Els blog: Off weeks allow valuable practice time

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The putting woes continued for Els at Torrey Pines, where he needed more than 30 putts in each round.

Ernie Els will write a blog for PGATOUR.COM weekly during the 2011 season. For more information on Els, visit ernieels.com. Click for his previous years' blogs: 2011 blog | 2010 blog | 2009 blog

Feb. 7, 2012

Not playing a tournament last week gave me the opportunity to work on my game and specifically on some of the hand-eye coordination drills that Dr Sherylle Calder has given me in order to help me with my putting. As I said before, our conversations these past few weeks have really opened my eyes to what I'm trying to achieve and how I can get back some of the memories and feelings from when I was putting great. That wasn't so long ago and honestly I feel confident that I can regain some of that form.

A week at home also allowed me to catch up on a bit if business at our offices in Florida. The team here is working hard making preparations to ensure that the 2012 Els for Autism Golf Challenge is an even greater success than last year's inaugural series...no easy task, let me tell you! We'll have a special announcement about that on Feb. 14 when I'll be talking to the media during my build-up to the start of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.

I'll certainly be making the most of this next week at home, too. It means I can continue to put in the hours on the practice ground and on the putting green here at the Bear's Club, where the facilities are basically TOUR standard. It's just great. And having seen on the news that they've had about 3 inches of snow in London and at our house at Wentworth, this is the time of the year when I'm especially pleased that we are now based in lovely warm, sunny Florida!

As it's the start of a new season I thought I'd take this opportunity to update you on what's in my golf bag for 2012. The RAZR X Forged Irons, X Fairway Metals and X Series Wedges are carried over from last year. More recently Callaway has put in my hands the fantastic new RAZR Fit Driver and a new golf ball, the HEX Black Tour, which offers an impressive blend of greenside control and off-the-tee distance. My driving stats at the Farmers Insurance Open were my best for a while and I am definitely seeing more distance with this club and ball combination.

Also as you may have read, I'm wearing Callaway's new Del Mar street-style shoe. I'm very impressed with these, in particular the level of comfort, which is better than any other shoe I've ever worn on the golf course. Anyway, you can read about all aspects of my Callaway golf gear on this website; just click on kit list.

Okay, that's it for now. I'll write again soon.

Jan. 30, 2012

After playing nicely in the Volvo Champions at Fancourt I arrived at Torrey Pines for the Farmers Insurance Open expecting a strong performance. Rounds of 71, 70, 72 and 72 put me at 3-under par and tied-52nd, but that doesn't tell the whole story.

The South is a tough golf course and the rough last week was thick so if you got out of position you were severely penalized. My ball-striking was good all week, so that continues to be a strong part of my game. I made a lot of birdies, too. Obviously it wasn't the result that I was looking for, though, especially as the clock is ticking for me to get back into the top 50 (in the world rankings) and guarantee my place in the Masters.

To be honest, it's a little bit weird being outside the top 50, but I put myself in this position by not playing great last year, so I can't complain. I've just got to play my way back into the top 50. If I do qualify for the Masters it would obviously be great. If I don't, then I will just keep plugging away. That's the only thing I can do.

Anyway, for the first time in my career I find myself looking at the rankings. When you're comfortably inside the top 10 as I was for something like 750-odd weeks, you don't look at these things. Now it's a different story. I've got to play myself into the Masters and into World Golf Championships events like Doral and the Accenture Match Play Championship, too.

But I feel good about my game and I feel like I'm going to have a better year than 2011. To help me with my putting I've consulted with Dr. Sherylle Calder, an eye specialist who helped the Springboks, All Blacks and England rugby teams enhance their hand-eye coordination, concentration and other visual performance skills. We've been working on some good stuff to do with my eyes and I can see a lot of positives for me at the moment. To use a cliche, she has literally opened my eyes about putting again and it has helped bring back good memories of what I used to do when I was one of the best putters in the world in the 1990s and early 2000s. If my putting properly comes around I can start winning golf tournaments again.

As it is the start of another year one of the things I've been asked about is my caddie situation, so I thought I could take this opportunity to answer that question. My long-time caddie Ricci Roberts broke his ankle during my charity tournament, the Ernie Els Invitational in December, so the poor guy is out of action for a while. While he recovers I've got Dan Quinn on the bag. We'll keep you posted on Ricci's progress.

We're getting a lot of emails through the website about my playing schedule and I know a lot of you out there are keen to find out what's happening on that front. The answer is, not even I know for sure. As I said before my goal is to tee it up at the two World Golf Championships events, Accenture and Doral, and then get into the top-50 for the Masters, but none of that is 100 percent guaranteed. That's why the schedule isn't finished.

In the meantime, I just want to thank everyone who has taken the time to write and email me these past few weeks. I'm fortunate to have great fans all around the world and I really appreciate your words of support and encouragement. It means a lot.

Okay, that's it for now. I'll write again soon.

Jan. 23, 2012

The family and I have been coming down here now for the last 22 years. It's home for us, so I was looking forward to the Volvo Champions at Fancourt being my first tournament of 2012. I played this course with my mates maybe 10 times in the December holidays, making six, seven, eight birdies every day. Although it's different when you are playing competitive golf, I was confident that I'd have a good week. A couple more putts here and there on Sunday, and it could have been something special.

The first tournament of the year is always exciting but it's also tough to hit the ground running, especially after a six-week break. I made a slow start in Thursday's first round, but I was pleased with the way I stayed patient and finished strongly with three birdies in my final three holes. It wasn't the perfect round of golf, but this one could have easily got away from me and I didn't let that happen. It was pretty satisfying.

Friday was a similar story because again I made a slow start and again I produced a strong finish to my round, playing my last 11 holes in four-under par. Then on Saturday we got the weather I was expecting at this time of the year...and kind of hoping for, to be honest. The wind got up and we had some rain, too.

This course is a totally different animal in conditions like that and in many ways I felt like that played into my hands, with the experience I have of playing here so many times over the years. Anyway, I shot my third straight 71, but this was the best of the three given that it was the toughest scoring day of the week. It put me in contention going into Sunday's final round and that is always my aim at the start of any week.

Having had a few hours to reflect on that final round, where I shot a best-of-the-day, 6-under par 67, obviously I have to be happy with my challenge. I made six birdies and an eagle and, as I said in the introduction to this story, if I could have made just a couple of putts coming down the stretch it would have been a very special day, but I feel satisfied. This was a very encouraging day, and a very encouraging week for me. I shot all four rounds under par, which is how I would have wanted to start the season. I feel like I'm working on some good stuff and that my game is in nice shape. Now I need to build on this and keep the momentum going.

Anyway, as disappointed as I was to lose the playoff, I have to say also that I'm very pleased for Branden Grace. He was a member of the Ernie Els & Fancourt Foundation as, of course, was Louis Oosthuizen. It's a thrill for me to see these young guys doing so well, knowing that we helped start them down the road to where they are now.

Obviously it is a great start to the year for the Foundation. First, Louis won the Africa Open and now Branden has won the Joburg Open and the Volvo Champions. Between them they've won the first three tournaments of the year! I couldn't ask for more. One of the focuses at the Foundation is to produce champions and it gives me so much pleasure to see them doing well. Louis and Branden can be very proud of themselves. I couldn't be more proud of them. The other thing is, these performances will definitely motivate our current members to work hard and dream big.

Okay, so on to this week and I'll leave South Africa tomorrow to start my PGA TOUR campaign at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in California. I have lots of good memories from this place, going all the way back to my 1984 World Junior Championships win when I was just 14, but I'm looking forward here, not back. I need to play well, get some more good results and make sure that my world ranking goes in the right direction and fast.

A lot of people are reminding me that, at the moment, I'm not qualified for the Masters. Obviously I know the situation. After the Volvo I'm just inside the top-60 and I need to be inside the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking. It's in my own hands, but I know my work ethic and determination to succeed are as strong as ever. I know I still have the game to tee it up in the majors and win majors. That's what drives me as much as it ever did.

Bye for now.

Jan. 16, 2012

This is an exciting week for European golf with the staging of the first 'tournament of champions'. This is a limited field event with no cut and is open only to European Tour players who have won an event on the previous year's European Tour, which in my case was the South African Open at Durban CC. It's an exciting week for me personally, as well. This is my first tournament of the New Year and there is always a buzz that goes with that, even for a seasoned pro like me! It's also being played at Fancourt, which I love. I have to applaud Volvo for bringing such a tournament to South Africa. It's shaping up to be a great week for everyone.

And South African golf is in great shape at the moment, which is apparent by the number of South Africans in the field this week. Dr. Hasso Plattner's vision in creating the Links at Fancourt, and Gary Player's wonderful design, is the perfect stage to showcase the many wonderful golf opportunities offered in South Africa.

I have great memories of playing at the Links at Fancourt, both in professional events including the Presidents Cup, and also while on holiday here. It's justifiably ranked as the best golf course in the country and I am really looking forward to the week.

This is my first proper tournament since the Dubai World Championship at the beginning of December, so obviously it's hard to assess my current form. But I played very nicely in the Ernie Els Invitational at the end of the year, shooting 64 and 66 over the two rounds, and I've shot some really low numbers in social games with friends these past couple of weeks. All the signs are positive. I just have to find a way of taking that form into a proper tournament and sustaining it over four rounds.

Like I said in my end of year review, I think momentum will be the key to how my year starts to take shape. I feel like I need to get some decent results early. A win is obviously my goal, but even a couple of solid top-10 finishes -- basically four steady rounds of golf -- makes a difference to your mindset going in to the following week. You feel more comfortable and quickly you're targeting wins, not just top-10s.

We'll see how this early part of the season goes, but as you can imagine, I'm very committed to doing the absolute best I can. I need to have a better year in 2012.

We're getting quite a few emails inquiring about when my tournament schedule will be on the website, but we're just not quite there yet. There are a few things to finalize yet and we'll post it as soon as we finish it. That shouldn't be long, I promise.

OK, that's about if for now. I'll write again soon.

Jan. 4, 2012

I'll start my first website report of 2012 by wishing everyone a very Happy New Year. I hope the next 12 months are full of good health and happiness for you and your loved ones. At the end of the day, that is what's really important in life. These past few weeks I've been having a great time with the family down in our house down in Herold's Bay, South Africa. It is lovely for us all to be together, which as you can imagine doesn't happen very often. One of the consequences of a tour pro's life, you might say. Basically, it was real 'switch off' time and that's just what I needed.

Still, I like to balance my downtime with some activity, as well. I'm not one for sitting down and doing absolutely nothing for days on end. It's been great catching up with family and friends and enjoying some of the beautiful spots and things to do along the famous Garden Route here on the Western Cape. Also, I put in some time at the gym and I've enjoyed playing some social golf these past couple of weeks. Staying 'on the ball' during this off-season makes the switch from holiday to work go that bit smoother and it means I can hopefully get into my stride a little more easily.

I know for a lot of you reading this you'll be back at work already. For me, the holiday period isn't quite over, but it will soon be time to grab my clubs and head to my first tournament of the year. Often in the past that would involve a long journey, especially when I started the season with tournaments in Hawaii.

This year it's a different story. My first tournament is the Volvo Golf Champions at Fancourt starting on Jan. 19. That is literally just down the road, so I don't even have to pack my bags for that one. I can sleep in my own bed and still enjoy some good old home cooking. There are maybe only two or three tournaments a year where I can do that, so it's a real treat.

Actually Fancourt is a treat any time you play it and I've had some memorable experiences there over the years, notably in South African Opens and in the Presidents Cup. I also filmed my first ever instruction book and video there and that's going back even further in time ... all the way to 1994, in fact! It's a special place and the Links is a great golf course. I can't think of a better location to tee off my new season.

Trust me, I always look forward to getting back into the swing of tournament golf. The first tournament of the new calendar year always feels like a new beginning. I love it. And even after 20-plus years as a tournament professional I still get excited about the prospect of a year's competitive golf ahead of me.

I am busy finalizing my schedule and will post it as soon as possible. In the meantime, I can tell you that straight after the Volvo Golf Champions I'll be switching my attentions to the PGA TOUR where I'm entered into the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines at the end of this month. Then it's the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club in mid-February followed by the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship at the end of February and The Honda Classic during the first week of March.

That's about it for now. I'll write again very soon.