Golf training with two ex-national coaches

Newcomer Reinhard-Karl Üblacker (52) wants to be on the Legends Tour in two years max

Bad Griesbach – Reinhard-Karl Üblacker from Mühldorf is ambitious. When he sets his mind to something, he works hard to make it happen. Almost two years ago he had made it his goal to become a golf pro – just a year after he obtained his license to play. And at 51 years old. Since his decision, he has been working daily on his mission to play on the Legends Tour in 2025. This is the current name of the European Senior Tour and is the official tour for players over 50. He is supported, among other things, by two former national coaches.

The decision is made. Now it has to be implemented. On the freeway. At the gym. At the training ground. His body has to learn the difficult movements of the golf swing. He has to develop precision. And he must be clear in his head: What do I want? How do I get there? How do I deal with setbacks?

In order to be able to implement all this, Reinhard-Karl Üblacker got expert help (see box). Mental coach Silke Lüdike, for example, has drawn up a strict training plan for the native Austrian. The 52-year-old works more than 40 hours a week on his golf dream. In addition, Reinhard-Karl Üblacker now completed a training day away from his home base (Golf Resort Bad Griesbach) at the Wörthsee Golf Club and obtained an expert opinion. “I wanted an external opinion on where I am now with my golf game and how mentally fit I am,” says the former course golfer. And he got it too. None other than the former national golf coach Uli Zilg examined the technique of the determined golf new-comer. The topic of the day was the sequence. It is about when and in what order the individual body parts move during the backswing and the downswing. “It was impressive for me what skills Reinhard has already brought with him, considering how old he is and how long he’s been playing golf,” said Uli Zilg after training. In addition, the 52-year-old can quickly absorb and implement new things. Same on training day. “I’m still a bit late. But on the evening of the training day I got the momentum going well,” says the man from Mühldorf happily. A lot was also about being able to feel the golf swing. “How does a good shot feel? Like a bad one? And what do I have to do so that the next one will be good again?” Because that’s the only way he can get ahead.

Silke Lüdike was also present at the expert session. She works as a mental coach for Golf Team Germany and used to be a national coach in the youth field of beach volleyball. “It’s about Reinhard knowing himself and his golf game well. He must be able to decide in every situation how it can be solved. And afterwards you have to look at whether the decision was right or did he want to achieve something else – and what does he have to do to achieve it,” explains the mental trainer. A special feature of Reinhard-Karl Üblacker is that he works with a time limit. “You can’t say, as is often the case, ‘take your time’. Because that’s exactly what he doesn’t have. That’s why his project is all the more difficult – especially in golf, where you absolutely need repetitions to become confident.” 

The expertise with the two former national coaches brought Reinhard-Karl Üblacker closer to his goal. Not only has he improved his swing technique, but his mental strength has also grown. “I’ve gained a lot of self-confidence,” reports Reinhard-Karl Üblacker. He needs that too on his journey, in addition to ambition.

The team

His golf coach from the very first day is Denis Prössel from the Quellness & Golf Resort Bad Griesbach. As a trained mental trainer, Silke Lüdike is responsible for his psychological game. Artur Frank helps Reinhard-Karl Üblacker as a sectoral naturopath and sports physiotherapist for physical stress. The 52-year-old is also supported by former national golf coach Uli Zilg. As a “Golf Performance Coach”, he helps Reinhard-Karl Üblacker to fully exploit his individual potential and to achieve his best possible performance.