After his annus mirabilis of 2014, Stephen Gallacher’s 2015 campaign was something of a pain in the, ahem, annus horribilis by comparison. Ok, so it wasn’t a complete disaster – he did have a third place finish in the Dubai Desert Classic – but after the giddy highs of the previous year, when he had a win, seven more top-10s and earned a wild card pick for the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, Gallacher has been more than happy to consign the season just past to the archives. “It’s been a case of drawing a line in the sand as far as 2015 is concerned,” he said. “It was always going to be tough to follow up a year where you’d met all your goals. And then to have your coach leave you in the middle of the season wasn’t easy. I had to re-evaluate.”

Gallacher began 2015 in the rarefied air of the world’s top 50 and when his spirited defence of that aforementioned Dubai title ended with a podium placing, he was 31st on the global pecking order. By the end of the year, he had slithered down to 121st. He missed the cut in all four majors and a first round 84 in the WGC Cadillac Championship was another unfulfilling chapter in a series of fairly fruitless forays on the other side of the Atlantic.

In this game, of course, you never stop learning and, at 41, Gallacher is continuing his golfing education. His rise into the upper echelons of the world rankings opened up plenty of doors of opportunity but hurtling here, there and everywhere on both the European and PGA Tours can take a hefty toll.

“It’s really hard to play both tours, mentally and physically, and in hindsight that maybe killed me a little bit,” added Gallacher. “The Ryder Cup was a lifetime ambition and you have to reassess and pick something (as a new goal). You’re trying to improve every year, so going to America was the right thing and I would do it again. It’s just I’d do it a bit more cleverly the next time. It’s such a high (making the Ryder Cup) and you push for it so hard at tournaments. I didn’t rest on my laurels after it and in the winter I was straight back into it, practicing and trying to get better, when I probably should have taken a month off. I golfed myself out. You can do that, though. I was in the gym and hitting balls, and then you add in travelling. I think I just absolutely knackered myself, and that’s why I was getting ill and injuring myself. I didn’t give my body a chance to recover. I think if you’re going to play on the PGA Tour, you’ve got to stay and play on it. Look at the difference in Paul Casey since he said he’s not going to come to Europe anymore? He’s had one of his best seasons. It’s what I say to the some of the guys on the Challenge Tour, just play that and go all-in instead of playing half main tour and the other half Challenge Tour . You can get caught trying to play both.”

A new year provides the opportunity for a new start and Gallacher will emerge in January refreshed and put into practice what he preaches with a back-to-basics battleplan. Instead of spreading himself on various transatlantic fronts, the Scot will stick to golfing assaults on the European Tour as he looks to rediscover that consistency and competitive edge that allowed him to chase the American dream in the first place.

“The only reason you’re out in American is that you’ve done well here on the European Tour,” he said. “I think I’ll stick to what I know best. I know the courses, I know the guys and I know who I’m playing against.

“I’ve been a member of the European Tour since 1996. Yes, I would have taken a PGA Tour exemption had I made one over there but I’d probably have had to play the whole year. I think if you asked any player they’d love to do that. If you’ve got any ambition you’d have a go but it’s really tough trying to do both.

“I just need to get back up the rankings; I did it in 2014, it’s doable,” added Gallacher, who has still not given up hope of making another push for the 2016 Ryder Cup team. “An early win to get me back in the top 60 followed by a couple of good weeks and you never know. I have a slim chance of getting back in the Ryder cup, I’m realistic about that, but you only need to hit a bit of form. I’m going to play over here, pick a schedule of courses I like, maybe play a bit more than normal, but just try and get back up the rankings by being consistent.”