Robby Shelton’s pro career has been full of sharp turns. After turning pro in 2016 following his junior season at Alabama, Shelton dominated the MacKenzie Tour in 2017 (finishing outside the top 20 just once in 11 events), but missed eight of his last nine cuts on the Web.com Tour in 2018. This season has been very different, though. After a solid start to the year, Shelton went on a tear in late April and early May, winning the Nashville Golf Open and essentially guaranteeing a PGA Tour card for the 2020 season.
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LYING FOUR: You took two weeks off after Savannah, and in your next three events, you finished second, T4, win. What the hell did you do during those two weeks off?
ROBBY SHELTON: Honestly, I just came home, practiced and pitched a little. Came home and got my head right, honestly. My game’s been there; those two weeks off just helped. I think I was a little worn out. But it’s been a heck of a run the past three or four weeks.
LYING FOUR: What does your practice routine look like when you’re taking some downtime like that?
ROBBY SHELTON: I’m up in Birmingham at Shoal Creek. That’s where I play. When I’m home, I wake up, eat a good breakfast, go and work out with my trainer — honestly, he’s probably the biggest factor when I’m home. He gets my body in the right spots, where it should be. I just go out to Shoal and practice — usually hit balls for a few hours, putt and chip for a few hours. And then it depends on what part of my game is off at the time. So usually, I just practice for a few hours and then go play. I love to play, even when I’m home, even when I’m off. I try to play with my buddies or just get some kind of game here at home.
LYING FOUR: What are some of your favorite public courses around Birmingham?
ROBBY SHELTON: Bent Brook is really good. I go out to the RTJ courses all the time. I grew up on those in Mobile, so I go out there every now and then and play out there, just to bring back old memories.
LYING FOUR: Are you a big TrackMan guy, or do you mostly just practice on feel?
ROBBY SHELTON: Not a big TrackMan guy. I like hitting on it for wedges, getting my numbers. But I try to stay away from all the numbers. I’m really a feel player. I let the ball tell me what to do.
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LYING FOUR: Knowing that you have your Tour card wrapped up, what does that do for the rest of 2019? Does it take the pressure off? I could almost see it either way.
ROBBY SHELTON: I have my card set, but you’re still trying to finish as high as you can on the money list at the end of the year, because that’s the key — to have as good a status as you can get for the next year. I’m in good spot now, but everybody’s chasing down Zhang. He’s No. 1 [on the Tour’s The 25 rankings], and we all want that No. 1 spot so we can get in the Players and get full status for next year.
LYING FOUR: You’ve come a really long way in a short period of time. In 2017, you played on the SwingThought Tour; last year you were on the Web, but you missed a bunch of cuts toward the end of the year. Now it’s 2019, and you’ve been on fire. What’s been the difference?
ROBBY SHELTON: The difference is just finally putting four good rounds together. I never did that; it seemed like I was finishing just outside the top 20 every week, every week, every week. I always had that one round that just kept me out of the top fives, kept me out of the wins. My game — in college, it was there. I went up to Canada and crushed it up there — played really well. Even on the Web last year, I had conditional status; my game was there, and I tried to change something at the end of the year. I thought that I needed to, but I really didn’t. My game was there. I shouldn’t have tweaked anything. I was trying way too hard at the end of the year and missed a bunch of cuts, just going the wrong way. I had a little off time before the Web started back up, and I got back to my old ways: hitting a draw, making putts. The whole year this year has been really good. I’ve missed a couple of cuts, but the first event, I didn’t even have my clubs until the first day of the tournament. That was kind of a tough way to start the year, but I didn’t let it bother me. And then in Colombia — I was playing really well the first three days, then had a bad final round and learned from it. Then I took it to Tampa, played four good rounds out there, finished in the top 15. Ever since, I’ve just been making cuts and just feeling really confident.
LYING FOUR: What was the tweak toward the end of last year? Were you trying to hit a fade?
ROBBY SHELTON: Yeah, I started trying to hit a fade the wrong way. I was getting super-steep, and I was just not in a good spot, honestly. I don’t think you have to hit a certain shot. That’s what a lot of people were telling me at the end of the year, and I’m just back to my old self now.
LYING FOUR: Your past 12 months are such a good example of how small the margin for error is, and how small the difference is between winning and missing a cut.
ROBBY SHELTON: I know. One shot can put you in fifth or 20th. It’s just — it’s hard. On the Web, it’s really hard. Those guys that grind every week, they focus on every shot and don’t give up. Those are the guys that are gonna make it. You’ve just gotta have heart, honestly. You’re not gonna play well every week, but if you can just grind it out and make a cut and get those points every single week, that’s key. Just a few points here and there add up really quick. By the end of the year, it can make a drastic difference.
LYING FOUR: What advice would you give to somebody who’s in the position now that you were in a year ago?
ROBBY SHELTON: Just trust the process, honestly. I played in a bunch of PGA Tour events during college, and all the hype was there for making the PGA Tour on just eight starts. But when that doesn’t go your way, it kind of humbles you, for sure. When I went up to Canada, I told myself, “You’ve still gotta beat people.” So I went up there and had a good mindset about it; a lot of guys will go up there, and they don’t think they should be there — they think they should be on the PGA Tour or the Web. But you just can’t have that kind of mindset, honestly. You’ve gotta just go beat people. That’s the key: just to have the right mindset, even if you’re on the SwingThought Tour or whatever mini-tour. There’s still really good players on the SwingThought Tour and the Canadian Tour. That’s where a lot of guys start out. You’ve just gotta go get them and prove yourself, and just keep climbing the ladder.
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LYING FOUR: What does your game look like? I was looking at your stats on the Web Tour’s website, and there are no glaring shortcomings at all.
ROBBY SHELTON: I’m pretty consistent with everything. I don’t think anything is too good or too bad. I hit the ball very straight. That’s probably the best thing I have: hitting fairways. I don’t hit it super-far, but I can poke it up — if I need to, I can hit one 300. But the key for the past few weeks, for sure, has been the putter. I always hit it well. If I finish in the top five, then I’m putting really well; if I finish 25th or 30th, then the putter is probably a little off. My game is pretty consistent, and having confidence in the putter puts everything else at ease.
LYING FOUR: Do you work with a swing coach?
ROBBY SHELTON: I do. I work with Tony Ruggiero.
LYING FOUR: I saw a story from a few years ago talking about your work with him, but I didn’t know if y’all were still working together. He has a really good group of young guys. What is it about him that draws so many young players?
ROBBY SHELTON: How good he is with fundamentals. That’s what everyone needs to continue to the next level — to have all the correct fundamentals, and to have somebody that believes in them. He definitely does those two really well. And that’s usually the main thing we work on, just the simple stuff. He’s not too technical at all. I think that’s why all the young guys like him — he’s simple. He can put it in their perspective and make it easy for them.
LYING FOUR: Having seen so many different levels of golf over the past two or three years, do you have a better idea of where your game needs to be come October?
ROBBY SHELTON: For sure. I don’t think a lot has to change, but the one thing that I’ve definitely noticed is that I’ve gotta pick up a little swing speed. I’ve played in a few PGA Tour events, and to carry the bunkers, you usually need about 280, 285. If you can do that, then you’re separating yourself from the other half of the field that can’t. That’s one key thing. And just keeping the putter hot. On the PGA Tour, it seems like they don’t miss putts out there.