Asian Tour School Update

Its 3pm on Monday here in sunny Hua Hin and after a solid day of practice I have finally made enough time to sit down and write about my travels so far…

One of the protests near my hotel in Bangkok

I flew into the bustling BKK airport at approximately 9am and after a 30 minute commute dodging the various road blocks from the political protests, I finally arrived at the Galleria 1o Hotel in the Klong Toei District of Bangkok. With nearly 2 weeks until the start of tour school I spent the next 3 days exploring the city, tasting the local cuisine and relaxing in the pool. I did, however, manage to squeeze in a quick practice session at the local driving range just down the road. It was quite unusual seeing the ball fly towards apartment buildings, but it was fun none the less and it felt good to stretch out the muscles after a few days off.

On the Monday I journeyed 2 hours south to Hua Hin and arrived at the location in which I would be staying at for the entirety of tour school; The Imperial Lake View Resort. After checking in and getting settled I headed over to the range to begin practice, however, apon arrival I was told I was unable to use the facilities that week due to them being reserved solely for the players in section ‘A’ of qualifying (I am in section ‘B’). This was not ideal, but I knew there were many other courses in the area so I headed back to reception and caught a 15 minute taxi ride to the nearest facility.

Catching the BTS Sky Train to the city driving range

For the next 2 days I practiced at the Jack Nicklaus designed Springfield Resort; it was quite possibly a blessing in disguise as final stage will be held there from the 12th -15th, meaning I had the opportunity to get a feel for the greens ahead of schedule.

Wednesday morning arrived and I awoke with the intention of another full day of practice, but soon after rising I fell extremely ill… I believe some suspect coconut ice-cream toppings were to blame and I spent the next day and a half bedridden and in a terrible condition. Food poisoning is something I wish apon no one and I am very fortunate such an incident happened when it did and not mid tournament. I dare say I will have to be a little bit more careful with my food choices from now on!

After I recovered, I opted for a change of scenery and travelled 20 minutes to practice at the highly regarded Black Mountain Golf Club. It is by far the closest thing to a golfers paradise I have ever seen and it came as no surprise when I learnt that many european players use this course as a base during their off season. I spent a total of three days working on my game there and the atmosphere created by the large number of elite players made it all that bit more enjoyable.

The course guide for the week

The last 3 days have been spent practicing at my 1st stage course; Imperial Lake View. Stretching over 7,200 yards (6,500 metres) this course reads a beast on paper, however after playing it I found it not to be so intimidating. The links style layout means that Driver can be hit on just about every hole and  besides a couple of long par 3’s and a 635 yard par 5, the course plays about average length. Hitting the ball within close proximity will be key this week and from there it will come down to a putting game.

Over the last few weeks I have been working on some basic timing and setup drills, I will continue to maintain these throughout the week and trust that all the hours I have put in leading up to this point will leave me in good stead. Out of the 132 entrants at my course the top 22 players and ties proceed through to final stage; last week 3 under qualified on this course so I have a fair idea of the scores I need to shoot in order to progress.

Tee off is at 11.30am tomorrow and I am more than excited to get underway. All scores will be posted on asiantour.com if you would like to track my progress and I will be sure to post another blog update in a few days time.

As for now, Its time to get down to business…. This is going to be fun!