Rugby Central: ‘Iceman’ honing his kicking skills on the golf course

Incumbent five-eighth Bernard Foley says the biomechanics of swinging a gold club and the competitive nature of playing teammates can help land pressure World Cup goals.

Bernard Foley says swinging a golf club can help the biomechanics of goal kicking. Picture: Getty

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If the Wallabies manage to defy the odds and win this year’s World Cup, Bernard Foley’s handicap could turn out to be Australia’s biggest asset.

With goalkicking likely to be a decisive factor in clutch games, the margin between winning and losing could all come down to the accuracy of Foley’s right boot.

The “Iceman” has done it all before, but with the World Cup just months away, he’s practising harder than ever, but not on the football field.

Instead, he’s labouring away on the golf course, hoping that if he can perfect his swing on the fairways, it’ll translate to his kicking.

Bernard Foley says swinging a golf club can help the biomechanics of goal kicking. Picture: Getty

“Ever since I started (golf), everyone said ‘you’re a goalkicker so you must have a great golf swing’ but I definitely disagreed with them for a long time,” Foley told Rugby Central.

“But there definitely is, in terms of timing, in your approach and just trying to stick to your process and not trying to change things.

“Also, it helps in terms of how you set up, so you’re just trying to hit at a point rather than shoot to flags and stuff.”

Foley’s not the first goalkicker to play golf to improve his accuracy with studies finding there are a lot biomechanical similarities between the two.

But, there’s also some psychological benefits. While kicking for goal in packed stadiums with millions of people watching on television is incredibly nerve wracking, Foley said he sometimes feels as much pressure trying to beat his Wallaby teammates on the links.

“One thing for us as footy players is that competitive nature so golf is a great fit for us,” he said.

“It’s a real social environment so you can switch off but then there’s also that real competitive aspect when you’re competing against your teammates, your mates and even yourself on the golf course.”

Because of his commitment to rugby, Foley doesn’t get on the course as often as he likes so his handicap fluctuates. It’s currently 12 and a half but there’s never any shortage of other hackers in the Waratahs and Wallabies happy to take him on.

He and Kurtley Beale are both members at Bonnie Doon golf Club, located right next door to NSW Rugby’s new headquarters at Daceyville, while Foley occasionally travels north of the harbour to tee it up with Michael Hooper.

Bernard “The Iceman” Foley. Picture: Getty

It was at Hooper’s home course at Cromer where Foley came closest to getting his first hole-in-one, ending up less than 10 centimetres from the cup on the tricky uphill 178-metre par-3 ninth.

“He never lets me forget it,” Hooper said.

“It was a great shot and a gimme for birdie but I still made him putt it out.”

For now, Foley’s immediate focus is on beating the Brumbies on Saturday.

The 29-year-old still hasn’t decided his future plans but if the Waratahs don’t win and make the Super Rugby playoffs, it could be his last game for NSW.

Barring injury, Foley is a shoo-in to be picked to represent Australia at his second World Cup.

He played a key role in helping the Wallabies finish runner-up to New Zealand and is preparing to take a mulligan for the chance to go all the way this time.

“We’ve got three or four months now to really knuckle down and hone in on our preparation and what I got from the last World Cup was how vital that time is,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter what’s happened before, it’s what you do when you finally get the squad together and work together with one goal in mind, that’s where you can make the biggest gains.

“There’s all this anticipation and hype in the lead up but it really just comes down to the game on the day.”

Originally published as Rugby Central: ‘Iceman’ honing his kicking skills on the golf course