When Stephen Ames walks the fairways this year, he’s hoping to do so with a clearer mind.
It was a back injury that brought a premature end to his 2010 PGA Tour campaign, but the Calgary golfer is focusing on something more abstract as he prepares to kick off a new season this week at the Bob Hope Classic.
“It’s all mental for me,” Ames said in a recent interview.
There was a lot to think about during a year that saw his results start to slip. A run of 23 consecutive majors ended when Ames failed to qualify for the Masters last April (he also missed the British Open), and he went on to finish 107th on the PGA Tour’s money list — his lowest placing since joining the tour in 1998.
It makes this season an extremely important one for Ames, who will celebrate his 47th birthday in April. His world ranking is down to No. 132 so he won’t have a spot reserved in as many big-money tournaments, meaning he’ll be under a bit more pressure to perform well in the events he plays.
Whether or not that happens will likely depend on how much focus he can put on the game. Sean Foley, Ames’s swing coach and friend, believes the golfer has found it increasingly hard to be away from his family in recent years.
Ames and wife Jodi have two sons — 13-year-old Justin and 11-year-old Ryan — and make their home in Calgary.
“I think life can sometimes give you a catch-22,” Foley said during an interview in the off-season.
“He’s getting older and wants to be there for his family, his kids, and (also) wants to go out and compete on tour. I’m not paraphrasing him, this is kind of my view — when you’re at home you want to be out competing and when you’re out competing you’re like ’Gosh, I should be at home with my family right now.’
“He’s been doing this for a long time.”
Indeed, Ames turned professional back in 1987 and has been living out of a suitcase for a good portion of the time since.
Ames has earned more than US$18.6 million during his PGA Tour career and won four tournaments, the most recent coming at Disney in 2009. The top item remaining on his list of professional goals is adding to that total.
“It is still the focus,” said Ames. “I think I’ve still got the game to compete out there for sure. It’s just a matter of clearing stuff upstairs in my mind. I think I’ll be able to do that.”
One thing that separates golf from most other professional sports is the length of time athletes can compete at the highest level. Ames acknowledges there’s something to Foley’s theory about his attention being divided.
“There’s a good balance,” he said. “Sean being a dad now, he knows where I’m coming from because he’s the same way. I saw him in Hawaii (over Christmas) and he couldn’t sit down for two minutes — I went ’Yeah, you know how it feels.’
“But it does happen, yeah, without a doubt. I guess it’s just a matter of learning to separate it a little bit better on the course.”
Physically, he’s feeling healthy again. A physiotherapist in Calgary has helped correct some of the back issues that plagued him last season and Ames plans to build breaks into his schedule so he doesn’t overwork his body.
Even though 2010 proved to be a bit of a struggle, Foley doesn’t believe Ames’s game is necessarily on the decline.
“Has he physically got worse? No. Mentally? No. Short game? No,” said Foley. “He only missed four cuts (in 2010), so he didn’t finish as high as he wanted to on the weekend, but that being said, he was probably on two Saturday rounds a 66 where he shot 71 away from having a huge year. ...
“He could arguably be the best 46-year-old in the world.”
In the coach’s mind, it will be up to Ames to determine where he goes from here. Foley thinks the golfer has earned the right to live his life as he chooses — meaning he won’t try and force him to spend more time practising.
“Desire is a very important part of doing well,” said Foley. “He’s made heaps of money, he’s been a great player, he’s been to the top of the game, he’s played in all the biggest tournaments. He’s had an amazing career and he’s an amazing player.
“But if the expectation stays as high as it (is), but the work ethic goes down, it’s going to be frustrating.”
Ames insists that won’t happen. Even after decades of touring the world to play golf, he still finds satisfaction in visits to a driving range, where he’ll work on shaping shots and trying to control the flight of the ball.
He’s not entertaining any ideas about easing his way into retirement.
“I’m going to go as long as I can,” said Ames. “I haven’t thought about (life) beyond golf yet at all. I’m just taking it day in, day out.
“I’m enjoying it still, which is good.”