WEBVTT - Rayhan Thomas 0:00:01.880 --> 0:00:03.920 It's the Son of a Butcher podcast. I'm your host 0:00:03.960 --> 0:00:07.520 Claude Harmon. This week's pod is it's a special one 0:00:07.520 --> 0:00:09.799 for me, and the reason for that is my guest 0:00:09.960 --> 0:00:13.000 is rayhn Thomas. I'm sure many of you don't know 0:00:13.000 --> 0:00:16.200 who Ray is, but he just turned professional, played his 0:00:16.280 --> 0:00:20.720 college golf at Oklahoma State University, had a top ten 0:00:21.040 --> 0:00:23.840 in the International Series on the Asian Tour last week 0:00:23.880 --> 0:00:26.799 in his second professional event as a pro. But the 0:00:26.800 --> 0:00:29.600 reason why it's special for me is Ray started in 0:00:29.760 --> 0:00:31.960 our junior program. I have an academy out in Dubai 0:00:32.240 --> 0:00:34.839 and Ray started in our junior program when he was 0:00:34.920 --> 0:00:37.800 nine years old. And to kind of watch his journey 0:00:38.120 --> 0:00:40.440 and to kind of watch the things that he's done 0:00:40.479 --> 0:00:43.000 and watch him turn professional now has been pretty cool 0:00:43.040 --> 0:00:47.760 for me. He talks a lot about his junior career, 0:00:48.560 --> 0:00:50.879 struggling when he got to college and kind of that 0:00:50.960 --> 0:00:54.360 jump from junior golf to college golf, and now he's 0:00:54.400 --> 0:00:57.480 making that jump from college golf to professional golf. And 0:00:58.000 --> 0:01:01.600 I've got a massive, massive soft spot for Ray. He's 0:01:01.600 --> 0:01:03.840 always got a smile on his face. Justin Parsons who've 0:01:03.880 --> 0:01:06.280 had on the pod before, JP and I were working 0:01:06.319 --> 0:01:09.920 together in Dubai at my academy. When Ray was a 0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:14.080 junior and he was young, we would put him through exercises. 0:01:14.120 --> 0:01:16.240 He couldn't touch his toes. He always had a smile 0:01:16.280 --> 0:01:19.200 on his face. And to watch him play last week 0:01:19.360 --> 0:01:22.240 finish top ten on an invite on the Asian Tour, 0:01:23.240 --> 0:01:26.040 it was really really cool for me, and I think 0:01:26.040 --> 0:01:29.880 this is a really good podcast because golf, even at 0:01:29.959 --> 0:01:33.319 the highest level, can sometimes be difficult. You can go 0:01:33.400 --> 0:01:37.320 through slumps, you can go through confidence crisises, and Ray 0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:40.440 talks very very open about it. But I'm so excited 0:01:40.480 --> 0:01:43.679 to get the opportunity to talk to Ray Hann. I 0:01:43.720 --> 0:01:46.320 think he's got a big future and I'm excited to 0:01:46.319 --> 0:01:49.000 see what he does as a professional. So this is 0:01:49.040 --> 0:01:52.000 a cool one. It's special for me, and I think 0:01:52.000 --> 0:01:55.040 everyone's going to enjoy listening to Ray Han Thomas and 0:01:55.200 --> 0:01:58.760 his story. So my guest today is finishing up his 0:01:59.400 --> 0:02:02.320 fifth year at Oklahoma State University in the golf program 0:02:02.320 --> 0:02:05.280 and he just turned professional, made the cut in his 0:02:06.080 --> 0:02:11.120 first professional tournament. Corn Fairy seventy two, sixty four, sixty seven, 0:02:11.240 --> 0:02:14.760 seventy three, tied for sixty eighth. Ray, this is a 0:02:14.800 --> 0:02:18.000 really cool moment for me, not only to watch for 0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:19.799 everything that you did at Oklahoma State for the last 0:02:19.800 --> 0:02:23.640 five years, but now that you're turning pro. You were 0:02:23.720 --> 0:02:25.720 nine years old when you start in our junior program 0:02:25.720 --> 0:02:31.440 in Dubai, and to watch the journey from where you started. 0:02:31.720 --> 0:02:33.720 I mean, I still remember you used to show up. 0:02:33.840 --> 0:02:37.960 I used to call you short. One day you came 0:02:38.040 --> 0:02:39.799 to me and you said, mister Claude, I don't like 0:02:39.880 --> 0:02:42.160 him when I when you call me short. And I said, Ray, 0:02:42.200 --> 0:02:47.160 you'll load the ground. The journey has been so cool, 0:02:47.400 --> 0:02:50.359 and now you're turning pro. When you look back on it, 0:02:50.400 --> 0:02:54.880 from junior golf to now turning pro, what do you 0:02:54.919 --> 0:02:57.160 think you've learned the most in the last you know, 0:02:57.240 --> 0:03:00.560 five years at Oklahoma State. Because for people that don't know, 0:03:00.720 --> 0:03:05.520 Oklahoma State's golf program is there. They're the Los Angeles Lakers, 0:03:05.520 --> 0:03:08.799 the real Madrid they are. If you want to play 0:03:08.840 --> 0:03:10.760 on the PGA Tour and you're lucky enough to go 0:03:10.840 --> 0:03:14.400 to Oklahoma State, it's such a privilege. The five years 0:03:14.400 --> 0:03:17.440 you spent there, what do you think being an Oklahoma 0:03:17.440 --> 0:03:21.480 State cowboy golfer taught you in those five years? 0:03:22.080 --> 0:03:23.880 It taught me a lot First of all, thanks thanks 0:03:23.880 --> 0:03:26.200 for getting me on here, claud I really appreciate it. 0:03:26.400 --> 0:03:29.080 And I mean the five years at Oklahoma State it 0:03:29.160 --> 0:03:32.560 was awesome. I learned a lot more about myself in 0:03:32.600 --> 0:03:34.359 my game, and that's what Coach Bratton was kind of 0:03:34.360 --> 0:03:36.720 all about, trying to figure out who you are and 0:03:36.760 --> 0:03:39.160 stick to those things, know your strengths and your weaknesses. 0:03:39.720 --> 0:03:42.440 And I struggled for a good chunk of my college 0:03:42.480 --> 0:03:44.800 career and trying to figure out, trying to figure out 0:03:44.840 --> 0:03:47.800 who I was. And this last year has been a 0:03:47.840 --> 0:03:50.160 really big leap for me, just in my confidence in 0:03:50.200 --> 0:03:53.720 my game, and yeah, just figuring out what I do 0:03:53.880 --> 0:03:56.200 well and what I do when I play well, and 0:03:56.280 --> 0:03:57.960 trying to go back to those things when I see 0:03:57.960 --> 0:04:00.440 myself straight off the path a little bit. 0:04:01.480 --> 0:04:05.200 You had a kind of a really kind of meteoric 0:04:05.640 --> 0:04:09.960 amateur career, you know, you just started playing so good 0:04:10.000 --> 0:04:13.400 as an amateur. You want to mean a tour event, 0:04:13.520 --> 0:04:18.800 and as an amateur where there were professionals playing, you 0:04:18.839 --> 0:04:20.960 shot sixty one and a tourna made nine birdies in 0:04:21.000 --> 0:04:25.560 a row. You got to Oklahoma State and you did. 0:04:25.640 --> 0:04:30.320 You struggled early, I think, and that struggle for a 0:04:30.360 --> 0:04:32.920 lot of junior golfers that listen to this podcast, for 0:04:32.960 --> 0:04:36.559 a lot of parents who have junior golfers, the jump 0:04:36.600 --> 0:04:42.600 from junior golf to basically one of the biggest colors 0:04:42.600 --> 0:04:45.080 golf programs in the world and one of the best, 0:04:45.839 --> 0:04:50.360 that's a big, big step, and I don't think people 0:04:50.400 --> 0:04:54.599 realize how hard that jump is from high high level 0:04:55.080 --> 0:04:58.240 amateur golf where you're having success, you're winning golf tournaments. 0:04:58.520 --> 0:05:00.440 You know, Ray I have parents all the time, Let's 0:05:00.480 --> 0:05:02.800 say to me when their kids go to college, were 0:05:02.920 --> 0:05:06.040 used to seeing him win. We're used to seeing him 0:05:06.040 --> 0:05:09.800 win junior golf tournaments. Now he's a freshman. Now she's 0:05:09.800 --> 0:05:13.920 a freshman. She's she's not winning, she's not playing great. 0:05:14.120 --> 0:05:18.279 What was What was the struggle for you and how 0:05:18.279 --> 0:05:20.120 did you find your way out of it? 0:05:20.960 --> 0:05:23.760 The struggle for me initially was, you know, I'd be 0:05:23.800 --> 0:05:26.679 at the course all day and I just didn't really 0:05:26.720 --> 0:05:29.240 have a plan and I would just be going through 0:05:29.279 --> 0:05:32.440 fields just trying to figure out some way to crack 0:05:32.480 --> 0:05:34.760 the team and make it. And you're playing Carston Creek. 0:05:34.800 --> 0:05:36.200 I don't know if you've ever been out there, but 0:05:36.720 --> 0:05:39.200 it's a daunting and intimidating golf course if you're not 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:42.120 hitting the ball good. And so it was just like 0:05:42.160 --> 0:05:45.880 the anxiety was building. And you know, playing for Oklahoma State, 0:05:45.920 --> 0:05:48.320 we'd just come off probably one of the best teams 0:05:48.720 --> 0:05:50.600 in college history of the last two years in twenty 0:05:50.640 --> 0:05:53.360 eighteen twenty nineteen, had some amazing players and guys who 0:05:53.360 --> 0:05:55.640 were in Torno and you know. 0:05:55.640 --> 0:05:59.440 You Victor Hovlin, Matt Wolfe. Yeah, christ I mean they 0:05:59.480 --> 0:06:02.400 want to a national championship. Zach Bowsho was on that team. 0:06:02.480 --> 0:06:03.040 Zach was a. 0:06:02.960 --> 0:06:05.159 Stud Austin's winner on the tour. 0:06:05.240 --> 0:06:08.520 Now, yeah, and you go into Oklahoma State, I think, 0:06:08.680 --> 0:06:12.680 knowing a lot about it, but the culture that the 0:06:12.720 --> 0:06:16.840 coaches and the other players, it is a it is 0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:20.000 a It is a big family. And one of the 0:06:20.040 --> 0:06:23.320 things I love about Oklahoma State and the job that 0:06:24.400 --> 0:06:27.520 the coaching staff does there. All of the players that 0:06:27.600 --> 0:06:33.280 play on tour still support love, go back, spend time 0:06:33.320 --> 0:06:37.080 in Stillwater, Ricky, Victor Hobb. I heard a rumor you're 0:06:37.200 --> 0:06:42.880 currently living in Vic's house in it Yeah, in Stillwater 0:06:42.880 --> 0:06:45.760 because Vic's now moved to Duport to live with Christophurt. 0:06:46.400 --> 0:06:48.360 That's the best to me, that's the best story. Of 0:06:48.400 --> 0:06:50.760 the year. You've got you got Victor Howland, he wins 0:06:50.760 --> 0:06:54.320 almost forty million dollars last year. He's rooming with his 0:06:54.400 --> 0:06:57.520 college roommate who's playing on the corn Ferry, and Chris Vntura. 0:06:58.120 --> 0:07:00.800 You've got all these guys down here, Ray living in 0:07:00.839 --> 0:07:04.200 twenty million dollars houses and Vic's a roommate. You're now, 0:07:06.440 --> 0:07:09.840 is Vic charging you to stay in the house or 0:07:09.920 --> 0:07:11.200 is he is? He? Is he giving it to you 0:07:11.280 --> 0:07:11.600 for free? 0:07:12.200 --> 0:07:14.080 He hasn't sent me a billy yet, but I don't 0:07:14.160 --> 0:07:15.920 think there will be one. I hope not. 0:07:16.080 --> 0:07:18.120 I'll tell you what, if Victor Hoblin sends your ass 0:07:18.120 --> 0:07:20.200 a bill for staying in his house, I'm gonna have 0:07:20.240 --> 0:07:23.880 a talk with him because he he doesn't need the 0:07:23.880 --> 0:07:24.520 rent money. 0:07:25.000 --> 0:07:25.440 He doesn't know. 0:07:25.560 --> 0:07:29.320 But my point behind that is you get to meet 0:07:29.360 --> 0:07:32.760 these guys that are now playing on tour, and they 0:07:33.560 --> 0:07:37.160 play a huge part. I think in every player that 0:07:37.240 --> 0:07:40.920 goes to Oklahoma State. I think there's yes, listen, every 0:07:40.960 --> 0:07:43.000 college golf program they do the same thing. But I 0:07:43.080 --> 0:07:45.239 just happen to know. You know, I worked with Ricky. 0:07:45.280 --> 0:07:46.840 I know a bunch of the guys, and I think 0:07:46.840 --> 0:07:50.160 they do a fantastic job at taking care of the 0:07:50.200 --> 0:07:54.000 next generation of players. Said, come into Oklahoma State, they 0:07:54.000 --> 0:07:57.920 go back, they play with you. Guys. Everybody I talked 0:07:57.960 --> 0:07:59.960 to Ray, you were kind of in your five years 0:08:00.200 --> 0:08:02.960 at Oklahoma State on the golf team. They used to 0:08:03.000 --> 0:08:06.240 call you the Oklahoma State golf mascot because you were 0:08:06.280 --> 0:08:09.840 everyone's favorite. Right, You've always got a smile on your face. 0:08:10.200 --> 0:08:12.160 And that's one of the things I've always loved about 0:08:12.200 --> 0:08:13.880 you is, you know, I've known you for a very 0:08:13.920 --> 0:08:17.000 long time and watched you grow as a junior golfer 0:08:17.040 --> 0:08:22.640 and now become a professional. Your attitude has always been amazing. 0:08:22.760 --> 0:08:26.240 And you know when you got to Oklahoma State, you know, 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:29.080 justin Parsons and I, we were still trying to help you, 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:32.440 and we we knew that you were struggling. I mean, 0:08:32.440 --> 0:08:36.840 you got the full blown driver yips for a good player. 0:08:37.600 --> 0:08:40.520 That is scary because you drove it great as a 0:08:40.600 --> 0:08:44.000 junior golfer. How much of that, Ray, do you feel 0:08:44.240 --> 0:08:48.240 was your technique and your quest to try and get better, 0:08:48.640 --> 0:08:51.480 and how much of that was just what all golfers 0:08:51.559 --> 0:08:56.079 go through, is you get anxiety, you don't have confidence, 0:08:56.120 --> 0:08:58.880 you can't see your shape, for you. What was it 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:02.040 when you got to Oklahomas Obviously you get a scholarship 0:09:02.080 --> 0:09:06.480 to go there. You can't fake that. Yeah, you're a 0:09:06.520 --> 0:09:09.240 good player, and they think you're going to be a 0:09:09.240 --> 0:09:11.360 great player if you go to Oklahomas State and play 0:09:11.360 --> 0:09:14.480 on the golf program. But you got there. Was it 0:09:14.559 --> 0:09:17.920 the situation? Was it being away from home? Was it 0:09:18.200 --> 0:09:22.160 just the expectation? What was it that caused you to 0:09:22.240 --> 0:09:25.160 kind of have that confidence crisis that you went through. 0:09:26.960 --> 0:09:29.920 I think it was a plethora of things, for sure. Definitely, 0:09:30.640 --> 0:09:33.240 I think there were some technique issues in my swing, 0:09:33.559 --> 0:09:35.880 but obviously, like they're guys that's swinging at all different 0:09:35.880 --> 0:09:38.920 types of ways that can do it. But mentally, I 0:09:39.000 --> 0:09:41.240 was just, you know, putting so much pressure on myself, 0:09:41.360 --> 0:09:44.439 especially like you said, like you're winning junior golf tournaments 0:09:44.440 --> 0:09:49.360 all the time, and your expectations rise so high, and 0:09:49.400 --> 0:09:51.800 then when you don't meet those expectations, you're putting even 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:55.120 more weight. And I mean those first few years at 0:09:55.120 --> 0:09:57.640 Oklahoma State, I mean I was down in the dumps 0:09:57.679 --> 0:10:00.480 with my just because you golf is are weird sport 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:02.840 where you can put in a bunch of hours and 0:10:02.880 --> 0:10:05.360 get worse and it literally felt like that, like I'd 0:10:05.400 --> 0:10:08.240 be putting in eight hour, nine hour days and just 0:10:08.280 --> 0:10:10.920 feeling like I was getting worse, And so that weighs 0:10:10.920 --> 0:10:13.560 on you a lot. And I honestly think that the 0:10:13.640 --> 0:10:17.439 real changing point was this last summer, I was hurt 0:10:17.480 --> 0:10:19.920 with my right hand. I had a broken bone in 0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:21.640 my hand and I had to take some time off. 0:10:22.160 --> 0:10:25.680 And so Zach Bowsho got you know well, and who 0:10:25.960 --> 0:10:28.200 was on the national championship team in twenty eighteen, He 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:30.400 asked me to caddy him while he was on the 0:10:30.400 --> 0:10:33.959 corn ferry, and I knew he was struggling with his 0:10:34.000 --> 0:10:36.600 game prior to that, and he also had some driver 0:10:36.720 --> 0:10:39.920 issues and stuff things gone. And I caddied for him 0:10:39.920 --> 0:10:43.400 in Wichita and he finished fourth after he Monday qualified 0:10:43.400 --> 0:10:47.040 in and just learning from him and the way he 0:10:47.160 --> 0:10:49.960 kind of goes about the game, and I really changed 0:10:49.960 --> 0:10:51.640 the way I thought about the game. And that was 0:10:52.200 --> 0:10:54.600 really a big pivotal point. When I got back, I 0:10:54.640 --> 0:10:56.559 wasn't really as anxious as I was. 0:10:57.720 --> 0:11:01.560 I think you had a unique opportunity as a player 0:11:02.040 --> 0:11:06.200 to go caddy for someone who's a friend, someone who's 0:11:06.760 --> 0:11:09.240 kind of around the same age as you. But you 0:11:09.320 --> 0:11:11.439 got to go see him play in a professional tournament. 0:11:11.920 --> 0:11:14.400 And I remember when I was doing television back in 0:11:14.440 --> 0:11:16.920 the day for Sky Sports, they put me on course 0:11:17.520 --> 0:11:20.240 and I'd never done on course commentary and stuff, but 0:11:21.080 --> 0:11:23.680 I remember it was a FedEx Cup that that Billy 0:11:23.720 --> 0:11:28.040 Horsell won. We were in We're at Cherry Hills, and 0:11:28.080 --> 0:11:30.640 Sergio Garcia had a chance to win this golf tournament 0:11:30.880 --> 0:11:35.559 and he made some really soft, soft bogies coming in 0:11:35.640 --> 0:11:38.440 that were just bogeys that you just don't expect good 0:11:38.480 --> 0:11:41.840 players to make like that. And as someone that was 0:11:41.920 --> 0:11:44.640 watching it, you could just kind of see, man, that 0:11:45.000 --> 0:11:48.360 that was just that you just there's no way you 0:11:48.360 --> 0:11:51.280 can make bogey from from that drive, and you still 0:11:51.280 --> 0:11:54.160 have to when you caddied fors at. It kind of 0:11:54.160 --> 0:11:56.640 make you look at your own game and say, and 0:11:56.720 --> 0:11:59.959 maybe I don't need to take on some of these shots, 0:12:00.440 --> 0:12:02.760 fire at some of these flags. You know, I talk 0:12:02.800 --> 0:12:05.000 about this all the time on the podcast, right, I 0:12:05.040 --> 0:12:08.560 think so many players don't realize that twenty feet left 0:12:08.600 --> 0:12:11.439 or right of it is a good shot. But also 0:12:11.520 --> 0:12:14.080 you go to Oklahoma State and you look at the 0:12:14.120 --> 0:12:16.600 wall of players that have won tournaments there. I've seen 0:12:16.640 --> 0:12:19.200 that locker room in that area where I mean it's 0:12:19.240 --> 0:12:22.520 just nothing but guys raising trophies, right, Yeah, and so 0:12:22.760 --> 0:12:26.120 you feel like you have to basically knock it stiff 0:12:26.840 --> 0:12:29.880 every single shot. You feel like you have to go 0:12:29.920 --> 0:12:34.400 shoot sixty four, sixty five every single time you tee 0:12:34.440 --> 0:12:38.000 it up. And that's that's very, very difficult to do. 0:12:39.000 --> 0:12:42.480 Yeah. Absolutely, And so when I saw Zach and when 0:12:42.480 --> 0:12:44.760 I've played with him, it is just like, you know, 0:12:44.840 --> 0:12:46.960 he'd miss some shots, but he was playing very well 0:12:47.000 --> 0:12:49.120 at the time. And what I got from him the 0:12:49.160 --> 0:12:51.600 most was that he kind of thought of the game 0:12:51.640 --> 0:12:54.400 as a puzzle and he was like trying to figure 0:12:54.400 --> 0:12:56.400 out what the biggest parts of the puzzle are and 0:12:56.480 --> 0:12:59.960 just grind on it and don't look at like struggles 0:13:00.240 --> 0:13:02.800 as something to be deterred from, but like a challenge 0:13:02.840 --> 0:13:05.680 to try to overcome. And I got that. You know, 0:13:05.720 --> 0:13:08.520 I've kind of narrated down to I think golf, professional 0:13:08.520 --> 0:13:11.920 golf is just critical thinking and problem solving, and so 0:13:11.960 --> 0:13:13.600 if you can, if you have the right tools to 0:13:13.640 --> 0:13:15.319 problem solve it, I think I think you can kind 0:13:15.320 --> 0:13:16.080 of get through anything. 0:13:17.360 --> 0:13:19.080 The other thing, I think that I'm really proud of 0:13:19.080 --> 0:13:22.920 you for ray your junior year, you're an academic all 0:13:22.920 --> 0:13:26.920 big twelve. There aren't a lot of golfers playing professional 0:13:26.920 --> 0:13:31.720 golf that were high on academics. But I think it's 0:13:31.720 --> 0:13:34.480 something that's really interesting that you talk about the problem 0:13:34.600 --> 0:13:37.959 solving and the puzzle of golf. A lot of junior 0:13:38.000 --> 0:13:42.160 golfers struggle when they go to college ray because they 0:13:42.200 --> 0:13:47.080 forget that your technique is important. Yeah, I mean, you 0:13:47.120 --> 0:13:49.120 were trying and you were doing the right things. The 0:13:49.160 --> 0:13:51.600 first couple of years. You're grinding eight hours a day. 0:13:51.920 --> 0:13:55.000 You're working your ass off. You're trying to get better, 0:13:55.080 --> 0:13:59.079 but sometimes in an effort to try and get better, 0:13:59.120 --> 0:14:02.079 in an effort to try work so hard, you can 0:14:02.120 --> 0:14:06.240 get worse. And it's a mind I mean, just it 0:14:06.360 --> 0:14:08.800 blows your mind that wait a minute, I'm I can't 0:14:08.880 --> 0:14:11.800 work any harder than I'm working like, I can't put 0:14:11.880 --> 0:14:15.440 more time in that I'm putting in and I'm getting worse. 0:14:16.400 --> 0:14:20.960 What's that like? And how do you say? Okay? Was 0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:24.640 it an adjustment of how much you were practicing? Wasn't 0:14:24.680 --> 0:14:29.000 an adjustment on changing the way that you practice? How 0:14:29.000 --> 0:14:33.080 did you find this this kind of bridge to okay? 0:14:33.640 --> 0:14:36.520 I'm struggling. How do I get myself out of this 0:14:37.240 --> 0:14:40.320 because I'm already working harder than I've ever worked in 0:14:40.360 --> 0:14:40.720 my life. 0:14:41.360 --> 0:14:44.520 Yeah, it was mainly just once I understood what I 0:14:44.560 --> 0:14:47.640 needed to do in my golf swing, I just said, okay, 0:14:48.000 --> 0:14:49.960 range session, just grind on the things I need to 0:14:49.960 --> 0:14:52.120 because I would always go back and forth with different 0:14:52.240 --> 0:14:54.560 trying to get fields and things to just have me 0:14:54.600 --> 0:14:56.680 get through the day. And I was like, I just 0:14:56.680 --> 0:14:59.240 to myself, I know what I need to do. As 0:14:59.280 --> 0:15:01.560 long as I get these things done, I will play 0:15:01.640 --> 0:15:04.040 good golf at some point, and it will it will happen. 0:15:04.720 --> 0:15:07.360 And then I changed my practice from where I was 0:15:07.400 --> 0:15:09.200 spending most of my time on the range because I 0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:10.960 was just scared to go on the golf course, especially 0:15:11.000 --> 0:15:13.560 at Carston. I'm hitting balls in the junk every single 0:15:13.600 --> 0:15:16.960 time and having to reteat It's not fun if you're. 0:15:16.800 --> 0:15:19.560 Not driving it good. At cars two Creek, yeah. 0:15:19.680 --> 0:15:20.640 You will swear I. 0:15:22.240 --> 0:15:22.960 Big numbers. 0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:26.000 So I was just like, okay, I keep I'm scared 0:15:26.000 --> 0:15:27.720 to go on the golf course, and that's where that's 0:15:27.720 --> 0:15:30.480 where I'm going to be making my my my bread, 0:15:30.600 --> 0:15:33.120 you know. So I just said, you know, our range 0:15:33.120 --> 0:15:35.360 sessions are an hour long, go to the golf course 0:15:35.400 --> 0:15:37.680 and just play as many holes as I can. And 0:15:37.720 --> 0:15:39.200 that's how I changed, And I'll just kind of beat 0:15:39.240 --> 0:15:40.600 it out. I was like, I will dig this out 0:15:40.600 --> 0:15:42.400 of the dirt and beat it out of my system. 0:15:43.200 --> 0:15:45.680 Chris Venturo, who was on that national championship team, I 0:15:45.680 --> 0:15:47.920 worked with him when he turned pro, and I talked 0:15:47.920 --> 0:15:50.960 to him about you know what they did. You know, him, 0:15:51.400 --> 0:15:54.000 Victor Hovlin, Matt Wolf, they were all on that team, 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:58.760 and he said, listen, we played way more golf than 0:15:58.800 --> 0:16:02.040 we practiced. He said, yeah, there were times where we 0:16:02.040 --> 0:16:05.680 would practice. But he said, Vic Matt, He said Matt especially, 0:16:05.720 --> 0:16:08.040 he said Matt when he was at that at Oklahoma 0:16:08.040 --> 0:16:10.160 stated he said, he just basically played all day long. 0:16:10.400 --> 0:16:13.360 He'd play from you know, sun up to sundown. And 0:16:13.400 --> 0:16:15.640 I think that's something that everybody that's trying to play 0:16:15.720 --> 0:16:19.800 competitive golf is. It's important to hear that that you 0:16:19.840 --> 0:16:23.000 went from eight hours a day on the range to saying, Okay, 0:16:23.680 --> 0:16:26.080 I'm going to spend an hour on the technique stuff 0:16:26.120 --> 0:16:29.080 that I need to work on. But then the most 0:16:29.120 --> 0:16:31.880 important thing is not what happens on the driving range, 0:16:32.120 --> 0:16:34.480 it's what I actually do when I'm on the golf 0:16:34.520 --> 0:16:38.960 course trying to play and trying to score. When you 0:16:39.080 --> 0:16:41.680 made that shift to try and say, Okay, I'm going 0:16:41.760 --> 0:16:45.760 to practice less and I'm going to play more. It's 0:16:45.800 --> 0:16:50.640 not like that solved the technique issues, right, But what 0:16:50.680 --> 0:16:53.360 did it do for your confidence to get out there 0:16:53.440 --> 0:16:55.880 and just say, Okay, I've got what i've got today, 0:16:56.440 --> 0:16:57.880 I'm only going to hit balls for an hour and 0:16:57.880 --> 0:16:59.320 I'm just going to go play and I'm going to 0:16:59.360 --> 0:17:01.160 try and shoot this or because I think so many 0:17:01.160 --> 0:17:07.080 people listening think what happens on the driving range is 0:17:07.400 --> 0:17:10.639 a it predetermines what happens on the golf course. 0:17:10.920 --> 0:17:15.080 Yeah, it's like people try to recreate tournament conditions and 0:17:15.160 --> 0:17:17.760 you can to a certain degree, but it's never really 0:17:17.800 --> 0:17:20.840 the same. And so what I what me and Zach 0:17:20.960 --> 0:17:23.199 kind of talked about was like progressions, Like go through 0:17:23.240 --> 0:17:26.200 your progressions. Like if you're working on something into your technique, 0:17:26.320 --> 0:17:29.000 do it on the range, see it happen. Take it 0:17:29.040 --> 0:17:31.760 on the course by yourself, see it happen. Do it 0:17:31.800 --> 0:17:33.960 in like a money game or a little game against 0:17:33.960 --> 0:17:36.119 your body, see it happen. Just do it in a 0:17:36.119 --> 0:17:38.359 tournament and see it happen. And your confidence will slowly 0:17:38.400 --> 0:17:40.600 grow back, because then you'll be like, Okay, I'm starting 0:17:40.600 --> 0:17:42.560 to get this thing. And that's what I kind of 0:17:42.560 --> 0:17:44.560 did with my I'd go by myself and just bang 0:17:44.600 --> 0:17:47.200 balls off the tee and you know, play play holes 0:17:47.200 --> 0:17:49.040 and shoot a score and be like, Okay, I can 0:17:49.080 --> 0:17:50.960 see it happen. Go do it in a money game. 0:17:51.160 --> 0:17:53.960 See it happen. Go do it on the tournament, and 0:17:54.280 --> 0:17:55.520 the confidence grow from there. 0:17:56.080 --> 0:17:59.720 I think so many people listening Ray struggle with the 0:18:00.480 --> 0:18:05.240 off the tee and there's nothing I think putting is. 0:18:05.880 --> 0:18:09.720 Obviously there's no substitute for great putting. Yeah, but if 0:18:09.760 --> 0:18:12.720 you can't drive the golf ball, and you can't drive 0:18:12.760 --> 0:18:15.119 the golf ball in play, if you were going to 0:18:15.119 --> 0:18:20.119 play any sort of competitive golf, whether it's the monthly medal, 0:18:20.240 --> 0:18:23.160 whether it's the club championship, whether it's a junior tournament, 0:18:23.240 --> 0:18:26.560 or whether it's elite Division one college golf, if you 0:18:26.600 --> 0:18:30.560 can't drive it, you cannot play and you can't compete. 0:18:31.200 --> 0:18:31.400 Yeh. 0:18:31.520 --> 0:18:35.399 Did you go to trying to shape the ball more 0:18:36.600 --> 0:18:39.560 and hit shots with your driver, or did you say, Okay, 0:18:39.920 --> 0:18:42.760 I'm just going to try and become really one dimensional 0:18:43.320 --> 0:18:47.640 and just kind of hit one shot all the time, one. 0:18:47.480 --> 0:18:49.399 Shot all the time. I kind of heard I remember 0:18:49.440 --> 0:18:51.720 when you when I when I spoke to you a 0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:54.160 few times, you would just be like, these guys don't 0:18:54.160 --> 0:18:56.240 shape it all that much. You need to get really 0:18:56.240 --> 0:18:58.959 good at one shape and then start working it from there. 0:18:58.960 --> 0:19:01.200 And I kind of took that too, And I've listened 0:19:01.520 --> 0:19:03.680 some to Scott Foston too. I think he's a really 0:19:03.680 --> 0:19:07.240 smart guy. And so I just was like, I'm gonna 0:19:07.280 --> 0:19:09.000 hit one golf shot and I'm going to pick good 0:19:09.040 --> 0:19:11.680 targets and just try to rip it and just keep 0:19:11.720 --> 0:19:13.600 doing that and if it if it, if I hit 0:19:13.600 --> 0:19:17.160 one into the junk, so be it. I'm gonna still 0:19:17.200 --> 0:19:19.600 keep picking one shot and hitting it at one target. 0:19:20.440 --> 0:19:22.679 You started working with Dana Dalquist. I saw Dana at 0:19:22.680 --> 0:19:26.120 the US Open. Obviously great win for Dana. He works 0:19:26.119 --> 0:19:28.879 with Bryson d. Chambeau. I think Dana's one of the 0:19:28.880 --> 0:19:31.200 smartest golf instructors out there. I've had him on the 0:19:31.200 --> 0:19:34.720 podcast before. What's the work that you've done with with Dana? 0:19:35.280 --> 0:19:38.399 And what shape now, Ray are you are you trying 0:19:38.480 --> 0:19:40.320 to hit? Is it a draw? Is it a fade? 0:19:40.720 --> 0:19:44.120 What is it? And what are the technical changes that 0:19:44.240 --> 0:19:47.280 you've made that in kind of your fifth year, the 0:19:47.359 --> 0:19:49.879 COVID year that you were lucky enough to have was 0:19:49.960 --> 0:19:53.160 kind of a great year for you. If you look 0:19:53.200 --> 0:19:56.080 at your career over the four years previous, what have 0:19:56.160 --> 0:19:59.120 you done in trying to work with Dana and what 0:19:59.240 --> 0:20:00.600 changes you guys trying to make. 0:20:02.320 --> 0:20:04.560 I've been hitting a fade, at least trying to hit 0:20:04.600 --> 0:20:06.480 a fade for the most part. I hit it pretty 0:20:06.520 --> 0:20:10.320 straight if anything. And uh, but I've been just trying 0:20:10.320 --> 0:20:12.959 to work a fade. And me and Dana, I've kind 0:20:12.960 --> 0:20:14.840 of been working on some things. He's used the sports 0:20:14.840 --> 0:20:17.280 box stuff and just trying to keep my height. I 0:20:17.320 --> 0:20:20.080 tend to get really like squatty and down in my back. 0:20:20.080 --> 0:20:22.200 So yeah, yeah, you had to go to Dana Dolquist 0:20:22.240 --> 0:20:25.359 to tell you that. I mean, and I mean, how 0:20:25.359 --> 0:20:28.040 many times have we told you, but your head drops right? 0:20:28.119 --> 0:20:30.920