Ian Poulter
I have always treated golf as a job. Back in the day it was in a pro shop. That win opened another door, it was a way to jumping on the stepping stone to where I am today. That's the mental attitude you need to keep succeeding.Collection: Attitude
People don't see how hard you work. People just read the stuff on Twitter. They ask why I wasn't on the range all weekend instead of being at Monaco. You know what? You have to have some balance.
I never had an amateur career; I didn't go to college in America; when I came out on tour nobody knew who I was.
If I had to put my clubs away tomorrow and never play golf again, I'd be a happy man. I feel pretty proud of what I've achieved.
I wouldn't change anything about my career. I don't need my legacy to be anything.
I don't care if someone wants to say something derogatory or spiteful anymore. As I've grown older I've become wiser to the fact that vindictive people take pride in trying to make other people feel bad. I enjoy my life. If someone doesn't like what I do, that's up to them, I really don't care.
I cleaned up everything behind the scenes and simplified my life. I made some changes in my staff. I changed management, my accountants, my bookkeeping team. I had a full refresh. For me that was extremely important.
We look at the poor shots and ask why. Then we work on stability and balance. We're always trying to get the club in the little bit better position so we hit fewer poor shots.
The good shots are good enough. It's really about managing those mistakes and making sure we have less of them.
Rest is key. I need to get the right rest time and family time to stay refreshed. My downtime is for family activity. That's all about there is. I never switch off. Running my day-to-day golf business is a fairly busy one. There's a lot of moving parts and I'm trying to simplify it and make it easier.
Unless you are clear in your mind and in a position to think clearly and know where you want to go, with confidence, then you're never going to be able to achieve it.
I never put doubt in myself and that's single-handedly one of the most important things in whatever it is you're going to do.
Whatever you want to follow as your passion, it's about having the right mental attitude, having the right focus, following your dream and never wavering from it.
I wasn't the most talented player as a kid. Whenever I look back at the old footage, I didn't swing it very well and I didn't strike it pretty well, but I managed to score pretty well.
No one has ever given me anything. No one gave me a tour card, no one gave me a US tour card, no one gave me a nice house and a Ferrari: I've had to work for every penny I have earned and I'm proud of that.
I have always been confident. I know my own mind, what I'm able to do. I will never sit down and dwell.
I expect a lot of myself. There is no point turning up if you don't think you can win.
If I stop playing golf today I can sit back with the kids and reflect on an amazing journey. I do it often. I think you have to feel that you are grounded in this crazy world I live in.
It's not about the pennies as such, but what I've been able to create for the family. I have done that better than I could have ever dreamed.
I can only compare myself to the players I was playing against. To say I won the Order of Merit playing only seven events out of 17 was to me a big achievement.
I think 2019 has been a successful season. When I look at the start of the year, that was very, very strong.
Playing the DP World Tour Championship at the Earth Course is always a great week.
To be able to go to place where friends and family fly in to watch me play, having lots of home support and enjoying Dubai, is always great fun.
I have always been a very opinionated person and I wanted to wear stylish clothes on the course that suit my personality and taste. And I like the freedom I have to create them.
I may not be in the office as much as I was at the start of the business but when a new range is launched - and we have two, a spring/summer and an autumn/winter collection - each year, all designs come through me first to make sure I am happy with them.
I am the clotheshorse out on the course and the better I play the more people watch me out on the course and the more the clothes get exposure in front of the TV cameras.
I play to win. And if I string together four of my best rounds at the Masters then there's no doubt about it - I will wear the jacket.
I've always said golf can be a turn-off - all those middle-aged men in bad jumpers. I want to be a bit more of a character.
I'm stunned at some of the stuff Johnny Miller comes out with sometimes. He is very harsh and frankly I find some of the stuff he sees very disrespectful.
Sometimes how I explain myself to the media can come across in a slightly different way to how I would mean to say things.
With Twitter I am in control of whatever it is I want to say.
I have got closer to some of the guys through Twitter. I don't need to name names but I have found I have more of a connection with some players than I did before - not to say that I wasn't friends with them anyway but just that I'm better friends with them now.
I am not someone that is going to give up. I just don't do that.
Being mentally strong is something I've always been very good at and sometimes you just have to dig a bit deeper.
I never thought for one minute that I couldn't win another tournament or I couldn't make another Ryder Cup team. That's not in my make-up. If I feel good in myself and feel good in everything I'm doing, on and off the course, then I'm of the mind-set that I can get it done.
You don't want to let on how hurt you are because some people will see that as a sign of weakness, they might use it against you.
Long-term effects of taking painkillers and anti-inflammatories are never really good. To find another form of relief has been great.
I have never needed operations, I have had niggles the same as any other golfer after putting his body through 17 years of travel and a heavy playing schedule. I think I'm actually in pretty good shape considering the amount of hours spent hitting balls and sitting on an aeroplane.
I'm mad enough not to ever need a sports psychologist, because I really believe in myself.
I never got to study psychology after leaving school at 15 but I know how to rationalise things and get the best out of myself.
Most people would say it's the start of golf. When you see the flowers blooming at Augusta National and you hear Jim Nantz come on and start speaking about it, it's that time of year.
I want to be the best at what I do when I go out to play golf, and so when I was building my house, I wanted the best.
You don't have to be a mathematician to work out that Rory McIlroy is going to have more chances at 25 than I am at 38. The clock is ticking. It would be nicer to be a multiple-major winner than a major winner. But it would be nice to be a major winner, at the minute!
When your friends win tournaments it is good for you in a way because it does fire you up. You see what it means to them and know you would like to enjoy the same thing.
What I always say is, "Look good, feel good, play good."Collection: Sports
I don't like the way most people dress on the golf course. I think it's pretty bland, pretty boring.Collection: Golf
Faldo has lost a lot of respect from players because of what he said.Collection: Golf
The last thing you want to do is shoot 80 wearing 'tartan troosers'.Collection: Golf
It's [Augusta National] a difficult course and it doesn't make it easier when you have three shanks.Collection: Golf
There are subtle things you can do without crossing the line. If I see I've got up my opponent's nose, I will be over the moon. Job done.Collection: Jobs