Darien McFayden – Golf Success Journey

From Backyard to Champion: Darien McFayden’s Journey to Golf Success

Growing up, the journey from casual to professional athlete is often a path laden with challenges and triumphs. For Darien McFayden, this path was filled with drive, dedication, and a pursuit of excellence that started in his backyard and is now leading him toward the heights of professional golf.

Video Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Darien McFayden
00:14 Early Golfing Memories
00:38 Achievements and Challenges
01:48 Mental Toughness in Golf
03:00 Training and Fitness Journey
03:24 Discovering LPS and New Training Methods
05:54 Improvements and New Capabilities
06:26 Future Plans and Goals
07:06 Daily Routine and Dedication
09:25 Reflections and Advice

A Passion Ignited

Darien McFayden’s story begins at the tender age of ten and a half, when a regular day turned extraordinary. Observing his father and grandfather practicing golf in their backyard, he was captivated by the sight of little plastic golf balls being hit onto the roof. What began as simple curiosity swiftly evolved into a lifelong obsession with golf.

The flame of passion was kindled, and today, Darien stands as the CJGA’s number one on the Order of Merit for the amateur division, actively competing in the GTA Amateur Tour. His journey, however, has been far from linear, marked by notable victories like his first triumphant event at the Cardinal golf course and his unforgettable performance at Silver Lakes, where he overcame nerves to seize the win with an impressive round.

Navigating Challenges on the Course

Golf, like life, offers its share of challenges. One of Darien’s most testing days on the course came during a remote tournament. Despite a strong start, a poorly executed second shot spiraled into frustration and a disappointing performance. This experience taught him a valuable lesson: maintaining mental composure is as crucial as physical proficiency in golf.

His father’s guidance played a pivotal role in this learning journey. Armed with books like “Quantum Golf” and “Zen Golf,” Darien began transforming his mental game, learning to let go of frustration and remain focused on his next moves. Observing professional golfers handle their setbacks further refined his approach to overcoming adversity during play.

Building Strength and Discipline

Beyond mastering technique and mental fortitude, physical preparation has been a key component of Darien’s ascent in the golfing world. Under his father’s tutelage, he embraced an intense physical regimen, initially focusing on strength training with deadlifts and squats to enhance power in his swing.

His discovery of the LPS program marked an important chapter in refining his training. Known for its rigorous regimen and disciplined environment, LPS exposed Darien to the idea of accountability and progressive excellence. Despite initial skepticism about full range of motion exercises, under the guidance of Coach Clance, he came to understand their importance in building resilience and strength across every facet of movement.

Utilizing a supportive app to track progress, Darien embraced a demanding schedule of four workouts a week, discovering unprecedented improvements in his swing speed and drive distance. The results spoke for themselves, with drives averaging 300 yards and turning challenging par fives into approachable par fours.

The Road Ahead

As Darien looks to the future, his ambition knows no bounds. Upcoming plans include aspiring to qualify for the PGA Tour Americas and the Canadian Open. To prepare, Darien has committed himself to rigorous practice, combining technical drills and simulations with tournaments designed to hone his nerves under pressure.

His daily routine is testament to his dedication: stretching, honing puts, refining swings, and tailored training consume each hour with a singular focus on improvement. Sleep, nutrition, and rest days are as meticulously planned as his physical training, with eggs, chicken, and rice forming dietary staples to fuel his ambitious schedule.

Reflecting on the Journey

Looking back, Darien acknowledges the value of hard work and persistent focus. He wishes he had embraced a deeper seriousness earlier in his career, realizing that intentional practice is vital for genuine improvement.

Through thoughtful reading, mentorship from seasoned players, and a relentless pursuit of knowledge, he continues to aspire to new heights. Darien McFayden’s journey underscores a universal truth: success is forged through passion, persistence, and a steadfast commitment to growth amidst the challenges of the ever-demanding sport of golf.

>> Watch more of our athlete success stories here.

TRANSCRIPTION:

I used to carry my drive around like 270. I think now it’s like 300, sometimes over 300 consistently. So that’s very nice.

My name is Darien McFayden, and I’m aspiring golf professional.

I started when I was 10 and a half. I went out into the backyard of our house and I saw my dad and my grandfather, they were practicing golf. They were hitting golf balls onto the roof of the house, actually. Little plastic golf balls, and I thought it was cool, so I wanted to try it, and I did. Ever since then, I’ve just been obsessed with golf.

So I am currently CJGA, number one on the Order of Merit for the amateur division, and I play on the GTA Amateur Tour.

I don’t know what my proudest moment is, but I always remember winning my first event at a Cardinal golf course.

I remember going there and not knowing really how I would do, but then I ended up winning. And that was a great feeling. I’ll always remember that. I remember just this year playing on the CJGA Tour and, winning, I think it was at Silver Lakes.

I remember Silver Lakes because I was nervous the whole time and I was trying not to mess up, but I just kept getting birdies and shot 69.

And ended up winning.

I remember the toughest moment on the golf course I’ve ever had was, I was in a tournament. It was far away from home. And I remember just, uh, first hole, drove it right down the fairway, and then second shot, I hooked it out of bounds. And just from there, the whole round, I was just angry. I was just super angry the whole round. Every shot, I was just trying to kill the ball, and I shot a terrible score that day. And I, went home and I knew that I needed to not do that ever again.

And so I guess the mental state that I need to be on the golf course was the toughest thing to like, acquire.

Um, learning to get over a shot. And you know, not be in my feelings all the time. Bad shot, forget it. Next shot’s probably gonna be better. Try to recover from situations. And if it’s a good shot, celebrate a little. But just keep going until it’s over. My dad actually wasn’t there for that event. So that moment of switching into focusing more on the mental side, I went home and I told my dad what happened and he wasn’t happy.

He gave me some books to read like mental stuff for the, for golf specifically, like, Quantum golf and, Zen golf and things of that nature. I read those books. I started to adopt thosetools to help me on the golf course to not get so upset and not, get so emotional.

watching what the pros do, and seeing like, oh, he had a bad shot, what’s he gonna do next? What does he look like? He looks angry, but, what’s he doing to, deal with that, Oh, he’s in the trees, how’s he gonna get onto the green?

on TV, you see they hit a lot of good shots. Focusing more on the bad shots that they’re playing, and seeing what they’re doing next. Really helped.

Before LPS, I was, on my dad’s program. My dad’s my coach. He was my strength coach at the time as well. I was doing a lot of deadlift, a lot of squats, a lot of things for legs specifically.

Cause you know, I wanted power in my golf swing. I think I started working out when I was in high school and I was doing a lot of that stuff. We built the home gym, we have a squat rack, we have the bench just doing a lot of that stuff.

The first time I heard about LPS was, on the GTA AM tour my first year. I saw the banner. It said dominate.

I’m like, what does that mean? I met Jeremy. I just saw the place and it was loud and it was different. Energy was different. A lot of the people coming here were different than what I experienced before.

There are a lot of pros here.

Everyone here was super helpful, super nice.

A lot of people trying to get better and stronger. A lot of people who, have their programs specifically for them, and they were just going through it. They kept their head down. They’re here to work. They’re not here to, mess around. And I like that a lot.

I think the biggest thing that I might have been a little skeptical about was the full range of motion when I was doing squatting, I wasn’t going all the way down. So that was like the main thing.

I didn’t know, how that would help me going all the way down, all the way up and, you know, doing the full range of motion thing. But then Coach Clance explained it to me. It’s like, oh, you’re less likely to be injury prone and you should get stronger at, every segment of the, every lever.

My experience online was good, especially like I would come in once a week when I started. And, actually the app was very helpful. You know, you see the, you see your program, you see each, exercise and you do, you have a video for it and, uh, you can log your weights and your reps and things like that, which I thought was pretty cool.

First time I looked in the app, I saw I had four workouts. I was like, I’d never done four workouts in a week before. And then I had an active recovery day, Like after the four workouts, I was like, this is a lot. I’ve never done this much. And so that was pretty cool. Just, you know, taking it to the next level.

I stayed motivated just because I knew that when I came back here and, people saw me, they, I felt like they’d know that if I slacked off, they’d know that I’m not lifting the way I’m supposed to be lifting. I felt like I was being held accountable, basically.

I didn’t want to be the guy in the gym that was, you know coming here for like years and years and years and lifting the same weight and there’s people smaller than me lifting three times as much as me. I didn’t want to be that guy.

So I was training for three to four months. When I started I was swinging at 1, 108 think club head speed. And then just one day out of the blue, like after training for, I think it was around three month mark, I was just in the simulator and I was swinging as hard as I could and then while all of a sudden like 115, 118 club head speed.

And that was pretty cool. I used to carry my drive around like 270. I think now it’s like 300, sometimes over 300 consistently. So that’s very nice.

With the extra speed and the extra yards now, I started to take more risks. I could go over trees and off the tee. I can go around stuff. I can go over stuff. I can carry stuff. Um, it’s funny now. Par fives are like long par fours for me now, cause I’m hitting like almost all of them in two, being my driver down there and then it’s like a iron now instead of a wood. So that’s a huge advantage now.

So next year I’m planning on playing a, open qualifier for the uh, PGA Tour Americas tour. and then I’m also planning on playing a qualifier for the Canadian Open next year.

So, to prepare for that, I’m just trying to shoot really low scores. I’m trying to get as much experience, like, under pressure situations. I’m trying to play a lot, like, in tournaments against really good players is the best that I can find.

And just really try to get under par, like, super under par. Like Three under is not going to cut it anymore. I got to be seven under.

People don’t realize how hard it is to, you know, get really, proficient and get really good at golf and get to the level that I’m trying to get to. I’ll wake up and, do my stretching and then, get coffee and I’ll do a hundred putts. I’ll do some drills. That will take like an hour, I’ll do an hour of chipping, then I’ll do like an hour of full swing, just seven iron, four iron, things like that, shot shaping. I can’t just hit the ball straight, I gotta learn how to, if there’s a tree in front of me, I gotta hit it around it, doing draws and fades, low draw, low fade.

If I wanna hit over something, I gotta do everything.

and then work out, and then I’ll get back to it, and I’ll do driver. And just, swinging as hard as I can and then backing off and being like, okay, I’m on the tee and it’s a narrow fairway. I gotta be able to swing smooth and just get it straight down there.

And then sometimes I gotta hit it like as hard as I can and get it 300.

So like at the end of the day, I’m probably doing six hours of just golf related stuff and I don’t really go out much.

I’m just learning like how important sleep is. I used to be just staying up at night and I would get like five hours and that’s not good. I naturally want like nine hours of sleep, so I have to get in bed by like eight o’clock.

, So, eating as well. I’ll eat like. three, four eggs in the morning. Always eggs. Uh, I get tired of eggs sometimes, but I gotta keep eating eggs cause they’re so good for me. Um, lot of protein, chicken and rice, some vegetables. Yeah.

Monday to Sunday, my schedule’s pretty much the same throughout the week, depending on my work schedule, because I work for my dad, if he’s coaching and, you know, we’ll be at a place for like three hours.

If he’s teaching three lessons, I’ll just be practicing by myself for three hours. And I’ll maybe do my full swing practice at the whatever simulator or whatever course we’re at for three hours. And, uh, if they have a putting green, I’ll do my hour of putting there. I’ll do my hour of chipping there. But it’s pretty much the same.

I try to hit these benchmarks of an hour each of each segment of my game. I feel like if I miss one of them, then the next day it’s like, Oh, I missed the driver yesterday. My drive is a little off today, or I miss putting yesterday. I’m hitting on the toe today. I’m not hitting out of the center.

I’m just realizing this now. When I’m out, I’m just thinking about golf. Like, when I’m out with my friends, it’s like 10 o’clock, I’m like, I should probably be in bed right now.

I gotta get up early tomorrow and get back to golf.

If I can go back in time, I’d probably tell myself just work harder just to keep it simple. Just work harder.When I was younger, golf was sort of like a thing that, do after school and on the weekends, you know, play and have fun and stuff like that.

And I started to take it seriously, later on, I feel like if I took it seriously, sooner, I could be where I am right now, but like three years ago, I could be like, much better player.

, I would tell myself to be more. Persistent instead of consistent, because it’s easy to say, okay, I got to hit a hundred putts today. I got a hundred chips, a hundred swings, and you can do all that and you can get it done. But like, are you really intentional with what you’re doing?

Like on the hundredth putt, are you really trying to feel that putt? Are you really trying to get better? Are you just trying to do it to get it done and say, Oh, I hit a hundred putts today, but did you actually get better in that hundred putts? I feel like I could have been more intentional with what I was doing in my practice.

I would’ve started reading, like reading was a big one. Quantum golf especially was a big one. Just being less fearful on the golf course as well, and, really staying in the moment. I would’ve recommended myself books, probably just tell myself to read a lot and try to, seek the knowledge of other players as well. find people who are better than you, try to play with people who are better than me. See if they can pull me up. I’d probably do that.