they succeed. May’s principles have gained enough traction that he has been contracted to help design other facilities, includ- ing a new one at TPC Sawgrass. He’s also developing a game-improvement platform for Dick’s Sporting Goods and Golf Galaxy that will create an in-store learning environment that are simula- tor versions of the outdoor facilities he’s designed. If the programme succeeds, he believes more golfers will have the chance to adapt a military approach to training, with rigorous preparation translating to better performance. “If you talk to people in special forc- es, they’re trying to make that training as close to the actual event as possible,” May says. “They’re adamant that under pressure, you only fall to the level of training.” O f course, the idea isn’t to make a typical short-game session as miserable as boot camp. A common misconception when talking about “stressful prac- tice” is that stress can only be unpleasant.
own place, and he knew that I was in- volved with coaching a certain way, that led him to ask me whether I had some insight into how to design a prac- tice facility.” The Grove facility attempts to mod- ernise some of the practice principles used with a shag bag and an umbrella, giving golfers insight into why certain shots work and others don’t in an envi- ronment that more closely resembles real golf courses. The design draws inspiration from a graphic May uses to reflect ideal training conditions, with performance on one axis and dif- ficulty on another. Where the two con- verge is what May calls “the learning sweet spot.” Suppose a drill is to sink a series of two-foot putts. The task is so easy, a golfer’s performance would be high, but he or she wouldn’t learn anything. Conversely, if a drill asked golfers to hit a small target from 250 yards away, golfers might disengage because they don’t believe they can do it. The sweet spot is when players are presented with a challenge that is just difficult enough that they understand why, both when they fail and when
ply them in spe- cific moments. May realised this wasn’t something he thought about enough. “At that point, I was just giving
FULL CIRCLE Nearly any shot can be simulated at the 360-degree,
24-hectare facility at Apogee.
people lessons, and they would just go and practice on their own, but we were not training under any sort of load,” May says. “I was an instructor, but I wasn’t responsible for someone’s ex- ecution. I was only helping them with how they hit the ball.” Two decades later, whenever May sees Brown, he reminds the coach of his influence on his career because even- tually May migrated to the Bear’s Club in South Florida, where Jordan was a member, and the two men recognised a shared philosophy around the relation- ship between failure and improvement. “I also talked to Michael about how he viewed coaching.” May says. “We had the same ideas about how if you’re not failing, you’re not learning, and that you shouldn’t search for comfort … Then when he wanted to start his
GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA 105
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2025
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