Music plays.
Throughout, Troy is either in an office, working out both inside and outside, or taking swings out on a golf course.
Troy Mullins: Speed and power are going to create an entirely different game.
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Charles Schwab Presents
Troy: My name is Troy Mullins, and I’m a professional golfer.
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The Challengers
A series about people who
Question. Engage. Succeed.
Troy Mullins
Troy: I got into golf just randomly, through a family friend that introduced me. I picked it up after college and it was just something that was challenging, both physically, mentally. It was just a great sport, different than anything I’d ever played—different than running track and volleyball. And I fell in love immediately and just kept playing. I played with a friend, a female friend, who said, “You know, women don’t hit it this far. Like, this is an anomaly.”
And she’s like, “You’ve got to sign up for Long Drive. You have to do it. It’s in Mesquite, it’s not that far.“ So I drove out there with one driver—and got second place.
I was like, “Wow, that was awesome.” Music was blaring. You’re hitting the tee and people are grunting and yelling, and it was a totally different side of golf—and it was almost something that I missed from track. I always question: Why do golfers have to look the same or swing it the same?
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Why do golfers have to look the same or swing it the same?
Troy: I wish that, when I was starting the game, there was someone like a Bryson—or like me—that I said, “Wow, I can play this game athletic,” because I spent so many years trying to fit the idea of a golfer that I just was never going to be: the perfectly clothed, not-athletic golfer that I was trying so hard to fit into.
I normally come out around 6:00 a.m., practice ’til about noon, then go home, have some lunch—and then it’s time for a workout.
I work out every day and I mix up my training to keep my body guessing and flexible. I do a mix of hiking, biking, Pilates, and boxing—and yoga. I think I get my power because I was an athlete; I wasn’t just “a golfer.” I played so many different sports that I have the ability to move my body in different ways, and the coordination and core strength and leg strength and leg speed that isn’t required of a golfer.
It’s funny now that younger players are hitting the ball further with all the mechanics that they always said were wrong and using drivers now that are lower-lofted and longer, because it creates clubhead speed—and why not?
When I got into golf, I said, “Okay, how can I make this work? Now I have to pay for lessons; how do I do that?”
To pay for golf, I started my own tutoring business.
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To pay for golf I started my own tutoring business.
Troy: I have a student that I’ve had for six years and—it’s going to make me cry. But I’ve known her her whole high school career, and it’s amazing to see that I’ve impacted her academic life. And I hope I have that same impact on someone that I haven’t met that watches how hard I work at whatever I end up doing. And it would just be very cool if some young girl’s on tour and said, “I made it because Troy tried” or “Troy made it.”
How it feels to play well is like waking up with a chocolate sundae and whipped cream.
Then there’s days where you don’t play well, and you have to convince yourself that you’re still having fun—and so that’s when, sometimes, I have to turn on music, especially if I’m just out here practicing.
My best friend was out there with me for a practice round. We had been talking about shuffling, and we both don’t know how to shuffle—and so we just kept trying it. I had a chip shot that I hit super close, and then we both had this look…
A social media video of a golf tutor and student plays—and shows comments on the video on the side. The student takes a big swing, and the tutor raises her arms in victory and celebration. The two begin to do the Running Man dance together while smiling.
Troy: Sometimes you need that. I think if someone hits a good shot, why not play music and enjoy that moment?
I love broadcasting. When the opportunity came, I said, “Yes, why not?” I have a fascination for other people’s stories, and if I can ask the right questions and have fun with it, I’m all in. Whether I make the tour or not, a bigger picture is, why not have young girls—and even older women—join the game and become part of networking that they have never been exposed to, or get college scholarships that are not being utilized? If I can help girls do that and grow the game in that way, then I’ve made it.
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Troy is one of only four women ever to hit a drive over 400 yards.
While getting ready for LPGA Q-School, she is commentating for NBC Sports.
Ask questions. Be engaged.
[Charles Schwab logo]
Own your tomorrow®
Troy: I don’t think it’s a question of if I’ll make it—I think it’s when.
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[Charles Schwab logo] [PGA Tour logo]
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©2021 Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. All rights reserved. Member SIPC (0321-11N9)
Music ends.
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Thanks to
Brian Simpson
Desert Willow Golf Course
Sian Bentson
Silas White
