Fota Island teenager John Doyle burst onto the scene last year and became the next big thing on the Irish amateur golfing scene. This year the books have taken over and though the upcoming Leaving Cert will mean we won’t see as much of him in championship action, he is determined not to let his grades slip in his Walker Cup bid for Lahinch in September.
The transition from Boys to Men’s golf is always difficult and each year we wait for somebody to burst out from the pack. Last year it was Doyle who emerged as the diamond in the rough, winning the Irish Boys title and the Munster Men’s Strokeplay in back-to-back weeks as he lit the touchpaper for an amazing summer.
By years’ end, Doyle was beaten in a playoff in the very prestigious St Andrews Links Trophy at the Old Course, represented Ireland in Killarney at the European Team Championships and played for Europe at the Junior Ryder Cup, the latter being a lofty target he’d set out early and loomed on the horizon for much of the season.
“It was great. It was my main goal for the year, even though it seemed so out of reach at the start,” says the 18-year-old who is set to attend LSU on a golf scholarship. “I had big goals for last year and it was great to be there. Setting a goal and achieving it, especially a big aspiration like that, it was really fulfilling for me and I enjoyed the week a lot and it lived up to my expectations.”
In fact, Doyle had emerged as a potential left field pick for last year’s Walker Cup so hot was his form and he is now being widely tipped as a star of the Great Britain and Ireland team this time around at Lahinch this September.
Unfortunately, the reshuffle of the championship schedule combined with the exams has not been kind to Doyle, he is adamant that he can still perform well enough to make Dean Robertson’s team.
“The rest are just too close to exams and stuff which is annoying. I love Baltray (East of Ireland) and I would love to have played in the North at Portrush but, unfortunately, this year I can’t,” he explains.
“If I play well enough, I could get it. I need to play better than I am currently, but I have confidence in myself and believe I will.
“It’s a pain not being able to play in the St Andrews Links Trophy and the Amateur Championship. I love St Andrews; I feel it suits me because it’s an approach play and putting golf course which are my two main strengths. It’s a bummer to not play them, but that just means I have to play well in other events.”
Doyle couldn’t defend his Irish Boys [overage] and Munster Strokeplay [too close to his exams] titles this year, and after his runner-up finish as a wildcard last year, missing out on the St Andrews Links Trophy is particularly painful as the experience he’s gained in the meantime as part of the Golf Ireland national squad has proven invaluable.
“I got a wildcard at St Andrews, and I was by far the worst player in the field on paper, so you don’t have high expectations, but you are trying to do as best you can,” he recalls. “Being around the Golf Ireland squad was great though. You’re not alone with your thoughts – and my thoughts can lead to rubbish a lot of the time which is not too productive – so it’s nice to be around the experienced lads.”
As for the early part of the season, Doyle’s exploits have mainly come inside the Golf Ireland prism at the Octagonal Matches and the Spanish Amateur Championship. It’s been a tricky few months as he balances studying and trying to keep on top of his golf swing with swing changes taking their time to bed in.
“It’ll be difficult. I got out to Spain at the start of the year for the Octagonal Matches which really benefitted me, getting on firm grass again. For me it’s just trying to adapt as best I can to the places I go. I’ve done a lot of work swing-wise, so I hope that kicks in soon. I feel like my swing is a lot better and I am striking it a lot better, I’m just not scoring well currently. The Spanish Amateur was encouraging though. I had two decent rounds in the strokeplay, so there was plenty to build on.”
The Cork man is busy training his brain to perform under pressure in the Leaving Certificate Exams, but he has made sure to leave enough space to absorb all the tips and tricks of being an elite amateur from experienced campaigners like Stuart Grehan and Matthew McClean, who like his teachers, he can’t learn enough from!
“It’s so beneficial. You learn so much more from playing with players who are better than you or at least more experienced than you, so it has benefited me a tonne. You always think you know way more than you do, which is just rubbish. I would be naive that way! So, to be around them and see how much more experience they have and how they can use it is good. If I can take 10 percent from that I’ll be doing well.”
Once the books have been packed away, the pencil case will be swapped for a pencil bag of clubs as he’ll be devoting all his time to sharpening up his game. Doyle will be playing Men’s golf full-time this season and while it may take him some time to get up to peak competitive performance levels, he knows he has proven that he can produce at this level as he looks to make the transition from Boys golf.
“It is definitely difficult. Just because I have had one or two good results it doesn’t make it any more difficult or easy. It’s a different set up, the average players are a lot better at men’s level. I’m not playing as much this year, but the big events are where you learn a lot. I learned so much last year so I will try to use that again coming up.”
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