From Bruxells Belgium

Bon Voyage- Perth International Airport

Airbus A380- Just like a normal plane only a bit bigger inside obviously.

Nobody wanted England shirts at Changi Airport.

Charles Du Gaulle Paris


TGV !!!


Belgium Kebabs- Best in the world !!! They put chips in the kebabs. Will def bring this practice back home.

10 day festival. Southbound 3 days pffffffffff




From the bottom looking up of Avenue Louise.

Having dinner and watching soccer in a restraunt. Holland V Uruguay. Some passionate supports behind.



A bit like the Ivy. Bit quiet for a Tuesday night but.


Some of our friends....




It 720 Belgium time at the moment. Went to bed at about 1am Belgium time and woke up so early. Still trying to get used to the time difference. We were supposed to go to Berlin on Thursday but we might go on Friday now so we have another day here in Belgium to hang out with Imad and his friends. We are staying at his and his gf's place and they are staying at Jennifer's parents' place just behind. Cool people, a lot of fun, very friendly.

Peace, James

Gosnells Open Day 1

Good to get back into it after a few days down south doing some salmon fishing.

Had a good practice session on thursday and a fun nine holes of practice at Gosnells yesterday. Haven't seen Hoppy for a few weeks now, but jsut this week i feel like i'm getting through the ball better and hitting better shots, better compressed, better flight.

Shot 78 this morning (+8). Doesn't sound great but the scores weren't real flash.

Happy with the way i struck it, just didn't hole enough putts (35) and didn't get it up and down when i needed to. 3 Double bogeys killed me and that's how you shoot 78.

Tomorrow is a new day and i feel like a score can be had.

Till then, it's back to essay writing. Fun fun fun !!

Mandurah Easter Amateur

Honestly, quite a disappointing week. Didn't feel comfortable with my swing starting with the practice round on Friday.

Just couldn't get the ball in play off the tee and it just killed me... It felt like everytime i missed a fairway i was chipping out sideways.

Ended with rounds of 79 and 81 and another missed cut. Mandurah is just the sort of course that you can hit driver everywhere but as soon as it's offline your in trouble. The safer play is to hit more fairway woods/hybrids and irons off tees to get the ball in play because once you hit hte fairway then you have the ability to hit the green. Funny that.

So that easter weekend left me with plenty to think about...

Aus Am Round 2

Much better day today. Shot +3 75 at Mt Lawley. A lot happier with today even though i missed the cut comfortably.

Got off to a slow start but as the round got on i felt a lot more comfortable and for the first time all week i felt like i belonged. Followed a front nine 40 with a 1 under 35 coming home.

The work i did with Hoppy yesterday arvo paid off. Hit the ball much much better today. Felt real good with my swing and putted beautifully. I know i can do it now. At the start of the week, i wasnt sure if i should be playing but by the end, i know that i am good enough to be a great player.

A great week. The biggest tournament i've played in. And now i have more inspiration to practice harder and get there.

James

Aus Am Round 1

Had the first round today. Didn't go as well as planned, finishing with 85.

Just felt so nervous, especially our first 9 holes. Firstly because of the tournament and secondly cos i had no idea where i was going to hit it.

Felt like things got a bit better on the 2nd nine. Actually made a few good up and downs which gave me some short game confidence. Went and saw hoppy after the round and was happy with the work that we did. Feel like i can shoot a score tomorrow. A good learning day today.

James

Lake Karrinyup Practice

Had my first look at Karrinyup today.

Tried to wake up early to get used to the early mornings. Ended up getting out of bed at about 8! Tomorrow i will have to be out by 6!

Early morning cardio and stretching, then did some uni work before heading out to the course at about 12. Hit balls and chipped around and then teed off the front nine about 130 to have a look at the course. Very impressed!! Played Karrinyup bowl last year so i've seen all the changes that they have made, which make the coures play a lot tougher than before.

Fairly wide off the tee so you can hit a lot of drivers. Green are firm so iron's will have to be well struck a lot of the time to hold greens. Only got through 9 holes which took 3 hours which was enough for me. Then did some putting practice and hit a few more balls then called it a day.

Did yoga this evening which was tougher than last time but really good. Felt better about myself after, and a bit more relaxed. Helps with my breathing which is crucial for my pre-shot routine. Need to keep doing it to help with my golf. I'm strong in my core and have good endurance but not nearly flexible enough and not strong enough in my smaller muscles. This is causing me to get injured, in particular my lower back. After this week, i'm going to go see a golf specific physio to help me out with some exercises to get my body in better shape. At the moment, i feel like it's holding me back enough that i need to do something about it.

746am tee time tomorrow at Karrinyup so will be able to get around before the wind gets up. Can't Wait!

James

Mt Lawley Practice Round

Been a while since i've blogged so thought i would start to post again.

Played a practice round at Mt Lawley today in preparation for Australian Amateur starting Thursday (18th March). Course looks a million bucks. Fairways are cut tight and running. The greens are firm and rolling very true.

This is the sort of course you want to be a member at. The facilities are world class. Awesome range, good chipping and bunker greens and massive practice putting greens. Shot-making course that punishes poorly struck shots. Tough around the greens.

Didn't hit it great from the tee but hit many quality iron shots and putted well. Spent some time on the range after the practice round and later in the day back at Royal Freo working on some swing moves. Starting to hit it better with more compression and keeping that driver in play. Worked out a strategy to playing the course which involved hitting less drivers off some holes and more 3 woods and hybrids.

Me and Seward joined up with a few boys from Canberra and NSW who were good players and even better blokes. Made the day very enjoyable. Also, brand new Srixon Z Stars as range balls!! Unbelievable. Might have put a couple in the bag haha.

Early morning tomorrow to get used to waking up early. Gym in the morning, bit of uni work and then practice up at Karrinyup tomorrow.

James

Bali, Indonesia

Pictures from Bali... before my camera broke!! Couldn't get any pics of Ku De Ta (love that place).

I'll be honest, I didn't think much of the place at first. Bali is dirty, unorganised, hot/humid and busy. However, after a day, the place grew on me for several reasons. Mainly because you can get away with so much there. You can ride a motorbike without a license, drink on the street, smoke in the pubs, buy fireworks, pirate dvd's, dvd porno's and wear whatever you want. The AUD goes a long way, making nearly everything (probably everything) cheaper than Australia. The locals treat you with respect, the scenery is picturesque and for once in your life, you can be a millionaire!!

Definetly will be going back to Bali in the near future this time for longer!

Peace, James