An orderly line of guys were on the range, belting ball after ball over the targets painted "250" and into the faraway dunes, but this player was taking no chances.
After hitting 25 balls, Padraig Harrington decided enough was enough. "Left-to-right wind," he explained, heading for the chipping area with coach Bob Torrance in tow. One thing you don't want to do a day before the British Open starts is to upset your swing and Harrington, believing he has his just where he wants it, wasn't risking it deserting him. Especially not now.
Harrington knows his game. Although he only finished tied-39th in his last outing in the European Open at the K Club two weeks ago, he departed convinced that the swing was much better than that. "It was a new departure for me," he said. "I left there knowing that I was hitting the ball better than I have ever done."
A few days off last week, during which time he adjusted to the distances his newly-tuned swing was providing, and a refreshed Harrington is ready for the fray. "My only problem is that I'm struggling a bit with my wedges, hitting the shots a little lower with a bit more spin which is a bit awkward around here where you have to play so many wedge shots," said Harrington.
It's only a mild concern though, and yesterday the player was looking forward to the challenge of playing on "as fast a links course as I've ever seen. The ball is really motoring. The question is can I take my swing with the concentration out onto the course. Sometimes it is hard to marry both of them together," he conceded.
Unlike some players who have voiced trepidation about the bunkers, Harrington, however, remains very philosophical about the perils of the sand traps. "You go into one, and you just accept that it is a penalty shot. That goes for every one of them. I asked someone about it and they said, `well, you know, if it was a water hazard you wouldn't mind it', and that is very true. You go into a bunker and you are really struggling to get out."
Indeed, that was a sentiment echoed by Paul McGinley. Two hours earlier, he'd been in the same spot on the range - flanked by Michael Campbell and Alex Cejka, both admiring the way he contrived to hit three-iron bump-and-run shots - and expressed the view that "the best form of bunker play this week is to avoid them".
"This is the way the original bunkers were designed. It's the oldest course in the world, and who are we to criticise? Luck has a lot to play in golf and there is going to be a certain amount involved this week," added McGinley.
McGinley, who pulled out of Loch Lomond last week because he felt run down after his exertions of the previous two weeks when he got into challenging positions in Ballybunion and Straffan, was striking the ball extremely well on the range as he worked his way through every club in the bag. "This is an old traditional style golf links and it demands all kinds of shots to be played," he said. In fact, his shots in a practice round on Tuesday confirmed as much when he drove the 412-yards sixth hole.
"Scoring won't be as good as people think - with firm greens and hiding the pin positions, there will be a lot of frustrated golfers, and patience will be a key element," said McGinley. Certainly, the Irish quartet - McGinley, Harrington, Darren Clarke and Christy O'Connor Jnr - know that links golf demands a cool head.
