…..my clubs made it to Lisbon, so after the previous week that was a great start to the Masters Pro Tour event at Quinta Da Marina outside Lisbon.
It’s a tremendous hotel and golf complex close to Cascais, with a very challenging and tricky-to-navigate golf course. The first is a 570 yard dog leg left par 5, tree lined with around 330 yards to the corner and a tee shot along a 20 yard wide alley which you can see in the picture above. My room was on the far end top floor so my concentration was on not hitting into my own balcony! Seriously though, it took me two goes to work out how to play the hole, which needed a 3 wood fade, away from the green, making the hole longer to allow a 5 wood over the trees on to the green – all a bit counter intuitive for me! The rest of the holes also required working out the best route – great fun and great experience for me.
I think it’s fair to say that the field found the course challenging, with our scores improving through the 54 holes. I finished 8th overall and 1st in 58 and over category ! Overall I was pleased with my week.
I also took the chance to keep developing my short game in competition play, chipping everything when I got the chance. This is something I’ve found challenging of late but improvement and confidence is coming with daily trips and drills at the practice green. Coach Pete and I have improved my technique and now I’m taking all the shots on to the course.
There is a lot spoken about self belief and trust in your ability on the golf course. Easier said than done but, as I’m increasingly finding out, it’s an essential part of performing well. The vision to see the shot and then commit to it while accepting the consequences is something I’m working hard on, so watch this space!
I’m off to putt a few balls now and continue to work on scoring ahead of the next tournament which is the Paul Lawrie Tartan Pro Tour event at Blairgowrie in April.
All the best
Calum