Q&A with Sam Torrance

[the_paulo]

Fun little Q&A posed by the readers of a Scottish golf magazine to Sam Torrance. I always enjoy reading these sort of interviews and really just soaking in the experience of guys like Sam.

I found the bit when he said 'my days are gone' quite sad actually. I'm sure he didn't mean it to sound melancholy, but it's a bit of a shame that we don't see Sam as much as we used to.

Spoiler

Would you trade your Ryder Cup win as captain for a major? I bet you wouldn't! Mel


I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have very fond memories of that. It was just the best week of my life, really, in golf. But no, I wouldn't trade it for anything.


How do you cope with nerves during a tense round? Ryder Cup players are under serious pressure - why don't they crumble? Garry Johnson


It's your job. It's very difficult. I always said to my pro-am partners: "Just relax and enjoy yourself. It doesn't really matter how you play, whether you finish first or last, as long as you have fun". But, still, on the first tee they would be shaking like leaves. About 25 years ago, I did a pro-celebrity snooker event with Cliff Thorburn as my partner. I've had a 96-break, a 98-break... I can play snooker, I'm a good snooker player and I couldn't get near the table. I had to have three large brandies before I could make anything. It is funny when you watch sportsmen doing their job, you think, "How do they do that?" It is what they do, it is what they have been brought up to do, and that is how you handle it. You just have to learn through experience.


Of all your numerous victories, where does the 1995 Dunhill Cup win with Monty and Andrew Coltart rank among them? Alistair Serrels


Very high, very high. Obviously not an individual win but lots of fantastic memories and to actually win was great. Very proud, and also to win with my son [in the 2003 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship team event] even more so.


What's the most memorable moment from your golfing career? John Caldwell


Just lifting the trophy as captain. It was the best. I had worked on it for three years and the week went perfectly from start to finish. It was just very special.


You've been in contention many times to win an event and, when you are, you're 'in the zone'. But what is the mindset of a pro that is completely out of it and has no chance of winning but still has to go through the motions of completing a final round? Jeff Wilson


'I can't wait to get off this bloody course and go for a pint!' And sometimes that happens. You're there and there is nothing that you can do. You don't wish you could walk off but it is then that you start working on your swing, which you would never do in a tournament. You don't work on your swing in a tournament but if you are completely gone then it is nice to test it in tournament conditions.


If you had the choice to live adjacent to a golf course anywhere in the world, where would that be and why? Alan


Good question. I think Turnberry. I think, aesthetically, it is one of the most beautiful spots in the world. I am from Ayrshire and I know the area very well. I'll be back there this year for the Senior Open and am looking forward to it.


You are the son of a great coach and played with many great players. From those experiences what advice would you give golfers? Trevor Whittle


Never grip the club too tightly; most amateurs grip it too tight. A lot of pros grip it too tight. Good tempo, good rhythm and good balance.


Why don't the R&A and USGA give more thought into reigning in the distance the golf ball travels?

It's just progression, it is the way that it's gone. I thought Nick Faldo had a fantastic idea: take away the tee. Well, you wouldn't be able to launch it 380 yards into the air off the deck, would you? So, it just brings it back without changing anything. It'll never happen. I don't know if anything will ever happen with the ball. It is at a limit and you can't see it getting any better but obviously it will get better. They'll find something that makes it go another 20 yards but I don't really care, to be honest. My days are gone.


If you could rewrite any two rules of the game, what would they be and why?
The one when you hit it in the bunker that is full of water, you have to drop it outside the bunker under penalty. I think that is crazy. It's not your fault that it is full of water. I'd like to see more done on the slow play rule; I'd like to see more penalties. A shot as a penalty rather than slapping a fine on zillionaires that is not going to hurt. I've experienced too many incidences of slow play to tell you about them all.


For some reason, all new courses that come into being these days seem to be plus 7000-yard monsters that are not particularly enjoyable for high-handicap golfers. Would it be more sensible to design and build courses that the majority of players could actually enjoy?
I think you'll find that whatever course you are talking about has forward tees. So, it's talking nonsense to say that because a course is 7,300 yards that it is not a joy to play. You don't have to play it off the back. I'm sure they have forward tees that you can go right up the front and play it at a much shorter distance. You have to have courses at that yardage, it is just the way the game is. I have fairness in mind when designing a course. It wouldn't be in my design thoughts to build a course for amateurs, that's not the way it would work. I would make it for the best player in the world but would make it extremely fair and also have forward tees, so anyone can play it.


In the current era, who would you like to play with that you haven't played before and also in the olden days, who would you have liked to play then?
I would love to play with Tiger Woods. I have never played with Woods. And I would love to have played with Ben Hogan. I've met Woods plenty of times but I never met Hogan. My father met him; he got invited to his house twice, which is very special. Not many people get invited there. He was probably the best there has ever been after Jack Nicklaus.


What do you think the future holds for Scottish golf and do you believe that Scotland can produce another major winner?
Absolutely. I was talking about it with the press recently. I don't know how long ago it was, probably not even more than 15 years ago, there was only one Englishman in the top 100 in the world and now there are a lot of them right at the top. It comes and goes in cycles and the Scottish cycle is ready to start again. Martin Laird is a great player, Stephen Gallacher is a good player and Scot Jamieson and Paul Lawrie have had fantastic results recently. There will be young ones coming through now as we speak and then over the next five, ten years they'll rise up.


On which course would you like to play your last game of golf and who would join you?
Heaven and God! Seriously, I have no idea. It is an unfair question to me because I would like to say a course in Scotland but Sunningdale is my favourite course in the world and it's where I live and was assistant. It's a very tough question. I actually don't think I can pick one.


If you could retake one shot from your career, what would it be?
The ten-foot putt on the last green in the Dunhill Cup, three weeks after I holed the winning putt in the Ryder Cup. Scotland vs. America. It was down to Curtis Strange and I and I had a ten-foot putt to beat him and I three-putted. It put Scotland out and it broke my heart. That was three weeks after holing the putt for the Ryder Cup, so from one massive high to one massive low.


Who was your toughest opponent, who was the person you most looked forward to playing with and who did you enjoy beating the most?
Ray Floyd was one of the most feared players, he just had this look about him. He looked like a gangster but was a great bloke, a great friend. Trevino. I loved playing with him and I loved beating the best.

 

[Hawk]

I liked his thoughts on handling nerves, but brandy is nasty! Thanks for sharing, paulo.

 

[Trout Bum]

That was a fun read, thank you for posting it. I always like Sam, he seemed to have a nice big smile and his personality always matched it.

 

[Canio]

Excellent interview! Thanks for sharing.

 

[BogbeastUK]

That's a great read. Must say I agree with him about the bunker penalty - with the amount of rain we've had round here we've got a few bunkers that are so full of water you could go fishing in them. I know you should be staying out of the bunkers anyway, but it you land in one of those it's not your fault that you can't drop in the bunker so shouldn't be penalised.

 

[the_paulo]

That's a great read. Must say I agree with him about the bunker penalty - with the amount of rain we've had round here we've got a few bunkers that are so full of water you could go fishing in them. I know you should be staying out of the bunkers anyway, but it you land in one of those it's not your fault that you can't drop in the bunker so shouldn't be penalised.

Agreed, it's a silly rule really. Especially in our climate!

I'd love to see Sam get involved in the game again at some level, he always seems enthusiastic - but I can't help feeling like the RC win did it for him and he's happy to retire on that, instead of getting involved with his dad's side of things perhaps.