Highs and Lows
Golf has a very interesting way of filling you with happiness and also sadness but all the while leaving the urge to come back tomorrow and try again. This year has been a tough one, for the most part only noticed by people close to me but for one week very publicly. I want to provide an overview and insight into the year as I prepare myself for the second stage of European Tour School in a few weeks.
I haven't posted for quite some time now and this is mainly due to everything that has happened this year but I will get to this later. For now though, lets start at the beginning...
I started the year well as you all know, I had a win in a member pro tournament at Naples National, 7 under for the two rounds. After this, a win on the Portugal Pro Tour where I shot a personal best ten under par final round to win. Then the struggles started to creep in, I was unaware but I was heading slowly out of form to a place of total loss.
I missed my first two cuts on the challenge tour by one or two shots but my game wasn't there, one week I would putt lovely the next not and each round was different and there were no clear reasons why. I then made my third cut in the matchplay tournament in Spain but got beat in the first round. It is a 9 hole match play tournament after the cut and despite being 2 under through eight holes I lost and headed home. The following week was the Czech Masters and this was really the start of a tough journey. The first day I turned up and spoke to the physio about a tightness in my wrist, I didn't think anything of it and we agreed to just see how things went but as the practice days progressed I was aware something was wrong. Come the first round I struggled to open my bottle of water at lunch and had to see the physio who performed some acupuncture and applied tape to my wrist as a support.
I should have made the cut that week, missing a six footer on the last that eventually meant I missed by one shot again.
From that day on I struggled with my wrist every week, and it was only getting worse. I was playing in pain but hoping it would go away, reducing practice balls hit to allow it to heal but it never did. This year I have played off a category 15 on Challenge Tour with invites as well but every week is last minute. I didn't want to give up the opportunity to play and get some points on the board and just kept pushing myself, each week in more and more pain. I played four more tournaments in pain and then took a week off before the US Open Qualifying to try and get fit and in shape. Things felt great and I arrived the day before for a practice round on the New Course at Walton Heath feeling good but after a few holes of practice the pain was back, and was travelling more around the whole wrist. I finished as much of the round as I could and couldn't even hit practice chips it hurt so much after wards. I iced it and had a stroll of the Old Course taking in as much as possible without playing and just chatted to my caddie for the tournament Chris. I rolled putts that evening and said to Chris what time to meet me but also said I would let him know if I was unable to play.
This is the first time I have really said how bad it was before the qualifying, I kept it to my girlfriend Sian and I as I didn't want to be advised not to do the qualifying as a huge goal of mine is to play in a major a year until exempt for all.
I struggled that night to shower and wasn't all that comfy in bed. A few hours later I was up, I done half of my stretching routine as the wrist was stiff and wasn't co-operating for most of my warm up. At the course I literally rolled a few putts, hit 50 pitch shots and then went to the tee. I just said to Chris that I didn't feel great, had no idea if I was going to be able to finish but lets just give it our best and see what happens. 36 holes later and I have a spot in the US Open, my wrist is hurting to change gear and I have two weeks to figure out how to play the hardest golf course of the year.
US Open week;
The flight was less than ideal to the big apple, I get really bad travel sickness and I struggled massively on the flight spending most of it in the toilet. It took me a good two days to get over the sickness. However, I had a much bigger cause for concern that week and in the practice rounds, my driving. As the year progressed and playing with the injury I had gotten flatter and more underneath with my swing as a coping mechanism for the pain. Basically, if I made a great swing and the ball went straight I was in pain but with a bad movement it didn't hurt but I also had no idea where the thing was going. I probably went through a dozen balls a round in practice, hitting tents, rough and bushes but my iron play was great along with my putting. It was just a shame that I didn't really get chance to use it that week.
I tried everything to get back on track but it was clear I was going to have to try and wing it as it were. The first round came and I felt good, the warm up went well up until the driver when I was left or right and not much in between. Cut the long story short, I hit the ball a few times that day, and in varying lies. I trended on twitter that evening and I was subject to some quite harsh comments on social media. However, the support I received from other competitors was incredible and I will never forget the kind things said. I try and never judge a book by its cover and I wish other people would do the same, my least favorite people in the world are social media bullies and I experienced first hand what they are like and to be honest I'm quite flattered. It amazes me that someone could take time out of their day to write nasty childish comments about me, where do they get the time from? Personally I don't have the time to waste to be able to do that but I'm also not really into belittling someone and attempting to make them feel down.
For anyone reading this who is being bullied, just know that you are not alone and that for every one person there is to build you up there are ten waiting to knock you down. There is no place in this world for bullies, just don't give them the time of day.
With everything that happened that day I didn't get an awful lot of sleep, I was annoyed, sad and frustrated with my performance. One thing never once crossed my mind though and that was withdrawing, I never give up and I wasn't about to start. That second round was the hardest round I have ever played, I had heckling from members of the crowd and just a feeling of discomfort but I carried on and shot a respectable round. I wanted to break par but with where my driver was going it was probably never going to happen. I had a lot of support from people that day, Justin Rose and his caddie Fooch along with Phil Kenyon, three people I have massive respect for. Before going to the tee Kenyon said to me 'Hey, even if it's another 92, you still have two US Opens under your belt' and it made me have a chuckle to myself. I was ready for the stick I was going to give but stayed focused and am still proud of how I handled myself that week.
After that week I knew that the wrist was clearly an issue but decided to play in Denmark two weeks later on the Challenge Tour. This was probably a bad idea, I could feel that something in my thumb had gone while playing the first round, I was getting a shock in my thumb up to my forearm at the top of the swing. Pride stopped me from walking off but that was my last competitive round for a while.
I came back, saw a specialist and had scans and tests done which basically showed a severe sprain of my wrist which the specialist said was most likely caused way before the initial pain and playing had made it worse. I had played basically 9 weeks in pain and as another side note for anyone with injuries... Stop while you can, it's easier and less painful. I was basically advised to rest it for around a month to six weeks applying ice and taking anti inflammation tablets every day and after that I was back trying to play. It was clear straight away that playing through the pain had seriously affected my swing and the positions I could get in to. I struggled for both of the challenge tour events I played in but I had very positive signs having no pain at all in any round.
For the whole of this process I was worried and not feeling all that positive about my chances of getting back on track. I was questioning my ability and starting to doubt myself which is something I have never really done and it didn't seem like I was making progress. Luckily, one day I flicked through some old note books of practice logs and lessons and tried to find what I had done when I was playing my best. It is very easy to forget when you are struggling the things that you have done and achieved and I just had to remember that and figure out what I done differently then. It became pretty clear that I had become lost, in my swing, my mind and my practice and I had to get re focused on what makes me good. Graham Walker used to say to me 'don't get lost in the golfing circus' and I think I probably had done.
I'm now back to my good habits and structuring practice better, setting goals weekly and also staying more positive. I had forgotten that the road to success and the heights I am aiming for is all a process, it wont happen overnight but I can chip away at it day by day. My game feels in a great place now and I am working every day to make my 'normal' better. My coach Simon Andrews and I never say that anything is great, it's always normal because normal can always evolve, great can't. I want to have the best normal golf in the world and I get closer to that every day.
The process over the last few months has not been easy and I have many people to thank for helping me get back on track and focusing on the right things. My family have been amazing, my girlfriend and then my team.
As a take away from the post, I have learned a lot this year and aim to come back stronger and better. My only aim from the year now is to play ten solid rounds at Q School and see what I can salvage.
All the best as always
Scott :)
I haven't posted for quite some time now and this is mainly due to everything that has happened this year but I will get to this later. For now though, lets start at the beginning...
I started the year well as you all know, I had a win in a member pro tournament at Naples National, 7 under for the two rounds. After this, a win on the Portugal Pro Tour where I shot a personal best ten under par final round to win. Then the struggles started to creep in, I was unaware but I was heading slowly out of form to a place of total loss.
I missed my first two cuts on the challenge tour by one or two shots but my game wasn't there, one week I would putt lovely the next not and each round was different and there were no clear reasons why. I then made my third cut in the matchplay tournament in Spain but got beat in the first round. It is a 9 hole match play tournament after the cut and despite being 2 under through eight holes I lost and headed home. The following week was the Czech Masters and this was really the start of a tough journey. The first day I turned up and spoke to the physio about a tightness in my wrist, I didn't think anything of it and we agreed to just see how things went but as the practice days progressed I was aware something was wrong. Come the first round I struggled to open my bottle of water at lunch and had to see the physio who performed some acupuncture and applied tape to my wrist as a support.
I should have made the cut that week, missing a six footer on the last that eventually meant I missed by one shot again.
From that day on I struggled with my wrist every week, and it was only getting worse. I was playing in pain but hoping it would go away, reducing practice balls hit to allow it to heal but it never did. This year I have played off a category 15 on Challenge Tour with invites as well but every week is last minute. I didn't want to give up the opportunity to play and get some points on the board and just kept pushing myself, each week in more and more pain. I played four more tournaments in pain and then took a week off before the US Open Qualifying to try and get fit and in shape. Things felt great and I arrived the day before for a practice round on the New Course at Walton Heath feeling good but after a few holes of practice the pain was back, and was travelling more around the whole wrist. I finished as much of the round as I could and couldn't even hit practice chips it hurt so much after wards. I iced it and had a stroll of the Old Course taking in as much as possible without playing and just chatted to my caddie for the tournament Chris. I rolled putts that evening and said to Chris what time to meet me but also said I would let him know if I was unable to play.
This is the first time I have really said how bad it was before the qualifying, I kept it to my girlfriend Sian and I as I didn't want to be advised not to do the qualifying as a huge goal of mine is to play in a major a year until exempt for all.
I struggled that night to shower and wasn't all that comfy in bed. A few hours later I was up, I done half of my stretching routine as the wrist was stiff and wasn't co-operating for most of my warm up. At the course I literally rolled a few putts, hit 50 pitch shots and then went to the tee. I just said to Chris that I didn't feel great, had no idea if I was going to be able to finish but lets just give it our best and see what happens. 36 holes later and I have a spot in the US Open, my wrist is hurting to change gear and I have two weeks to figure out how to play the hardest golf course of the year.
US Open week;
The flight was less than ideal to the big apple, I get really bad travel sickness and I struggled massively on the flight spending most of it in the toilet. It took me a good two days to get over the sickness. However, I had a much bigger cause for concern that week and in the practice rounds, my driving. As the year progressed and playing with the injury I had gotten flatter and more underneath with my swing as a coping mechanism for the pain. Basically, if I made a great swing and the ball went straight I was in pain but with a bad movement it didn't hurt but I also had no idea where the thing was going. I probably went through a dozen balls a round in practice, hitting tents, rough and bushes but my iron play was great along with my putting. It was just a shame that I didn't really get chance to use it that week.
I tried everything to get back on track but it was clear I was going to have to try and wing it as it were. The first round came and I felt good, the warm up went well up until the driver when I was left or right and not much in between. Cut the long story short, I hit the ball a few times that day, and in varying lies. I trended on twitter that evening and I was subject to some quite harsh comments on social media. However, the support I received from other competitors was incredible and I will never forget the kind things said. I try and never judge a book by its cover and I wish other people would do the same, my least favorite people in the world are social media bullies and I experienced first hand what they are like and to be honest I'm quite flattered. It amazes me that someone could take time out of their day to write nasty childish comments about me, where do they get the time from? Personally I don't have the time to waste to be able to do that but I'm also not really into belittling someone and attempting to make them feel down.
For anyone reading this who is being bullied, just know that you are not alone and that for every one person there is to build you up there are ten waiting to knock you down. There is no place in this world for bullies, just don't give them the time of day.
With everything that happened that day I didn't get an awful lot of sleep, I was annoyed, sad and frustrated with my performance. One thing never once crossed my mind though and that was withdrawing, I never give up and I wasn't about to start. That second round was the hardest round I have ever played, I had heckling from members of the crowd and just a feeling of discomfort but I carried on and shot a respectable round. I wanted to break par but with where my driver was going it was probably never going to happen. I had a lot of support from people that day, Justin Rose and his caddie Fooch along with Phil Kenyon, three people I have massive respect for. Before going to the tee Kenyon said to me 'Hey, even if it's another 92, you still have two US Opens under your belt' and it made me have a chuckle to myself. I was ready for the stick I was going to give but stayed focused and am still proud of how I handled myself that week.
After that week I knew that the wrist was clearly an issue but decided to play in Denmark two weeks later on the Challenge Tour. This was probably a bad idea, I could feel that something in my thumb had gone while playing the first round, I was getting a shock in my thumb up to my forearm at the top of the swing. Pride stopped me from walking off but that was my last competitive round for a while.
I came back, saw a specialist and had scans and tests done which basically showed a severe sprain of my wrist which the specialist said was most likely caused way before the initial pain and playing had made it worse. I had played basically 9 weeks in pain and as another side note for anyone with injuries... Stop while you can, it's easier and less painful. I was basically advised to rest it for around a month to six weeks applying ice and taking anti inflammation tablets every day and after that I was back trying to play. It was clear straight away that playing through the pain had seriously affected my swing and the positions I could get in to. I struggled for both of the challenge tour events I played in but I had very positive signs having no pain at all in any round.
For the whole of this process I was worried and not feeling all that positive about my chances of getting back on track. I was questioning my ability and starting to doubt myself which is something I have never really done and it didn't seem like I was making progress. Luckily, one day I flicked through some old note books of practice logs and lessons and tried to find what I had done when I was playing my best. It is very easy to forget when you are struggling the things that you have done and achieved and I just had to remember that and figure out what I done differently then. It became pretty clear that I had become lost, in my swing, my mind and my practice and I had to get re focused on what makes me good. Graham Walker used to say to me 'don't get lost in the golfing circus' and I think I probably had done.
I'm now back to my good habits and structuring practice better, setting goals weekly and also staying more positive. I had forgotten that the road to success and the heights I am aiming for is all a process, it wont happen overnight but I can chip away at it day by day. My game feels in a great place now and I am working every day to make my 'normal' better. My coach Simon Andrews and I never say that anything is great, it's always normal because normal can always evolve, great can't. I want to have the best normal golf in the world and I get closer to that every day.
The process over the last few months has not been easy and I have many people to thank for helping me get back on track and focusing on the right things. My family have been amazing, my girlfriend and then my team.
As a take away from the post, I have learned a lot this year and aim to come back stronger and better. My only aim from the year now is to play ten solid rounds at Q School and see what I can salvage.
All the best as always
Scott :)
Great article... all the best for Q school 👍
ReplyDeleteAll the best mate I'm a friend of Robert macintyre another tour player that you know .you will come good I'm sure you deserve it
ReplyDeleteThanks , a great post Scott. Good luck at Tour school
ReplyDelete