Many believe that 2025 should be the year of Alejandro del Rey. He believes it too. He says it with conviction.
The next question arises naturally to avoid staying only on the surface or the cliché. What does it mean and what must happen for it to be his year? Well, it’s as simple and at the same time as difficult as achieving a handful of goals, ticking off a series of boxes. “At the top is winning a DP World Tour tournament and getting into the Dubai Finale. These are the two confessable challenges; there are other secrets I’ve promised myself not to share publicly. I’ll keep them to myself. It’s not about not putting pressure on myself; I’ve simply decided to handle it that way, they’re personal and don’t necessarily have to do with tournament rankings,” he tells Ten Golf during a relaxed chat on the practice range at the Emirates Golf Club, where the Hero Dubai Desert Classic is being played this week.
Del Rey confesses that he is more prepared than ever to start the season, “as long as what we’re playing this week is a World Tour padel tournament, is that right or am I mistaken?” he jokes. He’s been playing a lot of this sport, although of course, he’s also had time to fine-tune his golf. He assures that physically he has worked harder than ever (the discomfort in his left wrist that accompanied and bothered him at the end of last year is definitely behind him) and he has also been out on the golf course more than usual. “In all of 2024, I’ve played a total of 14 rounds of golf at La Moraleja (his course). I’m not much for playing the course when I’m at home. I prefer hitting balls, fine-tuning swing elements, preparing technically. Then, in tournaments, you won’t see me on the range except to warm up and correct any bad feelings. During competition weeks, it’s all about the course. However, this winter I have played 9 and 18 holes more often,” he explains.
In this regard, he reveals that the other day playing with Luis Masaveu he made par on nine holes at La Moraleja 2, albeit playing two balls and always choosing the worst one. Very good par. He claims he had never achieved it before. He also signed a great round of seven under at La Moraleja 3 (“and that’s considering it’s really long now,” he notes) and another day he made five under in nine holes. These are just some indicative examples, nothing conclusive, a recreational round has little to do with competition, but it helps to get an idea that things are on the right track for the Madrilenian.
Del Rey truly feels he arrives better prepared in Dubai than a year ago, largely due to the driver. He had time in the preseason to travel to Arizona and ‘go through the workshop’ with his coach Dave Phillips. There they adjusted some aspects and, above all, concluded that they should return to the driver he used in the second half of 2023, a Titleist with a shaft he used for the first time at the KLM Open. “I feel that things didn’t go better for me in 2024 because of the driver. I think it was what kept me out of the Dubai Finale. I feel more consistent than ever now,” he assures.
And it doesn’t seem like just talk. To prove it, he shares a curious example. “The other day I was hitting balls with the driver at La Moraleja. I hit a total of fifteen and six ended up within a two-metre arc, the size of this table,” he notes, pointing to the place where the conversation is taking place. Del Rey is adamant. “That had never happened to me. Five metres further, seven, four, twelve, yes, but for almost half of fifteen balls to rest within a two-metre space, never.”
It’s inevitable to think that if Del Rey can achieve more consistency with the driver (“I’m never going to be Adrián Otaegui hitting fairways, I’m clear on that, but a bit more”) he will have gained a lot to tick off that list of goals. However, it’s not just the driver or the physical aspect; he also knows he must improve his strategy on the course. He needs to keep Del Rey’s ‘heated moments’ well in check. Just today it happened in the practice round with Manuel Elvira. I missed the fairway on the 3rd, par 5, into the rough. Instead of playing short to the fairway and aiming for the green in three, he tried to hit the wood and take it to the green. It was practically impossible. It couldn’t reach in the air and needed to roll through a five-metre corridor. He missed, desert, and a bogey fell. “I have to avoid that, I get heated and it can’t be. Today was a practice day, but I must ensure it doesn’t happen in tournaments,” he assures.
It’s important to clarify that these strategic nuances don’t mean changing his way of playing. Del Rey is clear that to get where he wants, he must be aggressive, but with a clear head. Aggressive, yes, reckless, no. Surely this is where he has the most room for improvement to achieve the confessable and secret goals. For 2025 to truly be the year of Alex del Rey.
