Before flying north from his Orlando home for what he calls a pre-Masters 'boot camp' at Augusta: Graeme McDowell took timeout to grab a bag of popcorn, and 105 odd minutes, to sit in a darkened room watching the first movie blockbuster of the year, Limitless.
In the film, the character played by Bradley Cooper unlocks the use of his entire brain power, rather than the nominal 10% which we mere mortals can put to work. His potential is then suddenly raised to that of the film's title.
It is a trait which the Portrush man would no doubt relish, particularly over the past month when his form has dipped from an incredible 2010 season which seen him win his first major title, star in Europe's Ryder Cup victory and become one of the leading lights on the PGA tour whilst rising from 40th to 4th in the world rankings, ahead of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
However, as McDowell freely admits, some of that magic has waned of late: "My game has been scrappy in the last few weeks. My long game has been a little ragged, a bit off the boil, so I have a bit of work to do before teeing up at The Masters."
After carding an unthinkable 80 on day one of the Arnold Palmer invitational, McDowell said, "I haven't been very happy with my game for about four weeks" "This may be the wake-up call I need, you know? So it's a good thing really, a reality check for me."
The reparations began there, but 73 on day two was still six shots shy of the cut. He will not compete in this weekend's Shell Houston Open. Instead, his sole focus is trained on the season's first golfing blockbuster and he is desperately trying to rediscover the form that earned him the invite.
The spectre of that 80 still looms large. But as McDowell set off with Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson for the reconnaissance mission in Georgia, he was keen to get all of his errors out into the open so that they can be addressed in short order, saying: "I wasn't very happy with the way I was swinging the club and my iron game was very out of control. It was not like me and six weeks ago I had the ball on a string."
Indeed he did, the season began with G-Mac hitting a course record (11 under par) 62 at the Plantation Course in Hawaii. It was only enough for a third place finish but it was another firm reminder of just how he earned the moniker of 'Mr Sunday', hitting the shots that matter when push comes to shove.
Golf is a peculiar sport in that, whatever you accomplished seven days ago, it means nothing when you tee off on a Thursday morning. Every week, the golfer starts all over again, alone. It's man versus course, man versus the elements and man versus his own mind.
Though the 31-year-old religiously pays tribute to his team, they cannot go out and hit a ball for him. If he is having a bad day, then Brian O'Driscoll has Tommy Bowe or Gordon D'Arcy to pick up the slack. If Ian Humphries isn't swinging his left boot smoothly then Paddy Wallace can take over the kicking tee and allow the fly-half concentrate on his short game in open play.
"Maybe I lacked concentration and took my foot off the pedal the last few weeks." McDowell lamented, "The second you start to take golf for granted it bites you, so now I really have to get my focus back. I am fully focused and know that the problem is a technique issue, which can be resolved, I just need to get my head around it."
It is loathsome at times to pit two sports head to head and score their merits, like some bizarre game of top trumps. Every code has a set of skills that are, for the most part, non-transferrable. However, the above quote from McDowell was made on his own website, offered up without the slightest duress. Is it possible to imagine Robbie Keane discussing his failings so openly and honestly?
The general message from the on-loan West Ham striker is either, 'there is no problem' or if pressed further, 'what's your problem?'
After Hawaii it was presumed that the McDowell's unbelievable form would continue to push him to the dazzling heights we have become accustomed to seeing him scale. For a few weeks this year the embers of 2010 still glowed, he followed up a 62 in the mid-Pacific with three consecutive top ten finishes (3rd-9th-6th) in Abu Dhabi, the Accenture match play and Honda Classic respectively.
Since then, the US Open champion has slipped to a 42nd place finish, and further, to last weekend's missed cut. But one curtailed tournament every once in a while is nothing to panic about. It is natural, even healthy, to have a blip now and then; a trough to offset those lofty peaks.
McDowell may have stirred up a storm in a teacup by (gasp!) using a mobile phone on the hallowed grounds of the Augusta National to Tweet photos and videos of his time at the club. However, any fine incurred from the stuffy set who hand out green jackets should be easily covered by the cash handed over to him by Poulter and Stenson. The pair revealed that over their 27 holes, it was the Irishman went home with all the greenbacks in the match wager.
Perhaps that is a sign that his iffy form is already behind him. Beating Kaymer, Tiger and Phil next week may prove to be an altogether more difficult hurdle. Although, as we have seen from 11 of the past 12 glorious G-Mac months, the potential and talent of this golfer does not need a jolt from any magic drug to make him limitless.
He already is.
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