Last month I discussed my poor form and the importance of resilience. That resilience is still being tested, but I can see some light at the end of the tunnel. After playing poorly in Ireland and at Wentworth, I made the cut in Sweden. Although I finished well down the leaderboard, it was nice to be working on a weekend.
It has been a difficult period. I love this game, but so far this season it has felt very much like a job. When you are playing well it feels like the easiest hobby in the world, and you get paid handsomely to do it. My approach has not changed. I am still working hard to get back on track. There were glimpses at Wentworth, where I was three under-par early in the second round, and in Sweden, where I shot one under-par after being three over-par through three holes.
I have put a lot of work into the mental side of the game recently too. It’s easy to become engrossed in the technical aspects of golf when you are not playing well, especially for a perfectionist like myself. I know that my technique is not the problem – my swing looks the same on video as it did last year! So, what am I doing to sort it out? I am spending a lot of time working on visualising shots and trying to execute them. This gets me away from thinking about my swing too much. There’s a lot of information available in golf now, but it all comes down to your ability to see a target and hit the ball towards it.
I am also doing simple things such as measuring myself on how well I commit to my shots, rather than the outcome of the shots. I am trying to get back to being focused on the process of hitting good shots, rather than results. This should allow me to play with more freedom, and if that happens, my scores will get a lot better and more consistent.
My next tournament is in Austria, followed by a week off. I am then heading to Germany, France, and Scotland. Four great events to look forward to.
