Adam Scott on His Golf Swing Technique and Longevity in the Game

Adam Scott on His Golf Swing Technique and Longevity in the Game

[Music] all right fun the Mark Tribe all you folks that have salivated over this man’s swing ever since you ever watched him play we have him there he is if you’re watching on YouTube it is Adam Scott Scotty uh first off thanks for joining us how are you yeah it’s a pleasure thanks for having me on Mark we’ve been trying to get together for a little bit here so I’m glad we’re doing this okay well back story okay folks for the don’t for who don’t know in 2024 Scottish open Adams In Contention had a put on the last post so I’m was on the call as charged to go and wait with him because there was a potential playoff in the offing and I’ve got a head set on and I’m standing close to Adam and they we watching the results and in the end Bob McIntyre makes and so I’ve got to get the loser interview with Adam which is not the funnest thing to do in the world but he’s ever gracious and good Adam you give me great answers and then leaving I’m listening stuff in my head right from the producer and Adam goes to me people he goes hey love the podcast with Izzy and is my daughter’s nickname I’m like what and I’m sort of piecing this all together trying to listen and then you said no is he Justice and I was like wow so cool you were listening so thank you for that yeah no worries well you know I’m um I’m as much into this golf as everyone else and uh Little Bits here and there can go a long way and I was uh enjoying enjoying enjoyed that podcast and took a few little pieces out of it and not that uh not that I live by these things all the time but you know sometimes there are enough inspiration to just uh make a week uh of positive thoughts or something like that and and those feelings feel good for a little while and get going and and off the back of that podcast you know timing wise I was I started playing well there at the Scottish open so that was quite good well awesome Hey listen I got to ask this before we get into some of the history of what you’ve achieved in your you know you’re on the doorstep of the Hall of Fame really um yeah I I posted this on social the other day and it was like if there was a Mount Rushmore for smooth swingers of the golf club in the game who would you pick and I obviously got lots of names now if I had a mount rush for more for the best golf swings in the game you’d probably be on someone’s lips so I want to ask you if you had swings that you kind of look up to or salivate over or you’re like well I wish I could do that are there any like that I’m I’m interested to know yeah for sure there are I think um you know like everything taste changes over time and you know if I went back to when I was a kid firstly uh Greg Norman was my childhood hero and his style of play and his swing type was very appealing that aggressive driver of the golf ball type swing uh and that was really my first ever swing that I admired um and then timing wise after that Tiger Woods turned Pro in 96 and I was a 16year old an impressionable and good young player and he he made such an impact immediately uh and he just took that kind of aggressive modern golf swing to the next level from where Greg was with his speed and power uh and again like very appealing to me and I think and I think um I’ve been impressed by players as I’ve played with them along the way but then as I’ve learned more about the game throughout the years as far as swingers of the golf club I just really have ended up admiring Sneed which a lot of people do uh for how fluid the swing is and Tom Watson as well I just felt like his swing evolved as graciously as anyone’s you know he it doesn’t look like he’s tampered with it he doesn’t look like he’s he lost his swing DNA along the way trying to get better he it just evolved so beautifully and I think the proof in that is he was basically about to win the Open Championship at 59 years old uh truly remarkable well look that’s kind of the perfect segue and I’m getting a cart before the horse but you seeden me up here because as I’ve watched I’ve watched you since you were a kid you know and I’m you both and and now I’m watching you and I get to call you from inside the ropes and I used the term Evergreen the other day to describe you and Jim Nance was like he was like yeah I’m on to that sort of thing because as far as swing DNA goes Adam and as far as longevity in the game and you mentioned sne and you me mentioned Tom Watson you know I’m Keen to know from you you how have you discovered this Fountain of Youth I’m really Keen to know how you’ve remained true to who you are through all these years given your stature in the game uh I think I’ve been you know I’ve been really fortunate I I had I’ve had a couple of long-term coaches throughout my career that um I think although very different had similar principles that worked very well with me and that was buch Haron and Malone yeah and I I was successful in different ways with both of them um but I worked with both of them for over 10 years each uh which is a fairly long time certainly in the modern day game we like to change our minds a lot these days discipline I joke I’ve been on the PGA tour coaching Carousel and you get hired this morning and you fired like tomorrow yeah thing so that Tak on your behalf yeah but I think um you know I was fortunate to have people that understood me well and and could work through the different emotions of competitive golf or The frustrations of competitive Golf and keep me in a keep me in a good spot and they never scared me with uh their teachings let’s say you know I had a I have a golf Instinct as well even though I’m getting coached I still have a feeling uh of my own swing and I think they understood that well so that was really fortunate for me um and therefore having this kind of sustained high level of play although not winning everything as much as I would like but sustaining a fairly high level for a long time you know I have a lot of belief that at this point in my life uh you know I’ve really got to own my swing I don’t I don’t tamper with it too much I I know a lot of my Tendencies and uh probably more work goes into into uh getting to the golf course than than the swing itself this you know I I really feel like I own it and I’m confident in it but to swing as best I can you know staying fit and supple uh and watching these young guys pound it inspires me to kind of keep keep up and uh that’s what keeps me working hard yeah you inspire many with your gossiping I got to ask this right because I’ve been a long time coach who’s turned to a microphone because the job jobs easier um and and I’ve worked with Elites and I’ve worked with beginners and their golfers of all skill stations who watch this and listen to this to improve and we all have that moment where we’re like and we look at our golf swing like if only right if only I didn’t do that if only I could do this you mentioned Tendencies is there something that niggles Adam Scott a little bit yeah lots of things to the point to the point I I can’t even tell you the last time I really watched my swing uh I don’t I don’t know I mean I’ve watched a couple of swings when I mean a couple maybe like two or three this year that I I looked at but I won’t look more than one swing I won’t slow it down and analyze it I I get too critical you know starting with my posture it varies so so much that frustrates me and that’s like a foundational thing too that’s so annoying to me so I I know at this point of my Tendencies of my own analysis which which isn’t that good and that’s probably why I’m not a golf coach either but uh to to not look too deep you know there’s imperfections in everything especially with all the good technology we have now we can find them very easily no kidding hey you mentioned posture I’m still trying to get back to introducing you probably but I’ll get there you mentioned pasture and I’ll never forget it was at Aron Ohio in the fire in the WGC the Firestone event at Bridgestone and you had won that event in the past and you were hitting balls on the Range and I walked past you and I was like Adam that looks great uh and just in passing I said like what are you doing and you were like I just I’m focusing on my posture and then you made you said something to me that’s stuck and it still to this day sticks inside which speaks to the gravity of it I guess and you were like I feel like if I get my posture in place my golf swing takes care of itself mhm I was like yeah sounds like choirs of angels because so many golfers and there’s a lesson in this folks they just like stand up to the ball but they more worry about swinging than sitting up the golf swing so I want your thoughts yeah I still I still subscribe to that completely for me 100% that if I can maintain a consistent posture with which I feel is technically sound for me and balanced and uh it’s going to start me in a great place I mean I know I’ve been kind of gifted with this graceful swing all I’ve got to do is stand in the right place to do it um and you know I was brought up with my dad giving me the strong fundamentals of the game uh grip and posture alignment key things like this and I and I think they’re still the strongest fundamentals uh for someone to swing really well so I spend most of my time working on that these days um although there’s never ending thought about a feeling in a golf swing or or making sure it’s in the right place that’s that just comes with the territory of being a golfer I think but working on those key fundamentals posture is huge for me really big because it it really just allows my body to move as freely as it can and especially as you get older it’s harder to do that just just physically naturally your body just isn’t as uh fluid as a young a young player’s body so when I stand in the best posture for me it allows me to move at the ball the best and it’s the most efficient motion yeah hey to that you you talk about folks are thinking golf posture if anyone’s ever stood next to an Adam Scott or Adam Scott it always strikes me how upright you are and Us Golf folks we live in front of ourselves with our hands together our chest collapsed your upper body hung over me with my big head I it’s too heavy for my shoulders and I’m turning into a turtle basically at age 54 almost um so posture is not just golf stuff because obviously there strength of core in such with you that’s keeping you so upright as you’re advancing in in in years now yeah I well I’ve put uh uh if I give myself a pat on the back I think I’ve worked hard physically for most of my career and and in maintaining you know an athletic build for golf and and trying to you know complement my swing with the things I do um and I’m really aware that you know when I when I start shriveling over and I’m going to lose it quickly and I’m you know I’m in an age where that that can start happening quickly so I’m really aware of like staying in in good shape and trying to be out here as long as I can playing at a higher level okay to that you use the term athletic I want to build on that Kelly slate has been on the show and he said to me he goes his surfing improved when he started becoming better at golf because of the leverage out of the ground and the balance and all that sort of stuff M surf so I want to ask you is surfing in your opinions or your experience being beneficial to your golf swing or just your overall well-being because it’s a it’s it’s a hard sport in terms of balance and of course physical fitness just paddling out against the waves it’s that’s yeah it’s a very hard Sport and let’s let’s put this into perspective Kelly is ex is the goat of Surfing and therefore his relative level of golf is incredibly high as well you know he’s one of these human beings who whatever he does he’s so gifted at so I’m not the goat of golf therefore my relative level of Surfing is really poor uh but I think it’s more of overall well-being i’ I’ve found after a few years as a pro there’s got to I need an escape I need something else to get away from the game uh as a younger guy I didn’t have a family I didn’t have as many things going on and surfing was it for me and being in the ocean and whether I surfed well whether I caught waves or not but spending time in the ocean was like re-energizing for me it was that kind of peaceful thing I’m not a very spiritual person but I you know came out full of energy every time yeah and and that’s been a constant and I wish I could do it more often these days um but gosh I’d hate to see my form on a board at the moment well you’re a husband and a dad and a full-time golfer still and en doying that all very well so let’s now take a step back um Young Adam Scott growing up in Australia um Father Phil Club professional you know Imus this talented young man with fundamentals and such so now I want Adam Scott dad to just help viewers and listeners who might have kids one of them may be me uh who are decent at golf insights as you look back on your your childhood and the guidance you got and just help folks to sort of manage young people playing golf because I think those formative those setup eras are just so important yeah if I think about it now being a father myself yeah I can’t credit my dad enough with the approach he took with me uh to the game you know right from the beginning but then certainly as I showed potential of being a nice young player to improving drastically and being competitive a competitive Junior uh I just think he managed that so incredibly well I never felt pushed uh and somehow found most of the motivation within myself but I’m sure there were messages he was giving me to to do that uh so you know I I give my dad a lot of credit for that because I think about if I was going to push my kids or or encourage them to to pursue anything i’ I’d think back to how my dad did that things that stuck with me were more in my teenage years I guess that I remember uh Sunday morning lying on the couch at 8:30 watching cartoons yeah and dad coming in saying are you not going to the golf course today I’m like I hadn’t really thought about it he said well that’s one more day before you’ll be great he NE he never said I had to go but you know just those kind of things and I’m sure some days I ignored him like a teenager would but uh but I think there were enough days where that got me off the couch and got me to go out to the golf course so you know he did a nice job with that I I sat recently with a young teenager at home who whose goal is to make it to college on a you on scholarship and he’s 13 so he’s got plenty of time and uh it might be too General but most I think like every other sport now the pressure is on too young you know at thir 13 in golf you’ve got a lot of developing to still do uh you know sometimes in golf you don’t play great really great at a high level till your mid-20s you get better you you find your golfing maturity later and uh to to be over coached young or overtrained in the gym while you’re still growing I think worries me I’m not saying it’s wrong because I like some of the discipline things with with that but the overtraining young is concerning to me and i’ I’d be very wary of pushing too hard too young with a goal goer there’s really something to be said there look I’m a recovering college golf coach 20 something years in it and it’s amazing how you get the odd Blue Chip young man or woman that comes through there and you can just see it at 17 18 19 but you’re so right and even in the pros talk to the aspirin Pros now where it’s just you got to get better every year and everyone runs A different race at a different timeline yes yeah absolutely I think the best thing if we’re talking about Junior golfers uh is just getting out and playing some Junior competitions and I think uh if and I was talking to a very competent player three handicap at 13 like everything is going great he for him I just feel like competing on a on a regular basis he’s going to learn so much himself he already must be understanding so many things to be off three that he doesn’t realize he’s just his own knowledge is going to grow and uh I think there’s more chance of that falling in line later down the track than getting Mis misguided or overtrained and and burned out uh potentially shooting shooting for this line um too early that you know there’s time in golf to mature I know this for certain maybe this may be close to to my headstone one day when I pass onto the Heavenly Fairways but having spent time around guys like yourself and other great golfers and in fact just great successes in the world from the worldly standpoint um I will advise people and I’ll say to them look don’t despise the failure and because there’s somewhere in the midst of that Doom and Gloom there’s a lesson to be learned if your mind’s right now here’s You’ won 30 times profession 32 times professionally worldwide major champ players champion all sort of stuff but there’s been some Bleak times too and you’ve had to navigate your way your way through there so is there any insight you can share from experience I think uh these are cliche things uh but you know golf is a lot like life it really is I mean I I haven’t played all other sports I’ve played some but golf being individual uh there are support teams around professional golfers but if you’re even if you’re an amateur golfer and you don’t have a coach and a psychologist and a trainer you know it’s an individual Pursuit like life uh and it’s incredibly challenging it can be very unfair you can do all the right things you get no results a bit of a bit of a bad break here or there that’s no fault of your own and and you find yourself in a tough spot uh and you know I feel like the way you have to analyze that the first couple times it’s hard to accept for sure but that’s where you find out what you’ve got inside you my first real struggle was coming to college in America uh I was Big Fish back in Australia and I was a very little fish when I came to United States and I really struggled my first six months at college and uh came home for Christmas in Australia and was really Keen not to go back but uh there my dad sent me back he said this is you got to turn this around when you get back uh he gave me some coaching tips while I was home which was helpful because I hadn’t seen him for a while and he was my coach at the time but I went back and played a lot better and and overcame some of the hurdles and I didn’t realize it at the time and um I didn’t realize it for a long time but I think that really set me up for the rest of my career you know that uh I was going to be faced with these challenges and the next step once I was one of the best amateur players was I’d be a small fish again turning professional and had to had to go through that whole process again but I was much better prepared for it um you know and I I don’t know I I think it was just there was still a belief inside me of that childhood dream to be the best player in the world that got me through any hardship uh and somehow I got through through that one quite easily but then throughout my career you know I I found from other people that belief again you know in the my support teams and like I said before I was really fortunate to have some great people around me so true you know in golf on the tour we’ve got various we’ got statistics for statistics and always pay attention to and all you greats do this as you bounce back you know mistakes are inevitable is how you and is it as simple as like fall down seven times get up eight and you’ll live I think so I think I I think I haven’t been afraid of the failure either which you referenced earlier I haven’t been afraid to fail of course I don’t want to it’s hard to it’s hard to deal with there’s been times where I’ve lost it on the course and you know you’ve gone from leading a tournament to you don’t know how you’re going to get it in the clubhouse where did where did it go it’s crazy uh and you know it’s these things where you have to analyze and and deep dive in afterwards to figure it out and and ReDiscover the belief but learn from that how how do you how does that not trigger next time in this position how do you handle it and uh there’s no doubt I’ve had so many failures that are never seen because you’re seen when you’re up in contention yeah but the failures of missing cuts when you’re never on television and you’re in the back of the field and the confidence damage that does to us is it’s brutal and you hear it from lots of guys out there um so on a weekly basis is we’re having like real gut checks to get up and do it again the next week right well you’ve inspired everyone listening and watching too this let’s talk about some of the highlights um which there have been many um obviously the 13 Masters is the Highlight right um for sure aside from that is there a tournament that really stands out to you one that you won of all of those you’re like yeah you know that one’s lodged back in the in the memory and it brings back good memories [Music] um yeah the Australian Open does for the aies yeah for sure um it was the first professional event I won in Australia but it was nearly a decade after I was a pro so I’d been having a go for quite a while and never won down falling down seven getting over another yeah I’d been close to winning in a Australia but um for sure early days I felt a lot of pressure playing down there as one of the best young Australian players and um you know even AR Aaron battley won two Australian opens very early in his career and we’re at the same age we grew up playing a lot of golf in our teenage years together and he had very early success and uh yeah I just never got across the line and actually that year uh was my worst year as a professional 20 2009 and at the yeah at the back end of the year I started finding a little bit of form again and ended up winning the Australian Open and that that was a pivotal moment in my career I would say because I really struggled on tour i’ I’d been playing well for a decade nearly and that turned it all around and I would call it set me off on the second part of my career yeah well look um I’m looking through the list here you win the players in 2004 I do want to talk about that um and you talk about the second part of your career that included a run where you were you spent 11 weeks on top of the world on top of the world golf rankings and regretfully I think Adam and this is me just aining when people think of world’s number ones right they think of like Greg and tiger and VJ perhaps and DJ perhaps and Scotty shefflin now cuz as a recency bias but they don’t think of Adam Scott as world’s number one but you were on top of that pile for a while I mean what did that feel like it was a huge accomplishment Mark uh looking back on it just to kind of why why that was such a big deal for me I mean it should be for anyone really um it was a childhood dream you know I was I was impressionable and Greg was a dominant world number one in the ’90s and he was who I was looking at a kid from Australia that’s all is what I wanted to be but quickly as I got into my professional career world number one was almost unimaginable with Tiger but uh with tiger dominating and BJ taking it for a little while their standard of golf was incredible so for the better part of over a decade it was excuse me it was just unimaginable and as I entered that second part of my career I talked about I saw it was possible again yeah okay let me let me let you catch your breath and I’m gonna I want to tear you up here um you talked about Greg in the dominant time at number one and how he was kind of a hero to you and a mentor in many respects that 04 players um I want to talk about your mindset because the way you bounce back from the misstep on the 72 hole was mind numbing to me to win but if memory serves me then that week Greg was a source of great counsel to you let’s let’s reminisce there because that was a massive win for a young man on a difficult Golf Course holding off holding off some really good players absolutely yeah you know Greg had given me a lot of time as a young as young pro uh which was incredible because he was my childhood hero and uh that week I was down the back of the range uh struggling with my pitching and Greg happened to be down the back I think probably had a very underrated short game uh but a beautiful action Greg worked with you know nice little rotation some some soft knees his knees moved nicely it it all looked very solid and he gave me some pitching uh advice and technique and it was really about how how the lower half was working in the pitching I remember as something to focus on I think he got me focusing on that rather than where the club was traveling you know which can sometimes be hard to do especially under the gun and then ironically after hitting it in the water on 18 on the 72nd hole I had about a 35 yard pit shot uh that I had to get up and down to win uh and I I was incredibly nervous over that pit shot but you know just a little bit of focus on on what Greg had passed on to me early in the week U I managed to hit what looked like not a bad shot up to seven or8 ft and I very pleased with that because I wouldn’t like that one again well yeah to that it you say what looked like a decent shot under the pressure of the moment the flag was where it normally is back on that Plateau there if you kind of if you whiff one just ever so slightly you got 30 ft instead of like seven eight whatever you had right thought it was coming through the clutch I do want to take a step back though cuz I’m kind of that guy a little bit where yeah you it was a you know challenging conditions always challenging golf course I would call 18 arguably the toughest finishing hole in the global professional game you do the tough part in my estimations I’ve never hit never played the whole Under Pressure you’ve hit the ball in the middle of the Fairway and I’m like okay this is ice right now and then you head terrible help help us because we’ve all done this and and even Adam Scott misses from the Fairway yet you gather yourself to be able to go and deliver and not only the good pit shot but you bury that Putt and there was the fist pump you could see how meaningful it was oh it’s a huge event it it’s such a big event and I was at a very young point in my career I had one on the PGA tour but the players is another level uh you know incredibly I I remember being in that Fairway and it was kind of a fine was getting back to the pin quickly yeah uh I would have had to just finesse it a little bit and the six IR was struggling to get up to the top shelf yeah and I thought I would squeeze the six off the back back foot a little bit I mean it’s looking back on it’s a terrible decision now the whole world is to the right I could have flared the five flying out into the stands right and had a drop and uh made this much much less stressful but I I put the ball a little back with the six sign probably got it disconnected off the ball and and released the hands which I’ve had a tendency to do uh throughout my career and there it goes left into the water just just shocking really but you know there I won in the end not with that not without a lot of stress forever a player’s Champion um you’re forever a master’s champion and look you speak of childhood dreams I’m related to one okay um and not only did you win The Masters you won the Masters for a nation in Australia because Greg had come short so many times there been so many great Australian golfers before you um and you’d been close a few times and you know you start to get everyone pinning their hopes on your shoulders and look I I won’t I want you to remin this but I do want you to visit the fact that you Birdie the last hole to get into the playoff to start and and and then eventually I mean the pictures are iconic and I remember that put made and I think of the putt that you made there in the playoff at Augusta National and the putt you made to win the players everyone’s like Adam Scott doesn’t butt I mean you’ve made some lch puts in your time man yeah I I think I’ve made a lot of good ones that count for a lot um you know I’ve I’ve always felt like I’ve I’ve had that in me uh I just haven’t made enough along the way to get there more often is what I think but you know putting we could have a whole show on my my career of putting it’s it’s an incredible journey this game the ups and the downs and the rounds um and how how you get to where you are stop I want to stop you this is rude rude of me so forgive me but you know what you for everything you’ve achieved you’re Forever Learning and there’s so much people can learn from your model there yeah absolutely I mean I I I’m still trying to learn all the time um I’m picking up stuff all the time there’s great information out there I think at this point I have uh the maturity and the knowledge to know how much I should buy into something or not uh but I I’m really not afraid to try stuff and uh you know this this year trying equipment was kind of my thing I fiddled and I’m not much of a fiddler but uh I was this year but I had strong feelings about things I had strong Curiosities I feel like the game has changed a lot since I turned professional and I can’t live there I can’t live live in 2013 when I was maybe the best player in the world at the time because the game’s moved I’ve got to keep moving with it so you know that that Curiosity sometimes the only way to find out is to put it in play if you think it’s right and then you’ll find out and um had to find out the hard way a couple this year I want to yeah okay I’m gonna Camp here for a second because you have you’ve stayed with the times in the modern day game look you’ve always been long the tea but you’ve hit some t- shots over the last couple years when I’ve been out there with you that I’ve sort of turned around smiled and like laugh in the old dog a little bit here I mean you Evergreen and you’ve added speed to the whole thing on top of all this you know including the the addition of the broom handle putter which has been really really sound yeah I’m just you know I’m trying to improve like everyone else and uh you know length is a big part of this game uh you know I’m at that point where it’s probably going to stop somewhere here soon for me but uh while I can you know I’ve been learning I’ve I’ve I don’t have the best understanding of all the biomechanics but I’ve got some grasp of it somehow applying it to my natural swing DNA the best I can um you know and and simply some of my speed over the last couple years that I’ve maintained or or maybe gained a little it came from working on Rhythm More Than Anything not a position not Gym training nothing other than Rhythm and then my body moving just a little more efficiently and like my natural swing DNA getting the most Ground Force but I I mean I never think of ground force uh but I but I understand how what all where all the speed’s coming from but I’m not forcing that to happen I’m I’m I’m trying to find a way to gain by not doing so much if that makes sense yeah well look there’s something to be said for efficiency and just hitting the squarely and if you do you hit the middle of the bat all the time uh recently it feels like that for sure Mark recently it does yeah I’m quite pleased with how I’ve been playing lately I’ll say so okay let’s get back to the Masters um yeah look it’s a win for the ages um I remember the pictures the final day was challenging with the weather and such um and often times the Masters it seems like such a it’s such a celebration and it’s a lifelong achievement when you’ve won but it’s gring and and that tournament you kind of every shot feels to me and I’m on the outside of the ropes like it’s always on the the knife edge and the texure is immense and so I just want you to revisit that a little bit and just thoughts and memories and stuff that sort of come to mind please yeah if I think about that last day I mean going out to the course I knew I had I felt I had a great chance I I was runner up two years earlier to char who birded the last four that year I stood on the 17th t with a one shot lead finished 44 and lost by two uh no one had ever birdied the last four holes to win and not that I felt robbed but I felt I was closeit and he chipped in on one from off the right side of the green which is impossible and he h out on by the way yeah yeah it was his day you could say it was his day yeah so you know I felt I was close and there was a certain level of comfort developing for me at Augusta National uh I felt I had a great chance that Sunday I’d been in control of my game all week the one the front nine on Friday was the only time I felt a bit wobbly but I corrected on the back nine and Saturday was a good day so I was feeling good I bogied the first but I’ve had so many good rounds bogeying the first it was almost like a reset a quick hard reset on the second te uh that was that was really good I played so solid I didn’t really make anything all day I was never leading all day uh or I didn’t feel feel like I was leading or maybe it was I never felt like I put myself in that position where like I got in front of myself I’m going to win the tournament because I’m leading or that thought came in my head on the second shot on 17 that that’s when it was real and I think that was really fortunate however it was I don’t think it was incredible mental strength or control to not do that but it that was the moment when I needed to knuckle down and now hit the shots to win them Masters uh if I had that from the first te I think it would have been too much to get around that golf course with that pressure uh so that was fortunate it was late in the piece for me and then I hit some good shots coming in for sure okay um the Putt and I’m I’m getting somewhere with this question um you know everyone listening to this has had like that putt for anything to win something and as kids will stuff and you know more than more often than not we don’t make it but you’ve got one there to win The Masters um so you hit the thing did you when it came off the fist did you know okay this is good or was it a few feet from the hole before it’s in I want to know that before I follow up the question please the play the playoff putt you mean playoff putt yeah it was a good it was a good putt okay it was struck confidently for sure I think carried more Pace than if it wasn’t in the playoff okay uh is how I felt I was watching it but it was a good part it I don’t think I’d ever had a part up there in that part of that 10th green before so you know I was watching it uh but off the face for sure i’ had a chance halfway no doubt it had a chance and then managed to catch a catch a bit of that edge and go down celebration was memorable um I I want to know this now let’s back up preparing for this putt you’ve got the putt to win now because Cabrera was in with four M something short for four left my memory fails me but now you got the putt to win the mental preparation the emotional preparation what’s a deep breathing routine give me you know everyone uses these cliches and stuff I I want to know where you were prior to that I think I was in a good good space uh I remember you know just quickly to set it up up from my side of things getting a little nervous going to the first playoff hole after finishing regulation and driving back down the hill and getting to 18 uh but got that t- shot away and that and then was back in the flow of playing for the day after a little break and um played some good shots up 18 a good shot off 10 a great shot best shot of my life I think into 10 to that spot uh given the circum stances the hook lie little hold into a back left pin to 10t maybe uh and then the re was the big thing on that Putt and I’ve talked about it before but Steve Williams was cading for me we both were reading the pot I said I think it’s breaking a cup what do you think he said I think it’s breaking two cups okay it breaks a and it breaks a lot Adam and I said have you had this P have you seen this up before here is this a dialogue before you go ahead really yes yes because you know that’s a big difference that’s 100% more break than I’ve read you know this is we’re not like uh is it right Edge or just outside we’re now talking about four four or so inches difference in read and he said Adam you have to believe me it breaks a lot up here and I said okay and you know we just we had a good thing going at the time we communicated really well especially that day uh in particular and you know I put trust in that read and I put it out there and I still like I said I had some speed on it and it and it’s got in there somehow thank god oh no kidding I mean what a victory um like I say you’re playing with the pressure of a Nation on your shoulders um and speaking of now we’re on the doorstep of I think it’s your 11th President’s Cup appearance your first one was in South Africa which is fan Court what was it 03 I think it was yeah and the pressure of a nation and I’ll never forget how much admiration I had for you because a couple seasons ago we chatted at East Lake where you Inn the Tour Championship and you like my goal was to prove to or earn my spot on the team and not have Captain Trevor us absolutely now you come back a couple Seasons later and you B basically forced your way and you one of the stalwarts now leading a fun young team against the Americans and pressure of the nation let’s talk about dealing with the pressure please yeah um well in relation to the Masters it it had just become a thing you know after after the 90s really with Greg at the Masters I mean it was the one of the last mountains of sport for an Australian to climb we’re proud sporting Nation much like South Africa uh and we we are champions at most things at some point uh but had never won the Masters so that became a big thing throughout my career and every year I went there every Australian dealt with the same thing so um the Masters in Australia and for a lot of places you know transcends Golf and if you’re a sports fan you tune in the Masters you know the music uh and the nation somewhat stops on a Monday morning in Australia for the final round of the Masters if if an Australian’s in contention for sure so that was a big hurdle um this year moving into coming to the president cup of course it was motivation to make that team but I’d been just not quite putting it into gear all year and time was running out and again much like a couple years ago at Quail Hollow I really didn’t want to uh have my my mate Trevor have to justify a pick on this old boy uh and and you know I I managed to get a spot on that team uh earn my spot on that team through automatic qualifying and I felt um similar this year I you know I I felt like I was playing good enough to contribute to this team this year but you know it’s tough position as a captain when you feel like you have to justify a pick and I and I wanted to take myself out of that conversation and fortunately put it in gear uh there at the Scottish open and worked my way up and in the end qu qu qualified quite easily which is great because now I feel like I’m coming in I can really contribute to this team win some points in Montreal and hopefully be part of uh be a contributor to us winning the cup for the first time in six years it’ll be yeah look it’s going to be exciting okay couple quick questions and then I’ll let you go thank you for your yeah no problem reference the second shot to the 10th in the playoff at Augusta National you got the hanging live ball above your feet back right flag you carve a little medium iron in there six iron yes six iron yeah six iron that could have been the best shot I’ve ever hit is that the best shot You’ ever hit or is there anything else that stands out I’ve hit a couple long irons that I think a really superb but uh you know they’re not all captured on television so they live in my mind but really really the given the circumstance that’s the best shot I’ve ever hit I I think that was as pure as it gets you know when I was a kid I I think of shots like f hit his chicken wing fine into 15 at mfield and you know like it was that was the greatest shot as a that I saw as a teenager and everyone couldn’t stop talking about it that’s how I feel at least about my own shot for myself on that shot no doubt uh on the flip side of that coin is there a shot you wish you had back um and while you think I want people to I’m gonna let Adam think for a minute I asked this question on the mark tribe members because I want you to realize is that this legend of the game even hits bad shots and that the overriding lesson for everybody here even someone is you use the word graceful elegant sweet swinging you know looks like you fell out of Heaven swinging a golf club even you’ve hit shots that you w well I’ve had awful shots but but ones that have um yeah look I I I probably I don’t know which one I could pick any of the shots on the last four holes that Li them I’d like go there probably the 18th t- shock CU that was that was uh my worst decision you know I picked completely the wrong club uh my process there was poor and it cost me really the open uh any anything but in those bunkers please lith them for those who don’t know it’s littered with coffin bunkers down every Fairway they’re like staggered yeah yeah and you were and you were playing with a lead there what till like the 16th hole I think you you had in that on that well well I had a four shot lead with four to play and bogied all four holes uh and it’s hard to and didn’t hit that many bad shots uh didn’t didn’t haul a couple of putts from in close for par um and then then I reacted completely I was playing with gry mcdal and he flared a three-wood out to the right off the te and it was not a very nice shot but it was absolutely fine you know there was a bit of room out there and instead of hitting the iron like I did or actually in the first round I hit driver past all the bunkers I I kind of got frazzled in my brain and thought I’ll just do like that uh and I pulled three wood and tried to cut it off the bunker and just dead flushed it straight into the bunker uh brought brought the bunkers into play and I hit a pretty good third shot in there to about 10 feet but missed the putt to get in a playoff with Ernie um that was a that was a big that was a tough one to swallow that’s a tough one I do for me because I was there teaching a young man who was playing my overriding memory was Ernie hugging you after the whole thing so I guess I think at the moment because Ernie’s been such a good friend to me for a long time it was the only thing that um helped me process at the time and keep it together I’ve just admired him and his game so much I got to play with him a lot through Peak ears and he he was so great and tiger just kept beating him for for a lot of time yeah really you know so that that was help if anything was helpful uh at that moment getting over it there there was some level of me that I was pleased for Ernie I think it I don’t know you’d have to ask him how fulfilling it was to win another major at that point in his career but it’s certainly uh I you felt like he deserved one I did I didn’t really want to be the guy to cough it up but uh you know it it really motivated me and then you look eight months later I won the Masters and you know that’s how my story when well look you’ve been Grace you’ve been so full of grace to come on share your story with everybody uh be so candid with your insights and your helpful people I want to close with this Adam um because people you can’t follow him on social media because he doesn’t do any um if you had to leave us with a Parting Shot let’s say that thing that you know for sure because now we both elevated in years and we’ve got the benefit of wisdom and experience is there something you know for sure when it comes to like doing this golf thing properly that’s that’s a big question um I I think I know myself well now and and it and I would and I would encourage everyone in what they’re doing you know to look inside themselves for the answers as much as they find it elsewhere you know I really think I’ve seen so many people that are so much stronger willed than me more talented than me all these things we we all have so much inside and uh you know if you can of course we learn a lot from outside but you know in the end you’ll find it inside you’ll find the happiness you’ll find the success you’ll find all those things that will come from within it’s all within us and I think I remind myself of that on the course because there are times certainly where it’s been visible to others I lacked the self-belief and then when I when I went in and found it in there again that’s when it it uh it came out in my golf anyway ladies and gentlemen ever humble one of the great Champions Adam Scott thank you for joining us I appreciate you very much Mark thanks it was nice to catch up with you thanks mate how’s

Adam Scott on Golf, Golf Swing Technique and Longevity in the Game
Adam Scott is a generational talent. With 32 worldwide professional victories, the 2004 PLAYERS champion, 2013 Masters champion and former OWGR #1 is one of Australia’s greatest ever golfers and he joins the #OntheMark podcast to talk about his life in golf.

Scotty revisits some of his famous victories (The Masters and The PLAYERS), and some of his defeats. He shares lessons he learned along the way from the Gold Coast of Australia to the very top of the game and the World #1 ranking.

All the while Adam shares insights and tips to help you understand and play the game a little better. He talks at length about:

Golfswing DNA
Golf Instinct
Long-term Coaches and Instructors
Understanding Tendencies and Habits and Not Looking too Deep into Technique
Escapes from the Game for Mental Well-being, and
Dealing with Failure and Expecations
Adam also talks about his golf-swing and his approach to the game as he dives into:

Swing Fundamentals, Posture, Rhythm, Tempo and Balance
Adding Clubhead Speed correctly
Go-To Shots, and
Using the Broomhandle Putter
His Most Memorable Shots, and
Shots He Would Like to Do over

The usually reserved Australian opens up and in his unassuming and humble manner shares some fascinating and candid insights about his game and tips on how you can get the most out of yours.