On Tour - Robert Karlsson

Last updated: 19th February 2010

In a new series of regular chats Robert talks to us about his Qatar win and his plans for the WGC-Accenture Match Play.

Golf365: Hi Robert, before we deal with the recent win in Qatar let's return to last summer and how you coped with the frustration of the eye injury that put you out of action for such a long time. You've spoke before about how you became a more calm golfer from around 2002 onwards - did that help you cope with sitting on the sidelines?

Robert: Definitely. I think one of the main things since I have worked with Annchristine Lindstrom (who Robert credits with the change from angry Robert to calmer Robert) is that I have learned not just how to deal with problems and setbacks on the course but off it too. So yeah, I felt like I could cope with the setback of the injury without getting too frustrated. You know the strange thing is that in the 19 years before I had that lay off I had almost no injury at all.

Golf365: So it was almost like that one nasty little injury made up for all that good fortune that went before?

Robert: Yeah, kind of! It wasn't the best time for it to happen and I probably didn't really like it, but there is something in that.

Golf365: A couple of years ago you talked to Golf Punk and mentioned that if one of your children was to drop a glass with a drink in, you wouldn't get mad because that would just make the situation worse. That you'd react like that implies you are quite relaxed off the course - that it was a naturally calm reaction?

Robert: Well I think just having children is part of becoming more relaxed actually. But like I said in that interview there is no point getting upset - it just makes things worse. An angry situation doesn't need to get angrier. Simple things like maybe the kids are not behaving so well or a flight is delayed or my luggage is lost. Those things are out of my control so why waste energy on them? There's only so much energy you've got. And at the end of the day, going back to the course, one bad shot, coping with a bad kick, getting mad just drains you.

Golf365: That approach also reminds me of the way you've said you're not a leaderboard watcher. Lots of players say the same but your explanation struck me as quite interesting - you said you wouldn't play any different so why bother?

Robert: Yeah, I think the win in the Qatar Masters is a good example. I knew I was up there - I had to know because I was in one of the last groups - but I also knew that I am planning to play aggressive golf anyway. I am going to attack pins so it is just adding stress to worry about positions. If I am going to look for an eagle on one hole whatever the situation, why add pressure? On the other hand it is really very difficult to not see the leaderboards to be honest - they are pretty big and the final groups get a scoreboard carrier anyway so even I wanted to ignore them it would be pretty hard. So although I say I don't go looking, I do know something about what is happening. Like in Doha I knew that early on other players were shooting a few birdies and I wasn't. It would be easy to look at the scores then and panic, to chase birdies. But I stayed focussed and they came. But the key is to know but not be affected, to stay controlled. When you play well it works. It doesn't always happen, I'm not saying it does, but you try ...

Golf365: Was Qatar a good example of it working then? To those of us watching you seemed very serene and calm.

Robert: I would probably not use those words. Controlled would be how I'd see it. You know at the end of the day, it is important to control what I can control. I could finish 20th in an event and know that for that week I have done all I could to succeed, it was just that other players did better than me. I'm really keen to have got into that position - acceptance of my own score.

Golf365: We are chatting to the Norwegian lady golfer Marianne Skarpnord this year too and she recently told me that she shot 76 one day and 66 the next. Ten shots difference but really not that much difference in quality of what she did.

Robert: Yeah, I've experienced similar things. I can remember hitting, say, a 74 and thinking it wasn't too bad, just lost one or two shots, maybe a bit of bad luck and the score got big. I've also shot a low score and wondered how did I do that? I do care about the score, obviously, but it's like I said, at the end of the day, I want to reach a point where I know I have done what I could and if that means finishing tenth, well, that's the best I could do and I know it.

Golf365: Aside from the mental aspects of the game, your ball striking seemed superb to onlookers at Qatar. Is that a correct assessment and is it back to 2008 levels?

Robert: I was working quite hard before Abu Dhabi with my swing coach for about a week. It didn't feel too good before then, but that week made a big difference.

Golf365: So that was the week after the Royal Trophy? Because Alex Noren was very complimentary about your ball striking that week in his blog.

Robert: Yeah I read that. Alex was quite correct because I did hit the ball well but I needed to improve my range of shots for the Middle East. I was kind of playing well for that week (in Thailand) and I needed more to my game. You know something like the fact that I want a low fade 9-iron as well as a high draw one. I also want 8-iron shots to overlap the 9-iron for variety, to give me a lot of shots to select from. That week in Thailand I was hitting a lot of low shots - that is something I am quite good at - but for Qatar, for example, I needed more high shots, shots that helped me win actually.

Golf365: It's very interesting to hear you talk in such detail about your strokes and the usefulness of them for particular courses. Do you plan ahead for courses with that in mind?

Robert: Yes and no really. Some shots you would do. A good example would be links golf where you would need lots of practice with long putts. At St Andrews especially, of course, you'll get 25 metre putts that you won't get anywhere else. Perhaps short shots too. But as for the other shots I would say, in general, no. You want to have lots of different shots but you'd want them there all the time. Perhaps having a big draw, you'd look for that ahead of Augusta, for the 13th tee for example. But then again you don't want to be concentrating too much on that before an event, that one thing. And anyway, I'd really need to be getting ready for a long draw now to get it in place and working, that's nearly two months away! I really want to have every shot ready all the time.

Golf365: How do you prepare for events mentally? This week being the World Matchplay is a good example. Would you sit down for half an hour the night before and quietly construct a strategy?

Robert: It may not be quite so formal as that, maybe not saying to myself "I am going to sit down now and work it out" but I do know that I play my best golf when I have thought things through. I've done the opposite, when I've gone low without thinking too deep, but in general I know, for me, it is more important to be focussed on what I've got to do. It's being honest and being ready to have the common sense not to panic if I get a bad bounce or hear a camera.

Golf365: I had a moment of revelation once with distractions. You hear when you are concentrating and listen when you are not. Now if I listen I realise it is my fault, I take responsibility.

Robert: Definitely. If there was one thought for what I am trying to do it would be that taking responsibility for my actions. Even simple things like if I hit a shot and the club was wrong, I don't blame the caddie because it was my decision to accept his advice. At the end of the day I am responsible. It's not easy sometimes but it's one thing I work really really hard to achieve.

Golf365: Looking more directly at this week, since the World Matchplay moved to the desert of Arizona there have been players who have transferred good Middle Eastern form into success in Tucson. Can you see any similarity?

Robert: Well, what I would say having come from the Middle East is that the courses and the set-ups there were superb. Really got to congratulate the Tour - very tough set-ups and so good for the European Tour. The rough was thick and the conditioning great. Comparing the desert here and in Dubai, well they are different - the bunkers in Dubai have no lips so that is different, these are quite steep. It is more like Qatar where if you go in the sand you might have scrub or cactus, that doesn't happen in Dubai. The rough here is not as punishing as the Middle East and there is less of it.

Golf365: You've never done too well in this event? Of course in matchplay you can meet a player in hot form and that's the end of your week - has that happened to you?

Robert: It is a bit of a mixture really. I played Paul Casey and he shot 63. It's a bit weird because I enjoyed that match as much as almost any match - well, I didn't like losing to him much - but in other ways it was actually really fun. But other times I have not played so good. I've played good matchplay in other places but historically I've never really done well in this event. I should like it because everything I have been saying about staying focussed and controlled on your own game really matters and almost counts more in matchplay.

Golf365: One final thing before we let you go and have some breakfast, you've started a website, I was wondering why now?

Robert: Yeah, it's only in Swedish at the moment, but the English will be up soon. I think maybe I realised that I am now quite experienced and maybe I can help young players out there. I can write about what helps me and it might them. I feel like I've learned a lot and can pass it on.

Golf365: Excellent, I've read some of the journal via Google translations and it provides some great insight. Readers can find it RobertKarlsson.se. Good luck this week, Robert, and we'll chat again soon.

Robert: Thank you, bye.