Ian Poulter opened the door of his house in Lake Nona 10 days ago and ushered me into his front room. It is not like many other front rooms, mainly because there are a dozen Ferraris sitting in it.
And 65 golf bags from the Major championships, Ryder Cups and leading tournaments he has played. And letters on the wall from Arnold Palmer and Gary Player.
The Ferraris are his passion. They are also a symbol of quite how far he has come since he was a kid growing up in a struggling area of Stevenage, running a clothes stall in the market to fund his golf.
Ian Poulter has come far in life since growing up in a struggling area of Stevenage
‘It is a homage,’ said Poulter. ‘A lot of guys park their money in stocks and shares. A lot of guys buy rental property. I invest in cars. I love them. I think they are works of art.’
There were times in the past few years when it was tempting to think of Poulter as a museum piece, too.
The memories of his Ryder Cup glories at Medinah and the sartorial adventures of his prime had begun to fade, he had just turned 40 and struggles with injury saw his world ranking plummet. Some began to wonder whether he might even be contemplating retirement.
Those thoughts had been dispelled long before he found himself at the top of the leaderboard midway through the second day of the US Masters, playing with Tiger Woods in one of the leading groups on Saturday, finishing his round with a birdie and ending the day tied for fifth and still in the hunt for the Green Jacket.
For one afternoon in Augusta, it really was just him and Tiger.
Poulter is as irrepressible as ever and it was evident as he sat surrounded by his memorabilia in Orlando that he has become a study of a sportsman at peace with himself in the autumn of his career.
Poulter has a dozen Ferraris in his front room at his Florida mansion – they are his passion
‘I feel pretty content that I have done a damn good job from where I came from,’ he said.
He is 43 now and life is coming at him fast. He is a father of four kids who are growing up quickly.
His eldest daughter, Aimee, 17, is preparing to go to college in the States and his elder son, Luke, 14, wants to be a professional golfer.
Poulter is curious about whether a privileged childhood in a gated community will have robbed his boy of the desire his dad always possessed.
‘When you grow up without stuff and then you get older and have some success, you enjoy the nice things in life because you didn’t as a kid,’ said Poulter.
‘You want your kids to enjoy the nice things you never had. You spoil them but you have also got to somehow keep their feet on the ground about what is real and what is not real.
‘Living within these gates is not real but it’s hard because you want your kids driving a nice car; you want them with the things you could never have. I’m not going to put them in the kind of sh***y old banger I used to drive around in because it’s not safe.
The 43-year-old won for the first time in six years at the Houston Open last year
'I think they’re turning out as nice kids but it’s probably down to the missus more than me.’
Poulter’s happiness at home is mirrored by the contentment he feels about his career. He is not a man haunted by regret. He is not tortured by the memory of near misses.
He has achieved more than he ever thought he would achieve and he is confident there is more to come. ‘I’m catching up with the grey
