IG168 July 19

July 2019 www.insidegolf.com.au On TOUR 28 Brad Kennedy sets 2020 deadline Before you discovered golf you were a talented tennis player. Tell us about that. Yes, my dad was a tennis coach so I was playing tennis from the age of five and was playing A1 tennis when I was 11. When did you discover golf? When I was 13 we used to live near Carrara golf course and I’d go down there and get balls out of the creeks after school and sell them to the players. At the time I thought ‘golf looks like fun’ so I started playing and got lessons from Terry Adcock. You are a natural left-hander and played tennis left-handed, but you play golf right-handed. How did that come about? After a couple of lessons Terry switched me to right-handed. I loved the complexity and difficulty of golf and just wanted to learn and get better. I’d be at the golf course after school and on weekends. I was a junior member at Surfers Paradise Golf Club. What did you do when you left school? I did a traineeship at Coolangatta Tweed Heads Golf Club under Geoff Parslow. You won the Queensland trainee championship and the trainee of the year award in 1996, correct? Yes, a lot of the playing success was due to Geoff. He had three or four trainees so we got plenty of time to work on our game and played all the Monday trainee events. We were playing 36 holes on a Monday. I was paid $200 a week as a trainee so back then you could almost double your salary if you played well on a Monday. Those events allowed me to get the competitive edge while playing for money. That was the time I had access to finding out how hungry I was. What did you do when you completed your traineeship? In late 1996 Geoff’s contract wasn’t renewed and the club offered me the position as head pro. So I ran the shop, did the teaching and had a great time. I loved the business aspect of it. Then the club put the shop out to tender and they asked me to apply, but I was focused on getting out and playing. Where did you start your playing career? I played the Queensland pro-am circuit and also did stints in WA and SA. It was the opportunity I needed to find out if I was good enough to go further. In 1998, I went to qualifying school, won that and in 2000 I went to my first international Q-school in Asia and got my Asian Tour card. What was that experience like? There’s a lot to learn when you play internationally. I learned a lot about travelling, preparing how to live on your own and getting through customs and airports. You are not a big fan of airports, are you? Airports are a time-waster because, for me, golf is a business. It’s about what I can do and how quickly I can do it. Unfortunately hotels and airports are part of it. Tell us about your time playing in Europe. I spent a year and a half in Europe. I got my card after finishing second in the Malaysian Open and my wife and I went and lived in Manchester for a year. But Europe wasn’t a good fit for me. I didn’t enjoy it although my results were okay. What prompted you to go to Japan? My wife always told me to go to Japan. She thought it would be a good fit so in 2010 I made the jump and haven’t looked back. I love it over there – it’s a home away from home. In 2015, I moved the family there. We lived in the middle of Tokyo, which was a great family experience. Gold Coaster Brad Kennedy is eying 2020 as a possible final and fond farewell to tournament golf in the Land of the Rising Sun. DAVID NEWBERY caught up with the Aussie ace where he spoke openly about his career and his plans for the future. Can you see yourself playing the seniors’ tours in five years? No. That would mean more time away from family. I’d rather be with my family or out fishing in my 50s rather than hitting a golf ball around. Golf is not as important as it once was – my kids and family are far more important. Name five golfers you’d pay to watch. Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and I would have loved to have watched Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer and maybe even Sam Snead. They were the real ground-breakers in golf. Dream fourball partners? Carl Barron (comedian), Greg Norman and Daniel Ricciardo (Formula 1 driver). I love my Formula 1 so it would be good to pick his brain. Do you have any hidden talents? I’d like to think I’m a good fisherman, but I don’t catch enough fish for that. Favourite sporting team? I love AFL and used to support the Lions, but now I tip my hat to the Suns. What do you plan to do when you quit the Japan Golf Tour? I’m still passionate about golf so I will consider performance coaching – teaching young players who want to pursue life as a touring pro. It’s easy at the elite amateur level because they are given everything and told when to turn up and what to do, but as soon as you get out in the pro world it’s man versus man and there are 145 other guys that want to kick your butt every day. So how do you overcome that and still perform at your best and learn how to travel, organise accommodation, plan your weeks or days. I don’t think there is enough to that in golf in Australia. I have been through it so there is a possibility I could share that knowledge with young people coming through and also teach them the art of winning. Tell us about the putting aid you have designed and developed. It will be released soon. Already 40 touring professionals have seen it and have placed orders. Putting is 40 per cent of the game, but amateurs spend more time on the range hitting driver. My putting aid will help amateurs (and pros) improve their putting considerably. For example, I believe a 15 marker will get down to single figures in no time just by learning the art of putting through my putting aid. FOOTNOTE: Brad Kennedy will give Inside Golf an exclusive on his putting device in an upcoming issue. Watch this space. How would you describe the golf courses in Japan? The courses are unbelievable. My strengths are driving accuracy, chipping and putting and those are the key factors to doing well in Japan because the courses are really tight – a lot of out of bounds. Japan gives you the opportunity to use those skills so the courses suit my game. I also love the culture so Japan is a great fit for my lifestyle. Howmany pro tournaments have you won? 12, but I’m especially proud of the international wins including three in Japan. (In 2011 Kennedy won the New Zealand Open and in 2016 the NZ PGA Championship). You played in two Open Championships – tell us about that experience. The first was at Royal St George’s and the following year at Royal Lytham and St Annes. I wasn’t prepared for it at the time and went there more as a spectator rather than as a player and my results showed (missed cuts). I thought I was ready but I wasn’t. Now if I had another chance I would be a lot better prepared for it. What are your biggest fears in golf? At the moment it’s the possible recognition the game has gone past me in terms of performance. Kids these days are hitting it 300m, chipping and putting great. So it’s the fear of being left behind, but everyone comes to that realisation some time in sport. When your time is up, it’s up. Who was the player you admired earlier in your career? Ernie Els. I have always loved the way he plays and the way he goes about the game of golf. Nothing seems to bother him. You’re 45, what are your goals for the next year or two? My goal is to win as much (money) as I can as quickly as I can. I’m still exempt in Japan for 2020. What then? Five years ago I said to my wife that 2020 was going to be a D-day as to what I do. We have two young daughters and I feel I have been quite selfish over the years being away during my playing career. I have done a lot, but now it’s time to pull back and be home with my family. The girls are big into dancing and I don’t want to miss out on the things they do. Life’s is too short to be missing out on those experiences.