Q 6

PLAYBOY: Top golf pros blend rather well into the general population. Do they share some subtle physical characteristics?

Tom Watson: It's hard to pick out the ideal body. You want somebody who's not particularly well built in the shoulders and has a lot of muscle through the chest area. Strong legs are a must, because you have to have a firm foundation. Look at the great players: Jack Nichlaus isn't six feet tall. Neither is Sam Snead. Ben Hogan's 5'8", Arnold Palmer 5'10½". But I asked Hogan if he thought there would ever be a great 6'8" golfer. He said that a tall guy will come along, develop a great golf swing and hit the ball farther than anybody.

Q 7

PLAYBOY: Golf isn't exactly fast-moving. Do you play other sports to keep in shape?

Tom Watson: I keep in shape by practicing. I ride a bicycle in the summer. I don't do a lot of exercise in the winter. I like to hunt birds. Swimming and tennis are two country-club sports that have always been taboo for golfers. Swimming stretches the muscles and makes you too loose. The serve in tennis--the overhand motion with the right arm--is not a very good motion in golf.

Q 8

PLAYBOY: Do you ever get in some last-minute practice putting into a glass on your hotel-room carpet?

Tom Watson: Sure. You can learn whether you're pulling or pushing the ball. Some hotel rugs are impossible to putt. The Dallas rugs aren't too bad. San Diego's are pretty good.

Q 9

PLAYBOY: Will you replay your favorite shot for us?

Tom Watson: Twenty or 30 years from now, they're going to be asking me about that chip on the 17th hole of the 1982 U.S. Open. I hope that sometime in my career, I can top it. That was a miracle. I was staring a bogey right in the face. It was a very difficult shot, because my ball was on a downward slope, which meant that the chip would have a lower trajectory; it would hit the green harder and roll farther. And I was hitting to a down slope that steepened past the pin, so the ball would roll pretty far if it got past the hole and I would be faced with a difficult eight or ten-foot putt. Something happened mentally that told me I was going to sink it: I wasn't going to get close. I was going to sink it. I took a couple of practice swings. When I addressed the ball, first I was aiming too far left. Right before the shot, I adjusted--closed up, because I had to play about a foot-and-a-half break. And I hit the shot. When it hit the green, I knew it was going to be near the hole. About a foot away, I knew it was going to go in. I knew it was going to hit the flag. It was just a matter of whether or not it was going to stay in. It did.

Q 10

PLAYBOY: Does the pressure increase when you're playing a tournament and you hear applause from somewhere else on the golf course, from another player's gallery?

Tom Watson: Only in the last round of a championship or on the last nine holes does it really affect me. A lot of times, people don't really know what to clap for. Golf is certainly not like any other game. The only perfect shot is the one that goes into the hole. That's why you see so much putting on television. There are different ways of looking at other shots. The most knowledgeable golf galleries are those in Scotland and England. No question. Most people over there understand golf whether or not they play it.

Q 11

PLAYBOY: You have won the British Open five times. Do you feel a special affinity for that island where the game has its roots?

Tom Watson: When you play in Scotland or England, you're playing on what some people say is hallowed ground. Plus, the history of the game is part of my life, because when I was growing up, my dad talked about it and I read books about it.

When I first went over there, I didn't like the condition of the golf courses. The grounds definitely come more into play. The greens are firm and the ground is firm and you have to invent more shots. You have to run the ball. It's more of a challenge than picking a club for yardage and then merely playing that club for yardage on a soft wet course. At first, I didn't like the luck of the bounce. Now I think it's the ultimate in the game.

Q 12

PLAYBOY: Do you keep your eye on the ball or do you have something more important to do when you're playing a shot?

Tom Watson: I've looked at the ball for 30 years now, and I have a pretty good idea of what it's like. The important thing is the lie: How is the ball sitting on the ground when you're on the fairway or in the rough? When you get grass between the club base and the ball, it makes the ball go farther and takes the spin off it.

An accomplished golfer is basically instinctual. The player who has too many thoughts gets confused and gets hung up mechanically. If you've got tense muscles, you can't swing the club as fast as you can when you're relaxed and can use your hands and arms to release a really tremendous amount of speed in the club head.