Peter Cowen Daily Diary: Thank you to St Andrews!

What a sensational week it has been here in Scotland

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Tiger Woods of the US reacts on the 18th during the second round of the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews, Scotland. Woods has hinted that it might have been his last appearance there.
Tiger Woods of the US reacts on the 18th during the second round of the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews, Scotland. Woods has hinted that it might have been his last appearance there.
REUTERS

Now I am back home, I am feeling so much better.

Thanks for everyone’s messages and best wishes.

The golf is on TV as I write this Daily Diary, live from Rotherham, and not from St Andrews.

Just speaking to my players over the last couple of weeks, moving forward, I am maybe at the crossroads of my golf coaching career.

PGA Tour 

Some of my players are competing on the DP World Tour, some on the PGA Tour, some on the Asian Tour, some with LIV Golf, some on the Champions Tour and a current Ryder Cup Captain and a past Ryder Cup Captain.

Now that is a mixed bag of characters that you ever could find.

It will be interesting times for both my schedule as well as the players’ schedules.

Travel is tough for players and caddies as well as for golf coaches.

My only Peter Cowen comment to make on this fairly sensitive matter from a point of neutrality, is I hope that the top players play as much competitive golf as possible against each other, irrespective of their chosen Tour.

To have the best players competing against each other must be the ideal scenario for everyone, as this week at St Andrews has shown.

Golf fan

The game will suffer if this does not happen and will create confusion and perhaps disappointment for the golf fan, who should never be forgotten in these conversations.

With this all in mind, is the way forward for coaching now more Video focussed? Videographic work on WhatsApp and ZOOM with other transmitting technology gadgets will be part of the future for players and golf coaches. I already use it with my players, but nothing can ever replace face to face engagement between player and coach to properly do the hard work, otherwise mixed messaging can result from both sides. The industry has changed so much in the last few years, more than ever in time, and it will rightly continue to evolve, but one-on-one stuff with player – coach is still so special.

What a sensational week it has been here in Scotland.

The weather has played its part.

Last Open

Tiger Woods believes it might be his last Open at St Andrews.

It might be my last as well.

Who knows what is in store for us all?

Tiger seems just a ‘Cub’ at just 46 years old, whereas I am more, perhaps, a ‘survivor’ at 71 years young.

Just a thought for the day: we are still only in mid-July and is it really the last major of the year? With just a handful of events left on the FedEx Tour on the PGA Tour, I will never get used to this modern dynamic of the new global golfing calendar.

It seems to be a long time until April 2023, The Masters and our next golf major.

Stay safe and healthy and what a special week we have had at St Andrews and The 150th Open. We will remember it forever as we have remembered all the others, they are just that bit extra special at St Andrews.

Keep in touch.

— Peter Cowen is a world-renowned golf coach with academies in the UAE and England.

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