So, the way the members play it, this is their third hole, or sometimes their 10th, 11th, or 12th hole. For us, it was the third hole, and I had just gone birdie-birdie and hit a perfect tee shot. This is where I told my caddie—and this is where you have to be careful about getting ahead of yourself—I'd played with these guys for two and a half holes.

On this particular par 5, I had driven it about 20 or 30 yards past both of them. I could reach the green with an iron. I told my caddie, “Mark, these guys can’t beat me.” Now, that’s a nice thought, but I was only three holes into the round, and you’ve got to be really careful about getting ahead of yourself.

The ball’s in good shape here, but I hit a tree, and I’m a long way out. The ball is sitting down in the rough, as you can see. Now, I could take an iron, but the problem with an iron is that it catches the grass, and the ball probably won’t come out cleanly.

So I’m going to take this 7-wood, choke down on it, and hit a low bullet cut out of here. That club will get me just to the front edge of the green or just short. You can use this club, even if you're 150 yards away in this kind of rough, because it cuts through the grass much easier. A 7-wood or 9-wood out of the rough is ten times better than an iron because the grass catches the iron’s head, but it can’t catch the whole head of the wood, so it goes through the grass better. If you're playing a course with this type of rough, a 7- or 9-wood is invaluable for getting the ball up on the green or close.

In the Open on this hole, a par 5, the only bad tee shot I hit was a pulled drive that caught the trees and kicked over. I took the wrong club—a 5-wood—and had to slice it 50 to 60 yards. I aimed it almost at another green and hit a really high cut, landing it on the front left part of the green.

Just like that! I got it up over the trees, sliced it about 50 yards, and ended up on the front right part of the green. That was a turning point for me. If I had missed and hit a tree, who knows what would have happened. It probably wasn’t the best shot, but looking back at my career, that shot, given the conditions, was one of the best I’ve ever hit.

This shot probably won me the tournament, mostly because of the momentum swing it created, which happens in every round. You look at this hole, a 180-yard par 3, with the pin in the very back right corner. There’s a big cliff on the right, and I got up here, and given how I was playing and how I was hitting it, I aimed at the right edge of the bunker. I hit it right at that edge, and it drew into the back right pin placement, about six feet from the hole. I made birdie and regained a two-shot lead.

I’ve come back here many times, especially after I improved my swing, but I never had a consistent shot until now. Standing here today, I think about how comfortable you have to be to aim at that bunker and hook it into that back right pin placement. I wasn’t even thinking about losing it into the canyon because every shot I hit that day was solid with a little draw. I aimed at the bunker, drew it, and if it drew too much, it would land in the middle of the green.

I hit a 6-iron back then, and today I’m using a little more club, but I’m going to aim at the bunker and try to hit the same shot. Wow, I hit the same shot. It’s interesting—here I am at 70 years old, and I’ve gone back to how I used to hit it as a kid. I had a lot of confidence. I stood up, aimed at the bunker, and hooked it into the back right pin placement.

Again, this is about knowing what shot you can hit. When I stood here during the Open, I had no fear of that canyon. People have asked me countless times, “What shot did you hit? Where did you aim?” I simply aimed at the bunker and hooked it in there. “What if it didn’t hook?” Well, every shot I hit solid drew 5 to 10 yards, so I had such a consistent ball flight that I could count on it.

Most people would aim at the middle of the green and try to cut it back into the back right pin placement, but I’ve never been able to do that. Even though in theory that’s the right shot, you have to hit the shot you’re comfortable with. That’s what I was doing at the time—hitting it solid, playing my game, and hitting my shots. It was good enough to beat some tour players and shoot incredible scores here as an amateur.

Why did I change? I didn’t fully understand my swing, and I was trying to get better. That’s the scary part—when you start saying, “Let’s get better” just for the sake of it. This is about shooting a score and controlling the ball, and I had control back then.

I’ve got 78 yards to the pin now, and I’m using my 58-degree wedge, which I normally hit about 80 or 90 yards. But since the pin is at the front, I have to carry it on and stop it quickly. So, I’m going to take a little loft off, hit it lower, and get a lot of spin on it.

There we go, about three feet. Actually, that shot I just hit, compared to when I won, is one I didn’t have in my arsenal back then. Now, it’s all about those shots inside 100 yards, using a 58- or 60-degree wedge, flighting it down with a little draw or fade, so it hits, spins, and stops. These are the kinds of shots that make a big difference in your game.

Yes, you want to work on your full swing, but controlling the face and trajectory inside 100 yards—those are the fun shots to hit. To me, that shot is more enjoyable than hitting a full driver.

"Birdie on the first, or birdie on the sixth."