Masters '25: Scottie Scheffler The Latest In A Long Line Who Learned From Randy Smith

One was a young teenager in Ohio whose family was moving to Texas. Another was a college kid at Kansas looking for help with his swing. And then there was Scottie Scheffler, a 6-year-old in New Jersey whose mother had taken a C-suite job at a Dallas law firm.

At different times, in different parts of the country, they all got the same advice when they left for Dallas: Call Randy Smith at Royal Oaks.

"I met Randy and he gave me the evil eye - 'Whose pushing this kid?'" said Scott Scheffler, the father of the defending Masters champion. "I said, 'Sir, I'm not pushing this kid. This kid is pushing me. He wants to hit golf balls. I need someone to help me.'"

The first visit to Royal Oaks was on Mother's Day. Smith recalls a tiny kid with a long back swing who repeatedly made solid contact during a session that lasted nearly two hours. His parents took out a loan and joined Royal Oaks the next day.

So began a relationship with the only swing coach Scheffler has ever had through some 90 junior titles, three All-American seasons at Texas, two Masters green jackets, one Olympic gold medal and the No. 1 world ranking for a longer stretch than anyone this side of Tiger Woods.