Golfers are never done tinkering with this and footering with that and faffing about with a bit of the other.
The search for improvement is an ongoing, unending quest that would make the hunt for the holy grail resemble a quick guddle in the glove box.
By his own admission, 2019 has been “absolutely shocking” but a late call-up to this week’s cash-sodden, $7m Turkish Airlines Open could yet see the clouds of a largely downbeat year have a silver lining.
David Drysdale, who continues to display the sturdy longevity of an industrial rivet and has been a full tour card holder for 15 consecutive years, actually started the 2019 campaign in 2018 – wraparound golf schedules throw conventional calendars out of the window – and posted a fifth and a second before Christmas.
The problems came in the new year, however. “I had such a good start that I almost had a two-year exemption – this year and next year – by Christmas last year,” he said of that fast start that would become an onerous, frustrating trudge.
“I had used old clubs that I’d had since 2010 and I made a decision to switch clubs in the new year. But I’ve had so many sets made this year and I just haven’t got along with any of them.
“I’ve tinkered about with lots of different equipment and, as a result of that, I have probably neglected the technical side. That’s something I’ve never done in my life and I just haven’t played well.
“I’ve not had confidence in the equipment and have lost a bit of confidence in my golf swing because of that. I just haven’t been focused on golf. I’ve been more focused on equipment and I just kind of lost my game big time.
“In this calendar year, I’ve had a fifth in Melbourne and two 23rd places. Other than that, I’ve finished 60th or lower if I’ve made the cut. It’s been absolutely shocking.
READ MORE: Nick Rodger's weekly golf column
“I’m basically reverting back to my old clubs, which I’d had in my bag since Valderrama nine years ago. I’m hoping that getting some of the old stuff in the bag will help me find some form.
“This game can turn around so quickly. It has before me many times. It’s a funny game, isn’t it?
“When you are playing well, you can’t understand how you can play badly. But when you are playing poorly, you don’t understand where the good golf is going to come from.
“It is just a mental game. I’m not going to say it is going to be an instant fix but at least it’s stuff that I know and I will be able to focus a bit more on technique rather than trying different stuff every week, which has been my downfall, really.”
Getting his hands back on the old tools of his trade was as comfortable as slipping into a Radox bath and Drysdale is hoping that reuniting himself with the sticks that served him well for almost a decade can give his year a late flourish.
At 84th on the Race to Dubai, the Cockburnspath man only got into this week’s field at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal in Belek when Andrew “Beef” Johnston withdrew due to his partner giving birth.
“Jesus, after the season I’ve had, it is nice to have got into this event,” he added with a sense of grateful relief.
A timely delivery for Drysdale would be a decent finish here to extend his season further. In this game, one good result can turn a modest year into a good one.
READ MORE: Monty wins seventh title on the Champions Tour
“A top 10 or top 12 would probably get me into the Nedbank Challenge next week but to be honest, you’d have to say it is hard to see where that is coming from with the golf I’ve played recently,” he admitted.
“But there is no cut in Turkey, which is a bonus given that I’ve not made many recently.
“After the Italian Open recently, I came home and decided that I needed to go back to my old gear. Straight away, they feel comfortable.
“The ball flight is better and I feel more comfortable again with my distances. I’ll be trying to use the four rounds to build up my game again and get back into it.”
Another perk of this week’s job is the delightful Turkish weather, which is a tad more inviting than the dour climate in his own gate end.
“I played at Eyemouth last Friday and it was bloody miserable,” said the former Challenge Tour winner.
“I was the only person to be stupid enough to be out there.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here