Road to the World Am, Episode 5: Jaime Costanzo

This year, the Myrtle Beach World Amateur is following three golfers as they pair up with top golf instructors from across the country to improve their game leading up to the event. We check in with Jaime Costanzo, from New Jersey, to see how her lessons are going with Michael Breed, famed swing coach and owner of the Michael Breed Golf Academy in The Bronx, New York. Watch as we follow Jaime through her process of preparing for the World Am.

Michael Breed:
Now, let me tell you who is becoming a machine, my next guest, Jaime Costanzo. She’s playing in the Myrtle Beach World Am, and has become my latest pupil. J, Good Morning. How are you?

Jaime Costanzo:
Good morning. How are you, Michael?

Michael Breed:
I’ve got to tell you guys, everybody listen to this, when Jamie showed up on the practice tee … I love people that are enthusiastic. I was so impressed with her enthusiasm and her general excitement for the game of golf and her love of playing and competing. And when she walked out onto that practice tee and I looked at her, I went, “Oh, this is going to be a lot of fun.” Tell me about the practice. How’s this coming along? We’re working on a couple of things to try and get this golf ball to behave. How’s it going?

Jaime Costanzo:
Yeah, so I’ve been working on it a lot with the squaring up the face and, and putting that, you know, face up at my target line and just, you know, hitting down on the ball and coming around, doing my around, and I’m not hitting the tee. Like you said. Not hit the tee.

Michael Breed:
That’s right.

Jaime Costanzo:
Do not hit the tee.

Michael Breed:
Okay. And, how we doing?

Jaime Costanzo:
I’m getting great results. Played in the tournament on Saturday, and I came in third place [crosstalk 00:01:45]

Michael Breed:
That a girl. That a girl.

Jaime Costanzo:
So I did good.

Michael Breed:
I want to hear that. That’s great. Ah, it’s great. So listen, so now, we’re going to get together here soon. I want to know as you have thought about what you want to improve upon, and you look at this game of golf and you go, okay, in order for me to be successful, right? You finished third in your event that you just played in, which is wonderful, but at the same time, like all tour professionals who didn’t win their event, they look at this and they go, “Okay, what could I have improved on? Do I need to chip and putt it a little bit better? Is my bunker place struggling a bit? Or am I not a successful in my decision-making on the golf course?”

As you go through what you think could have helped you win your last tournament, what are some of the things that you would like to try to work on as we go forward in preparing you for the Myrtle Beach World Am?

Jaime Costanzo:
I would have to say tight lines with my woods. I had a hard time picking them off the fairway clean and getting them in the air, so that would probably be my next journey with you.

Michael Breed:
Okay. So we’re gonna work on some tight lines with the fairway woods. So those are longer shots, and as you go through that, we also then have to examine too, the clubs that you have in your bag, right? Are the woods that you have in your bag conducive to you being able to do that? Are they the right length, are they the right loft? Et cetera.

Jaime Costanzo:
Okay.

Michael Breed:
How’s my update? I can’t wait for the update.

Jaime Costanzo:
All right, so I haven’t hit one wood.

Michael Breed:
Not yet.

Jaime Costanzo:
No.

Michael Breed:
So you’re playing without a wood [crosstalk 00:03:50].

Jaime Costanzo:
[crosstalk 00:03:53].

Michael Breed:
Have you played?

Jaime Costanzo:
Yeah. A lot.

Michael Breed:
And?

Jaime Costanzo:
A lot. My handicap went down.

Michael Breed:
Without a wood.

Jaime Costanzo:
Without a wood.

Michael Breed:
Okay, that’s pretty good.

Jaime Costanzo:
Right. So I’m using all irons. So I figured if I can’t hit a wood off the deck yet, then I’m hitting five-iron and I’m a wedge in. So I’m like, “What do I need a wood for?”

Michael Breed:
Okay, so eventually the wood’s going to eliminate the wedge.

Jaime Costanzo:
Yeah.

Michael Breed:
Okay, we’re going to have a choice. Here’s the choice. You’re going to stand over this, and you’re going to go, “I can hit this or I can’t hit this.” That’s in your head.

Jaime Costanzo:
Okay.

Michael Breed:
I can or I can’t. Now, the fun part is, is you’re the only one that can put that stuff in your head. There’s nobody else in the world that can put it in your head. So my question to you is, “Which one do you want in your head?”

Jaime Costanzo:
I want, I can hit it.

Michael Breed:
Okay. Now who controls that?

Jaime Costanzo:
Me.

Michael Breed:
Okay. So if you control it, then all you have to do is put it in there. Okay?

Okay, now this one I want you to hit this as hard as you can. I don’t care where it goes. I just want you to hit it as hard as you can. You have to permission to hit this sideways, so just …

That a girl.

Speaker 3:
Then when she called in on the radio show, you had asked you if she ever been fitted for them.

Michael Breed:
Yeah.

Speaker 3:
Tell me a little bit about what you saw.

Michael Breed:
So what happens with a lot of players is they don’t pay attention to the equipment that they have. They just buy it, and they don’t get fit for it. And what Jaime did, what she had two different three woods. One’s a stronger lofted three wood, one’s a 16-degree three wood, and so what we did was, we checked the weights of the clubs.

One shaft is a little bit heavier, and as a result the overall weight of that club was about 25 grams heavier. The swing weight was also a lot heavier. So one swing weight is right around C8 or C9, and the other one’s right around D1 to D2.

So what we’re doing is we’re trying to get similar clubs in the bag, so that each wood feels somewhat similar and responds somewhat similarly. Well, the extra three wood she had, the stronger lofted three wood that she had, was totally different, and so what we’re not going to do is put a club in her hands that feels so different, and she’s got a negative thought with it. We’re going to take it out, start to let her know, “Hey, this is this, this is this. These are similar.” Now she can have some faith and confidence in what she’s doing. That’s pretty much what was going on.

Jaime Costanzo:
He’s amazing. Let me tell you, he’s so positive and he has you putting good thoughts in your head while you’re doing this, when you think you can’t hit something. By him weighing those clubs and making a determination of what weight works for me, was a good way to cut off what club I should not have in my bag. So now I’m past that. That club’s coming out of my bag and I can move forward.

So now I have a different three wood that has a little bit of loft to it. It’s a little lighter, and I’m able to swing that one a lot better. So I’m not focusing I guess on the World Am at this point. It’s always in the back of my head, and I always look forward to August, but I think right now is my focus is getting back home and practicing what I just learned today.

So he worked with me on some short game with my 56 and a 52, and we’re determining the distance to the pin on the green and the rollout with each club, and knowing how far they’re going to go. And again, every green is going to be different, and down at the World Am, down in Myrtle, those greens are always different than the Northeast here. So, everything always has to be practiced in that portion. But now I know what to practice, where I never knew before.

I’ll see you in Myrtle Beach!