BBEESATT SYCOOURRE
The six-time European Tour winner and Ryder Cup star shares his ten top tips to help you go low more often
1. Be prepared when you step on the 1st tee
Good preparation before you get to the tee sets you up for a good day. You have to manage your time well. You have to make sure you eat at the right time and that your hydration levels are good. You need to have a good warm-up so your body is ready to go. It all helps you to play good golf.
Lesson: Plan the day before your tee time so it works around your golf. Give yourself plenty of time to prepare and arrive on the first tee ready to go mentally and physically.
2. Don’t worry about a bad warm-up session
Generally, the best days are when you’ve absolutely dogged it on the range and your swing feels terrible. But once you get on the golf course, everyone has a bit more focus. You’re more into your target and you know what you’re going to do. I’m probably the same as most amateurs on the range; I’ve got a target but I’m very loosely just hitting balls and treating it as a warm-up. Although I would like to feel the ball in the middle of the clubface as well. It’s knowing that I’m going to be more focused on the course, not worrying about a bad range session and just cracking on.
Lesson: Your warm-up is primarily about preparing your body and seeing how you’re hitting the ball. It doesn’t guarantee how you’re going to play and score, so don’t stress about it and play with the shots and tendencies you have that day.
3. Have a clear strategy and stick to it
There are always certain holes where you need to have a game plan. If you’re having a good round, your strategy has been working so keep it going. My caddie, Mick Donaghy, plays a huge part. I don’t carry a yardage book, so I rely on Mick quite heavily for a lot of information, like lay-up points and pin positions. He knows the better side to miss it, so if there’s a tight pin he might suggest just trying to keep it a little more towards the safe side. That allows you to make a better decision about what club and shot you’re going to hit.
Lesson: Plan the best way for you to score well that plays to your strengths and minimises your weaknesses. Also, aim towards the centre of the green more often and stick to your strategy no matter how your round is going.
4. Get the putter working
Generally, the putter is the most important club in the bag when it comes to shooting a low score because you’ll need to hole a few long putts. They keep momentum going. Even when you miss a green and you’ve got a six-foot par putt, you hole that and you go to the next tee with the momentum still. Holing that putt enables you to carry on, and on the good days you’re generally going to make birdie on the next hole.
Lesson: We all know how important the putter is, but many of us don’t spend enough time practising with it. Practise on the greens and focus especially on pace control.
5. Keep your foot on the accelerator
If you’re playing well, keep it going. If you’re six under, let’s get to seven under. If you get to seven under, let’s get to eight. It’s always about trying to move forward, make birdies and see how low you can shoot. Some people might get caught up when they have a good score going and get a little bit defensive, but if you’ve been aggressive all day and it’s got you to that point, you should just keep going.
Lesson: Make the most of the days when you are playing well by trusting yourself and continuing to do the things that have put you in that good position.
6. Stay in the moment
Any time you’re shooting well under your handicap, it’s very easy for you to think too far ahead. Try and stay as present as you can. Just focus on each shot. Mentally, people would maybe say I’m fragile. It’s just trying to stay patient and not getting too worked up. Remember the good stuff you’ve been doing and try to carry that forward.
Lesson: The past doesn’t matter and you can only control the here and now. Focus on the shot in hand and don’t worry about previous shots or start thinking too far ahead.
7. Have a plan on courses and holes that don’t suit you
You have to believe you can shoot a good score around any particular golf course. On tour, we play a variety of different layouts and there are going to be times when you don’t like the course or it visually doesn’t suit your eye. In those instances, it’s about trying to get round it the best way possible. There might be some tee shots you don’t like, so you have to think about what you can do to feel more comfortable on that tee, what shot you can rely on or where is the good miss that you can recover from. You just have to be smart about these things.
Lesson: There’s always a way to score well on any course or hole if you play to your strengths and make sensible decisions that reduce the chances of making a big number.
8. Commit to every shot you hit
Mick and I have been working together for a very long time now, so he knows my game really well. If we are in between clubs then he’s generally going to say something that will make me feel comfortable to hit the club we’ve selected, so I just have to stand there and make a good swing.
Lesson: You might not have a caddie, but a quick internal chat with yourself outlining the shot you’re seeing, the club you need and how you want to hit it really helps clarify what you’re doing. This enables you to totally commit to the shot.
9. Embrace pressure and nerves
You want to be in those positions, shooting a good score. Naturally, professional golfers all enjoy that pressure and nervous energy. For me, personally, I’ve been fortunate to win on the European Tour and PGA Tour and having the confidence that you can get over the line allows you to go and hit good shots. That pressure and nervous energy is what you practise for and it can help you be more focused.
Lesson: We all want to shoot low scores, so you have to welcome the feelings that come with it.
10. Keep your expectations realistic
I won my first event this year in Abu Dhabi, but I almost didn’t know what to expect, which can help you sometimes – if you’re playing well you almost put pressure on yourself to have another good week. Amateur golfers need to stay with their game plan and try not to get too carried away.
Lesson: High expectations are very rarely helpful when it comes to shooting low scores. Keep yours realistic for your standard, focus on enjoying the game and hopefully some good rounds will come.