Tyrrell Hatton has admitted he deleted social media apps from his phone to avoid "judgement and negativity" after quitting the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf.
The Englishman was one of the breakaway tour's flagship off-season signings, joining Jon Rahm's newly-formed Legion XIII team for the opening event of the season in February. The 32-year-old signed a deal in the region of £50million with the Saudi Arabia-bankrolled league.
Hatton put his Ryder Cup future in jeopardy with the move to LIV, but he has not been subjected to the same kind of scrutiny as LIV's founding members including Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia. Still, Hatton wanted to protect himself from the criticism that came his way.
He told the BBC : "Some of the lads described themselves as looking like Swiss cheese with all the holes that they'd had taken out of them for the abuse that they received. Unfortunately, social media isn't the nicest of places.
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"I actually deleted my social media because I knew that there was going to be negativity. I just didn't want any of that judgement and negativity in front of me. So I deleted that and it's been quite nice actually."
Hatton was a long-term target for LIV, knocking back several offers before succumbing to an enormous offer from the Saudis. He says he made the decision in the aftermath of the Dubai Desert Classic in January, and the six-time DP World Tour winner says he was pained by the experience.
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"This all came about over the weekend of Dubai," he said. "The following week was a pretty stressful one. I almost wanted a crystal ball to know what the right decision would be. I spoke to so many people in that week, almost to the point of wanting to have someone to make the decision for me. It was hard. You don't know what's the right decision.
"I knew that if I stayed and played PGA Tour, if I play how I have been for the past seven, eight years then I should stay within the top 50 and give myself the best chance of making the Ryder Cup and playing in all the majors and that's what I want to do."
Hatton says the allure of team golf, playing with Rahm, a global schedule and the huge money on offer all contributed to his decision and, so far, he has no regrets, although the lack of Official World Golf Ranking Points in LIV events is problematic in regards to his major championship hopes.
"It's hard," he admitted. "I have to earn 20-25 world ranking points this year to be in all four majors next year. That's the equivalent of finishing fifth on your own in a major. It's doable and it would be nice if I could have a really good week next week at the Masters - although that's been challenging for me over my previous seven visits."