Event #4 - Trelleborg Golfklubb

Trelleborg Golfklubb - a links course that's the farthest south course in Sweden. Had a very enjoyable experience here except for my own golf - shot 79 - 79 and was long down the list. Things are getting better playing wise, just have to put it all together for two days and 36 holes. Surprisingly enough it was my short game that cost me this time - have been chipping and pitching well almost all season but not these two days and the putter was just average. 

Have faith in myself and the ability I know I have to play very good golf - just need to keep practicing, work diligently on all parts of the game and keep turning up in each and every event I can. Just waiting for everything to come together and let the birdies flow. It's not far now, I can actually feel it and that gives me hope. Just have to go our and play the game using all of Bob''s tips to get the job done.

Traveling this afternoon to Landeryds Golfklubb with my little man as support -  it will be his first time as caddie and I am looking forward to seeing how that goes. He's almost 10 and the time is in and I think it'll be good. 

Hope everyone who follows along is doing good and that life is treating all very well. Keep the faith and do your best in whatever you are trying to achieve. 

⛳👊⛳👊⛳👊⛳👊⛳👊⛳👊⛳👊⛳👊⛳

Event #3 - Koberg Golf Club

Koberg Golf Club - Was a short drive, just a little over 2 hours from Sarpsborg to this pretty course - it was established in 1962, if I remember correctly and the length of the holes and general course layout is telling when you play this enjoyable track.

Started with a practice round on Thursday which went well, getting used to the little slower greens (9 on the stimp) afterwards and nine holes with my caddie on Friday evening, I was ready to compete. Have been hitting the ball better and better and the short game is solid. Was hoping for a good start on Saturday but limped home with an opening 81. Should have been at least four, five shots better with some flow but it wasn't to be. Being 12 or so shots back after the round is disheartening and getting motivated for the next day isn't always easy. Sunday's round was an uneventful 77 with no real flow either, it could have been a level par round with some lip ins instead of lip outs but I tried to stay in the moment for each shot and preform to my best. 

This coming week we are heading to the most southern golf course in Sweden - Trelleborg Golfklubb, a links course with a little slower greens than I'm used too because of the seaside location. It's supposed to be good weather with a bit of wind, something to be expected and I am looking forward to the challenge. 

Hope that everyone who follows along is doing well and that the summer brings lots of warm days. 

Thanks for the moral support and good thoughts. Will try to post a little sooner after this next weekend. 

Event #2 - Torshalla Golfklubb

76 and a 82. The 76 could have easily been a 72-73 while the 82 with a triple/double start, followed by 11-12 holes at even par could have been at least 6-7 shots better. Things are loosening up and the swing is starting to take some kind of stability, while the short game is improving almost on a daily basis - I am enjoying the challenges of trying to get everything where it needs to be after a long winter break. Golf is so much about feel and confidence and both those things are coming around. Played with some nice guys and enjoyed my stay at Torshalla. The golf course was in pretty good shape, the only criticism is that the greens had some spots that were often pretty deep, which was not so cool when they came in the middle of your putting line.

The club could have easily filled these areas with sand so that players had a chance to keep the ball online. This coming weekend is my third event this season and is at Koberg Golfklubb just a couple hours from home, one of the closest of the season. Played there in 2014 and had one of my better finishes of the season. 

Gotta run now to pick up my little man from school. Check in later and maybe write some more. 

Playing hurt, knowing when it's time and getting ready again...

Lucky for me I'm not even close to having all these possible injuries now, but having some lumbar or lower back problems has been bothering me the past couple of weeks and the it reared it's ugly head on Thursday, I drove to Skåne from where I live in Norway to play the first tournament of the season on Wednesday and when I awoke on Thursday morning I knew I it was going to be a struggle. I have played hurt before, both in basketball and golf but this time it was hard to produce anything close to my best. I did everything possible to get things in order, stretching, rolling and more stretching but because of the very cold and windy conditions my lumbar never had a chance to loosen up and stay in working order, 

Those who know me, know I have struggled with some lower back problems the last years, but I really thought it was going to be ok with all the preparatory work I have been doing this winter but alas it wasn't to be this time around. I was going to play three, two day tournaments up until the start of May and then there is a month laps in the schedule that I was going to use for practice in getting ready for the summer season from June to Sept - that's when the bulk of the tournaments are being played and knowing now it was time to rest a few days, get some treatment and then back at getting ready again... that's the plan anyway and that means I have almost 6 weeks until the summer season starts, which should be more than enough time. 

Hope everyone that follows along is doing good, have no injuries yourself and that life is treating you fair. Hope that the summer brings many a warm day, lots of time to be outside doing whatever it is that you enjoy. I'm trying to think that everything happens for a reason, and that my back was incorporating and making it hard is just a sign that I need to have patience and keep doing the leg work in order to compete,,, 

Again, thanks for all the good thoughts and encouragement I have been receiving. Know that it's so much needed, especially when things don't go according to plan and one has to reevaluate which steps forward will lead to the results and goals one has... 

The Serg - Perseverance - Peace of mind and the finding of ones form within oneself and love....

He did it. Finally got that monkey off his back. Of all the days to do it too, birthday to his mentor and idol Seve. If people can't see that all things are connected here on this crazy, spinning globe, even after things like we witnessed on Sunday, well, then I don't know what to tell ya, other than; open your eyes and hearts to the fact that we are all somehow connected to something much bigger that binds us all together in this soup of our existence. No one can tell me any different, I've seen and experienced to many things to not believe and The Serg's win this past weekend is just one small example of how it all might just fit together. Finding peace among the busyness and the seeming randomness of it all is just beautiful to see. Of course I don't know the guy, seen him in person a couple of times but feeling his reaction in the picture above was real and also beautiful. 

It's Perseverance. 

Only a few more days of practice and the season's first group of tournaments is just around the bend. Getting my golfing legs underneath me is coming along well and the finding of some form is also happening day by day. Looking so forward to experiencing myself this season, in a different way than before, I have been working hard on more than just my golf these past months, finding more and more out about myself and what makes me tick. Getting some help in finding ones form is not just about the physical - one has to expand ones mind thru getting wiser, smarter and understanding why you are the way you are. Accepting the things you cannot change and trying your best to change what you can is just so important and learning to love yourself along the way. It can give you a peace that is hard to describe but accepting what you find is just so important. 

It's about Perseverance,

I hope everyone who reads my stuff is doing good in this time we call Easter. Hope that all my readers are with loved ones and the people that make your life worth living. If not physically - then in spirit and good thoughts. Lift yourself up, brush away the doubt of whatever needs to be pushed aside and believe in yourself and yes, in your fellow humans that are probably trying just as hard as you, albeit in their own different ways perhaps but we all have to get busy living... Life is and can be a wonderful thing, people will surprise you from time to time, let you down, hurt you in ways you couldn't imagine but never give up...keep believing that it's all connected somehow and love the journey. 

It's all about Perseverance. 

The Masters and connecting...

It's Masters week and soon the final round this Sunday...I've been watching the Masters since I was a child, I can remember the music best, they have not changed it in all the years it's been showing on CBS. If one is a true fan, you can even hum it without thinking... can you? Hehehe... just wondering. If you ask the Americans in the world who play professional golf, this would be the one to win, the dream of just being in the field, not just winning it, just being there would be a dream come true and I am just another one who agree. Most of my euro friends would say The Open, or as we Americans call it the British Open, as the one they would most want to win. Different strokes for different folks. 

I didn't get to see much of the first round, fell asleep early and wasn't able to keep awake. Been a lot of that in the past weeks, been up early and getting out to the course to practice and play. Only a little over two weeks until I tee it up in Sweden in their mini tour called the Futures Tour. Playing three tournaments in the span of about two weeks. The tournaments are 36 holes and in the past years I have a chance to play a few but this year it's going to be 17 tournaments if everything goes as planned and the junker does not break down. Hehehe. Keeping my fingers crossed for that and am planning on having using a good amount of time to get to the different tournaments. Use a couple days to get there and play some courses on the way. That will be fun. 

Have played a few rounds now, it's been a couple of months since I have been able to tee it up and the ball striking is getting there. The amount of poor shots is getting fewer and fewer plus the short game practice I have concentrated on this winter seems to have been paying dividends. It's all about connecting with the ball solid and trusting it. Getting there and I am hoping by the 21st I'll be firing on almost full cylinders.., I don't have any high expectations for the first three tournaments, but one never knows with this crazy game, one can get hot for a couple of days and put up a couple good rounds after one another. Looking forward to the whole of the season and playing a 'full schedule'. 

To get connected with oneself or others one has to be free to do so - one cannot have things hanging over oneself not allowing it to happen. Being free to make the choices without fear is just so important to feeling safe. Without that. it's just not gonna happen. One has to swallow the fear and believe in yourself. See what you want and concentrate on that.. The Law of Attraction is just so important and the mind is just so powerful. Getting out of ones way is just so key and I am trying to do just that. Just trying to live my life, one day at a time, planning as good as I can in accordance to my resources and talents. Seeing what I want to achieve, trying to feel what it will be like and let the power of our incredible mind lead the way,

Hope everyone who reads my blog is doing good and living the life you all want. Chasing after the dreams that each and everyone should have. Believing in yourself and the one life you have been given. Dare to go for it - dare to dream big and love each and every minute of the journey. 

April Fools Day - A fool's life...?

This is where it all began for me and this game I so truly love. By finding balls with a friend along the left side of hole 10 when I was 8 and then hitting them back onto the driving range with a club I'd borrowed from my friends mother. I wasn't a member at first and the owners wife, a Greek lady, who spoke funny English I thought, was mad at us, even looking for balls in the woods\brush wasn't to popular. I remember telling my father about her and suddenly we were members and I started picking balls for the Head Pro Scott Nash instead. I can remember his first attempt to help me with my game, he just wandered over to me one day while I was digging into the dirt and showed me how to hold the club correctly - man that was a weird feeling I remember thinking, how am I going to hit the ball now? Well, it didn't take more than a few swings and I stopped digging and started playing...

I never thought I'd come this far actually. I was a hoopster, a basketball player really- that was my first love in sports but there was something about that little white ball that I couldn't get enough of during the summer. I'd even skulk on the basketball practicing many times and walk up to the club and spend hours just playing, chipping and putting. Bugging Mr. Nash in his shop and always asking for tips about this funny but addictive game. He always, well, almost always just smiled and had something positive to say, I'm sure sometimes he'd had enough of all the questions I'd have and was to busy but I never really saw him get mad or be cross with me or anyone for that matter. He was a popular guy and a good teacher. Putting was his nemesis, at least that's what he said and occasionally I'd see him practicing those 3 to 8 footers and I'd see the frustration mount- I understood then how important it was to learn to roll the ball well and I'd copy his drills. Being a good putter is like having a secret weapon and is the difference between winning or losing. I learned that from him and I am forever grateful. 

Spending hours and hours this winter on it - more than I ever have really and of course I'm hoping the accumulative time will pay dividends this season. One has to be, have hope and belief in oneself  to stand there for hour upon hour doing 'the fools work' in a sense. Doing the exact same thing over and over, thousand upon thousands of times and just have faith that it will all pay off in the end. Taking it seriously but playing the game in your mind and seeing the results without putting to much pressure on yourself. Letting it go and being kinda of like a fool in heart. One will never know unless one tries, to give yourself a fools chance of making it but believing in yourself at the same time, the god given talent one has, the eye hand coordination just given at birth and work like a crazy person in search of this fool's life. Maybe in the end it'll be not..not a fool's life but a winner at this game, this funny game that mirrors life in so many ways and maybe just maybe it will all pan out as one can see it in the fool's eye's. 

Most of the courses are opening here in the far north where I live and it's going to be fun, to get out there and play. Remembering each time where I actually come from, Rock Creek Country Club and represent them with pride each and every time. Thinking back to the fool's life of a child who dared to dream big about basketball but ended up seeing that the best game is not the big round ball but the little white one. It's never to late to start, to dream like a fool would, without doubt or self judgement and just go for it. Live the fool's life...

A special shout out to Mr. DaSilva, Director of Golf and everyone else at Rock Creek Country Club!!

Atlas Shrugged and the one quote....

Something I try read everyday, think about and live to my utmost. There are quotes and there are quotes, some are at the best something one reads once and discards, while others seem to stay with you throughout time and space. For me, maybe for others too, this one has always hit home inside the dreamer in me, the one who thinks the impossible can be achieved and the one who seems to live to fight another day. I've never been so full of myself to think that I know more than the next guy, always hoping that the people I am to meet in this life can teach me something positive and something I can improve my life by and the ones dear to me...

Sometimes it seems like it's hard though, to keep the faith, to believe in something bigger than oneself and one's own abilities to make good with this life we've been given. I know about hardship, learning things about one's self, the limits one has, one's own faults, digressions and understanding how to deal with those facts that sometime hit so hard is not a given. We all have to see ourselves with truthful eye's, without self pity and judgement. Then we have to go, to try, to push ourselves to the point of no return and believe in our convictions to the point of knowing what is right or wrong for oneself...

Maybe some of you that visit me from time to time understand, I hope that there is a few that do and for those of you that think I have gone a bit to deep - well - I am just trying as best as my feeble mind will enable me. I have hope for the future and the one I will eventually find myself in, the one created by myself and the mind and soul I truly believe is about the universe, that small part, that spark she's talking about - the one that we cannot control completely, the one that quite possibly is not of this place we know but of somewhere, that place where the whole thing started...

Keep believing everyone, believe in yourself and have hope that your world will be that which you desire and it can be won, it exists, it is possible and it is yours.... 

One Swing at a Time...

One Swing at a Time...

It's been a long winter, me waiting for the spring, for the warmth to come back to this part of the world and for the golf gods to make it possible for playing and practicing outside. Today, it seems like maybe, just maybe, it's just around the bend. While I was walking Smokey Gutt, I felt warmth of the sun on my face and with it the hope for a new start, another chance to be lucky enough to play golf again. I have been putting in the work, hours upon hours of practice, both putting and swing. I have tried to stretch and mold the old body as much as I can and am trying my best to eat what I know is best for me. Taking it one day, one swing at a time and trying to use the power of the rules of attraction to set the table correctly. 

Sweden is the place it will happen this season and the next two after that. Going to make a serious run at the 2020 European Senior Tour. Getting back to playing competitive golf again, something I have not done since college really, being able to focus on just me and my game. I can feel the desire to do the work necessary to get where I need to be and I have done just about everything in my power this winter to lay down a good base. I could have worked more on my own body, yes, but it has been a give and take in regards to the practice needed, the swinging of the club, the putting of the ball that has gotten the majority of the time I have. I know that getting my golfing legs under me is all about getting out there and playing, walking the courses and playing more. Nothing else really gets one in golf shape better than playing the game. Funny how basketball is much the same and that my thoughts go there now. 

In a month and one or two days I'll be starting the competitive season, making the road trips and throwing my hat into the ring. I am assuming that the golf courses around where I live now are going to open soon and that I'll have some weeks to get in some on course practice. It's definitively needed and something I am of course chomping at the bit to get started, 

I'll be posting regularly through out the season with pictures and the like in regards to each tournament I play, the days of practice and thoughts about attracting the success I know lives within me. I hope that all my readers are doing good in their lives around the globe and I hope you all send a positive thought my way...all the positive thoughts generated are key...thanks for following along my adventure...peace, love and lots of birdies 😉😊🏁

Finding ones place, fitting in and grey matter...

Here is a cool guy that does just that, anywhere we go, no matter what, he's finding his place and fitting in...Smokey Gutt, one of a kind Whippet and cuddler galor. Never seen anything like it really, he's a wonderful example of how a creation can just be himself in all situations and with almost any person or group. He just is, and he is almost perfect if you ask me and I love him more and more each day. Four and a half years old he is and just as adorable as the first time I saw him. It's hard sometimes because I want to spoil him with affection but know that being his Alfa, well, it's just that I have to keep a little distance each day so that he continues to feel safe in his place and knows the boundaries that are there for his benefit. But don't you readers, for one second feel sorry for him, he gets tons of affection and is rather good at saying that which he needs it. Everyday. He will come right up and just take it and it's impossible to resist. What an amazing creature he is and how lucky I am to have him. Hope he feels a little bit the same. 😊 Wish he could talk, what a conversation I think. 

For us humans it's a bit more complicated I know. Finding our place and fitting in, within this crazy world it isn't always the easiest of things to accomplish. We second guess ourselves, have expectations that we maybe don't understand fully and sometimes we just make mistakes in judgement. Sometimes I think we get in our own way, think to much and misjudge ourselves and the ones around us. We over complicate and our brains get in the way. Why is that I wonder? Why is the grey matter getting in the way sometimes and screwing things up in certain situations? Wouldn't it be great to be able to be like Smokey Gutt and just fit in, almost no matter what and is it even possible for us humans? Is it possible to get out of our own way and just be? Let the situations that we face in our daily lives be something that we don't put to much emphasis on? There are so many days that are somewhat similar and they have a tendency to fall into the category of the byline of normality existence do they not? It's a nice thought, trying to make each day the best possible - to get something special out of each one, but is it possible? I don't really know but I believe so. Truly, I do and I try to do just that. 

Even though I try each and everday, I understand that it's not easy, but feeling like one has found his or her place in this sometimes screwed up place called earth and feeling like one fitts in is a big start in making each day count the best as humanly possible. Being able to live without the grey matter getting to much in our physical way is just so important, and I know that feeling like when it does from time to time and learning to feel exactly that it is happening is something I've had to use time to understand and deal with as best as I can. It's never easy but the rewards can be huge. Good luck to all my readers with finding your place, fitting in and not letting thr grey matter get to much in your way. 👊😉💪🏁