Calum Hill is hopeful putting in the hard yards will once again see him hit the heights as he prepares to defend his title at the Joburg Open.
The Scot won his second DP World Tour crown at Houghton Golf Club last year, so you would think he would feel right at home in Johannesburg.
But he admits that acclimatising to the altitude is something on which he must work long and hard after playing at sea level last week in Stellenbosch, and he is determined to leave no stone unturned.
“We’re going from sea level to elevation this week so there’s a few days definitely of hard work and figuring out how far the ball goes,” he said.
“There’s a lot of difference, it goes at least ten per cent further so if I’m hitting a five iron 210 yards, it’s now going 230 yards.
“Judging how the wind hits it because it hits it less up here – how to take a little bit off. It’s not too bad at sea level, if you want to take three or four yards off you can just slow it down a bit but out here, how does that replicate?
“It’s definitely a bit of a learning curve over the Monday to Wednesday, a lot of work going in.”
While the altitude may take some getting used to, Hill is enjoying being back at Houghton, where he triumphed in a play-off last year.
He went on to make the DP World Tour Play-Offs and with two runner-up finishes already in 2026, he is hoping to lay the foundations for another strong campaign.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” he said. “I’ve had a nice start to the year and to come in here you try and capitalise and have another good week and keep that momentum going. It’s one of the events where I like the course. You just try and keep pushing forward.
“It’s nice to have all the good memories coming back. I think as golfers you sometimes remember some of the bad shots rather than the good but here, having had a good week, all I’m seeing is all the good shots and all the putts I’ve made. It's nice.
“I stared working with Grant Veenstra, who’s South Africa-based from Joburg, maybe six months before that at most so there was a lot of work going into the game and it was nice to see some fruition.
“It puts you in really good stead for the start of the season. It just really kicked everything off and put me in a good position so hopefully I can repeat or have a good finish this year and keep pushing on.
“The game is in good shape and if your game is in decent shape and you’re coming back to a place where you’ve got some good memories, it all adds up to a decent week."
Another man arriving in good form this week is Angel Ayora, with the Spaniard having registered three consecutive top tens.
The 21-year-old is playing at Houghton for the first but as one of the longest hitters on tour, he is relishing taking on an old-school layout at altitude.
“I’m playing very well this past couple of tournaments so I’m happy to be in this form and I’m going to try and keep that form,” he said. “Let’s see what happens.
“I think it suits my game. There are some dog-legs and you have to carry some bunkers and some trees so I think it’s good for my game. You never know until the tournament starts but the course is in good shape.
“It’s good because your carry numbers change a little bit. My driver normally is 285/290 metres and right now it is 320/315 so it’s very good to see those numbers.
“We played in Kenya two weeks ago so it’s back to the same pretty much.
“Right now we have 10/11 per cent more on my distance so with that number we are very good."
