Show Notes

• Attributes required to achieve excellence
• Growing up and playing golf in Sweden
• Overcoming fear
• Impact of early dominance on the sport
• The decision to become #1
• Shooting 59
• Competing in a PGA Tour event
• Pressure and expectations around being the best
• The ANNIKA Foundation
• Sharing golf with her family
• Tips to improve golf score

Connect With Annika Sörenstam

Website: http://www.annikafoundation.org/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annikas59
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ANNIKA59/

Summary

Annika Sörenstam is often regarded as the greatest female golfer of all time. During her 15-year career, Annika amassed over 90 worldwide victories, including 72 on the LPGA tour, and 11 Major Championships. Annika shares what it takes to achieve success at such a high level, and how to cut a few strokes off our golf score!

Full Transcript

Brian
Welcome to another episode of LifeExcellence with Brian Bartes. Join me as I talk with amazing athletes, entrepreneurs, authors, entertainers, and others who have achieved excellence in their chosen field so you can learn their tools, techniques and strategies for improving performance and achieving greater success.

Annika Sorenstam is often regarded as the greatest female golfer of all time. Born in Sweden, Annika moved to the US to play golf at the University of Arizona in 1990. After her sophomore year, Annika left school to pursue a professional golf career. During her 15 year career from 1993 to 2008 Annika rewrote the LPGA and Ladies European Tour record books, won countless awards and changed the way Women’s Golf was played, viewed, and covered. She amassed over 90 worldwide victories, including 72 on the LPGA Tour and 11 major championships. Annika was Rolex player of the year eight times and is the only female to break 60 in an official event, earning her the nickname Ms. 59. Annika still tops the LPGA’s all time money list. Perhaps most notably, Annika received worldwide media attention when she played in the 2003 Colonial Invitational, becoming the first woman to play in a PGA Tour event since 1945. In 2021, Annika made her first start since 2008 in an official LPGA tournament. Later that year, she captured the hearts of the golf world when she won the US Senior Women’s Open by eight shots. The accolades Annika has received through the years are far too numerous to mention, but include receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2021. She is the first female golfer and only the third female athlete to receive that honor. Annika focuses today on her family, on her Annika brand of businesses, and on the Annika Foundation which she created in 2007 to provide golf opportunities at the junior, collegiate and professional levels, while teaching young people the importance of living a healthy,, active lifestyle through fitness and nutrition. Welcome Annika, thanks for joining us on LifeExcellence.

Annika
Well, thank you very much. I really appreciate that introduction.

Brian
It’s great to have you. I could have talked the whole time about all your awards and accolades, but really wanted to invest the time getting to know you, but certainly our listeners and viewers can read the show notes and learn lots more about you. Annika, I’m a huge sports fan and when I think about athletes who have been called the greatest, I think about people like Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Serena Williams, and Michael Phelps, each of whom, of course, dominated their sport, I’m awe inspired by that level of performance, and your career is equally impressive. What are the attributes necessary to achieve excellence at such a high level and for such a lengthy period of time?

Annika
It’s a good question. I’m sure when you ask all the greatest of different sports, different industries, they will probably say a few things similar, but a few things different. I think what really worked for me is obviously enjoying what you’re doing, having fun, and being energized every day, being motivated. It’s a lot about discipline, working hard, being focused, learning how to set goals. I just have a passion for it, and passion to constantly be better. I always set goals and I wanted to improve and in golf we have lots of different aspects. It’s not just the technique or the physical aspect or the mental aspect, it’s how do you fade a ball? How do you hit a low chip? How do you work on your field around the greens? How do you create speed in the bunker? There are so many different elements of the game to work with all the time that I set goals in all these areas and just want it to be better. I took a lot of statistics, I analyzed my game very, very closely. For example, if I hit 14 greens one season, the next goal would be 14.1 green, so 14.2; I would always raise my own bar to improve and then figure out a practice for how to get there – strive – just getting better and better. Of course, I’m extremely, extremely competitive and love the challenge.

Brian
I love that description. Obviously, a lot of what you talked about, a lot of those attributes are things that we can all apply in our lives, even if we’re not professional golfers or elite athletes. Annika, you grew up in a tiny town outside Stockholm, Sweden and I know golf isn’t the most popular sport in Sweden. I’m not sure, but I think the weather in the winter is a lot like the weather here in Michigan, where I live, it’s very cold. How did you get introduced to golf? Tell us about growing up and playing golf in Sweden.

Annika
You’re right that the climate is very similar. First of all, I grew up playing all kinds of sports. I just loved sports. I played soccer, I competed in tennis for many years and, of course, as a Scandinavian, there’s always skiing. I did downhill skiing as well for several seasons. But it’s interesting, when you love what you do, you find ways to get it done. I was lucky, I grew up in my parents house where they have a big basement, like, a really big basement, and my dad, he bought a big net and a golf mat and I would hit shots, literally, every day after school; just pound ball after ball after ball into this net. That’s what I did during the winter. If you think of the season, I was forced more to work on my technique, because I really couldn’t see where the ball was going. I didn’t have any field because there was no grass. I couldn’t really work on my bunker shots, it was more, okay, let’s work on the swing. So I had several months where I was just grinding shots working on my technique, making sure my grip was right, making sure my alignment was right, my posture, my setup, all those things. I did that in the wintertime because that’s all I could [do] just work on shot after shot, lots of repeating. So when the snow melted and the golf courses started to open, I head out to the course and I really didn’t work on my swing because I’ve been working on it for several months. That’s when I started working on my short game, putting. It was great to start putting and feeling the grass and making a club going through the rough, even my lob wedge go through the sand; all those things were just great at that time. So you find ways to get better. Then when I made the national team, the Swedish national team, I was invited to go to warmer places during the winter time. So it was a few weeks here and there in Spain and Portugal and different places where we could play a little bit. That was obviously very motivating and exciting to be a part of that. So you figure ways out. Then I think another benefit of not being able to play all year round is the desire to play. It’s like I’m longing to play because if you can play every day, it’s like, okay, it’s a little cloudy out, a little rainy, I’m not going to go out. When you can’t play for that long your excitement of playing becomes stronger. So I think it helped me to really have an on season and an off-season.

Brian
Well, I think another thing I heard in that is you had the discipline during the winter months to practice technique. I know you’re very focused on the technical aspect of the game but I think some people, especially young kids, they want to get out there and they want to play on the golf course. They don’t necessarily want to practice chips in their basement or analyze their swing or do some of those technical things, some of the hard work that is equally important as getting out there and having fun and getting fresh air during the summer months.

Annika
That’s the thing, I think when you love a sport or love doing something, it’s just you just want to be around it. To me is I really didn’t get bored working on my swing. I felt like when I hit a good shot, I could see it, I could feel it, I could hear it. Then it was like, can I do it again? Just the constant, the repeating and doing it over and over again, I really didn’t mind that because it was either that or there was, well, there was no golf. So it beats the alternative. But I think it just obviously strengthened my swing, made it really consistent. You got to do what you got to do and I think that’s what I was able to do. Of course, when I was 19 I came over to the US and played on a college team at University of Arizona. That’s really when my game started to blossom even more.

Brian
We’ll definitely talk about Arizona and then the LPGA Tour, of course, when you left Arizona to go on the women’s tour. Backing up a little bit, as a child – I think your parents played golf and so it was a family sport – but at what point did either you or your parents or others around you realize or see that talent in you and start to appreciate the potential that you might have in the sport?

Annika
I think just talking to them, obviously, later in my career and looking back at my performances and my development curve. I think most of them would say that I was an average amateur growing up. I was athletic because I played different sports. But I think one thing that keeps coming back, is I was always interested of learning more, I wanted to know why. I kept asking the question why; why this? Why not that and why does it have to go this way? Or why can’t I do this and this, back and forth learning and being educated. They said I just had an interest, I was interested in learning more and understanding the game or the swing or why it had to be a certain way. I think, the early on stages, I was quite shy, I really didn’t make a lot of noise, let the golf clubs do the talking. They could see the competitive side. I’m competitive in anything I do; playing cards, so yeah, everything. I think they saw that. It wasn’t really until my later teens when I did get a chance to go to University of Arizona, when I did play in the national team, just having the opportunity to play more golf then and that just made me even more excited about it. I think that’s what people say, the desire to work…I think I’m known for my work ethic, I think I’m known for my persistence or dedication or focus, then together with just being a little stubborn and just pushing myself really hard.

Brian
You mentioned your shyness. Obviously, part of excellence is overcoming challenges, overcoming adversity, overcome overcoming obstacles, and we’ll talk a little bit about that throughout the show. But one obstacle you had to overcome as a young golfer was that shyness in front of others. The interesting part about that is it wasn’t at the tee box or on the green – which is where golfers like me, shy isn’t the right word, but just have anxiety, if there’s more than one person watching me tee off – for you, that wasn’t the case. You did have to overcome this shyness around making the winner’s speech after you won a tournament. Share with us what that was like for you; the drastic measures that you took to avoid being put in that situation and how you eventually overcame that fear.

Annika
As a young girl growing up in Sweden I knew early on that I was quite shy, I wouldn’t raise my hand in school to answer any questions that the teacher would have. On the team, I just did what I was supposed to do, I was a team player but I wasn’t the cheerleader. I’d rather be quiet and score the goal and let my skills be shown and not any other way. Matter of fact, growing up in Sweden and playing junior golf tournaments, they have little traditions that if you finish first you have to give a winning speech, even at the club level or just any district event, and I was terrified. I just wanted my clubs to do the talking, I didn’t feel like standing in front of other players and their families to say something. So I would actually miss a few shots on purpose coming down the stretch, knowing that I was playing well and I just didn’t want to end up saying something. It was like, a little extra chip here, I would leave it in the bunker or miss a putt on purpose and make sure that I finished second or third because if that’s the case, you still get a prize but I didn’t have to say anything. You can imagine, the competitor that I am, that we would sit in the car going home and my parents obviously wondered, what’s what’s wrong with our little girl, why is she crumbling down the stretch? In my mind I knew why. I knew exactly so, but my what my parents did is they called the next tournament that I played in, they called ahead of time and said we would love for Annika to say something if she finished second or third, just have her say something. You can imagine, I almost freaked out and said well, I didn’t win. They said well, we know it but we’d love to hear from you. My heart was just pumping like you wouldn’t believe, like a cartoon character, and sweaty palms, but my dad said why don’t you just take your seven iron up there on this little tiny podium and just hold the club and say something. I did and I survived luckily, and I realized that wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. After that I just told myself that you just got to, that’s the backside of the medal, that’s just part of performance. So I slowly got over that because it would eat me not to give my best, especially considering I spent hours and hours and hours practicing, and I knew I was better then I just literally threw it away. When I overcame that, that was a big deal. Early on in my career I would write under my hat messages that only I can see. One of them was to face the fear, which is, I believe, a lot of us have different fears in life. It doesn’t have to be in sport and so forth but just things that we feel uncomfortable with, and how to learn to process that and deal with that. That was one of the obstacles I had to go through early on.

Brian
Well, that’s a great lesson. It is interesting to me that you felt so comfortable at playing but the anxiety that you had was after the fact. I like that suggestion of just taking your seven iron up there. I’m sure that helped just a little bit until you overcame that through repetition. You mentioned moving over to the United States and going to school at the University of Arizona. It really seems like you took America by storm when you came over to the US. During your freshman year, as a college golfer, you were the first international student and the first freshman to win the individual NCAA division one championship. Then you turned pro after just two years in college and you were Rookie of the Year your first year in the LPGA and won two US opens before the age of 25. What impact did that early dominance have on the sport, first at the college level and then on the LPGA Tour?

Annika
It’s hard for me to talk about what other people, how they looked at me and how my performance was but there was no doubt that college golf was really good for my career. Hopefully, I helped to put Arizona on the golfing map. They, the team, had won the NCAA, I think the year prior I got there and they had another player on the team win individual as a junior, I believe. But yes it elevated the U of A golf women’s program, which was a good thing. I would say that the players on the team elevated me, that’s really why I got so much better. It’s just an amazing opportunity, first of all, for me to fly from Sweden, go to Tucson, what a place: great golf courses, great weather, what a program, be able to study and then play golf in the afternoons and then compete and represent the team. It was just really, really great in so many ways. I remember I couldn’t wait to get out there and practice; perfect conditions on the range and on the putting green. The condition was like things that I would see in Sweden in the summer and now I have that all year around. It inspired me to practice, inspired me to play well. Then they had the men’s team, we practiced a lot together. I grew up with my younger sister practicing with boys. So for me, that was like, great, I can practice with them. I just become a better player thanks to the opportunity, the resources, and also the challenges at U of A. Then, as you mentioned, I decided to turn professional two years after my sophomore year. One of the reasons was that I was an older freshman; I had studied to become a chemical engineer. When I came over to University of Arizona, a lot of the classes, the 101 classes or the 201 classes, I’ve already done, and I felt like I was just repeating it. Since I was not able to get credit for my previous education, I just said, it’s time for me to move on. I was just obviously thrilled [because] I’d actually watched an LPGA tournament in Tucson. That’s how I got really inspired that this is what I want to do one day. I stood there, because they played the course that was our home course, and it was totally relatable to see Betsy King and Pat Bradley, Nancy Lopez, Beth Daniel, you name it, Meg Mallon, all of them, play this course that I would practice on every day. So I was like, well, I would love to do this one day. I think that’s really what kick started my career. Then as you mentioned, winning the US Open in 1995 I was 24 at that time and it was such a confidence booster. I would say any professional or anybody that turns professional, you never know how you’re going to do, it’s very different to play college golf and national team golf but to go out there as an individual against the best in the world, you never know what’s going to happen. So winning a golf tournament just gave me the confidence that, first of all, I made the right choice and I belong out here, but then also, it’s like, well, I feel like I’m just a rookie, I feel like I have a lot more to learn. So knowing I can hopefully improve from there.

Brian
You strike me as a humble person and if you weren’t humble after what transpired in the years after winning the first two US opens, you were humbled a little bit, in that you continued to do very well, you were winning a lot of tournaments but you had a stretch of time where you were struggling with the majors. As you reflect back on that today, are there things that you think about? Or what was happening during that time? What caused that? Or is that just how things go in sports? Can you help us to understand that?

Annika
I think there’s always a reason. I’m a believer that things happen for a reason, I might not always know why especially not at the time that it is happening, or maybe not even afterwards. But I do think, like I said, I analyze things a lot when it comes to just my score, my fairways and greens and regulations, putts, where do I hit on the green, just that, to me, it was a very objective way to figure out my strengths and my weaknesses. I think another way as well, I know that my dad worked for IBM, and a few summers early, he would put me in computer school, or summer school, and I would sit inside and I would do programming and I did spreadsheets before – we didn’t have spreadsheets, we didn’t have Excel sheets and stuff – I created my own spreadsheet. So I’ve done the spreadsheets since I was 15 years old. At that time they were just maybe a little more basic, but they got a little bit more advanced. , Later on, I realized that I’d like to know a little bit more about [it] so I’ve done a lot of analytics for a long time. I’m wired that way and so I would look at these every single year and trying to figure out how I can get better. One thing I do think is what happened is I was starting to take things a little bit for granted, I started to think way too far ahead. An example in golf is the tournament starts on a Thursday and I’d be thinking about, okay, which side am I going to hold the trophy…which is you have to live in the present, more in the now. I think a lot of times I just got a little bit ahead of myself because I had the confidence, I was performing, and I felt good about my game, or maybe I love the golf course, all those factors played into that. I just really didn’t play golf in the present, I learned that. Also, I won US Open in 95, 96. In my mind, I’m like, I figured this one out. Then I go to 1997 and I missed the cut. Of course, that’s like you slam the door in your face. That’s when I realized that you might have done well, but this game is very humbling, and you got to take every tournament as it comes and hit one shot at a time and not take things for granted. Then I struggled a little bit with my short game, I worked a lot with my putting, made some technical adjustments. Putting is so much confidence and if you don’t have that it’s difficult. But I really was stubborn enough to get back on track. Also in 2000 I had been number one for a few years, then I ended up being fourth and I was not happy about that. So I went back and I analyzed everything and I said, what can I do differently? One of the things that I realized is that I really wasn’t practicing like a real athlete and by that…yes, I practiced all day long but it was only on the technical aspect of the golf part, just hitting balls and chipping and putting and all those things. I really didn’t do any workout, physical workout. Looking at other athletes just growing up, of course there’s that strength aspect of it, the cardiovascular aspect of it, the speed training, the agility, all those type of things and stretching and I said, I think I’m missing something here. In basic terms, I turned eight hours of practice into six hours and then took those two hours and I went into the gym early in the morning to just work a little bit of my cardio and then lift some weights and all kinds of stuff just to become stronger. Stronger with a little speed gives you a little power and you can hit the ball a little farther and all of a sudden, within like three months, I was just seeing some incredible results. Then by the end of 2000, beginning of 2001, I was number one in the world again and then I kept it. But those are the things that I, when you talk about lows and you talk about maybe not being at the top of your game, I would always go and analyze and figure out what do I need to do to change this? What needs to be better or where can I spend my time?

Brian
I appreciate you talking about the decision you made. I was going to ask you about that around that ’99, 2000 time frame where you started by just making the decision that you were going to become number one in the world again, and then analyzing it. I’m an analytical person, too so I have great appreciation for that. then doing what it took to climb your way back up to the top. Do you think that that analytical aspect of how you’re made, is that a common thread for elite athletes, for people who achieve at the level that you have, and some of the other people that I talked about earlier in the show? That they’re constantly, or maybe not constantly, but at least periodically, analyzing at a very deep level what’s causing performance, whether it’s great performance or less than desired performance and then figure out what it takes to to make those adjustments?

Annika
I think the answer to that is, yes, but I think it’s done in different ways. I think if you look at a person, our strengths are x, y, and z; it’s all about putting a good team together that can complement you with what you’re missing. I think it’s hard to do able to do everything. My strength was just the analytic part of it, but when I worked with my coach he would get out there and he would say, okay, Annika, let’s work on our field, let’s be a little bit creative. Because I could have a tendency to just go like this, feeling comfortable in the surroundings or what I was practicing, so he would throw in, okay, try this shot, try this one – a little bit more, I wouldn’t say erratic, but it was like, out of the blue, just different types of shots. I know players that are more like that; they need help with the structural part, more the discipline and organization and maybe the analytics. So I think we all, to reach our full potential in anything we obviously have to have lots of different skills but I think you also need to be able to manage your weaknesses and spend time on that. I think people that are successful – I’ve admired lots of people, not just in sports, but just in general – how do they get to where they are? I think a lot of it is to just complement with other resources that they don’t have to make it a complete package. In my case, the analytics I have, but I know other golfers that have done really well, they don’t have the analytic aspect of it, but they have the other parts that I don’t. The end of the day, all those things have to be covered somehow, one way or another, whether it’s you or your team, your coach, or your parent, or whatever, I think we complement each other to be able to reach those goals.

Brian
I think that’s really well said. So it’s identifying and being aware of your own strengths then surrounding yourself with people who can complement that, who bring other strengths to the table that are needed to be successful. Annika, as I prepped for the show, I was just absolutely blown away as I read and thought about your accomplishments. I had some awareness of that prior to prepping for the show, but have a much greater appreciation now. You shot 59 in one tournament – and I’ve shot 59, but then I had about six or seven more holes to play. [Laughter.] You competed in a PGA Tour event – for our listeners and viewers who aren’t familiar with golf, that’s the men’s golf tour – it wasn’t the first time that a woman had competed in a men’s event, but I think you were the first woman in 58 years to do so. Your dominance on the tour was unparalleled and I was just blown away by this again. Between 2001 and 2006 – if I’m right about this, and correct me if I’m not – you played in 124 LPGA events and won 46 of them – I did them math, that’s 37% – so what that means is that for every three tournaments you played, you won one, which for anybody who’s familiar with pro golf; that’s amazing. You don’t need to win a lot of tournaments to be successful to have a pro golf career but that’s just astounding. It’s crazy. I think most people have a hard time imagining that level of performance. Tell us about the pressure and the expectations around being the absolute best and how you navigated through that.

Annika
Well, thanks for sharing those numbers. I think you’re pretty close. Obviously, when I hear that, I’m like, wow, how did I do that, I have to pinch myself. A few things to look back at my career, we mentioned the US Open and I won that in 1995; I was 24. I remember flying home with a trophy – and we didn’t have the social media, or anything that we obviously do today – but I remember I had so many messages on my home phone number, I was just blown away by the coverage and the support and the love and inquiries, everyone that reached out was tremendous. Shy, little me, obviously, that was hard to deal with, I just didn’t know how to handle it. I know how to handle a seven iron, I know how to handle making a putt, but to handle all of that was just…it took me by surprise or shock, just put me back a little bit. Knowing that I love the game, I knew earlier in my career that I had just reached the beginning of it. But I do remember, I was supposed to play a tournament in New York the following week of my win at the US Open and I got home and I was exhausted. I called and I actually withdrew from the tournament. Less than five minutes goes by and I get a call from the commissioner, Charlie Meacham, who wanted to speak to me that this is not the protocol. Now you are the face of the LPGA and we need you to be there, we’ve got all the media lined up. And just by the sound of it, I said, there’s no way I can come and play, I’ve always been a personal performer, if I don’t feel like I’m ready to play, I’m not as we’ve discussed. I’m not here to be some show pony, right? I’m more of a performance type player. So I convinced him, hopefully politely, because I remember I told him, I said, Charlie, with all due respect, I’m here for the long term so if you give me a chance, I promise you that I will be able to take this role. Because what happened is, when I won this tournament, everybody wanted me to be like Nancy Lopez. If you follow golf, Nancy is just…she’s a super woman, a lovely woman, character. She was the face at that time and she was great, but she was on her way, she had her prime, and they were looking for a new person to interface with LPGA. Now all of a sudden here is this 24 year old winning it. I just didn’t feel comfortable. But to answer your question about the pressure, I felt the pressure to be somebody that I wasn’t. I have a different personality than Nancy and a different background, everything very different. But I think what happened throughout the next few years, and also playing with the men in 2003, is that I learned that it was okay to be me. I learned that what I had was enough. The way I approached things, my mindset and the way I interacted with players or fans, it was okay to be me. I think that when I realized that it was okay to be me, that I was good enough to put the LPGA on the map the way I was and in an authentic way, I felt a lot more comfortable. I didn’t feel the pressure of trying to be somebody that I wasn’t, that it was difficult to fill somebody else’s shoes. That took a lot of pressure off me. But other than performance pressure, I was so driven and I set goals and I just worked so hard on them. To me, it was like it wasn’t so much just about the destination, it was a journey; just keep going and okay, I did this, okay, perfect, I’m at this station, I’m going to go to the next station and then I go the next station. I just keep moving forward. I very seldom looked back because I always felt like I’ve got to move forward because that’s the direction I’m going. So focus on just the process of getting better not so much about wow, this was great to win a tournament and thought [sic] that that was the end all. On the contrary, [it] was like, well, that was great to win this tournament but I haven’t reached my peak, I know I can do better. So I think that the working process or the journey of getting better was is what drove me. I never really sat back and felt the pressure of having to perform because I knew where I was going, if that makes any sense. Of course, there are times when I come [sic] into a tournament and I’d be the favorite and get off to a not so solid start and then the chatter will start; oh, she’s lost her form, or she’s just dazed so there’s something wrong. Then you start looking at it and it’s like, okay, all these exterior comments have nothing to do with what I’m feeling inside. I’m sure we’ll come to this later but that was one of the reasons why I stopped playing; it comes to the point where you just don’t have that motivation anymore.

Brian
Well, all of those external factors that you started to talk about at the end, it seems like those are bigger today than ever before. When you think about how women’s golf especially, but I think golf in general – or maybe sports in general – in the 1990s versus today, it just seems like everything is so much bigger today. Like it’s blown up; there’s more media, there’s more social media, so everybody’s in the media, and so much external pressure. I hear you describe how you navigated through your career and it seems almost casual, so matter of fact, gliding through all of those external components, which can really, I think, get in the way. By the way, this isn’t unique to sports, it’s true in entertainment and in lots of other areas and we can talk about specific people who haven’t been able to navigate through that in the same way that you have. Is it different today – let’s just talk about women’s golf or women’s sports – than than it was even ten years ago, 20 years ago?

Annika
There’s no doubt that the landscape is different today with technology and the way things have been covered and viewed and in the way the power that individuals have on the stories that go out there. Their own narrative through social media posts, we do have more power today. But I think you all can also go from being more scrutinized. But having said that, when in my prime or in my era, it was different than when Nancy Lopez was there. I would say it’s from generation to generation, and what we have today is going to be different than when our kids are in their prime, so to speak. So, I think you just have to learn with what you have today and what’s out there. I remember doing interviews and you sat there and you talked and then the journalist wrote down what they heard or thought or interpreted, and then [wrote] their story. And it was like, okay, it was already out, it was printed, and you couldn’t do anything about it. Today, we use our social channels in totally different ways. We decide what we want to put under our profile, we decide what content we want to post, we decide how the photos should look and when they should be posted and who should be included. So I think you can direct it a lot more internally, before it gets out there. Then people pick it up and they take it in different directions. But I love that, that we have the power to do that because if I’m making an announcement, it will come from me first and then you include people. But again, with that access, and with that quick response and so forth, there is obviously some negativity about that, too. So I would say that it’s different today, no doubt about it, but you learn how to navigate that. You have to be professional, you have to be cautious, you have to find that right balance. There is such a fine balance where people want you to to be personal, and you can’t really be private, right? Then you want to share this and then you want to share that. Everybody needs to feel comfortable, what conversation they’re engaging in. Once you engage in something, I think you need to play according to the rules and be part of it. I think a lot of athletes today, they use their platform because they have the power to really get engaged and make a difference but sometimes many of them step into a conversation they don’t feel comfortable and then they backtrack. Then it just becomes…you feel pressure from the outside, that maybe you really didn’t think and it could be very…you regret it. But that’s the power that it has. When you step in, it could be too late, right? So I think you really have to think cautiously and be prepared before you do that. When it comes to other athletes also, the technology that we have nowadays and the knowledge and the resources…I just look at – again, not to date me too much – when I started to play as a junior girl, they were no junior girls clubs, there were definitely no women’s clubs. We had no women golf gear; I was using extra small men shirts, extra small men’s shorts, gloves was [sic] for men, hats for men. I had a smaller head so the hats were always so big, I have [sic] to twist it at the back. So technology has changed, equipment has changed. It’s a big answer to your question as far as pressure and performance nowadays; it’s the money is higher, there are more eyes on you and expectations, of course, but it’s also a game that you play. You’re part of it and you can choose a little bit, that’s an important aspect of it, and hopefully have people around you that can guide you and manage you in a loving way that’s beneficial for you. Because it has to be authentic; we see a lot of that where it’s not – they try to be somebody they’re not and then it just doesn’t work out.

Brian
I love your perspective. I think we can all learn a lot from how you’ve navigated, not only through your career, but also through your life. Annika, you’ve achieved so much in your life, you’ve dominated your sport, you’ve received a number of awards and accolades throughout your life. You’ve successfully navigated from professional golfer to entrepreneur and the Annika Foundation has made a tremendous impact on the world. As you reflect on your career and on your life, what are you most proud of?

Annika
First of all, I’m super thankful to be where I am today. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for golf. So obviously, the team that’s put me on this journey, I’m forever grateful for. I have some milestones in my career that has [sic] taken me to where I am today. But I tell a lot of people, it’s not been a straight journey, for sure, it’s like an S curve, it’s always you make a turn left and then it takes you right and then you meet somebody, and it goes this way. It’s not this constant, straight up like that, success; we have some bumps. I think that’s just part of the journey, we learn from our mistakes. I would say, from a golf perspective, I’m very proud of what I’ve done. I think that the World Golf Hall of Fame summarizes my career with the performances on the LPGA, but also around the world, and to be recognized in that elite group of players that have been trailblazers and legends in their own way, I would say that I’m super proud of that. I’ve always worked hard on being an ambassador for the game, sportsmanship and doing it the right way [have] been the core of my philosophy. It’s important to represent the sport you’re in, in a good way and I would say that looking back on my career, I can feel good about that. The Foundation was formed because I wanted to say thank you to the game of golf, to give back to the game to make it a better place – especially for young girls – tomorrow than it is today by providing playing opportunities around the world. It’s been 15 years now, we have seven global tournaments, we have more than 600 every year that play in our events and in these tournaments. We have representation from a total of 60 to 70 countries combined, whether we talk about the tournament in New Zealand, tournaments in China and North America, but also South America and Argentina and in Europe. I think that that’s really important; we’ve been able to give back $8 million to junior girls golf and we continue, hopefully, to inspire the next generations in different scholarships or just recognition with the Annika Award presented by Stifel. That’s where I get my passion from, is to give back and mentor these young girls. So I would say that that’s another thing that I’m super excited and proud of, when you mentioned what are some of those achievements. I would say the Foundation but also when you step away – I got married in 2009 and we, my husband, Mike and I, we have two kids – I tell everybody, they are my grand slam of life, they are my walking trophies and it’s just like an accomplishment that I’m just…they warm my heart every day and that family comes first. So I’ve been very lucky, I go from having golf to be just for fun as a junior and then I make it a profession, and then when I step away, I can now be more of a philanthropist when it comes to golf, but then having the personal life that I do with my life partner, Mike, it’s cool. It’s really cool. I feel very lucky.

Brian
Well, you’ve become a real ambassador for the sport and I appreciate that about you. I know there are hundreds, and probably thousands, of people who have been personally affected, personally impacted by you through your, I’ll call it, ambassadorship, whether it’s through your Foundation through appearances or just ways that you’ve continued to be involved with the sport. So I appreciate that. In 2021, a couple years ago, you returned to the tour after a little bit of a hiatus, a 13 year hiatus. You had turned 50 and you became eligible for the US Senior Women’s Open. I doubt your return was about earning more money or winning another trophy. What drove you to compete again?

Annika
Well, a few reasons. First of all, like you said, it’s been a few years since I really focused on my game. I needed that distance to get away from my career and pursue the other dreams and just adventures -that was important to me. COVID hit and it [sic] was not a lot of things we could do. Living here in Florida, we were able to go outside and hang out and golf was one of the activities we could do together, as well as pickleball. Our son got really into golf, he just wanted to play every day and so I worked out with him and it was just pretty neat to be out there with him and spend more time. Then I would practice and I was like, well, maybe I need to work a little bit more on my game, it’s a little rusty. Then knowing I was turning 50, I said, maybe I have a responsibility to get back to the sport by playing in these events, especially the US Women’s Open that the USGA put together. As we mentioned, the USGA was where my career kick started. So I decided to play and then I needed to practice of course, and that’s how it came about. In 2021, I played six events. In ‘22, I played nine events. Here in ‘23, I’m at two events so far; I’m not going to play as many. It’s a tougher task at this age and also in this chapter in my life. The hard part is I’m still competitive and I know what a good shot is supposed to look like and feel like and it’s just not there as much, not as consistently as it was. It can be frustrating knowing what it’s supposed to look like. Certainly, I’m still having fun. Our son is still really into it. I spend a lot of time with him, I work with him and I just love the bond that we have together on the golf course. That’s why I keep playing this wonderful game. So, we’ll see. I really wasn’t planning on coming back at all. As you mentioned, it’s not about the money or the winning something, it’s more about having the motivation and enjoyment of the game and can you go out there. I think I have a different appreciation of the game today because I am where I am. I know what it took to be there and again, it’s a game where you always feel like you can improve and work on something and get better.

Brian
You mentioned your children. You have two children, Ava and Will, and I remember seeing footage of you at the US Senior Open walking down the 18th fairway and your husband Mike was on the bag. He was your caddie and Ava and Will came up and you won that tournament and they got to see you win. I have four children and I’m very intentional about talking about success, talking about excellence, instilling life lessons in our children. What lessons do you hope that you’ve been instilled in Ava and Will, and frankly in other children, who have seen you through the years through your achievements in golf?

Annika
A few things. First of all, finding something you enjoy, having a passion for whatever it is – a hobby or whatever you enjoy – I think it’s important to feel like you wake up in the morning and you have something really fun to look forward to and also having that purpose, feeling purposeful of whatever it is that you like. I wanted my kids to see me in real life because Will said, I’ve seen you on YouTube. [Laughter.] to see me out there walking in the fairway, for them to see what it takes behind the scenes. It’s not just those four days or six days of being at that tournament, the preparation for it, but it’s the months prior: the daily grind, the discipline, the focus, and the dedication to go out there and work on something, to have that goal, to have that purpose and work towards something. Because I’ve told them many times, the things that we want are the ones that are hard to get. That’s really what it takes; it takes that commitment and that hunger and then put in the time to get it. I always tell them you get what you put in. I want them to see what it meant for me to come back and do that. It wasn’t just okay, I woke up and we had a cup of coffee and I said, well, let’s play in the US Open again. This is a planned effort. It was an organized event that took place months prior and I want them to see that. Then also, when that happened, you never know if you’re going to get the results or not. I was fortunate to win that tournament and it was fantastic, but I shared it with them. I think that was even more meaningful than my prior wins, just to be able…because they’ve seen me; I will drop Will off at school and then I will go practice and pick him up, then I will go out again with Will and put in those hours so they could feel that this was important to me. I could feel how they felt like it was part of them because we made a little pact; I said, I’m not going to play this for me, I’m playing it for you. I already won the US Open but I want to play it for you. So it was a team effort because obviously the sacrifices…sometimes they went out there with me and we went to places that I played and they came with me and so it was a team effort. So I think to share the joy and all the hard work but also the satisfaction and the reward; for them to feel the reward of what you put in, I think it’s really important.

Brian
I think it’s great that they’re able to have all that footage on YouTube and other places to be able to see you back then as a younger golfer, but also today to witness that firsthand. Annika, I can’t let you go without asking one question about how to improve my golf game. What tips do you have for somebody like me who enjoys the game but really wants to cut about 18 strokes off my golf score?

Annika
18…I’m not sure what your time frame is…

Brian
Just one stroke a hole that’s…[Laughter.]

Annika
I hope you’re starting with a handicap of 100, that’s going to be a lot easier. It’s the million dollar question. A lot of people spend time on their long game, which I think it’s important, but a lot of players who are starting out, it’s around the greens where they can shave a lot of shots. Avoid chip, chip, three putts. Get it on the green, then work on the speed more than the line. That’s one of the things and you can easily get rid of three putts by having the right speed. Then the other one is hit the clubs and the shots that you feel comfortable with. A lot of people go out there and they try to hit the hero shots with clubs that they don’t feel comfortable with or never hit before. So I tell people just play the basics; when you chip, don’t try to hit that super high flop shot if you never hit it, it’s okay to keep the ball low on the ground, the sooner the better. For many beginners that will save some shots. I’m not sure about 18, but it will save you a few for sure.

Brian
That’s very good advice and I appreciate that. Finally, Annika, what would you like people to know about you that they might not learn from reading your website or from reading an article in a magazine?

Annika
That’s a good question. I don’t know…I’m a person that is very loyal, a very honest person. I have a small knit of friends but those are like family. I’m a person of my word. I’m also, like you mentioned earlier [about] all my victories etc. but I’m quite a normal person too – I take my kids to school, I go to the grocery store, I clean, I vacuum the car – I’m just like any normal mother you would find at home that’s always working and going. I’m quite disciplined and keep very active and I enjoy entertaining. I like to cook and have friends over and we like to have a good time trying to cherish the moment with family and friends.

Brian
Sounds like a wonderful life.

Annika
Thank you.

Brian
Annika, thanks for joining us today. It’s been wonderful getting to know you and it’s been a pleasure having you on the show.

Annika
Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

Brian
Thanks for tuning in to LifeExcellence. Please support the show by subscribing, sharing it with others, posting about today’s show with Annika Sorenstam on social media, and leaving a rating and review. You can learn more about me at BrianBartes.com. Until next time, dream big dreams and make each day your masterpiece.