The Irish open didn’t quite bear the fruits that I wanted it to. Missing the cut is not exactly the championship winning form you want going into a busy summer of golf. But missing the cut does have its advantages.
I am one of those guys on the tour who is always up for a bit of a laugh whether I am winning or losing. Unfortunately at the moment my form seems to dictate the latter. But if there is ever a party happening I’m normally in the middle of it. I like to think of myself as a bit of a Jack the lad, I’m not off the rails but you have got to have a giggle along the way haven’t you? But then I wonder why I missed the last four cuts? I can’t put my finger on it.
As soon as you have missed the cut you find out if you are going home straightaway or due to travel arrangements you sometimes have to stay an extra night. Friday was one of those days where I knew I was staying. There are always a few lads scouting around, looking for a night out, and Friday was a night where we had a good bunch us who had failed to make the grade.
There were seven of us all primed and ready to make up for our failures. There was myself, Tom Whitehouse who a room with a lot. Although he really does snore for England, so I think I might have to ask for a single room from now on. It might improve my form. There was South African party animal Anton Haig, Jamie Donaldson from Wales, Stuart Drummond and his caddie who has become a good friend over the years, and Gary Houston who was given the role of driver for the evening.
So seven lads all crammed into Gary’s car and headed into the bright lights of Limerick. The first bar we went to resembled the bar from Star Wars, just full of whacky and weird people, but we were thirsty so we got on with it. Only in Ireland do you stand under cover outside drinking pints of Guinness and still get wet.
At this point JD (Jamie Donaldson) thought he would try and impress a few of the local ladies with his trademark coin trick. You probably know the one, you have nine coins in three rows of three and you ask a girl to move away or touch one of the coins when you are not looking. Then you have a mate who is in on the trick place their pint glass over the area of the beer mat that shows which coin she has touched. For example, if the girl takes the top left coin you put your beer by the top corner of the beer mat and so on. A couple of girls were quite impressed but they began to look bored as JD explained the trick and they left the bar promptly. Oh well, better luck next time JD.
After JD ruined our rep in the bar we decided to hit a club for a dance and a few more drinks. We got back to the hotel at 4:00 AM and managed to crash a traditional Irish wedding for a couple of beers which was a great laugh.
I woke up in the morning and I thought; am I sending the wrong signals out here? I had a great night but I know at the moment I am playing like absolute rubbish. It also begins to sink in that I am seeing my other half Joe tonight. As the schedule is very busy you don’t get to spend a lot of time with your loved ones and you can’t come home at just sit on the couch. Although I would love to she would not be happy. So I have to remember to buy a couple of cheeky redbulls at the airport to raise my energy levels. Making sure I don’t get an earful.
Then on Sunday it’s onto to Walton Heath Golf Club to practise for the US Open qualifier and a charity golf day on Monday.
The next big event I am warming up to is the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth next week. But I have to be brutally honest with myself at the moment. I am really struggling with some changes I am trying to implement to my swing, so the hectic schedule can become very difficult when you are going through a transition. All you can do is just keep plugging away.
I’m normally very positive going into every tournament but I know Wentworth might be a bit of a struggle. In Ireland, I was playing great in practice and then when it came to the crunch I was spraying it everywhere. That’s golf though, it’s up and downs but it only takes a little something to get you back on track. Lets hope my coach has the answer, because I know I don’t.