The Tarheel Tour Interview with Jason Martin

Jason Martin has won twice in his Tarheel Tour career, most recently at the 2006 Salisbury Classic. He has earned just under $97,000 in his 3-plus years on the Tarheel Tour. We caught up with Jason after he fired a 6-under par 66, the low round of the day, to finish 3rd at the Spring Creek Classic in Charlottesville, VA.

Your final round 66 at Spring Creek, and the 3rd place finish that went along with it, must have felt great after struggling for a good part of the 2007 season.

Jason Martin: It felt really good. It felt like I’d finally put a complete round together. I really didn’t make any mistakes. I think one three putt was the only one and it just felt good to kind of get back on track and get everything clicking again.

You have struggled slightly this year with your results, but finally broke out with three good rounds at Spring Creek. What do you do to break out of a slump when you’re starting to struggle a little bit out there?

Jason Martin: I like to get away from golf. I think that this year I kind of put a little bit too much pressure on myself. I got into hitting balls and I’ve never been a big ball hitter. I’ve been more of just a player going out to play 18 holes, or nine holes with the guys. I just kind of took a step back a couple of weeks ago and reassessed where I was. I wasn’t doing what I normally do. I like to have the Fred Couples approach, you know I’ll play nine holes as a practice round and then I’ll go to tee the next day. I’ve just kind of been getting back into doing that. Not hitting any balls, maybe chipping, putting here and there and playing nine holes. Then I just go and play in the golf tournament. That’s what I’ve always been good at, that’s what I’m going back to. I know that’s not the normal answer, but that’s what works for me.

You have played the Tarheel Tour for almost four years. What would you say are the biggest changes in the tour over the last few seasons?

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Jason Martin: I think everything’s just kind of come of age a little bit. Of course we play great golf courses and they’re only getting better. The additions of Spring Creek and Musgrove Mill this year are two more great golf courses. I also think that the addition of the golf course in Goldsboro was really looked at by the players as a great place to play and the membership treated us really well. I think the tour is just growing in general with the public. Most people are impressed with the higher standard of play out here, but I think the staff is also much improved and the golf courses keep getting better as well.

You’re considered one of the best putters on the Tarheel Tour by many of the players. What do you work on when you’re working on your putting?

Jason Martin: I just try to work on my feel. If I’m practicing putting, I usually try to hit putts from four or five feet. If I do go out of that range, I go back to about 30 or 35 feet. I don’t hit a lot of putts in between that when I practice. I just like to work on visualizing the ball going into the hole, keeping my stroke very low going back, and very low going through. It’s just the way I was taught to putt. My teacher learned to putt from Ben Crenshaw. I’m pretty much straight back, straight through, and I just like to work on my line, my putt, and my feel.

Many of the top players on the Tarheel Tour hit it well over 300 yards and would be considered power players. You’re a little bit of a different kind of player. You like to shape the ball both ways, hit fairways, and rely on your putter to score. How does it affect your mindset when you play with guys who hit it 30 or 40 yards past you; and how do you think your game translates on the next level?

Jason Martin: Actually I enjoy playing with those guys. I’ve always been a shorter hitter, but I’ve always been a very straight hitter. I like to think that I’m a very good long iron to mid iron player. I’ve played with a lot of guys that pound it 30, 40 yards by me, but I can hit my four iron inside their nine iron.

That part of my game and my putting make up for my lack of distance. At the next level I like to look at guys like Fred Funk and Jeff Sluman. You know those guys have had 20 years of success out there and they haven’t gotten any longer.

So it goes to show that golf can still be a finesse game. You have to hit the fairway, you have to place it on the green, and you’ve got to make the putt. I think that those parts of my game, my long irons, my driving of the ball, and my putting can kind of make up for my lack of distance.

You are known as one of the friendliest guys on the tour. You have been out here a long time and seem to know everyone. Which Tarheel Tour players really impress you with their game and whom do you think is ready to make the jump to the PGA Tour?

Jason Martin: I think that several guys are ready. Obviously Tommy Gainey is ready. I think it’s just a matter of time before Tommy gets out there. He has the game and he has all the tools.

One of the guys that really impresses me, and I don’t know if he gets enough credit, is Scott Brown. I’ve played with Scott a couple of times and I think Scott has all the tools; and I think once Scott gets out there, he’ll stay out there. He’s fundamentally sound; he goes about the game the right way.

I also think David Robinson is another guy that you could see out there in the next couple of years. I think Andy Bare has come along way. Spring Creek was the first time we’d played together since college and he has really tightened up a lot of the loose shots that he used to hit. So I think Andy has a good chance the next couple of years to get out there. Obviously the way Andy hits it, and how far he hits it, as soon as his putter catches up to the rest of his game, which I think is happening, he should have no problem getting out there.

I think those are a couple of the guys, and I don’t think Matt Cannon’s quite done yet either. Matt has struggled some the last couple of years but you know I was telling some guys this week, it looks like he’s getting back into form. He’s starting to putt the ball well again and he’s hitting it straight like he used to. So I don’t think Matt is quite done yet either.

As you talked about earlier, the tour has expanded and added several new golf courses to the schedule this season. Which of the golf courses are your favorites?

Jason Martin: I really enjoyed Spring Creek. I think it’s a different type of golf than we normally play. We had deep rough, and the fairways were just perfect. The greens were in tournament condition every single day; and I think that was a different style of golf for us, and it fit my game. It put a premium on driving the ball straight, bending good iron shots, and putting the ball well.

I also enjoyed River Run. I’ve been fortunate enough to play and practice out of there the last year and a half. David Ross and his staff out there have been very, very gracious to me. They’ve helped me and given me privileges, and the members have been great as well. They’ve kind of embraced me out there; and I think that golf course is going to be really phenomenal after they finish the renovation that is currently under way.

I also like Columbia Country Club. It’s another golf course that can play pretty long, but it’s a golf course I feel like I can play well. The greens out there are outstanding, and the fairways are as well.

I think Musgrove Mill is really good. I had a chance to play there back in amateur golf and it was very difficult then and it still is. I really enjoy the challenge out there. So I think those four golf courses are the one’s I really enjoy playing.

Now before we let you go, we want you to give a little advice to some of our readers who might not hit the ball as far as some of their playing competitors.

Jason Martin: I think that they shouldn’t pay attention to it. They should just believe in their game, focus on hitting the green in regulation and either making the putt or two putting. If you’re going to concentrate on anything, concentrate on the short game because obviously that’s where you make up the shots. You want to get it up and down inside 100 yards. Concentrate on your short game and let your putter do the talking.

Thanks Jason. That’s sound advice. Good luck the rest of the season and in Q-school.

Jason Martin: Thanks a lot. I enjoyed it.