What Scottie Scheffler Told an NFL Coach That Changed Everything

There's something beautifully democratic about golf that no other sport can quite match. Where else can an NFL head coach find himself standing on a tee box at dawn, receiving swing wisdom from the best player on the planet?

That's exactly what happened last month when Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell teed it up alongside Scottie Scheffler at the 3M Open pro-am in Minnesota. What transpired wasn't just a round of golf—it was a masterclass in the mindset that separates good players from great ones.

The 6:40 AM Wake-Up Call

Let's set the scene. It's a Wednesday morning in Minnesota, the sun barely up, and Scheffler has just flown in from the Open Championship. The four-time major champion could have sleepwalked through this pro-am appearance, smiled for photos, and called it a day. Instead, O'Connell found himself playing alongside someone genuinely engaged, fun, and generous with his attention.

"It was better than you could imagine," O'Connell told Kevin Clark on This Is Football. "Obviously he's the best in the world, but an even better guy. Fun to hang out with, engaging with the group, talking every time anybody hit a good shot."

Of course, for Scheffler, good shots came on nearly every swing. For the rest of the group? "Few and far between," O'Connell admitted with a laugh.

The Three-Word Question That Changed Everything

Here's where the story gets interesting for every amateur who's ever played it safe off the tee.

O'Connell, like many of us who've been burned by errant drives, had adopted what he thought was a responsible strategy. On certain holes, he was reaching for his 3-wood instead of driver, playing the percentages, trying to keep it in play.

Then came the third tee.

Scheffler walked up to him with a simple question: "What are you doing?"

Before O'Connell could justify his conservative approach, the world number one delivered advice that cuts against everything cautious golfers have been told: "Hit your driver, hit it as far as you can and we'll go find it."

And just like that, something clicked.

"It was amazing," O'Connell said. "I was like, Oh, that makes sense, and I started playing OK."

The Bomb-and-Gauge Generation Knows Something We Don't

What Scheffler articulated in that casual moment is the philosophy that defines modern elite golf. The math simply favors distance. A ball 280 yards down the fairway and a ball 240 yards in the rough often present similar challenges—but that extra 40 yards of distance can be the difference between a wedge and a mid-iron into the green.

For amateurs, the psychology runs even deeper. When you take driver out of the bag to play "safe," you're often introducing tension, second-guessing, and a swing that's anything but committed. Scheffler's advice wasn't just about club selection—it was about freedom.

Swing hard. Trust yourself. Go find it.

Mutual Admiration Society

The respect clearly flowed both ways during those nine holes. Scheffler, who doesn't hide his love of football, was equally fascinated by O'Connell's world.

"You can tell why he's such a good coach, seemed very smart," Scheffler said afterward. "I love the NFL and I'm fascinated by what they're able to do, especially the head coach."

He also noted that for someone who doesn't get much time on the course, O'Connell "moved it pretty well and hit some really nice shots."

There was only one point of contention between the new friends.

"He's a Cowboys fan," O'Connell revealed, "but Minnesota gave him some love for that week for sure."

The Takeaway

The next time you're standing on a tee box, reaching for that hybrid because you're worried about the trouble right, remember what the best golfer in the world told an NFL head coach at 6:40 in the morning:

Hit your driver. Hit it as far as you can. Go find it.

Sometimes the most profound advice is the simplest. And sometimes it takes the world number one to remind us that golf is supposed to be fun—and that playing scared rarely leads anywhere good.