Opinion & Analysis

Bag Chatter: An Interview with Steurer & Jacoby

Published

6 years ago

Jan 5, 2018

Bag Chatter is a series of interviews that spotlights brands around the golf industry and the people behind them. We’re looking to make this a regular thing, so please comment and share through your medium of choice. If you have a brand and are interested in participating in these interviews, you can email [email protected] for consideration. This interview is with Will Jacoby of Steurer & Jacoby.

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“I’d love to have you come and visit our shop sometime so you can see what we do,” Will Jacoby said. “The reason I’d like to have you here in person as opposed to just a phone call is because the story is in our product. It’s in our seamstresses. I’m not the story. I’m just some old guy. But once you come in and you see everything first-hand and you touch it and experience it, I think you’ll be impressed.”

The above is a synopsis of my first phone conversation with Will Jacoby, an affable gentleman who can tell stories for days of playing golf with Sam Snead or making golf bags for Jack Nicklaus and Ben Hogan. He tells me about his repeat customers from Switzerland to Singapore. They’re his “Johnny Appleseeds,” as he calls them, spreading the gospel of his products wherever they go.

As far as credentials go, Will has been in the golf industry for over 40 years in some capacity. In the 1960’s, his first job out of college was as a sales rep for Wilson Sporting Goods, who offered him his choice of three territories. He chose Kentucky because it was the closest to his roots in the Chicago area.

In the 1970’s, he went to work for Brunswick, then-owner of MacGregor Golf Clubs. He rose up the ranks in its plant in Eminence, KY, that made golf bags and bowling bags. Then in the 1980’s, Will established his own company called Royal Dublin Golf. That company made golf bags for the likes of MacGregor (which shut down it plant after Will left the company), Hogan, and many others.

For roughly 20 years, he was behind countless golf bags around the industry under various manufacturers’ names. He was granted several patents, most notably for the cart bag he developed that had a reversed top to allow for better access to the clubs and pockets when mounted on a cart. Ultimately, he retired to Florida in the late 1990’s. He then grew tired of the retirement life, which ultimately led him to run for mayor of his town in Florida.

“Thank God I lost,” he says.

In 2012, he got a call from his friend, the late Mike Just, owner of Louisville Golf, who enlisted Will to produce a quality, period-correct pencil bag for his customers’ hickory shafted clubs. Will’s first call was to his right hand man, pattern maker Steve Steurer, to figure out how to make it work. As a nod to Steve (who started designing products with Will in 1981), Will decided to add his name to the bag, even if he wasn’t interested in participating beyond that initial layout. And that’s how Steurer & Jacoby was born.

All of this has resulted in a guy who will only use solid brass D rings, steel frames, and waxed canvas that’s roughly 7 times the price of the nylon used in today’s bags. It’s also the guy who sews all those components together with the same threads and fabrics used to assemble parachutes for the military. It’s also resulted in a guy who opened his door to me until 9 p.m. on a Thursday night.

“I’m just so grateful,” he says. “I can talk your ear off, but I admit I haven’t embraced social media and the internet like I probably should have.”

He may be just some old guy (to some), but he’s definitely an old guy with a story. The product isn’t too bad either.

Steurer & Jacoby bag with oak stand at Whistling Straits

I think every person I’ve spoken to has said that their quality is striking with their products. I’m not saying anyone is wrong, but my point is that it’s a word that’s thrown around a lot. What does that mean to you? How did you get to this point?

I suppose it really started when I was at Wilson. The chairman drove quality into everyone’s head. It was the mission for everything that was done. In those days, Wilson was a leader. We had Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Johnny Miller… you name it. And we won a ton of majors. Wilson also had the NBA basketball and the NFL football. They were almost obsessed with being the best. Having the highest quality in the industry was drummed into my head and it just became a part of me. When I went to Brunswick, I told them we had to get out of K-Mart and stop selling $19 golf bags. That was an unpopular conversation, but I still to this day stand by that decision. If you’re going to make a quality product, that’s who you are. You can’t make a Chevette in the same plant as the Cadillac. Our defect rate was less than half of one percent in the plant that I ran. I was really proud of that. I just always wanted to have the best. I wanted to be the best. I don’t think I know any other way. Since we’ve opened our doors, I can count on one hand the number of defects I’ve had to rectify with customers.

How do you think the game of golf developed you as a person? Tell me about how the game helped you personally and how it helped this business.

Golf is a game of integrity. You can tell a lot about a person when you play golf with them. Do they use a foot wedge? Do they give you questionable scores to write down? Do they have a temper? All of that stuff gets revealed over the course of a round of golf. It reveals things that are already in you. Here’s the thing. In golf, you’re playing against yourself first, then your opponent. You have to gather from within. I remember one time I got an 11 on a hole at Mid Pines. Now, not many people would admit to that, but I’d rather not lie to myself. There’s no reason to lie or cheat in golf because you’re only lying and cheating on yourself. I think it’s a very good game for character building. It teaches you so much. There are bad breaks and good breaks and you have to be able to handle all of it. It’s served me well in life and in business.

You’re pretty big in the hickory golf world, which is kind of a niche within a niche. To those who are unfamiliar with it, what are we missing? Do you think anything is lost when playing modern golf as opposed to hickory golf? Are you hitting modern golf balls with hickory clubs? What yardage do you play from?

We play from about 5500 yards, maybe 6000 at most. Yes, we use modern golf balls. I have a friend named David Brown of McIntyre Golf Ball Company who takes modern balls and overmolds them for a slightly more period correct golf ball. I took a friend of mine to a hickory tournament. He’s a very low handicapper, but he had never played hickory golf. Then he took second place in the tournament! For a good golfer, it doesn’t make a difference. You learn how to club yourself. No one is hitting 300-yard drives, but you learn to adjust. To be honest, though, I didn’t really know a whole lot before Mike Just got me involved in 2012. I sold to these guys before I played with them. My brochures say “Tradition and Quality.” That’s who we are. That happened to resonate with this group. They wanted something of exquisite quality that didn’t have a brand name plastered all over it. We do brand our bags, but it’s not a billboard. Our bags are something that takes you back to the birth of golf.

The Most Interesting Man in Golf with his Steurer & Jacoby golf bag

Another market you do well in is in Europe, where nearly all golfers walk (either carrying or using a push cart/trolley). Here in America, the vast majority of golfers ride in carts, yet the lightweight stand bags persist as the most popular option. What are the European customers “getting” that most American golfers aren’t?

I think we do well in Europe because of our quality. They’re probably more frugal than us in some ways. They spend money on things and hold on to them, whereas we are a pretty disposable society in America. We just throw stuff away. Lots of people will spend thousands of dollars on golf clubs, and then go and buy a $100 golf bag to put it in. Maybe they’re just used to them breaking. I don’t know. This stuff is like your favorite baseball glove. It’s functional. It wears well over time and starts to look and feel like your favorite pair of blue jeans. If you want something disposable, go for it. We’ll stand behind our product for years to come.

As far as the carry bag discussion goes, sure the bags from the common manufacturers are lighter. We’re not going to dispute that. Nylon is lighter than cotton and it’s completely consistent, whereas each piece of waxed canvas and leather is somewhat unique, but that’s what makes our products what we are. Our bags are going to have workmanship that others won’t. We have at most 2 or 3 people that will touch your bag. The bags from the major manufacturers will have no less than 6 people touching it before it leaves the plant, and almost certainly more. How can you accurately control quality in that environment? I’ll tell ya. You can’t.

What’s the hardest, but most important lesson you had to learn to succeed in this business?

As far as what it takes to succeed, I would say, “Give the customer an excellent product at a fair price and stand behind it.” That’s my ethos. I had one customer who was really on the fence about spending so much money on a golf bag. I told him, “I’ll tell you what. You place an order. I’ll ship it to you on my dollar. If you just don’t like it, you send it back to me on your dollar and I’ll refund your money.” He called after the bag arrived and just raved about it. I’m pretty proud of stories like that. I always get letters, post cards, emails, and phone calls from customers telling me how they love their new bag. I’ve never had anyone tell me I sold them a bad product. And I’m very proud of that. I always strive to exceed my customer’s expectations.

The hardest lesson I learned was putting too many eggs in one basket. I used to have a lot of business with one customer and they went out of business. It nearly killed me.

What’s something that might surprise people about Steurer & Jacoby?

We do a lot of work for businesses in the area. Jim Beam is a huge account for us. We do things all the time for CEO’s, presidents, royalty, you name it. Golf bags are 80 percent of our business, but the other stuff pays the bills nicely. We make duffle bags, shoe bags, head covers, even down to coasters. There’s a lot of stuff available. People have told me you get more than a golf bag; you get a lifestyle with our product. You’ll start with a golf bag and then you think, “Now I need a shoe bag.” A couple months later you’ll need a duffle bag. Give it a year and you’ll think, “I love my golf bag, but I’m getting tired of looking at green. I think I want a navy one now.” The whole process seems to snowball from there. I guarantee you’ll get tired of the color before it wears out.

Steurer & Jacoby golf bags with oak stands at Del Monte Golf Course

Lastly, what do you guys have in the works? Are there any product releases forthcoming? Tell people how to find you.

So, we started this whole thing by making a pencil bag for hickory golfers. We’ve grown into what we call “The Airliner,” which has a 7-inch opening, but we’re now going to be releasing an 8-inch bag. Our 7-inch bag is quite workable for the modern golfer, but the 8-inch bag is really going to give that guy what he needs. We’ve also got some new head covers in the works. Those will be made with authentic wool tartan we’ve imported from a woolen mill in Scotland and also with a leather we are having tanned specifically for us. We’re also going to be using those materials on some new duffel bags, which will be great overnight bags, gym bags, or what have you. I’m not trying to get my product on the shelves at Golf Galaxy. I couldn’t possibly care less about that. But I am trying to reach the golfer who’s serious about his game, his equipment, and his investment. If you want something everyone else has, then go to Dick’s Sporting Goods. I’m not going to judge you for it. We’re not trying to sell thousands of golf bags a year. We’re more concerned about reaching the right customer.

Also, if you want something that isn’t shown on the website (www.steurerjacoby.com), give us a call or send us an email at [email protected]. If you want different color combinations or custom branding or something, we are more than happy to work with people on those types of requests. We’ve put fancy coat of arms and presidential seals on bags. We’ll do the same for anyone if you want it. We really are passionate about exceeding our customers’ expectations.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Wells Fargo Championship betting preview: Tommy Fleetwood ready to finally land maiden PGA Tour title

Published

3 days ago

May 6, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

The PGA Tour season ramps back up this week for another “signature event,” as golf fans look forward to the year’s second major championship next week.

After two weaker-field events in the Zurich Classic and the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, most of the best players in the world will head to historic Quail Hollow for one of the best non-major tournaments of the year.

Last season, Wyndham Clark won the event by four shots.

Quail Hollow is a par-71 measuring 7,521 yards that features Bermudagrass greens. The tree-lined, parkland style course can play quite difficult and features one of the most difficult three-hole stretches in golf known as “The Green Mile,” which makes up holes 16-18: two mammoth par 4s and a 221-yard par 3. All three holes have an average score over par, and water is in play in each of the last five holes on the course.

The field is excellent this week with 68 golfers teeing it up without a cut. All of the golfers who’ve qualified are set to tee it up, with the exception of Scottie Scheffler, who is expecting the birth of his first child.

Past Winners at Quail Hollow

2023: Wyndham Clark (-19)
2022: Max Homa (-8)
2021: Rory McIlroy (-10)
2019: Max Homa (-15)
2018: Jason Day (-12)
2017: Justin Thomas (-8) (PGA Championship)
2016: James Hahn (-9)
2015: Rory McIlroy (-21)

Key Stats For Quail Hollow

Strokes Gained: Approach

Strokes gained: Approach will be extremely important this week as second shots at Quail Hollow can be very difficult.

Total SG: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds

Akshay Bhatia (+1.16)
Tom Hoge (+1.12)
Corey Conners (+1.01)
Shane Lowry (+0.93)
Austin Eckroat (+0.82)

Strokes Gained: Off the Tee

Quail Hollow is a long course on which it is important to play from the fairway. Both distance and accuracy are important, as shorter tee shots will result in approach shots from 200 or more yards. With most of the holes heavily tree lined, errant drives will create some real trouble for the players.

Strokes Gained: Off the Tee Past 24 Rounds:

Ludvig Aberg (+0.73)
Rory McIlroy (+0.69)
Xander Schauffele (+0.62)
Viktor Hovland (+0.58)
Chris Kirk (+0.52)

Proximity: 175-200

The 175-200 range is key at Quail Hollow. Players who can hit their long irons well will rise to the top of the leaderboard.

Proximity: 175-200+ over past 24 rounds:

Cameron Young (28’2″)
Akshay Bhatia (29’6″)
Ludvig Aberg (+30’6″)
Sam Burns (+30’6″)
Collin Morikawa (+30’9″)

SG: Total on Tom Fazio Designs

Players who thrive on Tom Fazio designs get a bump for me at Quail Hollow this week.

SG: Total on Tom Fazio Designs over past 36 rounds:

Patrick Cantlay (+2.10)
Rory McIlroy (+1.95)
Tommy Fleetwood (+1.68)
Austin Eckroat (+1.60)
Will Zalatoris (+1.57)

Strokes Gained: Putting (Bermudagrass)

Strokes Gained: Putting has historically graded out as the most important statistic at Quail Hollow. While it isn’t always predictable, I do want to have it in the model to bump up golfers who prefer to putt on Bermudagrass.

Strokes Gained: Putting (Bermudagrass) Over Past 24 Rounds:

Taylor Moore (+0.82)
Nick Dunlap (+.76)
Wyndham Clark (+.69)
Emiliano Grillo (+.64)
Cam Davis (+.61)

Course History

This stat will incorporate players that have played well in the past at Quail Hollow.

Course History over past 36 rounds (per round):

Rory McIlroy (+2.50)
Justin Thomas (+1.96)
Jason Day (+1.92)
Rickie Fowler (+1.83)
Viktor Hovland (+1.78)

Wells Fargo Championship Model Rankings

Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (27%), SG: Off the Tee (23%), SG: Total on Fazio designs (12%), Proximity: 175-200 (12%), SG: Putting Bermuda grass (12%), and Course History (14%).

Wyndham Clark
Rory McIlroy
Xander Schauffele
Shane Lowry
Hideki Matsuyama
Viktor Hovland
Cameron Young
Austin Eckroat
Byeong Hun An
Justin Thomas

2024 Wells Fargo Championship Picks

Tommy Fleetwood +2500 (DraftKings)

I know many out there have Tommy fatigue when it comes to betting, which is completely understandable given his lack of ability to win on the PGA Tour thus far in his career. However, history has shown us that players with Fleetwood’s talent eventually break though, and I believe for Tommy, it’s just a matter of time.

Fleetwood has been excellent on Tom Fazio designs. Over his past 36 rounds, he ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Total on Fazio tracks. He’s also been incredibly reliable off the tee this season. He’s gained strokes in the category in eight of his past nine starts, including at The Masters, the PLAYERS and the three “signature events” of the season. Tommy is a golfer built for tougher courses and can grind it out in difficult conditions.

Last year, Fleetwood was the first-round leader at this event, firing a Thursday 65. He finished the event in a tie for 5th place.

For those worried about Fleetwood’s disappointing start his last time out at Harbour Town, he’s bounced back nicely after plenty of poor outings this season. His T7 at the Valero Texas Open was after a MC and T35 in his prior two starts and his win at the Dubai Invitational came after a T47 at the Sentry.

I expect Tommy to bounce back this week and contend at Quail Hollow.

Justin Thomas +3000 (DraftKings)

It’s been a rough couple of years for Justin Thomas, but I don’t believe things are quite as bad as they seem for JT. He got caught in the bad side of the draw at Augusta for last month’s Masters and has gained strokes on approach in seven of his nine starts in 2024.

Thomas may have found something in his most recent start at the RBC Heritage. He finished T5 at a course that he isn’t the best fit for on paper. He also finally got the putter working and ranked 15th in Strokes Gained: Putting for the week.

The two-time PGA champion captured the first of his two major championships at Quail Hollow back in 2017, and some good vibes from the course may be enough to get JT out of his slump.

Thomas hasn’t won an event in just about two years. However, I still believe that will change soon as he’s been one of the most prolific winners throughout his PGA Tour career. Since 2015, he has 15 PGA Tour wins.

Course history is pretty sticky at Quail Hollow, with players who like the course playing well there on a regular basis. In addition to JT’s PGA Championship win in 2017, he went 4-1 at the 2022 Presidents Cup and finished T14 at the event last year despite being in poor form. Thomas can return as one of the top players on the PGA Tour with a win at a “signature event” this week.

Cameron Young +3500 (DraftKings)

For many golf bettors, it’s been frustrating backing Cam Young this season. His talent is undeniable, and one of the best and most consistent performers on the PGA Tour. He just hasn’t broken through with a victory yet. Quail Hollow has been a great place for elite players to get their first victory. Rory McIlroy, Anthony Kim, Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark all notched their first PGA Tour win at Quail.

Throughout Cam Young’s career, he has thrived at tougher courses with strong fields. This season, he finished T16 at Riviera and T9 at Augusta National, demonstrating his preference of a tough test. His ability to hit the ball long and straight off the tee make him an ideal fit for Quail Hollow, despite playing pretty poorly his first time out in 2023 (T59). Young should be comfortable playing in the region as he played his college golf at Wake Forest, which is about an hour’s drive from Quail Hollow.

The 26-year-old has played well at Tom Fazio designs in the past and ranks 8th in the field in Strokes Gained: Total on those courses in his last 36 rounds. Perhaps most importantly, this season, Young is the best player on the PGA Tour in terms of proximity from 175-200 in the fairway, which is where a plurality and many crucial shots will come from this week.

Young is an elite talent and Quail Hollow has been kind to players of his ilk who’ve yet to win on Tour.

Byeong Hun An +5000 (FanDuel)

Byeong Hun An missed some opportunities last weekend at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. He finished T4 and played some outstanding golf, but a couple of missed short putts prevented him from getting to the winning score of -23. Despite not getting the win, it’s hard to view An’s performance as anything other than an overwhelming success. It was An’s fourth top-ten finish of the season.

Last week, An gained 6.5 strokes ball striking, which was 7th in the field. He also ranked 12th for Strokes Gained: Approach and 13th for Strokes Gained: Off the Tee. The South Korean has been hitting the ball so well from tee to green all season long and he now heads to a golf course that should reward his precision.

An’s driver and long irons are absolute weapons. At Quail Hollow, players will see plenty of approach shots from the 175-200 range as well as some from 200+. In his past 24 rounds, Ben ranks 3rd in the field in proximity from 175-200 and 12th in proximity from 200+. Playing in an event that will not end up being a “birdie” fest should help An, who can separate from the field with his strong tee to green play. The putter may not always cooperate but getting to -15 is much easier than getting to -23 for elite ball strikers who tend to struggle on the greens.

Winning a “signature event” feels like a tall task for An this week with so many elite players in the field. However, he’s finished T16 at the Genesis Invitational, T16 at The Masters and T8 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The 32-year-old’s game has improved drastically this season and I believe he’s ready to get the biggest win of his career.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s LIV Golf Singapore betting preview: Course specialist ready to thrive once again

Published

1 week ago

Apr 30, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

After another strong showing in Australia, LIV Golf will head to Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore looking to build off of what was undoubtedly their best event to date.

Sentosa Golf Club sits on the southern tip of Singapore and is one of the most beautiful courses in the world. The course is more than just incredible scenically; it was also rated 55th in Golf Digest’s top-100 courses in 2022-2023 and has been consistently regarded as one of the best courses in Asia. Prior to being part of the LIV rotation, the course hosted the Singapore Open every year since 2005.

Sentosa Golf Club is a par 71 measuring 7,406 yards. The course will require precise ball striking and some length off the tee. It’s possible to go low due to the pristine conditions, but there are also plenty of hazards and difficult spots on the course that can bring double bogey into play in a hurry. The Bermudagrass greens are perfectly manicured, and the course has spent millions on the sub-air system to keep the greens rolling fast. I spoke to Asian Tour player, Travis Smyth, who described the greens as “the best [he’s] ever played.”

Davis Love III, who competed in a Singapore Open in 2019, also gushed over the condition of the golf course.

“I love the greens. They are fabulous,” the 21-time PGA Tour winner said.

Love III also spoke about other aspects of the golf course.

“The greens are great; the fairways are perfect. It is a wonderful course, and it’s tricky off the tee.”

“It’s a long golf course, and you get some long iron shots. It takes somebody hitting it great to hit every green even though they are big.”

As Love III said, the course can be difficult off the tee due to the length of the course and the trouble looming around every corner. It will take a terrific ball striking week to win at Sentosa Golf Club.

In his pre-tournament press conference last season, Phil Mickelson echoed many of the same sentiments.

“To play Sentosa effectively, you’re going to have a lot of shots from 160 to 210, a lot of full 6-, 7-, 8-iron shots, and you need to hit those really well and you need to drive the ball well.”

Golfers who excel from tee to green and can dial in their longer irons will have a massive advantage this week.

Stat Leaders at LIV Golf Adelaide:

Fairways Hit

1.) Louis Oosthuizen

2.) Anirban Lahiri

3.) Jon Rahm

4.) Brendan Steele

5.) Cameron Tringale

Greens in Regulation

1.) Brooks Koepka

2.) Brendan Steele

3.) Dean Burmester

4.) Cameron Tringale

5.) Anirban Lahiri

Birdies Made

1.) Brendan Steele

2.) Dean Burmester

3.) Thomas Pieters

4.) Patrick Reed

5.) Carlos Ortiz

LIV Golf Individual Standings:

1.) Joaquin Niemann

2.) Jon Rahm

3.) Dean Burmester

4.) Louis Oosthuizen

5.) Abraham Ancer

LIV Golf Team Standings:

1.) Crushers

2.) Legion XIII

3.) Torque

4.) Stinger GC

5.) Ripper GC

LIV Golf Singapore Picks

Sergio Garcia +3000 (DraftKings)

Sergio Garcia is no stranger to Sentosa Golf Club. The Spaniard won the Singapore Open in 2018 by five strokes and lost in a playoff at LIV Singapore last year to scorching hot Talor Gooch. Looking at the course setup, it’s no surprise that a player like Sergio has played incredible golf here. He’s long off the tee and is one of the better long iron players in the world when he’s in form. Garcia is also statistically a much better putter on Bermudagrass than he is on other putting surfaces. He’s putt extremely well on Sentosa’s incredibly pure green complexes.

This season, Garcia has two runner-up finishes, both of them being playoff losses. Both El Camaleon and Doral are courses he’s had success at in his career. The Spaniard is a player who plays well at his tracks, and Sentosa is one of them. I believe Sergio will get himself in the mix this week. Hopefully the third time is a charm in Singapore.

Paul Casey +3300 (FanDuel)

Paul Casey is in the midst of one of his best seasons in the five years or so. The results recently have been up and down, but he’s shown that when he’s on a golf course that suits his game, he’s amongst the contenders.

This season, Casey has finishes of T5 (LIV Las Vegas), T2 (LIV Hong Kong), and a 6th at the Singapore Classic on the DP World Tour. At his best, the Englishman is one of the best long iron players in the world, which makes him a strong fit for Sentosa. Despite being in poor form last season, he was able to fire a Sunday 63, which shows he can low here at the course.

It’s been three years since Casey has won a tournament (Omega Dubai Desert Classic in 2021), but he’s been one of the top players on LIV this season and I think he can get it done at some point this season.

Mito Pereira +5000 (Bet365)

Since Mito Pereira’s unfortunate demise at the 2022 PGA Championship, he’s been extremely inconsistent. However, over the past few months, the Chilean has played well on the International Series as well as his most recent LIV start. Mito finished 8th at LIV Adelaide, which was his best LIV finish this season.

Last year, Pereira finished 5th at LIV Singapore, shooting fantastic rounds of 67-66-66. It makes sense why Mito would like Sentosa, as preeminent ball strikers tend to rise to the challenge of the golf course. He’s a great long iron player who is long and straight off the tee.

Mito has some experience playing in Asia and is one of the most talented players on LIV who’s yet to get in the winner’s circle. I have questions about whether or not he can come through once in contention, but if he gets there, I’m happy to roll the dice.

Andy Ogletree +15000 (DraftKings)

Andy Ogletree is a player I expected to have a strong 2024 but struggled early in his first full season on LIV. After failing to crack the top-25 in any LIV event this year, the former U.S. Amateur champion finally figured things out, finished in a tie for 3rd at LIV Adelaide.

Ogletree should be incredible comfortable playing in Singapore. He won the International Series Qatar last year and finished T3 at the International Series Singapore. The 26-year-old was arguably the best player on the Asian Tour in 2023 and has been fantastic in the continent over the past 18 months.

If Ogletree has indeed found form, he looks to be an amazing value at triple-digit odds.

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Opinion & Analysis

Ryan: Lessons from the worst golf instructor in America

Published

1 week ago

Apr 30, 2024

Brendan Ryan

In Tampa, there is a golf course that boasts carts that do not work, a water range, and a group of players none of which have any chance to break 80. The course is overseen by a staff of crusty men who have succeeded at nothing in life but ending up at the worst-run course in America. However, this place is no failure. With several other local courses going out of business — and boasting outstanding greens — the place is booked full.

While I came for the great greens, I stayed to watch our resident instructor; a poor-tempered, method teacher who caters to the hopeless. At first, it was simply hilarious. However, after months of listening and watching, something clicked. I realized I had a front-row seat to the worst golf instructor in America.

Here are some of my key takeaways.

Method Teacher

It is widely accepted that there are three types of golf instructors: system teachers, non-system teachers, and method teachers. Method teachers prescribe the same antidote for each student based on a preamble which teachers can learn in a couple day certification.

Method teaching allows anyone to be certified. This process caters to the lowest caliber instructor, creating the illusion of competency. This empowers these underqualified instructors with the moniker of “certified” to prey on the innocent and uninformed.

The Cult of Stack and Jilt

The Stack and Tilt website proudly boasts, “A golfer swings his hands inward in the backswing as opposed to straight back to 1) create power, similar to a field goal kicker moving his leg in an arc and 2) to promote a swing that is in-to-out, which produces a draw (and eliminates a slice).”

Now, let me tell you something, there is this law of the universe which says “energy can either be created or destroyed,” so either these guys are defying physics or they have no idea what they are taking about. Further, the idea that the first move of the backswing determines impact is conjecture with a splash of utter fantasy.

These are the pontifications of a method — a set of prescriptions applied to everyone with the hope of some success through the placebo effect. It is one thing for a naive student to believe, for a golf instructor to drink and then dispel this Kool-Aid is malpractice.

Fooled by Randomness

In flipping a coin, or even a March Madness bet, there is a 50-50 chance of success. In golf, especially for new players, results are asymmetric. Simply put: Anything can happen. The problem is that when bad instructors work with high handicappers, each and every shot gets its own diagnosis and prescription. Soon the student is overwhelmed.

Now here’s the sinister thing: The overwhelming information is by design. In this case, the coach is not trying to make you better, they are trying to make you reliant on them for information. A quasi Stockholm syndrome of codependency.

Practice

One of the most important scientists of the 20th century was Ivan Pavlov. As you might recall, he found that animals, including humans, could be conditioned into biological responses. In golf, the idea of practice has made millions of hackers salivate that they are one lesson or practice session from “the secret.”

Sunk Cost

The idea for the worst golf instructor is to create control and dependency so that clients ignore the sunk cost of not getting better. Instead, they are held hostage by the idea that they are one lesson or tip away from unlocking their potential.

Cliches

Cliches have the effect of terminating thoughts. However, they are the weapon of choice for this instructor. Add some hyperbole and students actually get no information. As a result, these players couldn’t play golf. When they did, they had no real scheme. With no idea what they are doing, they would descend into a spiral of no idea what to do, bad results, lower confidence, and running back to the lesson tee from more cliches.

The fact is that poor instruction is about conditioning players to become reliant members of your cult. To take away autonomy. To use practice as a form of control. To sell more golf lessons not by making people better but through the guise that without the teacher, the student can never reach their full potential. All under the umbrella of being “certified” (in a 2-day course!) and a melee of cliches.

This of course is not just happening at my muni but is a systemic problem around the country and around the world, the consequences of which are giving people a great reason to stop playing golf. But hey, at least it’s selling a lot of golf balls…

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