Monte Qualifies for the 2019 US Senior Open

[MonteScheinblum]

 

[Hawkeye77]

HaHa - leave the caddie, take the cannoli!

 

Just kidding, Chris!

[Schnee]

> @Hawkeye77 said:

> HaHa - leave the caddie, take the cannoli!

>

> Just kidding, Chris!

 

Hawkeye, Id be disappointed if he didn’t prioritize a cannoli from Mike’s Pastry. I understand And support the decision.

 

[jgard320]

What a fun experience this must have been. Nice pics. Congrats again to Monte and Chris.

[ThinkingPlus]

> @MonteScheinblum said:

> > @games said:

> > Chris and Monte: Congratulations on a qualifying. And thanks for sharing your thoughts on the rounds and the overall experience. The scores aside, you both have to leave with some pretty cool memories...

> >

> > From an instructional standpoint, do either of you have observations of other players to share with us? Monte, I know you consider Stricker's swing to be one of the most "efficient" you've seen. Any more thoughts based on personal observation? I have to think Langer's move rates up there too...

>

> I have always said Sticker’s swing is the one ams should look at and not Tiger, DJ, Rory, etc.

>

> The people who say his swing is bad because he has no lag don’t no what they’re looking at.

>

 

Stricker's swing is all about maximizing control over distance and spin rather than maxxing out distance. Nothing like watching a one hop and stop or one hop and trickle shot. Those end up near the hole and stay there. I chuckle every time one of the young guns rifles one right next to the pin only to watch it rip back off the green. Lots of sizzle, but scoring is mehhh.

 

BTW, Monte, nice grinding out your rounds in the SUSO. Knew you weren't playing to your capability or desires, but you really squeezed everything out of the rounds as a professional should. Not easy and something for us ams to aspire to.

[MonteScheinblum]

> @ThinkingPlus said:

> > @MonteScheinblum said:

> > > @games said:

> > > Chris and Monte: Congratulations on a qualifying. And thanks for sharing your thoughts on the rounds and the overall experience. The scores aside, you both have to leave with some pretty cool memories...

> > >

> > > From an instructional standpoint, do either of you have observations of other players to share with us? Monte, I know you consider Stricker's swing to be one of the most "efficient" you've seen. Any more thoughts based on personal observation? I have to think Langer's move rates up there too...

> >

> > I have always said Sticker’s swing is the one ams should look at and not Tiger, DJ, Rory, etc.

> >

> > The people who say his swing is bad because he has no lag don’t no what they’re looking at.

> >

>

> Stricker's swing is all about maximizing control over distance and spin rather than maxxing out distance. Nothing like watching a one hop and stop or one hop and trickle shot. Those end up near the hole and stay there. I chuckle every time one of the young guns rifles one right next to the pin only to watch it rip back off the green. Lots of sizzle, but scoring is mehhh.

>

> BTW, Monte, nice grinding out your rounds in the SUSO. Knew you weren't playing to your capability or desires, but you really squeezed everything out of the rounds as a professional should. Not easy and something for us ams to aspire to.

 

Thank you. It was really a tale of two 18’s

 

When I was able to slow my roll, I was actually competent.

 

Day one my 6 through 17 and day 2 last 6 holes. I was 1 under for those 18 holes. I was over doing the slow down of the transition. Felt like matsuyama. It wasn’t close. I saw a video and it was still a bit fast, but at least manageable.

 

The other 18 holes I was making the same mistake I tell ams NOT to do. Slow down the backswing which encouraged me to speed up the transition even more. I was a mess. Plus 15 on those holes.

 

[dpb5031]

> @MonteScheinblum said:

> > @ThinkingPlus said:

> > > @MonteScheinblum said:

> > > > @games said:

> > > > Chris and Monte: Congratulations on a qualifying. And thanks for sharing your thoughts on the rounds and the overall experience. The scores aside, you both have to leave with some pretty cool memories...

> > > >

> > > > From an instructional standpoint, do either of you have observations of other players to share with us? Monte, I know you consider Stricker's swing to be one of the most "efficient" you've seen. Any more thoughts based on personal observation? I have to think Langer's move rates up there too...

> > >

> > > I have always said Sticker’s swing is the one ams should look at and not Tiger, DJ, Rory, etc.

> > >

> > > The people who say his swing is bad because he has no lag don’t no what they’re looking at.

> > >

> >

> > Stricker's swing is all about maximizing control over distance and spin rather than maxxing out distance. Nothing like watching a one hop and stop or one hop and trickle shot. Those end up near the hole and stay there. I chuckle every time one of the young guns rifles one right next to the pin only to watch it rip back off the green. Lots of sizzle, but scoring is mehhh.

> >

> > BTW, Monte, nice grinding out your rounds in the SUSO. Knew you weren't playing to your capability or desires, but you really squeezed everything out of the rounds as a professional should. Not easy and something for us ams to aspire to.

>

> Thank you. It was really a tale of two 18’s

>

> When I was able to slow my roll, I was actually competent.

>

> Day one my 6 through 17 and day 2 last 6 holes. I was 1 under for those 18 holes. I was over doing the slow down of the transition. Felt like matsuyama. It wasn’t close. I saw a video and it was still a bit fast, but at least manageable.

>

> The other 18 holes I was making the same mistake I tell ams NOT to do. Slow down the backswing which encouraged me to speed up the transition even more. I was a mess. Plus 15 on those holes.

>

I've said this before, but for a reasonably proficient (or better) player, transition is EVERYTHING. Especially under the gun. And that goes for full swing, pitching, chipping, and even putting. If you dont have some semblance of patience in the change of direction its gonna be a long day. Sometimes you just need to feel one good one to latch onto; other times it's a struggle to the end.

 

I think it's just awesome that you made it there! I'd give my left nugget to play in a Senior Open and look forward to trying again next year. Thanks again Monte for all of your contributions to this great online community! You had a lot of people behind you!!!

 

[Stuart_G]

> @MonteScheinblum said:

> The other 18 holes I was making the same mistake I tell ams NOT to do. Slow down the backswing which encouraged me to speed up the transition even more. I was a mess. Plus 15 on those holes.

>

 

I would think that instead of thinking of one particular part of the swing (like the backswing example above) - that a more generalized 'slowness' to the whole round might be a bit more effective? e.g Slowing down the warm up, slowing down the walk between shots, slowing down the preshot routine a little bit, etc.. Or am I off base about that?

 

 

 

[badboggs]

Monte, how did your ball flight react under pressure? Did you find yourself making a specific mistake like pulls/hooks or cutting the ball too much?

[cardoustie]

Good for you

Had an Am buddy play in one of these and it was nervy for him as well.

Tough when your practice rounds are with guys you've seen on TV all your life

[chocolate_rehab]

> @MonteScheinblum said:

> It’s not a

> Monte or Chris thread without food. Oreo cannoli for me, Lobster tail for the kids in a box. From world famous Mike’s pastry

 

I used to work there in high school! I can still string a box in under 3 seconds, ha ha. That oreo cannoli is blasphemy, but your kids are doing it right!

[MonteScheinblum]

 

 

> @badboggs said:

> Monte, how did your ball flight react under pressure? Did you find yourself making a specific mistake like pulls/hooks or cutting the ball too much?

 

Just poor shots. I don’t hit pull hooks very often.

 

Only 1-2 shots were awful. Mostly too many poor shots

 

 

[PJ1120]

> @MonteScheinblum said:

>

>

> > @badboggs said:

> > Monte, how did your ball flight react under pressure? Did you find yourself making a specific mistake like pulls/hooks or cutting the ball too much?

>

> Just poor shots. I don’t hit pull hooks very often.

>

> Only 1-2 shots were awful. Mostly too many poor shots

>

>

 

Schnee said on the first day you hit driver on 9/14 holes. In retrospect, would you have hit something less to find more fairways?

[MonteScheinblum]

> @PJ1120 said:

> > @MonteScheinblum said:

> >

> >

> > > @badboggs said:

> > > Monte, how did your ball flight react under pressure? Did you find yourself making a specific mistake like pulls/hooks or cutting the ball too much?

> >

> > Just poor shots. I don’t hit pull hooks very often.

> >

> > Only 1-2 shots were awful. Mostly too many poor shots

> >

> >

>

> Schnee said on the first day you hit driver on 9/14 holes. In retrospect, would you have hit something less to find more fairways?

 

No, when I’m doing something wrong, I hit 3 wood and 2 iron off line too.

 

 

[CasualLie]

Monte, all in all you have to be thrilled with the experience. Sure you could have played better but it's just one step in more successful steps to come. You qualified as medalist, and got a real taste of where you belong. It's just the beginning of a new phase of your journey,. Cheers to that!

 

It's fascinating reading about your experience and analysis after the fact; thanks for sharing. Am I reading it right that part of success in a tournament may include having a "go to" swing thought? I read so much about how you play golf not play golf swing, I often wonder where do you draw the line between helpful thought and paralysis. I think you answered that question here... Thanks!

[chigolfer1]

Monte, sorry if already commented on, but do you have any intentions of giving the Champions Tour a go or is this more of a one off annual thing you will try to qualify for?

[MonteScheinblum]

> @chigolfer1 said:

> Monte, sorry if already commented on, but do you have any intentions of giving the Champions Tour a go or is this more of a one off annual thing you will try to qualify for?

 

Yes, have made finals of Q school before.

 

[kyle75]

It was really cool to see someone I know compete in a major. I know it wasn't the result you wanted, but what a great accomplishment to get there.

[Schnee]

A couple people have asked me for my thoughts on the week. I'll put my comments about caddying in my thread and link it here so as to keep it separate, but here's my takeaways from the week. Apologies that it's a bit late, had a lot going on when I came home.

 

Monte hit it very well in the practice rounds, and he was just too amped up going into the tournament rounds. His rhythm was off from the first swing he made on Thursday, making his backswing very short, and transition nonexistent. If you've seen Monte play before, he's one of those players who rarely misses the center of the face, and that held true even when his rhythm got off. He didn't hit any terrible shots, just some poor ones that got him into some tough spots. He did a great job fighting through the middle of round 1, and made some terrific pars including some up/downs from jail.

Any time he hit the fairway, Monte had a shot at par or better. Ideally, I think there were more 3 woods to be had off the tee than were ultimately hit, but you can't take a club you've been terribly uncomfortable with your entire career and all of a sudden rely on it repeatedly in a major championship. Monte's length is absolutely an asset, but he needs a 270-280 yard shot off the tee into many of these setups. Especially on the back nine stretch 10-12 where Monte lost 8 shots over the two days, a reliable 3 wood shot would've come in handy. Also on #9 Day 1 3 wood could've been the play.

The more patient that Monte is in the transition, the better swing he makes, and the faster he swings it. He also hits it considerably straighter.

 

That said, I don't think 3 wood was the play that week because the comfort level wasn't there. I wasn't going to try and force Monte to hit a shot he wasn't ready to commit to.

Monte and I have talked about this at length, and while his Champions Tour debut at the US Senior Open may have been less than we hoped for and even a bit disappointing, it's a huge positive moving forward. Without hitting some bad shots, being uncomfortable, and having some setup issues under pressure, Monte wouldn't have known what's holding him back from the next level. I think that the Open motivated Monte to keep grinding, and keep getting better. Open week was an absolute blast despite the outcome, and I was glad that I could be along for the ride.

[dlygrisse]

This is all some great insight and a lot of fun to follow. Keep it up Monte!

 

 

[wmblake2000]

> @Schnee said:

 

> Monte hit it very well in the practice rounds, and he was just too amped up going into the tournament rounds. His rhythm was off from the first swing he made on Thursday, making his backswing very short, and transition nonexistent. If you've seen Monte play before, he's one of those players who rarely misses the center of the face, and that held true even when his rhythm got off. He didn't hit any terrible shots, just some poor ones that got him into some tough spots. He did a great job fighting through the middle of round 1, and made some terrific pars including some up/downs from jail.

> Any time he hit the fairway, Monte had a shot at par or better. Ideally, I think there were more 3 woods to be had off the tee than were ultimately hit, but you can't take a club you've been terribly uncomfortable with your entire career and all of a sudden rely on it repeatedly in a major championship. Monte's length is absolutely an asset, but he needs a 270-280 yard shot off the tee into many of these setups. Especially on the back nine stretch 10-12 where Monte lost 8 shots over the two days, a reliable 3 wood shot would've come in handy. Also on #9 Day 1 3 wood could've been the play.

> The more patient that Monte is in the transition, the better swing he makes, and the faster he swings it. He also hits it considerably straighter.

>

> That said, I don't think 3 wood was the play that week because the comfort level wasn't there. I wasn't going to try and force Monte to hit a shot he wasn't ready to commit to.

> Monte and I have talked about this at length, and while his Champions Tour debut at the US Senior Open may have been less than we hoped for and even a bit disappointing, it's a huge positive moving forward. Without hitting some bad shots, being uncomfortable, and having some setup issues under pressure, Monte wouldn't have known what's holding him back from the next level. I think that the Open motivated Monte to keep grinding, and keep getting better. Open week was an absolute blast despite the outcome, and I was glad that I could be along for the ride.

 

Great commentary Chris. If I had magic powers I’d give him a way to play a lot of pressure reps. Seems to me that’s what’s needed most.