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June 10, 2021 14 mins

FOURRRRRRR!!! As in, four wins, listen as PGA professional Patrick Cantlay swings by the Lights Out Podcast With Shawne Merriman. Cantlay tells you how he prepares for each golf tournament physically and mentally. With the U.S Open in his backyard this year, Patrick gives you his mindset as he steps on the course at Torrey Pines. 

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Are you ready for this? Sean Merriman A one a
hand effect. Boom boom boom, out go the light. This
is Lights Out with Sean Merriman. Now, what's up, guys.
We're back again with another Lights Out podcast with me
Sean Merriman, and we're going golf today. Look, I know
I post my golf swing on on Instagram from time

(00:23):
in social media, and I know it's terrible, a little
bit better than Charles Barkley, but I do enjoy going
to the matches, especially the one that is coming up
at the US Open here. Uh. And we got Patrick
Cantley coming on. Um, just a hell of a player.
Congratulations him to a for one at the Memorial That
was awesome. Uh. And his next one up will be
in a few weeks at Tory Pines. Now there's only

(00:45):
about four or five golf courses I enjoy playing because
I'm just terrible. I suck, period. I guess got tight shoulders,
I'm too big, I'm a meat head. I lift weights.
That's just what is it is what it is not
that great at golf. Um. But we do have a
great one coming up with Patrick Kenley, and we're gonna
get into a little bit about what he has coming
up with markets by go to mis Sacks. You also

(01:06):
how he's filling up about in a few weeks Father's
Day weekend. That Tory Pines one of my favorite golf
course to go to and attend to. It gonna be
a great weekend there. So Patrick Kenley, hushan, Hey, what's
going on? I'm doing well. How are you good man?
How about you? Yeah, I'm just in California, Gonna go
down to Tory Pines Thursday Friday, So relaxing a little

(01:28):
bit and then off to work. Man. Look, you know
I played for the Charges in San Diego, so I
only played a couple of courses a year. I'll play
at I'll go to Tim Tebows event, I'll play in
his charity golf thing he has in Jackson every Yet
saw Grass. Obviously I'm a top golf expert. You know,
I'm a top golf expert. But Tory Pines, Man, Tory Pines,

(01:51):
that's that's my course. I love. I love going out there. Yeah,
it's a cool spots, really pretty and I'm sure it
will be as difficult as they get it for the
US for next week. It'll be fun. When do you
when are you hitting down for that? I'm gonna go
play a couple of times this week, UM, Thursday, Friday,
and uh, then I'll come back up here to Newport

(02:12):
Beach and then I'll probably head down on Monday and
play nine holes Tuesday, nine holes Wednesday. So is that
is that the normal? Because I always wonted that? Right
when you guys travel, because you're you know, every weekend
you're gone. So how many how many days before do
you go before the actual you know, course happens like
we used to go two days before our games? Right,
so we play at East Coast, West Coast, whatever it is,

(02:32):
wherever we go, we'll we'll go two days before our games.
How many how many days before the actual match? When
you go to the course and get get working. I
think for a golf course that I've been to a
bunch of times and may go just a couple of days,
so play nine holes Tuesday, nine holes Wednesday, or the
pro am Wednesday. UM usually travel on Monday, but for

(02:53):
a major, especially because they'll usually set the golf course up.
Different majors, like, for example, or a golf course that
I hadn't been to before, I like to play at
least a couple of rounds before tournament week, just to
see it and get comfortable, and then travel on Monday
and do my regular routine Tuesday Wednesday, play nine holes

(03:14):
each and kind of treat it like a regular week,
but get my work done before. So when I show
up on Tuesday Wednesday, I'm just doing my normal deal
and I don't have to really learn the golf course
when I look at that. So like we're going and
play you know, Kansas City, right, so I know we
play the Chiefs. Back when I was playing, I would
know exactly, like in December, what the field's gonna feel like, right,

(03:36):
So I'll go there and i'll you know, run before
the game or Friday or Saturday, whatever day we had
to walk through, I'll change my clicks. I'll depending on
you know, the length of the grass, with the grass
feel like that day. Is it more wet as it dry?
Is it the same? Is it the same type of
deal for you in a way? It is? Yeah. I
mean every once a while you're doing an equipment change,

(03:57):
depending on what the church's like or what the conditions
are like, how firm or stoft it is. And I
do think that like you said about running on the field.
Just for me at least before I get there. Really
tournament week, I want to know what it's going to
feel like, what it's gonna be like, so I can
have just the the least amount of new input going

(04:19):
on in my brain, so I can just focus on
me and my game and how I can visualize shots.
And so if I already know where to hit the shots,
now all I have to do is focus on visualizing
and getting comfortable hitting those shots, then that's a lot easier.
So for example, like these Majors, I'll try and play
a couple of rounds before so I'm not surprised by

(04:40):
any changes or tweets come tournament week. And it was
at the same thing and Memorial, because you know you
wanted it before, right, So I started looking at um
and I talked to my my boy Jimmy Johnson about
this whole But you know in NASCAR and he kills
it at Fontana every year, right, So he got these
certain tracks that he knows like the back of his hand,
and you know, they got their systems set up and

(05:02):
everything set up. What was it the same type of
deal at a Memorial? Similar It's a golf course I
feel really comfortable on, and they did a few renovations
UH this last year, but a majority of the shots
are UM pretty much unchanged, and so I do think
there's something to being really comfortable around a particular golf course,

(05:23):
and so you can see that in my scheduling every year.
I tend to play similar golf courses, similar places every year,
because I do think there's an advantage to UH having
hit all the shots required and seeing all the different
winds and conditions at a certain place. So I think
it really does benefit me to go back to the
same place as every year. And then if you have

(05:44):
a place like Murfield Village where I feel comfortable, you know,
that's even more of a bonus. So I have all
those good feels and um, you know, it's easier to
draw on those emotions, those good feelings and then visualize
the shots and be like, well, I hit this exact
shot to this whole location a couple of years ago,
and being able to play that over and over in

(06:06):
your head, all those good shots that you've hit makes
it a little easier when the pressure is on it.
I keep hearing you say like visualized and seen him
before because it was it was something I always idea
before I played. I would visualize having six, seven tackles,
two sacks, force fumble, fumble recovery. But I also was
working with a guy on the mental aspect of that.

(06:26):
Have you have you worked with somebody, because I keep
hearing you visually it's it's almost like I've I've heard
you know the kind of steps to this process before.
Have you worked with somebody like that. I'm curious. I
haven't worked with anybody in particular on the mental side
of things. But my coach, Jamie Mulligan is uh, you know,
he definitely approached He's my my golf coach, swing coach,

(06:48):
but he definitely looks at it very holistically. So every
part of it's important, not just getting your swing in
the right position, but you being able to feel comfortable.
And he is very good. Uh, he's very good at
taking up what he likes to say as a macro approach.
So it's all very important. It's not just about where

(07:08):
your swing, where your club positions are. And I've been
working with him since I was nine years old, so
I think, uh, a lot of how I approached the game,
uh is through his wisdom that he's been uh, you know,
putting in my years since I was a little good.
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox sports

(07:30):
Radio dot com and within the I Heart Radio app.
Search f s R to listen live. Does you guys
relationship change like over the years? Like my my high
school coaches, my boys and girls club coaches, I still
called them, you know, coach, and I still look at
the same way no matter how old I get. Have
you guys relationships kind of changed over the years. And

(07:51):
because he's seen you at nine years old and now
you know, you've kind of grown up. And how how
has that relationship been over the years. Yeah, Well he
ran the country club my grandpa was a member at
and I kind of was fortunate enough to grow up
at and so I was a lot more scared of
him when I was nine than I am now. But
it is interesting, you know, Uh, we have become great friends.

(08:13):
And you know before he was definitely very much a
mentor and an authority figure um running the country club,
and you know, we he would tell me what to
do and I would just do it. And I think
as we've gotten older, we work a lot more together.
And I think that's just the natural progression of of
me getting older and us becoming very good friends that

(08:36):
also work together at a high level. Do you have
any other mentors, like kind of guys that you watch
growing up, because one thing I see, especially you know
you guys, it's more of an individual sport for you.
But you know, a football like the Half of Mighty
taking onto your wing. And I looked up to Ray Lewis,
I looked up, you know, to these to these players,
I mean, anybody kind of take you on a day

(08:56):
way when you were at young coming up. For sure,
growing up at Virginia Pency Club, there were a number
of players that Jamie worked with, John Merrick and John Mallinger,
Peter Thomas Huo, and John Cook. John Cook probably being
the most famous of those guys. He won a number
of times on tour, more than more than ten times
on tour. And so I'll still trade text with Cookie,

(09:20):
and uh, you know, definitely when I first came out
and was starting to play some of the golf courses,
that asked him what he thought of the golf courses
and ask him how he approached um, you know, certain holes,
and so growing up, all four of them were extremely
welcoming and always open about sharing any little bit of

(09:41):
information that could help me. And so I first started
playing UM p J cour evince when I was maybe nineteen,
I was still in college. I would get some sponsor exemptions,
and I can't tell you how much easier it was
going to a tournament and John Merrick would be there
or John Mallinger would be there and they'd be like,
come on, we'll play I practice round and they kind
of showed me around, and uh, it felt so much

(10:04):
more like normal because we played at home all the time. Uh,
even though now I was out on playing PJ Tour events.
And so I can't thank them enough. I feel like
they really accelerated my ability to feel comfortable out there.
And and none of those guys did like, look at
you as competition, because I know some time you're coming up.
I mean you're you know, you started nine years old,

(10:25):
you got hot pretty early, Like you're going to be
competition for some of these guys. Have you ranted anybody
that was like, no, I'm not I'm not helping you,
damn with that kind of kind of the attitude and
everybody was cool about it. Most most of them were
really cool most, I said, you said most, And yeah,
there's somebody. Yeah. Uh, you know, Mallinger can get a
little a little upset sometimes if you beat them, if

(10:45):
you beat them too often, but uh, he's he's very competitive.
But no, in general, they treated me like like their
little brother. And uh, you know, I, like I said,
I can't thank him enough. And there's you know, I
always kind of treated us. If I can learn a
little something from someone else, I mean, I'm gonna take
advantage of it. So uh and that's true today even

(11:09):
with with some of my buddies. You know, I'm really
good buddies with Xander. And if I can learn something
from him just from picking his brain, I mean I
will and and I'll take his brain if I can.
Um uh. And so you know, I think that's part
of I think that's part of golf. Some of the
best players hanging together, and I really truly believe they
make each other better just from being around each other

(11:29):
all the time. No, absolutely, So Father's Day is coming up, right,
it's the same, It's the same weekeness is Tory Pots.
I know you and your dad Man, you guys have
a great and close relationship. I gotta let me your
old boy. So, um, this Father's Day for me is
coming up. It's gonna be special. But how is that
gonna be for you? Man? If you can get that
w on Father's Day, you know that would be nice. Yeah,
be very special, especially being relatively close to home. And

(11:52):
I'm sure my my mom and dad will be there
on the weekend. And you know, my dad was such
an influential um person, definitely in my in my junior
golf days and college golf days growing up. Uh, he
taught me the right way to go about it, and
he was a really good player himself, and he spent
a ton of time, you know, taking me to lessons,

(12:13):
taking me to the golf course, taking me to tournaments
on the weekend. A lot of times they were an
hour to drive away, and so, uh they were really
special times, you know, driving a couple hours to a
golf tournament, just my dad and I and then we'd
go play practice round. Sometimes he'd play, sometimes he'd just
kind of uh show me how to how to go
around in a practice round, and then uh we'd play

(12:35):
the tournament and drive home. And so those are really
special times. I think I probably took it for granted
when I was little, um, but I mean those you know,
he spent Friday, Saturday, Sunday with me a lot, spending
his whole weekend taking me to golf tournaments, and that
was obviously huge in my development. That's awesome, man. The
last thing, and I'll let you go tell me about
Marcus about Goldman Sacks. You guys got this year, the

(12:56):
second year working working with them, right, yes, my second
year working with the Marcus by Goldman Sacks. And how
I tried to explain it is, I try and put
the best possible team around me, um to succeed out
on the golf course. And so whether that's the right
coach or trainer, um, you know, putting coach or short
and coach, whatever it is. And Marcus by Golden Sacks

(13:18):
is no different. I feel like they helped me in
every possible way they can. And they are such a
great uh financial advisor and they make they make managing
your money so simple and so um. That's a big
part of everybody's life is being able to be in
control of their finances. And so you know, they've just

(13:40):
been a great partner to me, and they're great people
and they're excellent what they do, and so it's been
a great partnership and I'm really happy and proud to
represent them. Awesome on man, Wait, good luck at Tory Pines.
Don't be shocked if you look up and you see
six five pound uh big dude over there with tattoo
staying in the corner. I love that place, Manda, what's
you'all the best a few weeks? Thanks very much. I

(14:01):
appreciate Sean. Thanks guys for listening to another lights Out podcast.
Me Shawn Merriman, and uh, I really appreciate Patrick for
coming on. Um much much much luck to him coming
up to the US Open, and Tory Pond is one
of my favorite golf courses to go to, not just
because it's okay, all right, I'm a little by San Diego. Anyway,

(14:23):
good luck to him. Father's Day week is coming up.
His dad's gonna be there. I know he's gonna put
on the show. Uh So, anyway, thank you guys listening
to another lights Out podcast. Me Sean Merriman. Keep listening,
keep leaving those great reviews. I keep checking them out
of seeing them. I trying to respond to you guys
as much as possible to. The subscriptions are going crazy,
uh mainly because of you guys, so I appreciate on
the support. We'll be back again with another one next week.
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