Pro Golfer Gabi Ruffels Shares Her Journey and Routines

Please note: The “Power of Change” podcast is designed for audio consumption. Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors. Please check the corresponding audio before quoting in print.

MICHAEL PRAEGER 

Welcome to The Power of Change, the podcast that delves into the intersection of leadership and technology in the finance world. I’m your host, Michael Praeger, the CEO and co-founder of AvidXchange. In each episode, I dive into the leadership topics and industry trends with business leaders, partners, and customers who embrace the power of change. 

Super excited today to have our guest in the studio for this episode is Gabi Ruffles – LPGA player since 2019 and member of Team AvidXchange since earlier this year in January. Gabi’s got a phenomenal background and one of the best parts of her background is – we’re going to get into it more during the discussion – but she actually started out early in her career as a tennis player and then made the transition to golf and super excited to see the accomplishments that she’s had, you know, as a pro golfer, transitioning from her amateur status after winning the 2019 U.S. amateur. 

And so that’s a phenomenal feat in itself. And then certainly seeing some terrific success on the Ladies PGA Tour. So far Gabi’s played in 22 LPGA tour events since 2019 and making the cut in 14 of them. And certainly seeing some great finishes, including most recently top six finish in Scotland. So that’s been awesome to watch. Her first professional win came in 2023 at the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic on the Epson Tour. And then Gabi last year in 2023 became the first Australian ever to win the Epson Tour Player of the Year award. And certainly the catalyst for her springboarding to the LPGA Tour this season. 

So Gabi, super excited to have you here at AvidXchange here in Charlotte. So first of all, you’re from the West Coast came from a, you know, went to college at a school that I’m familiar with. My son also as a Trojan from USC, you have an interesting background in terms of your parents, also two professional athletes. Maybe just tell us a little bit about growing up and the sport you started in. At some point, you made that transition to golf, tell us a little bit about that transition and kind of you know, how you got started in sports overall.   

2:14  
GABI RUFFELS  

So, I grew up in Southern California. I was born in Orlando and then we moved over to California when I was one years old, my brother was three and both my parents were professional tennis players. 

So, it was always sport for my brother and I, and especially tennis. So started my sporting career as a tennis player. Started when I was eight years old and then played pretty competitively up until I was 14. So when I was nine years old, my parents decided to move to Australia. They wanted to, they wanted my brother and I to experience another culture. And I’m so glad that we did. I love Australia. And I mean, I learned so much being there. And so I, I kept playing tennis while I was in Australia. And then you know, I was on the Australian national team for tennis and we were traveling a bunch and I decided to try and take my tennis to the next level and homeschool when I was 12 years old. 

So 12 until 14, I decided to homeschool just to help with travel and practicing more and stuff like that. So we thought it was going to be a good idea, but that kind of ultimately led me to lose the love I had for tennis. I got burned out. They were long days. Not much social interaction, for a 12, you know, 14 year old, which I feel like is so important at that stage of your life. And everything was tennis. And that kind of definitely drove me out of the sport.  

And so, I mean, I was so used to having an active lifestyle. And when I stopped playing tennis, my mom took me to the driving range for golf and my brother was, you know, playing at that time. And so apparently when I went to the driving range first off, I wanted to keep going back and back and I really enjoyed it. And then she put me in the same golf club as my brother. And then from then on, I’ve just loved the sport. So that was the transition.  

3:53 
MICHAEL PRAEGER  

So making that transition at the age of, you know, 14 and you’re 24 now. Right. And so in 10 years, just phenomenal success you’ve seen. What was just the highlights of your amateur career that you remember forever. So I feel like my career has been fast forwarded a little bit.  

4:05 
GABI RUFFELS  

I mean, I started when I was 14. You know, went to college at USC when I was 17. So yeah, I mean, I just started playing amateur golf in Australia, played some tournaments, and then we still had a base in the U.S. so every summer I would come to the U.S. and I’d play some summer tournament, summer amateur tournaments and try and get noticed by college coaches. 

So I did that for three, you know, three summers. In a row, and then was very fortunate to be picked up, like you said, by USC. And my mom went there and it was always a dream school, whether I was playing tennis or golf. So, when I got that offer, I definitely knew that I wanted to take it and it was one of the top golf schools for women and they’ve always had a great program and I knew that I wanted to go there. So I was super, super grateful for that. I think they took a chance on me. I think I was ranked maybe like 800 in the world. So the head coach took a chance on me and you know, I was super, super excited to be there and try and learn from some of the top girls on that team and in college. And I’d say something from my amateur career that I always remember would be the U.S. amateur in 2019.  

Before that, if you were to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I don’t think I really would have said a professional golfer and that win kind of propelled me to want to get the confidence to believe that maybe I could do this for a living. Yeah. So I guess that was the turning point in my career that I realized maybe I could do this and, and that’s what I wanted to do. 

5:32 
MICHAEL PRAEGER  

Well, phenomenal. I mean, you know, what’s really interesting is that progression from like 800th in the world, right. You know to going to college and then going through school and ending up winning the U.S. amateur and in 2019 a short period later. So, tremendous success.  

The next area that I think I want to hit on, and as we talked about this at AvidXchange and our teammates all the time are mindsets, right? And in the mindsets that you have to be, to be the best you can be, whether, you know, you’re a professional golfer or a teammate at AvidXchange, an engineer on the front lines of customer success or driving our sales team, whatever it be, you know, what are the mindsets to allow you to be your best and be growth-minded in terms of always improving. And just think of the improvement from number 800 to number one, right, as an amateur. What was it that allowed you to make that transition from number 800 to be number one and the mindsets that you learned? 

6:28  
GABI RUFFELS  

Obviously, I think, you know, in business and in life, whatever, a lot of it is hard work. And I think that I definitely transferred that work ethic from tennis to golf. But I think, you know, something was, you know, adapting to a new sport. It was a whole different sport. And I think something that my dad has been really big about is being, you know, open-minded and being inquisitive and surrounding myself with good people that would help me learn right from the very start. 

So, you know, I had a really good team from the start. I needed to learn the basics of golf. So my mom got me into an academy, a golf academy that my brother was using, but a different coach to my brother, someone in Melbourne. So I had to get the foundation of golf and really know what I was doing. 

So, I mean, I started with them, but it’s also just, you know, practice day in, day out. And some of the best lessons I’ve learned, I think are just, you know, by myself out there on the golf course and just a lot of practice, a lot of practice and kind of having that growth mindset, like you said, just never being satisfied with being the same and always trying to see how you can get better and measuring, you know, every tournament that I played and see how, if it wasn’t good and how can I learn from that failure I guess, and how can I keep going and try and get better?  

7:41  
MICHAEL PRAEGER  

So, maybe just staying with that theme a little bit when you’re going to progress through the weeks, do you create like themes or objectives for yourself? Like this week in this tournament, I’m really going to work on X, Y, Z part of my game. How do you think about evolving your game? Do you think of it that way? Or how do you maybe chunk up the different parts of your game to make progress?  

8:04  
GABI RUFFELS  

I feel like it’s a whole process. And I feel like having a good team around you is, is definitely a good place to start. So I have my caddie who is there with me literally almost every shot. So he definitely has an idea at the end of the week, you know, what we did well, what I need to work on. And he, you know, has a good relationship with my coach as well, because my coach isn’t there all the time. He comes to some tournaments, maybe like 20 percent of the time he’s there, which is great when he’s there, but you know, he’s not always there. 

So me and my coach, you know, having that relationship to be able to assess what I need to work on at the end of the week. And when I am home and I am seeing my coach, building a game plan around that. So a lot of it is just feedback. I feel like looking at stats, talking within each other and getting some good honest feedback and then doing real good intentional practice when I’m back.  

8:50  
MICHAEL PRAEGER  

I always challenge people around, you know, in the professional environment related to coaching. And I’m like why don’t you need a coach? Just like an athlete needs a coach because you’re trying to be the best you can be. Right? And so you’ve talked about that team. Maybe expand a little bit about who is that team around you? 

9:09 
GABI RUFFELS  

I’ve added a few more people this year on the LPGA, you know, you have to have a caddie whereas on Epson tour, you didn’t. So I added my caddie. His name is Patrick. He’s from New Zealand. I started with him probably three months into the LPGA season. You know, he’s been great, such a calm, chill guy, great, nice person to have out on the golf course, someone who reflects my own personality and how I like to be out there. 

And then I have my coach who I started with at the start of the year as well. His name is Brett Lederer. He’s out at Virginia Country Club, which is about 15 minutes away from where I live. And he works with a few other girls out there as well. And he’s been great and travels quite a lot out there. We have my management team. So I’m with Wasserman and my manager is Chris Mullhaupt. So started with him when, you know, I first started as a pro. So I’ve been with them for about three years now. I would say my trainer from back home. So, golf Australia is also a sponsor of mine and I’m part of the rookie squad.  

And I go through a lot of things with them on a daily basis. My physio, I have a physio out there. Can’t forget all these people. He works with a few girls on the LPGA and then I’d say my parents. 

So another person on my team is AvidXchange, who I started with this year, and I’m so grateful to have been able to sign with them at the start of the year and they took a chance on me as a rookie. And I thank you for that. So thank you for that opportunity and they’ve been great. And I’m so excited that I get to be here this week in Charlotte and at the headquarters of AvidXchange. So, you know, I’m super grateful for the partnership and hopefully it continues in the future and super grateful to you and your company.  

10:42  
MICHAEL PRAEGER  

And we’re excited to have Gabi as one of our sponsored golfers and I think we’re going to see great things out of her not only the weeks throughout this year, but in the years to come. 

So the short period of time you’ve been on the LPGA Tour, what are some highlights that you’ve just had over the last couple of years?  

10:59 
GABI RUFFELS  

Yeah, no, it’s been fun. It’s been a whirlwind, like I said. But yeah, so I turned pro in 2021. I spent two years on the Epson tour, which is the developmental tour to the LPGA tour. And, you know, starting on that tour, I feel like I would recommend it for so many girls starting out. Because it really gives you a taste of professional golf, but not as on as big of a scale as the LPGA, you know, the competition is still great. 

These are some of the best golfers in the world, but it’s still a step down from the LPGA. And so, yeah, so started, you know, two years on there and had a great experience. And once I got my LPGA card last year, you know, it taught me some great lessons on the Epson tour and, you know, being able to win three times, it taught me, you know, the priceless lesson of, you know, how to be able to win and how to manage yourself on the road and getting to LPGA tour this year as my first year and having those two years on the Epson tour really, really helped me. 

11:52  
MICHAEL PRAEGER  

One of the things that has been true to both AvidXchange’s success and my success as a leader have been around routines and whether it’s a daily, weekly, quarterly routine for our business. In fact, one of the ones that we’re going to experience today is one of those routines, which is our town hall meeting. 

And it’s a kind of the event that I use to, how do you create communication and alignment across 1, 700 team members in terms of what are the objectives we’re working on? How did we do last quarter? What are some of the big objectives that we have? And to create that alignment across the strategies. 

And then that boils down to monthly, weekly, daily routines for our team. You know, and I, my own kind of personal kind of routines that I do, including my pushup routine every morning when I get out of bed all the way to I have an annual objective of learning something new every year and try to build a new muscle around curiosity, right? 

What are some of your routines whether it be a daily routine or how you just function as a professional athlete to getting ready for a tournament, right? 

12:57 
GABI RUFFELS  

I mean, I wish it was more of a set routine. I feel like as a professional athlete, especially as a professional golfer, you’re traveling so much and sometimes you can’t have the same set routine every day, so you definitely had to be flexible and adaptable, but I mean, it differs. When I’m at home versus when I’m at a tournament, but let’s start with when I’m at home.  

I like to be intentional with what I do every day. And I definitely like to write out in a journal at the start of the day, what I want to achieve in that day and and then come back to it at the end of the day to see how I did, whether it’s with a drill or whether it’s with my swing or you know, what I shot on the golf course that day or some stats that I got, and I like to just write it down. 

And if I learned anything, write that down as well, just to make sure that I’m, you know, using every day to its fullest and being intentional with that. And hopefully to me, that’s been a good way to try and improve. I like to try and work on each part of the game every day and in golf, if you’re a golfer, you know that there’s a lot of different facets to the game from putting to swing, to pitching, to chipping, there’s a lot to work on. 

So kind of breaking that all down. And I like to try and do a little bit of that every day. And then I also like to work out. So, normally, I mean, I’m a morning person, so I like to try and get my workout in in the morning. And I go through my trainer and my physio to see what work I’m doing for that specific day. 

So yeah, when I’m at home, I try to work on all facets of the golf game and then try and get in a workout. But sometimes I, I mean, I’d be superhuman if I did that all the time. So it’s not, it’s not always perfect, but I try and do that.  

And then when I’m at a tournament, that’s when you have to be flexible because sometimes, I mean, you don’t have control over certain times there’s a Pro Am and you can’t play or something like that. So that has to be flexible. But when I’m at a tournament, it’s more about just getting to know the golf course. So I play a lot more, whereas I do more practice at home. And then my physio travels with me on the road as well. So, try and get some treatment in or a gym session. So a lot of golf and some gym as well.  

15:02 
MICHAEL PRAEGER  

Good deal. So let’s talk a little bit about, I’ll call it game day. You know, it’s a day of a tournament and you’re getting ready. What tools do you use to like, you know, visualize how the day is going to unfold, how each hole is going to unfold and do you use visualization to think about and actually imagine where you’re going to be, what kind of lies you’re going to have, all those type of things. Maybe talk a little bit about the mental aspect of what you go through tournament day.  

15:29  
GABI RUFFELS  

For sure. I mean, a lot of people say that golf is 90% mental and I would definitely agree. Recently I’ve actually started – my dad has been trying to get me to do a lot more visualization and it has really helped. Especially when you’re nervous, I feel like visualizing a good outcome is really something that has really, really helped me. And so going through the golf rounds and visualizing yourself going through good shots, going through challenges and seeing how you respond to that and visualizing a good response to that and good outcomes has really helped me and has made me, you know, get on the first team and be really confident. 

So that’s something that I’ve added recently, but I guess more in the past, I’ve been big with meditation. I definitely enjoy doing meditation, especially on tournament days. I feel like, you know, just getting that 10 minutes of just calming has really, you know, helped with centering me and just making me calm and able to withstand all the different challenges throughout the day. 

16:22 
MICHAEL PRAEGER  

Yeah. I know there’s some great stuff that’s been talked about whether it’s Michael Jordan’s visualizing all the shots he was going to take during the course of a game to some of the U.S. downhill skiers in visualizing how their routine was going to play out. And so, you know, a lot of power in that like anything in life is, but it’s probably highlighted because you know, you have a score every time you play and it’s very visual to lots of people is handling adversity. I’m sure in every round, every round doesn’t play out in a perfect way. Right. What are some of the tools that you use and how you handle adversity for yourself?  

17:03 
GABI RUFFELS  

It goes back to that meditation as well and trying to be as calm as possible. I think having a balanced mindset and being level-headed, that’s some of the best advice I’ve ever gotten to try and deal with adversity because I feel like the more level headed you are, the more you’re able to see things clearly and the better you’re able to react to those situations and get a better outcome of those situations. But I feel like it’s also not being scared of adversity. And even if you do fail, knowing that you can learn from that failure. And I feel like, you know, having a good attitude and being level headed that has allowed me to be able to learn from, from those challenging times and those, you know, adverse situations. I guess not being scared of it, but welcoming it. And if you succeed in adversity, then great, but if you don’t, it’s also, you know, being open minded to learn from that situation.  

18:00 
MICHAEL PRAEGER  

Are you the most nervous, like, before you go tee number one or as you’re coming up the whole 18?  

18:04 
GABI RUFFELS  

Great question. They’re probably the same nerves depending on the situation, but always first tee, I’m nervous. You know, as a start of the round, you are getting your round going and the anticipation, especially first tee, like the first round of the tournament because you know, you want to do well and that kind of sets the tone for the rest of the day and the rest of the tournament. So first tee, always a bit of nerves, but it’s not bad nerves. It’s exciting.  

I enjoy playing golf and I enjoy getting the round going. I love competing. So, but 18, I mean, if you’re having a good round, then you start getting nervous, maybe around like 15, 16 because you might be thinking about your score a little bit and wanting to get into the clubhouse with a good score and finish strong, but if you’re not playing well, maybe the nerves ease a little bit, but I always find that nerves are good because it means you’re doing something and you’re having a good day. So like I said, if I wasn’t nervous, then it means I’m not really having a great day so nerves are good.  

18:57 
MICHAEL PRAEGER 

Excellent. It was funny. I heard Brett Favre, the famous quarterback, talk about nerves. And he said, his entire pro career, he was so nervous. He felt like he was going to throw up before every game and he knew it was time to retire when he stopped having that feeling. And so, like you said nerves are good and it gets you excited as well in terms of just getting mental framework to tackle that day and that course. 

19:29 
GABI RUFFELS  

Yes.  

19:30  
MICHAEL PRAEGER  

What are some like, if you say, “Hey, if I want to move into a top 10 LPGA tour player for a long period of time, what are some of the objectives you have for your game in terms of what has to get better? Or what, what about your overall game? Do you say I’m trying to get better at it?  

19:38 
GABI RUFFELS 

Like I mentioned before, working on all facets of the game every day. I would say just continually trying to improve every aspect. Ball striking this year, I’ve placed an emphasis on that with my coach, adding Brett this year, and that’s definitely improved. I’d say looking at stats, what needs to improve to become the best in the world would be short game, specifically 100 yards and in. I mean, if you talk to a lot of pros, they’ll say the difference maker would be the short game and, you know, spending a lot of time on my swing this year, I feel like I need to spend a bit more time on my short game and putting, and I feel like some of my best weeks are when I’m putting really well and obviously that, you know, that can vary depending on the type of grass and, you know, if you’re feeling good that week, but I’d like to make that more consistent overall especially next year. So. I feel like I’m going on a good path, just continually trying to improve, trying to improve every aspect. And yeah, hopefully I can do that for the end of the year and keep going through the rest of my career.  

20:46 
MICHAEL PRAEGER  

Excellent. Well, Hey I think, you know, in terms of wrapping up – the last question I always like to ask is for anyone that’s had any kind of success, whether it be an athlete or professionally, I always find that there are certain kind of leaders or mentors that they’ve had throughout their life who’ve been some of those people that have been super impactful or a great mentor to you. 

21:30 
GABI RUFFELS 

For sure. I’d say, you know, throughout my whole life, I know I mentioned my dad a little bit, but I’d go back to him. So he was a professional tennis player. Actually, both my parents, you know, I can include in this. Both of them were professional tennis players. You know, my dad was top 10 in the world. And then after his tennis career, he was a coach. So he coached, you know, quite a number of good players. And I feel like personality-wise, I’m very similar to him. And, you know, I pick his brain a lot for certain things. I feel like the two sports and sports in general, I feel like the mental side correlates between the different sports. So I like to go to him for a lot of different mental things and he’s so wise. And. I really, really trust his advice. So, you know, ever since I’ve been a little girl, tennis or golf, I’ve gone to him.  

And yeah, I think just, you know, trusting my team, you know, my team has changed, but being able to have that trust to go to them with certain things and to be able to talk it through with them. Has been, has been really beneficial. So I’d say mentors would be the people on my team who I trust and who I, you know, confide in and who are able to make me better.  

22:09 
MICHAEL PRAEGER  

Closing this episode. You know, terrific guests that we had here, Gabi Ruffles. Just a couple takeaways that I had, you know, as part of our discussion, whether you’re a pro golfer or a teammate at AvidXchange. The importance of mindsets, Gabi talked about the importance of a growth mindset, being curious, trying new things and how do you progress and continuously get better. The second thing that I took away is, you know, the team aspect of it is just like I tell our team at AvidXchange pretty much, you know, personal success relates to there’s a team around you. A team that you have to collaborate with and work with.  

And I think Gabi shared some great examples of the team that she has around her, including team AvidXchange, and certainly be able to go back to your roots and have mentorship and coaching as you progress again, whether you’re a pro athlete or a teammate at AvidXchange, super important to do. And so some great takeaways from today’s episode.  

Thanks for listening to The Power of Change presented by AvidXchange. If you like what you’ve heard, subscribe to our channel and leave a five-star review. While you’re waiting for the next episode, head on over to avidxchange.com for our latest research reports and business insights. And if you’re interested in learning more about accounts payable automation from AvidXchange, click the link in our show notes to connect with our experts. Thanks again for listening to The Power of Change. We’ll see you next time.