Pro golfers often have their favourite courses, but when the stakes are high, it’s not just about the venue — it’s about delivering results.
When it comes to golf courses, we all have our favourites. And pros are no different to amateurs in that respect. But while an amateur can go to a golf course and enjoy their round no matter what they shoot, when we’ve got a scorecard in our pockets and money, ranking points and everything else on the line, that’s where the difference arises.
When you’re playing on the pro tours, and particularly on the European Tour as I did for many years, it’s seldom that you go to a golf course that doesn’t rank highly – we’re fortunate in that regard – but it’s not much consolation if you play badly and miss the cut.
When you look at the likes of Tiger, for all he’s won, he’s done the majority of his winning at selected golf courses. Bay Hill, Muirfield Village, Torrey Pines, Firestone Country Club, these were golf courses that suited him down to the ground and he dominated there and built his schedule around them. Of course, Tiger might be the exception as he’s won just about everywhere he’s played at one point or another, but you get my point. Rory is similar. He always plays well at the K Club, always plays well at the two courses in Dubai, always plays well at Quail Hollow.
Rory has the ability to win anywhere as well, but these courses allow his specific skillset to shine and that’s where you make hay.
I always preferred going to longer, tougher golf courses because driving and long-iron play would’ve been my strengths. I was never a big fan of events that were driver, wedge because they effectively became putting contests.
If the winning score was likely to be in the 20s-under-par, then it didn’t suit me, but if you’re talking single figures or low double digits-under, then you’re talking my language.
One of the courses I loved most was Adare Manor. I played the Irish PGA Championship there in 2003 and shot the course record but finished second to Paul McGinley, so when it was announced that it was going to host the Irish Open, I couldn’t wait to get back there.
I found myself on the unlucky side of the draw but still finished 12th when Pádraig won in 2007, then I finished third there the following year. The winning score was -5 in ’07 and -10 in ’08.
And Moscow Golf and Country Club was a course that I always found very similar to Adare. Maybe it’s because Adare was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Moscow was designed by his son a couple of years earlier and they’d shared notes, but it was another event on the calendar that I was always licking my lips for.
I must’ve played in the Russian Open 10 times and had about six top 10s. It’s hard to put into exact words what it was specifically about these venues that I liked, but I just did. I felt comfortable there, and sometimes that’s all it takes.
You see, golf can be stupid that way. You might’ve missed three or four cuts in a row, but then you get back to a place you’ve played well at before and that sense of calm just comes over you. It might unlock a memory or a feeling, it could be the shape of a green or the turf on the fairway, and suddenly you’re back at ease, back in the flow and back playing well.
But that’s when you’re playing tournament golf. Recreationally? Then it’s a different story. If I’m playing with three amateurs, then I’ll always favour going to an easier course and playing off forward tees because I know they’ll enjoy it much more. If I’m playing with three pros, then we might go somewhere like The Island because it’s one of the most difficult links courses in the country and we know we’re in for a serious challenge.
But it’s always a different story when you’ve got that scorecard in your pocket. I was lucky enough to play Augusta National when I was at college in the United States, but it was a casual round so you can never fully judge how you’d fare if the stakes were higher. Whenever people ask me what my best round at the K Club is, I tell them it’s five-under because that’s what I shot in a European Open – I’ve shot eight-under several times, but not when it really mattered.
And when you’re a pro, that’s all that matters. It’s always nice to play the best courses, and in your own way you can enjoy and appreciate them even when you’re not firing on all cylinders, but when you’re in the results business, it’s results that count.
Leave a comment