Brooks Koepka, who has been sidelined with a lingering knee injury recently, delighted fans with a series of candid answers on Instagram in response to some questions from fans. There were lots of amusing tid-bits — you can read a rundown of them all here — but naturally, the ones that caught my attention were the items that involved tips that could improve your game.
Watch the full video below:
1. Don’t listen to music
The caveat on all of these is that Brooks is mostly talking about himself, but that’s ok. If it works for him, it may work for you, too. Along those lines: lots of players listen to music when they’re on the range, either practicing or playing. They say it helps with their tempo. for Brooks, he says it’s the opposite, because he places a lot of importance on the sound of the strike. Pay close attention to the sound, and always work towards the sound of center contact.
“Hearing it. Hearing the sound of the ball, the sound of the strike, that plays a big part of it.”
2. Beware rogue sand particles
I’ve written about this before, but the most important part of Brooks Koepka’s putting routine is a simple wipe of the clubface. It started because of a story his coach once told him about missing a putt because of a rogue piece of sand on the putter face. Ever since, Brooks makes it a point to wipe down his putter. It’s the last thing he does before he hits the ball, and it’s become a pre-shot trigger that helps him commit to the shot.
“It’s funny, because if I don’t wipe it, I can’t go into the ball. One, two, wipe, step in,” Koepka says. “A lot of times, if I don’t wipe it right, I have to step back and start again.”
3. Swing hard, junior golfers
And finally, a piece of simple advice for junior golfers: Swing hard! Brooks took a few moments to talk about the importance of building up your golf muscles and your swing speed while you’re young. It should be the primary goal for any junior golfer, Brooks says.
“Once you get the distance down, then you can start bringing it in,” Brooks says.
