Clarke accepts a new way of thinking

Philip Reid finds the Dungannon man has a fresh focus after some quality time with the family

Darren Clarke hasn't seen dark clouds hovering over his dyed locks for some time; neither physically, having spent the past week basking in sunshine on the idyllic Abacos Islands in the Bahamas, nor as a figment of his imagination. He has a new perspective, and golf is not top of the list any longer.

Normally, on the eve of a major, Clarke can have an intensity that would make a hot volcano seem cool. Not this time. A week without golf clubs, substituting fishing rods in their place, and time with his family - who have stayed on in the archipelago - has made for a completely different build-up to the Masters.

With his wife, Heather, given a break from chemotherapy in her treatment for cancer so that she could enjoy the sunshine break, Clarke's preparations involved slipping on flip-flops for the beach and loading rods for sea-fishing trips with his sons Tyrone and Conor.

"Usually," he remarked, standing outside the rear of the clubhouse at Augusta National, "I'd be up here at six o'clock in the morning getting here before it gets bright. This time it is just get up out of bed, hit some balls, and go and practise.

"Golf's not as important (anymore). I'll see how I play. If I play well, I play well. If I don't, I don't. It's as simple as that. I don't know if it is an advantage or not. It could go one of two ways: it could be fantastic, or it could be horrible.

"It's not going to make any difference. I've just had an unbelievable week with Heather and the kids down there and that's all that really matters to me at the minute. This is just another week."

Clarke, whose best Masters appearance came on his debut in 1998 when he finished tied-eighth, added: "Don't get me wrong, I'd love to play well. Of course I would. I'd love to give myself a chance to play well. It's (just) not the way I've been here before.

"Spending time with them down on the beach, and having as good a time as we had, it just says to me that all this is just a bit of fun. It's a job, and it's a hobby. But all the other stuff is the important stuff.

"It's a different way of thinking, totally different preparation."

Clarke's views of the course alterations - "Not quite the way I would envisage," said the budding golf-course architect - are that it is a significantly sterner challenge.

"They've certainly toughened the course. Whether it's in a good way or a bad way, we'll have to wait and see. Everybody has to play the same course, but it is favouring the longer hitters now. You've got the 11th hole, which was the most difficult ranked (in 2005), and they've made it more difficult now.

"The fourth hole? Some guys are going to have to hit drivers to get there. It's pushing the boundaries a bit (as a par three)," he claimed.

With the concerns about his wife's health - "She's alright at the minute," he remarked - Clarke's ability to continue to perform at an elite level is an indication of his inherent talent. In his last two events in America, he finished third in the Bay Hill Invitational and tied-20th at the Players Championship, where his putting failed to match the quality of the rest of his game.

If the British Open has always been considered the major Clarke's game was most suited to winning, Augusta National - "Yes, I've done alright round here" - is another that can fit his game. A winning score?

"I think if anyone shoots four 70s, eight under par, that would be a great score. Over four rounds, (the course) is going to get you sooner or later," said Clarke.

Only time will tell what's in store, if the leisurely preparations have provided the right blend for a tilt at a major title.

"We'll know on Friday or, hopefully, come Sunday. It's been a different way of thinking, a totally different preparation. It has taken the intensity away. I woke up this morning, looked at the clock and said, 'If I was in the Bahamas now, what would we be doing?' Maybe getting ready to go to the beach, or going out to do a bit of fishing. Or staying away from the bar for another hour and wait until five o'clock and doing whatever."

Taking on Augusta National, for sure, won't be a holiday.