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Professional Golfer Max Homa has opened up on his experiences so far in Golf and how he feels about his time as a podcaster.
Max Homa, the son of a Hollywood acting teacher and a three-time PGA Tour winner, has a keen sense of how to attract fans. On the “Get a Grip” podcast with Golf Channel anchor Shane Bacon, he garnered a large social media following before viciously dissecting his own play.
It was a fascinating listen for golf fans who appreciated the honesty with which a professional player described his thoughts and feelings on each shot and the numerous areas in which his game fell short.
Until Homa snapped the microphone cable last October, he realized that concentrating on the downsides of each round — a mental workout that his fellow tour pros strive to avoid based on sports psychologists’ recommendations — was holding him back.
Homa had no regrets after a practice putting session at the Wells Fargo Championship on Wednesday.
“So far, so good, I guess, results-wise,” Homa said. “I’ve played quite well. I feel like I’m in a good mental spot. I haven’t played this good of golf for a sustained time before, so there’s no tangible evidence to say that it’s right, but I guess there’s a little bit. I miss talking to Shane every week, but it’s been nice not having to rehash bad golf shots I hit.” He added.
After the podcast finished in September, Homa won the Fortinet Championship in Napa, California. He finished 17th or better in five of his first six events this year, and for the first time in three tries, he made the Masters cut.
After an up-and-down 2021, stability has been welcome. After his breakthrough win in his local event at Riviera, he had a legitimate opportunity to make the Ryder Cup team. Instead, his season was cut short before the Tour Championship due to six missed cuts in nine events and mediocre finishes in the FedEx Cup playoffs.
The podcast never seemed like a chore throughout. He only realized how taxing it was after speaking with Bacon. “I didn’t really stray away from trying to be honest. It was more like I went in to be normal and just talk like I would talk to my wife or (caddie) Joe (Greiner) or somebody,” Homa said. “I didn’t dread it at all. After I was done, I realized it was causing a little bit of a funk, like, I’m not really helping myself.” He has had no trouble spending that extra hour a week practicing, working out or spending time with his wife and dog.
Homa, 31, won his first Wells Fargo Championship in 2019 at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina. Because Quail Hollow is hosting the Presidents Cup in September, the event is being held at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm this year. Homa may not be the major attraction for golf fans in the Washington area, but his popularity belies his career-best world ranking of 31st.
“I fortunately still get a decent amount of engagement from people,” Homa said. “I wish there were podcasts where people that play sport were super honest and could fill people in on the nuances of their, whether it’s a tournament or a game or whatever, but at a point, I was not up for that anymore. I didn’t feel like it was doing me a ton of good.”
Opinions expressed by California Gazette contributors are their own.
