Hey Team Titleist!
After Titleist Brand Ambassador Patrick Cantlay's first PGA TOUR win Sunday, we spoke with him about the win, his decorated amateur career and so much more. We wanted to share an excerpt with you, which you can check out below. And if you're interested in reading the full Q&A, click here.
Enjoy!
Abby
Team Titleist Staff
Q: Do you remember your the first tee shot you hit at a Tour event, as a professional or an amateur?
Patrick: My first tour event was the 2011 U.S. Open, and I was about as nervous as I ever have been in my life. Usually, I say that I just have adrenaline, but I was actually nervous for that shot. I was shaking. It was probably because the 10th hole at Congressional Country Club is a 215-yard (par-3) hole, all carry over water with a bunch of people around. I blacked out a little bit, and I hit a really good shot to about four or five feet and made birdie. I don't want it over again.
Q: Do you have any games during practice rounds that Team Titleist members should try?
Patrick: I don't have any during practice rounds, but I have a couple of drills that I do for putting. I try and hit 10- to 12-footers that break left to right a fair amount, and right to left a fair amount, and not leave until I make 16 out 20 from each side. Once I miss five, I'll restart, but you have to make 16 out 20. It can take a while.
For me, it really helps me train my eyes to feel the amount of break, see the amount of break, and then train my eyes to look in the right spot. It helps my stroke. I get really tuned in by trying to make all those putts in a row, that you can feel when you hit a little too hard or you push it a little bit. You start to feel that, and you put all that feedback over and over again on a putt that's breaking. By the time you get out on the course, if you get any putt that's around that length or even inside, it feels easy because you feel like you've just made a bunch. I feel like that's positive reinforcement, and it really helps me with my feel when I'm putting.