After teeing off his third full year on the European Challenge Tour at the Barclays Kenya Open, Hugues Joannes believes that the key to success in 2016 will be an improvement of his mental approach to the game.
The Belgian has earned his place in the Challenge Tour’s limited field season-ending Grand Final for the past two seasons but is yet to follow in the footsteps of compatriot and the most recent Belgian Challenge Tour graduate in 2009, Nicolas Colsaerts, by making the step up to the top tier via Europe’s top developmental tour.
The 27 year old also took part in the European Tour’s Joburg and Tshwane Opens earlier this year and Joannes believes that experience has helped with his preparations for the new season, as he targets his place in the crucial top 15 in the Road to Oman Rankings.
I'm feeling ready - the goal this year is to be in the top 15
“I’m feeling well prepared,” he said. “I got to play in two European Tour events and I feel like I get ready pretty well this winter. I’ve started to get the hang of the professional life.
“I’ve had two years on the tour and I’m feeling ready. The goal this year is to be in the top 15.
“It’s not so much about being good or better than the year before, it’s about being more experienced.
Hugues Joannes alongside Ricardo Gouveia in 2015
“I’ve improved a lot over the last two years in the mental game. I feel better each year playing on this tour and I feel like I belong on the tour.
“In my first year, I felt as though I’d not really done anything. I think I’ve proved to myself that I’m worthy of the Challenge Tour and I have to step up and get to the European Tour.
“It’s more of the mental step that I need to figure out, rather than work on game improvement. We’re all pretty good players and it’s more of the mental aspect which we need to improve.
“For me, that’s been improving from 2014 and 2015 and we’ll see this year.”
Hugues Joannes on the Challenge Series in 2015
Acknowledging that he was a consistent performer during 2015, Joannes says that one of his targets in the new season is to win his first Challenge Tour event.
His best finish to date was in the 2014 Fred Olsen Challenge de España where he finished second with a score of 18 under par.
“Some guys are ready at 18 years old,” he continued. “Just look at [Matteo] Manassero and Rory [McIlroy] – for some guys it takes more time. But that’s the luck we have in golf, we have time. One of the goals this year is to win a tournament, and another is to prove to myself that I can win.
“My best finish is second on my own and I’ve had a couple of top fives. I didn’t last year, but I had four top tens – two eighths and two ninths.
“I was very consistent but never really got to the top. One of the goals this year is to get more and more in contention and compete, hitting the shots when it matters.
“I’m trying to be more consistent with my long game, which is a work in progress.
“My putting has been good during the winter and in Kenya. I’m mainly doing a lot of work on the swing on the long game and trying to get a lot more out of my driving accuracy and shots from the fairway.”
