How Brandt Snedeker beats the younger guys. And you can, too
Candidly speaking, it's no fun seeing all these younger guys driving it 30 yards past me. It’s almost like they’re playing a different game. That said, I’ll tell you what is fun … beating them! When I claimed the title at the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic earlier this year at age 45, I not only proved I can still hang with the bombers, I reaffirmed that there’s more than one way to win on the PGA Tour.
Statistically, I’m an anomaly. Since joining the tour in 2004, I’ve cracked the top 100 in driving distance just once (in 2015-’16, at 292.6 yards). Today, I’m at 281 yards, and the tour average is 305. Only once have I finished inside the top 50 in greens-in-regulation percentage, at 48th in 2016-’17. So how have I managed to carve out 10 career wins on the PGA Tour? My longtime analytics guy, Mark Horton, describes it as “making up for the aggregate.” By that, he means gaining strokes on the field by capitalizing at what I do best—putting the ball in play off the tee, chipping and pitching it close, and making the putts you’re supposed to make. With his help, I know the smartest way for me to get around a golf course.
My success is about doing the small stuff well, and if you’re consistently getting outdriven like I am, you need to do the same. I’ll show you how and also share some on-course strategies that will help you save even more strokes. The good news is, you don’t have to be the first-, second- or third-longest hitter in your foursome to win all the skins. Try these small-ball methods and you can compete with anyone.
Rule No. 1: Do whatever it takes to find the fairway
Every time my tee shot finds the rough, I’m losing a percentage of a stroke to the field because I typically have to hit a longer club into the green than the guys who can “bomb-and-gouge” it. To make sure I don’t miss often, I stick with the tee shot that I hit best—a baby draw. It can be a good fairway finder for you, too, and I’ll show you how to do it. But the message here is that you should rely on whatever shot shape you can consistently produce.
In 2024, I reunited with my longtime swing coach Todd Anderson. To hone my baby draw, we worked on getting my arms to move more around my body on the backswing. This helps shallow my downswing path, so the club approaches the ball from inside the target line—that’s fundamental to a draw. One thing we check is that my left arm doesn’t separate and move toward the ball halfway down. If it hugs my chest, I’m on plane and can release my right side as hard as I want and the ball will never snap-hook left. That’s a big plus when the fairway seems about as wide as a two-lane road.
SNED-ISMS: FEELING THE HEAT? TRY THIS MIND-SET
As the U.S. Presidents Cup captain for the matches at Medinah (Ill.) Country Club (Sept. 24-27), I’ll be experiencing a different kind of stress than I’m accustomed to. However, here’s how I deal with it on the course: When I’m in the hunt on the weekend at a tournament, I treat no shot as more important than the previous one. The more you can normalize those tense moments, the better you’ll execute.
TEEING IT DOWN HELPS
On a really tight hole, I’ll even hit my driver off the deck. I did it several times in my win at Myrtle Beach in May. I don’t recommend you do the same, but the lesson is that the lower the ball is to the ground, the better your chance of compressing it and keeping its flight down. If you launch it high, you’re at the mercy of wind and spin. To put it in the short grass, tee your ball so it’s below the topline of the clubface (above).
Rule No. 2: Develop finesse on short shots
Around the greens is where I see amateurs throw away the most strokes. A big mistake is applying too much force to chips and pitches—like it’s a full-swing shot. Amateurs make this really short backswing and then put a lot of energy into the through-swing with their hands to help the ball in the air, which leads to all sorts of mis-hits and terrible distance control.
Take a standard pitch shot from the rough. To hit these shots more effectively, start by making a longer backswing. That will intuitively take the jabbiness out of your forward swing. I do this by having my right elbow fold almost immediately as I take the club back, which gets the wedge working upward. From this position, I can extend my right arm coming down and unload the clubhead in the grass just behind the ball, popping it up. It’s not a violent downswing; gravity does the work. It’s similar to a greenside-bunker shot in that the sole of the clubhead is touching down a few inches behind the ball then sliding underneath it and exiting out the other side. I’m delivering a lot of energy into the grass without swinging hard.
SNED-ISMS: PLAY BOLD IN BOLD MOMENTS
During the final round at Myrtle Beach, I kept telling myself to “play fearless.” Your instinct might be to guide the ball around the course to try to avoid costly mistakes. The problem with that is, you’re already a short hitter. That will make you even shorter! Instead, swing like you’re not worried about the outcome. Stay in the present and give the shot the attention it deserves, but take your hands off the steering wheel and play as fearless as possible.
ADD SPEED IN SOME SITUATIONS
In the event I short-side myself on an approach into the green and there’s not a lot of room between my ball and the hole, speed becomes a much bigger factor to get it close—as does the follow-through.
To create more swing speed, feel like the club passes your hands through impact and then rehinges upward. That’s what makes the ball float through the air and land near the hole with a thud. How high the ball flies depends on the length of the follow-through. The higher the finish, the higher the shot—so don’t be afraid to make a full swing.
Rule No. 3: Own the short putts
It’s no secret that putting is the great equalizer when competing against longer hitters. I’ve always been a very confident putter. I feel like I should never three-putt, and I expect to make every short one I’m standing over. You should, too. Get in the habit of thinking, I won’t miss, and that confidence will soon take hold. There’s nothing like halving a hole with a one-putt par to wear down someone who went driver-flip wedge to get on in regulation.
The reason I’ve excelled on short-range putts is because I hit them with a “pop.” There’s not a lot of arc to my stroke, so the putterface stays relatively square to its path, which means I rarely miss right or left. To try my method, hinge the putter back with your wrists, leaving the butt end of the shaft pointing at your belly button like it was at address. Your shoulders and arms should stay virtually still. From this short backstroke position, use your wrists again to give the ball a pop and then stop the putterhead almost immediately after impact. Restricting the handle movement makes it much easier to control the putterface and start the ball on the line you choose. Shortening the through-stroke after impact imparts a lot of energy into the ball, so it starts rolling quickly with some pace, helping it track directly into the cup.
SNED-ISMS: PLAY FAST, AND PLAY INSTINCTIVELY
I’m a notoriously fast putter. Once I set the putterhead down behind the ball, it’s go-time. I find that the longer you stand over the ball, the less natural and athletic your stroke becomes, and you can fall prey to negative thoughts and indecision. Just like not worrying about how far your opponent hits it, get out of your head and putt on instinct. Then watch the look on that bomber’s face when you close him out on the 15th hole!
TRUST YOUR LINE BY WIDENING IT
When I’m reading a putt, I visualize a wide track from my ball to the hole—it’s slightly wider than the hole itself. I’ve found that seeing a wider track frees up my stroke because it allows for a greater margin of error. It makes me trust in my line. I know if I keep the ball somewhere on that track, it has a good chance to fall in the hole at the right speed—a little slower on the high side of the track and a little faster on the low side.
