Do you think golf is a unique sport in that sense?
Golf is a mental game. It’s such a strong mental game. Of course, the physical aspect is important and there’s a lot out there, but you’ve got to have a really strong mind to play golf. You reveal a lot playing this game, more so than other sports. You can hide when it’s a team event, but you can’t really hide in an individual sport like golf.
Do you think golf’s strong etiquette helps develop character?
Yeah and you’re your own referee as well. A lot of times you infringe – make a penalty – and nobody else in the world would know about it except you calling it on yourself. I think it’s quite evident that many golfers do that. So that’s a great plus that we have, that it’s very much self regulating.
Another great thing golf has is that because of the handicap system, all people can play against each other, no matter what gender, no matter what age, different standard. There’s not many sports you can do that.
Do you think the manner in which you win is as important is as winning in itself?
No, it’s not. I don't think it matters. The important thing is your behaviour, winning or losing, is done in a correct way. More so than how you win or how you don’t win. It’s the ability to accept defeat and to accept victory in the same way. That’s what made Jack Nicklaus so special.
Nicklaus’s concession to Tony Jacklin in the 1969 Ryder Cup has been cited as a great example of ‘true character’ in golf. Which of the golfing greats do you think set the bar in terms of their character?
I don’t know because I never saw a lot of them playing at their very peak, but obviously Nicklaus did, [Arnold] Palmer did, Ben Hogan did, Tom Watson, Gary Player. Those kind of players that I would have seen from video footage, they obviously became strong examples of players behaving in the correct manner, whether winning or losing.
