SCOTT IRONS OUT HIS SHORT GAME WITH NEW COACH
GOLD Coast golfer Adam Scott has turned to a former professional player from his hometown in a bid to improve his chipping and putting ahead of an assault on the US Open.
GOLD Coast star Adam Scott has enlisted the help of former professional golfer Matthew Ballard to fine-tune his game for the US Open next week.
Ballard is at the Erin Hills Golf Club in Wisconsin working with 2013 US Masters winner Scott to prepare for the second major event of the year.
The long-time friends met up at Sanctuary Cove, where Ballard is a teaching professional, earlier this year when it was decided that Scott would work with him to help improve his short game, regarded as his Achilles heel.
Scott’s father Phil said from their original meeting things went further.
“I think they just got chatting and from there they said let’s do a few things together and see how it goes,” Phil said.
“It’s all short game related and Matt, I understand, specialises in that stuff.
“I believe he was pretty good at it. It’s good for Adam to have some new eyes and ears and if Matt is successful with Adam it will add some credibility to his coaching.”
As amateurs Ballard and Scott went to America in 1998 to qualify for the US Amateur in a group that also included Wayne Perske, Travis Johns and Andrew Duffin.
In his days as a touring professional 39-year-old Ballard won many events on the proam circuits when he built a reputation as a genius of sorts in the key areas of pitching and putting.
According to mates, Ballard epitomised the saying “drive for show, putt for dough” and the association with Scott should work out well.
Dylan Campbell, who played with Scott for Queensland schoolboys, said Ballard had the ultimate chip and putt game as a player.
“As a player Matt was renowned for having a phenomenal record for his putting and his chipping was exceptional,” Campbell said.
“And now he has developed into a really good short-game teacher.
“The good thing with Matt is he has a good understanding of chipping and putting techniques and Adam is focussing more on his short game now.”
It has been confirmed that Scott will be back on the Coast in August with wife Marie and daughter Bo for the birth of the couple’s second child.