Byeong Hun An had just built a new house and became a first-time dad—and then lost his PGA Tour card.

It was a devastating blow and a kind of existential threat for the man who, in 2009, became the youngest-ever player to win the U.S. Amateur Championship at just 17 years old.

Not sure what to do next, Ben An contemplated taking some time off. His coach, Golf Digest No. 3-ranked coach Sean Foley, whom An had hired just a few months earlier, thought it was time for some tough love.

“I said, ‘Benny, it’s time we’re deeply honest with each other. Your attitude hasn’t been good enough. So for the next three months, we’re going to do banker’s hours. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., six days a week,’” Foley says. “That’s your schedule. And if I hear that you don’t do it, I’ll quit.”

“It wasn’t easy to hear,” added Ben An. “But I needed to hear it.”

From Steep to Shallow

It’s no coincidence that Ben An is an athletic prodigy: His mother is a two-time Olympic medalist in table tennis. His father is a fellow Olympian and bronze medalist who coaches South Korea’s women’s table tennis team.

This blessed Ben An with an incredible set of hands and coordination which shines around the greens. Poll tour players on who can hit the best high, spinny flop shot around the green, and there’s a good chance they’ll say Ben An.

“I’ve never seen anything like it; it’s incredible what he can do around the greens,” Foley says.

The problem was Ben An’s gift could often become a curse on longer shots. His ability to hit steeply down on the ball and flick his wrists for maximum greenside spin would often cause him to get steep on his full swing. His drives would often balloon out to the right with too much spin, and his body would stop turning through as his hands took over. A problem made worse by his steep swing.

It put Ben An in a cycle where he’d try to swing slower to keep those balloon misses under control, without solving the underlying problem.

When Ben An showed up to the Lake Nona range the day after his tough-love talk with Foley, the pair focused on getting his arms and wrists wider on the backswing, with less wrist hinge.

This helped Ben An turn his body more on both sides of the ball—and use his wrists less.

This re-positioned Ben An’s right arm so that he could throw the club with a shallower, more sweeping motion on the downswing, rather than swinging the club more vertically up-and-down.

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“Golf is all right arm, right arm, right arm, right arm, because believe it or not, golf is mostly a throwing sport,” Foley says. “We’ve been calling it a release for generations. The fact of the matter is we just don’t really let go of the club. We throw it at the ball. Benny’s new position gives him more time and space to throw it better.”

By generating less uncontrollable spin on his drives with his hands and more speed from added rotation with his body—helped by a new diet which helped Ben An shed more than 30 pounds—Ben An jumped to fourth in Driving Distance and 18th in SG: Off The Tee, without losing his artistry around the greens.

The year he lost his PGA Tour card, he ranked 51st and 111th, respectively, in those two stats. He’s gained more than four miles per hour of clubhead speed along the way and has a new go-to shot: A high, flat draw which Foley calls “the weapon.”

“It definitely sounds cool,” Ben An says of the new nickname. “It’s been a lot of hard work, so I’ll take it.”

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com