Regularly on Globalnews.ca Canadian golf stars Graham DeLaet and Adam Hadwin take readers behind the scenes of the PGA Tour, providing insights, perceptions and observations as they battle at the game’s biggest tournaments.
Golf doesn’t have much of an off-season, but all the same I did have a few weeks before starting back.
What does a pro golfer do with his time off? In my case I spent a lot of time in B.C. hanging out, spending time with friends and family. I also did some work with my sponsors, and went back and forth between Phoenix and Vancouver as I was buying a condo. I’ve been in Phoenix for the last five winters and have been renting a place. After all those years of renting, the time was right for me to get into a place of my own and start feeling like an adult. I’ve been fortunate enough to play pretty well and make some money, so instead of just having money in an account, I felt it was time to make an investment in my first home. That way if my parents or brother want to come down, they can.
In all I had about five or six weeks off, and given my schedule last year, I actually spent little time on golf. Over the last year I played 34 events in 52 weeks. That’s a lot of golf. It was busy and there were stretches where I was worn out. But it is a learning curve and you figure it out.
In the first three or four weeks I was off in September I only spent a few days playing golf. I really took a lot of time off. It felt good to come back rested.
The time away also allowed me to put my rookie year on the PGA Tour in perspective.
In terms of golf, I wasn’t over the moon with how I played, but it wasn’t bad either. There were certainly some cuts I missed that I shouldn’t have missed. Overall, I kept my job and I have a good idea of what I need to do moving forward. That said, I need to be more consistent throughout the year from a mental standpoint. I kind of rode a wave of emotions with each tournament, living and dying with each missed cut or strong showing. But it is a long season and unless you’re Jason Day or Jordan Spieth, you’re going to have stretches when you’re hot and when you’re not. You need to recognize every year is going to be a bit of a roller coaster. I can’t get too upset about missed cuts and excited about Top 10s.
That said, in the new season, which is already underway, I’m going to break down the year and have goals for each section of the season. It might be three or four tournaments at a time and maybe the goal is to make cuts and have strong finishes. Then, when my game is really sharp, the goal will be to fire at pins and crank out some Top 10 finishes.
Moreover, I think some things will change in my second year, but probably not from the golf perspective. It is more about knowing what I need to do at different golf courses. But a lot of it is about travel—where to stay and where to eat. I’ll stay in different places.
When it comes to my game I think I’m pretty good at analyzing the season and understanding what I need to work on. I didn’t drive the ball well enough last year, but my putting was fantastic and really saved me last year. So there are some key things I need to work on moving forward. I use my input, the perspective of my coach, and the stats.
Of course the goal is to try to get into bigger events. You can have a successful career on paper, but if you don’t play in Masters and British Opens, then how successful have you really been? That said I don’t look at majors as the next step. For me, my goal is to continue to improve the things I didn’t do that well last year, and if I put myself in a position to win then I’ll get into the bigger events. You want to have the opportunity on the back nine on Sunday to win. I had some opportunities last year, but I didn’t make the birdies I needed to make a push. I have no doubt I can win on the PGA Tour, but you have to get used to being in that position. I have to worry about things I can control and go from there. My game has taken me to where I am today, but to take the next step I’m going to have to improve, so I’m taking a hard look at that.
Adam Hadwin is playing in the Sanderson Farms Championship this week.
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