At age 32, Max Homa is one of the PGA Tour’s most refreshing success stories. In 2017, he missed 15 of 17 cuts and lost his playing privileges. Now, the native Californian is a six-time tour winner, the seventh-ranked player in the world and one of the most popular players in the game.
During some downtime last week at home in Scottsdale, Arizona, Homa – whose social-media popularity preceded his run of victories on the tour – took time to play a game of 20 questions with me:
Ron Green You are returning to the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club this week where you won your first PGA Tour event four years ago. After the road you traveled, what did that winning moment feel like?
Max Homa It was a massive mixture (of feelings). One felt like relief. A lot of pride. It was the closest thing in golf to the most pure form of happiness I’ve felt. I was fortunately able to walk up 18 and know I had won. I got to reflect on all those struggles and that was behind me. Whatever happened in the rest of my life, I had accomplished something. Coming from being really bad to winning a big tournament on tour, I got to have that walk.
RG What are you watching these days?
MH “Succession” and some “Ted Lasso.” I can’t get over how good “Succession” is. It’s a little above my head, but it’s still awesome.
RG What’s your favorite cereal?
MH I don’t eat much cereal, but it’s Multi Grain Cheerios. I don’t know why.
RG What was your dream job growing up?
MH I’m lucky I’m living what I wanted to do since I was probably 6 years old. I feel like my first real golf memory was watching Tiger (Woods) play No. 18 when he won the Masters in ’97. Maybe it was the color of the sweater, but I remember watching that. It’s a big one for most of us who dreamed of playing golf.
RG What dish do you cook the best?
MH I just recently got into cooking. I enjoy it. I’m not any good at it. I’ve gotten decent at penne alla vodka, but I wouldn’t call it a specialty because it’s not a specialty.
RG Who is your favorite superhero?
MH Batman. In a funny way he feels relatable. As a kid I loved the Batmobile and that stuff. Superman used to be my favorite, but as I got older, I realize he has everything. Batman kind of digs it out of the dirt.
RG Do you remember your first date with your wife, Lacey?
MH It’s corny as it gets. She was living about 2½ hours away from me, and my friend was playing in a golf tournament in Long Beach (California). I was living in Valencia. I said, “Do you have any interest in meeting me about halfway?” We ended up strolling around watching my friend play golf. It’s a pretty good way to get to know somebody. About halfway through his round, we split and got In-N-Out, then we came back and watched him finish. I knew it was going OK when she said she was going to stay with her friend, and her friend and my friend, we all went to a bar and strolled around the San Clemente area.
RG You got a degree in consumer behavior from the University of California, Berkeley. What did that teach you?
MH I learned that I’d better get good at golf, so it taught me a valuable lesson.
RG What was your last impulse purchase?
MH I’m not that guy. I feel proud that I just bought a $70 pair of shoes on the internet. I like nice things, but I can’t pull the trigger on buying them.
RG You don’t collect cars or anything like that?
MH I never even bought a watch. I like all the stuff, but I can’t find a reason to spend the money.
RG What is your best parenting skill?
MH Great question. I joke about it all the time, but I don’t mind changing diapers. It’s not the greatest thing in the world, but I’m willing and able, and it is somewhat of a skill.
RG Do you have a favorite holiday?
MH It’s Halloween now. Our son (Cam) was born on Oct. 30. Always liked it before, but that will be (my) favorite going forward.
RG So what’s your go-to Halloween candy?
MH I love Reese’s.
RG With six PGA Tour wins, have you exceeded your career expectations?
MH If you asked me as a kid, I’d say I have not because you always say you’re going to win the Masters or a major. If you asked me when I was 14, I’d say I was on track. At 25, I would have said I have far exceeded them. You reset your expectations. If you asked me two years after turning pro if I’d be pleased with six tour wins and all that, I’d say I’d be pretty damn happy. “Satisfied” is probably not the word to go along with it now, but once you realize how hard it is – winning one is like a trek up Everest – winning six, I’d say I’m pretty damn proud.
RG Do you have a favorite golf moment?
MH It had to be the (2022) Presidents Cup. Winning 17 and 18 (with birdies in a Friday four-balls match with Billy Horschel against Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners), especially 18. I’ve had other good ones – winning my first tour event, winning in L.A. – but in a bubble, that was the coolest thing I’ve done.
RG Do you have a favorite book?
MH Most of the books I read are about self-help and about happiness. My favorite is “The Seven Spiritual Laws Of Success” (by Deepak Chopra). I call it my little Bible.
RG What’s your pet peeve?
MH I have a lot of them. I go to Chipotle a lot, so one of them is someone coming in ordering for 12 people or the mobile orders taking priority over me.
RG Do you have a solution for slow play?
MH Unfortunately, it has had too much made of it. I don’t like it, either. If you slowed down the greens, things would pick up a bit. When you have a 4-footer and it rolls 3 feet by, you have to mark it again. It’s the speed of the greens. When you play the Open Championship, you can almost kick it in from a foot. At Augusta, you almost never get to tap it in. Tiger was the first to do a full 360 around the hole (on a putt). That takes longer in my opinion (than AimPoint), but it’s an optics thing. My putting is the fastest part of my game via ShotLink, and I’m pretty in the middle on pace of play. After I saw the video (of going through the AimPoint process), I thought, “Am I really slow?” It’s just that watching it as a fan stinks. That’s something we need to take into account.
RG What’s the last movie that made you cry?
MH Phenomenal question. I have to think about it. I’m sure there was one… Going back, I know that “Marley & Me” always gets me.
RG Did someone give you a piece of advice that has stayed with you?
MH My favorite I’ve ever gotten is my coach in high school would say, “Don’t be that guy.” He’d say, “Every tournament, every room, every party has that guy. Don’t be that guy.” I think about it often.
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Top: Max Homa celebrates his first PGA Tour victory, the 2019 Wells Fargo Championship.
sam greenwood, getty image
Yellow lab photo
MirasWonderland, Istock, Getty Images