Golf bio:

From the beginning to 2009:
I have played the wonderful/dreadful game of golf since sometime around the early/mid-1990's, however it took many years before anything remotely interesting started to happen. My first club was Roskilde Golfklub where my dad had been playing for a couple of years after a long hiatus from the game.
Throughout my junior years I played a lot with my two great friends Peter Jantzen and Michael Bruun. Peter was my fiercest competitor and he somehow managed to beat me three years in a row from 1997 to 1999 at the Roskilde Junior Strokeplay Championships, leaving me on the runner-up spot all three times.
I distinctly remember the first and the last time he beat me. The first time I received a two-stroke penalty for knocking down a tap-in without removing the flagpole after having nearly holed my shot from the bunker on the 15th in the last round. The last and final time we were tied for the lead going down the 72nd hole but I missed a 1½ meter curved put for par and Peter beat me by the smallest possible margin - a single stroke. In my teens I played a couple of matches for the Roskilde division team, but without any particular success, and as far as I remember never got any lower than around a 6 or 7 handicap.

During highschool I drifted away from the game and rarely played, if at all. My interests switched to playing competitive computer gaming, and I got to travel around the world, including places like Athens, Cannes, Paris and Las Vegas. 
During my studies as a laboratory technician, I picked up the clubs again in the 2005 season, having quit my excessive computer playing a year back. 
I convinced my bank advisor to change my credit limit and then instantly updated my driver from the good ol' Steelhead series driver to the 2004 Cleveland Launcher 460. I had previously tried the driver as Michael Bruun had it in his bag, and the switch alone gave me 20-30 meters more length from the tee (which I can assure you was needed, as I don't hit the ball very far).

Things didn't really pick up pace until I got Sacha hooked on the game. All those hours on the par 3 course honed my wedgeskills to, if not perfection, then at least rock-solid. The end of 2005 saw my handicap decrease by several shots as I posted a tournament winning 74 (+2) in the 2005 Roskilde flagmatch and played several low-70 rounds privately as well, including a record-low 65, which no one unfortunately believes as I played alone.
In 2006 I said goodbye to Roskilde Golfklub in fine style by making both the 36-hole and the 54-hole cuts in the Roskilde Strokeplay Championships on my way to a 9th place finish after posting rounds of 78-81-83-80 under harsh weather conditions.

In december 2006 I switched clubs to Korsør Golfklub and we moved to Korsør in the spring of 2007.
In the first season I played mainly as 1st single for the KGK 2nd team alongside the juniors and the pro assistent coach.
I played three singles, won two and lost one. I made a lot of friends in the club and got acquainted with the short but tricky course. In the fall I started posting good rounds, among them a 2nd place finish in the 2007 BeoMasters after shooting a 77 (+4). I finished the year in hcp 4,8.

During the winter, Korsør Golfklub and Trelleborg Golfklub from Slagelse merged and formed Golfteam Storebælt with three competitive teams in the 1st division, the 4th division and in Danmarksserien.
I started the 2008 season in flying colours by winning the Opening Match in Korsør with yet another 77 (+4).
In the annual festive week in Korsør Golfklub I placed in the prizemoney in 5 out of 6 matches, the highlight being a 3rd place in the bestball tournament after posting a thrilling 66 (-7) with assistent pro Thomas Lindhardt.
During the 2008 season I participated in 5 matches for Golfteam Storebælt: two singles for the 3rd team, halving both lamely on the 18th efter being 1 up on the tee, and three singles for the 2nd team, losing two away matches before ending with a 4/3 victory in my last match.
As the season closed I reached a new record-low handicap of 4,2 after winning the Korsør Fall Tournament with a even par round of 73. In november, mere weeks before the greens were closed, I posted my first sub-par round on Korsør Golfklub after a 72 (-1) during a private round with Michael Bruun. I ended the season with a 77,2 stroke average (+4,2).

For the first time ever, I practised a lot through the winter, playing several rounds on Vallø GK and Trelleborg GK.
I started the 2009 season on a slow note however, struggling to find my form in april and the beginning of may.
The more I played, the better I got and participation in the local mens club "Tirsdagsklubben" gave me the opportunity to play under a bit of pressure each week.
A long stretch of excellent form allowed me to post rounds of 76-77-78-78-72-74-78-73-73-73-74-76 (PAR 73) consecutively in the summer months. The 72 (-1) was my first official round under par, and both that, and several other rounds could and should have ended even better.
I played all six matches in Danmarksturneringen for the 4th Division GTS team. I won 5 and lost 1.
I ended my season in early september with a 76,8 stroke average (+3,8) and a handicap of 4,5. Even though I went from 4,2 to 4,5 in handicap, I still feel that the season was succesful. I broke most of my personal records; first official round under par, most eagles in a season (4), most birdies in a round (7) and more.
I am absolutely convinced that I will go below 4,0 in handicap next season when the rounds played in Tirsdagsklubben are made official and regulative.

Hopefully 2010 will contain several more sub-par rounds and a breaking of the "handicap 4 curse".

     

Folsberg.dk © 2006 • Lars Folsberg • lars@folsberg.dk