Now living his American dream, this Ryder Cup contender is ready to relive his youth at Portrush

Max Greyserman will make his Open debut at Portrush.

Meet Max Greyserman – the links-loving gearhead who is leaving nothing to chance ahead of his Open debut…

The definition of a late bloomer, Max Greyserman might just have one of the more interesting backstories and personalities among the 37 debutants who will be teeing it up at Portrush this week.

The son of Eastern European immigrants, Greyserman was just a toddler when his parents spotted a flyer advertising free golf lessons at PGA National. He tagged along and the seeds of his future were planted on the grounds of a soon-to-be home of a PGA Tour event.

“They took me out in the stroller, and all of a sudden I got into it, and then I kept going,” Greyserman said. 

Family trips thereafter invariably involved golf. Visits to the UK and links courses were a common occurrence in his youth and peaked when he was a losing finalist at the St Andrews Boys Open in 2013.

He left for Dukes University in North Carolina soon after that, and joined the professional ranks four years later as a member of PGA Tour Canada. It was there that he started rooming with Wyndham Clark (in Las Vegas of all places) and saw firsthand his friend’s mental health struggles. That experience helped prepare him for the challenges that were to come.

Over the next three years, Greyserman played with a nagging wrist injury that was misdiagnosed and almost ended his career.

Following surgery in April 2022 to repair a fractured lunate, one of the eight carpal bones forming the wrist joint, the American visited his brother-in-law’s real estate office during his recovery, and seriously contemplated a job in finance – on the advice of World No.16 Ben Griffin – before deciding to give golf another go on the Korn Ferry Tour.

“I was trying to think of things outside of golf to broaden my horizons,” Greyserman said.

The back-up plan was there, but so too was the desire to prove that he could reach another level. Playing pain-free for the first time in a long time, he won his PGA Tour card for the 2024 season and was nominated for the Rookie of the Year award after breaking into the top 50 in the world for the first time.

That milestone got him a free pass into all four majors this year, which is pretty good going for someone who’s still searching for a breakthrough victory. He also happens to be one of just 22 players who have reached the weekend at the year’s first three Grand Slam events.

Before he made the trip to Ireland, Michael Catling caught up with the World No.33 following his play-off defeat to Aldrich Potgieter at the Rocket Classic two weeks ago to learn more about his backstory, where his reputation as a gearhead comes from, and how he has built his bag for a links course he last played 17 years ago…

Most Americans playing in The Open for the first time usually don’t have a lot of links experience. But I understand that’s not necessarily the case with you. How many courses have you played?

Quite a lot actually. Fortunately, when I was younger, my dad took me over a few times, either for fun or competitions. He used to do some business in London so we’d come over quite a bit.

How much are you looking forward to testing yourself in the Open?

I’m so excited. It’s something I watched quite a bit as a kid. When I was 12 or whatever, I would get up at like 4am and watch the Open. Other than the Masters, it’s the major I’m most excited to play. I think this style of golf is how it was intended to be, right? That’s what I find so cool about it.

Do you like that creative side?

Yeah, in America we call it the Texas wedge, but being able to putt from off the green and hitting bump and run shots… I really enjoy that and prefer it to hacking out of long rough on a US Open course.

For someone who is so used to playing in America, how difficult is it to configure your bag for a links golf course over here? Do you make a lot of changes?

So, over here there is more wind obviously and the courses are open, so the wind affects the ball a lot more. It’s very heavy so you want to keep the ball flighted down and take off a little bit of the spin. I tend to do that with my swing, but in certain parts of the bag I make changes. So instead of having a hybrid or 5-wood, for instance, I’ll swap it for a 2-iron.

In the US, on the par 5s especially, you want to be coming in higher and softer or hacking out of the rough with a hybrid. Here, you don’t need that so when it gets firm, a 2-iron will just chase and run out at 300 yards. It’s a much more useful club to have I think.

You did have a 1-iron in your bag at the Scottish Open last year. Why not this year?

I used it for two rounds, but I just found it was too one-dimensional. I could only hit it low and with low spin which is good, but I couldn’t hit it into a par 5. I almost couldn’t control how much it was running out.

I’ve seen you describe yourself as a ‘gear junkie’. Where does that passion for equipment come from?

Just being a golf fan growing up. I was always looking at what equipment the pros were playing because I wanted to be just like them. I took a liking to that at a young age, and I was always curious if I could be better with a certain club. I used to go down that rabbit hole to find what was better, but I don’t tinker quite as much as I used.

Why Callaway clubs then?

The real reason is that I was playing Nike clubs in college. I got friendly with a Callaway rep at the time and when Nike announced they were exiting the golf industry, I called the Callaway guy and told him I was ready to be on Callaway’s staff. That’s how it started in 2016. So I’ve been with them for nine years. They’re such a great company.

So how often are you updating your bag and putting their new clubs into play?

I used to put it in right away. Now I do a little more testing, trying to fine-tune stuff. I actually put the Elyte driver and woods straight into play at the start of the season, and then I was kind of on and off between using that and the Ai-Smoke. But over the last month and a half, I’ve really got comfortable using the Elyte.

Are you a fan of the Callaway mini driver?

Yeah, I’ve had that in the bag for a year now. I use that almost every week. Occasionally, I put the 3-wood in, which is very course dependent, but mostly it’s the mini driver.

Do you find you use it more off the tee than your actual driver?

It depends on the course. If I’m trying to stay short of bunkers, like at Harbour Town, it’s a lot of mini drivers.

What about a course like Portrush then?

I’ve been experimenting with a shot, using the mini driver, kind of like a three-quarter stinger. If you do that with a driver, it almost comes out too low, so it’s a good shot to have in my arsenal.

Do you change the specs on your wedges between tournaments?

For links golf I do. I go for a lower bounce since it’s so firm.

Does that take a bit of getting used to?

Not really. Because it’s so firm, the transition is easy because it interacts with the turf like it normally does.

Let’s talk putters because you’re one of many players with an Odyssey model in the bag, but yours looks a little unconventional. Can you talk me through what model it is?

Mine is a little bit of a custom one; a Jailbird Mini putter with a Triple-Track on top and a White Hot face. My grip is 38 inches and I choke down and grip it at 35 which creates a bit of counterbalancing weighting. I’ve used that for two years now, that specific model. The counterbalance makes it feel stable so I can loosen my grip a little and let the putterhead swing.

Do you ever experiment with other models or are you quite set in your ways?

Well, it’s funny because they only had three back-ups. When I found out, I told them to send me all of them! So I have four of the same heads. I do have a practice putter, a short, lighter putter, which I use at the beginning of every week, just to get some feel going in my hands. But I never use it in competition.

When Callaway brings out a new range, do you feel compelled to use it because of your equipment contract or can you stay loyal to an older model if it’s really working for you?

A bit of both. Being with an equipment company, you need to support them because they support you. But what makes Callaway a great company is that they try and get the new product to fit you. But if you can’t make it work, they’ll give you that time and flexibility to keep the older club in the bag.

In mid-January, say, they tend to come out with a new product and ask you to test it. If I turn round and say, ‘Nah, I don’t like it’. They’ll go away, come back two weeks later and ask me what I didn’t like about it. They’ll take that feedback on board, change it to fit your needs, and try again. They keep going but if they can’t find something that you like and feel comfortable in, they’ve got no problem with you staying loyal to an older model.

With that in mind, how many golf clubs have you got lying about at home, collecting dust?

Way too many! It looks a bit like a pro shop. I have some close friends who are into their golf and they come by and grab some stuff. Often I’ll test some products and if they don’t work, I’ll put it in the garage. My friends love Callaway, put it that way.

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