Cam Smith tees off in August at LIV Golf’s West Virginia event.
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The pros are good at golf. This, of course, we know.
But HOW are they good at golf? What does it look like under the hood of their golf bag, so to speak?
This is what Ryan Mouque wants to share. Mouque, a good teacher based out of Australiawrote recently his X social media account that he spent a week inside the ropes with the 2022 Open Championship winner Cam Smith at a LIV Golf event, where he said he saw the pros were, in a word, human. They had demons. They had weak swing tendencies.
But…
“They are simply better than all of us at this,” Mouque wrote.
He left with 11 foods that have reached there. You can read Mouque’s X thread by clicking hereor by scrolling down, where we’ll also offer additional thoughts. It is here that we also recommend following Mouque in X, which you can do hereand Instagram, which you can do here.
1. “Setting the stroke length”
“Cam has one of the best shots you could ever ask for,” Mouque wrote. “If you look at the length of his backswing versus his swing, you’ll notice that the backswing is significantly longer and the backswing almost stops immediately after he hits the ball.
“What he’s working on is the ‘backswing.’ , the backswing will increase so that there is enough energy to get the ball on target without having to hit the putt hard or have a really fast swing.”
Editor’s Note: Good pace, regardless of distance, is the win here.
2. ‘Point of Aim’
“Cam uses AimPoint for his green reading,” Mouque wrote. “For someone like Cam, who can hit his baseline nine out of 10 times, as long as he feels the right percentage of the slope and has the right speed, that ball goes in.
“I would advise learning the basics on AimPoint – it can really help. Don’t listen to those who say it takes too much time – it doesn’t.”
Editor’s Note: There’s a reason this is gaining popularity (although Jim Nantz is not a fan). There is no harm in experimenting with it.
3. ‘Systems’
“Cam has the same system for everything and doesn’t change it,” Mouque wrote. “His putting practice is always the same, his range sessions look the same. These players all pride themselves on doing the same thing over and over again, versus the average golfer who is constantly changing what they are working on, how they are working on it, etc.
“Try to stick with the same thing over and over, and do it long enough to excel at it.”
Editor’s note: Don’t get confused only tinsmiths.
I have just spent a week inside the ropes with Cameron Smith. Here are 11 things he and some of the best players in the world do that make them the best players on the planet and prepare for a tournament
– Ryan Mouque (@ryanmouquegolf) September 16, 2024
4. ‘Scope vs Course’
“These players are like everyone else,” Mouque wrote. “They all hit it in the driving distance, but occasionally they hit poor shots on the course.
“I saw Cam hit shots in the fairway that he would never hit in the distance. There are not only technical reasons for this, but also certain situations and environments that bring out that technique.”
Editor’s note: Range can only take you so far.
5. ‘Intensity’
“I was lucky enough to be able to ride the course with the Ripper GC team consisting of Cam Smith, Lucas Herbert, Matt Jones AND Marc Leishman“, Mouque wrote. “Tuesday during a practice round, it was very casual, laughing, having a good time playing some cash games.
“The next day was a little more serious. As they approached the first round the intensity started to rise, they would play a singles game against a team game, make sure every putt was made.
“Thursday was the morning day where they played nine holes and had their last chance to call their targets and lines and get a feel for how the course was playing. There was a more serious feel on Thursday versus Tuesday.”
Editor’s Note: It should be interesting to read that it had time to breathe.
6. ‘Training and technical work’
“Despite this being a tournament week, they absolutely still work on technique,” Mouque wrote. “They have training tools out there, coaches are making swing videos and players are still working on their feel and movement patterns.
“They’re not ‘thinking about anything,’ that’s for sure.”
Editor’s note: Make range time productive.
7. “They work hard”
“The narrative for these guys is that because they’re paid, they’re not working as hard,” Mouque said. “I can assure you, they are working their tails off.
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“All these guys are where they are because they’re good at what they do. It happened over years of hard work – that mindset and work ethic doesn’t go away just because they get paid like every other sport in the world.
“Brooks shot eight-under on the first day and went straight to the range to hit his tee shot after grabbing a bite to eat. Cam worked on his game for two hours after the first round as a few things were out of whack. They are working hard.”
Editor’s Note: This has been a much discussed topic. Can LIV players rest? They could. But Mouque saw it differently.
8. ‘Elite Distance Control’
“At the end of one of Cam’s range sessions, we would all be able to give him a number to hit between 80 and 150 yards,” Mouque wrote. “Cam didn’t miss a count by more than 2 yards.
“For example, if I had said, kick 132 meters (or yards), he would hit it within 2 meters of that number. It was VERY impressive. Some wedge numbers he was given he hit from 0 to 1 yard. That’s how good these guys are when there’s absolutely no pressure and no environmental factors.”
Editor’s Note: Speaking of productive range time, give this game a go.
9. ‘Environmental changes change’
“Although these players are nearly perfect on the range,” Mouque wrote, “they are not immune to poor shots on the golf course, but we have to ask ourselves: If they are perfect on the range, is the technique that that is problematic. course, or something else?
“You’ll find that every player has something in motion that causes weak shots. This is often magnified when dealing with certain winds, hazards on a certain side of the course, uncomfortable tee shots that don’t suit the eye, etc.
“Cam has a hard time driving it, but you just never know what winds and environments mess with their technique. It’s a hard thing to overcome. It’s no different than a cutter who doesn’t like holes where he’s out of bounds to the right. These players feel the same. There is more to hitting bad shots than just a matter of technique.”
Editor’s note: Once again, range can only take you so far.
10. ‘Warming up before the round’
“One thing that was great to see and notice is that every player had some kind of stretch help on the putting green when it got hot,” Mouque said. “This consisted of a setting mirror, tees, string line, chalk line, mat, etc.
“Cam would warm up in the mirror for 10 or so minutes, then hit a few short shots within 6 to 8 feet, going through his full routine, using the AimPoint and making sure the slope was what he thought it was using a level. to check.
Cameron Smith’s Pre-Round Putting Routine Will Have You Hitting More Putts in Less Time
“On the range, he would hit most of the clubs in the bag with the Trackman next to him to ensure the shots went the distance he would normally carry the ball. You wouldn’t know if he shot eight-under one day or three-over another; the routine remains the same.”
Editor’s note: Get the most out of your warm-up.
11. ‘Know your numbers’
“Cam’s distance control with all clubs is elite,” Mouque wrote. “He knows exactly how far his clubs go, so much so that he was hitting some clubs during practice that were going farther than normal, so his caddy took them to the truck to check the lofts – and the lofts were indeed out a little, so he turned them back to what they were supposed to be.
“Very rarely do these players hit the ball further than their typical number of carries. When they throw a golf shot, they know exactly how far it goes. If they get the shot wrong, it will obviously go a little shorter.
“I realize you might not be that accurate, but you should at least try to figure out how far you hit each club to the best of your ability. For you top players, work on hitting the ball within 5 yards of your hottest ball.”
Editor’s note: Good advice.
