My Fitness

My Fitness

My fitness trainer and physiotherapist is a South African, Cornel Driessen.  I started working with him on tour just before the European Masters in August last year. According to his initial assessments my mobility and explosive strength were pretty good. So we have been focusing a lot on core, hip and shoulder-girdle strengthening to improve stability in the areas my body needed it the most. This allows me to have more control during my swing, improve my posture and it's even added a bit more distance off the tee. We continuously adapt the programs according to my progress and he also introduced a cardio vascular component to it. Before I play we do a pre round screening with a warm up and Cornel's physio techniques are fantastic for soothing any tired aching muscles or joints afterwards. I weighed myself after the Walker Cup and I was 80kgs and when I weighed myself again in Abu Dhabi I was down to 73kgs. I'm pretty happy about losing 7 kilos while gaining a bit of muscle in the process, it shows all the hard work has paid off. I've also been careful with my food and for someone brought up on potatoes (good Irish stock!) it's been quite difficult! I'm really trying to eat loads of fish, lean meat, vegetables, and fruit, regularly take in enough good fluids and cut out the chips! Cornel's great, he really keeps me motivated as I need someone there to help me keep going because I admit I have a tendency to cheat a bit! During a tournament I will work out twice a week with different levels of intensity and off tour I will work out four times a week on a different program.  I also enjoy a game of tennis or soccer with friends now and again when the weather's nice.