Faith Over Trophies - The Scottie Scheffler Way

What's up PE Nation!

Let's talk "Game Changers" today! Scotty Scheffler, the world's #1 golfer, offers a refreshing perspective on success, prioritizing faith and family over trophies and fame. His approach stands in stark contrast to other sports heroes who often disappoint fans through personal failings.

• Winning isn't Scheffler's identity – his faith provides his foundation regardless of golf outcomes
• Trophies and accomplishments are fleeting – Scheffler questions why winning matters so much
• Family comes before career – he would walk away from golf if it negatively affected his home life
• His ultimate purpose is using his talent to glorify God, not seeking fame or fortune

Take care and happy teaching,

Dave

Scottie's interview: https://x.com/GolfDigest/status/1945084133941649919

Team Building Games Ebook (with preview): https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Team-Building-Games-and-Activities-for-PE-Class-14063095

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Transcript

Introduction to Scotty Scheffler

Speaker 1 0:10

Hello and welcome to the Supersize Fizz Ad Podcast . My name is Dave and today I want to talk about Scotty Scheffler because he's so awesome and because I found a new not hero , I don't want to use the word hero but I found a new kind of favorite sports figure that's at the top of their game , and it's definitely Scotty , without a doubt . So let's talk about him next . Here we go . Welcome in PE Nation .

Speaker 1 0:52

So I know some of you like golf , some of you love golf , like me , and some of you can't stand golf , like my wife . So wherever you are , it doesn't really matter . This is really about a person and a person who's number one in the world at something and what really matters in life . So first of all , I love watching golf . I remember watching golf when golf wasn't really that cool to watch . I mean with Jack Nicklaus and he , I mean he was cool , but he was , you know , when I started watching he was older and he's really old now . Older , he's really old now and you know I enjoyed it .

Speaker 1 1:29

I went to a PGA tournament when I was a kid at my dad's course . I'm surprised , looking back , that they had a PGA event there . I think it was a smaller event , but I remember Fuzzy Zeller was there . His name was kind of funny , right , fuzzy . So after that I was hooked . I mean I watch it , maybe not every weekend , but I was . I was enjoyed watching it and I played . I've been playing since I was I don't know six or seven and I'm still I'm terrible or I'm average how about that ? I'm average golfer .

Speaker 1 1:54

But once Tiger Woods hit the scene , I mean everything just changed the way they golf , they golfed as far as like length and distance , the way they exercise , the way they ate and practice , everything . I mean he dominated for , you know , 15 years , maybe not around 15 , 12 to 15 years . I mean he just dominated . It seems like longer . But he was hurt and we'll go into some other stuff . But you know , when I saw Tiger I really was like man , this , I love following this guy , this is this guy's awesome . And it was just so exciting back then .

Speaker 1 2:28

And , uh , when I lived near Charlotte , north Carolina , for a little bit , my friend Rick would get his tickets to Quail Hollow , which is what actually just went there recently for the uh , pga championship a couple of months ago . And back then it was just it wasn't a PGA championship , it was a . It was a regular event . It was the Wachovia Championship , which is well , I don't know , it was just a PGA event . But he was there multiple times . We went there , tiger and my friend Rick knew exactly where to stand , where they would open up the ropes , because he'd been there a bunch of times .

Speaker 1 2:59

And on hole number one , tiger walked right by us and I know it's crazy , but we were almost like the only people there . I'm in awe thinking about , or maybe in shock , remembering this time , but it's true , we were the only ones around . I think most of the spectators were up farther along , I guess , watching some of the other golfers , like Phil Mickelson and some other ones were there . But I mean it was Tiger right , and this is during his prime , absolute prime . He walked right by us . I mean like we could reach out and touch him . We

Tiger Woods and Finding Heroes

Speaker 1 3:32

did not , but you know his look was so intense , I mean as he just stared straight ahead and I stood there and I was frozen . I mean it was crazy . I actually wanted to say go Tiger , but I couldn't . I couldn't , the words wouldn't come out . It was kind of crazy . He just he took my breath away . It was unreal .

Speaker 1 3:52

And this whole thing isn't about Tiger , this is about Scotty . But I just want you to get the context of , like , oh my gosh , I just love golf . And you know Tiger was on top of the world . I mean he was young , rich , he was number one and he seemed to have everything all together right . I mean he was just like he was it . I mean he had a beautiful wife , two kids and more money , toys and trophies that I could ever dream of . But eventually it all caught up to him . His extramarital affairs , let's just say , were exposed , and that was a big deal , were exposed , and that was a big deal . His wife left him , some of his sponsors dropped him and he had to take a leave from leave absence from golf .

Speaker 1 4:30

So what I and I've read a lot about Tiger over the years . I've read a lot , I've watched a lot . I still , really , I just I root for him . I sometimes I don't know why , because of you know my wife , just you know , as a female , I don't know , because of you know my wife , just you know , as a female , I don't know , um , she just can't get over the infidelity thing , um , and I try to separate that as far as like , well , you know , I don't know tiger personally , I just love watching him golf . But I realized , you know , what was missing in his life . It was it was faith in the Lord . Um , and I'm not , I don't know everything about him . Um , you know , I don't I'm not going to tell you exactly what he believes , but I , I'm pretty sure he , he doesn't have that and , um , you know , I always refer him .

Speaker 1 5:11

Like I said , the 2019 masters was probably the greatest comeback I've ever seen in my life . It was awesome . If you've seen that , it was great and Tiger won it . And , uh , you know , I love his . I still love his work ethic , his talent , his drive . But you know , I can't even imagine what it'd be like to be number one in the world in something .

Speaker 1 5:29

But then let's talk about Scotty , scotty Scheffler . So Scotty's career took a little bit slower start than Tiger . Tiger was like teenager and he was just off and running . We even knew the name Tiger before he really started in the PGA . It was just . Everybody knew his name , at least if you followed it . So Scotty took a little longer , a little slower start , but in the past couple of years he's been on a tear . He became the number one player in the world and recently , over the summer , he just won his fourth major tournament , the Open , or they used to call it the British Open . But it's really just the Open and he's just like any superstar athlete I've ever followed . It's crazy .

Speaker 1 6:09

He puts faith in family over golf and success . I mean , he wants to win but he knows winning is fleeting and he doesn't really seek the fame and you know I know it's like well , okay , okay , dave , what do you want me like ? Really , I know he wants to . You know he's making millions , boo hoo . But let me kind of lay out the case for him and to me it's a better way to live . It's called , to me it's called the Scotty Scheffler way .

Speaker 1 6:32

So and we'll talk about the interview he gave and it's a couple interviews , we'll go step by step , so let's go with the first one . Let me just talk about the interview itself . So let's make this All right . So he's given some interviews about this , but he gave this and I'll put in the show notes . He gave this interview which was like it was just kind of unreal . It was right before the open Again the one he won and he was just like , basically somebody asked him about winning and you know what it means to him and you know it was all about how .

Speaker 1 7:09

You know he struggles with why he wants to win so much , why is that so important to him ? You know why is he going out on the road all the time , away from his family . You know he struggles with that and you know he knows that there's a bigger purpose and in this interview he doesn't talk about like his faith really , but he has before and you know he's he's basically saying his legacy , his . You know the trophies , everything . It doesn't really mean anything unless you have faith in the Lord , and I know I don't want to talk about that enough on here , or as much on here , um , I really talk about PE stuff , but you know , as a Christian , I really um , just want to put that out there and if you're not , that's okay . I'm just putting my faith out there for a second , you know . So I'm just talking about him and if nothing else , I hope you stick around , at least admire what he's saying , because I think it's pretty important , no matter what you believe , to put family faith and , you know , marriage and things like that over trophies . So , again , you need to see this interview . I've watched this interview at least five times . I just I think it's amazing . I've shared it with my kids , I shared it with my wife , I shared it with my friends and it's just something you never hear from these top athletes like never .

Speaker 1 8:22

And I'll go through some of the quotes as we talk about this . So that was the first boomer . Just kind of an introduction there . So let's get on to each of these things that I want to cover today . All right

Winning Isn't His Identity

Speaker 1 8:39

? So the first thing , the first topic , is winning isn't his identity , and I'm talking about Scotty in this case . So this quote I'm going to read to you is not from this past one . This is from a different . This is from before the Masters and actually he won it the night before he won it . This is a quote from him . I'm going to read it . I'm looking at my phone . I'm going to read it word for word here . It said my buddies told me my victory was secure on the cross Win or lose . My identity is secure forever . And it's a Scotty talking about the night before his master's final round . So even he knows that , even if he loses , his life isn't lost , it's not over . He has bigger plans and his life means more than just winning .

Speaker 1 9:16

And you know , I've always rooted for these top athletes . I've rooted for I'm thinking of these three guys , uh , between Tiger , whichever I talked about Lance Armstrong and Conor McGregor . I've always rooted for them because they , they're just , they're awesome or they were awesome at their craft , at their sport and but they'll let you down , right ? I mean they , if you know anything about them , they , they really , I mean Lance , let me down so badly . I think I've talked about that before on a different , like a long time ago , podcast . I I bought into Lance Armstrong . I bought , you know , I got the wristband , the yellow wristbands , the shirts you know Livestrong the yellow wristbands , the shirts you know Livestrong .

Speaker 1 9:52

I was watching the Tour de France all the time and , by the way , I just started watching it again a couple of years ago because I took almost a 10 year break from the Tour de France because when he was , you know , he had actually admitted that he was cheating and doping and , you know , using all these drugs and stuff Like that killed me . It did I mean because I put my faith in him . Not , I didn't , I'm not saying I didn't believe , you know , I wasn't a believer back then , but let's just say I put a lot of faith in him because he was like the greatest cyclist and he represented America and we never we didn't have that long time and you know , it was just awesome but and he was larger than life and I just but you know , he just these people can let you down . Conor McGregor , I don't know why I root for him , because he's just these people are just rude and toxic individuals . He's got a lot of legal stuff , um , and not in a good way , um , but I I tend to overlook some of these guys , their faults , because I was like , oh , but they're just great athletes . But the problem is , people let you down , even people you don't know . I mean , I just these people let me down , but your faith in the Lord won't let you down . Okay , I mean Jesus Christ , if you have a relationship with him , will not let you down . He died for us so we can be free and spend eternity in heaven with him , our Lord and creator . And so what Scotty was saying his identity isn't what he does . It identity isn't what he does , it's who he believes in and trusts . And I just want to say Scotty believes that and so do I , and that's the next boomer .

Speaker 1 11:19

All right , the next topic is called when the trophies

When the Trophies Fade

Speaker 1 11:22

fade . So this is another thing he said . This is the recent one . He said you win it . Then it's like okay , what are we going to eat for dinner ? Life goes on and he just doesn't put a lot of stock in that . He's like , well , okay , you win it and you're happy . For a little bit it's fleeting , it's only for a few moments . You're happy , happy , happy . And it's like okay , now we have to go on to the next tournament . Now , what's for dinner ? Do the kids need a bath ? You know there's other things .

Speaker 1 11:52

And you know I admit I had a lot of trophies when I was a kid . They weren't like I wasn't the greatest athlete , but I played a lot of baseball . I actually bowled a lot and you know I had a decent amount of trophies . I know some were like , you know , participation trophies or whatever , but you know they stood for dedication and hard work and you know being there and doing your best . And you know , when I packed up my stuff when I lived near Buffalo and was going to move down to Florida , I couldn't bring everything . So I mean I threw my trophies away . You know I was sad but I didn't really . You know , I don't know I didn't do anything with them anymore . I mean I kind of wish I kept them because they mean something again . But you mean I kind of wish I kept them because they mean something again . But you know I just couldn't keep them . And you know awards do mean something , they just , you know I don't always look for limelight as a teacher .

Speaker 1 12:40

I do appreciate the rare times I've been recognized for my hard work . I've been honored at different banquets for my grant writing . I've written grants for and received over $30,000 in equipment for my PE program and that's been a blessing . And you know I love bringing new experiences to my students . However , I've never been a teacher of the year and you know , does that bother me ? Sometimes it does . I feel like I've proved myself . I've done this for a long time . I'm very innovative and fun and dedicated to my students . But I'm hardly ever nominated and when I do , I haven't really made it . Or when I have been , I haven't really made it far in the process . Now do I need validation ? No , but it's nice for people to say , hey , you're the best in your field , at least around here or whatever . So you know . But listen to Scotty , I'm trying to get a different perspective .

Speaker 1 13:31

So here's another quote . It says from him winning is fulfilling from a sense of accomplishment , but it's not fulfilling from the deepest places of your heart . And I really think that defines his perspective on medals and trophies . I mean , he wants to win . He did say that as well . He wants his years of hard work to pay off monetarily and by winning championships . So you know he wants to provide for his family and you know winning millions of dollars does help , obviously . But he does struggle with that Like why does he want to win so bad ? Why do we ? Because winning defines greatness , but it's fleeting , it's amazing , but it doesn't last . It doesn't satisfy your soul the way your faith in the Lord would or will . You'll always be thirsty for more and more and more money , trophies , recognition , and someday it won't even matter . You can't bring your trophies with you when you die . I'm sorry , but you can decide on where you go when you die and my recommendation is to choose wisely , all

Family Over Career

Speaker 1 14:31

right .

Speaker 1 14:31

The next one is family over career . And here's the quote from before again the open . Recently he said I'd much rather be a great father than a great golfer . If golf ever started affecting my home life , that's going to be the last day I play . And again , I know he's making millions of dollars , I get it . He probably could walk away from golf this second and be fine the rest of his life . But you know , being the best at something takes sacrifice .

Speaker 1 14:58

I spend a lot of time on my craft by myself . I write podcasts , I create other content online . I try to do this when , you know , early in the morning or when the kids are asleep , or after school , when I have some time before everybody gets home , and , you know , in the summer , when I have some time and my kids are sleeping . Whatever , you know , my wife is a teacher . So we , you know , we get a lot of family time together , which is good , really good , but a lot of people don't have that . You know they struggle financially . Some parents travel for work . You know it's just . Sometimes it's hard . I do work an extra job I've talked about before the local arena . I just worked all weekend long . Honestly , yes , after recording this , I worked all weekend Search of Soleil . I worked actually six times Thursday , friday , two on Saturday , two on Sunday just for a little extra money . You know it hurts that I didn't see my kids as much , but I did see him all summer long and I told him about this so that I was going to be one weekend that I just work a ton . And you know , for me I try not to let that affect my family time . It's hard , I get it , and Scott and his wife have a young son . If you see that , it's really cute .

Speaker 1 16:09

He's on the golf course at the end . But his goal is to separate golf and family , with family coming first . He doesn't want to be an ambassador for golf like Rory , or walk the red carpets like Tiger . He doesn't want the fame . He just works hard at his job , plays in tournaments and goes home to his family . He wants to earn a living for them and provide for them as best as he can . But he's prepared to walk away at any point . Isn't that crazy ? He's just like . You know what I'm done . He doesn't want the fame or fortune , like I said , but he has both . He wants a solid relationship with his family . That's what's most important to him . And again , it's easy to say . But he's a multimillionaire , yeah , I get it , but imagine walking away from being number one in the world at something , and I'm not saying he's going to do it , and he's not saying he's going to do it a hundred percent or anything , but he'd rather be a better father and husband than a golfer , and I think that's pretty cool ,

His Ultimate Purpose

Speaker 1 17:03

all right .

Speaker 1 17:03

So the final point I'm trying to make here I guess the final topic is his ultimate purpose , and here's a , here's a quote for me , the reason why I played , or the reason I play , golf , is I'm trying to glorify God and all that he's done in my life . And I'll tell you what legacy is a really funny thing . And I wrote another article . I wrote a different article about it , which I'm not going to go into now , but I'll link in the show notes .

Speaker 1 17:28

You want to be remembered for stuff Like you want to be remembered because everybody wants to be remembered . But then it's like well , why does it matter ? So you know one hand . You're like oh man , I want to make and I do . I want to know that I made a difference in my students' lives , that they became better people because of me , not just you know better at soccer or something , and that's important . But you know better athlete fine , awesome . But I want them to be great people and maybe just have a little part in that .

Speaker 1 17:55

So you know , I do struggle with legacy and you know I think about my grandparents a lot because my wife , I didn't meet my wife until right after both my grandparents passed away and it was the same year and I'm like , oh man , I wish they would have met her and my kids . And you know , I tell her and my kids about my grandparents but like there's nothing else , like I don't have anything of theirs . I mean I have little trinkets of theirs and stuff , but it's you know what I mean . It's all that's gonna . The memories are gonna fade and I think that's why I write and I podcast and stuff and I put out stuff because my kids will have something tangible for me , you know , from me when I'm gone or of me .

Speaker 1 18:32

But you know what's Scottie's perspective is glorifying the Lord is what matters the most . I mean he doesn't care about growing the sport . He even says that he's not and people have said that about him other golfers . He doesn't really care about being , you know , being in the limelight , being on TV , but he also doesn't want to like waste his talent . So his talent is golf . I wish my talent was golf . His talent is golf and he wants to glorify the Lord by using his gifts to the best of his ability and maybe that that's his platform for , you know , getting more people to go to church or to read the Bible or and he doesn't say that necessarily , but him being , you know , a prominent figure , I guess , in culture , maybe he can . You know that's his purpose and you know , a prominent figure , I guess , in culture , maybe he can . You know that's his purpose .

Speaker 1 19:16

And you know , just like Scotty , I feel like I'm called to be a teacher . You know I'm not going to be , you know , on TV and famous and rich , and honestly I don't really want to be on TV , but more money would be okay . I'd like more money , like everybody . But you know , that's my calling . I feel like my calling from God and I feel like that's what . There's a quote I want to bring up at some point in a different podcast , different thing from Chariots of Fire , where I'm going to mess this up now because I don't have it in front of me but the main character says I feel God's presence when I run . I feel like that's what makes him happy , or something like that , where you know you're doing the right thing when you're called for a certain purpose and you want to glorify the Lord in that way . And so , you know , scotty can golf , I can teach , I'm not going to waste my talent ,

Final Thoughts on Perspective

Speaker 1 20:14

all right .

Speaker 1 20:14

So my final thoughts are and this is kind of , I guess , kind of the cowbell tip of the day is , you know , scotty just gave me a different perspective . I'm not saying he changed my life , but he gave me a different perspective . I mean , you know , as somebody at the top of the world at something , he just changed the way I think about some stuff . I mean , you know , I always craved likes and comments . I mean , I think everybody does , even if you're not a content creator , you want Facebook likes or you want , you know , whatever .

Speaker 1 20:43

And I , you know , I want to make money selling my products and stuff and I want to be a leader in my field . You know I want , I want to be known as the best PE teacher these kids have ever had . But you know , I want to also think about the bigger picture , the faith , family , and you know , my marriage , my children , my you know , that can come . That comes before , it should come before my career and that's the main thing I think that I'm trying to take out of it . I hope you get something out of what I just you know again told you about , read to you about his quotes , and you know that's it . Again , whatever you believe , I don't , I never judge anybody . I don't do that . That's not what I'm doing .

Speaker 1 21:24

This I just love what he put out to the you know that interview and I hope you really , if nothing else , listen to the interview , watch the interview . He seems like a very humble , kind person . No , I don't know him , although he did walk right by me in that tournament . I got a video of it . He walked right by me , but I don't know Scotty . But I appreciate what he put out there and I hope you enjoyed listening to this . So , pe Nation , take care , have a great day , week , weekend , whenever you listen to this and let's keep pushing our profession forward . Thank you .