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ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIPOctober 3, 2012Oscar PistoriusCARNOUSTIE & KINGSBARNS, SCOTLAND PAUL SYMES: Very warm welcome to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, looking forward to getting out there and teeing up? OSCAR PISTORIUS: Most definitely, good afternoon, and you know I've been here for the last two days. It's been the most unbelievable experience. Three days ago we arrived and we went to the driving range and we walked across from the Old Course Hotel to the driving range and I kind of‑‑ while I was crossing the course, just the most unbelievable experience. I've watched the pros play here and to be here is just a blessing, and I've had the opportunity to play yesterday and today here. Both times have just been very, very special. So you know, I've played at some of the very special courses around the world, but this has been an unbelievable experience. Teeing off the first hole here, thinking some of the world's greatest from many, many years have been here. PAUL SYMES: You've had a fairly busy year, have you had much time to practice your golf? OSCAR PISTORIUS: Well, I haven't had much time to play and I've got quite a dodgy game as it is but I'm a very serious competitor. Yesterday I shot about 88, 89 and today I shot closer to the triple digits. So we'll just see what happens over the course of the next couple of days. I'm very excited for what's in store and obviously this week's been progressing up to tomorrow and the three days that follow. So I'm very excited and you know, I think that the parts of my game that are about, 50 percent of my drives are fantastic and the other 50 are absolutely dismal. Yeah, I'm looking forward to this week. PAUL SYMES: Obviously there's a competitive edge, as well, and you want to do well. OSCAR PISTORIUS: We want to do well. Last night we had the Pro‑Am, playing against Steve Redgrave and Michael Phelps. Steve and I have been friends for many years. I've never met Michael Phelps but obviously he's a huge competitor and I'm sure he will be fairly competitive himself but I'm looking forward to the next couple of days. And my pro is a great guy. Everyone that I tell I'm playing with Paul McGinley, everybody tells me what a nice person he is and how much they are looking forward to seeing us out on the course together. Hopefully I can contribute to his score a bit and help him out when need be. Q. What gave you an interest in golf? What sparked your interest and when was it? OSCAR PISTORIUS: To be honest, South African golf‑‑ I've played golf all around the world and in South Africa, it's very cheap to play. Often kids get involved in golf in South Africa and I was very privileged on the weekends, sometimes for fun I would go to the driving range with my friends and just hit some balls. When I was in the middle of my teens, 15 or 16, my grandmother, she asked me what I would like for my birthday and I told her I would like a pair of golf clubs. So she took me to the local pro shop and we picked out a bag. I started playing with a fairly inexpensive pair of clubs and I just really enjoyed it. So I had some of my friends and we just got up to the courses around the area and played. And as the years went on, I just really enjoyed it. I've been very privileged to play at some of the most amazing courses where I've travelled. And this week, definitely; by far the most amazing experience for me. My golf has not really improved much to be honest. It's probably the same as it was seven or eight years ago, but I have one or two good shots; and for me as long as I have one good putt, one good chip and one good drive a day, I think that that's enough for me. So I'm looking forward to this week. Q. Given your physical handicap, are there any technical challenges in playing golf that you particularly have to deal with? OSCAR PISTORIUS: I've never had golf coaching but I've obviously spent a lot of time with the guys here, just looking at my swing. I tend to be very aggressive and try to use my strength to hit the ball, but these days you can let the club do a lot of the work and make sure the technique is very good. So I'm just vert constant on both my feet. Yeah, I feel that if my grip is fine and my spin is relaxed, the ball seems to go a fair distance. So I just need to focus on not forcing the ball and not getting too intense or too tight. Yesterday, we came up the 18th, there were 20 people and I was starting to freak out, so I don't know what tomorrow is going to be like. But yeah, I'm looking forward to it. I've always competed better with the big crowds. I don't know if it's going to be the same to be said with the golf but I'm looking forward it, and hopefully I can add. Q. How nervous do you expect to be and what's the most nervous you've ever been? OSCAR PISTORIUS: I'm sweating already. Q. What's the most nervous you've ever been though? OSCAR PISTORIUS: To be honest I had to do a Dancing With the Stars thing last year in Italy and dancing, I would like to have two left feet but I have no feet at all, that for me was by far the most nerve‑wracking thing I've ever had. Tomorrow, I think anything‑‑ I mean, track, it's always nerve‑wracking when you have big competitions, but it's what I know, it's what I do every day. When you do something in front of a big crowd that you're not accustomed to doing or that you know you do very, very well, it is nerve‑wracking. I would like to say that I would just like to have fun this week but ultimately I'm a very fierce competitor, so I would like to do well, as well. Q. How long did you last on Dancing with the Stars? OSCAR PISTORIUS: How long ‑‑ it was 157 secondsof absolute torture. I had a good time. I wouldn't say I would do it any time soon, but it was a lot of fun. Q. When you are competing, do you have other prosthetics that you use? OSCAR PISTORIUS: I have a pair of what I call primary prosthetic legs, ones that I wear at moments and that I usually do most of the activities in. The setup of the prosthetic leg, the company that makes my feet, in essence, makes about 40 different types of feet. The foot that I use every day is probably the foot I use for gym and for walking and for golf, and that's the one I've got on now. So it's got ‑‑ inaudible ‑‑ on the outside. I'd show you what they look like, but they look terrible, they have got ‑‑ my dog got excited and attacked me one day, so there's a lot of random marks on them. Running is fine, and you get hiking shoes and you get walking every day, comfortable shoes, golfing shoes. They are not golfing legs but they are pretty good for every day. Q. The fact that you competed in the London 2012 Games and the Paralympics, that was probably inspiring for a lot of people but do you think there is further inspiration of taking part in other sports as well? Does that widen the appeal for people? OSCAR PISTORIUS: The Paralympic movement is phenomenal. There are a lot of sportsmen that have done a lot for our Paralympic sport. I love track and field, but my interests have always been in motorbikes, racing a lot of motocross and super bikes and so that's something I've always loved. In golf, it's the one sport that I can always kind of unwind and just enjoy, even if I don't have a good day on the golf course, it's still better than most other days. I really enjoy it. There are a lot of Paralympic athletes and a lot of amputees out there that don't need to be world‑class sprinters and don't need to be extreme sportsmen. They just get involved. Golf is a sport you can play your whole life if you're blessed enough to have that opportunity to play. There are more and more people living with amputations now due to diabetes, due to Civil War, due to motor vehicle accidents, and sport doesn't have to be‑‑ when we think of the word sport, we think of high‑affinity, action things. Golf is a very technical sport which requires a lot of patience and technical kind of approach, but it can be something that can be enjoyed between friends or business colleagues and it's just a blessing. I've been very fortunate enough to be invited out here this week and I know a lot of people around the world have been watching. I'm looking forward to it and if some people are maybe disheartened about being involved in an extreme sport, I hope that they can take away the fact that there are other sports that they can enjoy. Q. Do you have a good relationship with most of the South African golfers? Have you played with some of them before? OSCAR PISTORIUS: I haven't played with any of them before. I've met Ernie and he's a phenomenal guy. I've got huge respect‑‑ we have the competition called the Nedbank Million Dollar in South Africa, and I've watched Trevor Immelman and Rory and Ernie every year, that's an event I always like to watch. I would never feel comfortable stepping on the golf course with them. I think that I would be just too nervous. The South African guys have been so blessed with so many phenomenal golfers, and I'll always support them. It's one of the sports where the guys are not only great sportsmen but great ambassadors for our sport. They are spearheaded by Gary Player. He's always been a true ambassador to South Africa, not only as a golfer, but as a human being; he's a great sportsman and humanitarian. We have got some phenomenal golfers in South Africa and a couple of out here this week and I'm sure they will do a great job. Q. How long will you remain competing? OSCAR PISTORIUS: I'm looking to run another five years realistically. I think we have‑‑ in 2017 up in Scotland, probably finish then and looking forward to that, and maybe 2016 in Rio run another year after that. I'll be 30 then so it's fairly early for a sprinter. But I've been running since I was 17 and I have been running internationally since 2007. For sprinting, it's a very demanding career and I would like to get involved in other aspects of my life in humanitarian work and family life. At the moment, it the No. 1 priority and there's not much room for No.2 and three either. So another three or four years and then we'll reevaluate after Rio. Q. When you do finish up with sprinting, would you think of devoting more time to golf? OSCAR PISTORIUS: I would love to give it as much time to the game of golf as possible. I don't see myself improving much to be honest. I'm quite rubbish. To be honest I think that's the blessing for me about golf is I don't take it too seriously. I enjoy it and get a little hot‑headed when I mess up a shot but it's very short lived. I think that for me is I didn't enjoy golf. It's a way that I can just enjoy time with my friends, get out, see a bit of nature and travel the world. Being out here is one of the most amazing experiences. When you're coming down on the back nine and you can see the whole town in front of you, it's very special. And if I can keep on doing that, I'd like to maybe shave a couple of shots off my handicap. But if I can ever break into a single‑digit handicap, maybe a nine or an eight, I'll be very, very happy with that. Q. Have you played golf in Scotland before, ever? OSCAR PISTORIUS: Never. I ranin Falkirk once. I ran an 8.9 metre win, ran backwards and got a winning cheque of 29 pounds which framed in my private home. And I think I came second in the Scottish Nationals which was an accomplishment for me. But I've never played golf out here, so hopefully I don't let too many people down. Q. How did you play in practice? OSCAR PISTORIUS: I had four pars‑‑ and I think my putting really let me down today which is odd because I had many games of putt‑putt as a kid. I had an amazing drive on 18 yesterday, I drove to about ten metres off the green. And then today on the 17th over the roof, my caddie was telling me about seven or eight times, aim for the O, aim for the O, and I had it pretty much spotted in the middle of the fairway. If I can replicate the 17th and 18th here on Saturday, I'll be very happy. Q. Did you make par? OSCAR PISTORIUS: I made par yesterday on the 18th, but today I think I struck a deep six. Q. Will the blades used in Rio be vastly different? OSCAR PISTORIUS: They are the same. So my relationship with the blades is the same. I've run on the same blades since 2004 and they have been produced since 1996. So it's the same prosthetic legs, same design, same carbon fibre layer. I'm restricted to use that specific leg. I think there's more technology in my golf clubs than my prosthetics. Q. Can you play with blades? OSCAR PISTORIUS: No, absolutely useless. The most forgiving clubs at the moment, the softest balls. Q.  Can you say what other great courses you've played on? OSCAR PISTORIUS: Sure. I've played Yas Marina (ph) UAE, at some of the courses in Spain. In South Africa we are very blessed to have some of the most phenomenal courses. You know, when I do get to play golf, it's usually at a very special place and I wish I could sometimes play a bit better and I think that's been a blessing this week is I've played really well yesterday, because I wasn't under that pressure to necessarily rush the course. I knew I was going to play again today and it was just such a blessing. This is by far the most beautiful place I've been to, just for the history and tradition, knowing that you're lining up on some of the tee boxes at some of the world's greatest that have ever played here and not even being a golfer is very special. I look forward to this week. I haven't played the other two courses but I'm looking forward to having that opportunity tomorrow. Q. The last Open winner was a South African; do you remember watching that? OSCAR PISTORIUS: I don't remember to be dead honest. I follow Moto GP and football a lot, and half the time I don't even know the scores there. South African boys, I know in South Africa the golfers that we've had, have not only been great golfers but we've had some really nice characters, just down‑to‑earth kind of guys. I looked at the lineup here and all of the guys are very down‑to‑earth and I like that. I think that's a great way to start the week and to be part of a contingency like that and hopefully I'll look at the inspiration of some of the performances from The Ryder Cup last week which I managed to catch in between the airport lounges and hopefully that will be very good. PAUL SYMES: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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