Matt Killen, Swing Coach For Kenny Perry

Today’s interview is with Matt Killen, Swing Coach for PGA Tour standout Kenny Perry. Matt has known Kenny nearly his entire life and grew up playing golf with Kenny and his son, Justin. He and Justin are best friends and were roommates in college at Western Kentucky University.

Kenny introduced Killen to Ron Gring when he was a freshman in high school. Ron helped him with his game but eventually helped him branch over in to teaching. Over time he became extremely interested in how the golf swing worked and began teaching as a sophomore in high school. He took him under his wing, and studied with him and tried to learn as much as possible about the mechanics of the golf swing.

Read on to find out more about Matt.

TST: You and Kenny have a great relationship and even though you’re younger than him was it initially odd to be giving swing advice to him?

Matt: Before I ever helped Kenny I had already turned professional and was teaching quite a few students. One day he was struggling a little and asked me what I thought. I made some suggestions and it worked very well. Over time he began coming to me on a regular basis. I had been teaching him for over a year before the he ever told the media. I probably wasn’t ready for the publicity yet, so I am glad I was able to work with him without any extra attention. It was a little uncomfortable at first, not because of the age difference, but the importance of the information to a person on his level. I have always been extremely confident in my thoughts on the golf swing.

TST: How did you gain your experience in coaching? What certifications have you received?

Matt: The experience came studying with Ron. I studied The Golfing Machine with him I am waiting until after college to start the PGA program, it is not necessary right now for me because I already have plenty of credibility.

TST: What is your teaching style/philosophy? How does that complement your players? What is your playing background? Did you play college golf or professionally? How have these experiences helped you in coaching?

Matt: My teaching philosophy is that the swing must be grooved on the driving range, the course is not where you work on your swing. I have learned this from tons of personal experience. I can’t stress how important it is to have your swing correct before you go to the course. If you are constantly worried about making changes you will never be able to focus on the challenges the course creates for you. I make sure I match the swing mechanics of each player with his or her particular size and shape. Every person will have many differences in their swing, along with many similarities. I played junior golf and won quite a few tournaments, I won our high school regional tournament and I play in some pro scrambles every now and again, but I don’t play very much anymore because I am so busy helping other people.

TST: We’ve noticed some swing coaches travel every week with their athletes, helping them through practice rounds and working together daily at tournaments. You travel quite a bit. Can you tell us how the decision is made about which events to attend? How much time do you two spend together off the course?

Matt: I travel when I can and when he feels like he really needs me there, this year the U.S. Open and The Barclay’s, he asked me to go. He would probably like me to come to every tournament, but being in school it is very hard. When I attend an event with him I usually spend the whole day at the course with him and then usually go out to dinner and out to do something entertaining after that. I spend more time than most teachers do with their player off the course I would imagine. We still talk quite a bit about the swing off the course.

TST: You mention that you’re currently in school, what are you studying? Will you continue coaching players after you complete school?

Matt: I am studying Business Management and I plan to continue teaching for the rest of my life.

TST: With the new PGA TOUR schedule in 2007, how will this affect yours and Kenny’s preparations for bigger season-ending events? Will this mean less time on the road for you?

Matt: I’m not sure at this time how it will affect my travel time, but it won’t affect our preparation at all, we will prepare even harder this year. We will probably spend a lot more time at the sites for the ’06 majors, I think playing and practicing at the courses before tournament week would help a lot more. We didn’t do this any last year.

TST: Before you two work together, what are some of your expectations from him? How do have him warm up? What goals do you set for each practice session?

Matt: I always want him to give any of my ideas a good chance, I taught him a new chipping technique that he never wanted to use but I made him practice it a lot, turns out it saved him at Pinehurst and he uses it all the time now. I don’t change his warm up much, at tournaments if there is one shot he must hit a lot, I encourage him to hit it a few extra times. At the end or each practice session I want him to be confident and encouraged about what he is working on.

TST: I’ve always been taught that perfect practice makes perfect. Assuming that what structure is there to your practice sessions? What drills, tools or training aids help you two practice perfect?

Matt: We use a number of drill during our practice sessions, it really depends on what we are working on at a given time. I always make him lay a club down to check his aim, a lot of times he will get off track just because of bad alignment. We will work on fading the ball a little bit, and a lot of times he will hit balls with his feet together to work on his balance.

TST: Aside from alignment what other swing “glitches” have you two worked on and continue to work on?

Matt: Alignment is something that every golfer struggles with from time to time, sometimes his posture gets off as well. We do a lot of work on making sure his downswing path is the same. Sometimes that gets off as well.

TST: Kenny loves to drag race and plays quick on the course. With that in mind I would think he is a fast-paced guy, yet his swing has good rhythm and isn’t rushed. What’s his speed like when you two work together? Does he take his time learning something or does he dive into it?

Matt: He definitely dives straight into it. He is usually extremely pumped up about a change that he thinks will benefit him. He is very positive and ready to get to work.

TST: Phil Michelson has Rick Smith to help his full swing and Dave Pelz to help his short game. Do you help with both his full swing and short game? What about putting? How much time is devoted to each area of his game?

Matt: As I said earlier I taught him a new chipping technique. I help him will all aspects of his game including putting. We spend equal time on just about everything, after the work is done a lot of times we will have competitive competitions around the green for extra practice, we have a lot of chipping contests. We usually pick a hole and play closest to the pin for 18 holes or see who can chip in first. I could beat him from time to time in the beginning but now he has put in quite a bit of practice he usually beats me.

TST: What about the mental aspect, do you help with the mind game or are you strictly his swing coach?

Matt: I wouldn’t say I help him with the mind game, he has a great mind for the game of golf. I try to reinforce positive thoughts and keep him motivated. If it is close to a tournament and he isn’t practicing I call him and convince him to come out and practice. I consider that to be my job too.

TST: Peter Jacobsen went through a swing change after his hip surgery and it looks as if Tiger has completed his. We’ve heard it takes players a year or more to complete a swing change. Have you and Kenny ever discussed or completed a swing change? Why?

Matt: We have discussed complete swing change a few times. He is concerned that his club goes across the line at the top. It has gradually gotten longer. he has been so successful that there is not a good enough reason to change it in my opinion, and he agrees.

TST: We hear a lot of discussion on the one plane swing vs. the two plane swing. What is your opinion of the two swings theories? What swing does Kenny have?

Matt: KP definitely has a two plane swing, I think that the theory has a lot of relevance in the game of golf, but both have been very successful for different players over the course of history.

TST: Kenny had a great 2005, finishing sixth on the money list, matching his career-best, winning twice, earning over $3 million and recently winning the Franklin Templeton Shootout with partner John Huston. What were some goals that you two made for this year? What are your expectations for next year and going forward?

Matt: We wanted some wins, and we got them. But they didn’t come without a lot of hard work. Kenny hit thousands of golf balls in preparation for those wins. We will probably spend a lot more time at the sites for the 2006 majors. I think playing and practicing at the courses before tournament week would help a lot more. We didn’t do this any last year and hopefully next year we will do better as Kenny would really like to win the British Open.

TST: Kenny’s 2005 stats were great and he was ranked first in Ball Striking by being second in Total Driving and third in Greens in Regulation (GIR). This is remarkable but he’s always been a fairly consistent player in these categories. Other than hard work and lots of range time, what specifically helps him keep consistent in these categories?

Matt: Kenny has the best feel of any person I have ever met, the relationship between his hands and the club are unbelievable. One reason he always ranks so high besides the consistency of his swing is because he plays one type of shot most the time, a draw. He knows where his ball is going that’s extremely important.

TST: Our own Dave Koster recently published an article correlating player’s stats with their finishing position and devised his 40-30-20-10 rule. How much do you or Kenny pay attention to his stats and how beneficial is this knowledge and has it added to his success this year?

Matt: I believe that is very accurate, I look at his stats after every event, I keep him up to date and I can tell where we need to spend more time. His stats are very important, we can also see how much progress we make each week. K.P. Has always attributed his success to his ball striking.

TST: Playing in his third Presidents Cup, Kenny defeated Mark Hensby 4 & 3 in the Sunday Singles this year. He took the lead at the third hole and never looked back. What preparations did you two make for the Presidents Cup? What goals and planning are in place for the Ryder Cup next year?

Matt: We worked on different shots, some fades not too much and kept grooving what we had been working on all year. Before an event like that we try to sharpen the skills, not re-invent the wheel.

TST: With all the advancements in equipment technology from movable weights in drivers to new ball designs, what equipment changes has Kenny made to further help his game excel? What are his feelings on changing equipment?

Matt: He changes only when he feels something better has came along or when something breaks. His driver broke this year so he had to put another one in play. He also changed from his Prototype RAC irons to the LT’s a few weeks before the Presidents Cup. He switches putters from time to time, mostly between the TaylorMade Monza Corza and an Odyssey Rossie 1. I think an equipment change is fine as long as it is done for the right reasons, you must be comfortable with your equipment and changing it every day wont allow you to be comfortable. I change quite often just for the enjoyment of tinkering with different technology

TST: So what equipment is in your bag?

Matt:I carry a TaylorMade r7 TP 9.5° driver with a Diamana shaft, a TaylorMade r7 TP 13° 3 wood with a Diamana shaft, a Rescue TP 16° with a Harrison prototype shaft, my irons are RAC TPs, my wedges a RAC Y-Cutter black wedges in 56° and 60° and my putter is a TaylorMade Monza Corza 33″, I like my arms to hang naturally.

TST: We’ve seen more and more players turning to fitness conditioning and personal trainers to help improve their games, what are you thoughts on this? How has Kenny reacted to this?

Matt: I think it is extremely important, golfers are athletes. Endurance is important as well as the strength to generate the clubhead speed. Kenny has never worked out, but I think next year he has someone that will help him with stretching.

TST: We notice more and more coaches are receiving sponsorships from manufacturers sponsoring their top player(s). What do you have in place with TaylorMade or any other companies?

Matt: I have a TaylorMade-Adidas contract. They provide me with everything, ball, shoes, gloves, hats clubs, clothing, and just about anything you can possibly think of. I really enjoy it because I believe TaylorMade is the best company on the market hands down, I have played TaylorMade products even before I had a contract. I am glad that I didn’t go with any other company.

TST: I hear you two are great with kids also, tell us more about this.

Matt: Kenny and I spend tons of time with the junior golfers in our area helping them develop their games. Kenny loves to help out the young golfers in our area. Country Creek will be holding a scramble this year to support and donate over $1000 to each golf team in our region and the scramble will give away tons of free TaylorMade golf clubs, as well as tour clubs autographed and donated by PGA Tour superstars.

TST: Finally, what’s one funny story you can share about Kenny and yourself?

Matt: Kenny and I have a pretty regular game that we play every time we go out. He and I are undefeated. We always play his son Justin (also one of my students, best friend, and member of WKU golf team) and Brent Long (a good friend and one of my students and a member of the WKU golf team). Almost every time Kenny has a break in his schedule we play them at KP’s golf course in our home town of Franklin, Kentucky. They are both very good golfers but always cave into the pressure that Kenny and I put on them. KP and I have a lot of fun trash talking these good golfers into losing. Kenny can talk anyone out of a shot in a fun but competitive atmosphere, but anything to mess him up goes unnoticed. The last time we played he talked his son and Brent out of three-foot putts on the last hole, only one of them would have had to make it to win, but they couldn’t handle the pressure!

Thanks, Matt Killen
Ha, now I know to wear ear plugs if I ever play these guys. Matt, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule for this interview and it has been a real privilege talking with you and I wish you all the best in your studies and career.

Find out more about Kenny Perry’s Country Creek Golf Course by visiting kpcountrycreek.com or to schedule your lesson with Matt Killen, you can e-mail Matt at Matt@KPCountryCreek.com or call him at (270) 586-9373.

Photo Credit: © AP.