Volvo MastersIt isn't entirely true, you know. The rain in Spain doesn't stay mainly in the plain, as those living on the for once inappropriately named Costa del Sol will tell you.
And, yet, although the course at Valderrama has been pummelled by copious quantities of H2O in recent days, it has managed to retain not only its unique beauty but also the propensity to severely test the 57 players who have assembled for the European Tour season-ending Volvo Masters.
The odd number of the field is caused by the decision of three players who qualified for the €3.5 million, season-ending championship to bypass it.
Ernie Els, winner of the money title despite his absence, flagged the fact he wouldn't be here from way out, but fellow-South African Retief Goosen - last year's Order of Merit winner - and Australia's Peter Lonard have opted to play in the Chrysler Championship on the US Tour in their attempts to make next week's Tour Championship.
"You can't question guys for being here or not," insisted Darren Clarke, destined to finish the season as number two behind Els. "The game's more worldwide now. As much as I would like to see them here, it is wholly understandable why they can't be."
For those who are here, there are no side tracks to take, no Order of Merits to worry about. Just the tournament itself. For Padraig Harrington, third in the money list, that's no bad thing. A year ago, the Dubliner came to Valderrama in hot pursuit of Goosen.
"I performed under par because of the pressure I put myself under," he admitted yesterday. "But it was all part of the learning experience. I've looked back on those closing weeks and I don't know how many times I've thought, 'gee whiz, I'd love to have another go', but the simple fact is I made fundamental errors in those closing weeks and you just can't do that out here."
At least Harrington has brought some form with him, with a runners-up finish to Ricardo Gonzalez in the Madrid Open last week indicating his game has finally come back.
"My focus has changed in the last few weeks to playing rather than swinging. I'm trying to score, to get the ball in the hole, the stuff that I am traditionally good at, and I seem to be swinging the club better because of it. When you get too focused on your swing, as I did, it detracts from just going out with what you've got to shoot the lowest score you can.
"I'd got to the stage where every shot I hit was coming back to, 'Did I get that heel to toe? Did I do this, did I do that?' It wasn't good enough that I hit a good shot. It had to be a good swing on top of it.
"Now I am not analysing as much and making better swings because of it," insisted Harrington, who is intent on chasing a win as well as accumulating extra ranking points to consolidate his position as the world number nine.
"This is really the last world ranking event and I would like to win some points that will get me through the winter break," he explained. "It will be a good three months before I can start playing for world ranking points again, so I'd like to get some to fatten me up for the winter, and turn what has been an average year into a good year."
There are five Irish players in the field, with Harrington and Clarke the top-ranked duo. In fact, they are also paired together for today's first round. Paul McGinley also competes, while Peter Lawrie - "I recorded the first birdie of the 2003 season in Taiwan and I'd love to score the last birdie of the season here," he said - and Gary Murphy are making their debuts in the event.
Of them all, Murphy was the one on tenterhooks in Madrid before he knew that he had qualified in 59th position, with not much room to spare. "One of the goals I set myself at the start of the year was to make the top-60 to qualify for the Volvo Masters. Now that I am here, I want to perform. It is like playing in a major. Also, there are a lot of world ranking points available - I won't get any playing in Links outings over the winter, so this is a big chance," he quipped.
The rain of the past week has softened the course, which is some mercy for those chasing the top prize.
"It will always play easier when it is soft," admitted Harrington, "but the only thing is that this wind is also a factor," making the point that a missed three-footer in the pro-am resulted in a 20-footer back. "It just goes to show that this course still has a lot of bite," added Harrington.
Indeed, Jose Maria Olazabal noted that if the wind persisted, then "the scores will be like basketball scores".
Murphy, for his part, observed that the critical thing is to keep the ball in play off the tee. "You've simply got to find the fairways, there's no way you can play this course out of the trees," insisted the Kilkenny man.
For Irish golf, this is a defining moment in terms of the country's strength. Five players from Ireland is a record number for the Volvo Masters. Furthermore, the top two Europeans in the Order of Merit - Clarke and Harrington - are Irish and the top two players in the world rankings competing here - Harrington, ninth, and Clarke, 12th - are also Irish.
The recent evidence is that Clarke's competitive appetite has been fully restored. Today Harrington gets the chance to see it at first-hand; and vice versa. All the other competitors will have to rely on second-hand accounts of how the two hottest shots in European golf have performed. Their ears will be to the ground.
