Had a good day on the practice field. Put together a movie as well for you guys. Nothing to brag about editing or content wise but anyway, here it is.

Just came back to the hotel after hanging out at the ”Bird’s Nest” (big after-golf village for the crowd to hang out) at the TPC course here in Phoenix where they play the PGA Tour tournament FBR Open. Fun to meet some old players from college who now are on the PGA Tour and also to see what a crazy tournament this is. The players told me that the par-3 16th hole is now fully surrounded with grandstands and there are 28.000 people on that hole every day cheering for a good shot and booing for a bad one. What a cool thing and what a thrill to play!!! It felt like there was almost the same amount of people at this after-golf party place where they had a huge concert as well. They really put on a big show around this tournament and it makes it very unique. Some players love it and some hate it. The crowd loves it though, I can tell you that!

Time to hit the pillow! The weather predicts storms tomorrow but he has been wrong before.

alex

Nice to be back on grass and I feel more motivated than ever. Yesterday’s practice went ok. I can honestly say that it feels like I haven’t had a break. It felt like I practised yesterday. Although, as the last few tournaments has shown, my game hasn’t been on top but now I will practice golf until my hands bleed to get back on track. I hate the feeling of not being able to hit the shots I want. Often for me, it’s just that feeling of not being able to do something that drives me. It’s not all about results. I play golf for most days out of a year and to play shitty golf then is not an enjoyable year for me. Let’s get it good!!!

An ”all-dayer” today and have just been looking at great swings and shots on youtube to get in the right frame of mind. 

Get back to you after practice!

alex

Almost a whole day of travel down to warmer latitudes. The Best Western Hotel right next to the ASU Karsten Golf Course feels almost like home to me now. Every time I’ve been here in Phoenix, I’ve stayed here. It’s cheap and it’s close to practice.

Snow around Vancouver.

No snow in Arizona…perfect.

I think I will be struggling to talk my way out of overweight luggage this time. I don’t know how I end up with all this after a few weeks on the road. It’s nice to re-group sometime and get the stuff cleaned and start from scratch again. 

New deliveries! This is all I need for a good practice week. Staying here in Phoenix for 3 days training with Niklas Lemke and the other guys. Then on monday it’s time to go to Orlando to meet up with Peter Hansson and my physio Pierre Johansson. I have to add that he did a great job training the Swedish Cross-Country team for the Olympics. They did extremely well and to top it all off, they won the finishing relay race. I can feel that next week will be a great week and as usually, Pierre is taking care of the camera for you to see what we will end up doing.

After a vacation week like we had up in Vancouver and Whistler, a serious training week (or weeks) is exactly what I need and what I feel like.

alex 

Just got that European Tour Weekly Production that we did last week sent to me. Here is the link.

Not the usual very well edited ski film with great riders…but I’m suppose to be better at golf:)

Big hockey night ahead of us. Very excited to watch the Canada-Russia game with Crosby and Ovechkin. Then the big game for Sweden against Slovakia. Then it’s time for me to head out of this fun place and go to another fun place, Phoenix, for a few days. 

Hope you are all good and excited for the games!

Good day of skiing today as well. A little foggy and snowy though. 

alex

Snowing like crazy this morning here in Whistler:) Hasn’t been snowing for a long time and it’s affecting the whole town. All the locals are wondering when the ”pow” is coming back. I liked the slopes yesterday though when they are nicely prepared. I guess fresh powder for them is as important as the greens being cut for us. A newly groomed pist for a freeskiier is like asking the European Tour players to play the new golf simulator…not the first thing I would do maybe if I had a chance to go on a real track. Anyway, it’s been a lot of fun hanging out with a whole bunch of different people up here. The poker players I’m staying with are the funniest. They don’t have consistent working hours really. One of the guys got a house up here and thought it would be nicer to play poker up here than home in England and invites whoever of his friends to come over to stay and play some hands. When they’ve had enough of poker they go snowboarding. I’ve stayed in the house for two nights now and I just met a guy who apparently has been staying in the house the whole time but has played about 200.000 hands of poker and not stepped outside his room. Awesome.

My friend from Sweden who also plays poker here had to cut his skiing day short yesterday to treat his back in a physio clinic. Another guy said quickly after hearing about his physio visit: ”It really is a physically tough sport poker. That ”all-in” move they do in poker must really tear on the back muscles”. 

Heading up on the hill now to see if I can handle the new snow. 

It’s the first time in a long time I’ve felt this distant to golf. It worries me but I know I will get straight back into it when we train again. Maybe it’s good for me to see something different. Last few months I’ve been a little frustrated and I think the reason for that has been that I haven’t thought and cared about anything else than golf. When the results and the strive to improve gets too important, it’s easy to get frustrated if it doesn’t go the way you want. You gotta have some other hobbies I think and something else that’s important in your life.

Big hockey day today with 4 quarter finals. Sweden’s game against Slovakia is at 9PM over here. Good night!

alex 

This is the weather right now so no more skiing for today. My legs are killing me. Great workout though. Pierre always complains about my weak legs. I’m working on it Pierre, in Whistler. Great combination.

There was nobody in the slopes today which is great. The weather sucked at the top and at the bottom but in the in-between areas it was nice. First time on the hill for a long time so it was a good training day. I’m not great at skiing but I love it. Such a freedom kick. Although, wearing those boots made me think how lucky I am only have to wear golf shoes. Even the firmest pair of ”Classics” seems like slippers compared to the ski boots. 

Peak-to-Peak ride. 

Our room. Andreas was here earlier and got the master bed. Mine is pretty sweet though on the right. It looks like I even get a comforter tonight. Looking good.

Great ending to a great day…

One more day here. Actually can’t wait to hit some spinners in Phoenix. I’m thinking of some fun videos for you guys. It seemed like that short game thing we did was enjoyable. I’ll think and try to come up with something. Maybe some what I try to do with my swing and where it has gone from and where I want it to be??? Good idea?

alex

Canada is truly amazing…have never seen anything like it before.

View over Vancouver city from West Vancouver. 

On the way to Whistler. Never wished for a car ride to never end before.

Sweet.

We found a golf course too. But, felt like beeing in Sweden when the sign said: ”Opens in March”.

They had a cool map in the McDonald’s in Squamish. All customers got a needle to point out where they were from on the map…awesome idea!

Can you live there???!!!

Just got to the house in Whistler. Staying with some poker players. There are computers everywhere and it’s such a cool bunch of guys. They are serious pros! My Swedish friend brought these Swedish souvenirs and what a view!

I miss golf though and I miss the hard training, but staying here a few more days will make me want to play even more so I’m gonna stick to my plan. We’ll see if I can get back with more motivation than ever and train harder to get better. Hope so!!!

alex

Awesome guy! 

alex

Vancouver could be the best place in the world to live. It’s not too cold in the winter, around 10 degrees celsius right now and warm and lots to do in the summer. Haven’t tried the golf courses yet but they are probably great as well. It’s close to the mountains as you can see, perfect size (about 2 million people), Canadians are very friendly and it’s right by the water. All seems good to me!  

I like the Canadian flag as well!

Heading up to Whistler tomorrow. Have had enough of city life. It’s so weird that it’s snow up there when it’s kind of warm here, at least in the sun. I think I’m getting better at relaxing and keeping my thoughts away from golf. Maybe the fact that it’s a lot going on here helps but still. In 2007, I had three voluntary days totally off from golf. That doesn’t include the all-day travel days. So, for me taking 5 or more days of in a row right now is a mere wonder!!! What’s going on:)

What I’ve found out is that I really enjoy watching other sports and getting inspired and motivated by other athletes. So, being here is great!!! I got chills down my spine watching Shaun White absolutely kick everybody else’s asses in the half pipe! He is inspiring.

alex