#2 Golf lessons from Rory and Harry

Watching Rory McIlroy eventually conquer Augusta National this weekend was far from easy. In last week’s golf lesson, I talked about fear. This weekend showed how fear plays out. And why it’s arguably held Rory back from reaching the Grand Slam despite 11 attempts. Until now.

Winning all the golf majors (The Open, US PGA, US Open and Masters) had eluded and haunted him since 2014 at Royal Liverpool Golf Club. The highs and lows of the long hunt were etched all over his face on Sunday when his ball rolled into the creek on the 13th hole, out of nowhere.

Having already recovered from a bad start to the round, making such a mess of an easy chip (for him, at least) stunned everyone. Even the commentary team went quiet. In that moment, we all felt the irresistible pull of fear was wrecking another shot at golfing immortality.

This last round was a microcosm (the word of the day on Sky's coverage) of a career that’s been scrutinised, amplified and weighed down with expectation like no other.

It had everything. Some utterly incredible golf shots. Big risk-reward, full-blooded hoicks from the trees. A sublime short game that suddenly falls apart. And missed putts. Again. The familiar suite of unforced errors and lip-outs that have plagued him for years, proving just how excruciatingly difficult it is to win at this level.

Amid the noise of Rory's rollercoaster, here are three things that stood out.

Harry is a Diamond.

Harry Diamond, friend since the age of seven and caddie from 2017, has stuck with Rory through thick and thin.

Relationships like these are massive in any sport. It’s huge credit to Rory for dealing with the endless blaming, slurs and criticism of Harry. And even more credit to Harry for staying out of the limelight and coping with the disgusting levels of online abuse. Extra loyalty points all round.

That must have made victory even sweeter – a friendship and partnership that’s stood firm. Now they’ve now won everything, no longer will Rory have to field more than a decade of questions about his caddie with “we’ve won everything but a major”.

Risk versus reward.

Sure, there's luck in any game. Especially when it’s played outdoors on a hilly, lumpy field and in all kinds of weather. But the Augusta track is infamously, uniquely tough. It will find you out if you keep testing its patience.

Risk v. reward is the golden rule. But most of us don't think about it enough. Instead of taking a double bogey out of the equation, we try the implausible instead of taking our medicine. Compounding errors by hitting a bad shot on top of a bad decision. Choosing the wrong target. And struggling to know when to press and when to hold back.

Applying this rule separates greats from the rest. And it's what Rory did in abundance during each of the four rounds at Augusta.

Why we do what we do.

George Tysoe is 100% right when he commented last week that patience is everything in golf. Biding your time for 11 years... that’s a supernatural level of patience, resilience and perseverance. Being patient is rooted in self-belief. It’s trusting you can bounce back and knowing that opportunities will come your way.

In the riptide of interviews following the win, Rory recalled Harry’s nudge just before the play-off:

“He said to me, ‘Well, pal, we would have taken this on Monday morning.'”

That was just the reset Rory required. Knowing what to say and how to frame it in the moment is what friends do. They remind you why you’re here.

Ghosts and good things.

When Rory poured in that three-footer – a putt to beat his play-off opponent (Ryder Cup teammate and Masters runner-up specialist, Justin Rose) – he finally laid the Ghosts of Majors Past to rest.

In any case, it’s always worth remembering that you never ever rush a Guinness.

While you’re savouring that perfectly poured pint and putt, reflect on the lessons of sticking with your friends, applying your golden rules and reframing situations to your advantage.

Hopefully, a few things that work equally well off the course from a team who have won everything going and are highly likely to go on and win a whole lot more...