DARREN CLARKE SAYS his game is in transition after swing changes but remains upbeat about his prospects at the Australian PGA Championship.

After a ‘frustrating’ season, Northern Irishman Clarke made the difficult decision to alter the swing that helped him to the 2011 British Open title.

“I had to change something, I started about 10 weeks ago and it’s been tough,” Clarke said on Wednesday.

“I had a bit of a break – I had four weeks off there and was working away home at Portrush and it was pretty tough when it was about one degree, pouring down with rain and wind at about 45 miles an hour.

“Last week was good to get out and play in Bangkok albeit the heat was about 45 degrees and 100 percent humidity, which for my athletic frame wasn’t the best,” he joked.

“It’s just a work in progress but it is certainly starting to feel a lot better.”

Asked what went wrong with his swing, the popular veteran revealed: “My swing had got way too steep in the middle of the back swing and I’m trying to lay it off and get a little bit more on plane.

“It’s what I have done before in the past but I have just got into such a bad habit of doing it that it is taking a little bit of work to get it back again.

“It just got to where I wasn’t hitting the shots that I wanted to hit and it was a case of saying, ‘right, I’ve got to do something about it and try and get it back in the shape that I want’.

The likable Irishman’s mojo is already starting to return.

He finished in a tie for 22nd at the Thailand Golf Championship in Bangkok last week and is confident he can end a disappointing year on a high note in Coolum.

“I played nicely last week … but made too many silly mistakes,” he said.

“I still had enough birdies so there is a lot of good in there at the moment and hopefully I can minimise the mistakes this week and keep on hitting some good shots.”

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