Golf Monthly UK – August 2019

T

helifeofa

professionalgolferis

uniqueinthesense

yougettopickyour

ownscheduleandhavetomotivate

yourselftoputintheappropriate

practicetoensureyou’re best placed

tobecompetitive.

Thentherearetravel

andrestperiodsto

factorin,aswellas

seasonalvariation.

Peopleoftenaskhow

mypracticevaries

betweentournament

weeksandweeks

whenI’mathome,soI

thoughtI’dtalkabout

thatinthiscolumn.

Whenyou’rehome,

you’rerestrictedby

thepaceofthegreensandthefacilities

youhavetoworkwith.InEngland,alot

ofthegolfcoursesweredesigneda

longtimeagosothepracticefacilities

simplyaren’tuptotournament

standard.Playingnineholesandhaving

achipandaputtisreallydifferentto

whatweexperienceintournament

week,butthat’sjusttherealityforthose

whochoosetoliveinEngland!I think

that’soneofthemainreasonswhya

numberofEnglishmenhavemovedto

theStatesovertheyearsandjoinedthe

PGATour–effectivelyensuringthegap

betweenpracticeandtournament

set-upisasnarrowaspossible.

Whenyougettoatournamentvenue,

youhaveperfectturftohitoffandbrand

newballsontherange,numerousshort

gameareasandputtinggreensthatare

thesamespeedasthesurfacesonthe

actualcourse,soitcanbeverydifferent

topractisingathome.Mymovements

pre-tournamentnormallydependon

whenI arrive,howmygameisand

whether or not I’m in the Pro-Am.

I generallyarriveatavenueon

Mondayoftournamentweek,andifI’m

notinthePro-AmI’lltypicallyplayall 18

holesontheTuesday.I’llspendalotof

timeonthecourseandmakesureI

don’tleaveaholeuntilI’veformulated

mystrategyandcoveredallthebases

• likelywindconditions,pinpositions
  andsoon.It’snotuncommonformeto
  spendmorethanfivehoursonthe
  courseonaTuesday and I don’t even
  keepmyscore.
  OntheWednesday,I’llthenkeep
  thingstickingoverwithrangeandshort-
  gamework.Becauseyou’veplayedthe
  courseontheTuesday,youknowwhat
  typesofshotsyouneedtohitsoyou
  mightpractisethose.Mypracticeis
  definitelyrelevanttothetestI’mabout
  toface.Ifit’sashortcoursewhereI’ll
  likelyplaylotsofapproacheswith
  wedges,I’llreallyworkonthatpartof
  mygameonaWednesday,forexample.
  Someoftheguysactuallyvisualise
  thecourseandplayafull‘round’onthe
  range in practice, so you’ll often see

peoplelookingattheiryardagecharts

andusinglasersontherange.

IfI’minthePro-Am,I’llworkonthe

rangeonTuesdayandgetalookatthe

courseontheWednesday.Pro-Ams

cantakealongtimesothere’splentyof

opportunity todoyourresearch.I do

enjoyPro-Ams–it’s

enjoyabletoplaywith

keengolfersand

learnmoreabout

them.Becausethe

coursesaresetupfor

tournamentplay,

amateursalsogeta

new-foundrespect

forhowtoughitisto

beapro.It’sniceto

getthatrecognition.

Whatpeoplework

onpre-eventistotally

dependentonhowthey’replayingand

theirgeneralphilosophy.Somework

ontechnique,othersfeelanddistance

control.Someguysliketohavetheir

coachout,somedon’t.Thetime

structurebehindthedifferent

approachesisinteresting,too.People

likeChrisPaisleyputinhoursand

hoursonthepracticeputtinggreen,

whereasotherswillturnup,hitafew

puttstogetthepaceandthenheadto

therange.ThelikesofAaronRaispend

thevastmajorityoftheirtimeonthe

coursetolearnasmuchaspossible

anddon’tusethepracticefacilities

much.Someguysjusthangaroundthe

chippinggreenanddon’tdomuchelse.

Iverymuchseenon-tournament

weeksasmy9-5,whereI’mlearning

newthingsandreallyworkingonmy

technique.WhenI’matanevent,it’sall

aboutpreparingforthat.Ifyou’vedone

allyoucaninthelead-uptoget

yourselfready,it’squiteeasytowalkto

thefirstteewiththe attitude that what

will be will be.

MATTHEW

SOUTHGATE

Our playing editor has eight European Tour top-tens, including a 6th at the 2017 Open and a 2nd at that year’s Irish Open

“My pre-tournament

practice is definitely

relevant tothe test

I’m about to face”

Illustration:

Peter Strain