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SENIOR BRITISH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPJuly 21, 2004Carl WilsonPORTRUSH, NORTHERN IRELAND SIMON WILSON: You played the course this morning. How did it go out there? CARL MASON: Yeah, it was a little bit less breezy than it was yesterday. It was still a very tough links, I have to say. It is a really good golf course. There's no doubt about that. You need to have your game with you because it will punish you if it's not. Great golf course, yeah. SIMON WILSON: First time here? CARL MASON: First time, yeah. SIMON WILSON: You played it in the Pro Am yesterday? CARL MASON: I played a few holes yesterday in the Pro Am yesterday, which you can forget about it, and today in proper conditions, and it was very, very good. SIMON WILSON: You've had a few back problems over past month or so. How's the back shaping up? CARL MASON: The back is feeling fine, actually now. Unfortunately it put a couple of flaws into my swing which I think I've got rid of now. So I feel a bit better about my game now, so hopefully we'll put in a good show. SIMON WILSON: Memories of last year's event? CARL MASON: It is great coming back and what a wonderful week that was. To be anywhere near that this week would be terrific. Q. Getting so close in a playoff, does that give you more confidence? CARL MASON: Well, sure, I played great for the 12 months that I've been playing more than that, it's been a wonderful 12 months. To go on better would be a dream, but just to play well and perform well would be great. Q. The field is strong this year. CARL MASON: The field is strong, isn't it? There are a few guys missing in the States which is understandable with the Senior Open next week. The schedule is not great if we were totally honest. Yeah, it's a strong field and it will bring out a good player that wins. Q. For players that have not played the course, do you see that as an advantage or is it more wide open? CARL MASON: I don't think so. We're so used to going around the world and playing on different courses and seeing them for the first time, I don't think that makes much difference. We are all professional enough to work out how to play the course now and what it's all about and not a lot changes. You go out and hit it on the fairway and knock it on the greens. That doesn't change wherever you go. Here, it's a bit harder to hit the fairways, maybe, but as I say, it will be a good player that per forms well here. Q. Do you think this course can hold an Open Championship? CARL MASON: Yeah, I couldn't see why not. There's some really tough driving holes out there. The greens are tough to hit. There's not a whole you can think, "Well, I'm going to make a birdie here," there's not one of those. Even if you've got a downwind hole that's the only just a wedge, it's a tough shot to get it close and you can't keep it on the green in some cases with all of these run offs, it's very difficult. For the length guys, might need a few more tees there, but it could certainly hold an Open, certainly. Q. Have you been surprised with your success at senior level? CARL MASON: Well, you'd have to say the first three or four months was a shock to do so well so quickly and it sort of continued on from there. It's been really good. You get your confidence and I just thoroughly enjoyed it, thoroughly enjoyed it. Q. Do you hit the ball farther now than you used to? CARL MASON: I would say so, definitely. Yeah, definitely. I mean, I hit my irons the same length as I used and probably hit the drivers a lit further. Q. Is that because of the equipment, do you think? CARL MASON: Most definitely, yeah. Most definitely. I can't put it down to my swing. Q. How much further can they go with technology? CARL MASON: Well, I think it's probably you would say it's probably got as far as they should go, really, you would think. You have to understand , they try to reduce the distance supposedly of the spring effect off these drivers, but they come out with something that hits it even further. I mean, where does it stop; I don't know. You would say they have to do something somewhere along the line. They can't just keep improving everything. Q. How far are you hitting your driver compared to how you used to? CARL MASON: I think in the days when we used Persimmon drivers and started using the big ball, I would think sort of 240, 250 was a good drive. You could move it out there if you hit it that far. Now, 270, 280 is just the normal. So, you know, 25, 30 yards, I would say. Q. Is the sweet spot smaller now? CARL MASON: Bigger, much bigger. Much bigger sweet spot. The thing with these drivers, you can mis hit them and the ball , if the ball hits off the heel or whatever, it still goes, or you probably may lose 20 yards because the ball is already going 250. Whereas if you miss it with a Persimmon, you'll be lucky to get it 200 yards; and the spin effect off it, of course, was exaggerated. Heading into the wind if you mis hit it, into the wind it just doesn't go anywhere. With these things, it just still goes, it's incredible. Plus, they stay on line better because it's coming off that much quicker with no spin. I think it's made it's taken a lot of the skill out of the game, I think. Q. Do you think anything should be done? CARL MASON: Well, I think we've got to go something with a do something probably with the ball, I would think. I don't see how you're going to stop they will now with these drivers. It's gone so for now, it would be difficult to stop it all together. After all, these people are in it to make money from the game, aren't they? I don't know, I would say the ball is the only way you could go really. Everybody play the game ball, which is the difference it can go or something, I don't know. I don't know. I can't see it happening. |
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