My 2nd round was a complete disaster, 4 bogeys in the first 5 holes meant an uphill battle and I simply had ‘one of those days’. I found water 4 times in 6 holes on my back nine and ended up with a 83 (+11). I ended up missing the cut.

Clearly a very dissapointing day. I had some good momentum after last week and the 1st round and felt confident I could kick on and challenge for the title. Instead I had a horror round and I won’t be participating in tomorrow’s final round.

I’ll be using the next couple of days to tidy my game up and hopefully I can bounce back with a good tournament next time!

Severe frost caused havoc and meant long delays in play eventually forcing the competition to be cut to 36 holes.

I was scheduled to be the first group off at 9:40 but had a 4 hour wait before I hit a shot! We then got some holes in but darkness came and that was that! The 2nd day followed the same pattern before no frost on the final day meant play could be finished off!

I started on the tougher back nine in strong winds and battled hard to stay at level par courtesy of some sharp putting. It gave me a platform to kick on and I picked up 2 shots on the way in to finish round 1 at 2 under par 69 and in T2nd.

The 2nd/final round I was looking for a quick start and birdies on the scoreable front 9. It didn’t happen for me with a few grazing the edge and I ended up +1 for the 9 holes. I rallied on the back nine and played some good golf birdieing 16 and 17 but a lip out for par at 18 meant I shot a 2nd round of level par and finished at 2 under for the event.

It placed me T6th in the end and gave me my best finish and highest cheque as a pro! It was a shame I couldn’t find a few birdies early on and push the leader but it’s still a good start to the season!

Thanks also to the staff at Gloria and the EPD tour organisers for the hard work to finish the tournament in difficult circumstances!

I’m looking forward to the next event and hopefully I can challenge up the top end of the leader board again!

I’m currently out in Turkey preparing for my first events of the season on the EPD Tour. The 4 tournaments are at Gloria (Old and New course) and Sueno (Pines or Dunes). My training week is at Gloria and I’ve already played both the courses. They are fantastic courses, tight and tree lined in places and with water in play on a number of holes. The golf club also has fantastic practice facilities including 6 chipping greens, 2 putting greens and a 2 tiered driving range! These have been getting plenty of use the last few days!

I’ve been able to get some great training in with most focus being on the short game and putting. Away from the golf I’ve also been working on some fitness and mental game stuff! I’m a big believer in preparation being key to success and this week is allowing me to prepare very well for the coming weeks. I’m looking for a good start to the season and feel confident of doing so as all areas of my make up are in a good place and well ahead of this time last year.

I look forward to the tournament kick off on Thursday!

On a personal note I’m more than happy to see the back of 2011 but extremely excited about 2012!

Last year gave me plenty of experience and ‘toughening up’,  add that to the improvements I’ve made in my game + some confidence and belief and I feel very well equipped for the coming season.

My goals for the year centre around competing for top honours in tournaments and the order of merit and pushing up the professional ladder. I’m training and preparing to a high level and I’m confident of a successful and enjoyable season.

My season opener on the EPD Tour in Turkey is approaching and I’m down to my last week of training in the UK before travelling to Turkey and having a week’s fine tuning before the main event!

Bring on 2012!

The off season is a key time for me at the present stage in my career. It is a great chance to make the necessary improvements and changes to my game away from the distraction of competition. I always do a thorough review of all aspects of my game including long game, short game etc… but also preparation, fitness and nutrition and training to name a few. The results of this allows me to have a clear structure and plan for improving my game.

Currently from a golf side i’ve been doing a lot of technical improvement work with my coach Clive Tucker. This includes tweaks to my golf swing and putting stroke.  There are lots of other little things in the various areas as well. Whilst these may seem like little 1%’s if you do 10 things 1% better that 10% improvement can have a big impact. This time of year also allows me to get stuck into the fitness side. I’m a big believer in being a ‘golf athlete’ and my off season fitness regime is probably a lot more intense than most golfers! I do a variety of sessions including 100M and 50M sprints, intense circuit training, golf specific strength and power training and a lot of mobility work. The benefits include reduced risk of injury, more power and distance, a more consistent swing and improved focus particularly when playing a long run of events in a row.

I plan my training days carefully and  i’m focusing on keeping a good balance between technical work and performance practice. Another of my beliefs is Quality Training = Quality Playing. This means specific, focused practice and an intensity that matches that of competition. I have a series of drills/games that I play to keep training fun and interesting as well.

My season begins in January on the EPD tour. This is the German equivalent of the Europro Tour here in the UK. I play 4 events in Turkey, come home for a week then play 3 more events in Morocco. After this run of events I can then decide to stay on the EPD or play Europro or a mix of both!

I’m looking forward to the start of the season but for now its more quality training and getting my game ready to contend that’s my focus!

The format was 4 rounds with a cut after 3 rounds with those within 7 shots of last qualifying spot playing on. The top 25 players and ties would qualify for the 2nd stage in Spain in November. The course (Frilford Heath) was in lovely condition with the greens running very well! It’s a tight course so you needed to think your way round well!

The practice day was warm, still and sunny, perfect! (Especially for October!) The tournament days came and it was cold, windy and a few light showers!!! The joys of English weather!!! The wind swirling through the trees made it tricky scoring conditions.

My 1st round of +4 was ok, I didn’t hit the ball well but had hung on and limited the damage which was pleasing.

Round 2 I hit it better but dropped a couple of shots around the green and signed for +3.

I was further outside the mark than I would have liked but played some very good golf in the 3rd round I was 1 under through 10 which in the conditions was a big move up the board, unfortunately a couple of poor holes on the way in cost me but I drove the par 4 last and 2 putted for birdie to finish +5 for the round and make the cut.

Round 4 my mindset was all out attack! I figured I needed 4-5 under to qualify so needed an outstanding round with lots of birdies! I pushed and played a lot more aggressively tee to green but saw putt after putt just slide by. Nothing dropped for me despite some good rolls on the ball. This was best summed up by the 18th hole (my 9th) when my driver off the tee 315 yards tracked towards the hole, lipped out and rolled to 6 feet. My next putt I hit pure roll on left edge but it stayed there and lipped out again!!! I pushed and pushed but in the end couldn’t get back in the hunt and signed for a 1 over par 73.

Obviously Its dissapointing to not progress to the next stage but I saw signs that the improvements i’m starting to make to my game are progressing. I know i’m not going to suddenly start shooting 6 under overnight but I feel i’m on the right track and with continued hard work will get where I want to be.

Looking forward there are a couple of good options I have playing wise over the next 4-5 months and I’m currently working on sorting something out!

Otherwise it’s more of the same, I start my ‘winter training’ this week. I’ve looked at all areas of my golf and reviewed them and have a plan and list of improvements I’m looking to make. With it being the off season I’ll be doing more technical work and harder fitness stuff than in season.

Unfortunately my form continued to struggle since my last post and after much discussion I decided that I had to try something new.  That something new was a change of coach. I’d like to thank Mark for his time and efforts since winter 2007 and I am very grateful to him for helping me to some great performances in the last few years. Things just weren’t going in the right direction for me and I felt I had to try a new approach.

After looking around I took a trip down to Surrey to see Clive Tucker. Clive has a great background teaching on the tour and works with David Howell and Graeme Mcdowell amongst others. He has a great knowledge of the game and I knew straight away that I’d found the right person to get my game to where I want it to be!

We have already done  some work on my golf swing and seen some good progress as well as working on my short game and putting. I’m under no illusions that it will be a quick fix but I feel that I am back moving in the right direction! I’m looking forward to getting stuck in the next few months and making some big improvements to my game.

Event wise my focus has been firmly on Stage 1 Qualifying for the European Tour in October. I’m playing at Frilford Heath and I’m hopeful of progressing to 2nd stage in December. I feel i’m due a few good week’s, hopefully I’ve been saving them for Q school! I also have the grand final of the 1836 Tour at West Lancs the last week in September.

For now its a case of training hard and making the improvements to my game, I’m confident If I do that I will be in good shape ready for Stage 1 the 1st week in October.

I played solidly on the front 9 but couldn’t make any headway ending up +1 through 9. I gambled on the back nine playing more aggressive but the gambles didn’t pay off and I slipped to a 78 (+6).

It meant I had the final day off but this week the draw had as much to do with it as my golf. It happens and I now have a weeks break before the next run of events.

My round began at 9 AM off the 10th tee in heavy rain showers which would continue and worsen over the front 9. A lost ball at the first meant I started with a bogey and in very tough conditions I dropped 4 further shots to be +5 through just 5 holes. Keeping hold of the club was a challenge and the umbrella was little use although a wet suit and snorkel would have been useful!

I dug in and made some good putts to save pars to end the front 9 +5. The showers did lighten on my back nine and I played some nice golf but ended up level par with 1 birdie and 1 bogey.

Overall I finish day 1 in T99th place on 77 (+5). As happens with golf the draw can play a big part and on this occasion i’ve been unlucky with getting the worst of the weather. I expect the cut will be around +3 but I will approach tomorrow trying to go as low as I can. It is forecast to be another tough day but hopefully I get the better weather tomorrow and can pull back the shots lost today.