Q. Hey Alex!
First, congrats on the ”The Royal Trophy” win for team Europe. Too bad it wasn’t on TV here but just the same, good job.
A few things if you have the time and inclination:
a) Notice any big difference between the v grooves from the square grooves? I’d imagine less spin from the rough but the irons into the greens is what I’m interested in.
b) Blog posts you do are great, wouldn’t change a thing. You are showing us a different side of professional golf that most people don’t realize. Makes some envious as well.
c) Early year schedule? You may have posted something about it earlier but for the sake of comment, what does your schedule look like for the next few months so I know when to look out? BTW, you’re in my Fantasy Race to Dubai team so play hard!!!
All the best and keep it going.

A. a) I feel no difference from the fairway with any of the clubs. Maybe the 60 degree spun a touch more before. From the rough, it´s a pretty big difference.

c) 3 tournaments in a row now in the Middle East starting next week. Then a few in America depending on how I play in the Middle East. Haven´t made up a definite schedule yet. It all depends on how many birdies I make. Thanks for being on your teamJ

Q. Great Win! And a great moment when the captain asked you to lift the trophy..guess he’s heard about the workout regime?! It’s really great to see how well you guys have played under Montys captaincy… looking good for the Ryder Cup…. (by the way….dont you think Monty needs to seriously consider being a playing captain in the ryder cup as he played awesome golf to halve his match today…..?)

A. I really think Monty can do well in the Ryder Cup. He has the game and the experience and specially the right mind for this game. But, as it seems like, he works very hard at becoming a good captain and to win the trophy back to Europe as a captain. But who knows?!

Q. Great win for yourself and Robert against the Japanese pair on Saturday. Just out of interest who is the longer driver out of Robert and Ryo Ishikawa? The commentators kept going on about Ishikawa being a very long hitter.. is that so?

A. Ryo is extremely good, unreal for being that young. I was really impressed! He hits it as long or longer than Robert.

Q. Hey Alex, looking strong
Could you sum up the things you’ve learned this week for us?
good luck tomorrow 🙂

A. Look at last blog postJ

Q. Hey Alex, great playing! Just wondering, when you’re on the road and at home, what is your favorite music to listen to? Who are your favorite artists? Cheers, keep it up!

A. I don´t have an Ipod or anthing like that. I like music though and usually listens to everything on the radio and on youtube when in the hotel room. Black Eyed Peas music makes me happy!

Q. Buddy, stick to the sneaks! You in black dress shoes……??! Don’t think so!
It looks a little surreal to me. Got your feet on the fairway or still floating in the clouds?! Anyway, GO KICK ASS! Show Monty that you’re Ryder material…
p.s. Writing this from Dubai airport thinking of all your photos from here.. 🙂

A. I hate dressing up. Good looking sneakers go well with suits…J

Q.Which ball are you going to play with (z) or (s) , have a great time

A. Z. Softer than the old X but goes further. Great!

Summary of Royal Trophy

First of all, it was a great week and that kind of week that will stick to my memory for a long time. Memories of shots we played, certain key holes on the course and the opponents we played against.

– I was really nervous going into the tournament. I’ve had 5 weeks off from tournament golf. I had practiced every day though but hitting balls inside a tent, practicing at a range and playing casual ”bet golf” is not the same as playing for keeps. Even though I had one of the best practice weeks last week at Black Mountain it felt totally different stepping out onto the first tee at Amata Springs Country Club. Black Mountain was in great condition and fairly long but with no rough and the pins in accessible spots. Amata Springs was long, very very tight, had the deepest rough I’ve seen in a long time, pins tucked away into corners and opponents super hungry to beat us. A little different to say the least.

– Our team, including Colin Montgomerie, Robert Karlsson, Soren Kjeldsen, Peter Hanson, Pablo Martin, Simon Dyson, Henrik Stenson and myself all earned points helping us to win. That felt good. Certain memories of the matches comes to me straight away. Stenson off course holing out from 7 feet on the last to win the Trophy. Martin making birdie on the tough 17th to end his match with a 2/1 win. Dyson and Montgomerie winning the fourball big. Kjeldsen playing super steady beating Bullah on the 17th. Hanson totally crushed the amazingly talented player Ryo Ishikawa 5/4. Hanson was 7 under through 14. Me and Robert had two great days in both foursomes and fourball. I learnt a lot from Robert and we both hit some great shots and we only lost 2 holes in the two days, loosing no holes in the fourball. Colin Montgomerie finished with holing out from long distances on each of the last three holes to tie his singles match and I got to see it all. It was awesome. He looked so relaxed and knew exactly what he was doing.

– Being around top players and sharing thoughts was fun. Colin shared a lot of his experiences. I remember watching him on the last hole in the second day of foursomes in the 2006 Ryder Cup at The K Club. He hit the green with a 3 wood on the par-5 18th but left his partner Lee Westwood with a long tricky downhill putt from the back of the green. Lee putted it about 8 feet past the hole and a two putt would give them the victory in that match. Colin walked by the other European players that were sat next to the green cheering the couple on as a he saw Westwood’s putt going far by and just smiled and blinked with his eye and said ”I’ll hole that one”. I was standing close enough to see this and I doubt that any player or fan that heard this doubted him. He off course holed the left to right sliding putt to win the match. It felt like he was as confident yesterday when holing those crucial putts. When I discussed just this with my caddie Colin Byrne in the car on the way to the hotel, he just said, ”Monty is a competitor, he can’t help it”.

– Technically speaking, I improved a lot this week. When I came on tuesday my draw was a little too aggressive. When watching Robert, Pablo and Colin in the practice round, there straight shots worked better around this track than my bigger draws. I had to change up a little and found out that if I coil better in the backswing it’ll be easier for me to hit it straighter. Robert plays very nice. He has total control over his ball and can curve it either way in the air. He is remarkably good at the low soft shots with his irons. He tought me a lot of good strategies for match play as well and it was a blast to play with him. The best advice was to never let your opponent know how you feel.

– Overall, it was a fantastic week and it felt like it couldn’t have ended better. Close but we all knew Stenson was gonna make that!

See you soon! Take care!

Great day although I kind of sucked. But, I know what to work on and I’ll be better next time. So so happy though! We beat them!!! It looked bad there for a while but they all played great and Stenson came through in the end and shined!!! Me and Robert were the ones that were going to play the play off if Henrik wouldn’t have made that putt. We were standing on the range half warming up, half watching the golf. I’ve never been so nervous in my life. Crazy! If Henrik wouldn’t have made it, we would have been the ones winning or loosing the trophy. To say the least, I was pretty relieved and very happy when Henrik made it. Strong Stenson!!!

Tell you more later about the tournament and what I learnt and saw and heard and so on when I’ve got some more time. Celebrating with my Heineken next to me and the computer rushing to gt to the airport!!! I love it when you fly with a smile on your face. 

Monty finished with holing out from 4 meters on the 16th, 3 meters on the 17th and 5 meters on the last to tie his match. A true legend. He almost fist pumped on the last…almost.

Big crowds here in Bangkok. They love their golf!

Star caddies promoting the sponsors!

16 kilos of trophy! 

Colin just got his shirt ruined…

Pablo played great ones again beating Marksaeng at home turf!

Sweet party:)

See you soon!!!

Alex

We played great today as a team and took over the lead in The Royal Trophy. We were very happy afterwards and felt like we fought for each other. Monty is a great captain. He is encouraging and makes us all feel comfortable. Played with Robert again today and he played really good again and I had my best day so far. I think we shot 11 under through the 14 holes we played and didn’t loose a hole. We couldn’t ask for a better day. Yesterday, we shot 6 under I think in foursomes so we have had a good tournament as a team. Single matches tomorrow. We’re up by one point and need a good day to bring the trophy home. I’m playing the Japanese player Oda and really looking forward to a good match.  

Team meeting/lunch yesterday. Totally nackerd in the heat here in Bangkok. 

Locker room. Monty spends more time here than the rest of us. He usually just hits a few balls before teeing up. A few years ago, he never used to practice and he still won everything. He told us when he won in Switzerland about a decade ago, he didn’t even visit the driving range all week because you had to take a buggy ride to it. He hit a few balls into a net next to the pro-shop. He shot 63-61 on the weekend and won the whole thing.

Serious blog mode:)

Colin looks happy after our win. We were both a little rusty a few days ago but we’re back into the tournament rythm again. 

It’s great to see the European flag in the air. We need all support we can get. Here watching Stenson/Martin playing Marksaeng and Jaidee. Stenson/Martin won the match 2/1.

I told Monty he had to smile to get on the blog, but he refused:) He smiles a lot normally but not for the blog…

Stenson and Martin happy happy. So were we all.

Swedish supporters with the Swedish football shirt. I like!

18th.

Going to bed to get some sleep for tomorrow’s big game. I have felt in love with match play again. Haven’t played it for 4 years so I forgot a lot of the strategies and games you could use. Luckily, Robert is a match play star so he taught me some crucial things. 

See you tomorrow!

It’s been a good few days. Coming straight from a 5 week practice stretch made it a little difficult to come back to tournament form but it feels like my game is getting better and better. I thought I played pretty good last week in practice but when the game gets tested and the nerves start showing up, you know if your game is there or not. Mine wasn’t really there in the beginning of this week. Yesterday’s Pro-Am round gave me some hope but I was really nervous this morning before the first day’s play here at the Royal Trophy in Bangkok. I played foursome with Robert Karlsson and since I know him and I also know he is a fantastic player it felt like we had a good chance of winning if I played somewhat descent. And I did and we won 4 and 2 against Charlie Wi and Liang. Robert plays such good golf. It’s a pleasure to watch him and it’s great to learn from him. It looks like he knows exactly what he does and is very distinct in his decisions. 

Colin Montgomerie is a great captain. He has so much experience and with a record like his, all of us are listening when he speaks. I like hearing about his old wins and when he played matches. He is really into the Ryder Cup this year and tries to do all he can for Europe to bring home the trophy. Nothing will be left to chance this time.

We’re down 2,5-1,5 points after the first day and we have four points to play for in tomorrow’s four-ball and then 8 points in the singles on Sunday. Everything can happen and I think we have a strong team with a lot of experience. It’s only me and Pablo Martin that are kind of new to these kind of team events. Playing with Robert again tomorrow. All in!

Falling asleep at every dinner. Either my team mates are booring to have dinner with or the day’s are extremely long, warm and exhausting. It might be the last one.

Just a few pics from the last two days.

Traffic outside the hotel.

We usually get stuck in this when we go back from the course. I heard Stenson has a pillow in his car. Good idea.

8th hole. Mmm nice.

Coming back from the 8th hole’s island green.

Practice session after the round. 

Me and Colin.

Sleep and more sleep in the car in the morning…I like sleeping.

Practice day here at Amata Springs. Nice course. Played with Montgomerie, Karlsson and Pablo. It was good. Course played pretty soft and hit the fairways is a good thing:) Haven’t seen rough in a while and there was a lot of it here. But, it’ll be fine when we get started. It started raining like crazy when we were finished and it’s so much hotter here than in Hua Hin. 

My super driver was on time!

8th hole is not like other holes…to say the least.

Somebody building a little house.

Very professional riding in buggies.

Police escort. Not so spoiled at all when we get down here. Rediculous.

Press conference.

Both teams. 

Pablo is trying to say something serious for once.

Back with more details soon. Forgot that it might look better with black dress shoes to a jacket and tie. White sneakers were not allowed. Weird…They are so strict here in Asia:) So I have to run and get some to fit in.

See you soon!

Felt sad leaving this place today…Black Mountain was great! Never had so much motivation and energy to practice. 

So nice.

Elektrolyte drink was a necessary order.

Last few balls before leaving. I always freak out before a tournament trying to decide what swing feelings I want to go with during the tournament. I think I’m going with a strong clubface draw feeling…this might change 5 times before teeing up on friday morning… 

We’re getting super spoiled at this ”Royal Trophy” Tournament. Here is my driver…he is focused. Both hands on the wheel. Perfect form.

Biggest hotel room as well. Two bathrooms. Spoiled, but it’s nice. 

Time to get ready for dinner. I’m nervous already!

Also, I was wondering what you guys want in this blog. If you have any suggestions feel free. Sometimes I lack creativity so I’d love some tips on what to include. You decide the material. 

Alex. 

The best day in my life:)

Ok. Here are some questions and answers.

—————————————————

Q. Congrats!

What’s you record in match play? 

Royal – Accenture – Ryder Cup!

Good Luck!

A. My record is so-so I must say. Haven’t played match play since the amatuer days and since I wasn’t that great as an amatuer my record is not as good as I want it to be. I hope my professional match play record will be good. 

Q. Hello! Why do no amatuer men players win on the SAS Tour (Swedish Professional Tour) when it’s less competition for men than there is for women on that tour? Caroline Hedwall, Anna Nordqvist and Louise Larsson are amatuer girls who have won recently on the SAS Tour. Why do the women amatuers win and not the men amatuers? Do the best men amatuers not play the SAS Tour or are the girls just better internationally?

A. First of all, I think the competition is equal or better on the men’s side. There are more men playing the game and therefore it should be more competetion. We have incredible female golfers in Sweden and always have had. But, we have also had and have incredibly good male players. I think a lot of the best amatuers are playing college golf in the States. I played a few events on the Swedish Tour before heading to college and a few after, none (I can’t remember any at least) during my college years. I have no good answer why there are more female amatuer winners than men. Sorry:) 

 Q. Are you going to play the US qualifying just like Jonas Blixt did?

A. I’d love to play a lot of tournaments over there but also in Europe. In the future my goal is to play the majors and the WGC events and then some in America and some in Europe.

Q. What do you think a junior golfer should train?

A. I think a junior player should train short game, a LOT of technique and play a lot of worse ball. And play a lot of other sports to get the all-around physique.  

Q. Would u be able to provide your next year schedule? so that we can check your game!

A. I play Royal Trophy now and then the 3 tournaments in the Middle East starting the 21st of January. After that, hopefully a few in America. I’ll come back with a more detailed schedule soon when I know what’s going on. 

Q. Hi Alex , just wondered with all your hard training , whether you use any supplements to train or protein shakes . Please advise on any vitamins or other things you use to help you recover .

A. I take protein shakes after each gym session with no sugar added. I take a few normal vitamins and I drink a lot of water.

Q. Just a quick question. While training and working on mechanics, what are your favorite training aids or drills and which ones do you think are the most effective/efficient? Thanks, all the best!

A. I use the ”Swingyde” a lot. I usually do all the work with just a normal club or without anything to get the body and arms moving correctly. Actually, one of the best things is using a very long stick. Try to hit the ball at very low speed with a long stick. You need to move your body pretty good then. 

Q. Goes along with the last question, do you have a specific diet that you follow? I know Tiger focuses on eating salads, vegetables, fish, and lean meats. Any specific diet plans that you have? Or things that you try to stay away from?

A. I eat a lot of fat, protein, vegetables, fruit and water. I love candy but trying to cut down on it. It’s the pnly bad thing that I can’t live without. Maybe I can but it’s so damn good:)

Q. Do you have any tips on a good putting mat? I don’t like the ones you can buy in the golf stores. Want a more even one…

A. I think the best mat is a normal mat which is very flat. Not too fast, not too slow. 

Q. Hello Alex! I often see that you don’t do your routine (if you have one) before you hit balls while practising. ”Everybody” says that you should do your routine before all shots in practice and in tournaments. I wonder, do you not have a routine, or are you too lazy to do it in practice and if you have one, what does it look like?

A. I have a routine. I take one practice swing to get the feel for it. Then I look where I want it to go and then I step up and hit it. I never do a routine in practice unless I do goal oriented practice. If I warm up or work on technique or just hit balls for fun I never do my routine. It would take forever and it’s so boring. In the tournament I need to do it to warm up the body again in between shots. When on the range I constantly hit balls so I don’t need to warm up with a practice swing. I think a routine is overrated. Just step up and hit it. If you have a good swing and if you like hitting the ball you just aim and hit. I want to get to that stage and I hope I’m on the right track. Nobody on the tour does their routine on the range. A few do it on the putting green. 

See you later!

A few shots from the worse ball yesterday. It was a good day although we were both frustrated. Worse ball can really get your anger out. Really!!! But, it’s a good test and you learn a lot so we have done it pretty much every morning. We are just aobut to head out right now…See you!

This was my two best drives today…you know you’ve hit it good if you don’t even have to take a step to collect the two balls.

I like the girl’s Callaway bag…Looks cool!

Alex.

Two drives on 18 from our worse ball practice. You have to play pretty fast to not hold up the groups behind! 

Alex.