'The fairways are slightly wider but if you do miss, you are not going to be able to get anywhere near the greens.

'The third was a drive and a 3 iron - both ripped', said Lord as he went through the major changes to tees and bunkering for this feature.

'Robert got down to the bottom of the slope on the 4th', continued Lord, referring to the moving back of the tee on a par five where virtually all players had, in previous years, been hitting 6 irons in, 'Robert hit a three wood onto the green.'

Into a headwind a large part of the field will be hitting a wood from a severe downhill lie

The 5th has 20 yards added to it making it a four iron for many, and a 'floaty one' at that, but it is on the 6th where the big tee changes have happened

'The 6th was a drive and an 8 iron - Robert isn't exactly short!', continued Lord, 'The 8th has gone back a bit and they won't be able to use the new bit of the green. On 9 there is some new bunkering for better definition.'

The tees have also moved back on the 11th, 12th and 13th, the latter an 8 iron for Karlsson a club which most of the field won't be pulling from their bags - 'They can't move it any further back', said Lord of that hole.

'The 16th has new bunkering but its the 17th that everyone is talking about. From the back of the new tee its 255 to get over the road and then the fairway starts in 15 yards. I had a go from that tee and I nutted one. Some won't be able to make the fairway.

'In some ways, and for players like Robert, its made the hole easier. You have to just blast it down the centre right. If you go left you've no hope of making it round the corner. Robert got home with a three wood

'The 18th they have moved further back. We caught the fairway bunker, up the front of the second one. Robert hit a three iron and he made the front edge but you have to carry it all the way.'

With the weather set to be windy and rainy for at least the first two days of the BMW, players like Karlsoon will have an advantage. Its a huge responsibility, making sure a winner like Karlsson can make the most of his obviously well tuned golf, but like many caddies, Gareth Lord has gone back to being an amateur as a player himself

He hopes to sometime soon ("Whilst I can still knock it up with the kids") be able to play in the Warwickshire Championships back in his home County and may well have that opportunity if the European Tour regroups its premier flagship events such as this, the BMW to challenge the new PGA Tour schedule.

If Broadie and Webbie don't feature on Sunday, but Karlsson does, then a little bit of Warwickshire (actually over 6ft but he still probably weighs the same as when a Junior) will be helping the giant Swedish Star try for the title.

Most interesting of the Pre BMW Press conferences was that from Jose Maria Olazabal who has just taken five weeks off since his superb performance at the US Masters.

Olazabal would not be drawn on missing players (one - Sergio Garcia) from what is actually a superb field, including welcoming back Adam Scott and Luke Donald to British shores, nor what sort of score would be a winning one this Sunday - but he would take something around 280 (-8).

He would not comment either on the present Ryder Cup line-up with three months to go before the team is finalised. What he did say was that he thought the changes at Wentworth were very good, but that they were possibly taking away from the numbers of players who could win - unless they played as well as Olazabal did to come so close at Augusta this year. Ollie just felt that every shot he played had to be so precise.

Moments later though Michael Campbell, preparing to defend his US Open title, was forthright about his belief that for more European Major successes, then the European Tour should set up the courses in the weeks preceding a US event to mimic the conditions players will find if they qualify.

Look out for knee high rough in the near future .....