Written By: Anjali Mishra

Jon Rahm, the reigning U.S. Open winner is one player who understands the need of consistency in the game of golf.

Rahm, the current World No. 1, had a total of 15 top-10 finishes last season, and ahead of his first event of 2022, the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, he said he's hoping to keep up the form he showed during his hot summer stretch, when he finished no lower than T9 in six events from May to September — not including the apparent lock he had on a victory at the Memorial, when a positive Covid test forced him to withdraw with one round.

Jon Rahm

While Rahm acknowledged that improving his previous season's performance has set the bar quite high, he also revealed what he believes are the keys to his consistency.  

“Know yourself, know your swing, know your body, know what you’re capable of, know why you swing the way you do,” Rahm said. “And once you know that you’ll be able to come out with basically the three things you need to do to have a consistent swing or at least a consistent ball flight.”

Rahm said that having a checklist on his swing has been a big key for him.

“Maybe setup, maybe a feel, maybe a look, something on your swing that you like to have,” Rahm explained. “There’s got to be something you need to have that, when you’re not hitting it well, you can fall back on to have a consistent, at least a ball flight or a shot that you can at least predict the outcome of more or less.”

The other key to success? Rahm says it’s the ability to work with what you’ve got.

Jon Rahm hitting a shot

“If one day you wake up, usually you draw the ball, but the ball’s not drawing, maybe try not to hit draws, right?” Rahm said. “Always try to play a shot that you know you can play. Golf is not a hitting contest, it’s posting the best score you can post. Doesn’t matter how it looks, it’s just competing and getting the lowest round out there.”