Shane Lowry and teammate Rory McIlroy captured the Zurich Classic earlier this year.
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If you’ve never played in a pro-am before, I highly recommend doing so. Sure, it’s competitive and everyone’s trying to play their best golf, but it can also be more fun than a normal round because of the whole team aspect.
I documented 10 things I learned from my first-ever pro-am last summer, which was an unreal experience that tested my mental game as much as my physical game. And while I’m appreciative of the guys I played with (which featured four guys per team), with all due respect to my playing partners, I would’ve much rather had Shane Lowry as a teammate.
Lowry is one of the more successful pro players in the world, and tends to find himself hovering around the top of the leaderboard during most tournaments — as evidenced by his five T10 finishes this season. And as someone who frequents pro-ams himself, Lowry is more than happy to share some advice for amateurs playing in them.
So what pro-am tips does Lowry have? He recently revealed some to our Dylan Dethier on GOLF’s Warming Up (and talked about a bunch of other topics, too), which you can see in the video below. (Ed. Note: The tip begins at the 19:14 mark in the video below, or on YouTube here).
Dethier starts the conversation with Lowry by asking about his tendency to play in pro-ams, and wonders if he’s happy to lend some advice or if he’s more of the quiet type. Lowry gave a pretty funny answer.
“I wouldn’t be a good coach,” Lowry quips in response to Dethier’s question. “I’m not very technically-minded with the game, but I can give quick tips that will fix someone.”
Lowry then shares one of his favorite things to do on the golf course: Giving advice and seeing the recipient instantly play better.
“My favorite thing to do is to give someone a quick tip, and then see them start playing well for the rest of their pro-am,” he adds. “Then they think you’re an absolute hero.”
10 secrets Shane Lowry taught me in an hour on the driving range
When asked about the most common piece of advice he tells amateur players like you or me, Lowry first asks the person how much golf they play before diving into sharing tips.
“I try to fix their setup,” he replies. “When they tell me it’s their second round this year, I’m like, ‘well I’d be sh*t too if I played only twice a year.’”
Lowry then serves up a quirky reminder for all amateurs to remember — especially when it comes to managing expectations on the golf course.
“I play golf with the best players in the world everyday, so you’re not going to impress me today, so don’t try to,” he quips. “I think that’s a good piece of advice because, they’re generally very nervous. If you put me on a football or soccer field and got me to do that in front of loads of people, I’d probably have a little bit of anxiety.”
So while performance anxiety is certainly a mental barrier that many golfers often battle, Lowry reminds players of all levels to stay within themselves and just play their games.
You can watch the full Warming Up episode with Shane Lowry below, and get other great golf tips by following GOLF’s YouTube channel.
