Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you play smarter, better golf.
Scottie Scheffler, Nelly Korda and the 1 key trait they share
Pro golf is in the midst of dominant runs on both the men’s and women’s side — and it sure is fun to watch.
In the men’s game, Scottie Scheffler has won three of his last four starts (and soon to be four of five), including the Masters and the Players. The lone event he didn’t win, he finished T2. On the LPGA Tour, Nelly Korda has won five events in a row — capped with a major title at the Chevron Championship.
Not since the days when Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam walked the fairway has golf seen such dominance from both a man and a woman at the same time. But thanks to Scheffler and Korda, we get to see greatness seemingly every week.
1 trait Scottie and Nelly share
When players get on a run like Scheffler and Korda are on, it’s natural to wonder how they do it. Golf is a hard game, and playing well is a fleeting thing. Sustaining excellence is one of the most impressive things a golfer can do.
Watching Scheffler and Korda play, it seems like everything comes easy. They split fairways, hit greens and roll in putts. Executing that game plan — playing “boring” golf — is the key to shooting low scores. And it’s that simplicity that defines both players and how they approach the game.
“There’s a key in the simplicity that I have when I play,” Korda said. “I feel like maybe sometimes golf can get overcomplicated, and it’s just — there’s a key to the simplicity of it.”
If you’ve ever heard Scheffler speak about his preparation, or watched him hit balls on the range, it’s obvious he subscribes to a similar mindset. It’s all about keeping things simple.
I feel like when my swing gets off, it’s usually something that’s very basic about what I’m doing,” Scheffler said at the Masters. “I’m just working on my form and hitting shots. It’s pretty much my normal practice routine. That’s exactly how I practice at home. So when you come to a tournament, it’s just more of the same.”
It can be easy to look at the best players in the world and think they are doing something radically different to achieve their extraordinary results. But oftentimes — and in the case of Scheffler and Korda — it’s just the opposite. Keeping things simple is the key to success.
Golf is already a tough enough game, and complicating things will only make things more difficult. Keeping your approach simple is the best thing you can do to make it a little bit easier.
Need any further proof? Look no further than the trophy cases of Scheffler and Korda.
