narrominded
Jake Narro, PGA professional, head golf coach at Southeastern Louisiana University and
Backspin publisher
Is Louisiana native Sam Burns the next big
thing in golf ? As the golf coach at Southeastern
University, I’ve been lucky enough to watch
young Mr. Burns in a few tournaments over the
past couple of years. He sure seems to have the
“It” factor. What “It” is has never really been
defined but here’s what “It” means to me.
First of all, it is the type of talent that stands
out in a crowd. For example, when major league
batting practice is taking place, and someone
steps into the cage and the crack of the bat
sounds as if a canon just went off, that type of
talent stands out. Aaron Judge demonstrated
this in last year’s Homerun Derby during All-
Star weekend. His type of talent stood out
above all other sluggers. Even the others were
watching in awe as Judge blasted one majestic
homer after another.
Sam seems to have this type of talent. I’m
not saying he’s the longest driver out there,
but the flight of his ball gets your attention
really quick. It got mine at the David Toms
Intercollegiate hosted, of course, by LSU at the
University Club in Baton Rouge. For those of
you who know the course, I saw this happen on
the tough 14th hole off the tee.
For those not familiar with this daunting tee
shot, let me try and set it up. It’s a bit like the
18th at the TPC sawgrass as there’s water up
the left side of the fairway. If you block it right
you’ll find trees and high grass. You and I might
play it at around 400 yards, but these youngsters
were having to play it at 450 yards with a 20
mph wind coming into and from the right and
pushing toward the hazard. I watched several
group, and most of the shots went a bit right
which left these strong talented golfers over 200
yards to the green. Sam stepped up and ripped
a tight draw up the right side, flew the slight hill
in the landing area, and ended up just inside
the 150 marker in the center of the fairway. I
can still picture the way the ball cut through the
wind and the sound of perfect contact. Wow!!
He’s definitely has the talent.
Another factor of “It” in the Narro’s
dictionary is the ease in which one demonstrates
talent. When Sam hit that shot, it looked as
if he was barely trying. I completely realize
he was, but it seemed as if it was just another
swing. The difficulty of the shot didn’t seem
to faze him one bit, and he strolled off the tee
without even breaking a sweat. The rest of the
field had to take deep breaths before and after
the toughest shot of the course. Sam was taking
a walk in the park.
Part of the “It” factor is also appearance.
Let’s face it, young, handsome, fit and strong
sells. 6’1” and 185 and very little body fat can
sell a lot of golf apparel. This may be part of
the next part of the “It” factor – confidence.
Not sure if you were watching him in his round
with Tiger, on Sunday, at PGA National in
the Honda Classic. He was walking down the
fairways side by side with one of the all-time
great intimidations in the history of sports,
much less golf. One of the many stories I’ve
heard through the golfing grapevine about that
day was that on the first tee, Sam met Tiger
and mentioned he was surprised at how many
people were there to watch him play today. Of
course he was only joking but to have the self-
confidence to say that to Tiger is incredible. I’m
not sure I would have been able to remember
my name if I were in that situation.
The last part of “It” for me is rising to the
occasion. When the lights get brighter, how do
you respond? Well, playing with Tiger Woods
on a Sunday when you both are in contention
is about as bright as it gets for professional
golfers. Hall of famers such as Phil Mickelson,
Ernie Els, and Vijay Singh know all too well
what that feels like. For Sam to shoot 68 with
no bogeys on one of the toughest courses under
tough conditions is truly remarkable. Tiger was
playing good as well, and in the end, he was the
one to make the rookie mistakes coming down
the stretch as Sam was hitting shot after shot
right where he needed. I can only imagine what
type of respect he gained from his fellow Tour
pros after his performance.
Well, as I’m sure you’ve can tell, I’m a big
fan of young Mr. Burns. I’ll be watching closely
as his top 10 gets him into the Valspar going
forward. The “It” factor will surely get him
more sponsor invites throughout the year as he
tries to secure his playing status for next year. I
can’t wait to watch him as I feel as if his career
is about to take off.
Jake
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