Laura Gómez begins her fifth season in  the  Ladies  European  Tour  very enthusiastically. She experienced bad luck during her first season in the tour, which limited her to five tournaments due to the pandemic. From that moment everything started to get complicated for the Marbelli who, in spite of it all, has never given up. Even having lost her card and some of her sponsors, Laura keeps on fighting with the support of the The Real Club Las Brisas and The Range Marbella as her new sponsors. She is not very long with the driver but she is straight, that assures that she doesn’t have problems. Perseverance is, no doubt, another virtue of hers.

How are you facing this season?

This year my career is not the best in the tour, it is a Career Money List and it depends on how much I win in the tour. Right now I will enter the tournaments of May because up to now, everything that is being played are reduced Feel tournaments due to the few hours of light, this is the way it was played during the 90’s.

When do you start competing?

The first tournament I would play in the LET will be the German Masters, but before that I’ll play the LETAS of Terra Blanch and two of the Santander’s to start getting the rythm of the championship, because I have already been at home for four months.

You haven’t been very lucky at the beginning of the LET.

The truth is that in 2019 I had a very good year, I was going to conquer the world but the COVID situation stopped me. I haven’t had the best results on the golf course since then, but this year I feel very well, very confident.

Have you given yourself a time limit?

I keep on trying, I know that I can do it and I want to do it. While I have those two things, I will go on.

But last year wasn’t very good for you? Last year wasn’t good for me because I played four tournaments in a row without making the cut and that put me in a hole. Getting out of there has taken me a while, but now during last Christmas  I hade surgery in one of my eyes and I was for one month without touching a club. That has given me time to think about why I wanted to be here, about what my objectives are. That has made me stronger and right now I am playing quite well. Being at home, with my family has given me time to enjoy their company, also Marbella and now I feel like moving on.

Have you changed anything?

Yes, I’m doing some changes now. I have a personal trainer who competed in longest Driver and I also have a sport psychologist. I need that support because being out for such a long time is very hard.

What’s your motto to go on?

I had never thought it before, but someone gave a present, a key ring that says “you can do it” and I carry it in my bag. That’s now my motto.

How many tournaments do you have in your calendar?

I’m thinking of 20-25 tournaments this year. In June, for example, I won’t come home. The LET is better now because it ha risen the prize fund and the quality of the golf courses, the organization improves every year.

Have you thought on any model as an example to follow. I mean Carmen Alonso who won her first tournament last year, for example.

The truth is that Carmen Alonso is a great example because she has been in the tour for twenty years and she achieved her first victory in Finland last year, I followed it. I think that perseverance is essential because you learn new things every day in this sport, you are surprised and never know when you are going to win. We are many of us competing, there are women players that can win three times in a row and there are some others that can play the tour during their whole life and never win.

Which player would you like to play with?

With Linn Grant. I have meet her a lot during the tournaments, I think I have played some training rounds with her, but never in a competition round.

She was in the Solheim at Finca Cortesin.. would you have liked to be part of the European Team?

I would have loved it. That was one of my objectives because I was a Finca Cortesin ambassador and being there it would have been an advantage because I know the courese dips due the fact that I trained there for two years. I could have read them witout squating down.

Which was the best moment of the tournament for you?

It was Carlta giving us the title in the hole 17, an incredible par with a stroke that left it almost won. I think that was the most spectacular moment of the Solheim and

the one that I liked the most.

 What have you learnt having experienced it all upclose?

What is most important is to have a good team behind you, that supports you. A lot of hard mental and physical work is needed and that can be what I lacked during all these years. Being able to carry the pressure is also important, because a lot of people are watching you.

What is your objective in 2024?

To get the complete card in the LET.

You are also discovering your facets as teacher…

When I am around here I try to give some clinic at The Range Marbella to women who are starting to play and the truth is that I enjoy it a lot. I love the look of satisfaction on the faces of women when they have never taken a club before and they are able to lift the ball and send it further than 50 metres.

A piece of advice for the Ladies in Golf golfers.

Getting angry is not worth it. The next swing is more important than the one you have just done. If you are angry you won’t be able to concentrate on the next one. What is important is to put the ball in the hole, so you have to think of the future and be positive always.