This week Darren Clarke will play in his 25th Open Championship. We caught up with the 14-time European Tour winner and 2011 Champion Golfer of the year to talk about this year’s venue, Royal Troon. Other topics of conversation include the 2016 Ryder Cup (Clarke is the Captain of the European Team), the Olympics, and his ultra-heavy golf clubs.

Enjoy our Q&A below.

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WRX: What makes Royal Troon unique among the Open Championship course?

DC: You got the best par-3 in the world at 120 yards long.

WRX: From what we understand, No. 8 (The Postage Stamp) is the shortest hole in the Open rota, and the par-five 6th (Turnberry) is the longest hole.

No. 8 (The Postage Stamp) at Royal Troon.

DC: Probably, probably. There’s a lot of blind shots, again, but there’s always a lot of blind shots at Open venues. But this one is special I think because of the Postage Stamp, since it’s on everyone’s mind whenever they play.

WRX: Is there anything unique you’ll do before you come here to get ready?

DC: I’m very fortunate that I live in Portrush, so I play and practice all my golf at Royal Portrush when I’m at home so that’s links as well. We’re there in a few years’ time for the Open, so I get the benefit of being able to practice and stuff on those. I’ll practice putting from 30 yards short of greens — bump-and-runs more than anything.

WRX: When you look back at your career, there’s a lot of accomplishments. Where does being Ryder Cup captain rank among them?

DC: I would say it’s somewhat of a reward from the tour for my years being right there. The guys that got considered for Ryder Cup captain have all had distinguished careers in support of the European Tour for a long time. Obviously, I’m very proud of the fact that my peers have voted me that honor, so it’s a huge thing. Obviously, going up against Davis is going to be a very special thing.

WRX: You consider Davis a close friend?

DC: Davis is a very good friend. Yeah. Very good friend.

WRX: Have you talked about the matches at all?

DC: Oh, yeah, yeah. We’ve been together at quite a few corporate functions and stuff, so we’ve talked about quite a few things.

WRX: What would you say the greatest strength of the European Team this year is?

DC: Well, I couldn’t possibly tell you that because the team isn’t finalized yet, so I have no idea.

WRX: Any concerns about who might make it, who might not?

DC: Whoever makes that team will be fully deserving of the place on that team because there’s that much competition for them all, for limited spaces.

WRX: How important are the vice captains to the process?

DC: Vice captains are very important because they’re your eyes and ears. They’re the ones who will give you the feedback and let you know what’s going on, because as captain you can’t be everywhere all the time. So you need to rely on and trust your vice captains to give you the information you need.

WRX: Do you think that the Olympics will change any of the nature of the Ryder Cup this year? Will it be different for players due to the added travel, and the change in scheduling of a few tournaments, such as the PGA Championship?

DC: Europeans travel all the time, anyway. We go all over the world, globally, all the time. So this it no difference to us whatsoever.

WRX: A question about equipment. What’s the favorite club in the bag right now?

DC: Driver.

WRX: The M2?

Clarke’s TaylorMade M2 driver has 8.5 degrees of loft.

DC: Mhm.

WRX: Why the M2 over the M1?

DC: I don’t know. I just like the feel of the M2 better than the M1. Just a personal sort of thing. Those shafts that are on my woods, they were new in my bag [at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth], so they’re all brand new. I think that’s the brand new Diamana shaft as far as I’m aware.

WRX: Yes, it is. [Note: Clark was referencing Mitsubishi Rayon’s Diamana D+ Dialed 80TX shaft]

DC: I think it’s really good.

WRX: How do you test a new driver? On the course, on the range, is it both?

DC: It’s both, but I’ve got a really good guy within the European Tour, TaylorMade staff, Adrian. Adrian sets up my clubs and makes up my clubs. He knows my swing that well. He just hands me stuff and I hit it. If I like it, then he works from there. And if I don’t then I can tell him, “That’s no good.” But he doesn’t make too many mistakes with my stuff.

WRX: Is there anything different about your clubs, or do you play fairly standard equipment?

Clarke uses lead tape to get the swing weight of his TaylorMade PSi Tour irons to D8.

DC: They’re all pretty standard; there’s nothing really that different. My grips are old Lamkins that they’re still making for me. Very, very soft compound. Five wraps left hand, four wraps right hand, 58 rounds. But [my clubs] are heavy — they’re all about D8, I think they are. But apart from that, the lies are pretty standard. The lofts are pretty standard; they’re not that strong. So apart from that, not much else.

WRX: Thanks Darren. 

See photos of all Clarke’s clubs in our forum.