Scottie Scheffler on being a winning golfer not an identity, "not a fulfilling life".

[NailedIt]

13 minutes ago, Titleist99 said:

you think the royal kingdom got to Scottie? 🤣

Truthfully, no but they got Rahmbo, Bryson, and Cam Smith when they all seemed to be at their best. It would be tough to turn down $100's of millions though. Joking aside, I do feel like SS doesnt seem to enjoy himself out there lately. For someone who says it doesnt define him or doesnt "care", he seems like he cares a whole lot and gets frustrated easily on course when things aren't going his way. 

[PedronNiall]

3 hours ago, PowderedToastMan said:

I only watched this small clip, but what I see is a burnt-out athlete. Scottie isn't MJ, but MJ retired for the first time at around the same age, asking similar questions ("what's the point?"). A renewed desire to reach new heights, along with a stubborn ability to stay in the moment, brought MJ back. 

 

Bob Rotella talks about how the enjoyment/satisfaction comes from chasing the dream rather than achieving it. It seems like maybe Scottie has lost that a bit, which by the way, is a normal human reaction to the level of success he has currently reached. 

 

I largely agree with the sentiment expressed here that Scottie is showing maturity with his statement, having his priorities in a good place. However, I've talked with a lot of older athletes who quit or stopped trying as much in their prime years, who would have done it differently now. It's really a catch-22 that many people experience at the end of their lives. I will say that I don't hear people regretting spending too much time with their kids, but Scottie is living his dream right now on tour, and it seems like he's forgetting that. Yes, his family is much more important, but he's depriving himself of joy by not being mindful that he is living his dream right now. 

 

If he hasn't already, I hope he has a good talk with Jack Nicklaus. That man perfected the work-life balance and was fiercely present, whether on the course or with his family. I have no doubt though that with a solid break from golf, Scottie's question of "what's the point" will seem like ancient history and will instead go back to winning tournaments. 

 

I think Scottie is just Scottie. The guy went and had a beer at a local bar with his wife and friends on the way back from winning The Masters and sat around chatting with some of the regulars. Guy isn't Tiger or Jack or anyone else but himself. 

 

There's also almost no way to get a perfect amount of competition and winning. Most people are better off erring on the side of maybe longing for a little more once it's all over rather than getting to the point of loathing what once brought them satisfaction. That's how I see it anyway. 

[Albatross Dreamer]

4 hours ago, straightshot7 said:

And I'm sure he already is or the next step will be realizing he can do incredible things with the means and influence he's been blessed with.

 

Who isn't going to take his phone call?

 

He has the rest of life to create whatever change he wants to. 

How do you know he’s not already?

 

Seems you’re filling in hypotheticals off what he didn’t say and assuming he’s looking at things in a “self-centered” way

[joe perry]

I haven’t read the comments but I blame the wife 🙂

[tiderider]

10 hours ago, joe perry said:

I haven’t read the comments but I blame the wife 🙂

lot ... LOT ... of psychoanalysis in there ... meanwhile, he's back on the range with his normal, well-balanced self thinking "that'll get em talking, hope they leave me alone" ... 

[golferdude54]

It’s interesting to note that Tiger’s best year ever in 2000, he didn’t have children yet.
 

Ben Hogan never had children. Or Byron Nelson. You have Hogan winning 3 majors in a row in 1953 and Byron winning 11 tournaments in a row in 1945 and Tiger winning 4 majors in a row 2000-2001, all without children. 
 

Even Tiger’s 7 win streak in 2006-2007 was before his first kid was born. There is definitely a pattern when it comes to win streaks in golf.

[me05501]

Funniest comment I saw under the interview clip: "Jail changed him." 😄

 

From a human perspective I agree with Scottie's comments and I think it's good to have a top athlete sharing this perspective. 

From a financial perspective I would say that it's much easier to have Scottie's point of view having accomplished what he has in terms of trophies and wealth. It's very easy to assess those things after you already have them and very difficult when you don't. 

Edited July 16 by me05501

[RoyalMustang]

16 hours ago, forrester_fire said:

I'd rather root for athletes like this than the guys that are completely consumed by their sport.  In the end, professional sports are just a fun distraction and mean absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things.  It's a big part of the reason I could never root for Tiger, Kobe, or MJ; they let their pursuit of an otherwise meaningless activity consume them to the point that they weren't very good humans.

 

Same! You can give everything on the field of battle and still be a good person off of it. Steve Prefontaine comes to mind. A guy who could not lose in front of his home fans: he refused to let them down by coming in 2nd at Hayward. 

 

Yet he loved being out at the bar as the life of the party. He regularly drove up I-5 to the state pen in Salem to introduce inmates to running. He came to classrooms, talked to kids, signed autographs, inspired people. He shared his love of running, and of life, to anyone he could.   

[RoyalMustang]

1 hour ago, golferdude54 said:

It’s interesting to note that Tiger’s best year ever in 2000, he didn’t have children yet.
 

Ben Hogan never had children. Or Byron Nelson. You have Hogan winning 3 majors in a row in 1953 and Byron winning 11 tournaments in a row in 1945 and Tiger winning 4 majors in a row 2000-2001, all without children. 
 

Even Tiger’s 7 win streak in 2006-2007 was before his first kid was born. There is definitely a pattern when it comes to win streaks in golf.

 

That's an interesting point.

I bet each player's mental makeup has a lot to do it. In baseball it's often the opposite: you'll often see players with "new dad energy" after having their first child. Baseball is all-consuming with one off-day every 2 weeks or so, insane travel, and is a battle just to stay healthy and on the field. It seems that for players, getting married and having kids gains them a new perspective on life and allows them to leave the diamond behind for a bit each day, at least when they are playing at home or during the offseason. 

 

For me personally, having my first kid and racing a bicycle as a pro made me more efficent. I streamlined my activities, planned my workouts and meals so that I could get in the 18-hour weeks required to race a bike at that level. Saturday mornings and my wife is at work? My 1-year old goes in the Burley and I tow him around for 50 miles. We take some apple slices to feed horses along the way. I'm only averaging 19mph instead of the normal 21mph on that country loop but the effort is the same, and towing a light trailer is actually very good for your pedaling efficiency. But cycling is slightly different in that there's less technical analysis, less mental makeup. You've got the legs or you don't, and the path to getting the legs is pretty clear if you've got the talent. 

 

I need decompression from my sport or job: during Nature Valley GP one year I read most of "Too Big to Fail" between stages. Nothing is worse than sitting around all morning, waiting for the stage to start, knowing your going to be in the pain cave at kilometer zero when the field is single file for the first 45 miles, fighting for wheels, averaging 29mph. That sense of dread is not something to carry with you all day. 

[Hawkeye77]

1 hour ago, golferdude54 said:

It’s interesting to note that Tiger’s best year ever in 2000, he didn’t have children yet.
 

Ben Hogan never had children. Or Byron Nelson. You have Hogan winning 3 majors in a row in 1953 and Byron winning 11 tournaments in a row in 1945 and Tiger winning 4 majors in a row 2000-2001, all without children. 
 

Even Tiger’s 7 win streak in 2006-2007 was before his first kid was born. There is definitely a pattern when it comes to win streaks in golf.

 

And then there's Jack, who may be the exception (but really isn't) - cough, Phil won majors when the kids were more a part of his life.  Watson won majors before and as/after his kids came along.  Palmer = kids, Player = kids.  

 

I don't see a pattern - I see different people with different lives and experiences.  Nobody has a leg up or advantage either way - they find their own balance. 

Edited July 16 by Hawkeye77

[chip75]

It seems like ennui, but it's healthy when you need to be focused on the process and not the outcome. It would be healthy in other professions too but the outcome and a successful one is sacrosanct. Once you succeed you're expected to do it again, faster, better, and bigger.

 

Some folks will see this as a ho-hum attitude, but looks like he's giving 100%. I see it as you make a hole in one, but you've still got the next shot to hit, you've got to take that euphoria, level out and start again.

[Obee]

I'll tell you what it is ... "Boring."

[iBanesto]

17 hours ago, me05501 said:

Funniest comment I saw under the interview clip: "Jail changed him." 😄

 

[AintNoHobby]

Maybe I'm just a history nerd but to me it's not about the celebration - it's about going down in Golf history forever.  

 

Scottie's name will still be on those trophies for centuries after he's gone. Among the select few golfers who will never be forgotten. 

 

I get what he's trying to say as a young father myself and it's very commendable that he wants to be remembered as a family man and not a golfer - but this is why I cheer more for a guy like Rory McIlroy who talks so much about the history of the game and what it means to him.

[iBanesto]

On 7/16/2025 at 2:11 AM, RoyalMustang said:

https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/45745697/scottie-scheffler-take-success-golf-point

 

Scottie gets it. I love this attitude. He wants to win more than anyone duing the tournament, but at the end of the day, who he is as a person isn't tied to his identity as a golfer. That's a superb distinction that takes some real maturity to understand. Sure, the world may know him as the world's best golfer. But he may prefer to be remembered by his friends and family as "if my car broke down at 3am and I needed help, he's the guy that would take my call and drive out to help me ". I know I would. 

 

I see so many people that tie their identity to a sport, a culture, a group, a fanbase. Tons of pros are like this: all they know is golf. All of their friends and staff are part of the golf world. They literally have no identity outside of golf. No hobbies, no interest in educating themselves. Just golf. It's like this for elite amateurs as well in all sports. I know folks who literally carry "I'm a golfer" around on their sleeve with their conversations, their clothing choices, their lifestyle choices. When I raced bicycles at the elite level, we'd be sitting around all morning (stages typically start at 1pm and end about 5pm) and 2/3 of my team would be sitting aound, talking about pro cycling in Europe. Or bike tech. Or power meters. Or nutrution. The other 1/3 would be talking about good books, the current economic and finance climate, or philosophy (we had a few that had liberal arts backgounds). One was getting his MBA at the time, another going to med school, a 3rd a remote working chemical engineer for Daimler. Those folks were a lot more interesting than the "I'm a pro bike racer" folks.  

 

That begs the question: if all that disappeared tomorrow, who would you be? If I'm rendered a quadrapalegic tomorow and can no longer golf, have I lost my identity? For me personally, no. I love golf, I play golf, and I want to get better at it. It's fulfilling. But being a golfer is not part of who I am as a person. if it all goes away, it's inconsequential to who I am as a person, father, husband, neighbor, and citizen. 

 

I also love his perspective on winning. It's fleeting and not fulfiling long term. The process is what counts more than the result. I won a national title in a different sport a decade ago, something I'd been training towards since my late teens. The joy lasted about 24 hours. Then I was back to my routine, wondering what was next. Ask anyone back in the day who broke 4 minutes for a mile (when breaking 4 minutes was a big deal) and they'll say the same. Lifetime goal, checked off. What's next? a 3:56 mile of course. More efficent training, better nutuition. But only a loser would go though life as "Hi, I'm XXX and a 4 minute miler. Nice to meet you". 

 

The pressure of everyone expecting a person to win every week can be overwhelming. That's why there a handful of great athletes who retired early.

 

Since you're a runner, Herb Elliott and Peter Snell both had great and short careers before leaving to earn a proper living.

[italianstallion]

On 7/16/2025 at 11:02 AM, me05501 said:

Funniest comment I saw under the interview clip: "Jail changed him." 😄

 

From a human perspective I agree with Scottie's comments and I think it's good to have a top athlete sharing this perspective. 

From a financial perspective I would say that it's much easier to have Scottie's point of view having accomplished what he has in terms of trophies and wealth. It's very easy to assess those things after you already have them and very difficult when you don't. 

 

Agree with all your points. I'm eight years older than him with a house, a fantastic wife, a dog, loving family on both sides, my wife and I are professionals in the same field making more than the average, good retirement accounts, and we have hobbies. But life still happens: work, house repairs, chores, grocery shopping, auto maintenance, emergency vet visits, family issues, disagreements with each other, disagreements with others. When one of these things breaks down I cannot jump off the hamster wheel I'm on and go all hands on deck to address the issue. I still have to go to work, I still have to take care of the house and corresponding chores. I'm not naïve in thinking Scottie doesn't have any of these issues, but at age 29 he's been so successful he can jump off his hamster wheel at any time and address any single one of these issues without a single worry about the others. Problems at home? He can quit his job at any time (his words, not mine). Problems with family? Take whatever time off needed for however long you need and go handle it, his job (exemptions) will be waiting. Don't have enough time to juggle all the house chores and maintenance? Hire someone else to do it all. Most people have to handle all these things themselves, which takes time away from other pursuits and therefore makes maintaining those pursuits at a high level that much more difficult. I'd love to focus only on my family and my golf hobby, but I think as most of us know that's not real life. Money doesn't buy happiness, but it does buy time, and time buys peace of mind.

 

I'm really not trying to sound jaded or jealous at all and this is certainly not an indictment of what I perceive as my own personal shortcomings in this category. Scottie's outlook is an admirable one to have, but it's also easier to have given the position he is in. That said, I appreciate him saying it with such candor, and it further solidifies him as a really good guy out there. I'm happy success found someone like him.

[fowlerscousin]

Scottie wants to be the tim duncan of golf

[PhilWhitUK]

Didn’t Duval basically say something similar after he won The Open?  He realised the feeling is temporary and not that satisfying.  In his case it led to a lack of motivation. (Which didn’t help with injuries etc).

 

in football the serial winning manager Alex Ferguson wrote that after each winning season he would look the players in the eyes to see if they still have the hunger as he realised many lose it after they have won a big trophy…..

[Murphy76]

On 7/15/2025 at 9:30 PM, joe perry said:

I haven’t read the comments but I blame the wife 🙂

 

Might apply to Rory.......

[Murphy76]

 

Based on his words and actions, I can only believe that he climbed Mt. Everest, and thought:   "Is this all there is?"

 

I would imagine that being on the PGA tour involves a lot of people kissing your a** with their hand out.  When you reach that highest achievement  (winning a major or being #1), it can be thrilling, and then the obligations set in.    I think that golf culture, and our obsession with it, could leave a subconscious  belief that as soon as I'm #1, I will ascend to heaven for all eternity.  Cue trumpets and angels.

 

Ain't so.  

 

I think we are so conditioned to place social and business achievement above all else.  He got to the top, and realized:  This is a lie, and our time on earth is more important than 'accomplishments' for other people's gain.  

 

 

[me05501]

On 7/16/2025 at 10:42 AM, golferdude54 said:

It’s interesting to note that Tiger’s best year ever in 2000, he didn’t have children yet.
 

Ben Hogan never had children. Or Byron Nelson. You have Hogan winning 3 majors in a row in 1953 and Byron winning 11 tournaments in a row in 1945 and Tiger winning 4 majors in a row 2000-2001, all without children. 
 

Even Tiger’s 7 win streak in 2006-2007 was before his first kid was born. There is definitely a pattern when it comes to win streaks in golf.

We see having kids through a modern lens where parents prioritize them.
 

Back in Nelson’s and Hogan’s day dealing with kids was largely considered women’s work. 

[PedronNiall]

On 7/17/2025 at 5:24 AM, SunDevil009 said:

Maybe I'm just a history nerd but to me it's not about the celebration - it's about going down in Golf history forever.  

 

Scottie's name will still be on those trophies for centuries after he's gone. Among the select few golfers who will never be forgotten. 

 

I get what he's trying to say as a young father myself and it's very commendable that he wants to be remembered as a family man and not a golfer - but this is why I cheer more for a guy like Rory McIlroy who talks so much about the history of the game and what it means to him.

 

I don't really see Rory in the camp of living for history. The legacy of many championships and courses might give extra meaning to the wins and he's certainly knowledgable of the past and takes pride in adding his name where he has, but he doesn't come across as someone living for it in any way. I don't think he'd keep grinding it out if it stopped being a challenge that brings him joy to pursue. 

 

Jordan, Tiger, those are the kind of guys who lived for it, and you see what that pursuit cost them however great they might have been in the arena. Tiger talked about how much he missed the crowds and the roars when he came back. He and players like Rory and Scottie aren't all that similar on that front. 

[kylesilk]

On 7/15/2025 at 6:24 PM, smoky25 said:

Basically dopamine in action.  He gets a big dopamine boost from the process of competing, not necessarily from winning, which is how dopamine works in the brain. The process of competing (or doing anything "difficult") that promises a reward at the end is what causes an increase in dopamine, not the reward at the end.  The completion of the process actually causes an abrupt lowering of dopamine production and the subsequent "what's the point" 2 minutes later that he speaks of.  Most of these guys would probably tell you they're addicted (dopamine) to competing, not necessarily to winning.  

I think it's similar to the club buying phenomenon a lot of us have here.  To me anyway,  a lot of the fun is configuring what club setup to get, how it's different to what I have, researching it, etc etc.  The anticipation is sometimes more satisfying than when the club arrives.  You get the club, realize it doesn't do much different, usually, than what you had. Then it's on to the next purchase😂

[A.Princey]

20 hours ago, me05501 said:

We see having kids through a modern lens where parents prioritize them.
 

Back in Nelson’s and Hogan’s day dealing with kids was largely considered women’s work. 

As much as some folks won't admit it, this is very true. The world was FULL of Don Draper types.

[tgws]

what did it cost Jordan?

[PedronNiall]

Sky Sports just had a little montage of the clip blended with some of his play backed by an apropos choice of Linkin Park tracks. Was interesting hearing Faldo's take on it vs Beem's.

[straightshot7]

On 7/15/2025 at 8:26 PM, Albatross Dreamer said:

How do you know he’s not already?

 

Seems you’re filling in hypotheticals off what he didn’t say and assuming he’s looking at things in a “self-centered” way

I literally said “I’m sure he already is or the next step will be…”

 

his entire monologue was very self centered.

 

i agree with you though that if he had a full discussion about it, there were things he left out that aren’t self centered. 

he didn’t mention them though. The closest he got was a mention of his family. 

[bscinstnct]

“You win it, you celebrate, get to hug my family, my sister's there, it's such an amazing moment. Then it's like, OK, what are we going to eat for dinner? Life goes on”

 

This is one reason he is so effective. His lack of euphoria when he wins, It’s his job, it’s not everything. 

[straightshot7]

When Scottie made these comments, one of the reporters should have asked him if he gained this perspective while in jail. 

[PedronNiall]

32 minutes ago, straightshot7 said:

I literally said “I’m sure he already is or the next step will be…”

 

his entire monologue was very self centered.

 

i agree with you though that if he had a full discussion about it, there were things he left out that aren’t self centered. 

he didn’t mention them though. The closest he got was a mention of his family. 

 

He was asked what the longest was he's celebrated something or the most crushing loss and how long it took him to get over it. He wasn't asked what he feels he means to the game or what it means to him to inspire others. He was asked how much he revels in the wins or gets down from the losses and he answers why for him win or lose it's not that important in the big picture. Not sure why you'd expect him to be extolling the life affirming, society-saving values of golf when he's responding to that question. Not self-centered anymore than a question about the meaning of something to the self should be.

 

Exact question: "You talk about, uh, the show goes on, which it does. What would be the longest you've ever celebrated something, and what was the most crushing loss or the time it took to get over one?"