Play Better Golf
With Niall McGill
Crook of Devon’s Calum Hill feels well-placed to continue his rise up the golfing ladder after a solid start to 2021.
The European Tour professional last week carded four consistent rounds at the high-profile Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
Scores of 72, 71, 73 and 70 resulted in a two-under par total which was good enough for a finishing position of 46th.
Playing in the Abu Dhabi sunshine was in stark contrast to the snowy Gleneagles practice work he put in around the Christmas period.
“It was good to get in four rounds,” said former Kinross High student Hill.
“I’d been hitting balls in the snow for a month, not able to putt or chip. So it was nice to see a green.
“Gleneagles, the particular spot between the mountains, collects the snow. It snowed just after Christmas and didn’t really go away.
“It was just a case of going down and doing what you could. The outdoor bays were open.
“The greenkeepers would shovel the snow away in the morning and I could hit balls off the mats.
“That’s what my days involved and then going home for a bit of gym work in the garage.
“It was enough to keep me loose so the golf club felt familiar when I travelled to play the tournament.”
Hill is feeling comfortable with his game and he knows time spent fine-tuning certain aspects of it last year is paying off.
Competitive action was paused due to the coronavirus pandemic in March before the green light was given to return in the summer.
He said: “Last year gave me a good opportunity to work on things in my game that definitely needed improved.
“It gave me a lot of time to work on aspects that needed assessed, monitored and corrected.
“As it goes with everything, it’s a continual work in progress.
“But the four month break because of COVID and the work to now has put me in good stead.
“There wasn’t as much pressure to maintain a card.
“Everyone had their continued status.
“Now it’s been more about oiling the engine as opposed to breaking it apart and rebuilding it. You could kind of see a little bit of progress towards the latter part of last year. Probably from Ireland onwards.
“It was relatively consistent, all very steady, nothing particularly fantastic or poor.
“As long as that continues in an upwards trend, it will be good.”
The past few years have represented a special journey for Hill, who grew up swinging a club at Muckhart Golf Club.
He burst onto the scene in 2018 after qualifying and then making the cut at the US Open, held at Shinnecock Hills.
Three wins on the Challenge Tour would follow before bumping up to the top tier in European golf.
“It’s been a nice gradual progression from 2018 and that US Open,” said Hill.
“Results-wise it varies up and down, depending a little on the game and how you’re feeling at that point in time.
“But the steady progression from 2018 all the way to managing to have full status on the European Tour is fantastic.
“And hopefully it continues for the foreseeable future.”
Hill is not in action at this week’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic but hopes March will be a busy month.
“Last year I think I was third reserve for the Dubai Desert Classic and it’s a similar situation this year where I’m not getting in,” he said.
“I think I’m 14th reserve for Saudi [the following week] so it looks unlikely I’ll get into that, which is a shame.
“The next set of events is Oman, Qatar and Kenya after a three-week stretch. My plan is to play in those three.”