LAHAINA, Hawaii – Kids say the darndest things. And they asked some pretty sharp questions of PGA Tour pro Max Homa on Monday afternoon at Kaanapali Resort’s driving range during a First Tee Junior Golf Kickoff.
Roughly 200 junior golfers, many from the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association, participated and had the chance to watch some of the top collegiate players in Hawaii hit shots – although none could hit an inflatable duck in the range – and hear past U.S. Open champion and University of Hawaii men’s golf coach Scott Simpson talk. Mark Rolfing, the Golf Channel commentator starting his 40thyear calling the action and Mr. Hawaii Golf, served as the emcee and announced that First Tee was moving to West Maui and would be an important part of the island’s recovery from the wildfires that raged in 2023. Then Homa, one of the players in the 60-man field, arrived and started working through his bag, offering tips on stance, alignment and aim.
“Nobody has more fun playing golf than Max Homa,” said Rolfing. “I think that’s what makes him such a good player. He just loves playing the game.”
In between shots, Homa began fielding an array of questions from the junior golfers in the crowd — and they brought the best out of one of the Tour’s best interview subjects. He explained that the Genesis Championship, played near his childhood hometown of Los Angeles at Riviera Country Club, is both his favorite tournament and course that he gets to play on the PGA Tour. Another youngster wanted to know how far Homa could send it.
“We care more about how far it carries because you know, if there’s sand, we want to know if we could fly over it, so somewhere around 300 yards, it’ll fly in the air, then depends how firm it is, how much it rolls,” Homa said.
Rolfing asked the crowd if they knew who’d hit the longest drive of 2024 on Tour, a 477-yard bash at the seventh hole at the Plantation Course during the Sentry in January. It was none other than Homa.
“I got very lucky, got a very firm bounce, a lot of firm bounces,” he said, breaking into a wide smile. “Yeah, it was just very lucky. I don’t hit it miles, like some of these guys, but it was 477 yards, so I do like to tell people I hit the ball that far. Sounds cool. I tell everybody it was uphill, into the wind, it was snowing. It rolled for a good probably 40 seconds, so I’ll take it.”
How many aces has Homa made? The answer was 10.
Do you think you’re going to win the Sentry?
“I do think I’m gonna win!” Homa said, which launched a round of applause for him. “I will do my absolute best, I promise you that.”
Then Rolfing piped up and asked, “What’s the most important thing you need to do to win this week?”
“I thought about that a lot on the flight over,” Homa said. “It’s a funny balance. Since the scores typically are so low, I think you tend to say make a lot of birdies, but I think that if you avoid any mistakes as best you can and minimize bogeys, there are a ton of birdies that are just gonna kind of fall in your lap, so I do kind of feel like if you can plod along, be patient, there’s about six or seven holes out on the golf course, where you have a very good chance of birdie or eagle, so I think just letting those come to you.”
Homa expects a winning score in the mid- to high-20-under-par range will be required, which isn’t usually in Homa’s wheelhouse but he’s up for the challenge.
“I’ve never shot 25 under (in any tournament) so I’d love for this week to be that week,” he said.
Next question: What age did you start playing golf?
“First time to golf I was two. My first tournament I played, I was six, but the way I answer this is when I was 11 was the day I remember I playted with two kids that were much better than me, and I was playing all kinds of sports – football, basketball, baseball, and they said all they did was golf, so, I remember I went to the car when my mom picked me up from a tournament and I told her about what these kids said and I asked her if she’d drive me to the golf course every day. I wanted to treat it like a job at that age, so I kind of say, you know, my golf life really began at 11 years old.”
Another great one from a kid of no more than 10: What inspires you?
“I’m addicted to getting better,” Homa replied. “For all you guys here, if I have one real piece of advice for life it would be to just find something you love and try to get better at it. I have it in a couple of areas. I’m a dad to a two-year-old and I’m addicted to becoming a better dad. I’m addicted to becoming a better husband and friend. When it comes to golf, I love having the opportunity to practice and get better. I think it makes me a better person and gives me a real purpose in life. That’s why I love this game. It’s impossible to perfect; I try my hardest and I haven’t even come close. So, it inspires me to wake up in the morning and go to the gym and go to the driving range and hit a lot of balls.”
His favorite golf club in the bag? It varies from day to day. “It’s the one that is working the best,” he said to great laughter. Often, it is his putter but sometimes that also is his least favorite club. He and caddie Joe Greiner talk about which club is Homa’s MVP. “Last year, 5-iron was very kind to us so we try to be kind back and talk nicely about it,” he said.
Perhaps my favorite question was the kid who challenged Homa to hit the duck. The six-time winner on the PGA Tour tried and failed with a punch 4-iron.
Another aspiring young golfer asked a question that nearly stumped Homa and made him think, which he loved. What’s his favorite golf tee to use? It produced an equally good answer.
“I like wooden tees. I don’t like plastic tees. I won’t hit with a plastic tee,” Homa began. “Oh my God, that’s such a good question. A few golf courses have specifically good tees. When you play on the European Tour, they have these Rolex tees. Maybe because Rolex makes you feel fancy, but I really like those. They don’t break very easily. I love those, and then there’s certain tees that have like a little gloss on them, and I think it’s just because they don’t break that I like those. That is the best question I’ve ever been asked.”
Last but not least, Homa was asked how important his caddie is to him, which was fitting since earlier in the day it had become known he had Michael Greller, Jordan Spieth’s regular caddie, subbing for his usual caddie, Joe Greiner.
“My caddie is very important to me. Unfortunately, he’s going through some stuff at home so he can’t be here and I’m very sad about it,” Homa said. “I’ve known him since I was six. I’m very lucky that I get to travel the world with one of my best friends. All these life experiences and my best memories are enhanced because they are with Joe. We’ve had some great moments together and we want to make some more. He helps me with my mental game, my golf game, and he just makes things fun. So, he means the world to me.”
“One last shot and we’re going to say, ‘Good luck, Max,’ ” Rolfing instructed the junior golfers.
“Hit the duck,” a kid’s voice from the audience implored.
Homa took the bait but he couldn’t hit the inflatable duck using a wedge this time. Save the shots for when they matter, Max, but thanks for treating all the aspiring junior golfers to your wit and wisdom.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: PGA Tour star Max Homa talks about his 477-yard drive
