Nick Dougherty outlines importance of positive mindset at Q-School

Nick Dougherty is fully aware of the importance of staying focused over six gruelling rounds as he attempts to win back his European Tour card at the Qualifying School.

In the second part of our interview with the three-time European Tour winner, Dougherty explains that a strong mindset can be just as valuable as a solid game when it comes to tackling the tournament that professionals fear the most.

Dougherty has been working hard on his game in a bid to regain the form and confidence that got him into the world's top 50, and earlier this week he described his determination to regain his playing rights by finishing in the top 25 and ties at PGA Catalunya in Spain.

The Sky Living for Sport ambassador took a step in the right direction with a top-30 finish at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship last month, and he believes the improvements in his long game will stand him in good stead for the challenge of Qualifying School, which begins on Saturday morning. 

"It's a fantastic course and I really like it," Dougherty told Skysports.com. "It is way better than the two courses they used when I first got my card. Back then it was Sotogrande and San Roque, and they were much more fiddly.

"PGA Catalunya is a bigger course and you've got to hit it well from tee to green, and obviously I'm a big fan of that. The long game hasn't been my forte over the last couple of years, but I'm hitting it so much better now.

"It's such a tough test no matter where you play the Q-School because you've got to get through six rounds of golf. You can glamourise it however much you want, but it is what it is. Guys can turn up having hardly hit a shot all year, but you can have four good days and two average days and all of a sudden you've got your card back.

"You just need to stay focused, stick with what works and plod your way around, and hopefully you'll find yourself in the top 25 when it's all over. Six rounds is a long slog, but I think you just have to reboot every day. You've got to remember that you can actually afford to have a bad day, and if you do, there's plenty of time to atone for it.

"The first time I went to Q School I shot something like a 68 on the first day and I followed it with a 76. But it didn't really bother me that much and I went out and shot 64 the next day. You can afford to have a bad round, but you can't let it ruin your week.

"It's very common to suddenly turn it around, and you can do that if you reset every day and start each round with a clean slate. Similarly, you can't get too positive about the good rounds. Just take each day as it comes and see what happens."

Dougherty admits he was occasionally too hard on himself when things were no going to plan on the course, and he has vowed to take a more relaxed attitude after watching world No 18 Shane Lowry up close on the final day of the Dunhill Links.

"I learned a lot from playing with Shane in the last round at St Andrews," he added. "Professionals simply don't hit as many good shots as you might think week in, week out. I played with Shane when he was coming off the back of his brilliant WGC win in the States, and he played lovely and shot 66.

"But he did hit a few iffy shots, although his short game was excellent. And each time he hit a bad shot, he wasn't hard on himself at all. He just shrugged it off and put it down to one of those things.

"That was one of the main issues I used to have, I just didn't cut myself any slack at all after I'd hit a bad one. All the best players, including Rory and Jordan, have days when they're not quite on top of their game, but they don't beat themselves up about it.

"Because they have such a good attitude, they don't let a bad day eat away at their confidence and they retain a positive mindset that helps them rebound with a great round of golf. I used to over-think and over-analyse after a bad day, and that was a big reason why I couldn't hit back and play well. I found myself adding insult to injury."

So what part of his game has Dougherty been working on most? "All of it, all of the time," he joked. "The one thing I most needed to improve after I lost my card was my driving, and that's really come on now. I'm really pleased with how I'm hitting off the tee right now.

"If you can't get the ball in play, you can't rely on the rest of your game to get you out of trouble. Finding more fairways puts less stress on my iron game, and hitting more greens takes a bit of pressure out of putting.

"When you can hit the driver 300 yards down the middle most of the time, then golf is not that difficult is it?"

Q School: Journey to the Top