Padraig Harrington kick-starts a new season in Dubai sounding just as excited and optimistic if it were his debut season on Tour.
Harrington has been afforded an invitation to tee-up in this week’s Dubai Invitational being held again on the Dubai Creek course in the UAE.
It will be a seventh year running for the now 54-year-old Harrington will start a new season in Dubai.
As well, Harrington will be teeing-up in what also will be a 497th DP World Tour event since making his debut just over 30-years ago as a then 24-year-old at the 1995 Smurfit European Open.
Fourty three worldwide wins later, the reigning US Senior Open and also Senior Open winners sounded his clear delight being back inside the competition ropes as guest on a new DP World Tour ‘podcast’ show and chatted away, as only Harrington can do, on a full golf bag full of topics.
PADRAIG SOUNDING AT HIS GOLFING BEST ….
Irish golfing great @padraig_h clearly just as excited heading into a 30th new season, as if it were a maiden @DPWorldTour year
“Now at my age, I just try and win tournaments”.
Read: https://t.co/ab6btn6Po9
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— Fatiha (@TOURMISS) January 13, 2026
First, were his thoughts on returning to competition for the first time in 2026.
“I had a very nice break with plenty of work on my game, and now that I am back out playing after the break, when you get to the tournament you have a little bit of panic trying to put it all together”, he said.’
“So, happy with where I’m at and though not quite there now but I’m kind of happy with a few ideas that will work their way into my year”.
Harrington then spoke of his ‘home’, his indoor and outdoor home.
“My golf home works great during the winter”, he said.’
“If you’re in Ireland … if you are a regular amateur, you can go play golf all year in Ireland but being a pro, the ball isn’t going and it’s hard to get warmed-up. It’s also hard to get the ball flight”.
He added on this theme: “If you’ve learnt golf in Ireland, you’d end up being a great swinger of the golf ball but probably not a great hitter.
“It’s just tougher in the weather in Ireland, with the rainwear. You want somewhere where it’s warm, and somewhere windy”.
“So, a firm golf course and warm, windy environment.”
Harrington’s response led to his times of playing golf in Malaysia, and how much he enjoyed the heatwave conditions teeing-up in the likes of a Malaysian Open, a Singapore Open etc.
Harrington was asked his goals heading into a 31st year in the play-for-pay ranks?
“As a young tour player, I would have written down my goals at the start of the year, and I would be all into that stuff,” he said.
“Now at my age, I just try and win tournaments.
“I could be a little bit lazy in the sense that I want to play well, swing the club well, hit the ball well and win tournaments.
“Though the aspiration of swinging the club well and hitting the ball well, they’re not necessarily keys to winning, as sometimes they can get in the way but as my caddy sometimes says to me that I have probably earned the right to chase a little bit of that, as well.
“You know, I don’t beat myself up as the person I am.
“I don’t have that much time left playing against the young guys but then I am still chasing the dream at my age”.
Of course, the game has changed so much in the 30-years Harrington has been out on Tour.
“Years ago, there was one long hitter or two long hitters, and they got bullied as they ended-up playing the golf course like a short hitter”, he said.
“They laid-up on holes, they hit irons off tees.
“Now we’ve got 30 to 40 great ball-strikers, but they are not all good players. So, with so many guys hitting the ball well, one of those is going to win.
“The only times you can catch those guys out is on a Sunday afternoon when there is a bit of pressure, and if they should get out of position, they’re not comfortable.
“Nowadays, you can learn a golf swing from the internet. There not much of an excuse for a young guy to grow-up not having a really good golf swing, and probably no excuse not to hit it a long way
“And if I were teaching young guys now and that would be to say to them, try to be as wild as possible, so their game can gain imagination.
“So, in 10 to 15 years time they all will have great swings and all be able to play the game, so you’re going to come back to a Tiger Woods like player who can play great golf but who also has the imagination.
“You only need to have that imagination to set yourself apart”.
Yes, pure golfing gems from Harrington.
