Senior Tour Player Blog: Clark Dennis

We speak to Order of Merit leader Clark Dennis about his first year on the European Senior Tour, spending a year in Europe and his near-misses during the 2017 season…

I tried Qualifying School last year, and I didn’t know what to expect. I played very well in the First Stage and played with Brendan McGovern. We both made it to Final Stage, but Brendan got his card and I didn’t make it. They say failure is a good lesson, and that was a great lesson for me going into this year’s Qualifying School. I knew the course and what to expect, and that really helped. If I hadn’t had that experience from last year, I don’t think I would have made it this time round either.

I just wanted to be competitive.One thing you must do when you turn 50 is play regularly. I wanted somewhere to play, and there aren’t that many opportunities in senior golf to play a full schedule if you’re not on a Tour. There’s that period of three, five, seven years for all golfers when you start to wind down on the regular Tours and you’re waiting until you turn 50. It makes it difficult to step back in and play to the same level as you were playing before. On rare occasions, some guys come out and do well, but these are new courses and it is a different environment. Everybody has to go through that learning curve when they step up to senior golf.

I had no idea what I was letting myself in for this year.The courses were all new to me, I had never stepped foot on any of them before. Practice rounds were a priority for me, even something as simple as learning how to get around different countries was a new thing to me. I have had great fun though, I would not change one thing about this year.

It was good to get started in Sharjah and see where my game was. I played nicely in the first round, but didn’t play so well in the second. I rediscovered my competitive edge, and you have to get over that step. Sharjah played an important part in that. I then finished in the top five in Finland, and that was very important of my confidence. I thought to myself ‘I’ve got this’ and I knew that I could be competitive in Europe. That was the springboard for the rest of the year. After Finland, I played U.S. Senior Open Qualifying and shot 64, winning the qualifier by seven; that was good for my ego.

Failure is a big part of success. It was disappointing not to win in Switzerland and in Germany when I had the lead, and very disappointing not to win at Woburn when I basically had the tournament won. It all goes back to Q School last year, if I didn’t have those experiences of failures, I might not have had what it took when I did win. You have to use these as learning experiences, it is something you have to get used to. In this game, you’re not going to win every week. Sometimes a victory might be making the cut, or finishing in the top ten – you want to see progression. The guys on the Senior Tour are too good for a player to come out and win every week. You’re going up against the best in the world and it can’t get you down too much. The standard of play is very high on the Senior Tour. With 54-man fields, you have a condensed group where, theoretically, almost anyone could win. You can’t go into a tournament thinking ‘this is easy’. There were 15 former Ryder Cup players at Forest of Arden last month; that’s pretty impressive.

I have come back strong, and that’s what I’m most proud of. After my disappointments, I’ve played very well. In Switzerland, I hit it out of bounds on the last hole, and the next week in Germany, I shot a 64 in the first round. That gives you as much confidence as winning. I didn’t let it get to me and I played well. When you reach 50, you know you have a limited number of years you can play. I’m fortunate to have had a year like this so early in my career.

It was very satisfying to get the win in Italy. Even though it was over 36 holes, to win in a play-off against such a great player like Peter (Fowler), it was such a huge confidence boost. He hit a great shot in, and I made a birdie when I had to make it. I loved Italy and had a great time there. Everything this year has been a bonus, I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.

At The Dutch,I played the last day exactly how I wanted to play. I didn’t get in to trouble, I didn’t make a bogey, I did everything right. That was the progression from Switzerland when I had a chance to win and hit a bad shot on the last hole, and Germany where I didn’t play well on the last day. At Woburn, I got over-excited when I had a big lead and didn’t finish it off. I was over-aggressive. In Holland, I didn’t do more than I needed to do.

Clark with his son William at the WINSTONgolf Senior Open

This year has been great for me and my family.My wife and sons got to spend six weeks in Europe over the summer, and that was a dream come true. I’ve been married 27 years to a wonderful woman who has supported me through the ups and downs, the good and the bad. I can’t say enough about Vicki; she’s incredible. I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without her taking care of the boys, although they are a little older now. For them to come over and spend time in Switzerland and Germany was fantastic. Then, before the Senior Open we took a week off and went to France. William, my eldest, caddied for me at the U.S. Senior Open and the Senior Open, so that was a great experience. You couldn’t ask for more as a father than spending time with your children doing something that you love. It has been a great education for them, meeting the guys, making friends with them and those are connections they’ll have for the rest of their lives. We’ve all had the opportunity to see new things, learn about different cultures and not being so America-centric, which we tend to be. Our country is so huge, you could spend forever exploring the United States. Seeing different ways of living was a great experience for them.

I have become really good friends with Peter (Wilson), he’s helped me a lot this year. We both made it through Q School and then I played with him in Sharjah. His brother caddied for him in Finland, and I was there on my own, so we hung out and had dinner as a group most nights, and we played some practice rounds. I’ve stayed with him in England a few times on weeks off, and he has helped me a tremendous amount, even just telling me how to get around Europe. We’ve made a friendship out of it, and that’s one of the bonuses for me. I’ve made new friends that I’d have never made if I hadn’t come over.

A lot of guys have asked how I like it over here in Europe. I’d recommend to all of them that they should try it. It is tough to get into that top five at Q School, but it is worth coming over. My son is considering turning professional after his college career, and I have a lot of pro friends who are just starting out, and I’m recommending that they all go to Europe and follow the footsteps of the Koepkas and Peter Uihlein. The European Challenge Tour really toughens you up, playing in those conditions on different courses, it is a great learning experience and I think all young players should try it.

The one thing I will say about the Tour is the way the tournaments are run is top quality.We are always treated well; the venues are stunning, and the European Tour should be very proud of how the Senior Tour is run and how the tournaments run too. I feel it will only continue to get better. Every venue has gone over the top in making us feel welcome and having the courses in such good condition. Hopefully we’ll have a few more tournaments next year, so it looks as though everything is trending in the right direction.