After glimpsing life as a golfing outsider, Andrew Coltart is determined to seize his second chance
EXACTLY ONE year go, Andrew Coltart was a less than happy man. After a decade and a half as an exempt player, the European Tour's only Queen of the South fan had lost his card, then failed to win it back via the last chance saloon qualifying school.
Suddenly, the almost £4m in prize money, the 1999 Ryder Cup cap and the victories in Australia, Qatar and England meant nothing. Suddenly, the then 37-year-old from Thornhill was just another guy looking for invitations to tournaments.
Happily, the last 12 months have seen – after a stuttering start – something of a transformation in the Coltart fortunes. His game, with some help from Braid Hills professional Colin Brooks, is back on track. He has his European Tour card, courtesy of a fine performance at the same qualifying school where he had failed so miserably one year earlier. And, most importantly, he is entering the 2009 season with an air of enthusiasm that had so long been absent from his bag.
"In terms of my overall goals and where I want to go in my career, my position now is the same as it was a year ago," reflects the former Scottish Boys champion. "The difference is now that I have my card and am coming off a period of play that has been very encouraging. I'm far more optimistic about the future.
"At this time last year I had real doubts about whether I was still good enough to play on tour. Plus, I was relying solely on invitations rather than knowing where and when I would be likely to get starts. My options are still slightly limited – and it still won't be easy – but I'm pretty sure I'll get into about 25 events. Given that, making it to the climax of the 'Race to Dubai' is a realistic target."
Coltart's low moment in 2008 came at Loch Lomond, where he missed the cut in the Scottish Open. It was, at the time, the final straw in what had been a frustrating and depressing run.
"My real feelings came to a head when I played so badly there," he admits. "When that happened I didn't feel like I deserved any more free passes into events. I wasn't playing well enough to merit any more. Plus, playing every week wasn't doing me any favours. I was getting lower and lower and beating myself up more and more.
"I had reached a stage where, in a subconscious effort to make my repeated failures hurt less, any fire I had left in my belly was rapidly disappearing. I was playing soulless golf. There was a guy who looked like me out on the course, but there was nothing inside him. Everything had gone.
"Every Wednesday I would get revved up to play – or try to – but by Thursday lunchtime I was two over par at the turn in the opening round and gone again. All I had to look forward to was another early bath. That got incredibly monotonous, galling and upsetting to equal degrees. And it got worse the more I played."
For the next couple of months, Coltart barely lifted a club. But golf was still a big part of his life. Commentating for BBC Five Live and Setanta kept him involved and, more importantly, interested.
"The commentating was fun," he says. "It gave me a different perspective on the game. Sitting in the commentary box did a lot to rekindle my enthusiasm. Watching the very best players and the way they competed got me going again.
"The biggest difference I noticed was the fire and determination the top guys have. Padraig Harrington was typical in that respect. He clearly loves playing and has a lot of fun doing it. Which is easier to do when things are going well, of course. It's a chicken and egg thing really. I had to make the game more enjoyable first before I could play better. The reality was that I had to strip everything down and start again."
A taste of life working just inside the ropes rather than on the fairways also made Coltart realise just how lucky and privileged his professional life has been until now.
"I really enjoyed the broadcasting, but it brought home to me that there is definitely a 'them and us' situation that exists between the media and the players," he acknowledges. "I felt like I was becoming less of a player, drifting into another environment or work environment. There was certainly a difference in the way I was perceived by colleagues. I didn't like that, if I'm honest. I still think of myself as a player and being on the outside to an extent was unpleasant."
Suitably refreshed, Coltart got back to what he still thinks of as his real work. And the first thing that had to change was his negative attitude on the course.
"My swing wasn't really the problem, to be honest, but mentally I was shot," he sighs. "In effect, I had to learn how to dig in and battle when I was struggling. I needed to feel the fire burning again in my belly. And I did. Confirmation came for me on the second nine holes of the opening round at the tour school. I reached the turn in three over par. But I battled back in four under par and shot 71. That got me moving in the right direction.
"I had played a bit before the school. I had to put myself in playing situations and learn how to deal with them. It wasn't about just going out there and swinging away. I was practising my mental game more than anything. I did a lot of talking to myself.
"I had plenty of motivation. I wanted my life on tour back. I wanted to earn some of the money available. I wanted to be climbing the world-ranking list. I wanted all of that again. Plus, I know I can't earn as much money doing anything else. It's a very seductive way of life, being a tour professional. I'm 38 now so I reckon I have about six or seven reasonably productive years left on tour. I want to make the most of them."
Now, for the first time in a long time, Coltart is making all the right noises as he prepares for a season in which he has already made two cuts out of two in South Africa. Only a closing 79 in the SA Open marred what had been a steady fortnight's work. Next week he will kick off 2009 in Qatar, where he won back in 1998.
"I'm looking forward to the coming year," he says. "I want to get back to where I was before, the time when I qualified for the Volvo Masters 11 years in a row. Really though, I just want to play. This is a second chance for me and I want to make the most of it. I've won something back, even if it is just my pride. I feel like I deserve to be out there again. I've got a card and I'm a player again."
