Finally my season has started. For the first time in my whole career I didn't play a tournament before the first league round. To say that I felt a bit rusty is a huge understatement, I didn't have that many good shots at all during the first day of practice. Fortunately my form improved during the second day and during the competition it was ok, but not much more. Thankfully I can still play straight even when I'm not playing good.
I actually dreaded the first time I was going to have to close out a match and after a five (5!!!) on the last hole in our second match, which we won pretty easy, the feeling didn't improve. I wonder if I ever have made a 5 on that type of lane before..... Anyway, we played very well as a team for most of weekend and came away with 6 wins and 1 loss. The situation I was hoping to avoid came in the last match against Jönköping. We were down from the start and things were looking dark indeed. Thanks to some mistakes from their side and fewer from us we crept closer and with Jönköpings 4th player on 18 the impossible happened. I was preparing my high risk - high reward ball for the örkelljunga when Linus couldn't get the ball through. We were down by 3 before that lane and I had only to make a 3 to have the lead with only one lane left. To keep the tension I missed one and then get through for the 3. After managing to get an ace to close out the 1-shot win for the league lead I felt like I've been running a marathon. It was nice to be able to once again close out a tight game, but at the same time I feel for Linus. I've been there and it's not a nice place to be. If you strong and stubborn enough you can come back, but it takes some mind wrestling first.
For our team it's really nice to see that Mr Pölder can perform like it was the late 90's. Back then he was one of Sweden's best feltplayers and always played 4th for us. Hopefully he will keep his form throughout the season so that we can make a serious challenge for a third gold at the EC. Hardenberg seem to bit a little bit better and with the loss of last year's EC no 1 Persson, we have a void to fill. With Pölder and Micke playing good we have a good chance if the other five can bring the game to the next level.
As I prepare for my final two competitions before going on parental leave to possibly be back for the league's final weekend in Jönköping, I'm still hoping that I can impress head coach Strandberg enough to give me a ticket to Odense. A house is already booked for my wife and baby, my parents and her parents, so if I don't get selected I will come there and do anything I can to get the trophy back to Sweden anyway!
A good line from the Murphy collection which would come to perfect use when trying to adjust minigolf lanes.
If all else fails, hit it with a big hammer.