FIPPA Newsletter - August 2008.
Welcome to this edition of the FIPPA Newsletter.
Joep Van Mourik
Reflections of the Dutch Team Manager in the countdown to Papendal
The charismatic Dutchman Joep Van Mourik (team manager of the Holland World Cup team) has rebounded from great personal tragedy, rediscovered his huge love of Pitch and Putt and now can’t wait for this November’s major championship.
“Progress for the III World Cup at Papendal is steady. We are very excited, because the organization brings everything to a higher level,” Joep told fippa news. “Everybody who visits this event will be amazed and for those who are not able to come to Holland there will be a special website with live scoring and footage of the matches. This is so professional and stands comparison with PGA tour events and similar tournaments. I don’t even know everything the committee is doing, but you will be amazed how these guys will present Pitch and Putt to the world.”
Joep is delighted with the increased number of teams. “There will be 20 teams this year. Of course we are happy to see old friends again, but it will also very exciting to meet teams from China, USA, Belgium, Germany, Pakistan, Canada and Latvia. I know, countries like China and the USA always want to win, so I expect good players will be sent to Papendal." Joep feels that the European champions have an excellent chance of breaking their duck in the World Cup. “Papendal is a course where the Irish lads will feel at home very quickly, because the courses in Holland are more similar to Irish courses than the courses in southern Europe. It is no secret that our goal will be to play in the final and any other result would be disappointing for us. The Dutch players are not selected yet, but I expect Rolf Kwant and Patrick Luning to be in the team. The other players are very close. We train with seven players on the course every week at the moment and it might be Bert Olthuis, Jan Tijhuis, Jenno Wolters, Henk-Rik Koetsier or Lennart Swennenhuis. In Holland we don’t play selection matches anymore. The coach selects the best players and starts to work with them and he chooses the team.“
The man who proudly led the Dutch at McDonagh in Euro 2003 is delighted with the current Dutch back room set-up and the progress being made. “Coach Rinus Huberts is satisfied with the training sessions. We have a staff of three. Rinus is the boss. He is a former Dutch Strokeplay champion and even won a tournament for the ranking this year. Several players of the selection finished behind him that day, so he knows what he’s talking about and gets great respect from all the players. Besides that he was a succesful coach in other sports before the board asked him to accept this job. He is a modern coach, always looking to other sports for things he can use in Pitch and Putt.”
Joep also sees a bright future for the next generation of Dutch players. “Pay attention to Rinus’ son Jeroen. He is too young now but I expect him to be a great player in our team in a few years time. Not only are his scores and ball striking good, but his mentality already makes him an excellent player.”
Joep Van Mourik
Clearly the Dutch are leaving no stone unturned in their quest for the holy grail of the WCIII. “Then there is Meinard Lutterop, our putting and swing coach. This man knows so much about putting, he can give a lecture for six hours, without saying anything twice. But more important, the players adopted his style of putting, because they found it took strokes off their rounds, even excellent players like Rolf Kwant and Patrick Luning. Meinard was already well known in the golf world, but Rinus asked him to join the team and that was a great moment for Pitch and Putt in Holland. Meinard also spends many hours with individual players who want to improve their game. I know that for instance, if he worked with Irish top players, he could knock at least 2 strokes off their scores as well. But please, ask him after the tournament and not before!”
Joep outlines his own part in what is obviously a very effective and contented structure. “My role in the team is a ‘handyman’. I do everything so Rinus and Meinard can carry out their tasks without worries. Some things I do you could describe as a team manager, organizing everything so the players can play and the coaches can coach. It is so different and more professional today compared to when I was coach of the Dutch team. When the board decided that Rinus would be the new coach, he phoned and asked if I wanted to be his assistant. We talked and I got enthusiastic about his ideas. I am very happy with this role in the team.”
Joep has been through deep turmoil over the past year. “I have been out for six months. My wife got very sick and I nursed her until she died, 4 months ago. During this sad time, Rinus kept me informed about what was happening.” The Pitch and Putt community was hugely caring during a difficult time. “When they played the European Championships at Chia last year, I did not come along, but Rinus and several players phoned me and sent text messages about how the team was doing. My wife insisted that I should also go, but I wanted to stay with her at home and take care of her. But she said that after she was gone, I should pick up Pitch and Putt as fast as I could, because that would help me to move along. And she was right, as always.”
Joep is not just a team manager. “I am a senior now and I play tournaments as much as I can. When I returned to the course and within the team, I got great support and comfort from everybody. It is like the late Harm Luning always said, Pitch and Putt is just a big family. And so it is.”
Much of Joep’s life revolves around Pitch and Putt. “Besides my work for the squad and besides playing a lot, I am a member of the advisory council for the board of the NPPB. At some tournaments I am also a referee, because I trained as a golf referee a few years ago. I also give advice to clubs when they organize a tournament and I’m a member of the council at my home course Koekange. For my work in Pitch and Putt I received an honorary membership a few years ago and that was a great moment in my life.”
And there’s more. “I like to go to clubs and give clinics in Pitch and Putt, like I did in a youth summer Pitch and Putt camp a few weeks ago. It was great fun working with kids who want to be better and work hard to achieve that. I play competitions on my home course Koekange and at the course in Lemele. Very nice people, lots of fun and 2 different courses, and that is good for my play.”
Joep spoke to us just after returning from a trip to Italy where he still managed to fit in some Pitch and Putt. “I also play golf for my club sometimes and play golf with people from a Dutch internet forum. I just got back from a tournament in Italy where we played against teams from all over Europe. In between I visited the Virginia Golf Course, where the 2008 Italian Open will be played. It is a real Pitch and Putt course, 9 holes, but with small greens and teeboxes like they should be. The course has had a lot of damage from the storm and rain a few months ago, but they expect to have the course ready in September. I will go to Italy if Rinus approves that I will miss a training session then.”
Proud Dutchman and all round nice person, Joep van Mourik, has this sign-off message for everyone. “We are looking forward to meeting everybody in Holland at Papendal. The World Cup will be well organised and a feast for the players and the fans. See you in October.”
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