Rarely has a mishit by an 18 handicap golfer caused such a stir, but this time last year Greg Drummond was the bad boy of curling as a result.
The Olympic silver medallist’s misdemeanour went viral after swiped at a curling stone with his broom following his team’s defeat in the final of the Scottish Championships and broke the handle off the stone, sending it sailing over the barrier separating the players from the spectators.
At no point was there the slightest threat to life or limb, but it was decidedly not the done thing within curling culture and the 28-year-old who plays third in Team Murdoch, effectively second-in-command to three time Olympian Dave Murdoch, accepts that, admitting that while some bad luck was at play, petulance had certainly been involved.
“To be honest what happened wasn’t meant to happen. I had every intention of breaking my broom (but) I topped the shot and the handle came flying off,” he explained, noting that, ironically, he immediately headed off on holiday to Portugal where he played his best two rounds of golf of the season.
There was some more official tutting and harrumphing when he subsequently appeared in a promo for a Grand Slam event in Canada simulating a golf swing, but in reality Drummond he had done was demonstrate that curlers, like all elite sportspeople, are passionate about what they do and his own generation recognised that.
“We were out at a Grand Slam in Canada and every curling player I spoke to had no issues with it and actually said: ‘Oh, it got people talking about the sport,’” he noted.
That expression of frustration, following their defeat at the hands of his former skip Tom Brewster’s new rink, was a consequence of a lengthy wait to get back to major championships since that Olympic final in Sochi, increased domestic competition having shut them out.
“It was a big final and a chance to go to the World Championships," said Drummond.
"It was just frustrating at the time because we’d made a little strategical error with the last couple of shots, but since then I think I’ve mellowed slightly.
“I’m not saying it changes your intensity or desire to win because that will always be there, but I can’t see me swinging any three irons in an ice rink any time soon.”
Victory in last month’s Scottish Championships, earning an ideally timed return to the World Championships, the last ahead of next year’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, was consequently a reward for well-directed effort.
“We knew this was an important year in the Olympic cycle and we just re-evaluated our entire schedule leading up to the national championships and did everything we needed to do to give ourselves the best chance, refining the quality of our work. This is the week before we go to the World Championships and every one of us is knocking out PBs in the gym," said Drummond.
“I think being physically strong also gives you a mental edge, so if you’re in a tight game and it’s coming down to the wire, you feel as if you’re stronger than your opposition which really showed in a few games at the Scottish Championship.
“We were as good to go in the final game as we were in the first game. That was pretty much what it felt like across the board.”
As Drummond acknowledged, such physicality has become an essential component of curling’s transformation from what was previously widely considered a pastime, into a full blown athletic pursuit as a result of acquiring Olympic status.
“Since 2011 when we first went to a World Championship. We’re bigger, we’re stronger, we’re technically better, we’re more experienced, we’ve been to the big show a few times, we know we can win big games. Even from the Olympics we’re a different team,” he said.
“You’re always looking for an extra edge, be it strategical or mentally we always like to keep striving for improvement. If you can get an extra one per cent every week you’re getting better all the time and it’s all about peaking at the right time, but you have to set yourselves many goals and challenges to get there.”
The men’s World Championships take place in Edmonton from April 1-9.
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