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From: Mark Leon [mailto:mxl916@psu.

edu]
Sent: Friday, May 06, 2016 10:33 AM
To: perpinc@comcast.net
Cc: Kurt Huntzinger
Subject: Charles Huntzinger

Hi Mike,
I was speaking a bit with Kurt Huntzinger this past week--he was telling me
about Charles desire to really clean some things up with you this summer,
and recharge his battery. I am 100% on board because it has been a very
trying year for him in many ways (despite all of his on course success), and
quite frankly you have done an absolutely masterful job with him. I wanted to
give you some things I noticed over the course of the year with Charles and
outline how I opted to deal with him this yearbecause to be honest it was in
many ways very abnormal for me.
Of everyone I have coached here at Penn State, I have opted to take the most
hands off approach with Charles. I spent a lot more time watching, learning
and trying to observe his trends than telling him what to do. I have been very
fortunate to have spent 4 years on the PGA Tour Canada after school and
compete against a number of guys who play on the PGA Tour today. From a
purely golf standpoint (he needs to improve his self-management skills off
course) I am certain that Charles could leave school today, earn status on the
PGA Tour Canada, and work his way on up to the Web.com Tour in short
order. I do think that he has room for some improvement; however the
physical aspects of his game are uniquely polished for someone 18 years old.
Quite frankly, the player who Charles most reminds me of was an 18 year old
Jason Dayand Jason played just as aggressively and (even recklessly at
times) then as Charles does now. I knew from about mid-summer watching
Charles win the FJ that he was potentially going to be a different case. At
times he does things that I would not advise, but he is so skilled around the
greens that he gets away with it about 90% of timehe has put a lot of 5s on
the card this year that would be 8s for most kidsso those teachable
moments as a coach kind of implode right before your eyes. I also think that
one of the worst things you could ever do to someone with supreme self-
confidence is put doubt in their mind. I would rather Charles play overly
aggressive, as opposed to put doubt in his mind. It will serve him more down
the line. My hope is that he can use reflection, insight and take subtle hints in
order to refine his management skills in order to make golf easierhes such
a good mid-range putter he could play a little less aggressively at time and
shoot easy 67s.But at the end of the day it has to be his idea for it to stick.
In the meantime, Im not going to tell the kid hes wrong when he keeps
beating 99% of his competition. Hes not wrong.He could just be more
right.
1. TechniqueCharles
You gave given Charles a very clear understanding of his golf swing. He has
an amazing ability to self-correct, keep things simple, rely on the same
concepts, and not get sidetracked. So many kids that come to college are
endlessly searching--Not Charles. He stays on task, gets in his own little
world and monitors his address position, face rotation in his takeaway,
footwork in transition, and path into the ball. Ive only seen him work the
same 4 things all yearfocusing his efforts in different areas based on where
he is at the moment. When I got him in our golf lab in the fall I was anxious
to see what they would say about his footwork and tendency to get his right
foot up fast in the downswing and spin out. In the data collection they did, it
seemed to be as much an aesthetic miscue as anything. His pressure shift
patterns were excellent. As our PHSD Mike told me, Yup, I can totally see
why this kid is so good. I do think that one change in coming to college that
hurts his footwork is trying to keep it up with guys. Hes used to being a long
juniorif he stays in sequence hes a plenty long college player..But every
practice round he plays with a kid on our team that outdrives him by 20-30,
and because he has been playing in our top spot he gets paired with a lot of
the nations best upper classmen, who are long hitting men who have gone
through 4 years in a strength program. So its a constant mental battle not to
get into a pissing contestas most young boys are inclined to do.
2. The Gamer (Wake Forest)
Most freshmen have an event early on where things kind of fall aparta
learning experience. Watching him play his practice at Wake Forest I was
pretty certain he was headed for 80+ roundsif he had to keep score that day
there is no way he could have broken 80. He couldnt find the clubface. He
couldnt get off the tee with more than a 240 yard duck hook. He was an
absolute wreck. Then he goes out and shoots 69-70 for a T-4th finish. That
was as absurd a thing as I saw him do all season. That was when I knew that
mentally the kid might be wired a little differently. He doesnt get fazed. He
doesnt get upset. He just finds a way. The kid just puts the ball in the hole
even if hes fighting his swing. He has go-to shots, and plays creatively. In
the spring when the weather got bad, he might hit a 3 iron slice from 170. He
routinely would have other coaches and players say things like, you dont
see guys do that very often nowadays. He just knows how to play the game.
And it was that specifically that innate ability to adjust that made me take the
hands off approach.
3. Putting (Dukeand beyond)
If there is an area of weakness in Charles game, it has mostly to do with shot
selection. While he does get away with things, his aggressive nature serves
him the least on the greens. A putt that is hit with speed to travel 5 feet by the
cup has damn near zero chance of going in.and Charles loves to jam his
putts. His stroke is fantastic, and hes a natural green reader. His confidence in
making putts is outstanding--Hes not afraid to play greedy, and make birdies
in bunches. He is comfortable being under par and going deeper under par. I
just think sometimes the way he plays his mid-range downhill putts is a stress
adder and momentum killer. I think if he can get confident in making putts at
different speeds, and then identifying the 3 or 4 times a round not to jam his
putts, he will improve.
4. Course Management (WilliamsburgFJ)
Ive pretty much covered the essence of what I feel is a non-issue, issue here.
He plays super aggressively, but it doesnt kill him.At FJ, he was green
lighting everything that I saw and getting up and down from short sided spots
all day. It was super impressive, but stressful. However, he did get burned in
Williamsburg this year---and I would bet he would not be able to identify
where he actually lost that tournamentbecause it happened on the 15 th
hole with both his target and club selectionhe asked me after the round if
I thought the 3 wood he hit in the water on 18 was the right calland it
was. The truth is that the event began to slip 40 minutes prior when he tried
to jam a 9 iron stiff to a tight left pin into the wind from 115 yards, with 40
feet of green long right.. One thing I would say is that if he learns to pick
some more friendly targets in certain scenarios I think he will have the ability
to adapt more easily on various types of courses, and shoot some really easy
feeling rounds in the 60s. One resource that the NCAA will no longer allow
us to use but that I think would be very valuable for Charles is a guy named
Scott Fawcett who is based in Dallas. I have spoken with our entire team
early on in the season about some of the principles he teaches (and that most
guys on the PGA Tour intuitively adoptknowingly or not). Scott has used
all of the PGA Tours shotlink data in order to quantify appropriate targets
for his playersScotts most notable clients are Bryson DeChambeau and
Will Zalatoris. To summarize the way he looks at things in an on course
setting would be similar to as follows:
The average approach shot in 2015 on the PGA Tour from 150-175 yards
was 274 feet.
if a pin is cut 4 paces (12 feet) from the left edge of the green with a deep
bunker left, how far away from the pin do you need to aim in order to give
yourself the best chance at hitting a good shot?
He does this by evaluating shot patterns from his players into what he
categorizes as a shotgun pattern.we all have misses and they are almost
ellipse shaped into what appears like a rifle splatter pattern. What is the
predictable deviation from the target given your distanceand therefore
where do you need to adjust your target?
From 150-175 which is on average an 8 iron, Charles likely has one
targetthe pin. The problem is that understanding the natural elements of
human error is an absolute deal breaker in target selection.
Moreover, if your splatter pattern is more left or right heavy, then you
would need to adjust your target accordingly.
With the 8 iron, Charles would need to aim a couple yards to the right, and
will subsequently stiff a bunch of shots simply out of natural human error.
Even his bad shots will find the green, and he will almost never make a dumb
bogey unless he hits an awful shot.
From 175-200, (what would be a 6 iron for Charles) the average becomes
325.I think Charles is still pin hunting with a 6 iron. In this case, his target
would need to be more conservative---I dont think he adjusts, and I think his
short game is so good he still makes par most of the time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf-l8GPnYX4 -- here is a video
summary of Scotts system (5 mins)
http://playinglesson.com/introductory-video/ --here is a full length seminar
on drivingI dont like this one as much but Charles hits the dawg
almost everywhere so it might apply to him (30 mins)

5. Short Game(Duke)
Not sure that there is anything to say here--One of the best short games in
college golf. My main concern with him (which weve talked about)
is that he needs to be careful if he switches equipment from Ping to
Nikehes so good with his 58 wedge and he plays about 99% of
his greenside shots with it. The Nike Grind is different, and I would
rather he just stick with what he uses to not upset the apple cart. Our
head coach is a big believer in bump and run shots. Im not. Im a
believer in doing whatever works, while trying to add shots to your
arsenal along the way and using them if you become comfortable. I
think a lot of kids and (30 year olds) who have grown up watching
Tiger and Phil play most of their short game shots with one club
and advances in irrigation and turf grass have necessitated playing
with more loft. Charles does it very welland he has added a 3 wood
chip shot from off the green to compliment his 58 when the lie calls
for it.

If you have any questions for me Im an open book. As I said I have nothing
but respect for the work you do and I have only given him feedback
on concepts you have provided him with. If you want any data from
our biomechanics lab Im more than happy to send it along. Thanks
for your helpyou have made our program better with the work you
have done with Charles.

Cheers,

Mark

Mark Leon
Mens Golf -- Assistant Coach
Email: mxl916@psu.edu
Cell: (814) 880-7169
http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/m-golf/psu-m-golf-body.html

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