Having a famous name and famous parents isn’t preventing the young Queenslander from forging his own path.
What’s not to like about the prospects of Elvis Smylie? He has sporting pedigree on his side, an upbringing infused with insights into what it takes to be successful at professional sport and early results suggesting talent and desire. The former Australian Junior champion and now fledgling tour pro is soaking in all the lessons he can learn.
▶ ▶ ▶
Golf and tennis were always the two primary sports in the Smylie family. My mum was obviously one of Australia’s – if not the world’s – best tennis players during the ’80s and ’90s. For me, tennis was always in the background; it was something to do just for fun. But growing up at the Glades, I’d always go down to the practice range every day before school. My dad got me into it. As my parents lived at Bay Hill over in America for 20-25 years, I also grew up around the Baker-Finches and Wayne and Lyn Grady. I’ve been very fortunate to be surrounded by them.
▶ ▶ ▶
When I was about 10, I decided to take up golf full-time. I really wanted to pursue it and be the best I could be. I joined Southport Golf Club. Their junior program was really good and I’m still a member there to this day – they’ve been great for me. The course is quite tight and strategic. You really have to plot your way around. Growing up, it was important for me to be able to understand that accuracy is more of a priority than length and how, throughout time, length was going to come. That’s why Southport was great. From age 10 to 15 or 16, I played a lot of amateur events, trying to play as much competitively as I could. I was finding ways to get better, and the only way for me at that stage was competing and seeing where my game was. Once I was 15 to 17, that’s when I was picked in some teams and started travelling a bit, experiencing what it’s like playing different golf courses in different climates and conditions.
▶ ▶ ▶
One thing I have learned right from when I was 15 is that you’re always adjusting and adapting wherever you go. It’s never the same conditions, same climate, wherever you’re going. Whoever can adapt and adjust as well as they can, wherever they go, normally has success and can go on to do some pretty special things.
▶ ▶ ▶
At the moment, it’s about learning as much as I can. I know it sounds cliché, but it’s true. And I’m enjoying it. I’ve got a lot to learn. I’m still young to this game and I’ve got a lot of very good people around me that can help guide me in the right direction.
▶ ▶ ▶
Yes, my name obviously came from Elvis Presley. My dad was a massive Elvis fan. He saw Elvis Presley front row with John McEnroe in the ’70s. My dad’s love for Elvis carried on to me being named Elvis. I hear all the Elvis Presley puns – “Caught in a trap” is one – and I got used to that. It’s pretty cool being named Elvis.
▶ ▶ ▶
Growing up, I did play a little bit of tennis, but only as a hobby. I was very fortunate to be able to travel to the Australian Open and Wimbledon as a kid. Wimbledon is what I would assume is the equivalent of the Masters in Augusta. As soon as you walk through the gates at Wimbledon, everything is pristine. Nothing’s out of place and they pay attention to the little details.
▶ ▶ ▶
I was actually pretty good at tennis, but I didn’t think it suited my type of attitude. It’s quite full-on and brutal – I’m not saying golf isn’t – but I guess I was just suited for golf a little bit better. Mum and Dad were great in helping me. They weren’t pushing me into playing tennis and they were really supportive of what I chose to do. I’m very fortunate to have parents like that. Obviously, they know what it takes to get to a top level in a professional sport, and not everyone gets the chance to do that and to listen. Kids don’t listen to their parents a whole lot, but I think when it comes to something like this, it’s an exception.
▶ ▶ ▶
There are little pieces of advice that Mum would give me, like, “Enjoy the journey,” and, “Enjoy the day-to-day process of getting better and making sure you’re doing all the 1-percent stuff and letting the result take care of itself.” That’s something I’ve tried to inherit as well as I could these past couple of years, especially since turning pro. The first text message I got when I turned pro was from Wayne Grady, and he said, “It’s just golf, mate. Nothing changes.” It definitely is a little bit trickier than just that – there’s a lot more things that come into play – but if you get back to basics and the simplicity of things, it’s close to what it was. From being an amateur golfer to professional golf, you’re just travelling and living out of a suitcase more.
▶ ▶ ▶
There are definitely similarities between golf and tennis in work ethic and what it takes to get to the top. The same principles apply. It’s interesting – when I’m at the Slams and I’m watching these guys, they’re all phenomenal tennis players, but I’m really paying attention to how they handle when things don’t go their way and their body language. That’s the little things I can use towards my game.
▶ ▶ ▶
My junior and amateur career included some big victory margins, double digits in some cases. Does it indicate a ruthless streak? Yeah, for sure. Going back to Keperra [Smylie won the 2020 Keperra Bowl by 13 shots at 25-under], that’s a place where I feel really comfortable. In 2019 when I won there, I had 16-under for the week. It’s the same course but I feel like in that year I learned, OK, I’m not going to just win this, I want to dominate.
▶ ▶ ▶
Winning the 2019 Aussie Junior at Southport was pretty cool. To be able to have that many people and members – people I’ve played golf with growing up as a kid – watching me win my national junior title was really special. And that got me a spot in the Australian Open where I finished 33rd. Some of the members that watched me win the Australian Junior came down and watched me play there, which was really cool.
▶ ▶ ▶
I love to go to the beach on the Gold Coast. It’s nice there. Broadbeach is always great. I also love to go to the gym – it’s my version of relaxing. It’s quite therapeutic.
▶ ▶ ▶
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is, No.1, you’ve got to enjoy what you do. It’s very full-on, so you’ve got to do as Mum said: find enjoyment in wanting to get better each day and doing what’s required to make that happen. You need to look at everything as a positive and learn from your mistakes in a positive way. Â
