What Patrick Reed Did Differently This Week

Golf Magazine posted an article late Friday examining why Patrick Reed is playing better in this Masters than in past majors. It's an interesting look at how his preparation has changed after a talk with his coach, Kevin Kirk. I'm going to pull a couple of quotes for this post.



Early on, the article quotes Kirk:

"I told him in Mexico that his golf game reminds me of when someone leaves an oven on in a house," said his coach Kevin Kirk, who has grooved Reed's swing since 2011. "All you have to do is light a match."

Later on, we learn what happened when Reed arrived at Augusta:

With his swing clicking, he arrived in town last week, and rather than killing time on mechanics, he and his coach took a deeper dive on the course itself. On Reed's first practice day at Augusta, he spent eight hours on the course but played just four holes: 1, 2, 12 and 13. "We read the slopes, practiced at the pin positions, formed plans for different winds," Kirk said. "In his mind, he's ready."

There's a lot more to Reed's preparation than just focusing on four holes, of course. He arrived at the course last Friday and has been at work ever since. The article goes into a fair amount of detail about the strategic work he did, as well as his mindset for using that strategy this weekend.

But, as you no doubt have guessed, you'll need to read the article to get all that. And in the process, you just might pick up a few pointers you can use in your own game.