Paul McGinley's improved status in the world game has allowed the Dubliner, in his 15th season as a tour professional, to bring a bolder, fresher approach to his early-season itinerary.
With his Ryder Cup ticket all-but-booked, McGinley - 22nd in the latest official world rankings - has top-loaded his schedule with a series of tournaments on the US Tour, starting with this week's AT and T Pebble Beach pro-am where Phil Mickelson is the defending champion.
Indeed, McGinley, who had a top-10 finish in the Qatar Masters last month in his only outing of the season to date, won't play a tournament in Europe until the British Masters in early May.
And his return to Pebble Beach will be part of a three-week stint in the States that also takes in next week's Los Angeles Open and the following week's Accenture Matchplay before outings next month at the Bay Hill and the Players Championship.
The heavy American schedule is all part of McGinley's build-up to a return to the US Masters, a tournament he has only played in once, in 2002, when he finished tied-18th.
McGinley spent last week on a working holiday in Barbados with Padraig Harrington - who starts his year's work at next week's Malaysian Open, before travelling on to California for the Accenture Matchplay - where coach Bob Torrance was also on-site for a time to work with his two star pupils.
McGinley's upwardly mobile graph over the past 12 months, which has seen him rise from 68th in the world a year ago, has enabled him to switch much of his early-season focus to the US where he believes he is now far more comfortable in the preparations required for tournaments.
"I know a lot of what to do, what not to do, and how to prepare for a tournament," he said. "I know how get the best out of myself. I know about my fitness, (and) I know about my nutrition. I know about my technical abilities, (and) I know about my short game. All of those things have grown over the last two years."
McGinley's decision to spend so much time in America early in the year is a reflection of his current standing in the game, and he believes competing so regularly on the US Tour can only benefit his game at Augusta National.
"I thought I played really well (in the Masters) the last time (in 2002) and was very disappointed not to be back the following year. The last time I did a stint in America, as I am going to do now, I was playing golf courses to a large extent for the first time. I was playing on the American tour for the first time, in terms of a prolonged period for a couple of months.
"Now I know the golf courses, and I know the routines. I have experience of playing different grasses. The short game is what it's all about, and you can never get good enough at the short game, no matter who you are. My golf game is based on course management, being on fairways, being on greens, hitting the golf ball with control. But I intend to spend a lot of time on my short game before I get to Augusta."
McGinley will be joined at Pebble Beach by Graeme McDowell, who has yet to earn his invite to the US Masters and must fight his way back into the world's top 50 by the end of the Players Championship to do so.
Indeed, McDowell has slipped to 65th in the latest world rankings and, as things stand, will need to improve a number of places if he is to guarantee a place in the Accenture Matchplay in just over a fortnight's time without having to rely on defections for his place in the field, limited to the top 64 in the official world rankings.
