Five quick questions for Butch Harmon

Who is the favourite player you have coached?

I’ve enjoyed coaching Phil Mickelson as much as anybody. I admire him as a golfer, as a husband as a dad and as a person. He’s so much fun to be around. But I learned the most from my years with Greg Norman, who had such a tremendous work ethic and was able to budget his time so well.

Do you have one standout memory from your career?

I go back to when Tiger [Woods] won his first Masters in 1997. When Tiger was younger, I told him the story about when my dad won the Masters in 1948. He won by five shots. He said it was the greatest feeling in the world walking up the 18th fairway at the Augusta National in the last round with a five-shot lead I told Tiger: Some day you’re going to achieve that and have the same feeling’. Standing behind the 18th green at Augusta ‘97 behind Tiger’s mum and dad watching him walk up that hill, I had a tear in my eye thinking about it. The other one is Phil Mickelson winning the Open Championship this year, something he never thought he’d achieve. Seeing him win the way he did only a month after he had really given away the United States Open provided great joy and satisfaction for me and great joy for Phil for what he had accomplished.

What’s your advice to the US about how they can end Europe’s winning run in the Ryder Cup?

The bottom line is there is no solution to why the Americans aren’t winning. I think the European team has just outplayed them at the most important times. The bottom line is you’ve just got to play better.

What’s the greatest tip you can give the average golfer?

For the average golfer, it’s very simple: Number one, they need to leave their ego in the car when they go to a golf course

They have no idea how far they hit the ball. Their idea of how they hit the ball does not compare to reality. The average golfer never takes enough club on their shot to the green. They take the iron they have to hit the absolute best to get to the flag. The average player, every time they thought it was a seven- iron, they hit a six, or every time they thought it was was an eight, they take a seven. If they took one more club, they would all play so much better.

What’s the future for you?

I am 70 years old now and I have worked hard my whole life. I am a workaholic, so I am trying to slow down a little. So I think 2014 will be the last real aggressive year that I will have travel wise. I will work as hard as I can in 2014 and I will evaluate that after that and see where we go from there. As long as Phil [Mickelson] wants to work with me, I will always work with Phil.