Fresh Start
Well, the curtain is coming down quickly on 2016 and I’m the first to admit it wasn’t the best for me on the golf course.
I started the year ranked 18 in the world and near the end of it I was around 25 or 26 – which is quite some way off 2012 when I was as high as No 6. Actually, it all started off rather well, with me winning the Perth International on my first visit to Australia and then I had that runners-up spot at the WGC Dell Match Play in March, where I lost in the final to world No 1 Jason Day. So, in that context I didn’t follow through on the start.
In reality, I spent the whole year working on my swing. I’ve read quite often that I’ve got one of the better swings on the tour but I dedicated so much time over the past year to tweaking it. Maybe I got a bit too technical at times, but I have decided I’ll hook up with my old coach, Pete Cowan, in 2017 and hopefully the fundamentals will be in place and I can just ‘play’.
So, no, I didn’t reach my goals for 2016 but that doesn’t mean I’m sitting back on past achievements. I have definite ambitions for 2017 and that will be to try to get into the top 10 again, and I’m going to be doing a few things differently. Maybe the change will bring out the best in me.
In terms of travelling, I clocked up a lot of miles in the year and that’s probably what I’ll continue doing as I don’t mind travelling. However, with my kids at school in the US, I might not play as much as I have as I want to spend more time with the family and I don’t want to miss seeing them growing up.
This is the time of year when I return to South Africa and my charity day was at Pinnacle Point on 16 December. While there I had a series of meetings with golf course design guru Peter Matkovich and we went over a few things because, as you know, the business side of my career is also taking me into the world of golf course design. I have so much to learn – and there are few better people to learn from than Peter M.
So I was back in the country for that – and I met with Compleat Golfer to chat about an exciting new series of instruction for you readers. Then, one of my highlights is going to be heading to Namibia where I’ll be spending 10 days just chilling. One thing I’ve decided to do is come across without my golf clubs. They’re staying back at ‘home’ in the States, and between Namibia and my farm I’ll be taking in the fresh air and the sun and hope to feel like a new man when I leave again to start my 2017!
