Notes from Magnificent Muirfield

On a rather different tack, Rotella talked of the different nationalities and the very different traits they bring to bear.

He said that the attitude of Australians and South Africans was in the same league, with both loving the game to the point where "winning is not their only reason for joy".

In the UK, he thought that top golfers had a problem from their peers who, instead of enjoying their success, were apt to send out the message, "You’re no longer one of us ..."

He described the Americans as more of a ‘win-at-all-costs’ people who, if they are not winning, see themselves as losers. Yet he said that he had noticed a sea change in the American psyche over the last few years. Where once their winners would be treated as Gods, they are nowadays starting to get a bit of flak when something goes wrong. "If they want to stay great, they have to learn to handle it," said Rotella.

He likened the Spaniards to the South Americans in being very emotional – a characteristic he sees as a thoroughly good thing, particularly when someone is playing well. "Most cultures teach people to keep their feelings under wraps but I have no problem with someone like Sergio Garcia who talks openly about everything, from his golf to his girlfriends. He says what he really thinks and it mostly works well for him."

Rotella was not about to put Asian golfers in the same category to Spaniards. To him, they are at the other end of the spectrum, though he notes that the different Asian lands turn out different golfers. He believes that Koreans, for instance, are tougher than their Japanese neighbours, more focused and more aggressive.

"The worst guys out there," he said in relation to the overall field at Muirfield, "are those guys who over-react to every bad shot and don’t enjoy the good ones."