section_path: Technique and coaches
section_name: Technique and coaches
paragraph_text: Technique and coaches
  
  Scheffler is regarded as the most dominant ballstriker in professional golf since Tiger Woods. During the 2022–23 PGA Tour season, Scheffler averaged 2.614 strokes gained tee-to-green per round. This was the second-best performance since strokes gained data began to be recorded in 2003, behind only Woods' 2.982 in the 2006 season. Woods praised Scheffler's ballstriking in 2024, stating that if Scheffler "putts decent, he wins; if he putts great, he blows away fields; if he has a bad putting week, he still contends."
  
  Since the age of seven, Scheffler has been coached by PGA of America instructor Randy Smith at Royal Oaks Country Club in Dallas. Smith is the only swing coach Scheffler has had in his career as of 2024. Scheffler's unconventional footwork has drawn widespread attention in golf media, and has been dubbed the "Scheffler shuffle" and "Scottie shuffle". It involves a pronounced sliding motion in his back foot and a rolling of the lead ankle through impact, which Rick Maese of The Washington Post stated "looks like a bowler sliding near the foul line or a dancer finishing a twirl." As he transitions through the shot, Scheffler’s back foot slides backward and often lifts entirely off the ground, a technique no golf coach would traditionally teach to a student. Scheffler's footwork is a product of using ground reaction forces to create speed in his swing. His foot slide is uncommon, but not exclusive to him; Golf Channel analyst and former PGA Tour golfer Brandel Chamblee compared Scheffler's footwork to Greg Norman 's. As a junior golfer, Scheffler initiated his foot slide during his downswing before hitting the ball, creating inconsistent results. Performance coach Troy Van Biezen, who has worked with Scheffler since age 14, said in 2024: "Now, when he’s playing well, his foot slides after the ball is struck, post-impact." Van Biezen credited Smith for not attempting to eliminate Scheffler's foot slide, and stated: "I wholeheartedly believe that if any other golf coach got a hold of Scottie, they would have tried to change his swing and probably would have ruined him."
  
  Although he is not one of the longest drivers on tour, Scheffler ranks among the leaders in strokes gained off the tee by combining above-average distance and accuracy. His "Power Percentage", a statistic which measures how fast a player swings relative to their maximum speed, is only 93%, among the lowest on tour. Luke Kerr-Dineen of Golf Digest cited this as an example of Scheffler tending to swing conservatively when hitting driver, and described him as "a classic has-more-in-the-tank guy". In 2024, when missing the fairway, Scheffler ranked first on the PGA Tour in distance from the edge of the fairway, at just 18 feet (5.5 m), meaning that he generally avoided wide misses and kept the ball in play.
  
  Scheffler in particular excels with his approach play. In the 2024 season, he gained an average of 1.269 strokes per round on approach shots, ranking first on the PGA Tour. This figure was 57% better than the second-ranked approach player Tony Finau. Rather than aggressively attacking pins, Scheffler employs a variety of shot shapes and manipulates trajectory and spin to limit the size of his misses. A Golf Digest analysis of 1,353 shots from his 2024 season showed that Scheffler is often "aiming away from the pin, and towards the wider portions of the green"; he hit 82% of greens with front pins and avoided the “red zones” (areas off the green closest to the hole) more effectively than nearly any other player. Instead of targeting short pins, Scheffler usually aimed for "green zones"—strategic areas on the green opposite the pin—adjusting his target zone ("yellow zones") based on pin placement to keep misses safe. This green-zone strategy, inspired by Ben Hogan 's approach, meant he was more likely to leave himself longer but makeable putts rather than short-sided chips, which would tend to run away from the pin.
  
  Scheffler had significant struggles with his putting in 2023, ranking 162nd on tour in strokes gained putting that season. At the 2023 Memorial Tournament, he gained 20.7 strokes tee-to-green, the most in a single tournament since Vijay Singh gained 21.1 strokes tee-to-green at the 2004 Deutsche Bank Championship, but lost 8.5 strokes putting and finished in third-place, one shot outside of a playoff. After the Tour Championship in August 2023, where he lost over 4 strokes putting, Scheffler enlisted the help of specialist putting coach Phil Kenyon. This was the first time Scheffler had recruited help for his golf game outside of his long-time coach Randy Smith. Kenyon stated the focus was about "tapping into his instincts, trying to be freer in his approach". Having previously used a blade-style putter for most of his career, Scheffler switched to a mallet putter ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March 2024. He gained over 4 strokes putting en route to victory, and also putted well during his win at the Players Championship the following week. Scheffler ranked as an above-average putter in the 2024 season, at 77th on tour. He began using a claw-style grip in December 2024 in an attempt to improve his short-range putting, while retaining a conventional grip for lag putting.
  
  Scheffler is regarded as the most dominant ballstriker in professional golf since Tiger Woods. During the 2022–23 PGA Tour season, Scheffler averaged 2.614 strokes gained tee-to-green per round. This was the second-best performance since strokes gained data began to be recorded in 2003, behind only Woods' 2.982 in the 2006 season. Woods praised Scheffler's ballstriking in 2024, stating that if Scheffler "putts decent, he wins; if he putts great, he blows away fields; if he has a bad putting week, he still contends."
  
  Since the age of seven, Scheffler has been coached by PGA of America instructor Randy Smith at Royal Oaks Country Club in Dallas. Smith is the only swing coach Scheffler has had in his career as of 2024. Scheffler's unconventional footwork has drawn widespread attention in golf media, and has been dubbed the "Scheffler shuffle" and "Scottie shuffle". It involves a pronounced sliding motion in his back foot and a rolling of the lead ankle through impact, which Rick Maese of The Washington Post stated "looks like a bowler sliding near the foul line or a dancer finishing a twirl." As he transitions through the shot, Scheffler’s back foot slides backward and often lifts entirely off the ground, a technique no golf coach would traditionally teach to a student. Scheffler's footwork is a product of using ground reaction forces to create speed in his swing. His foot slide is uncommon, but not exclusive to him; Golf Channel analyst and former PGA Tour golfer Brandel Chamblee compared Scheffler's footwork to Greg Norman 's. As a junior golfer, Scheffler initiated his foot slide during his downswing before hitting the ball, creating inconsistent results. Performance coach Troy Van Biezen, who has worked with Scheffler since age 14, said in 2024: "Now, when he’s playing well, his foot slides after the ball is struck, post-impact." Van Biezen credited Smith for not attempting to eliminate Scheffler's foot slide, and stated: "I wholeheartedly believe that if any other golf coach got a hold of Scottie, they would have tried to change his swing and probably would have ruined him."
  
  Although he is not one of the longest drivers on tour, Scheffler ranks among the leaders in strokes gained off the tee by combining above-average distance and accuracy. His "Power Percentage", a statistic which measures how fast a player swings relative to their maximum speed, is only 93%, among the lowest on tour. Luke Kerr-Dineen of Golf Digest cited this as an example of Scheffler tending to swing conservatively when hitting driver, and described him as "a classic has-more-in-the-tank guy". In 2024, when missing the fairway, Scheffler ranked first on the PGA Tour in distance from the edge of the fairway, at just 18 feet (5.5 m), meaning that he generally avoided wide misses and kept the ball in play.
  
  Scheffler in particular excels with his approach play. In the 2024 season, he gained an average of 1.269 strokes per round on approach shots, ranking first on the PGA Tour. This figure was 57% better than the second-ranked approach player Tony Finau. Rather than aggressively attacking pins, Scheffler employs a variety of shot shapes and manipulates trajectory and spin to limit the size of his misses. A Golf Digest analysis of 1,353 shots from his 2024 season showed that Scheffler is often "aiming away from the pin, and towards the wider portions of the green"; he hit 82% of greens with front pins and avoided the “red zones” (areas off the green closest to the hole) more effectively than nearly any other player. Instead of targeting short pins, Scheffler usually aimed for "green zones"—strategic areas on the green opposite the pin—adjusting his target zone ("yellow zones") based on pin placement to keep misses safe. This green-zone strategy, inspired by Ben Hogan 's approach, meant he was more likely to leave himself longer but makeable putts rather than short-sided chips, which would tend to run away from the pin.
  
  Scheffler had significant struggles with his putting in 2023, ranking 162nd on tour in strokes gained putting that season. At the 2023 Memorial Tournament, he gained 20.7 strokes tee-to-green, the most in a single tournament since Vijay Singh gained 21.1 strokes tee-to-green at the 2004 Deutsche Bank Championship, but lost 8.5 strokes putting and finished in third-place, one shot outside of a playoff. After the Tour Championship in August 2023, where he lost over 4 strokes putting, Scheffler enlisted the help of specialist putting coach Phil Kenyon. This was the first time Scheffler had recruited help for his golf game outside of his long-time coach Randy Smith. Kenyon stated the focus was about "tapping into his instincts, trying to be freer in his approach". Having previously used a blade-style putter for most of his career, Scheffler switched to a mallet putter ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March 2024. He gained over 4 strokes putting en route to victory, and also putted well during his win at the Players Championship the following week. Scheffler ranked as an above-average putter in the 2024 season, at 77th on tour. He began using a claw-style grip in December 2024 in an attempt to improve his short-range putting, while retaining a conventional grip for lag putting.