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HYUNDAI TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONSJanuary 7, 2015Tim ClarkKAPALUA, HAWAII THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome Tim Clark to the interview room here at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua, Maui. Glad to have you back; you haven't been here in a while. We'll just take some comments. TIM CLARK: I would have liked to played more, but it's a great place to start the year. Weather is always good. Warm anyway. And you know, I enjoy playing next week. This gives me a nice opportunity to come over here for two weeks and relaxing way to start the year, but also a nice way to see where your game is. THE MODERATOR: Talk about that. Kind of two‑course stretch. Certainly two different types of venues, but getting yourself ready this time of the year for those events here in Hawaii. TIM CLARK: Exactly. Totally two different style of courses, but you've gotta get started at some point, and any tournament golf is good, so the fact that we can come here and there's not going to be a cut. You know you're going to get four rounds. And it is a big hope. Guys have hopefully had a decent off season. It is a grind toward the end of the year. I know guys want to get away and probably haven't played that much golf, but I'm sure the week leading into this guys are starting to put in some effort and this is certainly the first test for us. THE MODERATOR: Questions for Tim. Q. What did you do late in the year? Are you down in South Africa? TIM CLARK: I played one event in South Africa, the Nedbank Challenge. Before that it was China, so from China I went to South Africa and pretty much had off season in South Africa, but getting to that event kind of late and played. Q. Kind of late? TIM CLARK: Yeah. The qualifying is a little strange for how it works, the Race to Dubai mostly, and I had to wait kind of till the week before to know whether I was in the tournament or not. Q. What do you do going forward? What's at least your early part of the schedule? TIM CLARK: I'm going to play here next week. I'm going to go to Palm Springs, and after that I'm not 100 percent sure, but I'm looking to maybe go play San Diego and reassess then again. Q. (Indiscernible)? TIM CLARK: I haven't played there for quite a while. Q. (Indiscernible). TIM CLARK: Yeah. So I think‑‑ if I haven't been to a tournament for a few years, I like to go back to check it out again, and I certainly enjoyed that golf course during the U.S. Open when we played there. If we can get some good weather, it will be just fine. Q. Tim, are you totally healthy now? TIM CLARK: I'm feeling really good. Certainly the last few months I've felt good. It's nice to have a bit of a break during the off season to get everything in order. I'm feeling happy about this year coming up. You know, I'm just going to be pretty smart with my scheduling not to overplay. I think toward the end of last year we all kind of played too much golf. You almost have to. And I think a lot of guys suffered a little bit from that. Q. Do you feel any urgency this year? You just mentioned maybe not playing too much, but maybe wanting to play because you're only going to have one more year‑‑ TIM CLARK: It's a little bit of that. I mean I'd hoped to have won the playoff in China. That would have helped me out a little bit. But I'm still concentrating on really the tournaments that I'm playing this year and trying to play well. At some point I'm going to have to think about the change next year. I'm going to go to Scotty Cameron's studio after San Diego to get some things made for me to try out, but at the end of the day I've gotta focus on what I can do right now, and when the time comes change. Q. Do you have a thought on what you would change to, like a mid length? TIM CLARK: Yeah. I've got some pretty good ideas. But I'm not going to tell you just in case they try to ban those. (Laughs). But I think I've got a pretty good handle on it. I'm not as concerned as I was maybe the start of last year, because you know, I think I've figured something out now and I'll be fine. But I'm not going to spend my time practicing it now while I'm trying to play tournaments this year with what I've used. You know, I've used‑‑ I've been putting with the same style now 17 years and the same putter for 11 years, so to change. THE MODERATOR: Separation anxiety. TIM CLARK: Yeah. Once they tell me it's done, then it's done, then it will be a lot easier to change. Q. Geoff made an interesting point yesterday on that, that guys (indiscernible) the belly are probably going to have an easier time because the fundamental of the stroke is the same as opposed to separation. TIM CLARK: Yeah. 100 percent a lot easier. Like I say, 17 years I haven't had my hands on a club like that. But I'm working on other things anyway. Q. (Indiscernible)? TIM CLARK: I think I was talking to Carl and Evan to some extent. He's only been using it for a couple of years. I mean it's one of those things. Whatever you end up doing, it still comes down to confidence and mindset, you know, at the end of the day. But obviously, the major switch I've gained from myself to short putter is a lot of muscle memory and retraining of how you use a putter if it comes to that. So I'm going to try and do something that's not vastly different to what I've been doing. Q. Just a point of clarification. You said 11 years with the same putter. Are you talking about the exact same putter or same brand? TIM CLARK: Same putter. THE MODERATOR: Which is? TIM CLARK: We won't go there. There's a Titleist man in the back there. (Laughs). I'm not going to tell you. Q. Do you know any other guys that have been playing with a putter that long? TIM CLARK: Scotty Verplank is probably ‑‑ his is probably three times longer than mine. I think there's probably a few guys that like one putter. I've just never been big on changing. You know, I recently put a hybrid in the bag, a Titleist hybrid, and I was using another hybrid for eight years before that, you know, so once I get something‑‑ when you change stuff, you have to practice a lot. (Laughs). Right? THE MODERATOR: And you're opposed to that? TIM CLARK: Yes. Very much so. (Laughs). THE MODERATOR: Getting back to this season, this is also a Presidents Cup year so I'm wondering your thoughts on trying to make that team in Korea. TIM CLARK: Again, it's one of those things that takes care of itself if you play well. You know, last year‑‑ or last time I was kind of in and then just fell out and didn't get a pick, and you know, when it comes down to that, what can you do? You're either going to get a pick or you're not going to get a pick. The best thing to do is play well and get yourself some points. I always enjoy playing those tournaments and would like to be there. So for me, particularly the way I finished last season, I mean my game is there. So I need to look at now winning tournaments. That's always the bottom line. THE MODERATOR: Yeah, you were sort of the odd man out almost in the last one, weren't you? Essentially at the end of the day. TIM CLARK: Yeah. THE MODERATOR: Kind of. TIM CLARK: I could go into it further, but it wouldn't be in my best interest. THE MODERATOR: Be my guest. TIM CLARK: No. It wouldn't be good. THE MODERATOR:  We're not opposed. But having said that and everything else that goes into the Presidents Cup, the international team obviously has struggled to break through and make this more of a competition, at least event, in your own minds as well as perhaps the public, and I'm wondering is there a point to which that frustration manifests in some other way because I know they're trying to‑‑ TIM CLARK: It's been manifesting for years, you know, and I don't think it's the new guys, the internationals have tried to get the point system changed to more of the Ryder Cup format where there's less points, and if I look at it, I think it's probably a great idea. The Ryder Cup has been extremely successful, and for everyone. I mean the tournament's just getting bigger and bigger and obviously because America is losing. If America won every year, would we really be talking about the Ryder Cup as much as we do. I don't know. So we've tried‑‑ they've looked at the points. But yeah, we want it to be a better competition. You know, we want it to be more competitive, and it's only going to get interest if the internationals start to win more or at least come close to winning. It's always an honor to get chosen to the team to play and have that opportunity because for years international players didn't have that type of competition. It was always just the Ryder Cup. So I think it's great that we have the event, but we somehow need to figure out how to make it more competitive for sure. Q. What was your first reaction when you saw the Plantation course? TIM CLARK: My first reaction was do we get a cart for the week. (Laughs). It's certainly an interesting golf course, and everything depends on the wind here. I mean you get different winds, and the course plays completely different. Obviously on a personal level, I'd like to see it a little bit narrower, but again, start of the year, maybe the guys, gives them a little bit of a chance to find their game. But I grew up in the wind, I grew up on the coast, so I certainly like grainy greens. I like the grasses we'll be playing on, and I like playing in the wind. So I look forward to the week. Q. Tim, it seems like the equalizer, though, is the greens. Do you feel that way even though you're not as long of a hitter? Do you feel like you have more of an advantage because of the greens? TIM CLARK: Tough for me, too. I just remember when I did play in '11, rarely get a three‑putt around here. There's so many slopes and slopes you don't really see because the course is pretty much on a cliff. You look uphill and it's actually downhill. I do remember having a few tee putts themselves just because it's hard to judge the speed on the longer putts. Some of these holes you're going to leave yourself 30, 40‑footers. You're not always going to be close around the hole. Obviously last year Zach Johnson won here, one of the longer hitters. I'm guessing he putted pretty well that week. There's also enough shorter holes here where you can attack the hole with driver and put a wedge in your hand and make your birdies there. Q. When you left China, were you‑‑ how long did it take for you to get over the fact that you lost to a guy that had a bunker shot from about 30 yards? TIM CLARK: Five minutes after I left the course I was over it. I mean you know, that's one‑‑ I never really dwell on the losses. It's become pretty easy to come in second. So it doesn't really affect me. But yeah, other people have mentioned to me how unlucky they think I got, but you know, that's just how it goes. I did what I could. I was very satisfied with the way I played. I mean I birdied the last hole. I guess the only thing is I horseshoed a putt on 16 for birdie from about six, seven feet. But other than that, I did what I could do. I think I birdied five of‑‑ I made five birdies on the last 10 holes or whatever it might have been. So I'm not disappointed in that. I mean had I bogeyed the last two holes and lost in the playoff, then I might have been a bit disappointed, but I can only judge myself on my performance, and I felt like I performed well. So you know, if someone's going to hole a bunker shot from 40 feet to beat you, good for him. Q. I was going to ask you about that. Just curious, as good as you are with a wedge, when you stood on that 18 in the playoff, did you feel like you were at a disadvantage, and if so, why or how much? TIM CLARK: To be honest, I mean being perfectly honest, I did not feel to be that much of a disadvantage. I knew he could get there in two, but I mean he had to hit a pretty incredible drive to hit that fairway. So in my mind if he made some mistake on the tee shot, I'm suddenly in the driver's seat. I was always going to play the hole the same way, driver, hit a 5‑iron or a 4‑iron, and unfortunately, I hit a bad wedge shot there. I was a little bit between clubs, and I tried to hit a hard sand wedge. I should have gone with a soft wedge. And in regulation it was just a perfect sand wedge. And I was about three or four yards back on that shot, but I felt like with the adrenaline I might be able to get it there and I just didn't. But then on the second shot he's gotta hit a good second shot, too, to hit that green. He's gotta be pretty aggressive and obviously he's in the bunker. So now I'm feeling we're back to even, I'm in the fairway with the wedge and he's got a pretty tough bunker shot again. So obviously him being able to reach the hole might be an advantage, but I didn't think of it that way. Q. We didn't either actually. TIM CLARK: All I can do is try and make a birdie and see what happens, and I just didn't do that. Q. The other thing I wanted to ask you, if I were to ask you a question of is there a difference between practicing golf and practicing winning, would you have any idea what I'm talking about? I would hope so, because I'm not sure I do. TIM CLARK: I mean the only way you can practice winning is by playing tournaments and putting yourself in that position, and after 13, 14 years, hopefully we've done that enough, you know, or I've done that enough. You certainly can't practice other than practice. There's no way to replicate that, I don't think, unless you go play maybe crazy money games or something, which I don't. But I certainly feel like‑‑ that's why I feel like this could be a good year for me. I feel like I've got a bit of grasp of my game and in most situations. You know, certainly what I did in Canada and what I did in China, you know, finishing those back nines really strong shows me that when I'm in that position, I'm able to really focus in and not worry so much about the winning, but really dig down and make birdies and give myself that opportunity, whereas, early on in your career, sometimes the moment gets the better of you and you start to think about the win and you want it to badly. At this point in my career, I feel like I'm in a much better place when put in contention. Q. (Indiscernible). TIM CLARK: I mean a couple in Europe, Australian Open, Scottish Open, South African Open a couple of times. Q. (Indiscernible)? TIM CLARK: No. I mean I won‑‑ winning is winning at any level. You win as a junior, you win in college; and I won a couple of Nationwide events and a couple of Canadian tour events when I went up there and played. It's just hard on the PGA TOUR to win. There's so many good players. Yeah, I mean do I feel like I should have won seven, eight tournaments, sure. I think I've had, I don't know, maybe 14 second places or whatever it is. I mean anytime you're Top 5 or Top 10 on the tour you've had a chance to win a tournament at some point. Things went your way or it could be a bad nine holes even on Thursday, you know, so I certainly would have liked to have won more, but it's hard out here, and it just shows when you look at guys' records that play here versus Europe, I mean guys can win eight, nine times in Europe and have one victory in the States. Q. In the 12, 15 years you've been out, how much harder it's gotten. Can you see that while you're in it? TIM CLARK: There's no question guys are hitting the ball further. I am probably the shortest hitter on TOUR now. There used to be a couple of guys that I was longer than, but they've‑‑ Q. Gotten old? TIM CLARK: Gotten old. (Laughs). But having said that, I feel like my game's betting better, too. So I feel like I have more chance now of winning tournaments than I did when I first came out, even though the level of players is better. I think we all get better with it. In those events (indiscernible). That's essentially the bottom line. There's no question the level of players is better. I mean the flags that we're playing to and the course setups are so much harder too. I don't think people realize how some of these golf courses are set up. Then when you go play a tournament overseas on another tour you're like, wow, it seems easier because the course isn't set up as hard. But yeah, no question, players are better, and all of them coming out are just hitting it miles, you know. I think‑‑ I don't know if that's down to the mechanics of it all or the coaching that they're getting at youngsters, but unfortunately, I still grew up with wooden clubs. Q. Did you ever feel like you needed to try to get more length and did you try to change your game because of that? TIM CLARK: I did, but if I ever had that thought, I literally for a week, I would try something. I would miss fairways and I realized that's not the way I need to play golf, you know. Like I went to China, on the very first hole I hit a driver down there, it was into the wind, but it was a par‑4 and i hit a 3‑wood to the front edge, and I thought how many I going to play this golf course, and what I decided to do was just make sure I'm in the fairway. If I'm hitting a 3‑wood or 5‑wood into the green, who cares, just get it into the fairway and you can play from there. That's the whole reason I was in the playoffs. I hit a bunch of fairways, a bunch of greens. My wedge game was good when I had the opportunity to put a wedge in my hand. Put me in the playoffs with the longer hitters in the world. There's always a way to get it done. THE MODERATOR: Good luck down there this week, Tim. Thanks for coming back. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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