Fox referred to the set-up in India as a “placement golf course”, shorter than the professionals are used to playing, but the course holds its own as wayward golf is punished so players are forced to think about other ways to approach the week.
“You’re hitting it to corners and hitting it where you can see the ball a lot of the time and hitting some mid irons and some short irons in.
“It maybe takes a little bit of my assets out of the game. I generally like hitting driver a lot, but it’s kind of fun to play something quite a bit different to what we normally play.”
The 39-year-old will be one of two Kiwi golfers in the field, alongside Daniel Hillier who is No 14 on the DP World Tour and in the hunt for a PGA Tour card.
Fox spoke to several others in the field featured at the tournament last year, including winner Tommy Fleetwood, who finished 22-under-par, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry – all confirming a driver would likely be unnecessary.
Usually, Fox will switch between carrying a seven wood and a two iron depending on the tournament. This week he will have both in the bag as he leaves his driver out.
He will also carry a three wood which he expects would rarely, if ever, leave the bag.
“I might as well have 14 in the bag, so three wood’s just going to stay,” he said.
“There’s maybe a chance that I hit it on a couple of holes depending on how I feel, but I’ve played nine holes each day since I’ve been here and haven’t looked like hitting a wood yet off the tee. So I doubt the plan will change that much over the next couple of days.
“The golf course will probably firm out a little bit. It’s pretty hot here as well, so the ball goes far, so it’s even going to be hitting less club during tournament conditions than what I have in the practice rounds.
“It is very different. I don’t think I’ve ever played a tournament where I’ve taken driver out of the bag.”
Fox heads into the event sitting sixth on the DP World Tour standings with four tournaments left in the season.
In a year where he has already achieved a number of career milestones – winning a major, qualifying to compete in the 30-player PGA Tour Championship and representing the International Team in the Presidents Cup, he was looking to position himself for a run at the DP World Tour season title now too.
He does, however, have work to do with American Patrick Reed leading the way about 1200 points clear of Fox.
“I’m probably maybe a bit too far back now to challenge to win it unless something really good happens, but you know, I’ll see what I can do these next three weeks. It’d be nice to get another top five finish on that Order of Merit.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.