Concepts around perspective and gratitude had been difficult to grasp in 2019 as Lucas Herbert struggled to follow up an outstanding 2018 rookie season on the European Tour. The lofty goals he had set for himself – win on tour, be top 50 in the world – suddenly seemed so distant.

He began 2020 with a similar mindset yet weekend rounds of 76-75 in Abu Dhabi last January highlighted the need for a different way of thinking.

“It was just such a mindset shift,” explains Herbert’s mental performance coach Jamie Glazier.

“In Dubai we lowered expectations. We set the bar really low from a goal-setting perspective. We had these building blocks in place that we wanted to tick off and the first building block was a top 40 finish.

“Winning was the last one. It might have been eighth or ninth down the list of things to tick off. Fast forward seven days and he’s standing there with the trophy.

“It’s quite amazing that we distract ourselves from winning and seven days later he’s standing there with the trophy in his hands. That’s the game of golf for you.”

Such instant results are a rarity in any endeavour but it instilled an enhanced sense of confidence within Herbert and a blueprint that he could trust.

He was top-30 in Saudi Arabia a week later, tied for 12th at the ISPS HANDA Vic Open and runner-up in the New Zealand Open… before COVID-19 brought the world to a grinding halt.

Momentum was lost, but what he found back home on the Sunshine Coast was a self-reliance that those closest to him believe will unlock his full potential.

“Did winning change him? No, not in any way. Did COVID change him as a person? Yes,” concedes Herbert’s long-time coach Dominic Azzopardi.

“Winning came at an incredibly great time for him because of what happened in the months after Dubai.

“He grew up and matured five years in about six months. Why that is, I just don’t know.

“He actually did get in the gym and do a lot more. He started cooking, which he’d never done. Eating a bit better. He became better around the house and started cleaning things. Just grew up a lot.

“I’d love to know why. I don’t know why but we were very pleased to see a lot of the changes in him as a person through that time.

“He had his movement coach Simi (Simone Tozer) over a couple of nights a week teaching him how to cook different meals. I just couldn’t believe hearing what was happening.

“To think that Uber Eats was taking a knock on the Sunshine Coast because he was actually getting involved in doing some cooking. It was an interesting time.”

“He wanted to know more about the best way to clean the house,” adds Glazier.

“He jumped into wanting to learn how to clean the house. Little life skills like that, creating a bit of balance in him as a person. Not just having all his identity revolve around where his golf ball finishes was a really fantastic thing that I saw in him last year.

“The kitchen is something that we use every day and it can so easily get out of hand. He took a lot of pride in that because he could see it clean and clean it in two minutes twice a day and before you know it you’ve got a sparkling, clean kitchen. He took a lot of pride in that. It was really cool to see.

“Gratitude is something that we have worked on and talked about a lot the last few years.

“How COVID unfolded for a lot of young professional golfers in taking a lot of their opportunity away, he just felt so grateful to be in the position that he was in.

“The bit of perspective and gratitude was a huge mindset shift from the year prior.”

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Flying solo

When Herbert returned to the professional golf tour in August at the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational he did so minus the entourage that had become so synonymous with his preparation.

COVID protocols meant that Herbert had to be travel without Azzopardi, Glazier and Tozer but his response and the corresponding results represented another significant change that is likely to become permanent.

“I was quite concerned about that in some ways,” Azzopardi said of Herbert’s forced separation.

“He got through it really well and I think he learned a lot about himself. He likes to have people there with him but it’s not a necessity.

“This time last year I wouldn’t have thought that was going to be the case. But it had to happen because of COVID and he’s embraced that and probably changed how much we’re all going to travel moving forward over the next so many years, which is a positive thing for all of us.”

“He travelled the world by himself, he was at tournaments by himself, he had to send videos to Dom and figure stuff out for himself. Without a doubt that suited him beautifully,” said Glazier, pointing to the 2019 results as why the opposite adversely affected him.

“I not only have the utmost confidence in him being able to be left alone and self-reliant I actually think it’s a really powerful thing for him and will get the best out of him.”

Change for the better

The maturity that has led to more time in the kitchen both cooking and cleaning will also transfer onto the golf course in 2021.

Herbert and Azzopardi began a program last November that will help him to keep pace with the distance explosion taking place on golf tours around the world.

They tested the new TaylorMade equipment but rather than rush to have the new toys in the bag to start the year, the pair have made the decision to wait until they can spend time at the TaylorMade Kingdom in Carlsbad while in the US for the WGC event in Florida.

And he has Nick Pugh back on the bag.

“Like a lot of golfers, if things aren’t going right it’s often the caddy that goes first but it’s another great example of the maturity within Lucas now,” Azzopardi said.

“To look at it towards the end of last year and realise that Nick was actually a really good caddy and the right caddy for him was another very positive step.

“That’s about Lucas understanding himself more and his team and all of us being able to help him stay more stable and not having the lows that he perhaps has had in the past.

“That’s very commendable for him to learn and understand what he needs to do to try and narrow that gap between his best and his worst.

“Age and maturity is really helping him in that respect.”

Herbert returns to Emirates Golf Club this week ranked 70th in the world and coming off a strong showing in Abu Dhabi.

The nature of his playoff win over Christiaan Bezuidenhout elevated Herbert’s standing within world golf and instilled a sense of belonging that Glazier says has grown significantly the past 12 months.

“That sense of belonging has probably been the biggest step and change that he’s made in 2020,” Glazier offers.

“Dubai was definitely a trigger in that but the US Open (T31) and Scottish Open (T7) were phenomenal steps in that as well.

“This year is going to be great to see how he navigates the variance in the game of golf at the pointy end of the world rankings and the pointy end of the game.

“It’s going to be an interesting 24 months that’s for sure.”