IT’S FLATTERING TO BE known for having great feel. People think I play with a certain artistry, hit an entertaining variety of shots and make the game fun to watch. It’s the kind of player I want to be.
I was very lucky to grow up on a golf course, and one where my father, Victor, is the pro and my mother, Consuelo, runs the golf shop. The course is Club de Campo Mediterraneo (where these photos were taken).
From age five I’d roam the course with a club in my hand and spend the afternoon trying every shot I could find. Or I’d take on members for Cokes in chipping games around the practice green.
Two of my countrymen who are also known for their feel, Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal, had similar childhood experiences. I’m proud of my ‘Spanish hands’ and put a lot of trust in the tips of my fingers. But I’m not unique. Feel is something we all have. The way to bring it out is through practice and reacting like an athlete. I really like sports, both watching and playing. To me, feel in action is a tennis player sizing up a passing shot and in a split-second choosing either to break off a sharp topspin angler or completely fool his opponent with a soft, carefully placed lob. In football, it’s an attacker seeing a momentary path through defenders and shaping the perfect shot past the goalie and into the back of the net. Golf’s similar – you just have more time. Feel, especially inside 50 yards, comes from a familiarity with how a golf ball reacts when struck in different ways from different lies to different target areas. That might sound complicated, but it’s amazing how much your brain can process if you let your imagination do its job. If you lay the groundwork by ingraining good technique with lots of repetition, you can develop the comfort and confidence to focus on the target and let your athletic instincts take over. That’s when your touch will be most sensitive and when you will truly be playing with the greatest of feel.