In conversation with Carlo Knauss
Former top pro Carlo Knauss confesses to Hugh Ash that he hung up his clubs…because he didn’t get a kick out of winning. In his otherwise perfect world, Germany’s Mr. Golf has a problem. He’s developed an aversion – bizarrely irrational, some might contend – and it’s this: The very thought of trudging round 18 holes holds about as much allure for him as sunbathing nude on the polar icecap.
Carlo Knauss’s shocking revelation might offer a glimmer of hope to golf widows everywhere and Huckleberry Finn creator Mark Twain, who famously observed that ‘golf spoiled a good walk’, could feel vindicated from beyond the grave.
"After playing for so long and every day as a leading amateur, then a professional, and finally coaching for 10 years, I’ve had enough.
"Now I play just few times a year; maybe four or five, that’s all. And then, only if it’s in the right company."
That, though, wasn’t the last of Carlo’s cathartic admissions. After being lauded as a one of Europe’s most promising young pros, following in the caddy tracks of the legendary Bernhardt Langer – they both teed off their careers at the same club in Munich – Carlo Knauss quickly realised that winning didn’t provide the narcotic buzz that inspires a craving for further glories.
Truth to tell, he was not simply falling out of love with playing the game, but in peril of being dubbed German golf’s most successful loser.
"Sure, I’d had the talent, commitment and desire to be the best in the world," Carlo recalls. "I’d progressed through the junior ranks, into the national team and then onto playing decent pro golf for 10 years – I even qualified for the British Open twice.
"And I won plenty of second and third-class golf tournaments, but never a big one.
"So it began to dawn on me that I wasn’t getting a kick out of winning. It was the worst sort of feeling, a real blow to my career, and it shocked me and made me wonder.
"Besides, the life of a professional sportsman turned out to be different from what I imagined. I thought it would be glamorous and fun, but it became boring.
"Fans don’t understand this. They only see the action – not the constant travelling, the practising and the loneliness."
As a sporting philosopher, Carlo made the quantum leap from player to coach, taking charge of the German national team and hoping he could articulate his ideas to inspire a younger generation of players – and, perhaps, unearth a junior diamond, who packed that indefinable quality he lacked…the one that differentiates a champion from a perennial challenger.
"Coaching is a tough, demanding job, constantly looking after others for 24-hours a day," he confides. "And, because Germany does not have the history or culture of being a great golf nation, only a few young players were good enough to emerge through the ranks."
After a decade, Carlo Knauss quit – only to discover golfing success, without ever having to wield a club competitively again or dispense technical advice to wannabe US Masters winners.
"For instance, if you regenerate former farmland by transforming it into a golf course, just look how quickly wildlife returns to the area.
"And don’t forget, either, about the advantages golf has brought to Mallorca in terms of sustainable, high-quality tourism."
Carlo adds, "There’s nowhere in Europe quite like this island and its attraction to anyone interested in golf is unique…even for people like me, who don’t even play the game any more!"
