It was past five in the afternoon in Abu Dhabi when Gonzalo Fernández Castaño left the driving range at the Arabic course. He had just finished a full day of work after more than eight hours, with a quick break for lunch. His sweat-laden polo said it all.
The golfer from Madrid will start the European Tour season this Wednesday in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. It’s also the first Rolex Series tournament of the year. Big event. Gonzalo is beyond excited, but there’s also some uncertainty on the horizon, logically.
He’s made some important changes in his swing, and he feels it’s still not completely ready yet. In the last tournament in South Africa last year, he began working with golf guru, Jamie Gough, one of the most highly regarded coaches of the European Tour. Since then, he’s been making a change in his movement. To be specific, the objective is to be more on top of the ball, to swing with less movement in the club, and to reduce the movement in his hands. The idea is to achieve consistency, mostly under pressure.
Gonzalo feels it’s the right move, but changes like these don’t happen overnight. The golfer from Puerto Hierro is convinced that they’re embarking on a good path, although it’s quite possible that it will take some time before the results start to show in the tournaments.
In any event, there’s no lack of will on Gonzalo’s part, who’s gunning for it in the season debut in Abu Dhabi.
