The Tarheel Tour Interview with Jonathan Fricke

Jonathan Fricke recently won the Tarheel Tour's Stonebridge Classic firing a back nine 30 in the final round to finish at 19-under par and win the event by three-shots over three players. It was an emotional win for Fricke because he had his father Richard back by his side caddying for him after a bout with stage one Lymphoma. We caught up the Covington, GA native to talk about his victory and the progress of his game heading into the PGA Tour qualifying school.

You entered the final round at Stonebridge one shot behind Tommy Gainey. You went down the stretch against him at Oldfield, when you had a one shot lead going into the final round. Gainey won that event. How were you able to outlast him this time?

Jonathan Fricke: I think I learned a lot the first time around, you know. In the first event at Oldfield, we both played pretty well, I tried to match score cards and yeah I was constantly looking at him and saying, well how is he playing? I learned real quickly, that that doesn't help. The one thing that I was able to do at Stonebridge, was to just play my game. My main goal was to really get it going down the stretch and to not look at those guys. My dad had kind of talked about it and I told him I wanted to get seven birdies over the last 12 holes and luckily I accomplished that goal. But I really wanted to just chop the elm tree down and just let everybody else do what they have got to do.

After you lost to Gainey at Oldfield, you went through a little bit of a rough patch. You only had one top ten finish in eight events before winning at Stonebridge. What have you been working on that has brought your game back?

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J.F.: It has been a lot of the same things that I always struggle with. I always seem to get the club going back on the inside and flat at the top. And when I get it there, I struggle. There is no doubt that it has been a rough stretch over the last few months, but working my teacher, Jeff Patton, and my father, and Rusty Estes has really helped me. Those are really the three guys that I kind of lean on when it comes to the golf swing and anything related to golf. And with the help of those three guys, I was able to get the club back where I felt like I could hit the golf ball again. It hadn't been an issue of chipping or putting or course management. All that had been really good; in fact, it had actually been better, because of the poor ball striking.

Let's talk a little bit about your father, Richard. This was an emotional win for you because it marked the return of your father to your bag after a bout with stage one lymphoma. Can you talk a little bit about what it meant to have him back at your side, caddying for you during this win?

J.F.: It meant everything in the world to me. Most people, who know me, they firstly see my father as always being there. I can't think of many college golf tournaments that he missed, he was always there, you know. Obviously he couldn't caddy for me in college, but he was at every event and followed for 18 holes. There would be times when he would have to drive in the night before to catch a tournament. And through summer golf, through amateur golf and everything like that, he would always caddy for me. Also my first couple of years professionally, he was there. And to not have him earlier in the year was, it was just a downer, you know. I spent the weeks on the road by myself. I was just so used to having him there, at least we could go get dinner and relax afterwards. Having him out there, whether I won or not, meant everything in the world to me. Winning this one with him there, I was able to look at him and say, “hey this is for you”. He has been such an inspiration to me, my family, and our friends. It is pretty phenomenal the way he fought through the cancer and the way he dealt with the illness.

How has your father's successful battle against cancer changed your perspective on golf and your career?

J.F.: The goals are still the same and have always been the same through his illness. That is the one thing about him; he would never allow me to worry about him while I was on the road. But I think the biggest thing it did was bring back into perspective what is important and all the really important things with him being sick and not on the road and everything like that. It has been frustrating and hard to stay positive, but having somebody like him out there on the road with me, it is very easy to be positive and to stick to the goals and the plan that I have set for the rest of the year.

We are delighted to hear that your father is doing better and obviously very happy to see you playing the golf that you are capable of. The 63 that you shot in the second round, was the lowest competitive round that you have shot in your career. Did you know, going to the first tee that day, that you might do something special?

J.F.: Well, the first round I played extremely well. I shot five under par with a double and two bogeys. So I knew if I could eliminate some of the mistakes and some of the errors that I made in the first round that I would be able to play well. But it is hard to predict a good score, you know. Some of the time, even when I was nine under, I didn't know exactly how I stood. I knew I was going low and I knew that I wanted to make some birdies coming down the stretch. You get into situations where the putter gets rolling and you start hitting some good quality golf shots. But it is always hard to predict a low score. There are days when I have gone out and said, “Man I have really got it going here” and shot even par. It is just a matter of being patient and being positive with everything.

A win out here on the Tarheel Tour is a goal that is becoming harder and harder to achieve. You have to beat players like Gainey, Matt Cannon, David Sanchez, David Robinson, Scott Brown, the list goes on and on. What does this win do for your confidence going into Q school, and what do you plan to work on as we head towards Q school this fall?

J.F.: As far as the confidence goes, the confidence is sky high. To be able to beat these guys is absolutely phenomenal. Just to be able to compete with them on a weekly basis is even better. You take those guys; they are at the top of the money list and are there week in, week out. Those are the guys who have the talent and who have the game to be playing on the Nationwide or PGA tour. Going into Q school, knowing that those are the guys that you are going to be seeing at the second and third stages definitely helps the process.

We spoke to you very briefly on the range before the first round and you didn't sound as confident as perhaps your result may have shown. What changed throughout the week for you to go and shoot 19 under par and win the tournament?

J.F.: I think I grew more confident, definitely more confident in the golf swing as the week went along. I always say there is a three-step process when you are making changes. And the first being, you have to address the situation and actually physically make the changes. Second is, you have to hit enough balls on the range and see the shot. The third and the hardest step is taking it to the golf course. You know, I finally started hitting some golf shots on the golf course and the more shots you hit, the more trusting and confident you are going to be in it. I think that was the biggest difference, I finally starting hitting some good shots and I started to finally see the ball where I expected to see it when I looked up after the shot. I think when a lot of guys struggle with ball striking that is always the thing. When you look up, the ball is not where it is supposed to be.

That was the problem that I kept having, and obviously, to shoot 19 under par you have to get the putter working, which mine definitely did.

Jonathan, you have got a beautifully natural golf swing, yet when you are on the range, it looks like you have a very technical sort of workstation set up. Do you consider yourself a technical player or a feel player?

J.F.: I am very much a feel player. Anyone who has been around me for an extended period of time on the golf course knows that. I am not one of those guys that want to see the mechanical numbers on video and stuff like that. I just need to be able to see the golf ball where it is supposed to be. And a lot of that is hitting enough balls. For me, the only place to be technical is on the range. Before each round, I warm up with clubs down and a shaft stuck in the ground on the correct plane. For me, all I try to accomplish is gaining the feel of the correct take away. And by gaining that, I am able to step on the golf course and produce that correct take away.

You started off at Wallace State Community College and then you moved on to Georgia State University. Your scoring average in college was a little bit over 74. Most of the guys on this tour were either Collegiate All Americans or Walker Cup players. You took a little different path. What happened in your college career that gave you the confidence to think that you could turn professional and be confident and successful?

J.F.: I think a lot of it was through college. I have always been a very good ball striker. I did not have the wedge game, or the short game to really compete, week in, week out in the professional or college events. There is a different feeling, to me, between professional golf and college golf. With college golf, you always had a fifth guy to fall back on or there was always someone to pick you up when you were down. But with professional golf, there is a totally different mindset, that when you are playing poorly or you don't have it going out there, you still have to find a way to shoot 72 or 71 and find a way to get it under par. And I think that was the biggest difference that I started to learn when I came out of college, was in those rounds when you just don't have it going, I started seeing with a good short game and a good wedge game, that there are different ways to get it accomplished. And I think that is where guys who have been successful professionally, that is where they find their success.

Is there anyone on the PGA or Nationwide Tours that you have modelled your game after since turning professional?

J.F.: Obviously we can all say Tiger Woods, but we all can't be that gifted. But there is one guy who I am extremely close with, good close friends with, and he has been almost like a brother to me. He has really gone out of his way to help me, and that is Troy Matteson.

Troy is a guy that I can bounce questions off of and he was one of the first ones to call me after I won. Having a friendship like that and also seeing his game and how he is able to compete, week in and week out, I think he is a very under rated player on the tour. To watch his game and how he has progressed since college has been a lot of fun. He drives it as well as any person I have ever seen and his iron game is absolutely flawless. Then you watch him around the greens and you wonder why nobody really gives him as much credit as he deserves. To watch him do what he has done over the last few years, you know, he has played extremely well on the PGA tour, but the records that he set on the Nationwide Tour and having a guy like that to look up to, is absolutely phenomenal.

You are one of the few professional golfers who do not use a golf glove. Have you ever used a glove and what advantage do you think it gives you to play barehanded?

J.F.: You know I have never actually worn a golf glove. I remember through college, even before college, people trying to get me to wear a glove. I just never really liked the feeling of it. It always felt like my hands were too big on the club, and being a feel player, really I needed to have that feeling of my hands being on the club and having the sensation of knowing where the clubface was. I was really never forced to wear a glove early on and I was always asked by my guys at Bridgestone or by my college coaches if I would try it and I just never really liked the sensation of it.

In the 2005 and 2006 seasons, you predominantly played Monday qualifiers for the Nationwide Tour as well as the PGA Tour. This year, you have played more developmental tour events, like the Tarheel Tour. What were the reasons for changing your schedule and how do you feel it has worked out for you so far?

J.F.: The biggest reason was just to gain experience. I wanted to gain experience and to learn how to travel on a week-to-week basis and learn how to play a three or four round event. This year, I have loved playing the Tarheel Tour events. To me, if you look at the golf courses that we have played and the quality of competition and how the tournaments are run it has been first class, 100%. I have been in several Nationwide events and had a lot of success doing that, but when you are not able to play on a week to week basis, your game really suffers. When I do get status on the Nationwide and PGA tours, I really want to be prepared. And I really feel like playing the Tarheel Tour will go a long way towards doing that. I have played quite a few of the different mini tours the last few years and as soon as I played my first Tarheel Tour event, I knew that this is was the place to perfect my game and to really get it prepared for when I do get status.

You have clearly made quite a bit of progress in your game over the past few years as well as the past few months. Can you give our readers any tips on what they should do to improve their game?

J.F.: For me, when it comes to scoring, where I see the biggest improvement is around the greens and 100 yards and in. And I always had a pro growing up that use to tell me that 60% of the shots came from within 60 yards. When you really think about that, if you can gear your practice towards being around the greens, it is amazing the pressure that it takes off your iron game. And the pressure that it takes off you period, you really don't feel like you have to get it close or hit certain shots. Even if you hit it in the woods on a par 4, you feel like you can still chip out and make par. And I think that is where I have seen the biggest improvement. By having a good short game I have been able to manage my game to where I don't have to make gutsy plays or aggressive plays. I have really been able to just play smart golf and because of that short game, be able to come out successful. And I think that is where any person can improve their handicap or improve their scores. Instead of spending two hours on the range, spend 30 minutes on the range, 30 minutes on the putting green and spend an hour around the short game area, chipping and putting.

Jonathan thanks so much for your time. We will see you at the MonaVie open at the end of the month.

J.F.: I will be there and I look forward to seeing everybody there.