IT WAS knowing his own mind, understanding what he wants from golf and how he might get it, which enabled Andrew Coltart to step back from the pit of competitive meltdown. As he looks forward to the 2million Spanish Open at the PGA Golf de Catalunya in Girona next week, the former Ryder Cup player believes his career is again heading in the right direction.
Keen to maintain a streak of positive performances – in his past three events he was sixth at the Andalucia Open, 21st at the Estoril Open and 11th at the Volvo China Open – Coltart finds himself in a very different place from the black hole which sa
w him lose his European Tour playing privileges for the first time in 16 years at the end of 2007.
"What had kept me going for a while (as a Tour player] was the category of all time money winners," he recalled in conversation this week. "It's right to have it, though maybe it's a false indicator. That was my crutch. And it wasn't until I lost all of that and found myself staring into the abyss as the recession got underway, that I felt the jolt.
"Having said that, it coincided with the good work I'd been doing with my coach Colin Brooks at the Braids. I don't know if all of that was coincidental, but my wife (Emma] felt when I went to Tour school at the end of last year I was a different person to the previous 12 months.
"It's very early days yet, just the start of the season, and I've still to play in the bigger events. But I'm happy with the direction I'm taking and there's a trail of consistency that's quite comforting. I'm hitting the ball well again, enjoying competing and taking home a cheque. When you do all of that, it cheers you up."
The revival of Coltart's career, after five years of underachievement, can be traced back to that trip to Tour school when he regained his card. A member of Mark James's team who confronted Tiger Woods at Brookline ten years ago, Coltart can look back on victories in Australia, Qatar and the north of England as well as career earnings of more than £4 million.
In spite of enjoying all the trappings of a successful sporting life, the Edinburgh based golfer knew it was time to get back to basics. In search of self-reliance, he shouldered his own bag at the qualifying school and some of the old uncertainty was scrubbed from his game.
"As you get older, you start to realise what it is you want from a coach, from a caddie and from a psychological input," he reflected. "Going to the Tour school carrying my own bag told me an awful lot about the faith I still had in myself. That proved to me I could do it and wasn't reliant on someone else being there. In times gone by I probably would have been more swayed by a coach, or a caddie or a sports psychologist. Now I'm more mature and laid back.
"I know more about what I want and how I want it to work. I'm in a situation that's getting results, which was what I was hoping for."
Even before he accepted responsibility at Tour school and went on to record his first top ten finish in three years at the Qatar Masters in February, Coltart's experience of media work with Setanta and Radio 5 Live last year made him appreciate just how much he still wants to write his own story rather than analyse the achievements of others.
"Last year I enjoyed all of the opportunities to commentate which came my way and perhaps being at those big events renewed my appetite for playing the game," he said. "The Ryder Cup was fantastic, a tremendous experience; covering the Open was also great, having the chance with a microphone to follow someone like Padraig Harrington.
"And that brought it home to me how I'm too young to think about turning my back on a playing career. I'm only 38 and not ready to stop. I said to a few people that I felt young enough and fit enough and if I could just get competitive again then I would want to continue. The TV and radio work is great, but it's for the future."
Coltart is 38, ten years younger than world No 5 Kenny Perry and eight years younger than No 8 Vijay Singh. He knows there's plenty of time left for him to make another mark. And the Scot speculates the change in rules regarding grooves on clubs – there will soon be half as many – will benefit accuracy players when it's introduced at elite events in January.
"Age is no deterrent in golf – you just have to think of Vijay Singh and Kenny Perry who have been successful in their 40s," Coltart went on. "I can look at people like Perry, Jay Haas and Fred Funk and that gives me encouragement. We're fortunate in golf to work in an environment which is multi-dimensional. And we have an opportunity to apply the 15th club – the brain. That's what helps you to get the best out of things when they're going well and minimises the damage when they're running badly.
"There are young guys out there and I'd give my eye-teeth to be able to hit the ball the way they do. But they can't think their golf ball round the golf course. I feel when the change to the grooves comes into force, that should suit some of the older, more experienced guys.
"The whole game plan of hitting the ball as far as you can and not being too bothered where it finishes because you were always going to be able to recover from the rough is going to change a little bit. I think it's going to play into the hands of a different kind of player."
Coltart's return to form at a time when notable performances from David Drysdale and Callum Macaulay have also been heartening prompted the former Scottish boys champion to offer a spirited defence of the Scottish game when no Scot figures in the world's top 100.
"Whatever was ailing the Scots on Tour, I can assure you it wasn't for a lack of trying," he said. "Being brutally honest, it may just come down to a question of talent, I really don't know. Some guys are more talented than others and can go away and win majors, while some can't. I can only speak from my own point of view, which probably reflects the opinions of the rest of the guys, and we're trying our hearts out."
Coltart has already played a lot of golf this year, 11 events, but isn't about to put his feet up any time soon. "Even someone as smart as Padraig hasn't yet figured out how to detail a schedule," he argues. "Maybe there's only a right way if you win. I need to pay attention to how I'm feeling physically. But if I'm playing well, then I'm going to ride the crest of the wave."
