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Alex Elias  Briar Oar Doug Spencer is an Assistant Golf Professional at The Country Club, ranked 19th in America, and Wilderness Country Club (Naples, FL). Spencer has previously served as an Assistant Golf Professional at Scioto Country Club (Ranked 60th), Calusa Pines Golf Club (Ranked 69th), Inverness Club (Ranked 58th), and The Kittansett Club (Ranked 89th). 11-time PGA Tour winner and 2013 U.S. Open Champion Justin Rose said, "Great golf is how good your bad shots are." In response to Rose's comment, Doug Spencer, Assistant Golf Professional at The Country Club and Wilderness Country Club, said, "I believe Justin Rose is spot on with this statement. Golf is entirely a positional game. If you can keep the golf ball in front of you while you play, then you’ll have a great chance of posting a great score." Referencing his own experiences, Spencer said, "I once read Build the Swing of a Lifetime by Mike Bender. A great story in this book is when Mike asked five-time PGA Tour winner Jonathan Byrd what he considered to be a good shot for a wedge or 9- iron. Jonathan replied, 'Anything inside 15 feet of the flag or closer.' Mike went on to ask him the same question for the rest of the clubs in his set. Byrd said, 'For an 8- or a 7-iron, it was 20 feet; for a 6- or a 5-iron, 25 feet; and for a 4-iron or a rescue club, 35 feet or closer.'" "This story goes to show that even at the highest level of the game, the best players in the world are not trying to knock down every flag stick and there is a larger margin of error contrary to popular belief. This is important for everyone to realize and understand as it allows you to set your expectations in accordance with your handicap. Often, golfers are way too hard on themselves in regard to the results of their golf shots," said Spencer.  As bad shots are inevitable, Spencer discussed how amateurs can limit their mistakes and avoid compounding mistakes.
"I believe amateurs can limit their mistakes by playing to conservative targets. You can do this by playing away from the trouble off the tee. For example, if there is water on the right side and your predominate shot shape is a slice; you would want to tee off from the far right side of the tee to play away from the trouble and big number," said Spencer. "As well, on approach shots, many amateurs would be better off if they aimed for the middle of the green instead of aiming at a hole location at the edge of the green. By aiming at the middle of the green, there is some margin for error if you push or pull your golf shot." Furthermore, Spencer said, "My advice for following a poor shot is to find a way to get the ball back into position in a conservative way. This will allow you to minimize the damage from your previous shot played and could possibly give you a chance to make par or hopefully at the worst, bogey. Bogeys are easier to recover from than double-bogeys and triple-bogeys."
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2023 U.S. Amateur Semifinalist Parker Bell Reflects on His Performance at Cherry Hills Country Club8/24/2023
Alex Elias
(Chris Keane/USGA)
Reflecting on his mindset ahead of the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club, rising Sophomore at Florida, Parker Bell admitted, "I definitely thought I had the game to make the Match Play, but I don’t know if I can say, 'I thought I was going to win.'" As for when Bell realized he could win the championship, Bell said, "Once I got past Maxwell [Ford], and I got to the Quarterfinal Match vs. Ben James, I believed I could win the U.S. Am. When my confidence is high, I feel like I can compete with anyone."
Defeating Bryce Lewis (Round of 64, 2&1), Jacob Modleski (Round of 32, 3&2), Maxwell Ford (Round of 16, 5&4), and Ben James (Quarterfinals) in 19 holes, Bell credited much of his success to his superb play off the tee, saying, "Off the tee is probably my biggest strength, when it's going well, which translates well to Match Play."
"In Match Play, I’m able to free up a little bit more because if you hit one off line, you might make bogey or double, but you only lose one hole," said Bell. Although Bell credited much of his success to his superb play off the tee, a recent equipment change proved to be instrumental in his success as well. Bell said, "I actually put a new putter (L.A.B. Golf Mezz. 1) in the bag right before the U.S. Am. I had never used it in competition, and I had only used it in three other rounds." As for the reason behind the change, Bell said, "The putter I had before, I had no confidence with. That was what was holding me back. I knew I was hitting the ball so well, and I knew I was hitting it too well to be finishing where I was finishing." 
(Kathryn Riley/USGA)
Following his win vs. James, the 7th ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, and ahead of his Semifinal Match, vs. Nick Dunlap, ranked 5th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, Bell received a phone call from Florida alum and 7-time PGA Tour Winner, Billy Horschel. Bell said, "Nick, was obviously regarded as one of the best players heading into the tournament, him and Gordon [Sargent], but he told me, 'You don't have to change anything. You don’t have to do anything special. Just keep playing your game. If you get down in the match, don’t press.'"
Reflecting on the Semifinal Match, Bell said, "The night before I played Nick, I didn’t sleep well. Knowing what I was playing for the next day was definitely on my mind, but once I got out there I was surprised at how much I could lock in and focus." Bell continued, "Sometimes when I get nervous, I'll start hitting it everywhere, but against Nick, I played really solid and he had to play pretty damn well to beat me. I was impressed with myself and proved I compete and go toe to toe with the best." |
