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He plays 3 to 4 rounds before a tournament and hits balls maybe twice a week. He has a day job in logistics and just won his 3rd straight Tennessee State Amateur, something only 2 other golfers have done in 100 plus years.
Payne Denman has played 5 U.S. Amateurs, coached college golf at MTSU, Tennessee, and South Florida, and played pro golf on PGA Tour Latinoamerica before walking away. In this episode he breaks down exactly how he practices now: the 60 minute range hour he splits into 3 blocks, why he stopped hitting drivers and got better, the mirror work he does at home, and how he talks to himself like a coach talks to a player.
Timestamps
0:00 What he knows that college golfers don't
0:43 How many hours he actually practices
1:04 Mirror work, slow reps, and the 90 minute cap
2:10 Week 2: money games instead of range balls
2:33 The 45 minute session: where all the time goes
3:14 Why he quit hitting drivers (and got better)
4:41 Where college players waste unlimited hours
6:33 A lack of intent repeats what's easiest
7:10 How a coach fixes wasted practice
9:22 Talking to yourself like a coach
10:59 No coach? Write it down, 1 goal, max time
12:53 Separate mechanics from target practice
13:54 The 60 minute range hour: 3 blocks of 20
15:31 Why range games die on the course
16:22 Serial ball beating and why failure is the point
17:44 Playing scared: fear and embarrassment off the tee
19:14 Merion: the hardest course he's ever played
21:39 How he preps for championship setups
23:45 Adjusting to new grass, climates, and fog
26:45 The day job advantage
27:45 Down with 5 to play: birdies on 4 of the last 5
30:52 Fighting off the three-peat thoughts
32:22 What pro golf taught him about failure
33:35 The day he knew pro golf was over
36:32 What he tells players who want to turn pro
38:51 Reinstatement: the 4 year wait
41:31 PGA Tour Latinoamerica and the $4,000 career
44:32 What recreational golfers get wrong
46:45 What's next for Payne
