Scottie Scheffler, and the poetic explanation of why we return to the ‘disappointing’ game

Scottie Scheffler took his right arm back, arched his back to the point where that arm was just above the back of his right knee, placed forward with his left leg – and threw.

A good hand wedge.

Maybe even a 9 hand.

But a good release. Now his ball had taken root in the trees near the 11th green of the Riviera Country Club, where, two years ago at the Genesis Invitational, Scheffler had just sent a 5-foot birdie putt 4 feet past the hole.

The point here, however, is to ask if the best golfer might as well have been a quarterback for his hometown Dallas Cowboys?

What’s the point?

If the game of golf leads us to such disappointment, why play golf? It is clear that there are other pursuits. A payoff from throwing a ball at a tree sounds unpleasant. Scheffler said Wednesday that he doesn’t even have a proper method to measure how good he is.

Then again, maybe not being boxed in is liberating. Maybe immeasurability is definitely good.

At least, Scheffler’s press conference earlier this week The invitation of Genesis it was not common. The session was reflective. Golf, he said, is limitless in its opportunities to learn. And if you’re the learning type like him — “my mind has always been my best tool,” he said — that’s as welcome as a sunny day for a weekend.

“I think that’s why we keep practicing,” Scheffler said. “You never get to a place where you feel like you’ve got it figured out. I always like to practice and try to improve and create new pictures.

“I think golf is kind of a never-ending pursuit to find something and I’ll never get there, but there’s no harm in trying.”

Scheffler brought rounds with Jordan Spietha fellow professional and old friend with whom he often plays.

More learning.

“You talk about golf being such a never-ending quest to understand the game,” Scheffler said.

“I play a lot of golf with Jordan at home. I can learn so much just by watching and asking Jordan questions about how he plays shots, and he does some things that are — work really well for him that wouldn’t work well for me and then some of the ways he approaches things, I like to ask questions and try to figure things out.”

But what about losses?

More learning.

In this poetic explanation, you can keep coming back for more.

“When it comes to competing in golf tournaments,” Scheffler said, “I can’t control what the other guy I’m playing with is doing. Let’s say I’m tied for the lead going into the last round and I shoot 62 and the guy shoots 61. Yeah, I can definitely look at some shots of the day, but I want the tournament to be over. Hats off, shake hands, say congratulations.

“The great thing about golf is that often we just show up the next week and start over and compete again.”

Over time, you also form friendships.

“If you look at a boy like Collin (Morikawa) Last week,” Scheffler said. “I’ve been competing against Collin since we were like 14 years old. He wins a tournament, he announces that he is pregnantand all of a sudden you just have this – it’s such a cool moment to see a guy who’s been playing really good golf for the last few years and not quite getting the scores and the wins, but he’s been playing pretty consistent golf, and then he has to announce that he’s having a baby. It’s this moment, it’s like, wow. I competed as hard as I could, I did, and it’s like, man, this is great. You won, congratulations.

“You’re having a baby, even bigger congratulations. Then we’re here this week and the preparation just starts again.”

So, yes, the same goes for the moments of throwing the ball into the tree.

In the next hole. On to the next tournament. Here’s where things get really good.

Genesis 2024 was the last tournament Scheffler played with the blade putter he hit that putt on 11 with.

And since then he has won 14 events, including three majors.

“When things don’t go as planned,” Scheffler said, “I think it’s healthy to have a level of frustration with that, just because it takes a lot of work to get out here, and especially when you feel like you’re doing something right and you’re doing things the right way and you’re not getting the results.

“I think it can always be frustrating, but I think it’s part of the game of golf to be able to manage it in order to hit the next shot.”

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