He was 14 years old and had wide open eyes when Josele Ballester first appeared at the Mediterranean Club. He came from the Costa Azahar, another club to the south and on the coast of the province of Castellón. He brought pedigree. He had already been a Spanish champion in the children’s and youth categories, but he undertook the journey north and inland undoubtedly attracted by the extraordinary figure of Sergio García. “He had a great passion for golf and a lot of enthusiasm, two values that I consider essential,” says Víctor García, Sergio’s father and coach and for the past seven years, also Ballester’s coach.
Josele began to go out on the field whenever Sergio and Víctor trained together. He didn’t want to bother, or be a nuisance, it was simply a luxury for such a young boy to have the opportunity to see up close the way a champion of the Masters of Augusta worked, who was also proclaimed that same year. He wanted to learn. Eyes and ears wide open. Many times he simply sat on the grass and listened. That’s how time passed. Delighted.
In this natural way, he began to establish a very close relationship with Sergio García despite the age difference and almost without even needing to talk about it, he began to work with Víctor. “He has always had a lot of potential and a huge capacity for work. That came as standard. His parents are professional athletes, his father was the first Spanish swimmer who studied in the United States, and he already had that. I remember he hit very hard. One bomb after another. They were bombs. Yes, some went straight and others went 200 meters to the left or 200 to the right,” explains Víctor to Ten Golf. A somewhat runaway force of nature.
He had the foundation and the talent and it was time to shape it, polish it little by little. “In reality it was about giving him more resources. He did one thing very well, but only one, to put it in some way, he only had one shot and what we have tried is to give him more variety, more possibilities. We have guided him, also with the short game, since he had a very peculiar way of getting out of the bunker, now it’s a marvel, and then he has put in all the work. I am delighted to see his progression. He has improved a lot and it is his responsibility. He has also been greatly helped at the Arizona State University“, says Víctor.
One of the keys to his victory in the US Amateur, as Josele himself has explained, has been the addition to the team of a mini driver. His story is curious. It all started at the European Championship for teams, which was played in Italy from July 9 to 13. On the way back, Josele told Víctor that he had seen many mini drivers at the championship and that he wanted to try one. No problem, was the response from Sergio’s father. “I’ll give you mine. I’ve been playing with a mini driver for a long time, which is really nothing more than a 2 wood, so I gave it to him, with a clear adjustment, my shaft doesn’t work for him. We were looking and we found the shaft that Sergio used in the driver with which he won the Masters in 2017. It was perfect, since Sergio has always used slightly shorter shafts, and they fit perfectly with the head of my 2 wood. We assembled it here in the Mediterranean, with Jordi who is a master, he tried it and from the first shot it was a spectacle. The ball came out very well and he felt very comfortable from the first minute”, he points out.
Ballester has used in the US Amateur his usual driver and this 2 wood with which he has fitted like a glove. A club with the DNA of a Masters champion, the tournament to which he has earned the right to attend in 2025 after his historic victory at Hazeltine.
Another key to Ballester’s good performance in the US Amateur is freshness. He has had a very intense summer. He has played the European championships, individual and team, the Palmer Cup, the British Amateur, the qualifiers for the British and US Open… When he returned from Italy he was exhausted and seriously considering not playing the US Amateur. His head couldn’t take any more. However, Josele’s father and Víctor found the solution. They banned him from golf for ten days. Banned. Without picking up a club from July 14 to 23. Total disconnection.
It was a godsend. From the 24th they started training again thinking about the US Amateur. They touched on all aspects of the game and it was an extraordinary tuning. Josele was ready again and with recharged batteries. A small incident with the outbound flight, which was cancelled, complicated things a bit more to get to Hazeltine, but finally a clever management by Carlos Rodríguez, Sergio’s agent, allowed him to catch another plane on Friday to arrive on time (the airline only gave him Sunday as an alternative… and the US Amateur started on Monday). Today José Luis Ballester is already history of Spanish golf. “I love the confidence he exudes. That’s key. It was seen yesterday for example in the two holes 17 and 18 he plays. That can only be done if you have a lot of confidence and believe in yourself and this is fundamental in this sport. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have won the tournament”, explains Víctor.
By the way, Spain has two European champions, Sergio García and José Luis Ballester, to which is added a Masters, a US Amateur, record points in the Ryder Cup and a thousand more things that add up in the record of the champion from Borriol and to which the young Josele now joins. All under the baton of Víctor García. He doesn’t want to give himself importance or put any medal on himself, he doesn’t like it, but that’s what we’re here for. There’s something in the water when it’s blessed, master Víctor.
