VOLVO WORLD MATCH PLAY - Finca Cortesin - Spain

Finca Cortesin, May 17^th 2012

Great match with Charl, he was brilliant on 17 and 18 and the square result is quite logical even if I was 1 up after 17, but a second too long and a badly lied chip at the back of the 18, made my birdie too difficult. He did his 4 to square the match.

But it was intense, high quality shots all day and finally a squared match.

Tomorrow against Retief I will need a win to secure a qualification.

A lot of Belgian supporters here at Finca, it's always nice to have that support.

Friday, on the first tee at 8.35!

Finca Cortesin, May 16^th 2012

Finca Cortesin is one of the nicest hotel we visited on Tour. Setting, views, architecture, service, it's a beautiful place! Great course also where you'll need a strong driving in your bag!

Good practice day on Tuesday with Mich. Pleased with my game. Julien Bravard, an old friend from Biarritz joined us for a few days. Julien is Pro and specialized in clubfitting in Illbaritz. Good friend of Mich also, in the past he followed Mich as a Pro in Rigenée during 2 years.

We know now our group: Charl Schwarzel and Retief Goosen. It's amazing how many South-Africans I played with this season. It's a good way to refresh my Afrikaans...

My Anahita bag is still making the buzz on Tour, players like it...

Pro-am this morning!

Brussels, May 14^th 2012

Flying to Malaga and Finca Cortesin with a great news: 51 at the OWGR, can't be closer with the top 50 mark!

Away for 5 weeks!

Reale Seguros Open de España 2012 - Real Golf Club Sevilla

Sevilla, May 6^th 2012 - check the pictures in Gallery

The guy who hit the most fairways and greens this week has won. Well done Francesco, very solid.

If you had told me earlier in the week that I would finish 7^th, I wouldn't have believed it. To finish better than 7^th I would have needed some momentum, more birdies on the par 5's on the front nine, more success on greens and more fairways and greens hit either. But after all, I can't be disappointed, it's another Top 10 in the bag.

Hopefully, I have one week off to regain some energy. Direction Biarritz to play some rounds on good greens and dry land, then I come back in Belgium to participate at the Knauf Day.

Next Program: Volvo World Match Play at Finca Cortesin, BMW PGA in Wentworth, Wales Open at the Celtic Manor.

Sevilla, May 5^th 2012 Back nine

After two hours delay, we were back on track! It was really blowing on those back nine! Missed some fairways and greens, and shaved the hole at 13, 14, 18. Made an avoidable bogey on the 15...

But these are real tough conditions, you need your A game and a great fitness to battle, all credit to the leaders... The weather forecast seems a little better for tomorrow... Maybe I can have some roll on that final day!

Sevilla, May 5^th 2012 Front nine

Play is suspended at 1.10 PM. Jerome, Vince and Philippe (our photograph) are transformed into sponges. This is an unreal weather, tropical, monsoon!!! I'm on the 5th green, marked my ball and came back to the club-house.

I feel quite sorry for the organizers and the greenkeepers of this Open. They deserve much better conditions, such a nice Open, great course and 100th anniversary!  Let's hope for sunshine for tomorrow's final day.

Sevilla, May 4^th 2012

Ups and downs on 18 holes. Everything was going smoothly till my 11^th hole (N°2 on the course) where I overclubbed my second shot. Played beautifully out of the bunker but my 3 feet putt jumped to the right (hit a little pebble) and the ball never saw the hole. I was shocked there. Quite unlucky. On the next hole, the par 3 (the 3^rd hole) I overclubbed again and made another bogey. This wind was blowing hard but at this particular moment of the day, it was gusting and surprised us more than one time. 3 strokes lost there... And I had to concentrate seriously to end with 5 par.

Level for the tournament without having much luck on the greens, it's ok even if I was -3 at one stage... the road is still long.

I receive so many compliments about my new bag. It's a real pleasure... You can see some pictures of my Anahita Mauritius bag in the Gallery (Pictures made by Philippe Gaudy).

We have had 30 minutes of sun in 36 holes... Storms and rain, a lot of rain, very good for the spanish agriculture but quite demanding for players and spectators! Cheers to the courageous people who have followed me...

My new 3 wood stays in the bag, that Rocket Ball is a monster!

Sevilla, May 3^rd 2012

Tough conditions today. Rain for 8 holes and then strong winds! Didn't play my A game. Could 't get the full concentration and let some 2nd shots slip away... In those circumstances, Par is a correct result.

Sevilla, May 2^nd 2012

Pro-Am day. On the range, we continued our work with the wedges and during the pro-am we gave a go on a new 3 wood (Taylor Made Rocket ball 14,5°). We will decide with Mich and Brian tomorrow morning if it deserves a place in the bag. There is a gain of 15 meters in length but I want to be sure that these 15 meters don't become 20 or 25 meters... 

I was quite exhausted after the round, not yet at 75 % of my energy.

This course is very demanding, Brian expects a final score around -10. The rough can make serious damage on a scorecard. Greens are still "humido" like they say here, and spin control is also a serious issue... But they were slower in the afternoon...

Kjeldsen holds a record of 62 here but there was no rough. So I don't think anybody can come any near of that kind of figure this week. They should go for a new record. By the way, the best score of each round will be awarded a Jamon 5 Jotas (Bellotta pata negra). Spaniards are naturally quite motivated to win that special tournament. They are 32 on the starting list and 32 who want to win... A lot of buzz here for the Centenary of the golf federation and you can understand why.

Sevilla, May 1^st 2012

What a pleasure to come back at this "great" european course. This is an outstanding golf course, perfectly manicured, with fast greens and a dangerous rough all over the place! This is an US Open style of preparation... Congratulations to the club.

• 1912 - 2012, 100 years of Spanish Open, a Centenary
• 1992 - 2012, 20 years anniversary for the Real Golf club de Sevilla designed by "Xhema" Jose Maria Olazabal
• 1972 - 2012, 40 years on the European Tour

It's gonna be a great occasion, I feel it. I met my old friend Gonzaga Escauriaza, the Spanish federation President (I met him at the EGA when I was Junior), he had a great smile on his face, his health is fine after an operation and the setting for this open, organized by the Federation, is absolutely perfect.

I came here this morning, early morning, 6.45, it was still dark, had breakfast with Mich, Brian and Vince, and went to hit some balls on the range watching the sunrise... No legs, no energy, still dealing with my flu. We did it smoothly and Mich gave me a great hint to find my rythm and coordination concentrating on my take away and ... it worked like magic. Then we played 9 holes, the back nine. After a quick lunch, we got back to the range to have a session with Malcolm McEnzie with a flightscope. I tried different 3 woods and Mich opened a new program with my wedge. He proposed me to hit lower trajectories (not punches but just playing with the loft of the club) that we controlled on the flightscope. The objective is to play those 100 meters shots with less energy, less work on the ball. Mich hopes also to have softer shots and less spin. It will take time but this session on the range was very convincing.

They had a lot of rain here the last days, fairways and greens are soft. Because they are so fast, balls are spinning a lot and this is a serious issue to deal with. Even if the greens are large, they will put some flags in the corner and we will struggle with the spin!

Training Week before Sevilla

Sunday, April 29^th 2012

Sick since Friday, sore throat, no energy, no legs, no training, bad preparation for Sevilla...

Friday, April 27^th 2012

Crossfit everyday with Rich till next Monday when we'll fly to Sevilla. Good course there. I hope also for some sunshine in south of Spain, didjuuu!

Went to Lacoste yesterday, they are refreshing their "club" near the Place Vendôme where Sportsmen and women, artists and Peoples are coming to meet the brand and the new clothing Crocodile trends and designs... Always nice to be there even if we've been washed out in the afternoon by thunderstorms, heavy rains and hail stones. A nightmare on the road... next time I'll take the train!

Lunch at noon with Vince and ol'friend Bobby Low, the Belgian golfing legend in a typical Brussels restaurant. Looking forward...

Monday, April 23^rd 2012

OWGR 54 !

Volvo China Open - Tianjin China

Sunday, April 22^nd 2012

Beijing Airport. Very happy to finish second at the Volvo China Open. Branden Grace deserves his win, he didn't make any mistake and had a wonderful touch on the greens. I had to put pressure on him from the front nine but couldn't score the birdies. Bloody speed of greens slowing up through the day annoyed me. And when I went more aggressive, like on 10 I was immediately punished by a bogey. My 2 next birdies attempts finished just short of the cup. This was the key 3 holes of the round where I played +1 and Branden -1. From then with 3 or 4 strokes ahead, Grace could cruise till the victory.

From my part, I knew from the 16^th that Richard Finch was at -17. I wanted to finish second on my own and -18 was my target. On 17 my putt was perfect and stayed in the hole all time... but it died at the edge of the cup. Then on 18, I was unfortunate to hit the wooden sleepers and my ball bounced to the other side of the fairway and went in the waterhasard. Luckily, I had a shot. Played my second to the right of the fairway to have a third one with a view towards the pin place at the very left of the green, just behind a bunker. Great approach there and then I faced a 2 meter putt, downhill, with 2 lines break. And I made it. Great moment, finishing second.

Played really well all week, extraordinary long game and some good putting, I come back to Europe with good feelings. I had a text from the Tour, I'm 8^th now on the Race to Dubai and certainly made a jump on the world ranking. More news about it when I will land tomorrow in Belgium. I maybe can have my best world ranking ever.

I had the pleasure to have 1 Belgian who came specially from Beijing. Thanks Alexis Mannès for your support. Alexis is one of our partner, owner of AMB Broker, who came in China for his business.!

Saturday, April 21^st 2012

Quiet day in Tianjin and the scoring was immediately better. A lot of 64 - 65 - 66 today. I had my 66 also, good back nine. I liked my 2nd on 17 and 3rd on 18. Birdie on 12 was a key hole, and birdie on 18 was the cherry on top. No bogeys today, very quiet round, good to play again with Branden, we have the same game. He played quite well today, 64! Tomorrow, 18 more holes...

Friday, April 20^th 2012

Played well today, some good putts also, on a cold and windy day! Quite difficult to play in the cold wind and in the fog! By the way, I wonder how it can stay foggy with such a wind!

A better up and down on the last today! Nine under, ok before the week-end...

Thursday, April 19^th 2012

So happy with my long game today! If it stays in shape in the next days, there is much more to grab than -4! Not very fortunate after two drives ended unplayable so near to the green, and that chip on 18 that dies in that upslope 5  meters before the pin! No regrets, just pleasant toughs about the quality of my game.

Playing in the morning tomorrow...

Tuesday, April 17^th 2012

Binhai Lake is a pretty new golf course designed by the famous Pete Dye. In China, they are so well inspired to choose great golf architects, each course I visit is always a fantastic lay out. With all those golf infrastructures, Chinese golf will attract in the future a lot of players... Enjoyable to play, even if the greens are a bit slow but if the wind blows, this is gonna be a tough track! 7.000 meters, some optical illusions (a trade mark of great architects), I'll need some more study to finalize my strategy. But I'm pretty fast on understanding a golf course and this one is not an exception, it's just a matter of feeling the influence of wind.

Very well organized tournament like always with Volvo and quite a tough field with Hanson, Poulter, Casey, Dyson, the Molinari's fratelli's, Gallacher, Cabrera-Bello or Paul Lawrie, just to name some of them...

Off at 12.15 (6.15 Brussels time) from the 1rst with Casey and Dyson!

Maybank Malaysian Open

Sunday, 15 April 2012

Run out of steam every day... Not exactly my favorite weather conditions. I can't eat during such round in the heat, it's too hot ... when I would need to. A bit frustrated also with all the mud balls... But my game is still better than what the score is telling (good driving and putting). I'm looking forward to defend my title in China. I don't know the course in Tianjin (different golf club, last year it was in Chengdu, the Luxehills GC) but it's gonna be exciting to remember the good memories for the same tournament organized in a different place.

There's already some buzz over there, I've been contacted to participate at the Opening ceremony, pro-ams and some press conferences. So, distraction at one hand but it's part of the duties that I would like to have more: defending titles! Also good news as Brian and myself have been offered a room for this week! Thanks Volvo, Per Eriksson (the Boss) and Anna Carlsson...

For the belgian flag fans, you'll find a familiar face on top of the driving distance stats. But my team prefers talking about the PPGIR (putt per green in regulation) which is from the beginning of the year my best ever!

Friday, 13 April 2012

Once again played better than the figures show; 2 bad shots on the end and 2 bogeys... It's quite hot and the concentration is difficult, it was 45 min too long for me. Yesterday in the afternoon, it was 1h30 too long... tough conditions for us North Europeans... Of course not everybody has the same ability to play in the moist heat, this week was better than in Singapore (2011) where it was actually even more suffocating. But I keep on climbing the ladder, still 36 holes to catch those South Africans who seem to take this weather like a duck to water !

Thursday, 12 April 2012

Played actually much better than the score will tell, just too many drives off the most tiny fairways ever played. In the first cut of rough, I found three times my ball with mud and had each time bad shots... 54 more holes left to climb the ladder of the ranking!

Wednesday, 11 April 2012

News of the day: I've been qualified through my Race to Dubai ranking after the Masters for ... the Volvo Match Play in Finca Cortesin. Lovely news sended by Vince and received after the pro-am! The other news of the day is the earthquake Tsunami in Indonesia but we didn't feel anything here...

Tuesday, 10 April 2012

Well, there we go again, this time in the humid and hot climat of Malaysia. Good thing to have stop at the neighbor Thailand for a week to accomodate the body. And here also in Kuala Lumpur, the internet in the hotel is out of date, impossible to surf. I was looking for seeing some coverage of the Masters and ...nuts!

Played a few holes today, chipped for an hour and a half and putted to get the feel of the greens.

Three important tournaments ahead: Malaysia, Volvo China and Open de España, Next week I defend my title, quite a nice feeling... I come back then to Europe to play in Sevilla and will be pleased to have some Jamon a la Casa Robles o la Vineria San Telmo, Jamon Bellota, delicious...

We are coming into the hart of my season with an important BMW PGA Championship before a long stretch of tournaments with, I hope, three Majors to play, but before that I'll hope for icing on the cake: the Volvo World Match Play! I'll need some more performance...

Sicilian Open - Verdura Golf club

Sunday, April 1^st 2012

Finished third, with a final 69, bogey free round. I didn't see a putt the whole week, a question of feeling. This course and this resort are quite outstanding. I had a chat with Rocco Forte and confirmed that this is a superb place.

Third place, good for a little jump in the R2D (12th) and OWGR (65th). These points will count in the short term, surely to try to be in the 60 to be directly qualified for the US Open!

Flying Monday to Thaïland, for three weeks in Asia, looking forward to Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur, a place where I can play well. Then, jump to China in Tianjin for the Volvo China Open on a new golf course, unfortunately not where I won last year... The Volvo China will be the last tournament to qualify for Finca Cortesin, I will need a win, so the task is clear... Good memories at that Volvo China Open and Volvo match Play!

Saturday, March 31^st 2012

Still needed time to find the speed on those greens. They're a bit slower than they look, and the wind had today a lot of influence on them. Talking about wind, it was one of those days where it's seriously blowing. it was Sicily in Scottish mode. I had still some problems to drive in left crosswind, but I remind the 18 at Doral and drove from then much better. But still quite happy of my game...

Great par on 8^th with a plugged ball in the right bunker!

Tomorrow, I will need to be better off the tee on those crosswind holes and find the proper speed on the greens. Patience will be also a key, like on every Sunday. 

Great message from Bob Rotella today, he looked at the coverage at Golf Channel and send me some good advices.

Will Boonen beat Cancellara, will another squeeze in for the win at the Ronde? Listen to Karl tomorrow... but keep an eye on the golf...

Friday, March 30^th 2012

Never, never got the speed of the greens today. Two bogeys and three strokes lost on the 3 first holes... It was quite cold this morning, the grass responded very specially, it was only 5° outside... It's the kind of round that could have been closed in 5 or 6 under par but unfortunately, the ball never fell in!

Speed or not there's one hole where I'm particularly inspired: the par 3 8^th, a gem of a hole. On 9 today, I had surely the longest drive: 330 meters but there again the birdie putt did not drop. But looking at the scoreboard, I'm still in good position, with still 36 holes to go...

This afternoon, surprisingly, Sky came to me to make some commentating "on the air". A new job for me. Always fun to discover the inner side of the European Tour.

As Jérôme flew back to Belgium this afternoon, Vince arrived today with my visa for China and all I need for the next 3 weeks in Asia. So we are still 2 Belgians here !

Thursday, March 29^th 2012

A quite 67 to be in touch with the lead. 2 outlined drives on par 5's where I pay the prize (a bogey and a par) but a good comeback in competition. This course is really beautiful, surely the 4 holes along the Mediterranean sea: 8, 9, 17, 18. Beautiful views in a nice inspirational setting. The scoring is in average quite low for a 6.700 meters long, players are hungry!

Tuesday, March 27^th 2012

Glad to be on Tour again. Verdura is a great course, but there must be a story with hole N°12. Kyle designed 17 great holes but that long par 3 has to be given a re-modelling. I don't know many players who like long par 3's, too long to be interesting, smart, fine or eye catching. This is only a modern trend but there is no future in par 3 over 180 meters... Short par 3's are really a must in a round of golf, a shot under 140 meters, beautifully shaped, nice to see and difficult to play. Hole No 3 in Royal Le Zoute, is such a gem! And so are the 15^th at la Marache (Royal Waterloo). The 4^th in Turnberry, the 8^th in Troon (Postage Stamp), the 16^th in Royal Antwerp, the 3^rd in Ravenstein, the 2^nd in Keerbergen, 13 and 17 in Sart Tilman, and all par 3's in Spa Royal Fagnes, the club where you can find the best par 3's in Belgium!

Here in Verdura, no much rough but quite long of the tee, but undulating greens and a seaside course where the wind can play a serious role. Greens are unfortunately slow. You need to "brick" your putts. This is quite sad but it's too early in the season to have better greens on the continent!

WEBSITE ENHANCEMENT - If you pay a visit to my website with your smartphone, you will see a change. The page shows now the latest news. This light version ensures a faster display and a substantial reduction of the connection time.

Monday, March 26^th 2012

Came back from Thailand this week-end, and I'm off now to Palermo for the Sicilian Open. "Den Theuners", Jérôme Theunis, is with me this week. I needed to play in tournament style after two weeks on training. Can't have a month without playing tournaments. Strange calendar, I only played 6 tournaments in 3 months time... For the future of the European Tour, the selection of golf courses will be quite important. This week Verdura Golf Club is a Kyle Phillips (Yaz Links, Kingsbarns) design course, largely inspired by links land. The course in on the Sicilian shore. I'm quite excited to discover that course and the Rocco Forte Hotel. Born in England but from italian origin, Sir Rocco Forte has surely made the best of this project!

My good friend, Raphaël Jacquelin, "The President", won this tournament last year that was held at Donnafugata golf club, I finished 5^th with a creditable 68 in the closing round. Looking forward to this tournament also to enjoy some real italian food after being in the States and in Asia the last 6 weeks! Prosciutto, salulmi, fruta di mare, tagliata di bue, pasta olio peperoncino, pesce, buffala com pomodore, fruta fresca...mmmmhhh

Training Thailand

Sunday, March 18^th 2012

Great country, The land of the Smiles, Thailand is a place full of peace. Quite warm though, played a few rounds at the Banyan Resort, great golf course. If you don't know those "grain" greens you can turn mad. The players who came with Mich are enjoying this place, the quality of the course, the smiles and the food. They only suffer on the greens. Hopefully they are helped by the lady caddies who can be pin point accurate in reading lines and slopes... It's a learning process...

Thursday, March 15^th 2012

This week United Fund of Belgium, helping others, giving back!

Deeply touched by what happened to those young children in Switzerland. All my thoughts to the parents and families... Gosh...

Away to Thailand, Hua Hin, in Banyan resort to work with Mich, Blaise, Brian and Vince. Cool, zen and yoga week, before coming back to Europe for a week to play the open in Sicily. Mich took also some belgian players for a golf training.

WGC Cadillac Doral Resort Miami Florida

Sunday, March 11^th 2012

What a nice finish! 12 holes played in -4, and I missed 1,2 meter on the 16^th and my attempts at 13 and 15 were very close... Nice par on 18 also, good to leave that Monster Course with a par.

But what a poor start. Bogeys on the opening hole and the 4th were avoidable, but the one on 6th is unlucky due to a spike mark on my line that deflects a perfect putt! Rub of the green, I accepted it and stayed focused, and it payed off. Good experience, learned a lot and it's my 3^rd Top 40 in a row in a WGC.

Monday back to Brussels before joining Brian and Mich in Thailand for a 10 days golf camp. After that, come back on the European Tour in Sicily.

Saturday, March 10^th 2012

Was cruising till the 15^th tee, I was at -6 till then. One bad iron shot there costs me a bogey and killed my momentum. Birdy lipped out on 16, and was very unfortunate on 17. My drive kicked to the left from the fairway and went just behind a palm. I was stymie, good for another bogey after my 2^nd plugged in the bunker. Not in the best frame of mind after those 3 holes, I bogeyed the 18^th once again. A bitter end, some regrets also, but we decided with Vince that we stopped to regret anything from 4.00 PM. Tomorrow is a fresh day, just let's concentrate on that 4^th round.

Went to the physio, then we chilled in front of the television to view the last holes of that 3^rd day.

None of my shirts founded so far, a never ending story, as the hotel send the 6^th different person to solve it out. To no avail. They lost them!

Friday, March 9^th 2012

I payed my dues to the Blue Monster 18^th hole! Double bogey today after a great drive and a nearly great 3 iron from 180 meters with a serious breeze in the teeth. Edge of green, huge bounce left, rolled into the water... My momentum was broken; back to level for the day after 9 holes. A huge drive on the next hole (346 yards) but only a par at the end... By the way the Belgian flag is 2^nd in driving distance! Woodland's ball rolled 2 yards over mine...

Good practice session this morning, Mich launched me nicely before leaving on the 12 to catch his flight back to Brussels. Without playing super golf, I'm still there in the middle of the pack. Great birdies on my 2 last holes, always good to finish in style... I played with Thomas Bjorn who did not miss a shot in 2 days.

But what is less stylish is that the Doral laundry lost since Tuesday my 5 Lacoste shirts left and all my socks; so tomorrow Vince will paint Knauf on my right arm with blue color and 2PM on my left arm! First time that this succeed, So tonight we have to find a laundry to clean the shirt I wore today... How can you loose such laundry, how the hell!!!!

Tomorrow with Ozzie John Senden (we call him Sendo), a 2 ball at 10.25. Great game, Brian used to caddy for Sendo!

On Sunday, Daylight Saving Time (DST) begins in the United States ... Summer time starts 2 weeks earlier here than in Europe...

Thursday, March 8^th 2012

The story of the day is the wind. During the course of the round, due to that kind of turf I felt that the club couldn't properly make a contact in a steep way. The turf here is very soft and the ball tends to slide to the top of the blade with a higher trajectory. Mich helped me to solve the problem on the practice, just standing closer to the ball. But during the round, I missed actually 3 shots (3-9-18), good for a +1 total. In the middle of the pack.

One thing is sure: the Monster Blue with that kind of wind bears a perfectly chosen name...

Wednesday, March 7^th 2012

Practice at 7.00 again, 9 holes from 10 to 18. Quite a windy weather and rain. But the greens are getting firmer and firmer, due to the wind also and they restrict the irrigation. Greens are small here, surely at the back nine: 13, 17, 18.

The 18th hole Blue Monster stays one of the greatest finishing hole on Tour. Surrounded by water and the huge grandstands, it requires a great drive and a second chirurgical shot. Once again the target is narrow and water and sand are everywhere. The left side wind makes it even more difficult. 

There's a lot of buzz here with Rory as N°1 and Tiger recovering his best form. Still so many people around Tiger. Here in the USA, even if they like Rory they would love to see another American dominate the world of golf! For us, seeing the Belgian flag near the others is our pleasure!

Tuesday, March 6^th 2012

Mich, Bob Toski and Nico (Quicktime version)

Alternate (You Tube version)

Training at 8.00 on the Blue Monster Course with Mich and Bob Rotella. Bob has a huge experience in golf, as a University prof, he studied also the sport in depth. He knows also stories from behind the scenes and that's the experience that he's delivering to me: confidence, self image, concentrating on the next shot, and so on. everything is explained by stories. And above all, Bob has a wonderful sense of humor, a real tasty mix of Belgian, Jewish and British humor! Vince is in heaven as he's the biggest Rotella fan I know!

What an amazing day! The 9 holes we played together became a half day, with Vince, Mich and Brian we had so many issues to talk with Bob Rotella. So we shared the lunch together and at the end of it, Bob Toski came over. One of the greatest teacher ever, 85 years old. As a player he won the Order of Merit in 1954 with 4 wins that year. Toski is still as entertaining as ever. With Mich, they know each other since Mich participated in some of his golf classes in the 80's and 90's, they went through all the mechanics of the movement, swinging in front of all the terrace in Doral.

But what I won't forget is that Toski and Rotella told me at the end of our meeting and their show on the terrace: "You've got a damned good coach, Nicolas, don't ever think to change!".

Training West Palm Beach

Wednesday, 29 February 2012

The Bears at Jupiter (Florida) is the place to be to practice in the West Palm Beach Region. The 9 holes course and the two short game areas are awesome. The Bears is a private club (quite private) designed by Jack Nicklaus. Florida base for Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy or Dustin Johnson. I'll play this week here with Dustin.

Yesterday, I've met Pierre Relecom who's training here and who's going pretty well. He's playing with other Challenger Tour pro's Sandro Piaget (from the Swiss Watch family based in Monaco) and Nicolas Meitinger (Germany).

Big meeting tomorrow: two days tuition with Bob Rotella. And this week-end, I'll be joined by Mich and Vince before playing the WGC Cadillac at the Blue Monster Course (The Doral resort)!

WGC Accenture World Match Play - The Ritz Carlton GC at Dove Mountain, Arizona

Friday, 23 February 2012

Time to fly to West Palm Beach, for a long week of training. Mich and Dave gave me enough homework. I won't play the Honda Classic, nor the Transitions Championship. My next tournament will be the WGC Cadillac at Doral. During next week, I'll work two days with Bob Rotella and will train at Admiral Cove and at The Bears around Jupiter where I will stay.

Other program issues: Maybank Malaysian Open and Volvo China Open. I won't play the Ballantines in Korea.

Wednesday, 22 February 2012

Well, I batlled today against a N°2 or 3 in the world that plays at his level of game. Westwood was too strong today. I needed more birdies, he made 7 of them, and less missed shots. But this is quite an experience on a wonderful golfcourse. I had a slow start and he went directly for the pins, Lee deserves his win, and I'm quite happy to have lived those precious moments here in Arizona.

Tuesday, 21 February 2012

This is something else! The nature here in Arizona is unbelievable. It is speechless. And in the middle of that Western scenery, a magnificent golfcourse surrounded by mountains and a forest of cactus. I'm quite impressed by the setting the PGA Tour can produce. For a sportman, being part of such events is something very special. This is where you want to be. A monster of a golfcourse in the middle of a beautiful natural site!

There is so much buzz here around that competition, it's really something else. Things you don't see normally: huge tents, buzz on television, police everywhere, press building stories, this is a real world golf championship!

Since Monday, we are working with Dave Stockton on the short game and we have played the course. Dave would like to made some changes on my chipping, he's quite persuasive, up to me now. With Mich, we are finetuning our tools to tackle that course. You know our strategy: make my long game the best it can be! My first match will be very intens, surely with Lee who's a master in ball striking. It's gonna be a big gun match!

This is the longest course played on the world tour: 7.800 yards designed by Jack Nicklaus. It's so long, even long for long hitters, so that shorter hitters with a brillant short game have a great chance to win like the Ogilvie's, Poulter or Luke Donald, winners of the three editions held here at Dove Mountain, Arizona. But on that course, there are a lot of strategic choices to be made from the tee, this is what we gonna decide before Wednesday teeoff, where taking some risks where not...

Brussels in between tournaments

Sunday, 19 Feb 2012

Zaventem! Tucson here I come. It seems that McIlroy will be the man. But the OWGR of Monday 20 Feb will be used, so Westwood might become No 3 again (Source PGATour News, thanks Jan)!

Just one communication: Michel organize a golf training course in Thailand at Brian'place (my caddie who will be there also). Stage from 15 till 24 March, for more info, go through the contact form of this website and you will receive more news. 4 places available. No special golflevel required, great golf experience guaranteed!

Friday, 17 Feb 2012

Yesterday was a long day. Meeting with the belgian media's from 10 AM to 6 PM where I also presented my new partner, the Anahita Resort in Mauritius. Then we invited my father for dinner for his 65th birthday and we made it even longer with a drink later ...

Monday, 13 Feb 2012

64 is the figure. I have my ticket to play the WGC Accenture Match Play. Tucson Arizona, here am I.... Also on the program: 3 days of work with Dave Stockton to check the putting, surely on my uphil putts. I putted brillantly in downhill in Dubai. Because the course is enormously long 7.800 yards!!! I'll take Mich with me to fix my long game like we did in Finca Cortesin. It's a match play championship and against the people I will face, I can't afford to be at 100% on my long game and putting.

The Dubai Desert Classic is a great tournament when the course is set up like it was with super fast and hard greens, immaculate fairways and a thick rough. They did a wonderful job there!

Dubai Desert Classic

Sunday, 12 Feb 2012

Needed a top 10 this week, that's done! Now will it be enough to be in the top 64? We have to wait Monday afternoon.

Just one regret, the birdie on 17 refused by the hole, like on 10th. My long game and my putting were great this week. Of course I gave a few strokes away, but that's golf. I had an unplayable ball on 8 and went too long on 12.

Well, back to cold Belgium tomorrow, for a week, after two top ten in a row in a good desert swing! Back on track next week-end then where I'll fly to the United States!

Saturday, 11 Feb 2012

Perfect start, birdies on 1-3-5. Bogey on 8. Mud on my ball on 10th for the second shot and couldn't reach the green in 2. Bogey 11. Then the break came at the 13th with that eagle. Goof finish also.

Great display of driving today. I pitched the 17th green with my drive!! Still missed a few opportunities on my uphill putts but birdies at 15 and 17 were quite nice.

I closed the gap a little bit, we will see what tomorrow brings!

Friday, 10 Feb 2012

One day is not the other. Great practice session. From the first green, I went short with my first putt, the story of my round. I'm not happy at all, I assume, even if 3 putts jumped today out of the hole. No excuses, I didn't play well.

A good meal, a good night and two good rounds to go.

Thursday, 9 Feb 2012

Very slow start this morning. I had a bad night, didn't sleep much. Came to the practice where Mich had a lot of work to make me swing in rythm with the right sequence and the good path. Birdie missed on 10 (my first hole), wrong club on 12 that caused a bogey, drive left in the bushes on 13, but I managed to stay patient. And it payed off with birdies on 15 and 16 and and an eagle on 9. At the turn, things looked suddenly better. The momentum was nicely build even if I did not have my A game. Birdied my 10^th hole ... but the momentum stopped after I played the best shot of my round on the par 5 3^rd  hole. I hitted a beauty of a 3 wood (230 meters uphill), but my ball finished 5 meters from the pin in a salad in the rough. Approach and 2 putts for a par after a great 2nd shot! Mmmmmh

I had then 2 great putts on the 4^th to get my par bedfore two difficult par 4's. Nearly holed in one the 7^th, and ended with a nice birdie on 9. Even if I didn't touch my driver as well as I can, I managed to swing my irons with a lot of accuracy towards the pins. All in all, a good -6 to start the tournament.

I'm pretty amazed about the scores because the course is really challenging, greens are very fast and the rough is punishing. The overall length is nearly 6.700 meters long, not a gimmie...

Tomorrow is another day, I went to the physio for my back and I'll need a good long night of sleep. Time now for a little shopping ;o)

Great support today from my sponsor 2pm, Quentin. Other Belgians came over like Alban Lammens or "flight captain" Erwan. Thanks buddies.

Wednesday, 8 Feb 2012

Pro-Am day with a great team from DP World, sponsor of the Race to Dubai Final. Important people for the European Tour. Another fine tuning check. We checked also strategies on the course. This Majlis track is beautifully manicured, the best of the Desert track. Greens are slick and the rough is heavy. We had some work to do on the  putting also, Stockton style. It's amazing how the technique is slipping bit by bit, day after day. I still need some coaching certainly when windy conditions tend to impact your posture and your swing.

On the coaching, you know that I'm in good hands, this was confirmed by Fred Couples, but with the speed I generate, everything needs to be pin point accurate.

Tomorrow with Branden Grace and Simon Dyson at 8.00, quite early for freezing Belgians. By the way, we have the same blue sky than in Northern Europe but with 25° above 0! Cheers.

Tuesday, 7 Feb 2012

What a great day thanks to Fred Couples and Midge Trammell, his caddye Girlfriend. Fred is a quite a nice person and the kind of sportman I like. I'm a big fan. He's a prince of the golfswing and a master of the rythm from 100 yards to the flag. I loved his stories and his advices. Tanks to Vince and Rolex for this opportunity!

Check my gallery for the pictures of the day!

Needed a serious up to date on my swing from Michel. The winds in Qatar have made a mess of it. Too quick from the top, some set up and routine work, those basis things, little fine tunings but with enormous consequences. I feel that I'm back in confidence, we'll see tomorrow the confirmation during the Pro-am...

Yesterday, interesting day with Eddy Merckx in the car following the bikers at 50 km/h into the wind. Had a nice chat with Tom Boonen and Philippe Gilbert, cool guys. It refreshed my mind and I must say that Belgians in sport are well known outside Belgium, Eddy Merckx being our King!

Commercial Bank Qatar at Doha

Sunday, 5 Feb 2012

I was going for birdies and hey didn't come! I was certainly too gready to shoot rapidly under par, and those two anti-climax bogeys arrived. 3 putts on the 9th. And two more birides to finish in the top 10. File closed.

Tomorrow, Eddy Merckx invites me in his car to follow the bicycle race. A great day ahead, good to forget that Sunday. Eddy is a king and the nicest person on earth!!!!!!

Friday, 3 Feb 2012

It was in the air. Second day has been stopped. It will resume tomorrow morning and the tournament will be reduced to 54 holes. Forecast is a little better tomorrow, but still it will  be gusty. I'm off Saturday at 11.00!

Thursday, 2 Feb 2012

Not an easy day at all, surely for the second part of the round. If I'm hitting the ball very well, I'm not confortable with the greens. They are hard, bumpy, with a lot of sand (of course). I'm a rythmic putter not a hitter. On those greens, it seems that you need to be quite firm and that's not my kind of putting.

Huge winds today with a lot of sand everywhere. Even more wind is forecast for tomorrow. i don't know how Gonzalo and Jason played but they have scored quite well! Tomorrow I'll start in the middle of the storm... José and Monty had a tough day with that weather. Xema started very weel (-5) but did suffer on the back nine.

We have been working on our website taking into account some of your suggestions and I'm delighted that I can present you a new partner, Anahita. I won there the Afrasian Masters in 2010, and was "appointed" as Ambassador of Mauritian golf by the Minister of Tourism. And because I had so much pleasure to come at Anahita for my training this winter, we both decide to become partners. Anahita in Mauritius is my attachment now on the European Tour. We are also making a new golfbag at Anahita's colours. Don't hesitate to have a look at this resort (click here - or via the partners Page); you will see some pictures of that beautiful course designed by Ernie Els. All the practice facilities are beautifully constructed and manicured like you dream it to be !

Wednesday, 1 Feb 2012

Pro-am day, very slow because of a sandy wind. Reminds me the conditions of last year! The weather forecast is not exactly brillant. Gusting winds are forecast from Friday till the end of the tournament.

Tomorrow very early start at 7.00 with Monty and Xema (Tchema = Jose Maria Olazabal).

Tuesday, 31 Jan 2012

It's nice to work with a physical trainer that likes to see you go for a nap in the afternoon! But Richard told me that he prefers to work with strong bodies and fresh minds. Those two first weeks were pretty tiring. Certainly when you're on the lead with all the weight of the tournament on your shoulders. So, some crossfit workouts are ideal, they drains you and washes your brain...

Doha is a particular tournament, one of a kind! Wind plays a major role here and it comes from the side. So, it's quite special, surely for trajectories on long shots. Side wind  is not good for swings, you need to work the ball on each shots. Hopefully Mich will fix me before playing Dubai...

Great trio tomorrow, playing with Olazabal and Montgomerie. Monty is a great personnality very useful for European golf. José is a wonderful person, quite and very perofessionnal. He still suffers from arthtritis and needs a very long warm-up to be able to swing the club like he wants to. They both have a lot of experience and I'm delighted to spend those next days with them. Don't think we are playing together because of the next Ryder Cup, no it's too far away, it's only for television matters. they need some nice games in the morning and in the afternoon.

HSBC Abu Dhabi

Monday, 29 Jan 2012- Emirates Invitational on Yaz Links

On the European Tour, we have a few charity events, and today it was on Yaz Island on the beautiful course designed by Kyle Philips: Yaz Links. At night, during the gala dinner each pro gave a "souvenir" for an auction. I brought the 64 glove from Fancourt.

Then tonight at midnight, I took a flight to Qatar and joined Richard Vanmeerbeek at the Hotel. His message was clear: tomorrow, early morning crossfit! Gosh, this is a 24h job!

Sunday, 28 January 2012

Good battle today, 68 is a nice way to end a tournament, even if in between, round 2 and 3 were not the ones I like. By the way, 68 is the lower score of the day!

Well played Rockie, this course is really tough under pressure. Woods and McIlroy were in attack mode and they couldn't find the proper momentum to beat you.

Tomorrow I'll play a charity Pro-Am in Abu Dhabi on the Yaz links before flying at midnight to Qatar in Doha. And do you know who will be waiting for me? Richard Vanmeerbeek of course for another physical session.

Friday, 27 January 2012

I don't like friday's! More seriously, I didn't play badly, but you know, it's one of these days where you're not totally in it. I had three bad drives, good for 3 bogeys and also, I get anoyed by a spectator, with those stupid "Ohhhhhh" after my 3rd attempt for birdie on the 4th hole. This course is a serious test of golf, you'll have a winner at -12. Just a reminder of last year winning score: -24! Tomorrow is another day, Jerome needs to leave already tomorrow night, thanks to the strike on Monday in Belgium! We are not all working for the Belgium flag!

Thursday, 26 January 2012

Well, well, well, -3 today and it could have been better, 4 or 5 putts had their chance to fall in the hole, like the nearly eagle on 18 (my 9th Hole). Good week so far, always nice to spend a tournament with Jérôme, he is great to distract me from the heat of the competition.

That course is tougher than the other years, it's longer, the fairways are narrower and the rough is really thick. Under the gun you need to be sharp to go for scores in the sixties! Yeah, some were surprised like Martin Kaymer who won this tournament with a record of -24 last year! Played with Joost Luiten en Henrik Stenson. Henrik went all over the place... 6 years ago he made the course record here in Abu Dhabi with 62!

Wednesday, 25 January 2012

Arrived around 01:00 Tuesday morning and joined Jerôme Theunis who was waiting for me. We played 9 holes and had a nice practice session around the greens. We went both to the gym in the evening, and we celebrated my first appearance in a gym during a tournament.

Very strong field for this tournament, even Tiger is there. I did not see him, he played very early as usual!

Juniors, let me have a word about statistics. They are not important, surely not for the player himself. If they are useful, they are only interesting for the coaches. But a player may not think or play by the stats. His selfesteem, his confidence in certain part of his game may not be influenced by numbers. For example, in 2010, I had better stats in driving distance and was 4^th in greens in regulation (now I'm 9^th). The reason is that I'm using my 3 wood more often off the tee and this happened when the driving distance was measured on 2 different holes on each round. In reality, my driving is much longer than in 2010. So it's very difficult to have a pertinent judgement looking at stats. Junior have to learn to contact the ball, learn to score, develop their feeling and the variety of their golf shots. Juniors need to be "golf smart" not numbers smart. It's like machines, softwares, flightscopes, etc, twice a year max, good to check also your golfclubs, but nothing will replace the eye of a good coach!

Some statistics for 2011

Number of regular tournaments in 2011: 23

Scoring average: 70,69 (2010: 71,34)

Number of rounds under par: 43 on 77 rounds

Other Tournaments: 4 (World Cup, Vivendi Seve Trophy, Qualification US Open, Anahita Afrasian Masters)

Cuts missed: 5 on 23 tournaments

Best score: 65 (-7) and 64 (-8) qualification US Walton Heath

Number of birdies: more than 300 birdies nearly 4 birdies per round and 9 eagles

Top 10: 5

Win: 1

Top 20: 11

Best place in Race to Dubai: 8^th

Best place in OWGR: 69^th

The Volvo Champions at Fancourt

Sunday, Jan 22^nd, 2012

Coming back to the club house, I asked for a Vodka tonic. Now the adrenaline has come down and the frustration also. Honestly, I'm happy with the tournament. A course record and a 4^th place in between Major winners... My driving let me down from the 12 and I didn't found the key... On the 18^th, I was burned out after walking so far left for my 3rd shot. That shot was a pure beauty, 3 wood followed by an even nice approach. Under the gun that approach was a high quality one. Quite proud of it. Coming to the putt, I had no clue after the putt of Branden, it swung so much to the left. I hit a bit too firmly and you all saw the bogey. But sincerely, no regrets as I did the best I could, the story might have been different if my drive was on the fairway... Let's capitalize on what I lived and learned this week.

Vince gave me some news from Belgium, that you were all hooked on the TV sets. It was my first tounament of the season, I hope for more vibrations in the near future. 

Tomorrow I'l be flying from George to Johannesburg and then to Abu Dhabi arriving Tueday morning. Jérôme Theunis will be there waiting for me for that tournament with quite another strong field.

Saturday, Jan 21^st, 2012

One day is not the other. Very tough day to play Fancourt, strong winds and rain. And when the conditions are difficult, I can display my links game with my low drives and stingers. 8 Major winners in the top 10 guarantee some spectacle and suspense tomorrow. The weather forecast is good, even if I prefer some wind, we will have an interesting afternoon.

Tonight, another dinner with The President (Raph Jacquelin) and Texas Tom (Thomas Levet). 

By the way, I did enjoy the eagle on the last. Driver, 8 iron and one putt. I was happy and showed it, after two attempts so nearly missed on 17 and 13. Those 3 last holes are so important, everything can happen, they will play a major role for the victory of the Volvo Champions here at Fancourt.

Friday, Jan 20^th, 2012

Ouch! It hurts to have two days so different ! Never really found my rythm today, I was not feeling the ball well and I lost my confidence on several shots to the green, especially a 9 iron from 156 meters that flew over the green.

Regain some rythm after 12 holes and finished honestly, good enough to look forward to the WE. Tomorrow a good game in sight with Thomas Björn at 11:35.

Thursday, Jan 19^th, 2012

The Links in Fancourt and the landscape here are quite inspirational: -9 best score ever, best irons game in my life, best team of the world, best training camp ever, best caddy and a course record so near of the South Pole. This is really "classy": a course record at Fancourt during the Volvo Champions. Whatever happen on the next days, I know that what I done during the last weeks were pertinent: keeping working on my strength (my iron game), changing my state of mind on par 4 and par 3 using my strength with irons to go towards the flag, keeping confidence in Dave Stockton's putting, ... 

The last thing to do is to underestimate that great course, it's as beautiful as tough it can get!

Thank you to begin the season together through this website, I wish you some emotions...

Tonight I went for dinner with the President (Raph Jacquelin), we drove the road on the Ocean. What a spectacle! Beautiful views, I called Vincent and Mich, because it was as nice as the clifss in san Diego, specially in Torrey Pines. 

Saw the Twitter of Gary Player and smiled! Appreciate also the quote of Monty on the European Tour website.

Tomorrow, we play in three ball with an amateur, never an easy task in a real tournament, nor for him nor for us. 

But it's just one round, I wish our amateur partner the best of luck in his competition!

Tuesday, Jan 17^th, 2012

Fancourt and this part of Africa is really beautiful. George is between Cape Town and Port Elisabeth, we are here on The Garden Route. Even if we are inland, Gary Player designed the course as it would be on the sea shore. In fact, he called the 18 holes "The Links at Fancourt"! Enjoyable design settled in a magical surrounding, but with narrow landing zones. You will need to be quite straight off the tee here or you find trouble.

Nevertheless, I'm confident, Brian was surprised with my game, quite sharp. So now after one month stop, I'l need to recover some competitivity, scoring and rythm. Playing well is one thing, finding the birdies and avoiding the little mistakes is another task than playing well. But I'm quite happy that the season begins, I have now 4 tournaments to find some good roll to climb some places in the World Ranking. Yeah, there are some tournaments in the States that I would like to play this year but I need a better ranking. But this is not as important as the progress in my game that I started a few weeks ago, since Thaïland in preparation of the World Cup. Mich was quite happy last Sunday when we quit our training camp in Anahita and I share his feelings.

Being a better player and a better competitor, that's what all is about... 2012, here I come!

Training New season 2012

Tuesday, January 10^th 2012

2 days now that I have 2 coaches built like bodyguards... OK, Rome was not built in one day but we are gently improving. We are also very lucky to work here in outstanding conditions and infrastructures. Ernie Els did a wonderful job in Four Season Anahita.

Mich was amazed by the standard of physical training that we achieved in this first week, it's quite promising for the future and the good news is that I will continue some training during the tournaments. This afternoon we went to the course only with our wedges and we played 18 holes from all over the places around the greens. I could tame them on the short game, because this morning my bodyguards overdrove me on the 2^nd by 10 meters! Just a reminder: Rich was Belgian stroke play Junior champion, no wonder he also knows the secret of a long drive.

Thanks to internet, I can follow the golf worldwide. Fred Couples has announced his participation at the Dubai Desert Classic, I really would like to have the opportunity to meet the guy during a practice round. Who knows?

Paul Casey was unfortunate and dislocated his shoulder when snowboarding. I know only too well the situation and I send him my best wishes. I know people in Belgium who once again will laugh with this kind of accident. Paul is out for 3 months.

Like always early in the season South African golfers are quite hot. This is for historical reasons. Their season begins always around november. So, they are at their peak already in January. Schwartzel, Oosthuizen, Goosen and Aiken will be serious contenders in the coming weeks.

In Belgium, I remember that we peaked end of July till mid August, playing every day all junior competitions. Because it was end of June and we were not ready, we didn't succeed at the European Team Championship. On the other hand, we also didn't succeed during the International Juniors at Ravenstein, exhausted after having played too much before going back to school in september. These were the old times...

Wednesday, January 4^th 2012

To start a new physical program with the european champion of Crossfit, I needed a nice and warm place. Anahita Four Season (Mauritius) was my choice, and it's a success because I'm surviving, even if my body tells me that I'm doing heavy stuff. People here in the resort think that Belgians have strange programs. We don't stay much in the gym, but Rich has prepared quite a lot of exercices ouside on the practice range. Near the putting green, lifting sandbags, doing squats and then directly concentrate on holing putts. Alternate burpees and pumps and chipping is quite demanding for the concentration, but that's what we are also looking for. Richard Vanmeerbeek is my trainer and is on my back till I'm done with all the program and taking care that I'm drinking and having plenty of food after the workouts. In between the program, hopefully we are relaxing on the beautiful golf course here in Anahita or on the beach.

in fact, in our swimsuit, it's quite easy to see who is the golfer and who is the physical trainer, Rich has dark brown short hair ... LoL.

Another member of my beach rescue squad is coming on Sunday. Mich is coming to start a technical program in between the physical sessions. Hopefully, I can find here some litchies, mango's and pineapples to bring me some sweetness... ;o)

Just for the fun:  I'll play this Friday with Ernesto Bartarelli (Alinghi - double winner of the America Cup)!

In fact, I'll love those two weeks. Who wouldn't?

On the 15^th, I must be ready to fly to South Africa and to play the Volvo Golf Champions in Fancourt. Oosthuuizen, Schwarzel, Goosen, Aiken, Casey and Karlsson are already as hot as the sand in Anahita at midday. The Volvo Golf champions will the first of 4 tournaments in a row.

Videos - Audios

Volvo China Open 2011