Torrey Pines, California ….
The former coach to Tiger Woods admits he will be keeping a keen eye from afar on Stephen Gallacher’s showing in this week’s 30th anniversary Dubai Desert Classic.
The double Dubai winner is among six Scots, and including 1996 champion, Colin Montgomerie, teeing-up on the famed Emirates Course.
Gallacher took the bold move prior to Christmas to travel from Scotland to Orlando and spent three days with renowend coach, Sean Foley.
The Canadian-born Foley has worked with a host of top golfers and none higher than Tiger Woods and was Woods’ coach from May 2010 to August 2014 and with Foley currentlyworking with the likes of current World No. 1 Justin Rose and exciting American Cameron Champ.
Foley was hard at work on the Torrey Pines range ahead of this week’s PGA Tour Farmers Insurance Open when I caught-up with the 44-year old.
Foley said: “I had met Stevie many times before and we’ve always got on well. I know his family well and besides I have a strong connection with Scotland as my father was born in Glasgow.
Sean Foley with Tiger Woods
“Steve said he felt lost and didn’t really know where he was at, and wasn’t aware of what he was trying to do.
“Of all the players I work with, I’ve always strived to keep the players foremost while we have studied enough science to have a pretty good idea about what is right with someone’s golf game and what’s not.
“But whether you can apply it is a complete another deal.
“What we did achieve in his three-day visit was giving him more of a background to understand how the body is reacting to the golf club and vice versa, and also trying to simply it for him.
“I felt his clubface was too open at the top as open-club faces are good for bunker shots.
“We then worked on getting the sequence better so Stevie doesn’t need to use his hands as much over the ball.”
Foley indicated their arrangement was just for the three days and he’s not expecting any immediate follow-up work with the current World No. 302.
He said: “The thing is that with me being based here in the States, I have tried working with players from across the sea but it’s difficult.
“The thing Stevie is very good and he flushes the ball.
“He just needs to have that understanding and just to work.
“The thing he did not come to me because he was frustrated or anything like that and players don’t come to coaches like me for an opinion.
“They come to you for facts and that’s how I looked at him electing to visit me in Orlando and while you might be given an experienced opinion at the end of the day, hopefully that is based on more knowledge than just things like ‘try this’.
“He performed very well for three days in front of me in Florida but that was on a practice range with zero consequence.
“And the thing is that while we only together for those three days I will follow very closely how he gets on in Europe including this week in Dubai where we all know he’s won twice.
“I do that every week looking at leader-boards and players all around the globe.”
SCOTTISH TEE TIMES – UK Time
David Drysdale – 3.10am
Stephen Gallacher – 3.30am
Colin Montgomerie – 4.10am
Scott Jamieson – 7.30am
Richie Ramsay – 9am
Marc Warren – 9.10am
