CHASKA, Minnesota – Bobby Massa is a 36-year-old performance coach from Dallas, husband and father of a 14-month-old with another on the way.
Oh, and he smashes golf balls.
“The guy gives absolutely everything,” said fellow amateur Andrew von Lossow, who played a practice round with Massa last weekend before the 124th US Amateur.
You could say Massa practices what he preaches. At home at Sanders Fit, a performance center owned by former NBA player Melvin Sanders, Massa teaches his clients how to hit the ball far. Everyone from weekend golfers to professional athletes will be helped by Massa to activate their fast-twitch muscle fibers so they can try to swing the ball like Massa, who currently glides along at a fast swing speed of 205 km/h and ball speeds of up to 305 km/h.
On Wednesday, Duke’s Luke Sample was given VIP access to the tee at Hazeltine National – and Massa’s length finally wore down the amateur, who is ranked 73rd in the world. Massa, who is ranked 2,969th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, avenged his U.S. Amateur debut last year, when he missed the cut by one stroke at Cherry Hills, by not only qualifying for match play but defeating Sample 2 and 1 in the round of 64.
“I just love match play,” said Massa, who was 1 down after four holes before winning five in a row. “And since I can hit as far as these guys, if I play well I should be able to compete.”
Massa started playing golf at a young age, as he was late maturing and always trying to get the most out of his body. He played college golf for Texas-Arlington before graduating and turning professional in 2010. But just five years later, he gave up the game, developed the swing yips, and was too embarrassed to play even occasionally with his friends.
“I couldn’t get under 90 to save my life,” Massa said. “It was a disaster, to say the least. There were a lot of attempts where I couldn’t finish because I ran out of golf balls. I’ve hit some big foul balls in my life. 150 yards offline was a piece of cake back then.”
Shortly before he ended his playing career, Massa began teaching. He devoted himself to this activity full-time and the business quickly flourished.
“The way the game is going and everyone wants to keep hitting, everything worked out in my job,” said Massa.
The lessons eventually rekindled Massa’s passion for the sport. He began studying the golf swing and spending more time practicing his own game. He regained his amateur status in 2019, broke through with his swing a year later, and played his first tournament in about half a decade a year after that.
“I love competition,” Massa said, “and I wanted to hopefully get back to where I could play again and just enjoy the process. … My confidence started to grow and my misses became less and less frequent.”
In 2022, Massa finished second at the Texas State Amateur, losing in a playoff. Later that year, he qualified for his first U.S. Mid-Amateur and reached the quarterfinals of that championship last year, while also qualifying for the PGA Tour’s AT&T Byron Nelson on Monday.
He is one of five mid-amateurs to make match play at Hazeltine. That group also includes 39-year-old Jimmy Ellis, the first mid-amateur medalist at the U.S. Amateurs in 11 years.
Massa’s opponent in the round of 32 is TK Chantananuwat, a Stanford University future student who recently entered college. He won an Asian Tour event in 2022 and is the youngest player to ever win an OWGR tournament at 15 years and 37 days old.
“These kids are so good,” Massa said. “I just try to stay in my own lane.”
Even at 36, Massa’s lane is the fast lane.
