Golf: Campbell goes high-tech to improve drive

New Zealand's Michael Campbell has tapped into into missile-launch technology in preparation for the US Masters golf championship starting on Friday (NZ time).

His coach, Jonathon Yarwood, revealed they spent two days last week using the high-tech facility at Yarwood's Ritz-Carlton Sarasota club base in Orlando.

"The system we have at Sarasota is actually designed to test missiles and it provides so much information on the ball, the speed of the club, on the energy transfer and on the efficiency of the club motion," Yarwood said.

"It's fascinating stuff but it's more for my knowledge than Cambo's, but the bottom line is the ball goes further and straighter.

"It's been the driver that has been Michael's weakness so we went to work on a missile-launch monitor assessing his driver.

"We discovered the cycles of the shaft were wrong in the longer 45-inch (114.3cm) Callaway FT3 driver he is using right now. He hit 10 balls with that one and then 10 balls with a slightly shorter 44-inch driver but a stiffer shaft.

"We did nothing with his swing in between using the two drivers but then the read-out from using the old driver were fade, draw, slice, draw, draw, slice and pull.

"But then the read out from the shorter driver was straight, straight, straight and straight. All straight.

"Now he feels so much more comfortable over the ball using the 44-inch driver and it helps him psychologically because the shaft is shorter but the head looks bigger and it feel like he can control it better."

Phil Mickelson, who is in hot form and one of the favourites here, will pack two drivers in his bag but Campbell won't be, Yarwood said.

"There is no way Michael will be copying Phil and I would not recommend that.

"We have changed a few aspects of his chipping action this week by trying to get the club to bounce less in all of his short-game so I would not get him taking two drivers out here.

"We have considered some hybrid clubs like a Callaway Heaven wood instead of maybe his three or four iron because he is hitting long irons into small greens that need now to be floated into the greens. A three or four iron might come out a bit too hot."

Yarwood, like Campbell, is making his first trip back to Augusta since 2004 and the England-born mentor, who helped Campbell to victory in last year's US Open and World Match Play Championship victory, is confident the Wellington golfer will perform well this weekend.

"We have talked about Michael coming back to Augusta as the reigning US Open champion and as a result he is coming here as a different person, and a different player," Yarwood said.

"Winning the US Open has ensured Michael arrived this week with different goals and different ideas of what he wants to achieve this week.

"The fact that he missed the halfway cut in his last two events, or his last five Masters, has no bearing on anything.

"Traditionally, he has always come out of the gate slowly but you look at the Players Championship last week because if had made the cut when he was one under par with two to play, he would have only been six off the lead.

"So there is no pressure at all on him to make the cut this week, and he is not thinking about the cut at all.

"When you come to an event like the US Masters, you come here with the mindset of winning. He is a contender and there is no point in coming if he's not. So you put every effort you can into that goal.

"For Michael and myself, you don't want to make all the sacrifices you do in your life just to show up and just 'hey, I want to make the cut'.

"That is not the attitude of a US Open champion."

Campbell will tee off in the company of double Augusta National hero Tom Watson.

Watson, 57, captured a first US Masters in 1977 and a second in 1981. He was second in 1984 and then finished joint runner-up in 1978 and 1979.

Watson is making his 33rd appearance here. He has also claimed five British Open titles -- 1975, 1977, 1980, 1982 and 1983.

Another player joining Campbell is 23-year old reigning British Amateur champion Brian McElhinney, of Ireland.

- NZPA