Let’s talk about your wife. Where did you meet?

We met at Bradway Golf Range, where I hit my 1,000 balls a day. She worked in the bar. She doesn’t like travelling and comes to Dubai maybe once a year. She hates flying. She has always been very supportive. She says she brought the kids up by herself, which is hard to argue with.

So your eyes met across a driving range?

We’ve been married 44 years. Of course, she says we’ve lasted that long because we’ve only lived together for three years (laughs). I’ve been away for the rest. The kids work at the range in Rotherham. They actually own the place now. My daughter is 41 – she doesn’t play – and the twin boys are 35. Adam is a decent player, four-handicap. Tom is more into weightlifting. My grandson is off four as well. He doesn’t listen to me much. Nick, one of my coaches at the range, works with him.

Let’s talk about Gary Woodland. What is your history with him?

He’s been very kind regarding the work we have done over the last two years on his short game. We dabbled in the long game until he came on full-time last November when Butch was retiring. It was Butch who sent him to me for the short game.

There’s more compartmentalising in coaching these days.

Yes. Because a lot of it is confidence-coaching.

Can you define that?

First, find the strengths and the weaknesses of the player. Then focus on the strengths, while working on the weaknesses – telling them why they are so good. Positive affirmation of what they are doing. Sometimes that rubs off.

So how much of your job is psychology?

A lot. It certainly was with Gary early on. He came to golf from basketball and baseball. In those games he was always told what to do. Every minute of the day. It was all planned. So now he is a golfer and his own boss. No one was telling him what to do. So it was all new. He told me he wanted me to coach him, not just teach him. I gave him structure and told him all the things he needed to do. Now he knows what to do on his weeks off, on the days leading up to an event and before competitive rounds. He didn’t before. For example, on Wednesdays to Sundays, he does warm-ups and warm-downs.

He wanted to know how to draw the ball. I asked him why. He said it was so that he could hit the tee-shot on the 16th at Augusta. Everyone else is making two and he is trying to hit his fade into the slope, starting the ball over the water. So he was always going away from the flag and if he missed the slope he was making four.

He needed a different shot. I was impressed by that attention to detail. The other shot he needed was the little knock-down, one-bounce-then-check pitch. That was tough for him with all the downcock he had. And he wanted me to talk to him as simply as possible. No technical stuff.

Every coach has had some failures. I suspect you have, too. Who immediately comes to mind?

I’ve had a few relative failures. There was one kid who was the best 13-year-old I’ve ever seen. Technically, he was as good as anyone. And he hit the ball as well as anyone. But he grew a foot in a year. And lost it all – balance and movement. It was all gone and he never got it back.

Is that a failure on my part? Possibly. I was so disappointed. I should have been able to cope with it as a coach. It was early in my career and I didn’t manage it as well as I could have. I could deal with it now.

When pros leave, what is the reason?

Lack of understanding, or interpretation. Guys come and go. Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke did back in the late 1990s. With Monty, they were the best players in Europe. Darren is probably the most naturally talented player I’ve ever taught. Brilliant. But he got in his own way. He couldn’t cope with slight imperfections. He was like me. It had to be perfect. It was stunning. And he didn’t putt as well as he might have done. It was ridiculous what happened at St George’s the week Darren won the Open. On the Tuesday, he was going home. The more I think about that, the more ridiculous it gets.

Lee and Darren came and went. Then they came back. It’s the nature of the beast. I’ve told players I’m not working for them so go elsewhere. I did that with Danny Willett. He lost all confidence in himself.

No one exhibits Cowen’s desired ‘stable shoulders’ better than Lee Westwood. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Was the 2016 Ryder Cup and the nonsense with his brother the reason?

Yes. The day that happened was the day the switch flipped for Danny. Before that, he was bomb-proof. He had everything. When we got on the plane to Hazeltine he was buzzing. He had been told he was playing five times and that he would partner Lee Westwood. He couldn’t wait to get started.

In the first practice round he didn’t play great, but that had more to do with coming straight off the plane. The next day he was fine. Then it happened. The shit hit the fan and he spent the next day defending himself. Then Darren told him he wasn’t playing on the first morning. He was gone after that. All the trouble he has had since can be traced to that incident. He’s playing better now, which is good to see. I like Danny. He was the first to ring me after Woodland won the US Open.

What do you see in Tiger’s future?

He’s swung really well for the last 18 months. He isn’t putting as much stress on his back. How he does going forward is down to how fit he is. And how much he wants to compete.

Is Tiger the best player you have ever seen? Or has he played the best golf you’ve ever seen?

He’s played the best golf.

What set him apart?

Physicality. A lot of it. Desire. I would put him down as a player who ‘needed’ to be great. Millions want to be great. But few need to be. Tiger needed to be.

Who else is in that category?

Player. Hogan. Trevino. They all had that ‘need’.

Do you have anything in your life other than golf?

No. That’s a problem. I don’t have a hobby. I used to go to football. But I can’t watch it now. It’s like playing chess on a piece of grass. The only guys I want to watch are Ronaldo and Messi. I want to see what they can do. The rest are all the same.

What was your team?

Sheffield Wednesday. They’re crap. Horrendous. The last time I went was 18 months ago, though.

Are you worried you don’t have an outlet?

If I gave up coaching, what would I do? I don’t play. I still hit balls. I sometimes listen to the lads coaching. So what would I do? I’ve had enough of travelling. Time changes kill me and I do between 200,000 and 250,000 air miles a year. I have a million miles with Virgin and BA and half a million with Emirates. I can’t use them. There are too many restrictions. Cars don’t excite me. I wouldn’t watch Formula 1 if they paid me. I watch a bit of cricket, occasionally. And I’m not a gardener. I’m scared of retirement, really.

You go business class, I hope.

Not all the time. I’m too much of a realist. If it’s £8,000 for a seat just over there and £600 for a seat here, I’m going with the £600. I don’t sleep on a flatbed when I have a flatbed so what’s the point?