I don’t hit it as far as a lot of guys do, so I have to be in the right spot in the fairway to score, and that means driving it well. The two biggest keys for me are to make a good transition and to keep my hands ahead of the clubhead through impact. I want to feel as if my swing is two swings: one going back and another coming down.
I like boring golf. That’s kind of what butters my bread.
When I’m off the golf course, and my wife and I have free time, which is not very often, we really enjoy movies. I’m a movie nut; she might even be more so. Holiday in our house is the Oscars.
Try to devote the percentage of time for each club that you’re going to be using on the golf course. I like to have two or three different clubs that I practice with, not four or five.
I’m a Christian guy, and when it comes to my priorities, it’s the utmost. For me, just to calm myself down, to keep my perspective when I’m playing, to not make too big a deal of it… that’s where I go to. The peace that comes with that allows me to play free golf.
Sports formed me. I was always decently skilled but lacked size, so I had to resort to using my skill versus my power. I strategically play golf because that’s all I can do. It’s the same on the basketball court. I try to get open and shoot it. Or I use the open space on the soccer field.
Golf is not my priority. I would hope people see me as a Christian man who loved his family, who loved being in the heat of competition and sometimes succeeded at it; who understood that golf was his job and that he was very lucky to play it for a living.
I like to play what I call a-motional golf. Emotion doesn’t grab me that much.
My boring, mundane, diligent kind of golf works sometimes. Actually, it works all the time. And sometimes, on the greatest stages, it really does flourish.
To win at Augusta and to win The Open Championship at St. Andrews, it’s hard to put it into words as a golfer, as an athlete, as a guy – I’m not rich in history, I can tell you that. I’m not a great historian.
The Zach Johnson Foundation, for my wife and I, is very much a part of what we do and why we do what we do. It’s a great platform for us to give back to the community that started me in the game and other communities.
Winning the 2007 Master’s was a dream fulfilled; culminating on Easter Sunday with my family was very special. You couldn’t write it up any better.
If I’m trying to rebound after a bad hole, I just go back to tempo and process and rhythm, and I cling to my routine.
When you’re trying to accomplish lofty goals, and when you’re attacking something of great magnitude, you have to have help.
Some people thought I’d be on the PGA Tour, that I’d win tournaments, play in majors, contend in majors, win majors. I thought they were crazy.
I’m kind of a grinder. I’m a Cinderella, an underdog story who fights.
I’m not the most charismatic, maybe emotional, fun-packed individual on the golf course; I get that.
Goal setting will never stop. I will continue to work hard and practice hard and see where things go.
I have no superstitions. I don’t have to have a Sunday outfit. I don’t have socks or underwear I have to wear.
I feel like God gave me the ability to play a game. I try to take it very seriously. I realize it’s just a game.
Elmcrest CC, in Cedar Rapids, is where it all started when I was growing up. The tree-lined course has a very demanding layout that requires you to be accurate off the tee and avoid a number of well-placed water hazards on some of the holes.
Early in the winter of 2002, I gave my life to the Lord. Before I was one, I always thought being a Christian would be boring. In reality, it has been the complete opposite.
There are a bunch of places to stay in Des Moines, but I’d suggest finding a place on the west side of town. It’s a great urban area that has a lot to offer tourists.
If you put me in the fairway at my average distance into a par 4, 175 to 180 yards, and you put another player in the rough 120 yards from the green, over time, I’m going to wear him out.
You need to make a trip to Des Moines in August, because the Iowa State Fair really is a sight to see. The Iowa Fairgrounds are usually packed for those 11 days, and you get a real sense of what a classic Midwest fair is all about.
I play golf for a living. I’m grateful for that. It’s a beautiful game, provides a great opportunity.
