Nick Voke Rides A Rocket Ship
I met Nick Voke at Desert Mountain with his Iowa State Men’s Golf teammates, as a freshman in 2012. Coached by my friend Andrew Tank, I would annually host the team at Desert Mountain. Like most college players, he could hit it forever. After playing with Nick, I knew he would be successful in life. He is articulate, personable, and humble. However, I never imagined he would mold himself into the player he is becoming at age 24.
A self-described “late bloomer” Nick hails from Auckland, NZ. Academically oriented, he always wanted to come to the United States to go to college and play golf. “The US is the only country in the world where you can play a sport and get an education,” said the 6’1” 200 pound athlete. “There is no other organization like the NCAA that promotes the student athlete.”
After the NZ Soccer Association lost track of him following a move with his family, he switched to golf. “I was in the national soccer development program. When we moved, I quit getting letters inviting me play at the next level. I thought they cut me and I went to golf.”
“I wasn’t widely recruited by American schools. However, there was a friend from Auckland playing for Iowa State and he convinced me to come over.”
He had a strong career at Iowa State, winning five college tournaments and finishing in the top 10 in the Big 12 Conference Championship three of his four years. The highlight was shooting 61 in the final round of the NCAA Regionals to win by four shots.
“Nobody is more committed and driven than Nick,” said his college coach Andrew Tank. “He believes in himself and puts in the work.”
Following graduation in 2017 he qualified for a Web.com tournament in Chicago. It didn’t go well. “I was scared, timid and intimidated.”
In the early fall of 2017 he won the first stage of the Web.com tour qualifying. However, he missed at the second stage.
This caused an immigration problem. Immigration law states that a professional golfer has to have playing privileges on either the PGA Tour or the Web.com tour to hold a P1 visa. Nick was no longer allowed in the US.
About that time he enlisted the help of long time New Zealand friend Devin Marsh as a caddie and statistician. Devin has provided strong support and is a traveling companion for Nick.
Back home he was able to qualify for the AustralAsia Tour where he had two starts, the New Zealand Masters and the New Zealand Open. He finished seventh in both events. The purses were small but it was enough money to get him going.
In the Pro-Am of the NZ Open he caught a break. His amateur partner was Roy Ryu, a wealthy Korean and the Chairman of the Presidents Cup Match. Mr. Ryu took a liking to him.
Back in Korea, Ryu got Nick a sponsors exemption to the Genesis Championship, a tournament with a $1.2 million dollar purse, by far his biggest tournament.
“I played great for 63 holes,” Nick said. “Then on the last nine I hit several very bad shots. In addition, I missed short putts which are the strength of my game.” He wasn’t comfortable in the situation.
One of Nick’s greatest strengths is his ability to look at himself objectively and see what he needs to change. He realized he wasn’t strong enough mentally. In addition, his driving and mid-range putting were costing him too many shots. “I would hit it in the water or lose a ball every round. I was averaging 1.2 penalty shots a round.”
In the summer of 2018 he decided to go back to Ames, Iowa, to talk with his former golf coach Andrew Tank and the swing coach, Chad Keohane. “Ames is as much my home as Auckland. I love Ames and Iowa State.”
“We worked on three aspects of the game; the swing, the strategy and the mental,” said Nick. “It was a grind, it was really hard. I couldn’t hit it at all. But I kept at it and got an understanding of my swing. Now when something happens on the course I know what is going on and I can adjust.”
“Even with no improvement he kept his head down and kept going,” said Tank. “He has a great work ethic.”
“So how do you get away from being scared, timid and intimidated?” I asked Nick.
He smiled. “I have gone to an attitude that I am an apprentice at the game. Every round I am out to learn. I am learning so that five years from now I will know. It’s taken the pressure off. I don’t care what happens out there. I’m there to learn.”
He continued. “So let’s say I hit five pulls in a row. I recognize what is happening and I adjust. The next time it happens, I will only hit four, then three, then two. By then I have watched myself enough to know what to do after one bad shot.”
“I had some bad characteristics mentally on the course. If I had a poor start I would go downhill for the rest of the round. Now I stand back and watch myself. I’m just out there to learn.”
It’s almost like he is two people, one that is playing golf and one that is watching. “It has really taken the pressure off,” he said.
His strategy in playing the course has also changed. “Before each tournament I go to Google earth and look at the course. I measure how much room I have off the tee on every hole. If there is more than 65 yards from trouble to trouble I will hit driver. If there is less than 65 yards I will hit something else. I want to find the ball. I know I will find my ball if I have over 65 yards to work with.” Keeping the driver in his bag has reduced the penalty strokes.
“I am also using an Australian software product called ‘Shots to Hole’. They have measured the top 500 players in the world on courses all over the world, over years of playing. With this software I know how many shots on average it will take to get the ball in the hole from different locations on every hole. For instance, on a certain course a ball left of the fairway in the rough,130 yards out will take 3.2 shots on average to hole out. I also know that a ball in the fairway 175 yards out will also take 3.2 shots on average. So I hit something off the tee that will get me inside 175 yards and in the fairway, thus with a lower shots to hole number. Patrick Rogers, (top PGA Tour player), has it set at the top 100 players in the world. In addition, I can call them and ask specific questions on scoring chances.”
“Do you have goals?” I asked.
“Absolutely. But my goals are built around statistics, performance indicators. I want to reduce the number of penalty shots. I want my mid-range putting numbers to get to a certain point. I want my dispersion numbers tighter. I know that by hitting my goals the scores and winning will take care of itself.”
Nick has three categories in the goals for his game; growing, sharpening, and monitoring. “I want to grow in my driving, meaning I want to really make it better. I want to sharpen my iron play from 60-200 yards, and I will be monitoring my putting.”
“Everything is a long term vision. I might shoot 67 or 74 today. I’m just trying to learn and improve every round.”
After a summer of hard work in 2018 he was ready to go back to playing.
“I got a sponsors exemption into the China PGA Tour event at Suzhou, China. I shot seven under the last round and finished fourth. Then the next week I shot six under the last round and got into a playoff. On the second extra hole I made a putt and won.”
“It was strange. I went into the playoff thinking I didn’t care if I won or not. I just wanted to watch myself and learn. How would I react?”
He went to Korea the next week, again shot six under in the final round and finished third.
After a week off, Nick went back to China for three more tournaments. “I just kept doing all the right things,” he said. “Sticking to the pre set strategy of playing the course and the apprenticeship mindset aspect.”
The next tournament was in Macau, China. “I was one behind on the 17th hole the last day. I made an eagle on that hole and won by two,” he said with a big smile.
“It was the second China tour event that I had won in a row. Nobody had ever won three in a row. There were all kinds of press conferences and attention the next week In Zhuhai, China. It was a really tight, long course. The 16th hole is a par 5. I hit five iron, five iron, wedge, all four days. I played the hole one under for the week. Who tees off with a five iron on a par 5 hole?” he asked. “With as tight as the hole was, that was my strategy.” He was third going into the last day and shot six over to finish to finish 16th. It’s all about learning.
The next week the tournament was at Clearwater Bay Golf Club, Hong Kong, October 11-18, 2018. “I just tried to stay focused on golf.” He shot 5 under par the first day, then 3 under each of the next two rounds for a 5 shot lead going into the last round. “There were a lot of questions about how I would do in the final round. With my apprentice mental attitude, I was as interested in how I was going to do as anyone.” He won by three shots.
From August 31st and October 14, 2018 he played six tournaments, finishing higher than fourth only once, winning three times. This tremendous play has earned him conditional status on the Web.com tour for 2019.
Nick Voke is riding a rocket ship to start his golf career. “He is one of the most talented players coming through the system,” said Brad James, director of development for the Australian Golf Union. “He has exceptional self awareness and is always looking at ways to get better.”
It will be interesting to see how high he goes. I have never seen a young player with such a modest amateur resume, be so successful so early.
If anyone can do it, it will be Nick. He has a humble, appreciative, friendly attitude. He has a terrific plan, a good team behind him and a quiet determination. I predict we will see Nick Voke on the PGA Tour. From there we’ll just have to see how far he goes in A Life In Golf.
