Top Scot Relives Early Days Along With The Pain & Passion Being On Tour

2 hours ago by 0

Top Scottish golfer Richie Ramsay is currently in South Africa as his 19th year in the professional ranks rolls out.

He’s a proud ambassador of Carbon Financial Partners, a London and Scotland based team of financial advisers.

And with thanks to Carbon hereunder is Ramay’s latest blog as the Scot recalls the early days after stepping-up from the amateur ranks, which had included winning the US Amateur in 2006.

With thanks to Carbon, let’s hear from Richie …..

“I turned pro in 2007 and looking back now, there was a real mix of excitement but a little anxiety joining the Tour.

You’d watched the big names playing on the telly and here you were playing alongside them, focused on your own game but learning on the fly by watching them up close.

This was the era of Westwood, Clarke, Bjorn, Kaymer and Garcia, all in their pomp and big characters. Harrington won The Open and Rose was about – his longevity is incredible.

Martin Kaymer was good to me. I asked him for some advice over a coffee around 2009 when he was up there at the top of the rankings. I had played with him and had been really impressed with his attitude and work ethic.

He was big on making sure you did all your practice away from the tournament, getting all the hard work in then.

He wanted his short game to be sharp and didn’t want to be hitting a million balls because his expectation was being in contention come the Sunday afternoon – so he didn’t want to be physically, but mostly mentally, drained when it really mattered.

He wasn’t going to waste energy hitting loads of balls on the range on a Monday or Tuesday of a tournament.

It was good to get that sort of pointer because when you are younger you are happy to go out and bash a heap of balls.

Sometimes you have to if a fix is needed in your swing. But when you are on it, go with it.

The target in those early days was just to make the cut, to get four rounds under your belt.

I suppose it was a little bit rough because I turned pro half-way through the season and didn’t have a backer on board until the end of the year.

I was in contention coming down the stretch in the north-west of France. I hit a nine iron to a back left flag.

I hit it long, which you couldn’t afford to do. I bogeyed a hole where you could make birdie and all I was thinking was ‘well that is going to cost me.’

Someone I had caddied for a few years earlier, who had become a good friend, had offered to help me out for the first six tournaments. That made a big difference and I am eternally grateful for his support.

I played quite well after finding my feet and got my Tour card. It made a massive difference, just getting a foothold in professional golf.

It was an exciting time though. I remember getting a call to play in Malaysia, so I jumped on a flight. It was 30 degrees but the humidity was 90 per cent, it was dripping off you.

I only found out on the Sunday afternoon I was off to Australia next. So it was on to Perth and 40 degrees. I was flying by the seat of my pants because I didn’t have a schedule to go by. But at that age it was all new and exciting.

Nowadays, it’s all laid out in advance and I can select which tournaments to play and when to take a break.

The recent Middle East Swing helped build up the strength and feel my way back into it after the stress fracture in my rib which cut short last season.

I am lucky to get to spend time at Kingsfield and Gleneagles on the home front but it’s nice to get the sun on my back when it’s wet and cold in Scotland.

It’s great being back involved.

Golf isn’t easy, but life in general isn’t easy. A lot of people face a real grind every day.

There’s pressure in my line of work at times, of course there is. But I’m getting to do something I love for a living, still with a purpose and a passion after all these years on Tour, and I enjoy some nice things along the way.”

 



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