Nike Golf Day in the Desert

Last week I got an email from our Nike Golf rep inviting us up to Whirlwind Golf Club in Chandler for a special Day in the Desert with three of Nike Golf’s top Tour athletes: Tony Finau, Paul Casey, and Cheyenne Woods. I think it took me less than five minutes to click on the link to register!

The invitation-only event, limited to just 150 people, was advertised as a private clinic, Q&A, product innovation, and more. I could hardly wait! The wife and I made the drive up to Chandler on the morning of, and as we pulled into the parking lot, we could already hear and feel the DJ’s music pumping out on the driving range. There were Nike Swooshes everywhere. I was in heaven.

After we checked in and filled out a waiver allowing us to be videotaped, we got our Nike name badges and headed over to the driving range where there was a large, white carnival-like tent, white chairs with Swooshes on all the chair backs, and three pyramids of golf balls with Finau’s, Woods’, and Casey’s Tour bags standing neatly at the ready. Casey and Finau, who can’t help but stand out at 6’4″, milled around behind the tent waiting to be announced. This did feel exclusive. Only Nike Plus and Troon Rewards Members had been invited.

Finau probably got the biggest round of applause when he was introduced. And why not? Currently ranked 16th in the Official World Golf Ranking, was just recently back in the country on the heels of the United States’ 16-14 come-from-behind Presidents Cup victory over the International side in Melbourne, Australia. Casey is an Arizona State alum ranked 15 in the world and will play in next month’s Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua after having successfully defended his title at the Valspar Championship in March. Woods plays on the LPGA Tour and is most famously the niece of Tiger Woods. All three currently reside in Scottsdale, which made the gathering all the more convenient. The afternoon was divided into four parts:

Private Clinic (1:00-2:30p)
After the players were introduced, the clinic got underway with a conversation about warm-up routines while hitting some 50-yard shots. All three players were mic’d up so we could hear just about everything they had to say. I was on the edge of my plastic chair. Woods, a Nike athlete since 2012, won the impromptu 50-yard contest, while Finau won closest to the pin at 118 yards. All three players were incredibly personable and forthcoming about their pre-round routines. Woods said she likes to start by warming up with her wedges before hitting 9-iron, 7-iron, and 5-iron — only the odd-numbered clubs — something she’s done since she was ten years-old!

Finau chimed in that Woods’ uncle Tiger was just the opposite, warming-up with just the even-numbered clubs (SW, 8i, 4i, Driver). The general consensus was that it was best to start with the shorter clubs to get loose, find a rhythm, and determine what pattern or shot shape each player could rely on that day. Yes, it can change from one day to the next, and yes, some days are better than others. “What’s my go-to shot?” asked Casey with a laugh. “It depends on what day it is!”

Casey, a Nike athlete for 15 years now, stole the show with his description of his incredibly meticulous 50-ball warm-up routine that caddie Johnny “Long Socks” McLaren sets up before every round in neat little piles. Casey hits nine lob wedges (flips, half swings, and 3/4 swings), nine 56-degree wedges, nine 52-degree wedges, five 9-irons (half swings, 3/4 swings, and then full swings), etc. all the way up through driver with the 50th ball replicating the club and shot Casey will hit on the first tee that day. It’s a process that takes precisely 26 minutes.

If the last ball is a bad shot says Casey, “That’s okay. I look at it as a mulligan.” Casey prefers to eliminate the left side but hitting a one to two-yard cut, but he can work the ball both ways if need be through a combination of adjusting his grip, ball position, and stance at set-up. Casey really is that accurate. On a nearly windless day, his ball curved so little it looked to the naked eye as if it was flying straight if it cut one to two yards at all.

While pre-round routine may not be superstition, this could certainly qualify: Casey said he likes to use a coin of the currency from whichever country where he’s playing to mark his ball on the putting green. When he puts the coin down, he makes sure the face of the person on the coin is face-up and looking at the hole. “Being from England, I never wanted to put the Queen’s face down on the ground,” he said. “It just felt disrespectful.”

Casey was especially glib, adding that his half, 3/4, and full swings weren’t actually half or even 3/4 but that they were a “feeling.” I always say that golf is two things: it’s a sound, and it’s a feeling. The temperature, wind, grass type, trajectory of the shot he’s trying to hit, and even the shot shape (draw or cut) dictate how far he feels he can hit each club.

From there, it was on to a discussion of grip and alignment. Casey likes to use tees to hold a string down-the-line for alignment, while Finau, a Nike athlete since 2016, likes to stick an alignment rod in the ground about five feet in front of where he’s hitting balls to work on starting direction and shot shape. Finau called grip and alignment the No. 1 and No. 2 fundamentals in golf. Then all three players took turns hitting shots with mid-irons. Casey won Whirlwind’s version of the Big Break Glass Break Challenge, a contest Finau knows a little something about having finished 2nd on the Golf Channel’s Big Break Disney Golf in 2009. Casey broke the glass on his 2nd attempt. Finau hit the left side of the makeshift door jamb holding up the glass pane not once, but twice. The first shot ricocheted back so hard it nearly hit a spectator sitting in the front row some 25 yards behind.

Before we left, Finau was asked to hit several of his patented driver shots. His coach, Boyd Summerhays who co-hosted the event, said that Finau was clocked swinging 137 miles per hour (with 200 mph ball speed back in September, a moment captured and posted on social media by Summerhays himself. Summerhays said Finau’s 3/4 driver swing is still a whopping 123 mph! I was able to position myself no more than ten feet behind Finau to capture a slow motion video of his beautiful swing. He swung hard, but it looked effortless. He barely came out of his stance on his follow-through. Because his tendency is to hit down on the ball, Finau likes to hit a low bullet cut. That shot barely gets 20 feet off the ground!

All three players relayed some great anecdotes out on the range after being asked about their favorite players on Tour. Finau told us that his favorite player on was Webb Simpson because he’s level-headed on and off the course and because they have similar life trajectories. Simpson has five kids and Finau has four, which means they can also swap parenting stories. Casey mentioned Tommy Fleetwood, a fellow Englishman, because “he’s the same guy whether he shoots 61 or 81.” They all agreed that grit and hard work were real keys to their success. “It comes down to immeasurables,” said Casey. “It’s about what’s in there,” he said while pointing to his chest. “And the guys coming out now have a whole bunch of this (heart).”

“I love golf,” added Casey. “I can’t wait until I retire and can play more golf.” Uh at just 42 years of age Paul, it could still be a few years.

Q&A (2:30-3:00p)
When the clinic was over, we were directed up the hill for an indoor Q&A with the players, but before they left the players all hung around by their bags for people who wanted to come up and talk, pose for selfies, or ask for autographs. This was the best part! And because the walk up the hill was a few hundred yards, the players remained accessible and seemed to welcome and even appreciate the extra attention they were getting. They were all so classy!

The indoor session was led by Katherine Roberts who works up at Troon North Golf Club in Scottsdale. She developed a program called Yoga for Golfers (you may have seen the DVD series) and also works with several of the major league baseball teams in the Valley when they’re in town for Spring Training.

Casey and Finau both lamented the fact that there’s no offseason anymore and really stressed the importance of recovery. Finau said he only works out for 45-50 minutes three days a week and never with weights. “Brooks Koepka likes to lift a lot of weights,” said Finau. “I focus on flexibility, mobility, stability with the lower body, and core work.” The only player who gets to enjoy a bit of an offseason is Woods, whose LPGA Tour season runs from February until Thanksgiving.

Thankfully, Woods has yet to suffer any injuries golf-related or otherwise, but Casey and Finau both talked about the mental battle of overcoming their physical ailments. Casey’s most serious injury came when he dislocated his right shoulder in a Colorado snowboarding accident back in January of 2012. He said even though his right shoulder is now stronger than his left, it was months and maybe even a year before he was able to trust it again when hitting balls or throwing a baseball, something he used to be able to do with ease.

Finau joked that the only injury he’s ever had to deal with was a pretty famous one. “No one has ever heard about or seen my injury,” Finau chuckled. “Did anyone happen to see that on the internet?” Finau dislocated his left ankle while celebrating a hole-in-one at the 7th Hole during the 2018 Masters Par 3 Contest. The video of him running, jumping, dislocating, and then casually re-locating the ankle instantly went viral.

Finau added that the injury caused him to develop a deficiency because he started really leaning back on his right side through impact, not wanting to trust that left ankle. Finau said he took a week off but then continued to baby it for the next 4-6 months.

All three players talked about how they mentally prepare for each shot they’re going to hit, primarily by visualizing it and then practicing different scenarios so they’re ready to go in a tournament setting. Finau tried to downplay his mental reps. “I have a saying. ‘It doesn’t matter what happens today, it’s going to be okay.'” He added that he tries to act as normal as he can and that sometimes we can over-try instead of just letting the game come to us.

The session concluded with a discussion of nutrition and what each player likes to take with them out on the course. Woods said she likes to snack throughout the round but that she really relies on her caddie to remind her to eat because she gets so locked-in.

Hydration was also a point of emphasis. “I don’t think you can over-drink,” said Finau, who admitted that he uses the restroom at least three times a round. “If you don’t go at least once during your round, you’re dehydrated.”

“Hydration is huge because you can cramp so easily.” Then Finau hit the audience with another one of his signature sayings, “Don’t watch how the best athletes in the world train, watch how they eat.”

Finau is a big fan of the on-course peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but it was Casey who again got everyone laughing with his telling of his favorite on-course snack: the caddie sandwich. Because he doesn’t eat before he tees off, Casey said that McLaren goes to fairly great lengths to make each sandwich gourmet. “I think he spends like $200 a week at Whole Foods,” said Casey who then went on to describe a turkey and cheese sandwich featuring basil leaves. Only Casey didn’t say “basil” with a long “A” as we’re used to hearing it. In his English accent, his pronunciation of the word sounded more like the city in Switzerland, Basel, and Finau quickly jumped in, “Um, he’s not from around here folks.” That pretty much brought the house down.

Product Innovation (3:05-3:50p)
From there, we lined-up to experience one of Nike Golf’s newest product innovations, the custom Nike Polo. Step 1 was pick your polo. There were four colors to choose from: white, black, gray, and lavender. But this was no ordinary polo.

This polo had an bright orange ribbon sewn onto the lower button placket and matching orange thread criss-crossing the top button into place, meaning it was the special crossover polo worn by Nike athletes in multiple sports throughout the past year. There was also a facsimile of the original Nike shoe box on the inside back collar.

I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to this stuff, so I knew the significance of these shirts. The orange tab was great, but the real differentator came at Step 2: choose your patch. There were a bunch of embroidered patches from a Just Do It and Nike AIR logo to a Swoosh Golf or Air Max shoes for us to select from.

This is just like the patch of Frank, Tiger Woods’ head cover, that you’ve seen Tiger wearing at several of his press conferences this year. Like Woods, the Nike athletes who wore the polo sported special patches that were important and/or significant to them. Talk about items not for retail sale!

At Step 3, we dropped our shirts and patches off to be manually pressed onto the polo using a special heat-transfer process. Just think of the possibilities for your next tournament or Member/Guest event!

Breakout Sessions (4:00-4:45p)
Right after we received our Nike name badges, we had a chance to register for one of six breakout sessions after the product innovation indoors. There were putting, chipping, pitching, and bunker sessions, but the session that really caught my eye was Golf Fitness. We got a special color-coded bracelet to identify our session of choice, and after everyone headed back outside after the product innovation was over, the chairs were cleared and out came the yoga mats, blocks, and straps. Roberts led us in our own personal 45-minute Yoga for Golf class.

Roberts talked about how the glutes are the most powerful muscles in golf and the importance of warming-up dynamically (while moving) as opposed to statically. Roberts also stressed the importance of breathing. “Breathing is the fastest way to reset your mind,” she said. “It helps you go from a sympathetic to a parasympathetic mind when you do your best cognitive processing.” Who would have thought that breathing can help you do some of your best thinking? It was amazing the before and after differences in our flexibility after just a few minutes of stretching.

After our breakout session ended around 4:45p, it was time to pick-up our custom polos. Talk about presentation! Each polo was sitting in its own orange Nike shoe box with a black Day in the Desert cardboard sleeve and the polo customization form on top. When you opened up the box and separated the white tissue paper, there was your shirt with the embroidered patch neatly applied, a gray Nike hat, a Nike water bottle, Roberts’ Yoga for Golfers DVD, a handful of fluorescent yellow golf tees, and a Thank You card. A Thank You card? Seriously? Thank YOU for inviting us! It was a great end to what had already been an incredibly memorable day.