I went to the driving range before playing in the medal last week, but I have no idea why I bothered.
Well, I kind of know why. I hadn’t played in a month, and I wanted to loosen up before getting underway in competition.
Steadily ploughing from sand wedge towards driver, I was content with my ball-striking and was building confidence. There’s the odd duff, but after some time away, I was surprising myself.
I should do this more often. This is actually quite fun, sharing ‘Morning’ greetings with my fellow members, pretending I’m on tour when I middle a long iron down the range, knocking half-swing wedges to nearer pins.
But, then I hit the 20-minute mark.
My enthusiasm was drifting away like the feather at the end of Forrest Gump. I was back to the bottom of my bag before I knew it, dollying chips about 10 yards to reach the end of the basket as quickly as possible.
I was so bored.
For a while now, I’ve convinced myself that not hitting balls before I play helps. The energy it takes to hit 40 shots on the range is better saved for the course.
I’ll fix it when I’m out there, I tell myself. I’m more of a feel player anyway, off-the-cuff. If I slice a drive off the 1st tee, I’ll adjust it on the 2nd. I don’t need to hit range balls or go problem-solving.
This is what I tell myself. The truth is: I can’t be bothered practising.
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If you are motivated to practise, you can make it. Unfortunately, I’m not…
When I was a junior golfer, I could hit balls for hours and hours. I played nine-hole loops all day long. My pals and I could take bag-fulls of balls out to one hole and arrow them at the green all evening.
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After playing in a competition, I’d happily play another 18 holes. That’s what being a teenager is like, I guess, or someone who is more than determined to excel at the game.
Practice is something I’m not prepared to do anymore. If I have a problem with my swing, or a common error that crops up, I self-diagnose and solve it myself. I get perverse enjoyment out of it – the fun is finding a solution without drilled movements.
As much as I pat myself on the back, I will always meet a barrier with this attitude.
I’m down to a 4.6 handicap index, something of which I’m proud. I would love to be lower, and I think I could be, but this brings me back to the delusion.
For as long as I’m not prepared to brush up my swing and put in those extra few minutes on the range, there will always be a limit to my ability. And this attitude is entirely alien to the highest level. I haven’t had a lesson for about 15 years either. I’m my own worst enemy.
After professionals complete a round, part of their routine is another few hours on the range, constantly looking for the answer, whether they’ve played well or not. They are obsessed with the game and their swing – it’s the way they make a living, of course.
They beat balls for days and days, and that’s why they can regularly make birdies and eagles, and shoot under par. You need a freakish mindset to reach that level, and very few of us have it.
At the 2024 Scottish Open, I was waiting for Padraig Harrington to stop hitting balls on the range at the end of the day to catch a word with him about the Ryder Cup. It was around the time when Keegan Bradley was named US captain for the 2025 matches at Bethpage.
50 balls, 20 conversations between him and his caddie, and a bout of numbing foot pain later, I gave up and went home.
It’s what they do, and it is what they’re prepared to do.
I was building towards that mindset when I was 16. However, now, beyond the 20-minute mark on the practice ground, my phone is out and I’m checking the football scores.
I feel ill seeing sprightly youngsters scurry back out to the course having just watched them putt out on 18.
That is why I’ll never be good at golf.
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