alex noren, golfer on the move

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Schedule.
2009-10-16 Been a weird day...felt great warming up before the round. Started horrific with par-dubbelbogey-bogey and it was just to put on the fighting face! Got it together and made the cut on the number. I'm very happy that I faught back. The scores are crazy again this week. Francesco Molinari is leading on 15 under and Harrington shot 62 today. They must have been playing so good! Hats off! I didn't even think that was possible here. My 4 under is not even close but I'm still happy to play over the weekend. It's such a nice week with a good course, an outstanding hotel and 30 degrees and sun every day. I don't want to leave:)

Had some problems with my swing today...I'm probably too technical most of the time but I think I need to improve my technique to get better. Now, I get underneath the correct swing plane and hit a big draw or leave it out right. Not the most fun feeling to have when you are over the ball. But, I will get closer and closer as long as I work on the right things. It's all about finding good exercises and then stick to them. Played with Justin Rose and James Kingston and they both played great so my game felt worse than it probably was. Worked on some things on the range after and working on some things in the room right now. Gotta get it right for the big upcoming events.

Speaking of that, this is my schedule for the rest of the year:

19-24 October Monaco Training

25 Oct-1 Nov Barclays Singapore Open, Singapore

2-8 Nov HSBC Champions Shanghai, China

9-11 Hong Kong

12-15 Dubai Training

16-22 Race To Dubai, Dubai

Then some rest and some training somewhere...

All those events are big and some good finsihes will get me in the top-50 in the world and that would be unreal. Woud get into a lot of good tournaments next year if I can do that. I need a good training week next week in Monaco.

This has been a great week for my strength training...breaking all my old records...just did 19 chin-ups...I'm so happy right now! My goal for this year was 20 chin-ups and I still have a couple of months to do that. I think it's the new strategy of drinking coffe before the gym and protein shake after and trying to beat Edfors as my motivation that made me perform better. Edfors is strong!

Mikko getting ready for dinner...

Me trying to look busy...

...and Pierre still happy after getting beaten in the weekly chin-ups competition. I would cry:)

Good night. Sleep time! And maybe some Henrik Dorsin on youtube!

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Long day
2009-10-14 Tried to get to the putting green early yesterday so there weren't too many players practicing.

Thought I wasn't in the Pro-Am so wanted to get the early practice in so we could just hang out by the pool afterwards becasue it's seriously hot here. Somehow I got into the Pro-Am so I took a break by the pool before playing...

One thing Robert Karlsson has taught me is to save energy during the week so you are fresh on sunday afternoon when it matters the most. That's why I really could enjoy the pool. A few years ago, I would have been hitting hundreds of balls instead and wearing myself out.

Pro-Am shots...

Still sore after that gym session two days ago so Pierre gave me a free card today...thanks a lot! I will never beat you in chin-ups again:)

After a long day it was nice with some Japanese food in the marina...

Now it's time to prepare for today's play...little nervous but I like that feeling...It means I care I think.

See you!

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Best day in a while...
2009-10-13 Felt like this day has been the most productive day in a while!!! Really good! Started off white some putting to get the feel for the greens. Then a little range session with Mike Walker, Pete Cowen's assistant, who is really good! Started working with an old drill, putting the left hand underneath the right to get a nice feeling for how the body should move.

Better "slot" position than with my usual grip:)

Colin and Mike Walker looking for things in the game that we can improve

Played a practice round with Robert Karlsson, it's great that he is back on tour! The round was great when we didn't have anybod in front of us or behind so we could hit a lot of shots on and around the greens to get a good feel for the course. Like playing long practice rounds, feels like the more time I spend on a golf course, the better I know it. Kind of logical...:)

11th hole at Oceanico Victoria...great par 5 with a cool second shot into a small green

Then it was time for some gym with Pierre Johansson (my physio) and Johan Edfors. Johan has worked with Pierre for a long time and he is very strong and beats me in every exercise. It kind of sucks, but I'm trying to get closer to his standard which is a great motivation.

We finished the session with a chin-ups competition...

...in third place with 16 chin-ups, Pierre Johansson!

In second place with 17 chin-ups, me!

And in first place with 18 chin-ups, the unbeatable Johan Edfors.

Although I lost to Johan, I broke my old record of 14 chin-ups. Don't know how I could increase it by three but I guess it was the espresso I took just before the session. I never drink coffe, but Pierre told me it could make me perform better so I downed one as quick as I could:) Is it bad when you are more motivated before a session in the gym than before playing golf?

A nice swim after to cool down was the perfect ending of a perfect day!

Later!

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Some more Q's and A's
2009-10-12 Q: Routine wise on the greens, are you a read, line up & stroke guy or is there any notion of visualisation, feel & will the ball into the hole?? Come on man, give up the secret!!

A. I'm pretty much a read, line up and stroke guy. My practice is a lot more "just do it" training with no thoughts and mostly on auto mode. I'm not reading the greens in practice, I'm just trying to make the putt on instinct. I want that practice to move into my tournament game more and more and hopefully I can be on auto mode in the tournaments as well in a few years.

Q. I guess your putting is more like Steve Stricker, more strait and upright? I really like his putting, looks so easy. What a sick round Ross had !!! Ok, it's a pretty easy course but 24 under after 3 rounds, its not minigolf, or is it? Feels like its a putting comp... when you guys are on a a course like that :-/ Whats your view on these kinds of scores you can do these days?

A. Yeah, Stan Utley's (my putting coach) putting is a lot more upright then mine is. Steve Stricker putts great! Hands are higher on-line with the shaft. I try to get my hands higher but I find it a little difficult to do under pressure. We'll see what happens. Yes, it was the easiest course we have played this year (according to the scores), but hat off to Ross, he played unreal golf. The course was fairly short and not to much rough. It's nice to play a course like that once in a while, because it boosts your confidence. Although, I much rather play tougher courses so I can improve my game. On an easy course, it's all about putting. On a tougher course, all parts of the game are tested. I like it when the winning score is around 10 under par.

Q. That magic top-50 mark on the World Rankings is getting closer. A few more good tournaments during the fall will do it. Is that an important goal for you or do you see it more as a bonus if you accomplish what you want on the golf course?

A. It's a nice feeling getting closer to that spot. I want to play in all the biggest tournaments and the key to do that is to be top-50 in the world. So, it's a very important thing for me. To get there, I need to do accomplish the things I want to achieve on the course.

Keep asking questions, I try to help and answer them and you also help me reflecting on what I do good and what I need to improve. So, thanks a lot!:)

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Awesome day!
2009-10-12 Really happy with finishing 4th last week. I didn't really think that after that bad start on thursday. But, I accomplished my goal of only looking forward, not dwell on the past. It went well this time:)

Learnt a lot from the experienced and great players I played with in Madrid. Thongchai Jaidee has the best attitude I've seen and that's the reason he has won so many times. He hits the ball great as well, but he is always happy on the course and it looks like he loves every minute out there. Jimenez played nicely as well. He has a special aura around him, he looks like a matador and is so great with the crowd. His game is very good and his short game must be among the best in the world.

Flew late last night over to Portugal to play the Portugal Masters at Oceanico Victoria Golf Club in Villamoura.

Madrid is a nice place but Villamoura is incredible. The beach is five minutes away and the golf course is one minute away. Best of both worlds.

I had two goals today. The first was to re-energize myself to get ready for this week. The second was to not play golf. The second one was pretty tough since we are this close to the golf course...

Got a great deal at this hotel and the hotel pool looks amazing...

Headed down to Villamoura marina to have a look if we could find anything to do to get away from the golf course...we found a dolphin safari trip!

Cruising out from the marina

Cool animals...Then we headed for the caves down by the beach...

Here is the "lion's rock"

On the way back to the marina, we saw Christiano Ronaldo's summer house, pretty nice!

After that I tried to find some other activity other than golf...the gym was the first thing I could think off.

Just ordered room service with Mikko. He is still happy after his second place finish yesterday. It made him secure his card for next year and he really deserved the great finish.

Later!

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