Team answers question 6 of 7 about swing keys

6.  Is there a main swing thought, or swing key that you've been relying on over the past few months?

Just to try and get a full shoulder turn. Once I get full rotation, my arms and body become more connected and allow for a more consistent swing.

Steven Jeffrey Kearney

I have been trying to quiet my legs through impact. My main thought right now is keeping my head taller, with my head up my legs are much more stable. 

Shane Lebow

What I’m most interested about at the beginning of every swing is having a specific plan for how I want my swing to look and feel like beforehand.  If I have a solid feel for what the rhythm, orientation, and swing path of my next shot will be then my control of the golf ball is unsurprisingly better.  Besides this, I am working on keeping my arms, specifically where the biceps and triceps meet, connected to the sides of my chest throughout the swing.  Doing this keeps the club in a place where I can feel it throughout the swing which is super important.

Steve Ziegler

I have been working really hard on my alignment by using an intermediate point just in front of the ball that is on line with my target.  Once I get my clubface set up squarely I align the rest of my body and then just focus on relaxing my arms and shoulders. 

Graham Brockington

There has been two swing thoughts that I've been relying on. One of them has been 'precision.' I want to be precise with my shots, and the way I achieve that is by being conscious of my tempo of my golf swing. The other swing thought is to smile. I occasionally lose track of how fun and lucky I am to play this game.

Andrew Yun

My main thought lately has been to keep my head still when putting.

Cameron Andrew Wiilson

Grip it and rip it.

Wilson David Bowen

Out 'n Up on the takeaway. I was getting too flat and stuck behind in the past few months, and this is helping me to correct it.

Andre De Decker

Staying more over the ball

Sihwan Kim

Smoother slower backswing.

David Chung

Straight down the middle with freshman Cameron Wilson

This interview was posted on gostanford.com 
Feb 25, 2011:

STANFORD, Calif. - Cameron Wilson's favorite golfer is not who you think it is. As a left-hander, one would assume the first year player from Rowayton, Conn. might answer Phil Mickelson, or Bubba Watson or for you historians of the game, the classy New Zealander, Bob Charles. Wilson's going with Seve Ballesteros, the swash-buckling Spaniard whose shot making skills and ability to escape from trouble were second to none when he was atop of his game.

Wilson's shot-making skills has made him a regular fixture in Conrad Ray's lineup this season, as he has played in all five events to date, carding a stroke average of 72.8, which ranks third on the team behind Andrew Yun and David Chung. He has recorded two top 10 finishes in five events, placing fifth at The Prestige at PGA West and tying for ninth at the Gifford Intercollegiate.

The ambidextrous Wilson advanced to the second round of match play at the 2009 U.S. Amateur and was named the 2009 Metropolitan Golf Association Player of the Year, becoming the youngest recipient in the history of the award.
He also excelled in another sport in high school in addition to golf - squash. And if you want to know he capital of Zimbabwe, Kazakhstan or the location of the Eastern Ghats mountain range, ask Cameron.

GoStanford.com recently caught up with Stanford's left-hander to discuss his transition to college life, his passion for soccer and his encyclopedic geographical knowledge.


Home course?
Shorehaven GC, East Norwalk, CT.


Favorite course you have played?
Friars Head, Long Island NY.


Course you would most like to play?
Augusta National.

Favorite golfer?

Seve Ballesteros.

Your dream golf getaway package?
Scotland, all the great links courses.


One swing thought you are always trying to remember?
Always complete my shoulder turn.


Best advice you can give a recreational golfer?
Work on your short game!


Favorite practice drill?
I love to hit balls at the telephone pole on our facility.


Favorite major championship to watch?
The British Open.


Earliest memories of playing golf?
I remember chipping/putting with my dad until it was dark. I was probably 3-4 at the time.


What's your most memorable round?
When I first broke 100, I was eight at the time.


What's your most memorable shot?
I was playing Andrew Yun in the US Junior Amateur back in 2008, and I was down three or four holes by the par 5 sixth hole. After hooking my drive into the trees, I hit a punch three iron around the trees, over/around a water hazard, and it rolled from 20 yards short of the green to about five feet.


Toughest hole at Stanford Golf Course and the key to playing it?
The third, you can't go left! But right is usually a tough par as well.


Best hole at Stanford Golf Course?
Number two, you must hit two good shots to have a birdie putt.


Longest hitter on the team?
Steven Kearney, mostly because his biceps are so big.


Who is the last guy on the team who want to face in a putting contest?
Andrew Yun.


Favorite ball mark?
It just has to be big enough to see.


Favorite club in your bag?
I like them all, can't play favorites.


Your dream foursome?
Myself, Seve Ballesteros, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods.


One thing you are constantly working on to improve as a player?
I'm always thinking about my putting.


Why did you decide to come to Stanford?
It is the ideal blend of golf and academics, not to mention the awesome campus, people, and weather.


Tell us about your introduction to French cheese at Isleworth?
Coach Rowe had some French friends that were in Orlando to see Disneyworld. They came and watched us, bringing along some wheels of cheese. Coach Rowe then put the cheese in our van before our round started...that van still reeks.


Tell us about your IHUM course taught by Tobias Wolf?
It was called "Journeys." We read and discussed books in which someone goes through a transformation. He gave some pretty intense lectures.


Funniest guy on the team?
Sihwan is always laughing about something.


Favorite Conrad Ray saying?
Too many to list...most common is "lipstick on a pig."

Is it true you have the biggest sweet tooth on the team?
It's pretty close between myself and Coach Ray.


Favorite spot on campus?
Apart from the Siebel Center, I would say the Oval.


Your most difficult challenge your freshman year?
Sleep! Also working on the road can be tough. Last trip I had to write a paper on the plane.

Tell is about your interest in squash?
I played for my high school team, and a bit in middle school. It was a great way to stay active in the winter and I enjoyed the chance to take a break from golf. Most of my peers played golf all year.

What are some of your interests other than sports?
I enjoy watching soccer a lot. I'm also I'm a big fan of Monty Python movies and shows. I played soccer growing up until high school. I would've loved to keep playing but golf became my main focus. When I was little I liked Man United because my British cousins brainwashed me. Then I realized that liking Man U was similar to liking the Yankees, so now I root against the big teams (Chelsea, Utd, Arsenal, Madrid...) But my favorite player is still a guy on Man U. named Paul Scholes.

Do you have any superstitions?
I already have enough to worry about!

Hidden talents?
I know a lot of obscure geographical knowledge. I guess I've always been good with maps, plus I took a geography course this fall and I still remember a lot of the countries/capitals.

Favorite movie?
Local Hero, a Scottish comedy from the 80's.

What's on your IPOD?
U2, Dire Straits, and a lot of the Beatles. Only a few dozen newer songs.

Question 5 of 7: Team members share a favorite practice drill

5.  Is there a favorite practice drill to pass onto the Stanford golf community? 

"Ten Chance" - You get 10 drives to hit between a 25 yard wide target. Once you make 7/10 you advance to the next stage which is 20 yards wide.

Steven Jeffrey Kearney

10 Chance- you have to hit 7 of 10 drives in a fairway of 25 yards, if you do that then you go to 20 yards and do 7 of 10, and finally you move to a 15 yard fairway and you are a graduate from 10 chance if you can get 7 of 10 for the third time. 

Shane Lebow

Around the practice green I take five balls and toss them randomly in a general spot, then pick a hole and try to get them in the hole in ten strokes or less.  The idea is to pick spots that are feasible as to build confidence and not to leave a spot until you’ve successfully gotten the five balls in the hole in ten strokes or less.

Steve Ziegler

Our new assistant coach, Coach Rowe, has introduced us to a great driving drill that we have used extensively this fall called “10 chance.”  We set two flags 25 yards apart from each other, 260 yards from the tee.  Then we get 10 shots to land 7 balls in between the flags.  If you make 7 or more, you set the flags at 20 yards apart and then 15 yards apart after that.  You only get 1 chance at the drill per day.  It’s great at improving your driving and at building up pressure. 

Graham Brockington

We have been doing this drill that Coach Rowe taught us called 'Ten Chance.' So you place flags or something of the sort out in the distance 25 yards apart, 20 yards apart, and 15 yards apart. You get ten balls and a tee box facing towards the flags. Go through your routine for each ball and try to hit it inside the 25 yard flags. If you make at least 7 out of 10, you 'graduate' to the 20 yard flags. Same rule applies to that. We only do this once a day because it makes it more realistic to actual tournament conditions. This drill has increased my confidence on the golf course. 

Andrew Yun

My favorite way to practice is to hit balls at the telephone pole over by the wedge tee.

Cameron Andrew Wilson

I like to throw kettle bells.

Wilson David Bowen

I own a training aid called the PowerStrap. Excellent for practicing one's pivot!

Andre De Decker

I like to use a string in putting to correct and enhance my putting stroke.

Sihwan Kim

Chipping golf balls into baskets or onto towels

David Chung

Can you share a funny story about a teammate or coach?

Click on image to enlarge

Question 4 of 7 is answered by Cardinal players:

4.  Can you share a funny story about a teammate or coach that happened this fall?

I think the funniest thing is watching Lebow and Andre wrestle on the mats before yoga on Fridays. Lebow is still yet to win...

Steven Jeffrey Kearney

When we played at California Club this Fall, the whole team came wearing shorts. The club only allowed pants, so we were left to scavenge through the locker room looking to borrow pants for the day. It ended up that we only found waist size 36. The whole team was drowning in their pants the whole day. It provided for a funny twist in qualifying.  

Shane Lebow

Rob Grube is a well-known former teammate and filled in as the temporary coach at Olympia Fields while Coach Ray was playing stork and Coach Rowe was making a get-a-way from Europe Jason Bourne style.  I came to the tee box on the par three 16^th during the second round and found Rob chilling, staring off into space and talking about random things with our temporary assistant coach, Graham Brockington.  I asked what he was thinking about, and he told me he was thinking of the range session he had just finished before arriving at the tee box.  I thought that was pretty funny.  When Mike Small, the head coach of Illinois, heard of Grube’s day he enthusiastically replied, “Oh that’s the best thing to do, I do it all the time.”

Steve Ziegler

Steve Ziegler and I were on the putting green having a putting contest one afternoon when Freshmen Cameron Wilson and Shane Lebow walked up to the green.  Steve and I had just finished up our contest when Cameron throws a couple of balls onto the ground and begins to putt.  Forgetting that Cameron is left handed and thinking he was putting the other direction, I accidentally step directly in his line and stand there.  Cameron politely asks me to step aside and I do.  Apparently unaware of what had just happened, Steve steps directly where I had been standing, right in Cameron’s line.  Steve drops a couple of balls down and putts to the hole.  Cameron chuckles and asks Steve to move.  Steve doesn’t, so Cameron proceeds to putt anyway.  As the ball is rolling towards Steve’s feet, he winds up with his putter and smacks Cameron’s ball about 40 yards off the green.  Steve smiles, and says, “Okay, I’ll move,” and walks off the green.  Shane, Steve, and I had a good laugh about that for about five minutes and Cameron eventually joined in as well. 

Graham Brockington

I remember laughing at this story when Sihwan told it to me. So the team was supposed to meet at the clubhouse and Sihwan was going to take Cameron up with him because they live in the same dorm. Sihwan gets in his car and was about to call Cameron to see where he was. But he sees Cameron already sitting in the passenger seat. Sihwan was obviously a little surprised at seeing him in his car and Cameron promptly said, "You should be more careful about locking your car."

Andrew Yun

At Isleworth, some French friends of Coach Rowe were in town to see Disneyworld. They came by and watched us for a day, bringing some horrible French cheese with them. Coach Rowe then put the cheese in the 100 deg van for a whole day. I guess he didn't have his thinking cap on. The van still probably smells awful.

Cameron Andrew Wilson

I think most of this fall's funny stories involve Steven Kearney and his undying love of the bicep curl. He's all about the beach body workout. Curls for the girls.

Wilson David Bowen

Whilst Steven Kearney's unique workout regime comes to mind immediately, it's his appetite that I find really incredible. Every time we run late whilst traveling off campus to play and end up eating at In-n-Out, he puts away a meal the size of a small child. I suppose that's how his biceps are so large.  Andre De Decker

I don't have funny story this year but last year, we left Steven Kearney at the airport on our Arizona trip.

Sihwan Kim

Sihwan Kim walked into workouts with a mohawk. The look on coach's face was pretty funny.

David Chung

Question 3 of 7 - Share something about a teammate that we wouldn't know

3.  Share something about a teammate that we wouldn't know?

One of the guys on the team had never heard of the band, Nirvana. Steven Jeffrey Kearney

Sihwan Kim can out eat any other collegiate golfer. 

Shane Lebow

Living with Graham Brockington sophomore year enlightened me to what the most interesting man in the Universe does regularly.  Most mornings, he shaves with a straight edge spatula before making omelettes.

Steve Ziegler

Freshman Cameron Wilson can break dance. Not only can he do it, but also he is really good.  The first time I saw him break dance, I was in shock.  We were about to start yoga as we always do on Friday mornings, when Cameron suddenly busted out a head spin, the signature break dance move.  He just spun round and round at an incredible rate of speed until he broke out into other moves.  I keep trying to get him to do it at a party, but he hasn’t pulled the moves out yet.  I can’t wait until he finally flashes his moves on the dance floor!

Graham Brockington

Cameron Wilson can crush desserts like no other. 

Andrew Yun

I don't think a lot of people know that Lebow used to play the violin pretty well.

Cameron Andrew Wilson

Steve Ziegler talks in his sleep.

Wilson David Bowen

Shane Lebow has a way with women that can only be described as a gift from the heavens. He is truly blessed. Sihwan Kim also has a Kill:Death ratio in Call of Duty that is higher than my GPA.

Andre De Decker

David Chung has the loudest snore that I've ever heard.

Sihwan Kim

Stephen Kearney has been attacked by bats on campus.

David Chung

Golf team members respond to question 2 of 7 about their families

This is the 2nd in a series of responses by Stanford golf team members to recent questions.  


Players were asked - "tell us something about you or your family that your teammates don't know."


1. Steven Kearney - "I love eating a huge bowl of ice cream right before going to sleep."


2. Shane Lebow - "I played the violin for 10 years, finally my parents let me quit at 16 and I started playing the drums."


3. Steve Ziegler - "On the day of the summer solstice in 2001, my Dad, brother and I took a road trip to Northern Wyoming with the intention of breaking the Ziegler family record for greatest number of holes played in one day.   The number to beat was 72.  And so, well-equipped with large Ziplocs full of less than average quality golf balls (you lose many when 15 seconds is the maximum time allowed for a ball search) we set out for a very long day.  I have plenty of sweet memories from that day, where after playing from sun up until sun down we completed 77 holes.  Records are good, very good.

Also, I have never paid for a hair-cut."

4. Graham Brockington - "I have been playing the guitar since the beginning of high school and my little brother, Mike, plays the drums.  We jam together when we go back home, which is a lot of fun. Most of the time we end up playing ACDC or Red Hot Chili Peppers.  I also have an older brother, Tyler.  If you were to ask him what instrument he plays, he’d say, “I play the stereo.”  

5. Andrew Yun - "There is not much about me that my teammates do not already know, so I guess one thing that they don't know yet is that I will be going to India for a mission trip this upcoming summer."

6. Cameron Andrew Wilson - "My third cousin is the lead singer for Vampire Weekend. I don't really know him, think we've met at a few weddings/funerals."

7. Andre De Decker - "

I'm half-Belgian, from my dad's side of the family. I could theoretically play in the Ryder Cup!"

8. Sihwan Kim - "My first golf coach told me to quit."

9. Wilson David Bowen - "I have a black lab named Lily."

10. David Chung - "My dad is a black belt in karate."

Players write about an interesting course or assignment from the fall

We asked team members recently to respond to 7 questions while they were on break.  We'll be posting their responses over the next month to these questions so let's start with an academic one.

Question --- Tell us about an interesting course or assignment you had this past fall.


1. Steven Kearney - I got to go to the San Francisco Exploratorium on a field trip for my psychology class. There were a bunch of interesting illusion displays including a machine that could sense your emotions just by measuring the pulse in your finger.


2.  Shane Lebow - I took an Intro to Nutrition class this fall quarter which I found to be very interesting. We learned how important food is to your everyday life. It was amazing to hear that many diseases and illnesses can be avoided through the use of specific food groups. The class really opened my eyes to the effects of my diet.


3.  Steve Ziegler - I took a course titled “The Economics of Education” which was very interesting because I not only learned about how the United States finances its education system but how the financial strategies of other nations differ.


4.  Graham Brockington - I took a class called “Organizations,” in the Management Science and Engineering department.  We talked a lot about leadership and motivation and it was interesting drawing parallels between the material in the class and our team.  It is essential to have good leadership and for the players to be motivated.   After going through the class I feel like our team has both leadership and strong motivation, and it was exciting to see how the concepts I learned can be applied to our team. 

5.  Andrew Yun - An interesting course I took this fall was Psychology 1. Although it was just an intro course, it was extremely informative and had loads of ideas and content that really interested me. I am considering pursuing Psychology as a major, so this class was both fun and important. On a side note, the lecturer for the class was Professor James Gross, who happened to be Coach Rowe's mentor! 

6.  Cameron Wilson - My IHUM course was taught by the famous author Tobias Wolff. (This Boy's Life)

7. Wilson Bowen - Had to sit next to Graham Brockington in class one day. That was interesting.

8.  Andrew De Decker - I took an introsem on Human Experimentation. Really cool stuff, best class I've taken at Stanford to date. -- editor's note introsem stands for introductory seminar (see below for a description of this class).

9.  Sihwan Kim - Slept 3 hours in two days during finals.

10.  David Chung - Had to research the 2010 Delaware Primary featuring the infamous Christine O'Donnell.

HUMBIO 90Q: Contemporary Issues in Human Experimentation

Preference to sophomores. The guiding principles currently used to protect human subjects in terms of informed consent and protection of privacy; ethical issues relating to compensatory mechanisms for inherent risks; historical perspective and the development of the current mechanisms to safeguard the privacy and integrity of the individual; examples of use/abuse of human experimentation during medieval, Nazi, and modern times. Guest speakers currently performing human experiments or involved in approving such experimentation.

Next question is "Tell us something about you or your family that your teammates don't know."