Even on practice days, when the glare of the television cameras isn't so invasive, Darren Clarke dresses as if fit for a fashion catwalk.

Of course, there's an image to maintain. So there's also the mandatory accessory of a bulky Cuban cigar, either perched on lips or abandoned briefly to a place on the ground.

And, on the practice putting green at Shinnecock Hills for the past couple of days, his less-than-burly frame has been surrounded by a gaggle of helpers, all intent on assisting with the one aspect of his game he believes is his Achilles' heel. Putting.

He's even had the personal counsel of Scotty Cameron, arguably the foremost designer of putters on the planet, since arriving here.

"Pure and simple, my putting statistics were the reason I missed the cut last week (in the Buick Classic)," observed Clarke, who, watched closely on Monday by Cameron, used a succession of specially crafted putters on the green in his quest to find a magic wand.

Yesterday, while kitted out in natty, grey pinstripe trousers, was a similar story for Clarke. After playing 18 holes of practice with the English trio of Lee Westwood, Justin Rose and Ian Poulter, he barely paused for breath as he left the ninth green and headed directly to the putting green behind the 19th century clubhouse and, immediately, had an array of putters from numerous manufacturers piled up against his bag as he again sought the one that would cure the putting demons.

"I'm playing not too bad tee-to-green," added Clarke. "Once I'm on the greens, I'm shocking. I'm struggling to get some feel, but, hopefully, one of these days it will go in. I'm just going through a spell where I'm not making anything."

And while Clarke and his helpers analysed and scrutinised his putting, standing in the background was a man who knows how to handle the player's moods and who knows how naturally talented his boss is. Pete Coleman, now aged 63, was approached by Clarke's manager, Chubby Chandler, with the request to take over the golfer's bag when he parted with regular caddie JP Fitzgerald after the Heritage in April.

"Think of it as a challenge," said Chandler to Coleman, who spent 22 years with Bernhard Langer and brought nine different players to a total of 59 wins in a caddying career that dates back some 30 years.

"When Chubby approached me, it was a job I had to take up. Darren's a high maintenance player," said Coleman, who is under no illusions of the demands placed on him by his newest boss, "but he's a great player. There's no two ways about it; he is a great player. He's got everything."

He added: "To win a golf tournament, you've got to stay focused, to stay calm. This is a course that takes a lot of patience and a lot of very good course management. You don't need to hit it long distances.

"Whoever is going to win is going to have to be very patient. There's going to be a lot of mishaps and a lot of crying."

Coleman attributes his longevity in the caddie shack to a capacity to "keep on the side of everyone's egos" and, certainly, the change from Langer - whose schedule became too US Tour-orientated for Coleman - to Clarke's bag is one that is akin to chalk and cheese.

For Clarke, putting is the key to whether he contends. In 10 appearances on the US Tour this season, he has had three top-10 finishes and missed five cuts. His lowest score was a 66, the highest an 82.

The question is, which Darren Clarke will show up on the first tee tomorrow?