Top Scottish golfers including Bob MacIntyre reveal their best bit of career advice

Players flying Saltire around world open up on what’s helped them be successful in the paid ranks

Gemma Dryburgh's advice from long-time coach Lawrence Farmer has helped her become a LPGA winner and a Solheim Cup player. Picture: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images.

During the course of their careers, golfers get lots of advice about this, that and the next thing. They’ve all been bombarded at one time or another but, like most other sportsmen or sportswomen, there’s normally one thing in particular that sticks in someone’s mind and becomes a sort of go-to in testing times.

In the case of LPGA Tour winner and Solheim Cup player Gemma Dryburgh, it came from her long-time coach Lawrence Farmer. “He said to me a long time ago ‘you’re on your own journey and you don’t have to compare yourself to others and as long as you keep improving that’s the main thing throughout your career and you’ll get where you want to’. That’s stuck in my mind ever since then,” admitted the player who has used that advice to great effect by scaling the Rolex Women’s World Rankings over the past couple of years.

What about Bob MacIntyre, the Scottish No 1 in the men’s game and a member of Europe’s winning team in last year’s Ryder Cup in Rome? “Trust everything you do,” said the two-time DP World Tour winner and new PGA Tour card holder of what he was once told. “If you don’t trust it, it’s not right. But, if you trust it, as long as you give it time, it should work out.”

Bob MacIntyre believes trusting his decisions has helped him become a two-time DP World Tour winner, Ryder Cup winner and also secure a PGA Tour card this season. Picture: Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images.

Four-time DP World Tour champion Richie Ramsay mentioned two things when he was asked the question. “Thomas Bjorn said once: don’t let scars linger, as in when you have a bad round don’t let it linger as it will affect your opportunity to be in contention. That’s probably only the case three or four times per year and, if you let those scars linger, it will just ruin the whole year,” said the Aberdonian. “Self-belief is another thing as you can’t have enough of that and I was also told the importance once of investing in yourself.”

Grant Forrest’s best bit of advice was also delivered by a winning Ryder Cup captain. “When we were at the Walker Cup in 2015, Paul McGinley spoke to us and he told us, ‘if you are thinking about turning pro, which most of you probably are, you don’t have to change everything you do because clearly what you are doing to this point is working so don’t feel you have to change’,” recalled the 2021 Hero Open winner. “It’s a tough balance because you are always trying to get better and the intention is always a good one, but you see it a lot when guys get lost trying to change too much.”

That advice was echoed by Scott Jamieson. “It’s such a cliche, but you don’t have to be perfect. It just has to be good enough,” said one of the most experienced Caledonian campaigners on the circuit. “For some reason, my first year on the tour I was a little bit ahead of the curve with that as I was working with some really good psychologists or performance coaches, whatever you want to call them, and I was able to hit the ground running and that was key. I think a lot of people make the step up and think, ‘man. I’ve got to start doing things differently’. But I’d say to them ‘just do what you did to get here’ then over time you can tweak things.”

What about David Law? “Simple as it sounds, probably just to believe in yourself,” said another of the Scots to land a breakthrough win on the DP World Tour within the last five years. “Really back yourself. What I’d say to someone now is get out of your comfort zone as quickly as you can. The longer you stay in the same place, the worse it is for you.

“I’ve been out on the tour for five years now and, barring my first year, the season before last was the first time I was out of my comfort zone at The Open in particular. I’ve not felt like that for a long time and it’s healthy, it’s good for you. And that can be anything - my gym work as well, for example.”

As for Connor Syme, he recalled getting valuable advice from two major champions. “It’s probably not totally the best, but I remember Justin Rose telling me this,” he said. “In my first year on tour, I was always trying to burst myself trying to get ready for the off on Thursday and find myself feeling tired on the Wednesday. He said to me, ‘you need to try and be fresh’ and I’ve learned a bit from that.

“I also remember asking Paul Lawrie how many balls he hit in getting ready for an event and he said hardly any at the range for a Thursday and it was just a case of keeping ticking things over. It’s just about management of your time.”

Ewen Ferguson smiled when he was asked for his input. “My initial reaction to this when I heard it was almost ‘shut up’,” said the double DP World Tour winner in 2022. “It was to be patient and I’m someone who wants things to happen quickly. But, if you are good enough, it will happen for you and I’ve learned that you do need to stay patient. Keep working hard and you will get your rewards.”

The words of wisdom offered to Calum Hill came before he was even thinking about a career that led to three Challenge Tour wins before landing his maiden win on the DP World Tour in 2021. “My college coach in the US once told me to stay on, do my Masters and then join the Sun Country PGA in New Mexico, which was like the club pro section,” he said. “That path was the best one I could ever have taken as far as progressing in the golf world was concerned because it was the perfect start for me in my professional career.”

Stephen Gallacher’s career in the paid ranks spans close to 30 years, having been illuminated by four tour wins and a Ryder Cup appearance on home soil. “I think my best advice from (legendary coach) Bob Torrance was that there’s no substitute for hard work a day and not hitting balls is a day lost forever, which was good when I was younger. Bob also told us to remember that these are the happiest days of your life, which was used by (winning 2014 European Ryder Cup captain) Paul McGinley in our team room at Gleneagles.”