Catching Up With 2025 USA Captain Nathan Smith

On March 9, 2022, Nathan Smith received the call of a lifetime when the five-time USGA champion – winner of a record four U.S. Mid-Amateurs and one U.S. Amateur Four-Ball – was named the USA Walker Cup captain for the 50th Match at Cypress Point Club, in Pebble Beach, Calif. The two-day competition is scheduled for Sept. 6-7 as the USA looks to retain the Cup for a fifth consecutive time. Smith represented his country in three Walker Cups (2009, 2011 and 2013), coming out victorious twice. Now the 46-year-old from Pittsburgh, Pa., gets the opportunity to lead 10 talented male players at one of the world’s most iconic venues.

Smith also has sacrificed time away from his regular job at USI Insurance in sales on the property/casualty side as well as time at home with his wife, Dr. Nicole Bianca, a researcher with Zoll Lifecor, a company that develops medical devices.

USGA senior staff writer David Shefter chatted with Smith about the honor as well as his Walker Cup memories, what he’s learned from previous captains and playing experiences, and the overall vibe of this special competition.

Q. It’s been a little more than three years since you got the call from the USGA’s International Team Selection Committee for this honor. What are your overall thoughts as the months and days count down to the Opening Ceremonies?

Smith: It’s been fun. It was fun to shadow [2023 captain] Mike [McCoy] and that team and be a part of that arena [at St. Andrews in Scotland]. It’s been heating up, which has been fun. And you are starting to follow the [prospective] guys around and get to know the guys. For me, it’s been fun to go back to a lot of places where I played so much amateur golf and see people, tournament directors and host families. You’re basically going to all of the summer majors. And getting to work with so many great people at the USGA and the Executive Committee, and the leadership groups. It’s been a lot of fun.

Q. Have you envisioned what the three days, including the Opening Ceremonies, will be like for you personally?

Smith: At Cypress Point, I can’t imagine walking out in the Opening Ceremony with the [Pacific] Ocean as the backdrop, raising of the flags, sitting there [with my team and the opposing team], the flyovers and even that opening tee shot [on Saturday morning]. That’s going to be spectacular. Then down the stretch for both teams you get the [beauty] of Holes 15, 16 and 17. It’s going to be unbelievable.

Q. You were a player on three Walker Cup teams. What have you taken from those experiences that you can apply to the captaincy?

Smith: Going through the course of the week, you know what to expect with all of the functions and the schedule. As a player, you kind of got a good feeling from a rest standpoint and what they want to do. So that will be helpful.

Q. Have you begun to formulate a game plan of how you want the week to look like for your team?

Smith: We’ve talked a lot about that. When we’re going to get in [to San Francisco] and go down to [Cypress Point] and what days we’re going to play [practice rounds] and how it’s going to all work out logistically.

Q. Isn’t that a delicate balance of how much you practice and how much you deal with all the social and outside-the-ropes activities?

Smith: You’ve got to stay rested. You can’t wear yourself out. Plus, it is Cypress Point, so you want to go play every day. But you also want to be rested for the 36 [holes] a day of the competition.

Q. How many times have you made visits to this special venue that’s always been among the top 3 courses in the world?

Smith: A couple of times. It’s going to be incredible. [Holes] 15, 16 and 17 are made for drama and TV. Everything you can do with TV [cameras] and [using] drones, it’s going to be off the charts [visually]. The front side, too, there are so many risk/reward holes. It’s going to be so exciting. There’s going to be a bunch of birdies, and a bunch of others. It’s just made for match play. It’s such a fun course.

Q. What kind of buzz from prospective candidates have you heard regarding the Walker Cup, and specifically the venue for this year’s match?

Smith: There’s always a buzz around the Walker Cup. People always want to make the Walker Cup Team. And they have great iconic spots for every Walker Cup. But Cypress Point being the No. 1 club in the world, people want to be there.

Q. How many calls/texts have you received to either want to play the course or get a coveted ticket to attend?

Smith: About 10-25 a day. Whether it’s tickets, playing or places to stay. What are the dates? What about tickets? How do I get there? Just asking questions like, ‘My son is pretty good, do you want to look at him?’ It’s pretty wild. For me it’s a fun time. It’s the best couple of years of my life and I’m having fun with it.

Q. We’re starting to get into the home stretch now. The big amateur events of the summer are on the horizon and the first three automatic selections will be decided on June 28. Have you formulated a plan on which events to attend and the players you’re eyeing for the team?

Smith: Right now, the net is so big that it’s honestly wide open. If you look at WAGR [World Amateur Golf Ranking®], and which guys will turn pro [after the NCAAs] and who will move up, there’s an incredible [amount of talent]. Anybody who has a good summer is going to have a chance. Even the good mid-ams are right there too.

Q. You had a past captains’ dinner in March at The Bear’s Club in Jupiter, Fla., where guys like Vinnie Giles, Jim Holtgrieve, Danny Yates, Nathaniel Crosby, Buddy Marucci and even Jay Sigel attended just before his passing. What kind of advice do you glean from these legendary individuals?

Smith: That was a special night. We talked a lot about how they got the team prepared and how they went through the course of the week. How they handled rest and how they picked their [foursomes] teams and did matchups. Some of the stuff is pretty new with some of the challenges with PGA Tour U and different things like NIL [Name, Image and Likeness] deals that other previous captains didn’t have to deal with. Any time you can be around the table with all those legends is incredible.

Q. You played in three Walker Cups as a mid-amateur. How much does it mean to have at least one “veteran” amateur on the team?

Smith: With the mid-ams and amateur golf … you need future captains. It’s important to have them on the team. I think it’s special for the sport and for them. The match-play format with alternate shot and singles can lend itself [for a mid-am to have success]. There have been so many incredible mid-ams who have played on the team through the years.

Q. What is your favorite Walker Cup memory from the three you competed in?

Smith: I would probably say my last one [in 2013 at National Golf Links of America] being in that situation to get the winning point. Being in the right spot [in the singles order] to get that chance. But being in that first one at Merion [in 2009] was special because I had tried for so long to make those teams. And then to go out in that [Saturday] morning [foursomes] match with Peter [Uihlein] and get a point, everyone kind of descended on our group. We ended up coming back and getting that [2-and-1 win] was pretty cool. But 2013 was cool, too. That was my last one and getting the winning point.

Q. More nerves as a player or a captain?

Smith: When you’re younger, you’re nervous, but as you get older and being the captain – I’m just glad I don’t have to hit any shots. I’m sure it will be gut-wrenching watching, but just glad I don’t have to do it.    

Q. For people who don’t know much about the Walker Cup or its history, why is it so special?

Smith: First of all, all the iconic courses that it’s on. The history of it. The people who started it. I was at the [USGA] Golf Museum and saw the guys who were on that first team [in 1922] like [Bob] Jones and [Francis] Ouimet and [Oakmont’s William] Fownes [being the captain]. Obviously being the amateur version of the Ryder Cup and the history of the players. Even on the GB&I (Great Britain and Ireland) side, you can see just a conveyer belt of major champions that have played in the Walker Cup. And a little bit of the same with the U.S. [players]. Then to see what they go on to do. Just amateur golf. The passion. The love. The purity of it. It’s probably one of the greatest sporting events in the world.