Always finish what you start | Bryana Nguyen

This is the I Want To Play College Golf podcast. We talk to those who coached and those who have played college golf, so you can learn what it takes to be a college golfer. Are you ready to tee off? Let's go.

For the first question, how'd you get into golf?

So I started when I was eight years old, my dad introduced me to golf. And before that, or like, during that I was actually a competitive, I did taekwondo. So I am a black belt of that. And I did, I went to the Junior Olympics. So I competed in all these tournaments and whatever, but my mom got scared that I was gonna get hurt. And so my dad's like, let's put her into golf. And my first swing at the rain with a kids like sandwich or something like that. Went straight up in the air and straight and like she has to start off. And he was the one who really pushed me. Because every time I saw a support, he was always like, you have to be number one. And that score, you have to give it your all or else we won't do it. So kind of a tiger dad thing very much Asian culture where you have to be like the best or else. Why are you doing it? And at first, I'm like, it'll golf like why it's so boring. And then once I started meeting people and friends and playing well, I got really into it. So it was definitely my dad who started me and

It's very nice. And more time doing short game, Oracle's.

Um, unfortunately, I would say full swing, where I'm almost a hypocrite, because I tell everybody, we should practice a short game or right so. But throughout all my competitive golf, I practice my full swing long game a lot.

We're going to ending doing pulseway

Um, I did a lot with my routine. And my pre shot routine, because honestly, once you're at the level that you girls are when you're competitive, there's not much you can change with your swing, like mechanics wise. And so focusing on your mental game and your pre shot routine and getting into that repetitive mode while practicing full swing, I think was most important for me. And that's what I tried to focus on. So I I I wasn't been involved on the ring, like consistent like, hundreds and hundreds. I was more hitting 20 shot by best as I could, right.

Do you have any pre shot routine? Or any thoughts before you go up to hit the ball?

Yeah, so when I play my best golf, I actually didn't have any practicing, which was interesting. Now I'm a little old and less flexible and my back hurts. So that's why I need to take a practicing but I was taught never you're practicing is really your rehearsal swing, right? So it has to have a purpose. And every time I did my practice swings, it was just like, you know how you like lazily do one. And so I was like, What's the point? Why don't I just go off and hit it then.

So my pre shot routine is really just visualizing what I want to do behind the ball, step up to the ball, aim and take a deep breath. I'm really keen on deep breathing. So I take a deep breath and then I just hit it and literally, it takes two seconds.

Do you have any favorite tournament of yours?

Um, yeah, I have. I like the favorite. Well, there's two types. I guess the favorite one I played in was actually a program. I was 14 and I played in the Pebble Beach. First you open or it was called the Nature Valley open back then. So the one where you play with a a champion store player. I got to play Pebble Beach three times that week with Fred Fung which is pretty cool because he's very well known player and he was from Maryland, which is where I'm from. So that was just a good tournament experience overall because you get to be inside the ropes approach right? My favorite competitive tournament is probably when we went to Michigan for the Michigan Women's Open. It's my lowest tournament score. I didn't even win, which stinks, but I shot seven under with no bogeys. And I was I think, like 12 or 13 under total for the tournament. And I didn't even win. So that's how good that girl was. I got there but that that tournament I'll definitely remember just because of how well I shot that round.

Yeah, you think you have any clubs that like what you're best at or your favorite?

I'm an eight iron. Maybe. I don't hate it that far. So my driver isn't my favorite like all the long hitters say. And I don't really like practicing putting God. But eight I just whenever I have that stock like 150 yard shot and I had an AVI Flash is one of my favorite things to do in golf.

You used to play for North Carolina how that experience

The best in the world. I rave about North Carolina anytime anybody asks me, just because one, the Golf was great. I went there for golf, obviously. But academics also was like the school I went to I majored in journalism. And so it was the number top three journalism school every year. And the camaraderie and family and just all of the experience I had in college it in college was amazing. From athletics to volunteering to, I was president of the Student Athlete committee there. So it was just, I tried to get involved as many things that I could as a student athlete. And every time somebody asked me about where they should go to college, I always recommend North Carolina.

And obviously, your academics were pretty good. How did you manage to balance out golf in school?

That's a great question. Because I didn't in the beginning, my first year, it was a struggle. And that's what I tell a lot of my students that are going into college because it is a learning curve. Like You're an all star all throughout high school. And as golfers you always try to be perfect. I feel like it's just a demeanor that all golfers have. And so when you go to college, you realize you can't be perfect the first year because it's a whole new experience. But time management wise, I did everything ahead of time. No procrastination. And when you're on the road, like it's no joke that you have to play a tournament and then do a whole nights worth of like homework or take a test on the road.

So at Carolina, there was a lot of resources that helped me manage my time and a lot of resources that kept me on track. And I just took advantage of all of that. So the calendar, doing everything three days in advance of the night have always helped.

Also, you were assistant coach for it for North Carolina last year. What do you think makes a junior golfer stand out from its competitors?

Yeah, so I to clarify that I was the volunteer assistant coach. So we had like a head coach and assistant and then volunteers to do which is me. While I played professionally, um, what stood out to coaches was how, or at least my coach was how juniors reacted to their shots. So even if you have a bad shot, your reaction should not be like, Oh, dang it, like you have to be poised and you have to keep your demeanor and coach actually paid attention to what they do after that shot. So whether they go up if it's a miss Hit, whether they go up and hit a great shot afterwards or if they falter that hole, right. So that's one thing, it's not about who hits it the furthest. It's about their personality, right? And just you you kind of look out for the potential that players have. So even if you're not the best not ranked top 10 in the nation. If you see that potential and those fundamentals their coach can always bring that right. So the number one thing is personality or or demeanor on the golf course. And the second thing is like, what how their fundamentals are if they're able to be coached and able to be taught things, because you don't want someone hard headed on a golf team, right?

Yes, those points? Do they also look out for anything else? Or just because those points? Coaches look out for anything else?

Besides what I just said, yeah, yeah. Kind of like, coaches always look out for obviously, players who play well. Oh, the big thing? Is there parents. So a coach doesn't want, like a helicopter mom or dad, or at least, they don't want a mom or dad that's always on top of their players. And they want to see the mom and dad helping them but just keeping their distance, right? You don't want a mom or dad that is standing right behind the players after they play a bad round watching them big balls on the range afterwards, right? That's not really. That's not really helpful. So it involves parents, but not a parent that wants their child or like wants to be on top of their child throughout the whole time. Right. So there's a fine line between that and my dad. My dad crossed it a couple of times. But he he learned his lesson at the end. Right? So yeah, when did you decide to turn professional, um, I decided to go pro kind of the end of my junior year of college.

I once accused schools. I went to Q school this summer before senior year. So I always knew I wanted to finish school. But there's always an opportunity for golfers to go to Q school, even though they're in school. And if they turn pro, then they can still finish school, right? You can defer your professional status for a year. So my junior year of college is when I was like, Okay, I'm going to try. Okay, and was that journey tough? Yeah, um, you don't really realize the pressure q school breaks until you get there. Because it's literally just one tournament, or ounce. And it determines if you like, has status or not, right. And it did 115 degree weather in Palm Springs, California. So it sucks. But it really shows the players that are mentally tough and, and mentally ready to go professional because it's really just everybody's on the same playing field that everybody can shoot under par. But it's if you can stay focused and not worry about all of the outside stuff, right? So my first time going to Cusco I didn't I'm I made it past the first cup, but not past stage one. So luckily, I got to go back to school, which was what I wanted to do all along, but didn't have any status that next summer for for, like symetra tour or anything.

Okay, and during along the way, did you change your diet?

No, my mindset you said,

oh, yeah, we're like routine. Sorta?

Yeah. So so the first summer I turned professional, my mindset was still like, okay, it's my first year, you're fresh, like just play as many tournaments as you can. And a lot of that time I was worried about money. I was worried about my parents supporting me, because golf is very expensive, right, like tournament fees, for many tours are actually more than like symetra and LPGA. Because we don't have those sponsors, right. So all the many tours, even though you make way less than the LPGA professionals, you still have to pay a lot to get it because most of that money is pay on money. And and so throughout the first year of me playing, I was focusing on making money one and trying to pay my parents back, which is not the mindset you want, because that just puts a lot of pressure on the player, right? So my next year during high school, I tried to just focus on playing my best golf, having fun having that conversation with my parents, like, Hey, thank you for supporting me and my dad and mom still said you have 100% of our support. Like don't worry about it. In the back of your head, you're still worrying about it, but at least they're telling me that and then it freed up my mindset right. So as they're playing better. Sounds good. Okay.

And is there anything else you wish you could have told your younger self

I wish I wish I could have told my younger self to not worry about that and have fun. Because it really are as stressful as it is like, traveling city to city driving eight to 10 hours every time for a golf tournament. I was very fortunate because I had a parent's support, and I'm playing golf for a living, and I'm outside for my job. And I'm traveling with my friend like, it sounds like vacation when you say like that, right? So just to be grateful and have fun with it rather than worrying like, am I gonna make money this week? Because I didn't. But it's okay.

Also, did you pick up anything while playing professional?

Pick up anything like advice? Or like? Yeah, like and, um, it really, it picked up like, me knowing like, Is this really what I want to do? It taught me what my real passions were. Because maybe it's not professional golf, right. But for the longest time, since I was eight years old, I was like, I'm gonna be a pro golfer. But throughout my professional career, I realized I really just liked my passion was with golf, but with meeting the people I met, around the tournaments, meeting, different friends, meeting different connections to help me to get where I am today, right. So it's really me learning really what I was passionate about. And I still don't know if it's golf or not like playing professionally, but we're working through it. So it's really just, I learned that you should just follow what you really like to do and not be unhappy about.

And what's your philosophy for your coaching?

Coaching philosophy, I always say, you work with what you got, right? I'm not gonna change a player if they're already comfortable with what unless it's really bad. But I'm not going to change someone who hits it pretty well, I'm going to work with what they have, and really enhances their positive skill sets instead of taking away something and making them feel really uncomfortable. Right. So working with what you got, and building upon that, rather than repositioning every day. And another philosophy is really just golf is 100% mental. So why are we working on our mental game in our, our pre shot routine?

And besides golf, do you do any more hobbies?

Not particularly, I eat a lot. I love traveling. I'm a big foodie and love to travel. And if and that's a big reason why I stopped with golf. And why I still am golfing because it takes me to these amazing places that not a lot of people can go to right. So I've kind of have that traveling lifestyle where I can use golf to get me to those places that I want to go.

And if if you were to give us your one secret sauce of advice, what would that be?

My life motto. Always finishing what you start, right. So that's actually a thing I learned from Taekwondo and it's touches me stuck with me all the way till now is whatever you start in whatever you put your mind to, you should always finish it or or complete whatever goal you have, whether it's finishing a hot dog and hot dogs are like going to college, you should always just persevere and never give up. Right? So

Finally, we're coming to the end, what is your advice for parents and junior golfers?

Yeah, um, my advice to juniors is to all like I said before, to do what you want to do, right? If it doesn't make you happy, it's not going to make you happy in the long run. And I should follow my own advice, right. But yeah, so don't do anything for your parents. Do what makes you happy and look and be grateful for what you have right for junior golfers a lot of them don't realize golf is an expensive sport. And, and they're very fortunate to be introduced to golf. Right. So being grateful to have that sport in your life because a lot of people are done. I have to play in that they can't. Okay, so that and then advice to parents is let your kids explore. And your parents, your gut instincts are always the right. The right ones. I I had to learn that the hard way with my dad and I always thought he was out for me to be sad for some reason. But after growing up and realizing like he was right all along, so go with that gut instinct. And and if you think your kids good at something, give them a little bush. All right.

Okay, thank you so much for coming again. Before we finish, do you think we missed any crucial pieces of information to becoming a successful golfer you are today?

Um, no, I mean, you all did a great job of um, I kind of want to emphasize just using golf, like I said, like how I like making connections because where I am today was, it couldn't have been done without like, my roommate or my coach, and like every little person I met. So keeping those connections and using that is what helped me a lot. And like, like I said, kind of going back to finishing when I started it. That motto stuck with me since I was eight years old. So yeah, that's basically it.

And before you go, if we have any other questions, it's okay if we shoot you an email.

Yeah.

Thank you so much and have a great night.