junior golf
Terrence Ng Seventeen-year-old Ng has proved to be one of Hong Kong's most consistent juniors in recent times. He talks to David Cunningham III about his much-improved game following his stellar victory at the Jack Nicklaus Junior Championship at Mission Hills
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ongratulations on your recent win up at Mission Hills. What do you think was the key to your victory and what did you learn from the event? Thanks! The course was very short, so the key to winning the tournament was hitting my short and mid irons accurately to the greens. Obviously I had to also putt well and my short game had to be top notch. If you have a good short game, and you are putting well, it is not unlikely to shoot something like eight-under-par or even lower. Overall I am extremely happy with how I played. I struggled a little bit in the second round but was able to get through that and come out with a win. I really realized from winning this tournament just how important a solid short game is if you want to be a great golfer – it can really save you from a bad round, which is obviously important if you want to win. What does your summer season look like and what are your short-term goals? I have a really busy schedule. I’m going to the States for four weeks to play in some tournaments including the Callaway Junior World Championship. After my trip to the US I will go to Thailand for the Asia Pacific Junior Golf Championship. After that, I’m heading to Fiji for the Nomura Cup. My goals for this summer are to make the cut at the Junior Worlds, to improve my overall game, and to gain more weight. [With rounds of 80, 76 and 80 Ng finished in a tie for 117th at the tournament].
Target Orientated: Terrence in action at Fanling earlier this year 46
HK Golfer・AUG 2011
HKGOLFER.COM
HKGOLFER.COM
Gain more weight? So you believe that fitness is essential to success in competitive golf? Yes, fitness is very important for all golfers. Most of the tournaments that I play in are three days or even four days long. After the first two days most people will think that they are okay, not tired at all. Even after day three most people will be fine. But when you are coming down the stretch with a chance to win a tournament, you don’t want to be focused on keeping tiredness at bay, you should be focused on what you need to do to win. An effective fitness routine can help you to maintain the same amount of energy throughout the tournament, and that’s very important to playing consistently. How often are you in the gym? I usually go to gym two or three times per week. The [HKGA international] squad has a trainer that helps out our entire team by telling us what we should be working on, how to do specific exercises, and other stuff like that. It’s really
What's in Terrence's Bag? Driver: TaylorMade Burner Superfast TP (10.5°) with Tour AD DJ-6 (stiff) shaft Fairway woods: Titleist 910F (13.5°) with Adila SV7 (extra stiff) shaft and Titleist 910H (17°) with Fujikura 904 (stiff) shaft Irons: Titleist CB 710 (3-PW) with NS Pro 105 (extra stiff) shafts Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design Spin Milled (52° and 58°) with True Temper Dynamic Gold shafts Putter: TaylorMade White Ghost Croza Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Says Terrence: I'm not the longest player but I average around 270 yards off the tee with my driver and I'm able to hit my strong three-wood 255 yards, which is useful for tight par fours. My regular seven-iron distance is 160 yards. I am quite superstitious. I will only play a number one or number four golf ball and I always use white tees for driving. I always feel I play better with those numbered balls and that I hit my drives straighter when I use white tees, especially the long ones from the HKGA.
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fun. Usually I warm up by running for a little while, and then I do some weight training. For example bench presses, squats, other exercises like that. I will then do some bodyweight training, so sit-ups, pushups, and then some balance exercises. I end my workouts by doing some cardio and then stretching. What is the single best piece of advice you have ever been given concerning your golf game, and how do you apply that to your game when playing competitively? I think the best piece of advice I have ever been given is to never give up, even if I’m not playing well. Whenever I am playing in a tournament I always tell myself to not think too much about my swing and to just play normally. Even though I may have some bad holes, I just keep my head down, stay calm, and try to finish rest of my round the best I can. How often do you receive instruction and what have you been working on recently? I receive instruction once a week, sometimes twice a week. I have been working on my lower body movement recently. I’ve been trying to make sure that I don’t turn through too quick with my hips on my downswing.
The Pro's View: Brad Schadewitz Terrence has an all-round solid game. He is a very consistent player and doesn't really have any specific weaknesses. He's very straight off the tee – and because he's not erratic, if he gets on a course that suits his game he has the ability to go low. His win at the recent Jack Nicklaus Junior Championship at Mission Hills is a great example – he finished the tournament at an impressive 11-under-par. We talked a lot about the course set up prior to the event – it was a course that definitely fit his style of play – and he became comfortable with the idea of shooting a low score. That's what I try to do with all of the squad members before a tournament: help them prepare mentally for good scores. If they believe they can shoot low, they have a much better chance of actually doing it. In the past few years, Terrence has been working really hard in the gym. As a result, he has added about 25 yards to his drives, which has definitely benefited his ability to score. Terrence has been playing very well recently and he deserves to. He is an extremely hard worker and he puts so much effort into becoming a better player. Terrence is actually the leading overall player in our squad games, which is a testament to his consistency. He also has a very strong mental game; he concentrates extremely well and never gets ahead of himself. He never wastes an opportunity on the course to save a shot. Recently, we have been working on his lower body action. He's not a huge guy, so before he gained his distance, he was compensating by trying to derive power from a fast hip turn. This would sometimes cause him to get in the way of himself, which would lead to a blocked position. We have been working on keeping all parts of his swing connected and Terrence has made some great progress. Terrence has grown so much since our first summer tour four years ago. He has really matured into an outstanding young man. He handles himself very well both on and off the course and he has been an absolute pleasure to work with.
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What advice can you give aspiring junior golfers in Hong Kong? Hard work is the best thing you can do to improve your golf game. You need to practice as much as you can to improve your skills. The more you practice the more consistent you will get, and as you become more consistent you will become a better golfer. What are your future goals, and what do you think it will take to achieve them? I have quite a lot of goals for the future. First, I hope I can qualify for the UBS Hong Kong Open this year. Second, I really want to go to college in the states to play college golf. Lastly I hope I can make the [Hong Kong] team for the Asian Games in three years' time. I will keep working hard to reach my goals and will do whatever it takes. I need to start studying for the SAT as I get closer to applying for college. I also plan to go to the gym more often in order to get stronger and to be able to compete at a higherlevel high level. Do you have any particular tournament experiences that you believe have made you a better golfer? Playing in the Asian Amateur Championship last year was a great experience for me. I just made the cut and ended up finishing in a pretty good position [Ng finished in 62nd spot]. I was able to watch the leaders play a few holes and I learnt a lot from them. For example, how they handle themselves after a bad shot and how they are able to control their emotions so well. What do you think is the weakest part of the your game and what have you been doing to fix it? My weakest part of my game is long iron shots because as I said it before my lower body sometimes turns too quick through on my downswing, and I get disconnected. When I am hitting a longer club and this happens, it’s pretty hard to control myself, and my golf game. I have been working on some exercises my coach gave me to help solve this. One of the exercises is hitting low cut shots. And the strongest? My short game and also my mental game. When I am playing in a tournament and I hit the ball into a tough position to get up and down from, I am usually able to save myself because of my good short game. Also, I feel that I am very good at staying in the moment, which helps me get over bad shots and holes quickly. I always try to focus on the shot I am about to hit, instead of what happened or what will happen in the future. HKGOLFER.COM
How do you prepare for a tournament? The week before a tournament, I won’t go to gym very often – maybe only once, instead of my usual two to three times. I use this extra time to focus on practicing on the course, in order to get a feel for it, and to develop my tournament strategy. The day before the tournament, I try not to practice too much because it’s too late to change anything. So I usually spend only one to two hours on the range. On the day of the tournament I usually arrive at the course an hour before my tee time to warm up and get ready to go. I usually do this by going to the range and hitting some balls to loosen up my swing and get in the right mindset. Who has had the biggest impact on you? My dad, because he is the one who first let me touch a golf club and got me started playing. When I was eight or nine, he taught me how to grip the club, how to set up and how to hit the ball, so I really want to say thank you to him. If you could meet any professional golfer who would it be? I would like to meet Dustin Johnson, because I want to know how far he can hit the ball with his driver! I also want to talk with him about HKGOLFER.COM
last year's US Open and US PGA Championship [tournaments Johnson was in a prime position to win] because I really admire him for how fast he was able to recover and win the BMW Championship. Who would be in your dream fourball? Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker and Johnson. Steve is my idol; Tiger is my former idol and I like Dustin's style, he's so fun to watch. Stricker and I have a similar style of game. Neither of us is particularly long but we make up for it with our short games and putting. His putting is incredible; he can hole it from anywhere. I would love to play match play against Tiger. He's still one of the best players in the world and learn from him what I need to do to become a better player. Favorite vacation spot? San Diego, because it has a lot of good courses and the weather is perfect for playing golf. Tell HK Golfer readers something interesting about yourself ... I think I'm a pretty funny guy. I always make jokes around my friends and family. Even when I play a tournament I'm telling jokes.
Fun with Friends: Terrence shares a laugh with Shinichi Mizuno (left) and Liu Lok-tin (right). These three juniors have been at the top of their game in the 2010/2011 season HK Golfer・AUG 2011
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