Paul McGinley

Nanotechnology?

“What’s nanotechnology?”

Nanotechnology is the construction and use of functional structures designed from atomic or molecular scale. Their size allows them to exhibit novel and significantly improved physical, chemical and biological properties. It’s all the rage in golf club design, apparently…

“Right. I’m not that way inclined, so I’ll give it three. I’m more of a traditionalist. I’m quite disturbed by the way everything’s gone over the last few years.”

You seem to be coping with it very well.

“Yeah, I’ve changed – the way I play, the way I think, the way I train – to keep up with it, but I don’t like the way golf is going. The powers-that-be have a lot to answer for. They’ve let the game get too one-dimensional. Look at the top three in the 2005 Order of Merit in America – Tiger, Mickelson and Vijay. Not one of them is in the top 100 for accuracy off the tee.”

When we interviewed Jack Nicklaus he said that. I couldn’t believe it, so I had to go back and check the stats.

“I mean, that's really, really wrong, there is something seriously wrong in the game when that happens. The big powerful guy is getting rewarded and the guy like me who is coming on tour at five feet seven inches is at a huge disadvantage and that's not the way the game should be. You look at all the old great players – Ben Hogan, Harry Vardon, Tom Watson – they were skillful, clever, they understood the game and used their minds to play.”

What’s the solution?

“I don’t think it’s reigning back the technology. Certainly, better course maintenance and course design would help. If Vijay or Tiger found the rough and had to hit a recovery shot on to a small, firm green, rather than a big, inviting putting surface I think golf might tell a different story. Having said that, I think Tiger is the best player in the world – no matter what you put in front of him I think he’d find a way to adapt.”

Are you involved with any course design?

“I’m doing my first golf course design – The Macreddin Brook in County Wicklow. It’s gonna be an old traditional-style golf course with a bit of a modern twist.”

A punk rock golf course!

“Yeah, that’s me.”

If you had one round of golf left in you to play where would it be?

“The course I grew up on: The Grange in Dublin. Six par-three holes, one par five.”

Who do you knock about with on tour?

“I vary it. I have a lot of friends on tour so I like to vary it and don’t seem to go out with the same guys all the time. I probably see [Padraig] Harrington the most.”

Are you easily bored?

“No way. I’ve got a great computer, there’s the internet, iPod, I read a lot of books – not fiction, though, mostly biographical stuff. Between practice, rest, reading and chatting, there’s no time to get bored.”

What was the last thing you lost?

“I lost my West Ham season ticket which was annoying. But I got it reissued.”

How long have you been watching them?

“Since I moved to England in 1998. West Ham and Celtic were my teams growing up.”

Who’s your favourite golfer of all time?

“Tom Watson. I just think he embodies everything good about the game. He had a fantastic, aggressive playing style in his heyday, but his on-course demeanour was spot on. He has a great understanding of the traditions of the game, which I think has been lost, well, not lost, but certainly diminished over the years. That’s me – I’m from the old school. The Celtic Tiger’s been great for Ireland, but I still feel sad when I go back to Dublin. It’s not the same Dublin I left. There are motorways everywhere. OK, so the old roads used to give you headaches but there was something nice about the old roads with hedges, driving through towns.”

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