Sweden review and update

After my last tournament in Prague, I had just over 3 weeks off before heading out to Sweden beginning of September (see photo gallery below).

I was glad to have some time at home to start work on my fitness and distance control. I started working with Andy, a Strength and Conditioning coach who I met through a mutual friend of ours. Andy is brilliant, knowledgable and a tough but fun guy to work with. I’m already feeling the benefits and look forward to our sessions every time I go to see him.

I also ordered a PING 50 degree wedge to help with my gapping and distance control. This made a big difference when I was playing friendly games at home so I was excited to know that it would help me once I was back out on tour.

A trip to see Karen (mind coach) to do some work out on the course was successful and I left feeling much happier. For those who read my last newsletter, you’ll know that I was struggling with my confidence etc.

Karen and I always have better sessions on the course and it was just a case of going back over some basics…

I always try to rest at times in the weeks off but when the weather is nice and I have things to work on and a wedge to groove in, I’m more than happy to get out and play a few holes. It’s always good to play with friends and have some light relief of tour life/travelling…as much as I love it! My friends are great in restoring my confidence too!

On Bank Holiday Monday, the rain was relentless so I joined some friends in a trip to Silvermere, where I couldn’t resist the temptation of trying out the new PING G30 Driver… Un oh!! Well, one ball after the other was ripped down the range and I thought ‘this would be lovely to have in Sweden!’  I’m not one to change to new clubs for the sake of it but this Driver was just so easy to hit!

I have to say I was encouraged to get it by my friends, so I couldn’t let them down could I!?

I’m very lucky to be sponsored by PING and the G30 was delivered in time for me to take it to Sweden! What an awesome club!

A few days before I left, I went to get my clubs checked – loft/lies and it’s a good job I did! The lofts/lies weren’t quite what they were meant to be! This can be as result of the amount of shots I hit both in practice and obviously playing in a lot of tournaments. I was looked after well by Chris, who I’ve known for years. He was great and finally I felt like I was now in charge of my wedges and yardages! It meant I could also hit shots without them going left as a result of the lie angle…

So, a few more practice games later and it was that time to pack the suitcase again!

I was really looking forward to playing in Sweden and putting the new driver and wedge in to play. The practice rounds were good and I felt ready to go.

Despite me feeling like I played pretty well in round 1, my score didn’t reflect that. I didn’t have the best first hole but felt confident that I would go on to shoot a decent score. In hindsight, I made two bad decisions on the same hole (5th) and they cost me 3 shots… I basically miscalculated the wind and you just can’t get away with it at tour level… It was very frustrating as the shots I hit were actually very good.

As Chris said to me after the round via a message, take away the two bad scores and I would’ve only shot +2 and still been in with a chance of making the cut.

I warmed up good again on the range before round 2 but then after a few holes, lost trust in my shots and started to doubt where I wanted the ball to go. It’s amazing how you see ‘trouble’ when you’re not so confident. As much as I tried to stick to my pre shot routine that I know works, it was just one of those horrible stretches of golf where you want the round to finish ASAP!

Sometimes I try too hard and it doesn’t help me but maybe one day I’ll learn to chill a bit more…

I kept going as I never give up no matter how much it’s a struggle and I was proud of myself for this. I shot 2 less than I did in round 1 – stupid game!

Chris again was full of positive messages and Karen always knows what to say and how I’ll be feeling!

The positives to take out of Sweden were my short game – this is really solid now and I know it’ll only get better. My distance control was more accurate and the new wedge had helped that.

No matter the result, there’s always things you can take away and learn from.

The week after Sweden and before Tenerife (I’m currently sat on the plane writing this!) I saw Andy for a couple more sessions and also Louise for a much needed Pilates session!

Chris came over to Cowdray to give me some new ideas about course management and decision making. I’m looking forward to putting those in to practice before the tournament starts on Thursday.

My Dad is on the bag this week which will be good – someone for me to talk things through with.

The descent has started…time to ‘power off’ as I’ve just been told. Next step – car hire (not confident about that booking!) and then to find the Apartment we are renting,  in the dark with the help of a sat nav! Wish me luck!! Let’s hope we make it before midnight!!

Bye for now!!