Q&A with PGA Tour hopeful Matthew Lombardo
There are certainly no shortage of guys hoping to make their way on to the PGA Tour. But I believe few have as an interesting back story as Matthew Lombardo. I recently "met" Matthew through Twitter and was instantly intrigued with his background and journey thus far in the golf world. Originally from Cambridge, Massachusetts Matthew did a brief college stay in Miami before turning professional and moving to Orlando to try and earn his Tour card. While in Orlando, opposite playing golf, he showed off his acting chops on the show "Sea Quest & Second Noah". He later went on to appear in the movies "Duplicity" and "The Taking of Pelham 123". Matthew has also launched several golf related businesses, including opening a high-end golf teaching facility in the Empire State Building, as well as helped the golf swings of celebrities like Jon Lovitz, Penny Hardaway, and Paul Giamatti, to name just a few.
When did you realize that becoming a professional golfer is what you wanted to do with your life?
M. Lombardo: Probably around the age of 10. That's when I figured out I could probably make a living playing golf. At the time I would go to the golf course every morning and bring a dollar with me as I was playing golf with around 30 of my grandfathers friends. You needed a dollar to enter the best ball game they would play everyday. It was so much fun for me and I would win some money every once and awhile. As I got better I started to win more and more and was really liking this whole set-up until they kicked me out after shooting a 4 under for 9 holes one day. They really put a damper in my bankroll at the time.
You've said that you have never felt better about your game than you do right now. What about the way you are playing makes you say that?
M. Lombardo: It's definetly the focus I have right now. My all around game has always been very solid and I'm a super positive person but I would sometimes lack the desire and focus inside. I would get bored sometimes on the golf course and my mind would be somewhere else when I was hitting shots. That's never a good thing!
What were some of the things you did to help fix that mental side of your game?
M. Lombardo: There were really 2 things that helped me improve the mental side of my game. The most important was developing a better practice session. It allowed me to cut my practice time down by half and saved me alot of energy both mentally and physically and kept me fresh on the golf course. The other was incorporating a better diet while I was on the course. I found myself towards the end of my rounds getting very sluglish and tired. That was causing me to make some wrong choices on the course and some lazy swings to go along with it. I make sure now to stay very hydrated and have healthy snacks throughout the round especially at the turn to kept my mental focus.
What are your major goals for 2010?
M. Lombardo: My biggest goal of the year by far is to obtain my PGA Tour card for 2011. I have a great chance of geting my card at Q-School in the fall but if I can get into a few events before hand I believe I can play my way on the Tour without having to attend the "Fall Classic" as they call it.
How did you get bitten by the acting bug?
M. Lombardo: It's really something I always wanted to due since I was little. I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time and that seems like how it tends to work in that type of business. Although I have done a variety of projects with the likes of Denzel, Travolta and Julia Roberts, I have yet to reach my main goal when it comes to acting and that is to be made into a action figure. Yes, that would be my pinnacle! That's when you know you have reached the top to me.
After a brief college stay at Miami, you decided to turn pro and moved to Orlando and were surrounded by guys like Chris DiMarco and Jason Bohn. What kinds of things did you learn from being around them?
M. Lombardo: One of the most important things I learned was how to structure my practice to fit my game better. It's not just about hitting thousands of golf balls on the range with a driver until your hands bleed. It's about evaluating your strengths and weeknesses and building a solid program to ensure quality practice sessions to improve your game. It's Quality over Quantity. I since then spend about 80% of my practice sessions to everything inside of 100 yards. My practice sessions all simulate on course situations and it's really helped me improve my game and focus on the course.
I know you have a pretty full schedule of events for this year. Some you are definitely playing in and some others where you are hoping for exemptions or Monday qualifiers. What are some upcoming events that we'll definitely get to see you in?
M. Lombardo: You can look for me at the Q-School for the Canadian Tour in either March or May. Having the chance to play on such an established tour provides a great gateway for better things. A few other events will be the Virginia State Open, Met Open in NY, Vermont Open & Goshlings Invitational in Bermuda at the end of the year to name a few events.
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Throughout the season we'll be checking in with Matthew to see how his progress is coming along, as well as his quest for that coveted action figure!
For more on Matthew Lombardo, visit his website at: http://www.matthewlombardogolf.com or follow him on Twitter at @MLombardoGolf
