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Eat GOLF! is at the BMW International in Munich on a rainy Tuesday to interview the charismatic and flamboyant character that is Ian Poulter. A confident and successful golfer on the world stage, Ian knows himself better than anybody. Feast your eyes on our collection of images from the mighty Valderrama by Tom Bosch, whilst Ian tells us what makes it such a special venue on the European Tour.
Are you happy with the way your golf has gone this year?
So, so.. it’s a different year in terms of I've broadened myself playing a little bit in America. So I’ve split my season up into two areas really. One obviously being European Tour based, and the other being PGA tour based. That becomes pretty difficult because I'm not playing a full schedule either side of the pond - it beomes a bit more difficult to get up in the rankings on both sides. Although I am pretty high up in the European rankings, I'm currently 16th, which is OK, but it’s not acceptable in my eyes - I can perform a lot better than how I have. In America I'm currently lying 60th I think, which is OK but its not as good as I want it to be.
What ranking do you need to be safe for your card next year?
I am way in, comfortably in. I've got a full exemption for the PGA Tour
next year anyway - you have to be in the top 125. I'm comfortably in
which is fine, but it’s not where I want to be, I want to be at the top
end of the scale, not wondering if I'm going to keep my card or not. I
think I am at a stage in my career where I want to be top 50 in the
world and still getting better. To do that I need to be winning golf
tournaments, and the Order of Merit.
That's where I feel I am right now - I've still got a number of
tournaments left this year which I can perform well on, and I am
looking to have the same good finish to this year that I had last year.
Winning at Valderrama was a big help to last year, I was having an OK
year until that week - which turned it into quite a nice year. So I'd
like to continue on that basis and win a couple of tournaments before
the end of the season.
Do you find it difficult on the tour - being away from home?
Well it is difficult, I moved into a new house a few months ago which has taken 18 months to build. I miss home, I miss my family, and I miss my kids. And that is difficult when you've been away from home for 3 weeks like I have been. But I do what I do and I need to play golf to keep things going. Its my job, its my life and that’s part and parcel.
Which do you prefer, the European or PGA tour?
I can't say that I prefer one over the other. They are both great tours. The European Tour is where I've grown up, it's where I learned all my golf, and the PGA tour is an extention of what I have done through Europe. So I'm not going to say that I prefer either tour. They’re both there and I am playing a global schedule.
Are you trying to prove yourself more in America
I don't think I need to prove myself either side of the pond. Yeah, I have won six European Tour events yet I haven't won any PGA tour events, but I haven't played many events over there. When you look at the events I've played in Europe over the last five years I've played maybe 150 events, whereas I have only played 20 or so events in America. That’s new ground, but I am trying to open my schedule up to playing a slightly more global season.
Do you find it difficult to adapt to the courses in America?
No. I go over there and practice during the late season anyway - so November, December is spent on those types of golf courses. It's too cold at home to practice. As I said we play a global season now, where we are playing in Hawaii, Florida, the West coast and China. It’s not that it is a different golf course to get used to because we play enough different grasses, and enough different tournaments in the year... It's just anjother golf course with possibly a different set-up.not going to say that I prefer either tour. They’re both there and I am playing a global schedule.
The greens are maybe a bit faster in America?
No, no. Similar. Just because it's in America doesn't mean to say they have quicker greens than Europe. You know, Valderrama.... 13-14 on the stint meter. They are probably some of the quickest greens we putt on globally. There you are, it doesn't have to be America to be quick greens, and it doesn't have to be America to have thick rough. The golf courses in Europe that we play on are set-up pretty difficult at times. You only have to look at the scoring to see that.
What's been your most rewarding victory?
Valderrama 2004. It's a five year exemption, it is our tour championship, and it holds great status. It is a great tournament for anybody to win - and there have been some great winners.
What's the secret to success of playing Valderrama?
You can't put one thing on it. What I will say is that you have to hit the ball very well. You do have tohave a great week from tee to green - and on the green. It is a perfect venue to hold a finale golf tournament. It is difficult off the tee; it is very difficult to put the ball in position on the greensbecause you don't want to leave the ball above the hole as the greens are quick; and therefore you do need to putt well. You've got to play well: simple as that.
Are there any particular holes that you are wary of?
I love all of them... It's a golf course that I first went to a few years ago and I enjoyed it from day one - just because it's a great test of golf. When you go out on the course you know you can't hit a bad shot and get away with it. If you hit a bad shot you'll have a bad hole, it's as simple as that. There's not one easy hole on the golf course. I mean you can't turn around and say that's a great birdie chance. Seventeen is a great golf hole. You'll make four out there at some stage of the week, and you could have a disaster as well - you can say that for most of the holes out there. Sixteen is probably the toughest tee shot all week - you've got to drive it perfectly on there to give yourself a decent second shot or you are staring a bogey straight in the face. You look at the par 3, the hole before that. It's a seriously tricky three iron. If you miss the green left you're not getting it up and down. Every hole is the same, you can pull out the danger areas on that golf course pretty quickly.
Do you attack the course in a different way, or just play your game and see what happens?
Everybody plays the game of golf how they want to play it. I play golf exactly as I see it. if I'm hitting the ball fantastically that week then I will have a go at quite a lot of the pins. If you're not playing that well, then you'll stay away from some of the pin positions - and everybody will do a similar thing. They know when they can have a go at a pin. They know when not to have a go, and they know when to take their chance with an opportunity.
There was a certain sports commentator who made a passing reference to you as a "mercurial, volatile and entertaining character"... Do you see that as an apt description of yourself as a golfer?
I don't know. Everybody is going to have their own opinion of how I play golf, and how I am on the golf course, and what kind of a person I am. You could speak to many different people and get many different answers. Personally, I don't mind what people think to be honest.
You seem to us to be very professional and with high expectations of yourself.
Have you always been that way?
Yes, absolutely. I expect to win. I will only accept a win, and I will keep working until I win. Simple as that - I will never accept second best. I will never accept the words 'You play to take part and not to win'. I was told that when I was a kid, and I never believed it then, I don't believe it now, and I'm not going to get anybody in the world to convince me otherwise! I play a sport and I play to win. Whether it be snooker, tiddlywinks, or a game of cards, I'm playing to win. I'm not playing to finish runner up!
Is that where your enjoyment of your sport comes from?
That's why when I am winning I get massive enjoyment out of it - because I'm succeeding, and I'm doing what I want to do, and when I finish second I'm not happy! It's not good enough in my eyes.
You don't get nervous when you're leading?
No, it's part and parcel. I've won six times on tour, I'm comfortable being in that position. People use their nerves in different ways. I get nervous at times, but I try and change that and put it into adrenaline. Some people use their nerves and get 'over nervous' - everybody's different. I try and use it as a positive and not a negative. It's good to be nervous, but just try and use it in the right way.
Do you see the advantages of having a sports psychlogist?
Sorry? - I don't understand who they are, what they are or what they do!
Players such as Thomas Björn seem to benefit from them...
I think with the words I've just said - I believe in what I do, and I always will do - that's good enough psychology in my eyes to keep doing what I'm doing. I've been playing successfully for the last six years. Why do I need to search for something?
Which designers clothes do you enjoy seeing or wearing the most?
I won’t name a brand. There is no brand that I will say I like wearing. I just like wearing nice, funky clothes that catch my eye - and stuff that catches my eye is different from the norm. I don't like wearing normal jeans or normal t-shirts - I like to wear something that's a little bit different. Obviously on the golf course I wear William Hunt trousers, and am contracted and sponsored by Adidas and TaylorMade which are fantastic - great products. I blend the two together to be able to be spotted. But I do like fashion, and I like being able to look a bit different.
Is it a personal choice to look different, or do you realize that by looking different you may be encouraging younger players to take up the game?
It's something that I've always wanted to do, but I haven't been able to do it until the last couple of years. When I was growing up I always wanted to wear different stuff, and look funky even when I was going out. I have just expressed that on the golf course now. I am using my profile in golf to be able to express myself more than I used to, and I'm getting a good response from the juniors. I looked up to golfers when I was growing up, and I had great fun taking interest in certain golfers. If the children - and juniors in the game of golf are going to do the same - take a following in somebody who's wearing something funky, or they can express themselves, or find where they are, then that's fantastic. I feel as if I'm doing my part in expressing myself, and if somebody likes what I'm wearing or doing and then they take an interest then that's fantastic. The more juniors in the game of golf the better.
Do you have a favourite course?
Favourites globally - Valderrama is in the top 5. So therefore that will be my best course in Spain. Augusta is in my top five, Loch Lomand is in my top five... then there's only a couple more I would rate that highly. It is a magnificent golf course, everybody knows that!
Who would make up your ideal fourball for a round of golf?
Mohamed Ali, Nelson Mandela and Jack Nicklaus.
Have you met Jack?
Yes, absolutely. he is a very nice man. Jack is one of the best. Hard to say whether he's the best of all time, I probably think he is right now. Well he definately is right now, unquestionably. When Tiger is the same age as Jack then that might be different, who knows? But he is somebody that I highly respect because of his achievements and what type of golfer and person he is.
You hope to be as successful...
Hey, absolutely! If I'm half as successful as he is then I'll have had an unbelievable golf career. Obviously I always aim for the best, and if i can be as successful as him then I will be a living legend- because that is what he is. That would be unbelievable.
Do you get the opportunity to play a relaxed and friendly game of golf?
I do. I play with my brother, my Dad and friends - not that regularly because I'm away on tour all the time. But I do like my down time, and I do like social practice golf. We don't get enough time to do much of it, but it is nice when we get a bit of time to relax.
Do you ease up on yourself when you're playing those games?
No. I want to win, as I've said before. I don't care whether its a friendly - I will not lose! I do lose though, because that's part and parcel of the game. But I'm playing to win even if its against my Dad, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, anybody. That's me, that's my competitive edge, and that's how I am.
What handicap do you put yourself off when you play against your family?
I'm always plus 4. I give them enough shots! Enough so that it's a decent challenge for me. If they have a bad day I'm going to win comfortably, but if they have a good day I could still win. If I give myself a stiff competition - in fairness give them more shots - then it makes it more difficult for me and it's a better challenge.
What would you do if you weren't a golfer?
Racing driver. I've got a few cars. I have had a Ferrari, but got rid of it last year. There's several cars I'm driving now - Aston Martin, BMW...
Which do you enjoy the most?
Hard again to say. There are too many good cars on the market. They're all good! It's good to be winning the competitions to get the cars... Yeah, and it's nice to do a track day, 'cause I want to win on the race track as well! I want to better my time every time I go round a lap - I'm thinking where I've lost time. I go around Donnington, Silverstone...
Have you done the Nurburgring?
No, never. I will do that - absolutely!
Have you ever thrown a golf club in rage?
Obviously! No idea when, but we've all been there. Everybody's done it.
You keep yourself relatively calm?
I'm passionate, and I show my anger sometimes on the golf course.
Are you aware of the cameras when you're on the course?
Yes.
Does it put you off?
No. The more cameras the better - it doesn't matter. They are part and parcel of playing good golf. If there's no camera near you then I'd be a bit worried because I wouldn't be in contention.
Do you feel like you missed out on your youth by getting into golf so young?
No. I'm having the best time of my life.
What else would I have liked to do?
Nothing.
Do you get to see much of the cities that you visit whilst playing tournaments?
Not really, no. It's just hotel, golf course, hotel, golf course. I'd quite like to look around some places, but if I'm in a certain city I don't want to go and spend three days walking around the town looking at a lovely building.
What will you be doing for your 30th birthday?
Probably practicing. I'll probably be in America hitting golf balls. It's just another year. I have my celebratory times during the year anyway, whether it be a birthday or not.
I enjoy my time with my familly. I don't do huge party bashes and all that kind of stuff. To me it’s another year, and so long as I'm working hard and winning golf tournaments - that's what means the most to me.
You are a big supporter of Arsenal. How are they going to do this season do you think?
Well I don't know. Chelsea seem to have bought the Premiership pretty much. Vierra was an awesome player, but he's getting on in his career, he's only got a few years left - was it the right thing to do in selling him? I don't know - in two years time Wenger wouldn't be able to get 2 million quid for him, because he'd only have a year left. I hope Arsenal have a great season because I follow them, but Chelsea have got an incredible side and they are obviously the team to beat.
Who is the worst dressed golfer?
Wouldn't say! Even if you paid me I wouldn't tell you! - No need to do anything silly like that!
Who would you like to see as a future cover star of Eat GOLF!?
Sergio Garcia. He's young, got a massive following - a world class golfer - and he also likes to look good on the golf course. NOTE: We did interview Sergio Garcia in a more recent issue.
