Scott Radley: A clear mind carries Hamilton golfer to back-to-back U.S. college titles
Long before he was winning back-to-back NCAA golf tournaments, he was a hockey player for the Hamilton Reps and Hamilton Huskies. And not one of those all-finesse, no-contact guys.
When someone gave him a cheap shot or a slash or even a big hit, there was always a next shift just a minute or two away during which he could blow off some steam.
I did know the inside of the penalty box," Johnny Travale says. I knew it pretty well."
That mindset can work in hockey. It doesn't work in golf. But, it's not always easy to change.
Earlier this summer in a moment of frustration, the 20-year-old whacked his golf bag hard enough with a club that he broke another club inside the bag. His eight iron. A rather important tool that he was then missing for a couple tournaments because he couldn't get one properly fitted for a few weeks.
It was actually after the round," he says. Which is kind of even dumber."
Yes, a little.
Anyway, earlier this fall in his first tournament of the college season, that hockey mentality showed up again. A bad shot bugged him. That lingered to the next hole which caused it to not go well. Which then rolled into the next one and so on. That tournament quickly got away from him.
He'd seen this before. If there's one thing that's held him back from being really good at times he says, it was his struggle to let go of the bad stuff. When something goes sideways, forgetting it and moving on hasn't always been easy.
The next day, the guy who spent last year on the national amateur team got on the phone to Team Canada's sports psychologist, Dr. Adrienne Leslie-Toogood, looking for some guidance. They talked for a good long time. And have talked weekly since.
Now I've won every tournament since I've been working with her," the Bishop Ryan grad says.
First the University of Central Florida star shot 11-under - including eight under in the final round - to win the Hartford Hawks Invitational late last month. Then this past weekend he won the Carolina Collegiate Invitational.
When was the last time he won consecutive events?
I've never done it before," he says.
Never?
I don't know for sure," he says. So I'm gonna say no."
So, what in the world did the doctor say? What magic did she conjure? People would surely want a bit of it for themselves.
Well, they talked about having fun on the course rather than stewing, leaving the past in the past, and not worrying about being imperfect. She got him talking to himself as he was walking the fairways to change the topic and clear his head. Then she convinced him to treat each hole like its own little tournament. If he makes a mess, there's nothing he can do about it. He lost that one, so win the next one. Stuff like that.
Not only has he won every tournament since, he's shot only one round above par in that span. Which is the real irony. Things have gone so well - winning the Carolina Collegiate Invitational earned him a start on a Korn Ferry Tour (the highest level of golf below the PGA Tour) event and he's been invited to be one of two Canadians competing in the Spirit Invitational, an international competition sort of like the President's Cup for amateurs - that he hasn't actually had to use many of her techniques.
He's hoping that continues. This weekend is the Isleworth Collegiate. The others were terrific but this is the biggie. It's considered college golf's major championship. He's the defending champ having won it in 2019 (there was no event last year because of COVID). And his confidence couldn't be higher.
Maybe get three in a row to finish off the season," he says.
That would be nice. While breaking no clubs.
Scott Radley is a Hamilton-based columnist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sradley@thespec.com