Scheffler latest in long line who learned from Randy Smith

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — One was a young teenager in Ohio whose family was moving to Texas. Another was a college kid at Kansas looking for help with his swing. And then there was Scottie Scheffler, a 6-year-old in New Jersey whose mother had taken a C-suite job at a Dallas law firm.

At different times, in different parts of the country, they all got the same advice when they left for Dallas: Call Randy Smith at Royal Oaks.

“I met Randy and he gave me the evil eye — ‘Whose pushing this kid?’” said Scott Scheffler, the father of the defending Masters champion. "I said, ’Sir, I'm not pushing this kid. This kid is pushing me. He wants to hit golf balls. I need someone to help me.'"

The first visit to Royal Oaks was on Mother's Day. Smith recalls a tiny kid with a long back swing who repeatedly made solid contact during a session that lasted nearly two hours. His parents took out a loan and joined Royal Oaks the next day.

So began a relationship with the only swing coach Scheffler has ever had through some 90 junior titles, three All-American seasons at Texas, two Masters green jackets, one Olympic gold medal and the No. 1 world ranking for a longer stretch than anyone this side of Tiger Woods.

“He's getting crazier and crazier by the day," Scheffler said playfully of his 73-year-old mentor. "But he's like a savant when it comes to the golf swing, he really is. The more I'm able to communicate to him how I'm feeling and the things that I want to feel in my golf swing, the better he gets at teaching.

“He's the only person, really, that I’ve consulted with my swing my whole life,” he said. “He’s kind of the driving force behind what I do.”

As famous as Scheffler has become — especially as he goes for his third Masters title in the last four years — Smith is not defined by the success of his star pupil.

Scheffler is but the most recent in a long line of kids whose game Smith nurtured from before they were old enough to drive a golf cart.

“For Randy to have taught multiple players from when they were really young all the way until they get on the tour is something pretty rare,” Scheffler said.

Justin Leonard and Harrison Frazar. Ryan Palmer and Colt Knost. Hunter Mahan and Gary Woodland, who drove eight hours from Kansas only to realize he had the wrong date. He made the trip twice, and it was worth it. “His voice is a big voice in my head. He means everything to me,” Woodland said.

There also have been Dallas transplants over the year like Anthony Kim, Martin Laird and most recently Si Woo Kim.

But the numbers that define Smith are 18 national awards from the PGA of America, including professional of the year (1996) and teacher of the year (2002). And beyond the dozen or so juniors that earned PGA Tour cards are the hundreds of kids who earned college scholarships.

“Coaches normally get tour players after they become tour players. He was the O.G. of developing tour players when they were kids, and he mentored me in doing that," said Jamie Mulligan, the longtime pro at Virginia Country Club in Long Beach, California. Mulligan's stable of kids-turned-tour players include Patrick Cantlay.

More than one player has referred to Smith as a father figure. Knost, who in 2007 won the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Amateur Public Links, was the one who moved to the Dallas area from Ohio.

“There was a PGA professional in Ohio who reached out to my mom and said, ‘I think he should go see Randy Smith,’” Knost said. “I don't know if he even knew Randy. But Randy agreed to see me. He turned me into the player I am. He's the main reason I wanted to go to SMU, to stay close to him.”

Smith, with his West Texas drawl and no-nonsense doctrine, keeps it simple. He's more about finding answers in the dirt than reading radar-generated data on a Trackman.

“When Trackman first came out, Randy got one and he couldn't turn it on,” Knost said. “He would call the shop and say, ‘This thing is broken again.’”

Most remarkable is the culture Smith has fostered at Royal Oaks, a club teeming with tour players over the years. Most grew up there. Others, like Lee Trevino, were regulars. And generation after generation of kids were watching.

They all remember Scheffler, wearing long pants in Texas heat because that's how tour players dressed and that's what he wanted to be. Scheffler would spend hours watching, often challenging the older players to chipping and putting contests.

“He was a sponge,” Smith said. “But he was a workaholic.”

Both traits were important to Smith, especially the latter.

“He puts guys in position where they can succeed, but it's up to them,” Scheffler said. “Randy is not out there forcing kids to do drills, forcing them to come to practice. If they're willing to put in the work, Randy will give you another lesson pretty quick. But if you show up at the range, only practice for 45 minutes and leave immediately, the next time you call to get a lesson, he's probably going to make you wait.”

Smith was a sponge himself. He arrived at Royal Oaks in 1977 along with his mentor, Buddy Cook, and became head pro three years later. He learned — mostly by listening — from the likes of Harvey Penick and Jim Flick, Charlie Epps and Dick Harmon.

“He's a Texas guy with some good philosophy in his repertoire,” Epps said. “His understanding of the basics of the golf swing is legendary.”

Smith spent his early years at Royal Oaks as a “merchandising mother” in the pro shop. But then one of the kids — Justin Leonard — went off to his first big junior event in Oklahoma. Smith thought it would be a good experience for him. Leonard won the tournament and brought the trophy straight home to Royal Oaks.

Upon leaving, he turned and said to Smith, “I want to know more.”

That resonated with Smith, who turned over the merchandising to the assistants. Some 12 years later, Leonard brought another trophy home to Royal Oaks — the claret jug from his British Open title at Royal Troon.

“Randy has a little bit of a crazy, younger uncle vibe that just works,” Leonard said. “He's not very much into a method. He just takes the player and works with what they do well and tries to make it a little better.”

Smith said the “appropriate answer” would be he takes more pride in the hundreds of kids who got college scholarships than who made the tour.

But there was something about that hug he shared with Scheffler off the 18th green when he won his first Masters. And there was something about the 1,400 people at Royal Oaks waiting for Leonard when he came home with that silver claret jug.

“I've said many times, I was at the right bus stop looking for the right bus at the right time on the right day,” Smith said. “Royal Oaks happened to be a nice place for that.”

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf