Posted on: 15 July
For as long as I’ve been a professional on the PGA Tour, the month of May has always been the time when professionals from all over Australia travel to WA to play pro-ams on some great golf courses. Generally you can can count on cool nights, clear sunny days and not much wind. Pro-ams allow amateurs to watch a pro in action from “inside the ropes”. The aim of the professional is to get away to a quick start and keep on trying to make as many birdies as possible. Don’t think: only stop to count your score at the end of the day.
First up we played at the Lakelands and Kwinana Golf Clubs. Both beautiful courses. The greens were fast and the weather was perfect.
Next was a weekend of golf at Joondalup Resort. For a number of years in the early 90’s Joondalup was the host venue for the WA PGA Championship. It was a daunting tournament venue back then and even with modern golf equipment Joondalup is still a intimidating place to play.
My last event of this year’s May Circuit was to be at Wembley – an event I always look forward to. Unfortunately, I got Covid which meant spending time at home watching average tv and preparing my documents for my upcoming to trip to Europe.
On the plane heading to Jersey for the next event on the European Legends Tour. Jersey is a beautiful island in the channel with stunning scenery everywhere you look. La Moye GC is a links course that sits up from the beach with uninterrupted views of the coast. I also had the chance to stay with a friend, and his family, from my university days at Waikato which was a nice way to break the monotony of hotel rooms. It truly is a small world. My golf for the week was solid without being spectacular.
The following week I returned to Trevose Golf Club in Cornwall. Another links course with a lot of great holes. When playing links courses the elements can dictate how easy or hard the course plays. And for this year’s event it blew like Boeing engine test site and rained buckets. Some of the windiest conditions I’ve played in for a long time…………. possibly ever! The hard thing about playing in the wind is keeping your tempo and rhythm. Whether it is the driver or the putter, staying balanced is the key.
After being buffeted all week I plan to catch a 90 minute flight back to base in France. Unfortunately, a 90 minute flight turned into two and half days of travel as my first flight was cancelled and I was re-outed through Madrid and then had to spend the night in Toulouse. Not ideal but plenty of other people travelling around the world at the moment are experiencing a similar thing.
Two weeks of rest to recharge the batteries. I’ve worked hard on my putting and I am looking forward to the next four weeks. Tournaments in Switzerland, Germany, Scotland and England.