364: Hunter Mahan on His Pro Golf Comeback, Why He Stepped Away, & Coaching High School Golf

364: Hunter Mahan on His Pro Golf Comeback, Why He Stepped Away, & Coaching High School Golf

From The Smylie Show by The Smylie Show

August 12, 2026 · 1h 7m · Episode 364

About this episode

Hunter Mahan discusses his return to professional golf after stepping away due to burnout and his experiences coaching high school golf.

Six-time PGA Tour winner Hunter Mahan joins Smylie Kaufman and Charlie Hulme to talk about his unexpected return to golf. Mahan opens up on why he stepped away from competing in 2021 — burnout, the grind of travel, and an envy that "took over" and wasn't good for his soul — and what's pulled him back into playing after several years coaching high school golf at Liberty Christian in Argyle, Texas, alongside football coach Jason Witten. A few months of posting practice-round videos to social media turned into a full comeback arc, complete with a new equipment deal through Grant Horvat's Primo. Plus: Hunter breaks down the swing videos he's been posting — his takeaway feel, getting the clubface more shut, and clearing up the Justin Rose "shallowing" myth — and walks through his short game reboot under Stan Utley (of Parker McLachlin's Short Game Chef), including the shaft-angle and forearm-rotation keys that turned his chipping around. The guys also get into a wide-ranging Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup conversation: why Team Europe consistently looks looser under pressure, Mahan's own Presidents Cup debut alongside Justin Leonard and Paul Azinger, the case for a real U.S. national…

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