RYDERS ON THE STORM
David Toms, Scott Verplank savor the privilege of membership on the U.S. Ryder Cup team.
Although the 34th Ryder Cup matches were postponed following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. (and are now scheduled to take place this September in England), two ClubCorp members are savoring their success in making the team. David Toms, winner of the 2001 PGA Championship, resides at Southern Trace Country Club in Shreveport, Louisiana. His teammate, Scott Verplank, mastered his craft while growing up on the fairways and greens at Brookhaven Country Club near Dallas, where he remains an honorary member.
Toms, 35, regarded by his peers as one of the PGA Tour’s best ball-strikers and coolest customers in clutch situations, shed any remaining traces of anonymity by winning his first major last August. Toms, who prevailed in a riveting, ebb-and-flow final group pairing with Phil Mickelson, manufactured a gutsy par on the 72nd hole at Atlanta Athletic Club after laying up with his approach shot. A Louisiana native and standout at Louisiana State University, where he was a two-time All-American, Toms provided more footage for the 2001 PGA Tour’s highlight reel by firing a final round 64 to clip Mickelson in New Orleans. That duel on the bayou foreshadowed their tango at the PGA Championship.
Verplank, 37, the nation’s top-ranked amateur and collegiate golfer in the mid-1980s and winner of the 1985 Western Open while still a student at Oklahoma State University, seemed destined for serious stardom. But the Texan’s early days on the PGA Tour were positively Springsteenesque: one step up and two steps back. Showing the grit of someone who has had to deal with diabetes since the age of 9, plus overcome three career-threatening elbow surgeries, Verplank since 1998 has clawed back into the upper echelon of the PGA Tour. He’s remarkably consistent and possesses a short game to be admired, envied, or both. Verplank celebrated his selection to the Ryder Cup team by winning the 2001 Canadian Open two weeks later.
Recently, the two rookie Ryder Cup members talked about their careers and aspirations with Private Clubs magazine.
You had a terrific season in 2001. To what factors do you attribute your outstanding play?
Toms: I guess being in the right place at the right time. A lot of times, when you’re playing your best golf, you’re at home playing with your buddies. It just so happens, especially when I won the PGA, that I peaked at the right time and was playing extremely well on the week of a major. It just kind of fell into my lap.
I’m not doing anything different than I have the last few years. I’ve just continued, as far as my golf swing goes, working on the same stuff. I’m trying to stay on top of my faults and continually try to correct those. I’m just getting better as a golfer and taking advantage of the opportunities when they are there — when I’m playing really well and have a chance to win. I’ve been able to do that.
Verplank: The main factor is that my health has been consistently better. I’m in better shape physically than I’ve been in the past, and most important, this insulin pump I’ve been wearing [since the fall of 1999] has made me feel a lot better and has made my health a lot more stable. I really haven’t played that much different this year than I did last year.
After I started wearing this pump, my game has been quite a bit better, consistently. The last half of last year, I played very well and, most of this year, I’ve played pretty good. To be honest with you, I played better the last half of last year than I’ve played at any time this year. That’s the way it works sometimes. I may have shot lower scores this year, but I hit the ball better last year.
Was there any event, or events, in the recent past that built your confidence and set the stage for your success?
Toms: It’s been a period of a few years now where I’ve steadily improved. Also, I’m getting more experience playing. Now that I’m in the winners’ pairings, I’m playing with better players and world-class players. You get more comfortable, not only on Thursday and Friday, but when you’re trying to win a tournament down the stretch. When you’re accustomed to playing with those players, it makes it a bit easier when you’re competing against them to win a tournament. I’ve played with pretty much everybody you would look forward to playing with.
Verplank: My confidence started getting better after I got over the last elbow surgery I’ve had. Then I won the PGA Tour Q School [at the end of 1997]. I was prepared to play for the first time in a long time, in two or three years. I was prepared to play physically and mentally, and I played very well. Then, 1998 actually was a pretty darned good year. Other than not winning, I played very well that year, too, with something like 10 top 10s. Other than 1999, out of the last four years, I’ve been a top 20 player. In 1999, I didn’t feel very good. Looking back, 1999 may have been the most important year because it forced me to try this pump. Even though it wasn’t a good year performance-wise on the course, it definitely got my attention enough to start taking better care of myself.
What, in your opinion, is the strength of your golf game?
Toms: It’s not one area in particular. The last few years, the reason I’ve had more success is I’ve gotten the ball in play a lot better. I mean not necessarily hitting every fairway, but just not hitting as many bad shots off the tee. That’s helped me score. The last couple of years, I’ve had some pretty good putting years, so that’s helped me win tournaments. But I think my overall strength is that when I’m playing well, I have the ability to shoot low scores and, at times, shoot some real low scores. And then also [I have] the ability to take advantage of having good finishes when I’m playing well. A lot of times, players will be playing well but they have that one bad day on the weekend that knocks them out of contention. The last few years, I’ve just been able to hang in there. I’ve had a chance to play well and I’ve obviously come out on top a couple of times.
Verplank: Basically, the strength of my game in the last two years has been consistency. Last year, I really drove the ball beautiful, really nice and straight. This year, I’m not driving the ball quite as straight. But I have no glaring weaknesses at the moment. I hit a good amount of fairways, hit a good amount of greens. I’m good at chipping and putting. Last year, driving would have been my strength. This year, it hasn’t been quite as good, but I’ve putted better. I’ve kind of raised all the levels just a little bit, and the sum of the parts makes the whole.
In what areas are you seeking to improve?
Toms: More consistency, not having as many peaks and valleys, as far as every part of the game. One week, I might drive it well; the next week, I’m just so-so. One week, I might putt really well; the next week, just so-so. It’s easier on your psyche if you’re doing those things well all the time. Not outstanding — when you’re outstanding, those are the weeks that you win. I just mean that, on a more consistent basis, being able to improve my ball-striking to the point where I can depend on that every day. And also where I can putt well day in and day out, rather than getting on a hot streak. I’d rather have more consistency in every part of my game.
Verplank: All of ’em. I’m like everybody. I’d like to hit the ball a little bit better. I’d love to get an extra 30 or 40 yards, but I don’t think I have enough money to buy that. The thing I’d like to do better would be to putt a little more consistently. But it’s the same stuff for everybody — the weeks you putt well on the tour, you generally play well. The weeks you don’t, you generally don’t play as well, obviously. Putting is such an equalizer and such an important part of scoring well. You can’t hit it good enough to overcome poor putting, but you can putt good enough to overcome poor ball-striking.
How would you characterize each other’s game?
Toms: I have played a lot with Scott, both in competition and also in practice rounds. Our games are pretty similar. When we’re both on, we can drive the ball in the fairway a decent distance. I mean, we’re not long hitters at all. I’d say average length. He’s just like me, when he gets to making putts, he feels like he can make everything. I’m very impressed with his game and more so his determination. To come back from the injuries that he’s had, and to be able to play with diabetes, it takes a very structured person. He’s very determined. I’m glad he’s on the Ryder Cup team with me. I think it was a great pick, and he showed that by winning right after he was picked to be on the team.
Verplank: I would characterize David’s game as solid. He’s a really good ball-striker. He drives the ball very well and hits a lot of solid iron shots. His game is similar to mine in that when he putts well, he plays pretty doggone good. I played with him in the third round at Reno [Nevada, in 2000], when I won. We were both up there and I just made a few putts on a tough day and he didn’t, but he played fine. I’ve played with him enough times to know that he hits the ball consistently solid and straight and pretty long. He has a nice putting stroke. Obviously, when he gets a chance to win, he’s pretty good at finishing things off.
With all the emphasis these days on bigger players, does your success show there’s still a place in the game for players who aren’t physically dominant?
Toms: I think so. Golf is obviously a physical game. You’re using your body and twisting it in ways it’s not meant to be twisted. And you’re on your feet all the time. It helps to be in good shape. I’m not into the workout scene. I’m not big on nutrition or physical fitness, but I feel I’m in decent shape. I do enough physical activities to stay in good shape.
When it comes down to it, and you’re trying to win golf tournaments on Sunday, I think the mind is more powerful than the body. If you’re not mentally prepared for what’s ahead, then you’re not going to succeed. On certain golf courses, I’m not able to play as well as some of the more physically talented players, as far as the power game. But on the golf courses where accuracy and course management and short-game ability and all those things come into play a little bit more, I’m able to play well.
Verplank: Golf is a game where you obviously don’t have to dunk the ball or throw it 75 yards in the air. Although the better athlete you are, the better your chances to excel at any sport. I think what you see now is that the 5'9" players are 170-175 pounds and in pretty good shape. You don’t see guys who are 5'9" and 210, 220 pounds. There are not a lot of young guys coming out who are not in good shape and haven’t prepared their bodies to play professionally, which is a lot tougher than the Supreme Court thinks. The young guys are in better shape and they’re making themselves into better athletes by being in better condition.
How important to your success is physical conditioning? What specific training do you do for golf?
Toms: I wouldn’t even say training. Most of the workout and/or stretching or physical exercises I do have to do with injuries I’ve had in the past. As far as exercises or strengthening or stretching, I’ve had some back problems, some neck problems. All the things that I do to help those injuries are the things I work on as far as physical fitness.
When I feel a twinge here or there, I stay in the [PGA Tour’s conditioning] trailer an awful lot, and I’m very thankful they are out here. I would like to be a little more dedicated to the physical fitness side of what we do, and probably the older I get, the more I’m going to have to lean that way. I go in spurts, where I work out on the treadmill a lot, do some weights. Sometimes during the off-season, I’ll do some things. But it’s just not high on my priority list. I have other things I like to do rather than spending that time in the gym.
Verplank: It’s really important to me. I’ve been forced into working out from having all these surgeries. I have a trainer [Robert Stoner] I use at home. I work out three days a week at home and a couple of days a week on the road, during the tournaments.
I don’t lift as much weight on the road. I’ll do walking on the treadmill, or riding a bike, or something for cardiovascular. My program is not as intense as I think Tiger’s or Duval’s are, although I don’t really know what they do. I’ve got other things to balance, including diabetes and all that stuff. I’m trying to step things up a little bit, but I’m doing things as much for maintaining — not rehab but “pre-hab.” I think that’s why everybody works out in professional sports. You want to get stronger and better to prevent getting hurt. The stronger you are and the more flexible you are, then you should, theoretically, increase your chances of staying healthy and decrease your chances of getting injured.
What role does your family play in your success? Do you find it difficult at times to strike the right balance between career and family?
Toms: It’s not really hard. My wife [Sonya] is very supportive and she always has been. We actually got married during my rookie year on tour, so she has seen all the ups and downs of what the tour can be like. She knows when to try to pep me up; she knows when not to say a word. My little 4-year-old [Carter] really is into it. He loves golf, and when he’s at home, he likes to watch me on television. That gives me more incentive, so he can have something to watch. I think, at times, being in a hotel room with your family can get a little stressful, especially when you’re not playing well. But we seem to find the right mix in how many weeks we can all be together, or when we need to go home, or when I need to go home, or when I need to be on the road by myself and strictly focused on business and doing my job on the golf course.
It’s been a good mix so far. You learn from your experiences, and we’ve done that. It really comes down to the fact that my wife has been very supportive in whatever decisions I make about the best thing for my golf game. Even when we’re home and she’s chasing my 4-year-old around, if I need to go to the golf course to do some work, there’s no hesitation. She says, “Take off and do what you have to do.”
Verplank: My wife and kids are as much as anything a reason for my success. I have a great wife [Kim] and three great kids [Scottie, Hannah, Emma] and when you get those relationships and that situation, golf gets put in proper perspective. It’s a lot different perspective than it used to be for me. Then, you throw in getting hurt and having it taken away from you. It’s a whole different game for me now, and my family is the main reason for that.
My kids don’t get to travel as much as they used to. When they are with me on the road, the golf stays in the locker room once I take my shoes off. It’s probably a little more hectic, but it’s easier on me mentally because golf is the furthest thing from my mind when I’m playing with my kids or getting them ready for bed or stuff like that. You push golf off to the side. It will still be there the next day when you go to the course.
Let’s talk about 2002. What specific or general goals have you set for yourself?
Toms: Just to continue to improve. And if I feel like I’m giving it my best effort, then to just be happy with the results that come — whether that is a top five on the money list, or top 30 on the money list, or whatever I feel my skill level is. Just to try to perform up to that. Obviously, I’m capable of playing at a high level, so I’ll just try to maintain that. What I’ll look forward to most [in 2002] is getting into the major championships and continuing to have some success there. I would love to play well at Augusta, which I did in 1998, but I haven’t played well there since. Just being in contention more in the majors, because that’s what a really successful career is all about.
Verplank: I’m looking forward to playing in the Ryder Cup and I will plan my schedule somewhat around being prepared to go over there to compete, have fun, and represent the United States as best I can.
Will having to wait a year to play the Ryder Cup add any additional stress or pressure?
Toms: I look at it as we’re going to be even more prepared. Making it at the last minute, there were so many logistics to tie up. Getting your uniform, getting your golf bag, getting your family and friends and everybody prepared to go over, with their hotel rooms and airfares — just getting everything coordinated. It kind of hit us at the last minute, since I didn’t qualify until the PGA Championship. So I think that having a year to be more mentally prepared for the event will make me even more excited about it.
Verplank: I was really looking forward to the Ryder Cup. Obviously winning the Canadian Open a few weeks before we were supposed to go was showing me that I was doing the right stuff to get prepared. In that sense, I feel I have a blueprint to go by for next year. I’ll be prepared.
To be real honest, I haven’t thought about [the Ryder Cup] in that context, because the reason it was pushed back a year is a lot more important than worrying about what I’m going to do for the next 12 months. Once I knew it was canceled because of the tragic events, I haven’t really thought about it. It hasn’t been at the forefront of my mind because it’s just a golf tournament.
Veteran golf writer Russ Pate has interviewed more than a dozen members of U.S. Ryder Cup teams, several for the pages of Private Clubs.