Clarke: "I can't get too worked up about long putters, to be honest."

John Huggan catches up with Darren Clarke a few months after his Open Championship win. He has this to say about the long putter:

"I can't get too worked up about long putters, to be honest," he shrugs. "And it's too late now to go back. The big recent change is that good putters are using one or other. They're not just for those guys with nowhere else to go. And they use them in so many different ways. Look at all the different styles. When I first went out on tour Bernhard Langer employing a left-hand below right grip was seen as revolutionary. He was using that as an anti-yip method. Now it is just another way to putt and no one gives that grip a second glance.

"I'm not surprised by anything that has happened on the greens though. If you look at how the standard of play has improved from tee to green over the last decade or so, putting has become even more important than it was before. It is the best way to separate yourself from the rest. I know only too well that you can't win events just by hitting the ball well. You must hole lots of putts too. Which is why guys have never been more open to anything that will help them get the ball in the hole quicker."