friends are stay the same those are the guys that I that I still talk to and and still support me each say there’s an unglamorous life to professional golf that a lot of people who sit on their couch and watch the leaders come down the stretch on Sunday afternoons realize and I think you you have lived it Jake I mean banging around on Mini tours winning on the Canadian tour elevating to the corn fairy tour and eventually to the top level and there’s no guarantees man it’s It’s a Grind um now that you’ve arrived there has there been Joy in the journey would you say yeah somewhat I think the grind is is also like enjoyable in its own way you know I think um I think I’ve realized now more than anything that that the money side of things is not the most important thing for me um you know I just enjoy I enjoy golf I enjoy playing I enjoy just kind of beating myself up and trying to find ways to get better um and you know the the rise up through like the mini tours and all that stuff like yeah it’s not super fun but at the same time you’re also kind of doing it with guys that you I went to college with you’ve known since junior golf so there’s fun in each each stage I would say but yeah when you’re back down there after you know when you go up and down kind of like I have over a few years just not as enjoyable when you’re playing with guys that are 22 and now you’re 27 or you’re 28 and they’re 20 and it’s like okay I should probably be doing a little bit better than I am you learn more about yourself during uh The Valleys that the Peaks along the way yeah I’d say so you know I think it’s one of those things where we kind of start to realize you’re not as uh you’re not as far off as you think you are um when you’re when you’re not playing well I know for me usually when I’m when I’m ready to just be done playing golf that’s usually when I start playing when I start playing pretty well the next week or two because you know I put a head down I really get to work and and uh you know give myself a little bit more credit when things start going well but yeah I think in those valleys that’s kind of where you learn a lot about uh you know how much grit you have in you have you always been hard on yourself and had high expectations for your yourself for sure yeah that’s a that’s a staple I’m sure my mom would love if I was a little bit nicer that’s your your constant text to me is be nice to my Jake but um but no I think it’s it’s one of those Sports too where you don’t you don’t get to have a you know you’re not on a team or or in that kind of team atmosphere where you have a coach that if you mess up they Grill you and you learn from it you move on if you want to you can mess up all day long and be nice to yourself and and that’s that works for some guys for me I felt like it allowed me to to make more mistakes so you know I’m not slamming my head against the wall or doing anything like that but um I just try to get it through my my head that you know that’s not okay and we need to get better and and move on to the next one I’m glad you brought that up because I know you’re a passionate sports fan uh of Team Sports golf is a very different Endeavor right in a team sport uh the clutch athletes and performers want the ball in their hands right at at crunch time how does that correlate to golf Jake where essentially you’ve got the ball in your hands for five hours yeah that’s that’s kind of I think why I chose golf I mean it’s it’s funny it doesn’t fit I would say like my personality through and through I think I’ve always been somebody who’s very high energy and and loves playing you know soccer baseball basketball anything where it’s like kind of more of an effort Sport and golf’s the exact opposite of that but at the same time always found myself in those other sports where you know in baseball I want to be the guy pitching or I want to be the guy at the plate like I just I hate just sitting around doing nothing basketball I wasn’t always want to be the guy to take the last shot so in Golf do yeah you get to experience that every day and you know you get all the credit and you get all the blame and I kind of love that part of it and um you know I like sure you can try to blame blame it on certain things whether it’s conditions or something happen and this and that whatever but when it comes down to it it’s it’s all on you and I love that responsibility what other sports did you play as a kid and when did you kind of catch the golf bug and turn your full attention to it um I played everything until I was probably a sophomore in high school and in my freshman year in high school something like that so I played on on on like two soccer teams I played on a baseball team I played on uh high school basketball team and then some other basketball stuff and I’d say those are the three main ones I played and gave it all up pretty much after after my freshman year in high school um just decided to go all in on golf I I I started playing everything kind of around the same age I started super young my brother was three years older than me so I started playing golf when I was like three and was playing in tournaments I think by the time I was like six years old so I was golf was always what we did but it just became a lot for my parents because we you know we’d go play a golf tournament in the morning and I’d have a baseball game at night and we driving all over doing all this crazy stuff so it was kind of time to just focus on one thing and and put all my chips in that basket Well you certainly had a talent for it you’re a bit of a prodigy you shot 58 at your home Course once you shot 61 in a US Open local qualifying round while still in high school did you start to catch the attention of college recruiters at that point yeah yeah definitely I remember I won like a a Junior tournament in in like kind of San Diego area that had a bunch of the good California kids playing and I ended up winning and it was crappy weather and immediately after um Casey Martin sent me a letter from Oregon I think it was when I was like a sophomore in high school and I was like oh man this is a it’s a pretty big deal I guess so and then in high school you know they they can send all the letters after a certain date to your high school they can’t send them directly to your house so then my assistant principal came and gave me a big box with a bunch of letters in it and I was like wow this is a this is pretty pretty cool deal so um I was too scared to leave home though so I stayed in California went to UCLA but I appreciate all the other offers I know you uh did some competing against Patrick hlay in Southern California during your your Junior years did he have any input or influence on your decision to to go to Westwood yeah he was he was kind of I don’t give him enough enough crap for that to be honest with you but he uh he was one of the main reasons why I really wanted to go there um you know at the time he was number one number one amateur I think in the world maybe number two but he was a stud player the team was is going to be really really good um I knew Jonathan Garrick who was a good player who was already committed to go there um and I was playing in a Junior tournament over the summer before I was going to commit he was just like dude he’s like look at the team we have he’s like we’re gonna be so good you need to come here this whole thing so I ended up you know committing in October and then by the end of that season he was he was off and turned Pro you know I’m wondering if it all feels a little bit surreal Jake I mean or do you feel like comfortable in this moment and like this is where you were always destined to be I think a little bit of both I think because it took as long as it did it feels pretty normal you know I’ve been at it for a long time I think uh you know I think sometimes you get a lot of people who tell you like oh it’s a no-brainer I always knew you were going to and this and that whatever and it’s like well I wish you were with me in on the corn fairy tour in 2020 when I was missing cuts by 10 shots and you know I was like I’m sure you knew it then for sure um but uh yeah I think I I think for me I’m I’m pretty comfortable you know I think the I think the most important thing I’ve learned over the last few years just being comfortable with who you are and you know I think if I was put out here three or four years ago I don’t know if I would have been ready I think I would have been um a little bit too concerned of what everybody else is thinking about me and and for me right now I care too much about you know how I’m playing to to bother too much with anybody else do you appreciate it more because it was harder to come by for sure I definitely do even like you know I know we talk about the financial side of things in golf a lot these days with P sizes and all that kind of stuff but um you know being able to do what I love day in day out and um you know not having to stress about a utility bill or how much this and that is each month is pretty nice so um yeah I appreciate it and and I think back and put it in perspective to um you know where I was even two years ago I was on the Canadian tour so I’m very very thankful where I am now you had a run around the time you winning in Mexico that also featured a third place finish at the farmers at Tory Pines fourth the week after winning at the cognizant when you played with brory and he was highly complimentary of your game do you feel like you are getting closer to finding that form again here late in the season as you make a push for the playoffs here Jake yeah yeah I do even though the results haven’t shown it necessarily I feel like since Wells Fargo um I finally started to drive the ball a lot better and and overall hit it a lot better the PGA I feel like I was kind of unlucky with the with the wave we got we played in a lot of rain um but felt like I drove it super well that week and kind of had an odd putting day for one of the days and um but yeah every event since then I feel like I just haven’t gotten it to to all be full circle just yet but it starting to move in the right direction and and you know kind of gained a lot lot more confidence in myself again which has been nice and I think the other thing too is I I went and I I kind of got thrown straight into the fire Arnold Palmer and players and all this stuff that are very difficult golf courses on not a lot of sleep so um that was I think a little bit harder on myself than than I gave credit you know the majors are hard the elevated events the props longer they’re tighter Fairways everything about it’s more difficult and it’s also the first time I’ve been on any of those courses you’re trying to learn it the best you can in day and a half two days so it’s all been a bit of a learning experience and you know I’m not somebody who likes to just you know kind of chalk it up as a learning experience I want to play well and I want to perform I have a pretty set schedule on what I’m doing going forward and and I feel good about the direction I’m going so brand new uniforms for your beloved Anaheim Ducks with whom you have a partnership but kind of an Old School logo that’s going to be unveiled next year what do we think yeah I I love it talking to Aaron and Merritt about it and and we were talking about you know he was like by the way he’s like we’re kind of doing a little rebranding going towards the you know end of your season whatnot and I was like oh okay like sounds good this should be exciting and uh and I didn’t really expect this you know I mean he he hinted that it was going to be more of the Retro look and whatnot and I I think it’s awesome it’s such an iconic logo and I think people love it and I think it’s a good fit for the team it’s a good fit for Orange County and and I’m stoked to see it flying uh flying a lot of orange next year that’s for sure and uh people can get a little uh a little glimpse of the new uni on Jake nap’s Instagram account he’s at nap _ LTD that’s how you follow him on Twitter as well and LTD is the ethos for his life he is living the dream and he’s part of this field at the John Deere classic uh Jake I enjoyed the conversation man good to catch up with you if you go well this week appreciate it thank you for having me
1 Comment
That’s cool, This young guy plays Los Lagos and Mesa Linda. Been playing them my entire life