Lynn Brooky may be on the wrong side of 40 but she feels like a nervous rookie as she counts down to her return to Europe's golf courses.
The New Zealand No 1 will swing a club in earnest for the first time since last December when she fronts for the Ladies European Tour's (LET) 525,000 euro ($1.2 million) Swiss Open starting on Friday (NZT) in Ticino, at the foothills of the Alps.
Brooky is coming off the longest break of her life, spending the last five months taking time out, freshening the mind and bedding down a remodelled swing as she endeavours to extend her career.
"I am buzzing. I have been practising hard and I am hitting the ball really well. I really am looking forward to getting back into competition mode," Brooky said as she prepares for her 15th season in Europe.
With her 41st birthday behind her, Brooky dares not place any restrictions on her competitive future.
Her longevity and success have earned her lifetime membership to the European circuit and she intends to keep on swinging as long as she is enjoying herself.
"I have got as many years left as I want. I can always play. I will play when I can play, and if I am hitting it well I will go out there and earn my money.
"I have all the time I want. There is no time for me to retire. I will keep on going until I find something better to do with my life."
She is sure she will add to her four LET titles, the last of them at the 2006 Open de Espana.
"I am no kid but I am no failure and I'm going out there again to win at some stage."
Brooky is scheduled to play 16 LET events this season, five less than in 2008 when she finished 31st on the moneylist.
Her best season results wise remains 2003 when she earned 104,368 euro to finish fifth on the moneylist.
The 2009 LET programme has been shorn of four tournaments, all lost in the fallout of the credit crunch as bank sponsorship money has been directed elsewhere.
Brooky is less concerned about that as she is to prove her abilities with club in hand.
Much of 2007 and 2008 were spent perfecting a new swing promoted by her coach, and now partner, Englishman Ian Godleman.
They made significant changes, principally to ease the pressure on Brooky's body.
She had played too long in pain, to her back and shoulders, and had she soldiered on with her old swing there was every likelihood she would be forced into premature retirement.
There were enough signs last season that the changes will pay handsome rewards and Brooky was eager to see her hard work and perseverance pay off.
"The swing that Ian has taught me is that you work around the spine," she said.
"The spine stays stable and all the muscles do all the work. That's how you instantly get another 20 years in length and your back pain goes."
- NZPA
Golf: Brooky buzzing ahead of new season
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