Winning is supposed to solve everything, but in the year since he won at the Hero Open Grant Forrest admits he “got a bit lost”.
12 months ago Forrest shot 62-66 on the weekend to storm to victory at Fairmont St Andrews’ Torrance Course for his maiden DP World Tour victory. It seemed like the culmination of the potential the former Scottish Men’s and Boys’ champion always seemed to have.
But he admits he struggled for much of this season until a strong showing in the Cazoo Classic at Hillside at the weekend. A tied third finish there gives him plenty of confidence coming into his title defence on the cliffside location overlooking the Home of Golf.
‘I feel like we’ve found something’
"It’s a special place. It’s a great golf course.”
Eight years after his Scottish Amateur win on our links, we caught up with European Tour pro Grant Forrest. He shares his title memories, including his tie with one @NDH19!
Q&A https://t.co/U6kvJ7I1wg pic.twitter.com/lNQhc6PdPw
— Royal Dornoch (@RoyalDornochGC) August 13, 2020
“There’s always a bit more pressure and build up heading into an event you’ve won,” he said. “Before last week, the season wasn’t going too well and I wasn’t feeling that good about things.
“But I feel like we’ve kind of found something. I can take a lot of confidence from last week and hopefully keep it going.”
Forrest is the type that takes advice, but ultimately believes you should ‘own’ your swing and self-solve problems as much as possible.
“I got a bit lost, to be honest this year,” he admits. “I think it’s easy to rely on coaches too much. They can tell you loads of things and it’s all good information, but, at the end of the day, you’ve got to figure out what it feels like yourself.
“I think a couple of weeks ago I just picked up some good feelings. I went to (coach) Alan (McCloskey) with them, explained that’s what felt good to me. We talked some things over and last week was probably the best I’ve felt about my game for a long time.”
‘It was back to basics a bit’
It’s always a balance between natural talent and technique, he added.
“I’ve been working with Alan since April. I’d been chopping and changing a bit and it was back to basics a bit.
“I feel I got too wrapped up in the technical stuff and got away from that. At the same time, there were some technical issues that weren’t allowing me to play the type of golf to compete.
“For me especially, when I pick something up that works and I feel it click, it’s like a switch and I can start playing well and the confidence comes back pretty quickly.
“That’s golf. When it’s not going well, you wonder if you are not going to play well again. When you are playing well, you wonder how you can ever play badly. It’s just managing that and trying to not get too up or too down on yourself.”
‘That’s three decades he’s won in now’
"I'll remember that for the rest of my life."
Richie Ramsay fights back the tears in an emotional interview after winning the Cazoo Classic. ⛳pic.twitter.com/naVIsUjCsW
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 24, 2022
His countryman Richie Ramsay’s victory at Hillside is a good example of what’s needed, he reckons.
“You could see what it meant to Richie on 18,” he said. “That’s three decades he’s won in now, 2009 was his first win.
“That’s a testament to what a good player he is and how long he’s kept that level up.
“I played with him Thursday and Friday and he was just really playing solid golf. Hillside’s a phenomenal course and it suited Richie quite well. There’s a real premium on being accurate off the tee, and he’s so straight.”
Last year’s win was a thriller, in a battle first with friend and fellow Scot Calum Hill, and then with England’s James Morrison.
“I probably haven’t played better than that over a weekend,” he recalled. “Calum hadn’t missed a shot for eight holes in the final round. But there was a five shot swing in three holes when he got into some trouble.
“Then I was leading coming down 16 and saw James was on 18. You kind of expected him to birdie that, and he did. So I hit a poor wedge into the 16th green and three-putt.
“At least going on to the 17th tee I knew what I needed to do. I hit a great 9-iron to six feet and rolled it in, which made 18 a lot easier.
“Although it was the longest three footer of my life there!”