Golf: Hot Press meets Paul McGinley

In September, America and Europe’s elite golfers will descend on Gleneagles, Scotland to compete for the sport’s biggest prize. The first Irishman to captain a Ryder Cup team, Paul McGinley, faces a resurgent United States headed by the legendary Tom Watson.

Paul, who's played in Ryder Cup teams in the past, will hope he can lead his side to victory, continuing the dominance established by Europe in recent years. With many Irish golfers in the mix for places and Tiger Woods threatening to hit form, there are plenty of talking points heading into the summer. Hot Press sat down with Paul to talk about his GAA past, his love of punk music, Martin O’Neill, Padraig Harrington and his close relationship with Rory McIlroy.

Paul tell me about your musical tastes?

Well, I’m a fan of Hot Press. When I was a boy growing up in Rathfarnham in Dublin, punk was my music. Stiff Little Fingers, The Undertones – I’m talking about something I want to talk about now (laughs)! The SFX Centre and the National Stadium were places I frequented a lot.

Do you use music to get ‘in the zone’ for golf?

Not particularly. We've had motivational videos in the past in the Ryder Cup. We’ll have some again this year. They'll be accompanied by music. I love it: my iPhone is full of music from the ’80s, mostly punk.

You’ve named your vice-captains: Sam Torrance and Des Smyth.

They are guys I have enormous respect for. I have a close bond with both. So many of their thoughts and ideas have been proved right. I wanted them as a sounding board. To bounce things off and develop my ideas, to ask "what do you think of this team?" It’s also important to have contrasting personalities as vice captains.

Are you at the stage where you're writing team talks or preparing a strategy?

Not at this moment. As I get closer to the time, I’ll start looking at that. I’m just going to keep watching the players closely.

Torrance spoke candidly about having a glass of whiskey before bed. Is there a rock ’n’ roll element to golf?

Ah, there is a bit of rock 'n' roll. The modern kids are different. When I played in the Ryder Cup, someone like Miguel Jimenez – he's very partial to a wine, whether he's playing or whether he's captain or whatever he's doing. Golf is one of those things where you have to relax and switch off. Some people like to do that with a couple of glasses of wine or whiskey, I don’t have a problem with it. And if any of the players want to have a drink that week I won’t have a problem with it. I know they're professional. If they do, it will be moderate.

Your first sports were football and hurling. Is there any crossover between GAA and golf?

I hold GAA close to my heart. I’m hoping to catch the hurling final the year before the Ryder Cup. There's a synergy between Gaelic football and hurling and the European team and the Ryder Cup. If you look at the parochialness of the GAA, where everyone is from a certain town and project that at a European level. There's a parochialness in the Ryder Cup. Just on a much bigger scale. So there are similar feelings that you can get from the GAA.

Why do you think Ireland punches above its weight in golf, producing world class players such as Padraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy etc?

There's one reason and one reason only: investment from the Golfing Union of Ireland into junior golf. It started in the ’80s. Ireland was the first European country to appoint a full-time professional coach. As a result young kids who show an interest are fed into the system and receive really strong coaching and support. It's a very professional “amateur” body.

Let me bring you back to Abu Dhabi when you were named Ryder Cup Captain. What went through your head?

A sense of pride and humbleness too. In Europe it's your peers who choose. That your peers think so highly of you is amazing.

Rory McIlroy was especially vocal – do you have a close relationship with him?

Yes, he was very vocal and backed me up. Of course, I thanked him afterwards. One of the things we have in Europe is a mini Ryder Cup, the Seve Trophy: Britain and Ireland against Europe. Four or five years ago, I was the captain of the Britain and Ireland team. Rory was a young kid coming in. I managed him in that Britain and Ireland team – obviously he liked the way I went about things. He would have also observed me as Ryder Cup vice-captain to Colin Montgomery in 2010 and a vice-captain to Jose Maria last year.

As his friend and captain would you not just sit him down and advise that he settle the Ireland v Britain allegiance question for the Olympics before the Ryder Cup so he can focus fully on the golf?

They made me Ryder Cup captain – not God. It’s not that, all of sudden, now that I have this title of captain, I should have a view and tell everyone how to run their lives. Rory has a good team and a very strong body of people around him, who influence him and make decisions – and very good decisions – on his behalf. I let them deal with that. It's up to them to deal with.

Nick Faldo called into question the importance of the captaincy of the Ryder Cup. He referred in a recent interview to difficulties he had with characters like Sergio Garcia. How important is your role?

People have different views on the Ryder Cup. All I can do is speak from my own experiences. I've been fortunate to be involved in three winning Ryder Cups, with three great captains: Bernard Langer, Ian Woosnam, Sam Torrance. They proved to me the importance of a good captain, I've certainly learned a lot.

You're close to Padraig Harrington. Would it be difficult to leave him off the Ryder Cup team?

Well, we'll see. I spoke to Padraig about this. I played a practice round with him: he's not far off. His short game is still there. The important thing for Padraig is to focus on his golf. He is still a very good player, very competitive. His appetite is there. He's very passionate about the game. I really want Padraig focused on having a strong summer – because Padraig Harrington, with his experience and playing very well, would certainly be a guy I'd look closely at as being a potential pick. He needs a strong summer.

What's important for you when choosing a wildcard?

I like to see a consistency in their run of form, not just a spike – not just a result, here or there. It's about results over a period of time. This is more important.

Did you not miss a trick? You could have named Harrington vice-captain?

Padraig Harrington is very capable of being a Ryder Cup player and of making the team. I don’t want him to be distracted with any talk about a Ryder Cup vice captaincy, I want him to focus on being a player. He's doing that. When the team is finalised on September 2nd, I'll look at other potential vice-captains.

There were some tweets from Ian Poulter that suggested shenanigans during previous Ryder Cups. What goes on exactly?

I wouldn’t say shenanigans! It’s like a rugby or GAA dressing-room. There's banter, a bit of mickey-taking, a lot of laughs. There's also time to be serious too. It’s important that the players switch off as well as switch on. I’d like to feel that, behind the scenes, I'm going to encourage a very relaxed team room.

I know you’re a soccer fan. What’s your take on Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane and their recent loss to Serbia?

I didn’t see the game. I know Martin well. He is a brilliant manager. He'll do a great job for Ireland. We're very lucky to have him as manager. Roy too. I think Roy is going to learn a lot from Martin, as Martin is one of the very best in the business. As captain of the Ryder Cup team, I’m going to watch them closely, how they deal with the media.

Would you be open to getting tips from Martin or Roy or off managers like Joe Schmidt – people from outside of golf?

Yes, I have spoken with them. I'm constantly learning. I'm not the finished article: I'm always listening. Hopefully I’ll pick up a few things before September and the Ryder Cup.

Is Tiger Woods past his best or a threat to Europe?

Tiger Woods is always a threat. He's a fantastic player, the current number one in the world. He could go on to be the greatest player of all time.

What about the talk of him and America captain Tom Watson falling out over his sex scandal – will that help Europe’s cause?

We're like two heavyweight boxers. Tom Watson has gone into his corner: he's dealing with his issues. I’m in my corner, dealing with mine. Although I'm watching I don’t have an opinion about what America is doing. I'm busy getting my house in order.

It’s fair to say Europe has dominated recent Ryder Cups. Do you see that continuing?

I hope so (laughs). We have won seven of the last nine. We’re going through a purple patch: we’ve been very fortunate with some great players available to us over the years. We’ve had great captains, players holing big putts and so on. Hopefully, that will continue.