Mick Smith had one question for his caddy, Craig Czerniejewski, as he walked off the 11th hole after recording a bogey in his U.S. Senior Open qualifier at Stevens Point Country Club.
“‘How are we doing?’” Smith said.
The response?
“He said, ‘We’re tied for the lead,’” Smith said. “And that surprised me a bit but it gave me a bit of fire in my belly and a feeling of, ‘Alright let’s get in there and I can still win this.’”
Smith, an Australian who lives in Summit, then saw his lead expand to two strokes after he birdied the next two par-5s. Not long after that he learned he had won the qualifier to earn a spot in his first major, the 43rd edition of the U.S. Senior Open at SentryWorld Golf Course in Stevens Point.
“It was one of the highlights of my life,” Smith said. “It will be a moment I won’t forget and I’m still very excited (about it). For the last week, I have woken up early every morning and it was the first thing on my mind.”
Smith switched from tennis to golf as a teenager
Smith, 50, grew up in Sydney, Australia, playing tennis. But by 15 years old he realized he wasn’t good enough to play professionally, so he looked for another sport.
“My uncle gave me some clubs and we lived near a golf course, so I used to sneak on before and after school and play,” Smith said. “I loved playing and before I knew it I was hooked on golf, got good pretty quick and it all went from there.”
Aside from his early successes, Smith said what drew him to golf was the independence that the sport provides.
“I had a pretty strict dad and he was a good tennis player, so he would come and watch and if I didn’t play well I would get a bit of a rousing on,” Smith said. “But he wasn’t that good at golf, so when I got into golf it was basically all me and I was left alone to do it. I enjoyed that side of it.”
Smith first moved to the United States in 1997 to play golf at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, Alabama.
“A friend of mine got a scholarship to Colorado State and the intermediary guy who set that up said to him, ‘Do any of your mates, who are decent players, want to come over and play? There is a junior college in Alabama looking for a good player,’’” Smith said.
“I had always wanted to come to America, so I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it’ and like two weeks later I was on a flight to a junior college in Alabama.”
Following his time at Wallace State, Smith returned to Australia for a year, which included some time on the Australian PGA Tour.
“I didn’t do any good (there) so I came back to America and basically been here ever since,” Smith said.
Later this year, Smith will receive his dual citizenship.
“I’ve spent half my life in America and half in Australia, so I feel very at home in both places,” Smith said. “My kids have grown up here, so yeah, it will be great to get.”
Analytical software TrackMan keeps Smith’s golf game sharp
Once Smith moved back to the United States, he started working at golf courses and giving golf lessons. His coaching career took off in 2014 when he bought a house in Summit.
“I was going a bit bonkers in the wintertime from not doing anything and we’ve got a three-car garage that’s double deep, so I had the idea to build a golf room in the back of the garage,” Smith said.“It saved my sanity in the winter and probably helped my golf game a lot as well.”
But one thing separated Smith’s consulting company from the others in the area: TrackMan, a radar analytical system that uses Doppler technology to track and record 3D characteristics of a sports ball in motion.
Smith said the TrackMan simulates the way a golf ball would travel on a real course with near-perfect accuracy, a feature that has kept his game “fine-tuned.”
Getting a mindset for biggest stage of golf career
Smith has been on a heater lately in Wisconsin PGA Section events, winning the WPGA Championship in 2020 and 2021 and the WPGA Match Play Championship in 2022.
He said it is moments like those and qualifying for his first major that make him glad he stuck with the sport.
“Golf is a very fickle game. One day you’re great and the next day you can be awful,” Smith said. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve definitely dealt with that better and not let it get to me as much. I keep working, doing the right things and keep believing things are going to work out and it’s great when they finally do.”
But he enters the U.S. Senior Open at a slight disadvantage, as his only experience at host site SentryWorld Golf Course was a practice round a few weeks ago.
“Nobody’s really been on property there playing for a long time so the course is immaculate,” Smith said. “The rough was very thick, but as they said, they can cut the rough down, but they can’t make it grow.
“It was thicker than what it would be for the tournament they said, so I was happy to hear that. But it was good to see and get some pictures in my mind of the shots I’ve gotta play.”
Smith said based on his practice round, one key to his success will be to drive the ball well. And after watching this past U.S. Open on TV, he has begun to understand what he is about to enter.
“You see how tough it can become,” Smith said. “Being 50 and played a lot, I’ve started paying attention and focusing on the things I want to do and not building up any walls as far as negativity or worrying about how hard it can be.”
Smith’s preparation came to an abrupt stop two weeks ago, however, when he paused all practicing due to back issues. He resumed golf activities June 16 after several visits to the chiropractor.
“It was the first time I’ve been able to swing without pain so that’s been good,” Smith said, adding that he believes he is still in a good position going into Thursday’s opening round despite this setback.
As one of two local players, along with Hortonville’s Brad Lanning, in the 156-player field, Smith said he will have several family members and friends around to watch the event, including his brother, Mark, who is flying in from Sydney.
“He’s my older brother so it’ll be good to see if his younger brother can do something half decent,” Smith said jokingly. “But no, it will be great to share the moment with him.”
Smith, a big Ernie Els fan, said he is looking forward to competing with and meeting one of the professionals that will be playing in the event.
However, once he steps onto the course and tees off, he said the switch flips and the only thing that will be on his mind is winning.
“It’s not my job to worry about what they’re doing,” Smith said. “My job is to play my style of golf and get the ball into the hole as best I can. If I do that, then everything will take care of itself.”
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