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The pied piper of prep golf

Area preps prosper under tutelage of Vitense pro Derek Schnarr

Rob Schultz  —  5/29/2008 10:10 am

Tim McCormick wasn't letting a bout of pneumonia stop him from playing golf. While it was painful to watch him hitting balls at Vitense Golfland a few weeks ago, the Madison Memorial junior was smiling through his cough-swing, cough-swing, cough-swing routine.

While McCormick's ability to play through illness may be rare, his smile was a common theme among all the high school golfers who have spent countless hours at Vitense this spring fine-tuning their swings.

Thank Derek Schnarr and the Vitense Golf Academy for that.

High school golfers from Madison, Middleton, Verona, Oregon, Stoughton, Watertown and other area communities have flocked to Vitense and Schnarr, seeking answers to all their questions.

"These kids are learning to go low," said Schnarr, 37. "We talk a lot about expectations, how to manage expectations. If you shoot 72 today, should you expect to shoot 72 tomorrow? No. But they can go through the same routine that led to that 72."

The young golfers have been listening. Madison Memorial, Madison West, Madison La Follette, Middleton and Verona all qualified for this week's WIAA Division 1 sectionals with multiple golfers who have worked with Schnarr.

Some of his pupils have legitimate goals of earning medalist honors at the state tournament at University Ridge on Monday and Tuesday.

Schnarr's shtick goes beyond the golf course. He tells his pupils to watch what they eat, exercise, go to class and be respectful to their parents, teachers, coaches, teammates and others.

"The kids that do the right things, like doing well in the classroom and treating everyone with respect, those are the kids who are enjoying success," he said. "This is as much about life lessons as it is about golf."

On the course, Schnarr teaches the young golfers how to think their way through a round to minimize errors. He teaches them to chip and putt conservatively.

Do all that, Schnarr says, and that will allow these young talents to be aggressive when the time is right. And that's what creates low scores.

"It's all believing, realizing, taking the game and breaking it down so they understand what's going on before they hit their first drive," he said.

Adam Steinhofer sought out Schnarr about two months ago, which was about when his scores started dropping through the floor. He was at his best at the Metro Shootout at University Ridge a couple of weeks ago, when he shot a 7-under par 65 during the second round to earn medalist honors. That was his best round ever, and the best in the history of the event.

"We've worked on my posture and flattened out my swing. I was kind of upright, so I was missing everything to the right," said Steinhofer, who eliminated any chance of slicing after he made the changes.

"My ball striking, I just needed to tweak it a little bit," he added. "I'm hitting it good right now."

Memorial sophomore Quinn Moe started working with Schnarr over the winter, and it has paid dividends this spring. He figures that is a big reason why he has cut six strokes off his stroke average from last year.

"My mental approach is completely different going out and playing golf because of Derek — just because of stuff we talk about," said Moe, who was the medalist at last week's WIAA Middleton regional with a 1-under 71.

Moe added that Schnarr stresses keeping it simple, "instead of thinking about everything out there. I try to think about as little as possible."

Schnarr smiles when you mention what Moe has done this spring. "He's finally understanding that he's a pretty good player," Schnarr said. "That's the hardest thing to do with these kids. So it's a pretty neat thing when they start believing. He's playing really well right now."

Memorial golfer Sean Regan said Schnarr works well with high school golfers because "he can connect with you really easily. No matter who the person is, he can connect with you easily to make it easier to learn."

Schnarr credits golf for saving his life after fighting through alcohol and drug problems a few years ago. He thanked his father, Mike Schnarr, as well as Vitense's Joel Weitz and all the other pros at Vitense for helping mentor him as he finishes his first full year as a golf professional.

Schnarr is working hard because he's seeing his pupils working hard. "The fun part for me," he said, "is watching them start to get it."

Rob Schultz  —  5/29/2008 10:10 am