BROOKLINE, Massachusetts – Travis Vick’s first-tee experience on Monday at the U.S. Open already ranks as something he’ll never forget. He estimates there were 1,000 people at The Country Club there to watch the other Texas Longhorn in the group – World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
The 22-year-old Vick says he’s on a golf high, and rightly so.
Two weeks ago, Vick clinched the winning point for Texas at the NCAA Championship in Scottsdale, Arizona. One week before that, he shot 9-under 133 in final qualifying at Royal Oaks and Lakewood country clubs in Dallas. Vick eagled the par-5 17th hole at Lakewood to play his way into his first major championship, sweet revenge after being disqualified from his qualifier last year for accidentally playing with 15 clubs.
Vick had lunch with Scheffler ahead of his round at Royal Oaks to get some tips on his home track.
“(Scottie) shot a 58 there, I think,” said Vick. “That gave me confidence that it can be done. That you can go low.”
Their conversations around The Country Club on Monday were more about life than golf, though Vick enjoyed the up-close-and-personal view of Scheffler’s game, calling his iron play “underrated.”
“It was a very relaxed atmosphere,” said Vick. “It wasn’t intense grind mode.”
Trey Vick typically caddies for his son but will be outside the ropes this week as swing coach Adam Porzak takes over.
Last summer, Porzak was on the bag for student Brian Stark when he met Vick in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur. Vick got off to a hot start, but then started to struggle with a swing flaw he hadn’t been able to shake mid-round.
“I turned to him and said, ‘Hey, do you know what I’m doing wrong?” Vick recalled. Porzak said yes.
Walking down the fairway together late in the match, Vick turned to Porzak and asked, “Hey, when can I get that lesson?”
Oklahoma State’s Stark, who was walking a few paces behind, said, “Not now!”
It makes for a good story, of course. Since Vick began working with Porzak, he has tightened up his wedge game and made great strides with his short game, though Vick is quick to interject that there’s still much to learn.
“When he has a wedge in his hand now,” said Porzak, “I feel like every time I’m just waiting for it to drop next to the hole. I can honestly say it didn’t used to be like that.”
Vick appreciates the vulnerability Scheffler displayed after his Masters victory, when he talked about how he “cried like a baby” Sunday morning from the stress.
After the Masters, Scheffler spoke with members of College Golf Fellowship, a faith-based ministry that Vick is heavily involved in, attending several retreats over the years. Scheffler and good friend Sam Burns co-host a retreat each year.
Vick was a three-sport athlete at Second Baptist in Houston through his junior year, winning state championships in golf and baseball and leading his team to the semifinals in football as quarterback.
“It helps with pressure situations,” said Vick of being a multi-sport athlete. “Making that lag putt on 18, putting myself in what the world would classify as high, tense pressure situations.
“When you’ve done that in multiple sports, it helps change your mindset, allows you to focus in.”
When Scheffler competed as an amateur in the U.S. Open, he played practice rounds with Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson and said he’ll always do the same for young amateurs because he learned so much from those experiences.
For Trey Vick, the value of his son’s experience with Scheffler extended far beyond golf.
“Scottie just seems to be so consistent in the way he treats everybody,” said Trey. “I just really appreciate that. You couldn’t ask for anything more as a dad. Because you want your son to come along and to be steady as a human being, which is more important.”
As Vick prepares for the first major of his young career, Scheffler said the best advice he can offer is to keep it light and focus on incremental improvements.
“I find a lot of guys really try to make these quantum leaps where it’s, like, I’m going to make this swing change, and it’s going to totally change my game,” said Scheffler. “That whole rebuilding process I think has a tendency to really hurt guys.
“For me, I always try to get a little bit incrementally better over time, versus making these kind of drastic changes to improve a ton at once.
“Then don’t take you yourself too seriously, because you’re going to hit really, really bad shots. It’s not all about hitting perfect golf shots. It’s about managing your misses and responding to those.”
