'What are you doing?' Scottie Scheffler's simple tip helped this NFL coach

In the world of professional golf, Scottie Scheffler is known not only for his dominance on the course but also for his calm demeanor and knack for offering valuable advice. It recently came to light that one such tip helped the head coach of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings, Kevin O'Connell, improve his golf game.

O'Connell shared this story on the "This Is Football" podcast with host Kevin Clark. The coach recounted his experience playing in a pro-am at the 3M Open, where he had the opportunity to play nine holes with the world's No. 1 player, Scottie Scheffler. Despite the early morning tee time and potential fatigue after The Open Championship, Scheffler demonstrated an exceptional attitude towards the game and his playing partners.

"It was better than you could imagine, and it was a 6:40 a.m. tee time on a Wednesday after The Open Championship, so he very easily could have shown up and hit some golf balls, but the best part about it was he was fantastic," O'Connell told Clark. "Obviously he’s the best in the world, but an even better guy. Fun to hang out with, engaging with the group, talking every time anybody hit a good shot —which was every time for him but for some of us it was few and far between. He was just so much fun to play with."

Scheffler himself also spoke highly of O'Connell after that pro-am round, noting his intelligence and analytical ability, which is unsurprising for an NFL head coach.

"You can tell why he’s such a good coach, seemed very smart," Scheffler said. "I got to ask him a few questions and he told me some stuff. It was definitely very fun for me to be able to spend some time with him. I love the NFL and I’m fascinated by what they’re able to do, especially the head coach."

However, it was in the realm of golf that Scheffler offered O'Connell advice that, according to the coach, fundamentally changed his approach to the game. O'Connell admitted that he typically tries to play conservatively, opting for, for example, a 3-wood off the tee.

"Golf-wise, you think, Oh, I’m going to be responsible, I’m hitting some 3-woods off some tees," O'Connell said. "And he walked up to me on the 3rd tee and he said, ‘What are you doing? Hit your driver, hit it as far as you can and we’ll go find it.’ And it was amazing, and I was like, Oh, that makes sense, and I started playing OK."

Scheffler, commenting on the coach's game, added: "As a football coach you don’t get too much time to be playing golf. He actually moved it pretty well and hit some really nice shots."

The only "bad" news associated with this budding friendship, O'Connell noted, was: "He’s a Cowboys fan," O'Connell said, referring to the Dallas Cowboys, a major rival of the Minnesota Vikings. "But Minnesota gave him some love for that week for sure."

This anecdote highlights not only Scheffler's golfing prowess but also his personal qualities, demonstrating how simple yet wise advice can make a significant difference, even for professionals in other sports.