What sort of feedback have you had from your tips?

Great from the people I’ve been aiming at. But so many pros have liked them too. I’m fascinated by that. I get that short game tips are for pretty much everyone. And that is where my proficiency is, so I see how they might help other pros. But telling them to use their hands a bit more is not going to help them.

I wasn’t trying to help my competitors of course. My first coach when I was a kid, Wattie Sullivan, used to say, ‘never give anyone advice, they’ll use it to beat you.’

But people at home enjoyed my tips. I’ve started a YouTube channel so there will be more detail on the way. Besides, as I said, I do it every week during pro-ams. I broke my wrist last year and couldn’t play for a bit. I spent five or six weeks at the Bears Club in Florida. By the end of that time, if you made eye-contact with me you were getting a lesson. I was wandering around looking for people. If one lifted his head I was in there.

I must tell you about something Jack Nicklaus did while I was there. One thing I really learned from. I was there as his guest, having written to ask if I could use the facilities. In the first week I was there, I’m with a member, a guy I know, Ronan my caddie and another Irish lad. Jack is there having a meeting and I’m keeping an eye on him because I want to thank him for his hospitality.

Jack finishes, stands up and walks out. It’s clear he’s in a hurry. But I follow him just to say a quick ‘thanks.’ So he stops and asks who I’m with. Then he comes back with me and spoke to my friends. They were beside themselves. I would have considered myself good if I had stopped and said hello. But Jack went the extra mile. It was so classy. Especially as it was clear he was heading somewhere. I was so impressed. He didn’t just say hi to me, he took the time to make my friends feel good. I’ll never forget that.

How do you feel about what Bryson DeChambeau has been doing?

It’s very impressive. He had 189mph ball speed at The Open last year. But there was an Austrian kid there who was at 191mph. The three of us were on the range. So Bryson had the speed. And bulking up has only added to his confidence and ability to do what he is doing.

What everyone seems to be failing to realise is that he is a great player. He’s a great player who has added speed. That’s the start. Secondly, as regards the game, 230 mph is what is supposed to be humanly possible. And he is at 211mph I hear, so he is running at 12 seconds for 100 metres.

There are a host of guys out there who are as fast as Bryson. But we don’t even know it. Cameron Champ doesn’t even look like he is swinging hard and the ball is going out there huge distances. Distance used to be coached out of kids. Not now. Now they are going for it.

Open Champion … Harrington had big shoes to fill. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Where do you think the top players are going to play in 10 years’ time?

I have huge reservations about the future. Go to just about any golf course these days and it is just plain dangerous. There’s plenty of people in every local club who have 120mph clubhead speed … and they’re high-handicappers. So they have no idea where the ball is going. Yet they can hit drives 340 yards through the air. If they miss a dogleg, the ball is pitching in the middle of the next fairway. When I was growing up and that happened, the ball crashed into the trees or the rough. The next fairway was safe.

Then there’s the cost of upkeep on courses. The maintenance. But the safety and speed of golf concerns me. I would always have the attitude that what gives most people joy from the game is out-driving your friend or out-driving your personal best on a given hole. If the standard is 280 and you hit one 290, you feel good. But you’re not going to feel any better if those numbers are 320 and 330. The relationship between you and your partners and you and yourself determines how much you enjoy playing. Much more than raw distance. It’s a comparative thing.

What about at your level though? Where are they going to play if they keep hitting the ball longer and longer?

This sometimes gets missed too. The ball performs so well in hot weather. That’s where it does its real work. But cold weather is different. The week at the Scottish Open I saw guys coming up short a lot because of the relatively low temperatures. I was hitting 5-irons from 185 yards out. In warmer weather I’d be hitting a 7-iron from that distance.

But I get the point. I’m not sure we need the ball to go as far as it does. Big-hitters are still going to be big-hitters if they hit it 280 and the rest are at 250.