Scottie Scheffler, American professional golfer He was a young star on the rise with record-setting successes this summer in his native Canada. Known for his remarkable ability to secure leads and finish tournaments, Scheffler has won six PGA Tour events where he held a 54-hole lead. His path to such an all-around level of performance is an incredible story. So much of it is rooted in the relentless training and fitness regimens he’s honed over the years.
Scheffler came into his own on the Korn Ferry Tour this year, winning twice in runaway fashion. This success enabled him to secure his PGA Tour card for the 2020 season. Few remember that early in his career, he struggled to complete tournaments and maintain leads. It raised questions about how well he was actually playing in high-pressure situations. His fortunes changed when he made the jump from high school to college. During that short period, a drastic growth spurt not only changed his body and playing style.
As Scheffler continued to height, he faced physical challenges as well, including back pain—far from a rare ailment among junior golfers. However, most young athletes experience these challenges as their bodies are still developing and going through constant changes. Scheffler went to performance coach Van Biezen for advice. He has worked with Van Biezen ever since – starting when he was just 14 years old. Their collaboration has played a key role in rethinking Scheffler’s preparation process.
Van Biezen stresses the importance of working on functional mobility, strength, and endurance in Scheffler’s fitness routine. This individual program protects your injuries and increases your productivity while improving your overall health. That’s because it specifically hones in on the specific and dynamic demands of a golf swing.
“Everybody wants the sexy part; they look at Rory or Tiger a long time ago—power, speed, strength, plyometrics, box jumping, which we do,” – Van Biezen
Real success happens in the tedium of daily, repetitive, unexciting training. But it’s the sameness of it all. He’s started to understand that we have to commit to the corrective, the mobility, stability, groundwork. He does that, day in and day out,” he continued.
No question that the tweaks to Scheffler’s preparation plan have produced dividends. What he’s done is learned how to better work his body and new physics in play. Through targeted exercises, he has learned to load properly into his right hip during swings—a crucial movement for maximizing power and control.
“When I turn properly into my right hip, I can load and then push off and easily get all the way back on my left side versus kind of doing a reversal,” – Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler understands that without his fitness regimen, playing at that high level for long stretches would be unsustainable.
“If I didn’t work out and do the things that I do in the gym to be able to play golf, I wouldn’t be able to sustain my body the way that I have been for the last 10 years,” – Scottie Scheffler
Another factor to Scheffler’s success is the competitive nature of his training sessions with Van Biezen. Their training sessions frequently turn into good natured shootouts that drive each contestant to become the best they can be.
“Scottie loves to chirp in the gym,” – Van Biezen
Here’s a highlight she shared from a day spent learning about strength training. Scheffler got his teammate Tom pumped up by making him do skater squats with a weighted vest on. Their friendship provides a further element of motivation to their practices.
“One time we had a strength day and Scottie had a weighted vest doing something called skater squats and Scottie is telling Tom, ‘You can’t do that,’ and they pushed Tom to do it, so they go back and forth, fight each other and push each other,” – Van Biezen
The structure of their relationship was built upon the correcting bad movement patterns.
“I started from ground zero with him,” – Van Biezen
With an understanding of biomechanics, Van Biezen is able to create exercises that target Scheffler’s specific needs. With his wealth of experience he’s able to spot imbalances and asymmetries that result in pain or injury before they become a problem!
“I’ve known Scotty for so long; I can see how his body moves, and then I kind of reverse engineer those movements and then we introduce exercise in the gym to basically either clean up that bad movement pattern or activate a certain body part or muscle groups,” – Van Biezen
The unknowns inherent in physical development when differentiated by age can create difficult situations that should be anticipated and managed through proper planning.
“When Mother Nature kicks in, it can create a lot of imbalances and asymmetries,” – Van Biezen
Van Biezen further elaborates that the repetitive motion of a golf swing can worsen these areas of concern. As Scheffler continued to grow at a tremendous rate throughout his teen years, he started to lose flexibility—an important component for being able to create an efficient swing.
“Because the golf swing is based on repetitive movements to specific muscle groups, those imbalances and asymmetries can create pain and injury… Scottie grew really fast and lost a lot of flexibility,” – Van Biezen
To meet these obstacles, Scheffler’s fitness regimen has evolved with extreme fluidity throughout his year.
“Your body is a dynamic entity. It’s always going to change whether it’s bad beds, plane rides, whatever,” – Van Biezen
This understanding makes them better connected to adjust their training philosophies week by week based on what’s necessary.
“So we kind of read and react quite a bit week to week,” – Van Biezen
Scheffler certainly isn’t the first player to embrace such a complex fitness routine, but it does emphasize his commitment to achieving sustained greatness on the PGA Tour. The unique interplay between mental fortitude and physical preparedness has seen him come to the fore even when under the gun.
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