Finding Mastery with Dr. Michael Gervais - Suzy Whaley, PGA of America President

Episode Date: January 30, 2019

This week’s conversation is with Suzy Whaley, the PGA of America's first female President.Prior to being elected President last November, Suzy served for two years as PGA Secretary, and two years as Vice President.She is also the PGA Owner of Suzy Whaley Golf in Cromwell, Connecticut and the PGA Director of Instruction at the Country Club at Mirasol in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.Suzy is recognized as one of the country’s top golf instructors and has won numerous teaching awards including: Golf Digest Top 50 Instructor, LPGA Top 50 Instructor, Connecticut PGA Two-Time Teacher of the Year, Golf Digest State Teacher of the Year 10 times, and she’s instructed more than 300 children to collegiate golf.A dual member of the PGA of America and LPGA Teaching & Club Professional division, Suzy was a LPGA Tour member in 1990 and 1993.She famously qualified and participated in the 2003 Greater Hartford Open, becoming the first woman since Babe Zaharias in 1945 to qualify for a PGA Tour event.We discuss what that experience was like for her: the pressure that went into competing on the Men’s tour and how she overcame a moment where her nerves got the best of her.And …. how did that experience prepare her for current role, as she once again finds herself in a similar situation, charting new territory, this time as the leader of a massive organization._________________Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for more powerful conversations at the intersection of high performance, leadership, and meaning: https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingMasteryGet exclusive discounts and support our amazing sponsors! Go to: https://findingmastery.com/sponsors/Subscribe to the Finding Mastery newsletter for weekly high performance insights: https://www.findingmastery.com/newsletter Download Dr. Mike's Morning Mindset Routine! https://www.findingmastery.com/morningmindsetFollow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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So pressure is something that, for me, I turn into intentional processes. All right, welcome back or welcome to the Finding Mastery podcast. I'm Michael Gervais and I trade in training. I'm a sport and performance psychologist, as well as the co-founder of Compete to Create. And the whole idea behind this podcast, behind these conversations is to learn from people who are committed to the path of mastery. And while they might not say that that's what they're committed to, their track record and body work speaks for itself.

And they have a pursuit to understand the nuances of their craft. And what this conversation is meant to do is understand their path, their unique journey, understand how they understand where they fit in the world, how they organize their external world, how they make sense of their internal life, and then how they use mental skills to build and refine their craft. Finding Mastery is brought to you by LinkedIn Sales Solutions.

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Susie is recognized as being one of the country's top golf instructors, and she's won numerous teaching awards, including Golf Digest Top 50 Instructor, LPGA Top 50 Instructor, and it goes on and on. She's got a history of awards that have demonstrated a command of her craft. And Susie was also on tour from 1990 to 93. And then she famously qualified and participated in the 2003 Greater Hartford Open, becoming the first woman since Babe Zorias in 1945 to qualify for a PGA tour event. And we discuss what that experience was like for her. Imagine being the first woman since 1945 to play in the men's tour and the pressure that went into competing on that tour and how she overcame a moment where her nerves, as she explained,

got the best of her and how that experience prepared her for her current role as she once again finds herself in a similar situation, charting new territory, blazing a trail and this time as the leader of a massive organization, PGA of America. And with that, let's jump right into this rich conversation with Susie. Susie, how are you? I'm great. Thank you. So thank you for taking the time for helping me understand, you know, your path as well as how you become the first person to be a female to be able to steer the PGA. So congratulations on it. And again, thanks for the time.

You bet. Thank you. Okay. So I don't know if you're tired of, you know, the thought about, you know, being the first woman. And in some respects, that seems like a huge honor. And in some respects, it also captures that. Is that like, is that overrated? You know, we're both humans, male and female. And like, is it are we supposed to celebrate that you're a female doing something extraordinary? Or like, tell me what your framework on just that gender piece there. For me, it's really an honor because it's an association of my peers and that's something to be celebrated. But I've always really strongly felt that I'm a PGA professional and I'm a qualified PGA professional and that I earned the right to represent them so for me it's never been about

gender but certainly if it gives me a platform to encourage others of a different gender a different race a different culture to step forward and see themselves in the role, then I'm honored to do that. Yeah, that seems really eloquent how you put it. And do you see that your uniqueness in your point of view, is that one of the reasons why you're able to capture the attention of your peers to be celebrated as the president of the PGA of America? I can't say for sure that that's part of it. But what I can tell you is that I've, along my career, had opportunities that I've gone ahead and taken a leap in doing that were very challenging. And I think many of those led me to this place and helped me earn that kind of respect because my peers recognized the challenge that I faced, how I faced it, and how I brought them along

the journey with me. And then what, okay, can you give me some context of like what are some of those challenges or what comes to mind when you think about a particular time that you were met with a challenge and, and then how you worked through it? Well, for me, I mean, it goes all the way back to when I was very young. You know, my first challenge was probably when I was about 12 and my parents were members of a club in Syracuse, New York. And then obviously we didn't have computers to sign up for events. And there was a handwritten board in the golf shop stating there was a junior tournament. And I just love the game and love to compete in all sports. And so I signed myself up

on the second line. It was hand-drawn. I can visualize it now, one through 16 who could participate with one dot line, two dot line. And I signed up on the second line. And when I came back to practice the next week with my mom, I was crossed off and listed as 17th. So for me, that's really where the challenge began. I didn't understand. It didn't make sense to me at the time. Obviously, over the course of time, things have gotten far better, which led to probably one of the greatest challenges that I faced, which was playing in a PGA Tour event in 2003. And that event, I was able to participate in due to a win that I received at the Connecticut Section PGA Championship.

So an opportunity that PG of America afforded me, I won that event and then had the opportunity to compete against the best male golfers in the world. And that was an enormous challenge that I took on from the same tees as the men as I had a full time head professional job. I had two very young children, nine and six. My husband was working full-time. But on the side, I was going to try to compete against the best male golfers in the world and try to get fit enough to do that. And then also the responsibility of representing the PGA of America and my fellow members, but also really was put on me very quickly representing women in the game. And it was an enormous challenge that I faced and thrilled to have done so. And, and was really, I felt very great about how the outcome was as well.

Okay. How did you manage that pressure? And maybe you didn't feel pressure. So I pause on that word, but like, Oh, no, no, let's be clear. I, I definitely felt pressure. You know, I didn't make the decision to play. It took me three months to accept the opportunity. And for, for numerous reasons, some of which I just stated, um, others of which, um, you know, I wanted to play well, I wanted to be competitive. I had played on the LPGA tour, but I wasn't representing the LPGA tour at the time. I wasn't a member at the time. And for me, it came down to a few things. It came down to showing my daughters that you can take opportunities when they come, that being brave is fine. And so long as you prepare and surround yourself with amazing people to do so.

I wanted women to see that they could play on golf courses and at venues that were spectacular. I mean, it was the first time we were on the covers of golf publications and magazines in 2003. So there was pressure there coming from all avenues. I had pressure from my workplace. I had incredible staff that took up the slack for me, knowing that I was trying to work out three hours a day and having to hone my skills and play more golf than really run the operation. And they picked up that slack. I had a boss who gave me the opportunity to do it. I had friends who took my children to doctor's appointments and picked them up from school and brought them to sporting activities.

We had people that understood my travel commitments and the media commitments that I had. But there was pressure from all over the world. I had reporters calling me from China and Japan. I had letters written to me from people who, females who were repressed in other countries stating, you know, their admiration for what I was trying to accomplish. And so it wasn't just about the game of golf and that it became very widespread for me, but to manage all of that, I had an incredible spouse who is also a PGA professional who supported me in every manner possible. Ironically, he was also a general manager at the facility where I was

going to compete in that particular event. So the pressure on him was incredibly high as well. But I also hired a wonderful caddy named Bucky McGann, who is a LPGA professional, Michelle McGann's father, who is a dear family friend. He certainly gave me every confidence while I played in that event, more so than I don't know if anybody else could have. He was just a stalwart. He reminded me that I was there for the competition. He kept me in the present. And then I also worked with a gentleman named Dr. Richard Koop for the entire year, a sports psychologist who I'd worked with when I was in college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. And he also a dear friend and someone I relied on through college to help me perform at my highest level that I possibly could. And when I called him and told

him I was thinking about playing and would he be a part of my team, he said yes immediately. And I give so much thanks and gratitude to him helping me manage all of it. Yeah. I mean, so my head is exploding with questions, but I want to start with what is it about you that was able to create a community where people wanted to support you? You know, where they wanted to pick up your kids or take them to appointments? How did you do that? That's a really good question. You know, I don't know. It's hard to say. I think for me, people have always been incredibly important to me. Relationships have been incredibly important to me. And I value highly the time I get to spend with people. So while I don't have huge circles of intimate friends, the ones that I have are family. And, you know, I think all of us would do the same for each other, no matter

what the day time or week was. And I think, you know, for me, we have a very small family. My parents did not live close to me while I was raising my children. And my sister didn't live close to me while raising our young children. And it really made us reach out to find a community that we could rely on. And I found very quickly that there were many other families like ours who wish they had been closer to their families, but weren't, who are working full time, dual working households with young children, who are fun and excited to do great things in life. And we were just fortunate to make some incredible contacts and relationships and friends. And I've always found that in my workplace environment as well. I find what I do to be of great joy to me. And typically I find that when you come with joy and energy to anything

you do, it tends to attract people. If you have this ability to gather support from people, I'm imagining that you would do the same for them and they probably would sense that. And in your building of relationships, if there's a handful of ways that you go about it, and I'm thinking like maybe you can pass that on to other folks. Like what is it about you and the way you engage in relationships that compel people to want to help? Because everybody's busy. You know, like I'm imagining most of your friends have full jobs and they're not just planning their life so that they can be there for you when you need them. So how do you work in relationships?

You know, I think for me, I find that the best relationships I have are the ones that I have the opportunity to come in and out of authentically without guilt based on time. So what I mean by that is if I can call a friend who I haven't seen in three weeks and grab lunch, they're going to have my full time at that lunch. I try very hard to be, I would say where my shoes are. I try very hard to be present in the moment I'm present in, but I probably also choose relationships of people that understand that it's not because I don't want to be with them every day or call every day or write every day. If I could, I would. But when I do have the time and we can get together, I cherish it. And I feel that way

about the friends that do that for me too. I really enjoy relationships where I can pick them right back up where we left off without the guilt or burden of, you know, why haven't you called? And then what did you learn from Dr. Koop? One of the legends in golf psychology, for sure. Dr. Koop taught me just, I don't even know where the list begins, but, uh, it has to go back a little bit to kind of explain my relationship with Dr. Coop. I was, um, I was training to be, um, I was hopeful to be an Olympic ski racer. And, uh, when I, um, I was hurting in high school and that's when my focus shifted to playing, uh, competitive golf in college. And that's where I met Dr. Koop. And what Dr. Koop was

instrumental to me in learning was how to manage coming from a slalom course, for example, that was 52 seconds where you're playing B-52s going up the chairlift, you know, before you get off into the starting gate, you're getting as hyped up as you possibly can, visualizing the course and ready to go at a whim's notice to a four and a half hour round where you're supposed to stay calm and emotion free for the entire time. So when I would ride in the school van and play, you know, punk rock music as loud as possible, and my coaches would say, you have to turn that off, I would immediately start out on golf courses, double bogey, bogey, bogey until I settled down. And what Dr. Coop made very clear to me is he gave me techniques and strategies to manage that quick burst of energy and then make sure I set that free during that 25 seconds perhaps of a shot and then be able to go back to

it. So he gave me probably what today people train for, uh, in their fitness where, you know, you bring your heart rate up really high and, and then you learn how to comment and you bring your heart rate up very high and learn how to comment. Um, he did that for mere years before it was popular to do. And, and that in itself was just a tremendous gift for me, no matter, forget about sports, a tremendous gift for any situation that I felt anxious about or overwhelmed by that has helped me my whole life. And then as far as the GHO was concerned, the men's tour event, he talked me through things that I had to face before I got there in a way that not only was it visually compelling, but he made me hear what I would hear.

He made me smell what I would smell. He made me be there before I was there. Um, so that I could not underestimate the impact of 40,000 people on the first tee so that I could not underestimate the impact of 40,000 people on the first tee, so that I could understand that, yes, there was going to be media interference, and how was I going to deal with that, and let's practice that, that there were going to be things that weren't what I expected that were going to happen, and how would I manage that, and what would be our strategy to do that? So for me, it was really, we walked through nine months of incredible visualization exercises for me at night,

but also just kind of talking through, well, Susie, scenarios, you know, so what will happen if you get to the tee late because you can't get through the crowd? What would you expect your body to feel like then? Those are things I wouldn't have thought about. All I wanted to do was get the ball in the air off the tee, right? Make sure it was going forward. So he gave me to, when I think about it today, it's probably why I performed well on day one. He told me very clearly multiple times to give myself three mistakes and allow it and understand it and move on from it. And I never really knew the impact of that until after I had played the first hole.

And I teed off the first hole as we had thought I would. And I didn't hit a great shot, but I hit a fine shot down the middle. I hit my second shot pretty much exactly where I had expected to, not on the green. I knew I wasn't going to get there, but a little short to the right side, which kept me clear of any kind of trouble. I chipped up onto the green about four feet below the hole, and things were just going beautifully. I looked at Bucky, my caddy, and said, gosh, this isn't going to be that bad. And I stepped foot on the green and just went sheer white. I saw all the cameras. I saw all the people. I could not breathe. And I had really forgotten, candidly, to step on the green in my visualization and in my thought process over the course of time, which I know seems odd, but I just didn't. And I walked over to Bucky and I said, well,

I don't think I can putt. And I was dead serious. And he said, no, you have to putt. It's your turn. And I said, no, I don't think I'm going to putt. Not right now. And he said, no, you're definitely going to putt right now. And he said, you're going to put to putt right now. And, uh, he said, you're going to put the putter in your hand. You're going to rock your shoulders back and forth. The ball is going to go in the hole. We're going to go to the next tee. So I walked over to my ball and just about couldn't get my marker down, uh, put the putter head behind the ball. Okay. Wait, wait, wait. As you're walking back, what did you do? I don't remember. Okay. It was like a whiteout?

It was like a whiteout. And I put my ball down and I hit it about six feet past the hole. And I walked over and marked my ball and walked back. And Bucky said, what are you doing? And I said, well, I don't think I can putt. He said, it's still your turn. And I walked back to the ball and I hit that and I missed that. And I, I heard the crowd do that horrible noise where they go, Oh, 40,000 people. Right. And I remember having about a, I don't know now, maybe it was three,

four inches, uh, to tap the ball in the hole. What do you think your heart rate was doing at that time? It had to be 158. Yeah, okay. I mean, literally. I mean, it was... Hand shaking? Oh, my God. I couldn't do anything.

Do you remember what you could see? I don't remember seeing anything. Yeah. We call that mind blind. Yeah, I don't remember seeing anything. And I remember putting the putter down behind the ball. And when the ball went in the hole, because it did, thankfully, go. And I remember thinking, well, that I've made, that was two of my mistakes. So we're okay. And I went off on the next tee box

and went on to shoot 75, one of not the scoring best career round of my life, but the absolute best playing round of my career and best performance of my career. Finding Mastery is brought to you by Momentous. When it comes to high performance, whether you're leading a team, raising a family, pushing physical limits, or simply trying to be better today than you were yesterday, what you put in your body matters. And that's why I trust Momentous. From the moment I sat down with Jeff Byers, their co-founder and CEO, I could tell this was not your average supplement company. And I was immediately drawn to their mission, helping people achieve performance for life.

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just good design, great science. And if you're ready to feel the difference for yourself, Felix Gray is offering all Finding Mastery listeners 20% off. Just head to FelixGray.com and use the code FindingMastery at checkout again that's felix gray you spell it f-e-l-i-x-g-r-a-y.com and use the code finding mastery 20 at felixgray.com for 20 off so you went from like pretty good to an absolute wobbler, right? Flat out disaster. And then, you know, I think what you're describing is when, so oftentimes scientists will say, you don't rise to the occasion, you fall to the level of your training. And so literally you're going through the motions, right? Like doing the best you could, but you were not present. It's the antithesis of being

present, right? It's the antithesis of being present. It's the antithesis of being deeply focused. It's the exact opposite of being calm and intense. It's being just literally like the cup is spilling over. All of the contingency planning and cognitive structuring and imagery that Dr. Koop was doing is so powerful. That's right on the money of like, okay, nice, nice, nice. And it sounds like you saw that from so many different angles and really deep and important work. What do you think, if looking back, what would you have wanted to add to or carve out of

your psychological framework? Yeah, add to is I would have wanted to, I got a little overconfident day two. I was playing amazing. We two off of 10 and I was under par going into the 15th hole and it was my first nine holes. And this is a very short par four. And I had had a plan all along that I would wait for Bucky to arrive at my golf ball with me. We would talk about the shot together. We would make sure we, you know, contemplated together, you know, that we had the same yardage. I like to do my own yardage book too. And so we would, it was kind of a checks and balance thing. But I was playing so well and

started playing a little quicker and Bucky wasn't quite to me. Uh, he put the bag down, he got to me, he, he then walked back to get a yardage and I'd already grabbed my club out of the bag, uh, ready to go. And by the time he got back up to my bag, uh, I had hit and I blew it over. I was only maybe 75 yards from the flagstick, from the hole, and I blew it a good 15, 10, 15 yards over the green on a hole you can't be long on. It's just disastrous over the green. No possibility of making par from over the green,

and bogey would be tremendous. And I blew it over the green, and I looked up at him, and he looked up at me and he said, what did you just hit? And I said, I hit my 58. He said, no, you didn't. You just hit your sand wedge. And I hit my 60, I said. And he said, no, you didn't. You just hit your sand wedge. And it was my, you know, I was just impetuous. I just wanted to go. I was, I was, I, I was playing well and got a little overconfident. I got out of the routine and I cost me, I made a double bogey. And then I went bogey, bogey, uh, after that. And, uh, incredibly just, I mean, I think about

that too. We talk about that shot. If some people ask me, what's the one thing you would have done differently? It would be that it wouldn't be that the shot was poor. I had a beautiful shot. If people ask me, what's the one thing you would have done differently? It would be that it wouldn't be that the shot was poor. I had a beautiful shot. It would be that I didn't stick to the plan. And we had a plan and I left it and it hurt me. It really did. So that would be the one thing. The one thing I would have added, you know, I'll be honest with you. I had so many amazing people around me that did, gave me so much insight and, uh, so many strategies and so much support. I don't know that I would change anything in my preparation. Okay. And then where do you think the nervousness comes from for you? Right? Pressure and nervousness, they sometimes go hand in hand, most of the times they do. But what, where does pressure come from

for you? And where does nervousness come from for you? Because it sounds like you manage pressure well going into the first tee, and then you had some sort of nervousness, right, that happened midway through that first series there. So can you talk through those two? Yeah, you know, for me, I would tell you that I see pressure very different than nerves. And I actually coach this way as well. And then I'll try to relate it to myself. But I always tell people, if you're not feeling pressured, most likely you won't win or you certainly won't compete at a level that your body is capable of doing if you're not feeling a little bit of that. Because I like to see it as this positive energy that I can create and direct and direct to

whatever intention I have. So pressure is something that for me, I turn into intentional processes. Nervousness for me relates to fear. And so when I'm fearful, I have to take a step back. In that situation, I couldn't remove myself. I was stuck there. And trying to get through the fear was something that was very difficult for me. And I try to tell people like coach who say, oh, I'm afraid to go over the bunker. I'm afraid to hit it into the bunker. I'm afraid I'm going to go in the water. I always say something that kind of snaps them out of it like, well, you can be afraid of fire.

You can be afraid of accidents. You can be afraid of disasters. You can't be afraid of golf, right? It's just not something that you should be afraid of. Now, nervousness, because you're not prepared, I think that's also fear. And so I try to overcome my nerves by being ultra prepared. And in this instance, I forgot the green. So there you go. I felt the fear that I try to help people through now because of my experience that I treated that like fight or flight. I treated that like my body, literally, I didn't have blood in my fingertips. And it was over a putt. And you think that is absurd. But my brain didn't see it that way in the moment. It is our ancient brain in modern times,

trying to figure out these arbitrary stressors and pressures, you know, that golf and most stick and ball sports, you know, are luxuries, but our brain doesn't know the difference between like the stress of that luxury and the stress of Sabre Thru's chasing us down hundreds of thousands of years ago. So it feels the same way. It's manifested the same way. It's expressed the same way. The artifact is the same, meaning our breathing rate changes, our heart rate changes. We feel muscle tension.

Fine motor skills are compromised and we become more narrow in our attention. It's the same thing. We're in survival mode. So is there something like, this is, this is, I didn't know we're going to talk about this. I thought we're going to talk about you being the president, you know, of PGA, but this is really fascinating because you've been in the arena, right? So you're guiding the PGA right now of America, but you've also been in the arena. And was it being first? Was that where the meltdown took place?

Was it that pressure? Like I'm letting people down? Or was it they're going to find out that I'm not that good? What was the thought process that led to it? Because there was no saber tooth. There was no gorilla. What was the thing? It's a great question. I've never really thought about it in that way. No, I wasn't, it wasn't that I feared people wouldn't think I was that good. And it really wasn't in a fear of embarrassment. You know, I had kind of gotten through that.

And Dr. Koop and I had talked just numerous hours about that. And I realized very quickly that, you know, it's much easier to hold your head high because of preparation and believe in what you've accomplished than worry about what other people have put on your performance. And I always find that even in skiing or anything else I've accomplished, you know, if it's about other people and you're doing it for that praise, you're not going to get to where you want to get to anyway. So it really wasn't that for me. I, you know, I think for me, it was more, I, I wanted, I wanted to make the cut. Did I have any business thinking that I could as a full-time head golf professional, a mom of two young children,

almost disrespectful to those I was competing against who were doing this on a day in and day out basis full time to have those kind of thoughts. But I think I was more worried about disappointing me and my score than anything else because I never wanted to talk about wanting to make the cut when I did my interviews. Because I did think it was presumptuous. But I can tell you I wanted to make the cut. That's really cool. There is something that I can recognize in not wanting to say the thing.

Because if you say it, then it's like the risk of exposure is multiplied beyond amplification sometimes. So keeping some things private I think actually is important. Sometimes just saying it. It's like who cares what anyone thinks? Just say the thing and there's some freedom in that as well. Yeah, I'm surprised I actually told you too because you're the first person and I've done thousands of interviews about the GHO. You're actually the first person I've told that to.

And so what is that like to talk about it right now? Kind of freeing actually. Yeah. Isn't it? It's funny to know, like you weren't ready to talk about it before now, right? And so like knowing when to share what the core intent is and knowing when to hold back, like that's a skill in of itself. And some people would say, no, reckless abandonment, you know, for vulnerability is the way to go. And, you know, I, I put my hand up and I say, not all the time. Like there's times when we, there's things that are intimate just for us that were meant to keep private.

I hope that wasn't one of them. No, no. That's awesome. Okay. So what is it like? Let's shift over to PGA being the president. Like, what is that like being the first woman? And you know, the way I started our conversation, it's like, I don't know if it's an overused thing that you would be tired of, like the first female president. And I'll tell you why I share that. I just got done spending time with an, quote unquote, elite banker in Africa. And he says, I don't want to be the best bank in America or the best bank in Africa. He owns a bank. He says, I want to be the best bank in Africa. He owns a bank. He says, I want to be the best bank in the world.

So don't tell me about being the first banker to reach number one in whatever. And that's why I was wondering for you if it seems overdone, but it sounds like you have this really eloquent way, no, it's a wonderful opportunity. Well, it is a wonderful opportunity. And I think, I don't look at it honestly as being the first because there were women that came before me in the PGA of America that made it possible to even have those that were have achieved it. I'm certainly not the first to have tried. And if because of that, others now don't label that we're PGA professionals and, you know, here's the next PGA president XYZ, whether it's, you know, a male or whether it's a person of color, whether it's a female that comes next after me, you know, I would hope that would be the case because, you know, our goal is to advance the game. And to advance the game, we need to look more like the communities we serve.

And we need to have more women engaged in golf. And so right now for people to say, oh, I'm the first female president of the PGA of America. I'm okay with that. If it gives us the opportunity to increase our audience, if it gives us the opportunity to have a seat at the table amongst groups that perhaps didn't invite us before. Really cool. Okay. I want to know, like when all eyes are on you and you've got, I read over 20,000, 29,000 members, how do you set the structure for the vision of PGA of America, the goals that you want to achieve? Like, how do you organize inside of yourself that that is the right direction, whatever that is for you? Yeah, I certainly don't do it just me.

We have 41 sections across the country, all of whom have leadership positions, much like I have at a national level. We have a board of directors, inclusive of two other officers with me, our honorary president and 14 district directors that sit on that. I'm the chair of that board.

And then we have an executive staff who we work directly with on a daily basis. So our charter as a board is to set the strategic direction for the PGA of America and staffs operationally, they implement. And so I'm just fortunate. I work with Seth Waugh, our CEO, who is an acclaimed businessman, but also passionate about the game. He has a son who plays overseas, trying to get his European tour card. So he's very intimate with the game and understands the nuances of growing the game, of being a parent in the game, and the joy that golf can bring to all. And so for me, when you're trying to make a strategic decision for the direction, for the betterment of our membership, for their well-being, for the elevation of their stature within the marketplace amongst employers and consumers, and to really make sure we're advancing the game of golf and getting more people to play the game, again, that live in our communities that we all can serve. For me, those strategic decisions are made as groups, as a team.

You know, I happen to be the leader of that team, but that's what I love to do. I love to coach and I love to surround myself with people that certainly have more expertise in areas than I have so that we have a diverse contributions amongst the table. So we're making sound decisions with all perspectives. We take in all feedback, but we're also taking in feedback that necessarily isn't how we see the world or perhaps how others might see the world. And when you have the opportunity to surround yourself with people who will help you do that, our independent directors, for example, Andrea Smith and Chris Lidell, who sit on our board with us, who can give us that outside perspective, it's truly something that we're just grateful to have in the room and it helps us make those

decisions for all 41 sections and for all of our members. And while it's challenging, we have our challenges for sure. And we will continue to strive to meet those challenges head on. And we have, we've also had some great success and I don't think any one person can ever take, take the acclimation for that. Finding Mastery is brought to you by Cozy Earth. Over the years, I've learned that recovery doesn't just happen when we sleep. It starts with how we transition and wind down. And that's why I've built intentional routines into the way that I close my day. And Cozy Earth has become a new part of that. Their bedding, it's incredibly soft, like next level soft.

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It's about choosing better. And when your day demands clarity and energy and presence, the way you prepare for it matters. If you're looking for high quality personal care products that elevate your routine without complicating it, I'd love for you to check them out. Head to calderalab.com slash finding mastery and use the code finding mastery at checkout for 20% off your first order. That's calderalab.com. Is there a philosophy that's guiding your life? You know, I just think, you know, my philosophy overall is to be kind, to be prepared, and to live your days with joy.

For me, it's never done anything but present opportunities when I face the day like that. I love what I do. I love being where I am in the moment I'm in it. I try incredibly hard to, if I'm with family, to be with my family and not be at work. I try incredibly hard when I'm at work to put my full attention to whatever I'm doing there. If I'm doing something for the PGA of America, it's keenly important to me that I'm incredibly focused on the task at hand for the PGA of America. And I find in today's environment where things are going so quickly and people find they have less and less time, I find it gives me back a great amount of time when I'm not trying to do three or four things in one place that really aren't relevant to what I should be focused on in the moment. And it's giving me time back.

Especially with the pace and speed of today's times, like that's an asset definitely worth cultivating. Do you have a particular mental skills practice or psychological skills practice that you weave in throughout your days, or maybe it's morning or evening practices? I think you're going to laugh at my practice because it's certainly not very professional. Um, but I run three miles every morning and in my three mile jogs is where I do, I'm probably the one of very few people who typically don't play music on my runs. I either play podcasts, or I do my speeches on my runs. Or I do scenarios of things I want to discuss with somebody at work on my run.

So when people see me running, they typically see me talking to myself. Okay. So while you're running, you're working on some sort of imagery or learning. It sounds like that's some of the influence. I've written what I feel are my strongest motivational and inspirational speeches when I'm out running. That's cool. Go figure. I don't know.

It sounds like that's likely some of the influence from Dr. Koop, right? Which is using some strategy building, using some cognitive skills to be able to think about the thing you're going to be doing from multiple directions. I think so. And I'm just a physical person. I love activity. I love being outside. I find great calmness in doing something active. And typically, it helps me focus. Of all the skills that go into golf, so there's physical, there's technical, there is strategic, and then there's mental skills. How important is mental skills in that equation? Oh, incredibly important for golf because it's really you against you and you against the golf course. And if you can manage what I always call the tapes that the, oh, I've had this shot before and I did it poorly. Oh, this is the hole

I don't like. Oh no, I'm in the bunker and I hit my bunker shots yesterday poorly. We tend to, as golfers, keep in mind the negative experiences versus, oh, you know what, yesterday I made three great five footers. And, you know, maybe today I'll do the same. We just typically don't train in that capacity. And so it becomes this challenge. As you said earlier, the golf ball has no idea whether I'm playing in a PGA tour event, if I'm out playing with my daughters, if I'm out playing golf with my peers at the PGA of America, the golf ball, it could care less. It's an inanimate object that we give

full life to when we play golf. We yell at it, we tell it to stop, we tell it to do things. So, you know, the physicality of the game, hitting the golf ball, you know, I, as a coach and many of our PGA professionals would say the same, we can get people to hit the golf ball and, you know, some obviously farther than others, but we can get everybody to physically hit a golf ball. Having them learn the strategy of the game, we can teach the strategy of the game. We can teach the management of the game. The mental capacity for the game, that is what makes the game so amazingly great and such an attraction for so many because it's not conquerable.

You know, we have, if you talk to somebody who has their best round ever, so let's say they broke 100 for the first time and they had a 97 or a 98. Oftentimes they'll say, but you know, I three putted three times and I could have had a 94, right? The person who shoots 70 will say, or shoot 69 for the first time, but I doubled the fifth hole, right? Instead of, I shot 69 for the first time. So I think, you know, nobody's quite ever satisfied. And to me, that's what I love about the game because every day it's that new challenge. But the mental part, at least for me, is something that I still every day try to get better at. When was the last time you witnessed mastery?

Probably watching Tiger Woods play at Belle Reve at the PGA Championship this year. And I will say that because if you asked him, and I think he's quoted as saying this, but I don't want to speak for him, he did not strike the ball. He didn't say as a master, but I'll say that. His ball striking was poor that day. But his mastery was in his strategy

and mental acceptance of that and his ability to almost win that championship, despite the fact that he did not have his A game with him. It was pure mastery. it. I think the world knew it when they were watching. I mean, it took your breath away, the things he would do to make a par. And I've never, I haven't witnessed something like that in a long time. Really cool. What did it do for you when you were watching? It made me want to go do better. It made me realize very quickly that you don't have to, you know, and I think we all say this, but you have to watch it maybe to believe it, that you don't need your A game to perform at the highest level. You just don't. And if you can understand that it's not always going to be there for you, figure it out and make it happen. That's exactly what he did. It was absolutely inspirational. And then on that, what do you hope the next generation of kids gets right? This idea that you're inspired, you watch somebody who's master of craft, you're inspired to want to do better. You have the insight that it's not, I don't, it's not about just finding the perfect game. It's about figuring out on a consistent basis and making the next

opportunity, you know, as good as it possibly can be like maximizing opportunities. What do you hope the next generation gets right? So I hope they get self-discovery, right. I hope that they seek a challenge and strive for a challenge. I hope things aren't given and just thrown to the side. And I can give you an example. Some of the youth that we coach at the course where I'm working now, you find it very clear that some of the generation before, and I don't want to generalize, but some of the generation before was told how great they were and everything was going to be fine. And, oh, here, try it. You're trying. That's wonderful, right?

The children that I coach now, they want to do better. They want you to challenge them. They want to try to hit it under the stick and over the tree. And if they don't, you know, kids are very, they're very patient with themselves for their mistakes. It's only if we allow them to be patient with their mistakes and they learn that, oh, this happened because that happened. Maybe if I do this, this will happen. And I hope we give that back to our children. I hope we allow them not to get hurt, obviously, but if they fall off their bike trying, okay, they're going to get back up and do it again. If they miss a golf shot, so what? They're ready to hit 13 more. And I see some families

taking the ball out of the rough, for example, and teeing it up and putting it in the fairway or taking it out from behind a tree so they have a clear shot to the green. The fun of the game is the challenge of trying to hit it around the tree, trying to hit it through the tree. And if you give that an example for anything that children are trying to accomplish as they become young adults, it transcends all that. And, you know, I want children to strive for that challenge and to try to meet it and to know that it's okay if they don't get there the first time. There's just thousands of people that don't. And then there's thousands of people that fail trying and still become incredibly accomplished. And that's what I hope the next generation gets from their world and from their life. What a great insight. Yeah, really great. It's not applicable only to children,

but to all of us, right? To really love going for it and figuring it out as you go and not needing to be perfect and explore in a curious way the the unpredictable and it's, that's awesome. And then you own it, right? Yeah. Then it's yours. You own it and you own, you own that joy of accomplishment, whether it's the first time you've ever, I don't know, hit it over a lake. I mean, there's no greater joy than the first time you do that. Having tried 35 times and hit in the water. It doesn't take away from the joy of the one you finally get over. It actually adds to it. So I just think self-discovery and self-growth is something that is just lacking and I hope we get back to it. Do you have a handful of habits that are important to you as you work on becoming your very best?

Yeah, I was better at this probably before I became PGA president because I haven't managed my time as effectively to have the habits that I love to do. So I have still fit in my fitness and my wellness, obviously. I love to read. And I'm kind of a business book junkie, you know, a performance junkie, a motivational junkie in books, inspirational. And I just have not found the time to fit that into my world right now. So that, that I would say is, was one of my, my habits that I'm, I'm missing and I, and I want to get back to it, um, because it gives me a real sense of, of calm and kind of an ownership of, of where I am in my space and, uh, and what I can accomplish or reading about other people, um, who have been in positions, not like mine, but in leadership positions and how they handled certain, certain circumstances that I do like to have a habit and a practice of doing that. But one of my one of my practices that is important to me is is reaching out to a mentor at least once a month. Those that I've surrounded myself with who have given their time to me so freely, who have been incredibly successful, who I can bounce ideas

off of and talk through things with and get candid and honest feedback from. That's been instrumental to me as a practice. Those that are willing to be my truth tellers are vitally important to my world. Really good reminder to be around them. And then is there a book or two that comes to mind that you think have been game changers for you? Oh, I love Carol Dweck's book, Mindset. That's probably just a fun, wonderful read for me as a coach. Just a great reminder of what people can accomplish when they're willing to go for it.

And they're willing to have kind of that positive outlook on know, when they're willing to go for it and they're willing to have kind of that positive outlook on life and whatever they're trying to accomplish versus a fixed mindset. And I know that so many people have written about it, but for somebody who just is a coach and wants a wonderful read that can help immediately their clients and their students, that's probably one of my favorites. I love anything by Tony Giri. immediately, uh, their clients and their students. Uh, that's probably one of my favorites. Um, I love anything by Tony Geary. Um, I'm addicted to Tony Geary's books on motivation and presentations. Um, so, so those are some great ones. And then, uh, you know, then I read things

like Alex Cross. So go figure. Those are my airplane reads. So so for me i read star wars i'm a star wars reading junkie um so for me it's it runs the gamut uh in book reading but uh you know there's just there's so many emotional intelligence is is a stalwart for me um i love that book because everything we do in in the business that i'm in is about people and about ensuring that the people you're surrounding yourself with, but also the people that are in front of you, understand your authenticity and your journeys with them as a partner. And so I love that book too. Well, we started this conversation on the value of relationships and helping you become. And we end with it in the same vein. So it's an eloquent ending can you share with people where

you know if they want to find out more about what you're doing or what you're up to some places that they can go to and i know you've got a school if people want to learn from you and your instructors so can you help us know where to go i'm at the country club of mirasol which is in palm beach gardens florida it's a beautiful place to, especially if you're in the cold somewhere in the country. And then in the summertime, I'm at TPC river Highlands, which is in Hartford, Connecticut. Brilliant. And then I think your handle on Twitter is just my name. It's a Susie Whaley, S U ZA-L-E-Y. And my handle on Instagram is at Mama Whales, M-A-M-M-A-W-H-A-L-E-S. Susie, thank you so much for your time. Thanks for sharing.

And congrats on your body work. And it's exciting to know the framework that you're working from. And I'll be really curious to be able to follow what you're doing next. So thank you. Well, it's been a pleasure. And just thank you so much for thinking of me and having me on. All the best. Okay, take care. So thank you. Wow. It's been a pleasure. And just thank you so much for thinking of me and having me on. All the best. Okay. Take care. Bye-bye. All right. Thank you so much for diving into another episode of Finding Mastery with us.

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