PAUL GALLAGHERplays a round with Graeme McDowell at Royal Portrush and talks to him about his on-course strategy, his love of home and juggling a social life with his career
GRAEME McDOWELL has traversed the globe playing golf. He has won in far away places like Korea, experienced cultural diversity with further wins in Scandinavia, Italy and Scotland, never mind completing academia at Alabama University. For McDowell though, there is no place like home and Portrush is where he is most at ease.
The 29-year-old led something of a nomadic existence after joining the paid ranks in 2002. A year-and-a-half was spent in Cardiff because he was dating a Welsh girl at the time. When the relationship ended a base was found in Manchester, convenient to an international airport, near to friends and his old management company and on the doorstep of his beloved Manchester United.
By 2004 his fledgling career was on an upward curve with two wins (the Scandinavian Masters and Italian Open) under his belt and everything appeared aligned. However, in the six months he rented in Manchester, he reckons he was lucky to have spent two weeks in total at the apartment.
“The magnetic pull of being back in Portrush has always been there. I was unsettled and realised it was time to find a base back home,” explains McDowell, who has been back in Portrush for the last two years.
“It’s a beautiful part of the world. I had been keeping an eye out for a bachelor pad for a while and I bought a penthouse apartment in Portrush, overlooking the golf course and East Strand beach.
He also had more pressing reasons to be back home. “My mum was diagnosed with MS five years ago and it’s very important for me to keep close to my parents,” he says.
“My youngest brother Gary and his wife had their first child last July and really we are a very close-knit family. To be honest I think I’m a bit of a home bird on the sly. Portrush is somewhere I can completely escape to, it’s a million miles away from the Tour circus. I can relax here.”
Relaxed and engaging aptly describes McDowell from the moment his black BMW pulled into the Royal Portrush car park ahead of our round on the famous Dunluce course. It was actually his dad’s car; he borrowed it while his black Range Rover Sport was in for a service.
The boot of the BMW was popped and white trainers were replaced by leather Footjoys. Unshaven, but now immaculately attired, the world number 36 shook hands half a dozen times in the short 20-yard walk to the pro shop. He’s on first name terms with everyone he meets; easy in conversation and genuinely interested. That’s the way of Graeme McDowell, the local lad made good and in his comfort zone.
The preamble to his opening tee-shot: “Don’t expect much for the first swing of the day.” But the ball fired off the clubface and split the fairway.
As the crisp fairways were still thawing under the morning sun Rory McIlroy’s maiden win in Dubai quickly came up in discussion. He laughed at how they both got stuck in Heathrow due to snow on the way home, but also at how the younger Ulsterman completed his final leg to Belfast in a private jet.
“Getting back from Dubai gives a good example of how living back here isn’t always practical from a travel point of view. Private jets can certainly help numb the pain of hanging about airports and all that should become easier now that I have a partner in crime [McIlroy] down there in Belfast who is playing some great golf,” added McDowell, who reckons he and McIlroy are likely to purchase some private jet hours together when necessary through the season.
On the way round McDowell pointed out Rathmore Golf Club, Royal Portrush’s neighbouring artisan club where he played as a junior.
“I grew up playing out of Rathmore and I still go back there for a beer. Every time I win a tournament I make a call and open the bar to get everyone a drink. It’s become something of a tradition now. Royal Portrush gave me honorary membership and I’ve had great support from both clubs over the years.”
He has worked hard on his fitness and shed almost two stone in as many years. With two European Tour wins and a Ryder Cup debut last season, he’s obviously doing something right, but at the same time he knows his limits.
“Look, I know I’m never going to look like Tiger, I’ve got this stocky build so I don’t really want to bang on about my gym routine, but I’m chipping away at it,” he says. “A lot of my exercise routine is based around flexibility and building core strength.
“People will see sports like rugby and Gaelic as hardcore contact sports. Golf is different, but there is still a lot of wear and tear, particularly on the spine, wrists and joints of a top golfer.”
He has a thorasic spine condition since being involved in a car crash in 2005, plus a small cartilage tear in his right hip.
“I do a lot of lunges, squats and cable exercises to build strength and improve my rotation. It is essential I keep up the cardio fitness because I like a pint of Guinness,” adds McDowell who, like Pádraig Harrington, has Dale Richardson as his physio and Paul Hoskins as fitness coach.
On the diet front he claims to have that under control these days. “I’m big into my sushi at the moment, but failing that a nice medium rare fillet steak with mashed spuds on the side will hit the spot too. Oh and don’t forget Christmas dinner with turkey and all the trimmings, that has to be one of my favourites as well,” he quips.
“I’m still partial to a pint and the odd night out with friends. There’s my main fight with calories right there. But I believe it’s about balance and socialising with friends. Getting home to unwind with my mates is my release valve. Plus I’m still a single guy, I’ve no one to put the ball and chain on me yet!
On that note, what about Nick Faldo’s references to him being on the look out for a wife during the Ryder Cup opening ceremony at Valhalla?
“I felt like I was on Blind Date at the opening ceremony,” he says. “It’s difficult to fit women into my schedule right now and I’m very career orientated.
“I think Nick probably tried to do too much with his opening speech and there were a few cringe-worthy moments. Myself and Pádraig [Harrington] definitely got the brunt of a few bad Irish jokes and then he got Soren Hansen’s name wrong. He didn’t cover himself in a lot of glory with that speech.
“I think Monty will make a great captain, he’ll be very meticulous in his preparation and he’ll be in touch with the players more than Nick was, but I don’t want to be too critical of him [Faldo] because he was always going to be the fall guy.”
No matter what forged Callaway iron – with his nickname “GMAC” branded on every club – McDowell reached for on the round, they all seemed to be hit pure and struck with precision. So, did he always have that ease of shot execution, even in the heat of battle?
“We pros feel fear and pressure the same way any club golfer does. The mind tries to run too far ahead and you’re already writing the speech,” he explains.
“That’s why you often hear top players talk about ‘staying in the present’. That’s something I work very hard at doing with my mind coach Karl Morris.
“My pre-shot routine is down to a fine art, from the moment I pull the club out of the bag to hitting the shot. It’s a very exact process, even the number of waggles of the club, picturing the shape of the shot and controlling my breathing. You hope this routine then stands up under pressure,” he says recalling the seven-iron he played to win the play-off at the Ballantine’s Championship in Korea last March.
“That shot was the perfect seven-iron, the pin was on the left and I visualised drawing it into the pin off the middle of the green. At that point when the pressure is on you switch to images, visualise the shot and trust your swing.”
Most pros have a safe shot they go to when under pressure and McDowell’s is a knockdown.
“I’m not a guy who likes to hit the ball flat out under pressure. If I’m between irons, I’ll take the extra club because I’m pretty good at knocking some yardage off and that’s probably because I grew up playing in the wind around here,” he adds after finding the green with a four-iron instead of five at the infamous 200-yard par three 14th called “Calamity”.
I was also surprised to hear he is working hard with his short-game coach Pete Cowan to bring more variation into his wedge play. “As a result of growing up playing links golf my short game was too one-dimensional. I played a lot of bump and run shots and de-lofted the club. That’s not a good action to have when you have a 60 degree lob wedge in your hands. Pete is one of the best short-game coaches in the world and I will continue to improve my technique with him.”
Cowan is one crucial cog in Team McDowell. He says he admires Harrington and how he built a strong team around him and has attempted to replicate that.
“Pádraig has been a role model for all us Irish guys on tour. He has a great team around him and I’ve modelled my own team on that basis,” added McDowell, heaping praise on Clive Tucker, who keeps tabs on his long game. “Clive is calm and the sort of guy I trust implicitly with my swing. He is also analytical and a deep thinker, a bit like me.”
He also changed management companies last year after leaving Chubby Chandler’s International Sports Management (ISM) to join Dublin-based Horizon Sports Management which is headed up by Conor Ridge.
“Call it maturity as I approach my 30th birthday in July, but I got to a point in my career where I wanted more control. When I started out with Chubby I didn’t much care for the credit card bills and the zeros in the bank balance.
“The need for change felt right and I liked Conor’s professionalism and the motivated team at Horizon,” says McDowell, who has a more active role in his contract and financial dealings.
Aside from a penchant for prestige cars, McDowell claims not to be extravagant with his money – he has amassed over €6 million in little over six years competing on the European Tour. “We earn a lot of money and it nice to enjoy the fine things in life, but the big thing for me was being able to buy my parents a nice house and look after them and the rest of my family. That gives me a big personal reward,” he says.
“I have a few nice houses like my base in Lake Nona, Orlando, and here in Portrush. Although I like my clothes, shoes and a bottle of red wine or two, I try not to be too extravagant and invest wisely for the future. Our shelf life as pros out here is unknown, so I guess you’ve got to make the most of it when you can.”
Normally he likes to take his car out for two weeks in the season to get to the Scottish Open in Lomond and on to the British Open. Because he won in Scotland last year, he didn’t get to drive the second leg to Birkdale in his Porsche 911 Turbo.
“My mum and dad were over in Scotland and the champagne was flowing. Needless to say I had to throw the keys to my manager, Conor, because I was in no fit state to be driving!”
As the putts on our final green dropped, there was no need to ask who would have won the money.
Quite where McDowell ends up in the world Portrush will never be far from his thoughts.
“Right now I’m a single guy with a good career, but if I meet the right person who knows where I’ll end up, but hopefully I will always spend time back here,” he said before heading off to be special guest for the opening of a new building at his old primary school.
GRAEME MCDOWELL FACTFILE
Nickname:Gmac
Born:July 30th, 1979, Portrush, Northern Ireland
Residences:Portrush; Lake Nona, Florida
Turned pro:2002 (handicap plus 4)
European Tour wins:4: 2008 Scottish Open, Ballantines Championship; 2004 Italian Open; 2002 Scandinavian Masters
European Tour career earnings to date:€6,061,880
Order of merit:
2008:€1,859,346 (5th)
2004:€1,648,862 (6th)
Interests:Supports Manchester United and season ticket holder at Old Trafford. Cars, snooker, clay pigeon-shooting
TEAM GMAC
MANAGEMENT TEAM
Horizon Sports Management
Dublin-based management company McDowell moved over to from International Sports Management (ISM) last year. Headed up by Conor Ridge.
COACH
Clive Tucker
Based out of London, Tucker has been working with McDowell since 2006. Enjoys his analytical yet simplistic approach to the game.
SHORT GAME COACH
Pete Cowan
Has been with Cowan for almost two years and regards him as one of the best coaches in the world. Currently working on a more varied short game.
PHYSIO
Dale Richardson
Also works with Pádraig Harrington and famously helped him to recovery at Birkdale last year. Works on spine and rotation after McDowells 2005 car crash.
FITNESS COACH
Paul Hoskins
Also based out of London, Hoskins works on McDowells general fitness levels through number of screens and testing.
MIND COACH
Karl Morris
Has been working with Morris since turning pro. Keen student of the game and was well read on Ben Hogan and Bob Rotella before working with Morris.
CADDIE
Ken Comboy
Got together with one of the most respected caddies on the European Tour in June 2006. Has previously been on the bag for Thomas Bjorn and Paul Casey.
“My pre-shot routine is down to a fine art, from the moment I pull the club out of the bag to hitting the shot. It’s a very exact process, even the number of waggles of the club, picturing the shape of the shot and controlling my breathing
AT A GLANCE
Ideal fourball:Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods
Who do you admire in the game:Pádraig Harrington (pictured above with McDowell)
Favourite course:(apart from Royal Portrush) Augusta
Best tournament venue:St Andrews Old Course during British Open
Favourite destinations:Cape Town, South Africa; Sydney, Australia.
Culinary delight:Ramore Wine Bar, Portrush.
Off the menu:Monkfish Red Curry
From the bar:Pint of Guinness or glass of Australian Shiraz
Favourite car:Porsche 911 Turbo (got rid of it for bigger Range Rover Sport)
Currently reading:David Baldacci's Stone Cold or Harlan Coben
WHAT'S IN THE BAG?
Driver:Callaway FT3 9.5 degree Aldila pro-low shaft
3-Wood:Callaway Tour 15 degree X-metal
Hybrid:Callaway 17 degree FT Fusion Hybrid Aldila 85x shaft
Irons:3-9 irons Callaway 2009 X-forged with 6-5 project-X flighted shafts
Wedges:48, 52 and 60 degree Callaway X-forged with 6-5 flighted rifle shafts
Putter:Odyssey White Hot No 7
Ball:Callaway Tour IX
Glove:Callaway
