With Will Zalatoris consistently making his way up near the top of leaderboards on the PGA Tour his recent second place finish at the Masters didn’t really surprise that many people. That being said it is still a big statement that his game can hold up on the biggest stage in golf. Just a year ago it didn’t seem as though we would see that kind of statement for awhile. So how has he risen so fast?
The first thing to remember is that nothing happens overnight and definitely not in the game of golf. Will Zalatoris said he has been dreaming of the Masters for 20 years. Zalatoris also won the USGA junior Amateur Championship in 2014 and then went on to have great success at Wake Forest University. One thing Zalatoris has attributed his success to is the course management system Decade designed by Scott Fawcett. Decade uses metrics of dispersion to identify the best game plan for a hole and then each shot within the hole. Zalatoris has used this since before he won the US Junior and has allowed him dissect courses and execute a game plan with confidence. By the way, Zalatoris was the first player to adopt the system and Bryson DeChambeau is the second.
If you are doing stats after your round what are you doing with that information? Stats are not just a means to end but an opportunity to reflect on your approach to every hole and every shot during a round of golf. It is not as simple as well if I hit a bad shot it’s because I made a bad swing. Remember, bad shot selections lead to bad swings.
Take the time to create or enhance your game plan for your home course and any course that you are going to play. Be sure to reflect afterwards and refine your approach as you go.
