Monday, 31. October
22.30 CNN: Living Golf

Tuesday, 1. November
04.55 rbb: rbb regional, Golf in Poland, a report on the new resort in Slubice.

Wednesday, 2. November
21.00 Eurosport: European Tour “Volvo Masters in Sotogrande (ESP)”

Saturday, 5. November
17.30 n-tv Abschlag - Golf bei n-tv

The alarm clock goes off at 06:30. Normally, after only five hours of sleep I drag myself around in the morning, but not this time. I’m off to play a round of golf and I’ve been looking forward to this all week.

Getting a tee time in golf clubs in Hamburg isn’t the easiest of things. Almost all clubs allow guests on weekends only in accompaniment of a member. Those clubs who didn’t held a tournament on saturday. So I called somebody who knows somebody who was able to give me a tee time at Treudelberg Golf & Country Club: 08:00 wasn’t exactly what I planned, but this time it was take it or leave it. And I took.

The reason why I was looking forward to it so much was that for the first time in weeks I had a good feeling about it. Two weeks ago this was totally different. I played the most disastrous tournament in my life, 21 stableford points in 18 holes. After this experience I was close to throwing my clubs in the next nearby pond. Well, I didn’t do it but left my clubs standing in the corner for two weeks. And suddenly developed a positive attitude about my game. And this had to be proofed.

I left the house in total darkness at 07:00, it still was pitchblack dark when I parked the car at the golf club at 07:30. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to see anything at 08:00 but as I was warming up on the range the first sunlight touched the sky.

08:00 at Tee 1 a group of three people already about to make their opening drive, it was the 08:10 threesome trying to make an early start. But it was my turn to deflorate the course. This morning was exactly what I needed to get my game back. Being the first one on the course, playing alone, no one but me to leave his tracks in the morning dew covering the fairways.

My start was mediocre, shooting 6 - 6 - 5 on the first holes (2 par 4’s and a par 3), losing a ball in the pond on the second and third. But then I loosened up and took more confidence in my game. My drives were straight and accurate, I didn’t take anything bigger than my 5 wood off the tee. But it was good for 200m almost every time.

After 30 minutes, I was already at hole number 5, the first par 5 of the day. I gained momentum with bogey, bogey, par, bogey on the next holes. The course offers a good variation in the lenghts of the holes. Whilst the fourth hole is a 412 meter par 4, the sixth hole - also a par 4 - is only 275 meters. On the one you have to struggle for bogey, on the other you go for par pretty relaxed.

After 1:15h into my round, the front nine were finished and I was really into a good rhythm. On the next holes a good portion of luck was on my side as my drives all missed the fairway bunkers by only a fraction. By now the sun was out on a clear blue sky and my body was producing endorphine like crazy. Almost everything went smoothly except for my problems on the par threes, I wasn’t able to make any green with my first shot.

But then I had my feet put back on the ground on the par 4 seventeenth, I got a little too cocky and was punished with a 10! A couple of deep breaths later I stood on the teebox of the 18th and had to bring my focus back together and positioned myself well within 90m of the green of the 485m par five after two good shots with my woods. The pitching wedge got me onto the island green and in my mind I already had noted a par for this one on the scorecard. This made me not concentrate enough about my putting and I fourputted for a seven. Dammit.

But I was grinning all over my face as I had experienced one of the best rounds in my golfer career. A beautiful sunrise, an interesting course, alone with the wildlife on the course, I regained trust in my game and I set a new personal record, playing 18 holes in only 2 hours 45 minutes.

Does that give me extra points for the Hubert Cup Lutz?

Golf Hotel Hof Treudelberg GmbH
Lemsahler Landstraße 45
22397 Hamburg
Tel: 040 / 6 08 22 - 0
Fax: 040 / 6 08 22-444
http://www.treudelberg.com/

… when you get up earlier on weekends for a round of golf than on weekdays to get to work. My tee time at Marriott Hotel Treudelberg Golf & Country Club in Hamburg tomorrow is 08:00. Which means getting up at 06:00 on a saturday morning. I must be joking. I’ll probably chase some korean or japanese guys that started even earlier. Sound like fun!

Just read some good advice from Michael Campbell over at BBC. Let me think about these things on the next round:

1. Stop your mind wondering

Sometimes it’s hard to stop your mind playing tricks during a round of golf. You think, ‘If I make this shot I’ve only got an easy putt to make a birdie’.
That’s when things go wrong. You need to stay in the present. I do this by focussing on something like a red shirt in the crowd or a really beautiful tree.
That might sound funny but it makes you think what is happening right now. Not what went before or what is going to happen.

2. Do your homework

To give yourself the best chance of a good shot you need to do your homework before you even hit it.
That means knowing what club to use, what shot to play or how the wind is blowing.

3. Breathe easy

A tree can help you focus in the present
It is easy to get nervous when you step onto the tee.
What I do is take a couple of deep breaths to get rid of all the negative energy and breathe in the positive stuff.
When your muscles lack oxygen they tense up. What you want are nice, relaxed muscles to get the most efficient swing.

4. Stick to your routine

More than anything you need to have your routine. Next time you watch Tiger or Ernie look at their routine. That’s their way of feeling comfortable.
I walk up to a shot and look where I want it to go. Next I take a practice swing. Then I cock my club back, once looking at the target, then two more times.
It’s then that I’m relaxed and ready to hit the shot.

5. Don’t even think about it

Last of all when you play your shot don’t think about it. Just hit it.
If you’ve done your homework and your practise you should be fine. Standing over the ball is not the place to think about your grip or your swing.
Do your thinking on the driving range.

Colin Montgomerie and Michael Campbell clash head-to-head in a compelling end to the European season at this week’s Volvo Masters at Valderrama.
Montgomerie leads New Zealand’s Campbell by 153,487 euros (£103,707) as he chases a record eighth European Order of Merit title in Spain. With South Africa’s Retief Goosen having pulled out with injury, Campbell is the only man who can beat the Scot.

Venue of the tournament is the Club de Golf Valderrama, ranking as one of the finest courses in the world. Advances in club and ball technology mean it is no longer quite the monster it was back in the late 1980s but the par-72, 7,005-yard layout still offers one of the sternest tests on the circuit.

From the first to the 18th, barely a hole on the 1997 Ryder Cup venue offers a straightforward birdie opportunity with heavy woodland, wickedly switchbacking fairways, water and tricky greens ensuring the entire elite field have to plot their way round. Last year’s event, won by England’s Ian Poulter in a play-off, featured only eight players under par.

Check out the Tee Times for the first round and the news section or check out the European Tour Website for more information.

Is that you?

So I watched Sahra Kuttner making her first steps with golf on Fit for Fun TV. I don’t think she got the hang of it. But she looked awfully cute on the green!

Monday, 24. October
22.30 CNN: Living Golf

Tuesday, 25. October
04.25 VOX: Fit For Fun TV: Das erste Mal - Cross-Golfen mit Sarah Kuttner!

Wednesday, 26. October
21.45 Eurosport: US PGA Tour “Funai Classic in Lake Buena Vista, FL (USA)”
22.45 Eurosport: European Tour “Mallorca Classic in Pula (ESP)”

Saturday, 22. October
17.30 n-tv Abschlag - Golf bei n-tv

Watching the report about Druids Glen Golf Club on n-tv I can only state that the grass really is greener in Ireland! Wow, what an impressive course!

Finally I had the time to make some amendments to the sidebar of this blog. There is a new category called “Tournament Watch” with direct links to the tournament schedules of the European and American Tours. This gives you a quick overlook of what is happening: