Mike Aitken: Gallacher putting more time into short game in bid to challenge elite

Published on Monday 29 December 2008 22:01

AS HE prepares for his 13th season as a professional – the Scot won his tour card at the first attempt in 1995 – Stephen Gallacher believes he's become a more complete golfer at 34 than ever before. Even the critical eye of Bob Torrance, Scotland's shrewdest coach, can find little fault with the current state of Gallacher's flowing swing.

The Bathgate golfer has made three visits to Largs this winter to work with Torrance and on each occasion the pair were content to keep his action ticking over. Bearing in mind that Torrance has long held the view that Gallacher has a swing as pure as anyone in world golf, it's no surprise to learn he has spent the off season concentrating on chipping and putting in the knowledge that if he can improve his short game then he's more than capable of challenging the best in the Race to Dubai.

From tee to green, Gallacher is as good as anyone in Europe. Compare his stats for 2008 with the winner of the Order of Merit and the contrast is illuminating. Robert Karlsson found 58.93 per cent of fairways, drove an average of 284.88 yards and located 65.28 per cent of greens. Gallacher, on the other hand, found 61.92 per cent of fairways, drove the ball 290.02 yards and located 73.11 per cent of greens.

What separated Europe's No1 player from the Scot in 77th place was putting. While the Swede averaged 28 putts per round, Gallacher took 30.95 – a difference of a dozen strokes over 72 holes. That's why the former Walker Cup player has been fine-tuning a more aggressive approach to holing out. Rather than coaxing the ball towards the cup and running the risk of the ball dribbling off line, he's opted to be more adventurous and putt more firmly.

"What made the difference in the second half of the 2008 season was that I started to putt a helluva lot better," Gallacher recalled. "Everything else had clicked. I've worked hard on that side of the game and that's why I'm performing well. I went to see Stephen Feeney at SightRight (the putting coach who helped Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley) and what I've decided is to take less borrow and hit it firmer."

Having produced a string of improved displays over the summer and autumn months – he was eighth at the European Open, sixth at the Barclays Scottish Open, tenth at the Johnnie Walker and ninth at the Castello Masters – Gallacher can't wait to start the 2009 campaign when he tees up in Abu Dhabi next month.

"All the top putters hit the ball into the hole firmly, so I've changed my routine behind the ball to hit a couple of (strokes] looking down the line before going straight in to hit it. My accuracy is far greater when I hit it firmer. I believe this will help me to hole more single putts, though it might also mean a few more three-putts. But to win tournaments now you often have to shoot 20 under: the only way to do that is to hole lots of putts."

The winner of the Dunhill Links in 2004 is understandably eager to add to the successes on his CV, though greater participation in the majors and involvement in the climax of the Race to Dubai are also significant goals for 2009. "This is the year you want to play your best golf," he reasoned, "because the biggest prizes are at stake."

Gallacher hasn't played in the Open as often as he would like but was enthralled by the new look Ailsa, which hosts the championship in July, when he played off the back tees at Turnberry earlier this year. "I played with Marc Warren and thought it was unbelievable. It's fair but a beast if the wind blows."

Having turned 34 last month, Gallacher feels he now understands more of the variables involved in the life of a successful tour player. "It's not all about technique," he added. "You have to get your short game sharp, learn how to manage, keep fit and understand the psychological side of things. You just have to look at Tiger Woods. When he's not at his best, he still wins tournaments because of all those other factors. As I've grown older, I understand better that you don't need to play perfect golf to do well – you just need to get it round and score. In past winters, I would go to see Bob and practice, practice. This time I've been to see him three times and we've not changed anything."

In the work he's done with sports psychologist John Pates, Gallacher has learned how to control his anger when he hits a poor shot. "If I get angry, then I generally miss another shot, so that's no good," he said. "I've been on Tour since 1996 and when I first started guys were winning five or six times a year. Now if you win a couple of events it's a really good season. There's more depth and standards are higher. But I'm playing well and itching to be involved again."