McIlroy admits to writing goals on a boarding card

A lot of professional golfers set themselves goals at the beginning of each season. For some it might be as simple as keeping their card, while for others it might be making 75% of cuts, chalking up five-top 10s, making a Ryder Cup team, winning a tournament, or for the brave and/or talented few, winning a major.  

World No.1 Rory McIlroy is no different than any other pro golfer in that respect, and each year he starts out the season by setting out his goals. But rather than share them with his coach or stick them on a Post-It note in his fridge door, Rory jots his down on the back of an airplane boarding pass as he flies to his first tournament of the season, the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.

Once he’s written them down – this year there are seven goals – he tucks it into his wallet and doesn’t look at it again until the end of the year. But how did this strange, but clearly effective, routine come about?

“It obvious what everyone’s goals are at the start of the year: winning tournaments, winning Majors,” he said. “But it’s the little things that you can do in practice and in everyday life that can often help you be a little bit more consistent. Every year, I fly into Dubai to do a bit of preparation before the tournament in Abu Dhabi, and I write my goals down in the back of my boarding pass, and I put it in my wallet and I memorise them. I don’t really want to share them with anyone else. They are just my little goals, and I’ll try and achieve those. At the end of the year I’ll take that boarding pass out at and see how well I’ve done.”

Lofty goals: Rory McIlroy writes his goals for the season on his boarding pass while flying to Dubai at the beginning of each season

Asked whether he had succeeded in ticking off all the goals during last season’s double major winning season, he joked: “I actually didn’t achieve everything that I wanted to last year. I wanted to have six worldwide wins.  I only had four, but it was still a good year.”  As a sign of his ride up the world rankings, and the size of his bank balance, McIlroy has noticed that the numfer of the seat on his boarding pass has come down. “It’s funny – the numbers have gradually gotten less and less. A few years ago in was in the 20s and then 13B, 12A and yes, this year it was 1A, so it’s been nice to notice that. Maybe one day there will be no number and no boarding pass, and that will be the ultimate.”

While not revealing the exact details of this year’s goals, McIlroy did admit that it contained a major in there somewhere. The Masters perhaps, to complete the grand slam of majors? “I’m not greedy”, he replied. “Any major will do.”

What are your goals for the new season? Break 100, 90, 80 or 70? Win the monthly medal or the club championship? Whatever they are, best keep them to yourself! 

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