(Editor's Note: Golf fitness trainer Sean Cochran (www.seancochran.com) is at the 2006 Open Championship with Phil Mickelson, for whom he serves as trainer. Sean will be filing daily journal entries through the conclusion of the tournament.)
Getting the hang of things in England
I have to say almost all of us have adjusted to the time change, except for Phil's massage therapist (who keeps getting out of bed so late that I almost think he's trying to stay on Stateside time), but to each his own.
It is late Saturday as I write this latest journal entry and my previous assertion that we were getting the hang of driving over here might have been a little premature. Let's just say that on my way to the coffee shop this morning with Phil's agent, finding reverse was a little more difficult than it should have been.
Outside of a few automobile problems, overall we are all getting accustomed to life here across the pond. For example, the streets are much more narrow than they are Stateside. When you are driving down a two-lane road with cars parked on each side of the street, the road really is just a one-way road and you must wait your turn.
And the coffee over here is touch bit more strong (Starbucks, you guys got nothing on these Brits and their coffee). After drinking a full cup of Joe over here, when we go back to the States and order our favorite "triple, mocha, no whip, with two shots," it's gonna feel like decaf. They know how to brew a good cup of coffee, to say the least.
Outside of our acclimation to living in the U.K., work is normal for all of us the weekend before the British Open. Phil, Pelz, and "Bones" were at Royal Liverpool Golf Club for the majority of the day.
When Phil got back to the house after his practice, he did a workout with me. We did our stretching, balance exercises, core training, and topped it off with some martial arts work in the backyard.
The game plan will be the same tomorrow (practice and an afternoon workout). I imagine Phil's agent and I will head to the cafe to "get our morning fix" and go from there. The weather continues to be great, sunny and in the mid-seventies (not what you think of when the words England and weather are spoken in the same sentence), and our first week has been good. I might get to work in another round of golf tomorrow.
Back to British Open homepage on About.com
