SIMON LEWIS: Making the cut all in the mind

On a wild and wintry night beside Cork harbour, thoughts about lowering one’s golf score would usually be the preserve of the desperate and certifiable.

Yet those 90 or more hardy souls who battled their way along flooded roads and through a relentless downpour to reach Monkstown Golf Club on Thursday evening were rewarded for their spirited efforts with a fascinating insight into the work of celebrated golfing mind coach Karl Morris.

The man who helped Graeme McDowell, Darren Clarke, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel reach the pinnacle of their sport and land Major championships, needed a bit of mental fortitude himself to get to Monkstown, his flight from Manchester having been diverted earlier in the day to Farranfore, but Morris was in fine form as he offered practical and effective insights to achieving ‘Five Shots Lower Without Changing Your Swing’.