BARRACUDA CHAMPIONSHIP

July 17, 2024

Mark Hubbard

Tahoe Mountain Club

Press Conference

Q. Mark Hubbard here making tenth start here but fourth at this course. Colorado native, went to school at San Jose State. Probably good in elevation. What is it about here with the vibes of this tournament and course that fits you?

MARK HUBBARD: It does. It reminds me a lot of home, just kind of the topography and the elevation. Definitely I feel more comfortable than most people at that.

I'm watching everybody sitting on TrackMan and trying to get their numbers, and kind of already know mine. So that's definitely an advantage.

Going to school at San Jose State, it's not too far down the road. I had a buddy who had a house up in Incline Village, so we'd come up here all the time. It's one of my favorite places on planet earth.

It's always a fun week. The Stableford, for me, usually I make a lot of birdies and make a lot of dumb bogeys too, but it's good for this format.

Q. What is it about going on that format? Does it allow you to play more freely with the point and risk/reward?

MARK HUBBARD: Definitely. I think you play a little bit more aggressively. I think the course allows that. It's a good course for some risk/reward. All the par-5s are reachable, a couple of drivable par-4s. With the elevation and that, it plays really nice for this format.

Q. Just got done playing the new front nine, what are you thinking so far with the switching of the nines, how that will play out?

MARK HUBBARD: I like it. I think having 6 and 8 now be 15 and 17, I think will be really fun. The old 17, the new 8, was a tough hole coming down the stretch. I think for a normal tournament you might want two tough holes back to back to finish to kind of crown a champion, but I think a format like this you want to see people coming from behind with birdies and eagles.

I think it was a smart decision. The only thing I'll never understand is why we play 10 as a par-4. There's another 50, 60 yards of tee box we can use, and it's Stableford, so we want to see birdies and par-5s. I've always wondered that one.

Again, having that be No. 1 or 10, it doesn't really matter. I just always thought that would be a really good risk/reward par-5 as well.

Q. Playing fourth consecutive in a row now, coming back from Scotland, how are you feeling, tired?

MARK HUBBARD: Yeah, I am tired. Most people have trouble going there with jet lag. I for some reason have trouble coming this way. I'm definitely prioritizing my rest these couple days. I didn't even touch a club yesterday, just kind of got a workout in.

I'm a wily vet at this point. I know what I've got to do to get my brain and body in shape, but it's definitely been more of a down week because of that.

Q. We're on a grind of consecutive cuts, really the last couple stretch, but what's it now coming off of this first missed cut of the season?

MARK HUBBARD: Yeah, there's worst places in the world to miss a cut than Scotland. I had a really nice weekend just kind of exploring the country. I had said this before when people asked me about the cut streak, obviously it was cool, but there was one or two in there that I kind of wish I had missed to kind of get a full reset.

Sometimes you sneak in on the number, and you still don't really have it with your game and you're out there grinding and maybe even practicing some worse habits. So to kind of get that reset, even though it is week 4 and I'm tired, I think is going to be really beneficial for me throughout the rest of the year.

Q. Talk about the schedule, resting. Last year you set a record. I know it's kind of different with the schedule with how many starts, but with this many consecutive grinds, what's the challenges when you're playing consecutive weeks like that?

MARK HUBBARD: I think just your prep changes a lot. Even if you're not playing that many events, as I did last year, the 39, I think this late in the year I start to go to a little bit different kinds of workouts. I start to do more pilates and yoga. I did kind of an in the pool aerobic swim thing yesterday, just kind of less impact, less wear and tear on your body.

I think I play a little bit less practice rounds. I have the luxury, I've been out here long enough, I know the courses at this point. I don't need to go grind out there. You definitely just prioritize rest.

I think, in terms of looking at my schedule, you had asked me earlier, I plan on skipping 3M. I guess I would say I'm 50-50, but in my head, I'd really like to have two weeks off before the playoffs. Last year I felt like the 39 was one thing, but really the only point where I felt like I messed up was playing 3M last year because I just felt gassed at Memphis.

The points are so heavily elevated there that I think you just have to prioritize being ready and rested for that tournament.

Q. Going to that, I know there's a lot to play for each week. Is that something you like to do, pretty much playing every week, instead of taking an off week and practicing, or it just kind of fell that way with the schedule?

MARK HUBBARD: No, definitely, I like to play. I'm not a big range rat. I find I don't do a lot of good practice at home anyways. So I do like to play probably more than other guys, but at the same time, this late in the year, and having played that many last year, and this year's been a grind with really not knowing your schedule with the elevated events and trying to play your way in and stuff.

So I think, yeah, having that two-week break hopefully will be really beneficial.

Q. You mentioned pilates. Is that still a thing you do with Nick Hardy?

MARK HUBBARD: Yeah, we did one at John Deere. It was fun to get the crew back together. I haven't been doing it as much as him, but I still enjoy it.

I've been working with a new PT trainer out here, and he's pretty well versed. So he's kind of taking me through some other stuff. Like I said, a pool workout I did yesterday. We were joking we could make a new brand and cool it pool-ates instead of pilates. I've got trademarks for that in case he ever starts that company.

Q. Any other players joined in with you on the road?

MARK HUBBARD: No, it's hard to find studios. We've been asking the TOUR for a while if they could get a reformer. There's a couple of bikes and a couple of row machines that go unused that we could replace one with. My girl that I do them with, Evelyn, she's pretty good about finding studios around the country, and they've been nice enough to let us use them.

No, we haven't seen the growth that maybe we had hoped for.

Q. Of other hobbies, you're an avid skier. Was it in this area? Did you come here at all for vacation, Tahoe, Truckee?

MARK HUBBARD: Yeah, my wife's family is from Sacramento. She grew up here coming to camp. Not to ski as much, but we do now. Especially now that we have kids, it's really nice to be able to drop them off with the grandparents and drive up here and catch a few days on the mountain.

Q. Who's the better skier between you and your wife?

MARK HUBBARD: Oh, me for sure. She didn't grow up skiing a ton. I will say, when we first started, when I first started teaching her, don't teach your spouse anything, let alone skiing, because there's that fear component, and it's bad.

I broke down and got her a lesson. She went from a 25 handicap to like a 12 handicap skier overnight. My biggest thing is I want to go explore mountains and not worrying about, oh, I got on the wrong chairlift, how are we going to get down from here? She can handle her own really well now, so we have a lot of fun on ski trips.

Q. What about Megan's golf journey? Did she take it up during COVID?

MARK HUBBARD: Yeah, we played it a lot during COVID. Since the kids, we haven't played much.

Like I said, I'm fine with that. I play enough out here. I'd rather go sit on a beach somewhere or go find some fresh powder.