Bob MacIntyre makes 'huge gains' in stats with new team member

Bob MacIntyre may not be in Bryson De Chambeau’s league when it comes to a scientific approach to golf but he reckons a “boffin” has helped him break into the world’s top 50 for the first time.

Bob Macintyre has seen an improvement in his statistics, including putting, since he added Graeme Leslie of Golf Data Lab to his support team. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images.

The young Scot added Graeme Leslie, of Golf Data Lab, to his support team around the time he made his European Tour breakthrough in the Cyprus Showdown in November and is liking his statistical input.

“The hardest part about golf is knowing where you should be improving,” said MacIntyre, who is heading out to the US on Saturday at the start of a potential seven-week stretch, which could see him play in two WGCs, The Players and the Arnold Palmer Invitational ahead of a possible Masters debut in early April.

“When you are in the heat of the battle, you think, ‘this is what let me down’. But, until you see stats to prove it, then you don’t really know what the problem was.

“I feel that Graeme has been a good addition to the team to identify where I need to improve. It can either be day-to-day stuff at the golf course such as needing to hole more putts from 10 feet. He helps hammer in certain things and I feel as if we have made huge gains.”

The 24-year-old also feels lucky to have David Burns (coach), Mikey Thomson (caddie), Kenny MacKenzie (fitness) and Iain Stoddart (manager) as part of his team as he bids to keep climbing the world rankings.

“My family is a huge part of the team as well,” he said of his mum and dad, Carol and Dougie, in particular but also his sisters, Nicola and Gillian, and the family’s two fosters kids, Thomas and Dan.

“I feel as though I have a great team around me and why would I change it if it’s working?”

That’s not to say that MacIntyre is about to rest on his laurels, saying of his work with Kingsfield Golf Centre-based Burns: “We are not the finished article yet. Davy has a lot of things he wants me to improve and I obviously have the same goals.”

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