September 4, 2021 • 53 mins
Luiza Altmann is the highest ranked player in Brazil and is currently a member of the Ladies European Tour (the LET). While there have been other women from Brazil playing professional golf, Luiza is something of a "trailblazer" having also played a season in Asia on the KLPGA (Korea). While football or soccer, is the sport most closely associated with Brazil, Golf is growing, partly due to the 2016 Olympic Games hosted in Rio de Janeiro , and partly as the country continues to grow economically.
In this episode, Luiza shares her experience of discovering golf in a country where football or futebol (soccer) is the national passion, and how she grew up to be Brazil's top ranked professional player. She shares with us how the sport is growing in Brazil, particularly among juniors, while also sharing her experience of playing professionally on the Ladies European Tour.
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Episode Transcript
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Douglas Maida (00:19):
Hello, and good afternoon. Welcome to our show.
We're talking golf. I'm yourhost, Douglas maida. Now on
today's show, we're going tocontinue our look at golf and
the sports development in otherparts of the world outside the
traditional golf markets. Mostof you will know the traditional
golf markets as being theEnglish speaking countries of
(00:40):
the United States, GreatBritain, Canada, Australia, and
New Zealand. But golf is aglobal sport. It may not have
the universal participation thatsoccer or football does, what it
is growing significantly. And agood deal of that has to go to
the Olympics, and the inclusionof golf as a middle sport. In
(01:04):
golf major championships, therehave been winners this year
representing the countries ofJapan, the United States, Spain,
and one of those winners on themen's side was from the United
States but was an American ofJapanese ancestry.
That is even more profound inthe women's game. major
championship winners this yearinclude Thailand, the
(01:27):
Philippines, the United States,and Australia. This show is
being recorded before the lastmajor so we're going to see who
wins the AIG Women'sChampionship. Golf is a global
sport.
Thai fans were happy to see oneof their own Patty Tavatanakit
win the ANA championship thisyear, she joined Ariya
(01:51):
Jutanugarn as the only Thaiplayers to capture a Major.
Americans were delighted forNelly Korda in winning her
first major and the same couldbe said for Australia as Minjee
Lee at the Evian Championship.
And of course, the Filipinoshave been simply ecstatic since
Yuka Saso captured the USWomen's Open in San Francisco.
They celebrated across thenation, some calling for a
(02:15):
national day of celebration inthe Philippines. With the
exception of the United Statesand Australia, these winners,
both the men and womenrepresented nations that are in
a love affair with golf. It isthrough participation in
viewership that these nationssee themselves being reflected
in their new champions.
(02:38):
Whether it be a Japanese boy orgirl who sees Hideki Matsuyama
or Hinako Shibuno, who won theAIG Women's Open a couple of
years ago. Or whether it's JonRahm picking up the torch from
Seve Ballasteros and Jose MariaOlathobal for Spain. Young Thais
and Filipinos are beginning todream that they too can play
(03:00):
golf and compete on the worldstage. That is the power of this
sport. That is the power of golfin the Olympics, and it is the
power of seeing an internationalset of champions in the Majors.
Now our last show featured thegrowth and development of golf
and elite players from theNetherlands. Today's show
continues along that theme. Ourguest today is Luiza Altmann.
(03:23):
She's a professional player onthe Ladies European Tour (LET),
and she hails from Brazil. Nowit's time for us to take a short
break and when we come back,we'll get right to our special
guests and get right into theshow. Thanks.
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Now, back to our show. Here isyour host Douglas Maida,
Douglas Maida (04:36):
We're back thank you for staying with us. I would
also like to take this time tothank you, our listeners from
around the world for listeningto our show. Now I would like to
introduce our guest. withoutmuch further ado, Luiza Altmann
is a professional player fromBrazil, currently playing on the
Ladies European tour. Shereturned to her home base in the
(04:57):
United States after spendingseven weeks competing on the
LET. She's joining us on ZOOMfrom her home in Lake Nona,
Florida.
Welcome to our show, Luiza.
We're glad to have you.
Luiza Altmann (05:08):
Thank you so much. I really appreciate being
here. And I'm excited.
Douglas Maida (05:13):
Oh, great. Great.
Well, we're very happy to haveyou here on the show. What do
you share a little bit aboutwhere you just came back from?
Because you were playing theteam event in Spain, I believe.
Luiza Altmann (05:23):
Yeah, I was. They have four series this year. And
it's team events on the ladiesEuropean tour was three
professional and one amateur.
And we compete for the firstplace. Right.
Douglas Maida (05:41):
And this is called the Aramco series, is it?
Luiza Altmann (05:43):
Yeah, it is. We started in London. Last one was
in Spain. The next one will bein New York, and then the final
one in Saudi Arabia.
Douglas Maida (05:53):
So do you have the same team that you play with
every event?
Luiza Altmann (05:56):
No, we switch it up every tournament.
Douglas Maida (05:59):
Okay, so it's a matter of keeping individual
score for the team members.
Right. So if I understandcorrectly, so your score, even
though you played with differentplayers, say in London and in
Spain, it's keeping track ofyour score cumulatively, or?
Luiza Altmann (06:14):
Oh, no, no, no, each. Each series is their own
little tournament.
Douglas Maida (06:18):
So a standalone event?
Luiza Altmann (06:21):
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah.
Douglas Maida (06:23):
No, no, that's great. All right. It's a brand
new concept this year, so it'sinteresting to get to know it
and see how it plays out. Luiza,tell us what it was like growing
up in Brazil, Sao Paulo areatrying to play golf?
Luiza Altmann (06:39):
It was actually a lot of fun. Since there aren't
many golfers in Brazil, we werea really close community of
golfers. So every tournamentthat I would go to, it's the
same people. So I grew upplaying Junior golf, playing
(07:01):
every month with the samepeople. So just grew up to be my
family, you know. But it wasgood. I used to just practice
and play with my parents. And wewere members at their house,
which was that. So that's in Itoin San Paolo. And when I turned
(07:25):
15, I think around 15 we decidedto move to the United States.
Douglas Maida (07:31):
Oh, so your family's all here with you?
Luiza Altmann (07:34):
No, no. They they stayed until I went to college.
And then they had to move backto Brazil, unfortunately.
Douglas Maida (07:41):
Okay, I understand. I understand. So, at
what age were you roughly whenyou started--when you first
picked up your first golf club?
Luiza Altmann (07:48):
Nine years old.
Douglas Maida (07:49):
Oh, wow. Wow. And who got you into that?
Luiza Altmann (07:52):
My dad.
Douglas Maida (07:53):
Because he was a recreational player himself?
Luiza Altmann (07:56):
Um, so my dad always used to play he played
from when he was like 20 yearsold. And then he moved to a year
Africa for work where he stoppedplaying because golf there was
just send. So and then he movedback to Brazil met my mom, they
had me, and they weren't doingany sports. He was getting fat
(08:20):
on display. So he turned to mymom and I and said, Well, I want
to do a sport. But I mean,running on the treadmill or
working out, you're just likeinside a box. It's kind of
boring for me. Tennis you alwayshave to play against someone
that's the same level. So wecouldn't really do that as a
(08:40):
family and family was soimportant for us. So one sport
that he always did that you cando when you're 8 or 80 doesn't
matter, was golf. So he said tomy mom and I, I'll bring you
guys to the golf course. If youguys like it will continue and
(09:01):
play. If not, we'll look foranother sport that we can do as
a family and I fell in love withit and kept playing since then.
Douglas Maida (09:10):
So when you were growing up, it's primarily your
family that you played golfwith.
Did you alsodevelop a lot of friends at the
Luiza Altmann (09:14):
Yeah.
clubs and on the golf course.
That you played with?
Absolutely, um,like I said, since golf wasn't
as big when I used to play. Alot of the junior tournaments
would be the same people andit's the same people that I grew
(09:34):
up playing with. So it was itwas very nice. Getting to see
everyone and competing week inweek out with the same people.
Douglas Maida (09:44):
And that carried over into playing with the
national team Federation and
Luiza Altmann (09:47):
Exactly.
Douglas Maida (09:48):
Like when you were younger, did you have a
coach or did you? How did youstart to develop from say, the
young nine year old who was justswinging the club and having fun
and getting into the game tobecoming more of a serious
player as a junior.
Luiza Altmann (10:03):
So I started, I had a couple coaches in my
course back home. Luis Meneseswas my very first coach. And
then Huber Lai they're both atTerras de So Jos , which is,
was my very first course. Butalso my dad, he helped me a lot.
(10:24):
We we used to go home and watch,like David let better videos and
just YouTube videos on things todo. And he would always show me
I know you're doing this, trydoing that just experiencing and
having some ideas on the golfswing as I was growing up. And
then when I turned 15, wedecided, like I really wanted to
(10:49):
do that as my career. So Ineeded somebody to be with me
like 24 seven and have like bepracticing golf every single day
where I couldn't really do thatthat can result. So I moved to a
Golf Academy in South Carolinawhere I was actually practicing,
(11:10):
like, six to seven hours a daywith a coach and with the other
players in my Academy.
Douglas Maida (11:17):
Do you have any sort of recollections of how it
was when your junior and you'rejust starting out, compared to
today? And are you able to see anoticeable improvement in golf
in Brazil?
Luiza Altmann (11:29):
Oh, absolutely.
Absolutely. I feel like Olympicshave helped quite a bit. But the
Golf Confederation itself havebeen helping improve the game
and bringing more juniors andjunior camps. And nowadays,
there's a lot more girls andboys playing. So I feel like the
(11:50):
sport has developed quite a bitsince I was, since I used to
play.
Douglas Maida (11:56):
Besides the Olympics, are you seeing an
increase in say the skill levelof the children coming into the
game? Like are they starting totake up and learn the
fundamentals much quicker thansay when you're younger?
Luiza Altmann (12:09):
Absolutely. I feel like also with technology.
These days, you can learn a lotmore through video calls. And
like having coaches with you nomatter where you are. Also the
use of like Trackman, orstatistics that has been brought
to the golfers much easier. Sopeople can improve a lot
(12:32):
quicker.
Douglas Maida (12:33):
Tell us a little bit about when you were playing
golf and what it was like toplay in a country where we
jokingly say that football orsoccer is a religion not a
sport.
Luiza Altmann (12:47):
That is actually very true. Um, it's something
that for example, like my highschool in Brazil, we like all
that we could choose in PE classwas either volleyball or soccer,
which we call football. And inthe high schools here in the US,
(13:07):
you can pick golf, baseball,basketball, literally any sport
you want. Whereas in Brazil, itwas just Alright, you guys are
playing soccer volleyball youpick. So that's why that's where
the junior camps and just theselike extra curricular activities
(13:31):
play like a huge role to thegolfers in Brazil, because you
need to do that outside ofschool because unfortunately not
many schools offer that as asport.
Douglas Maida (13:41):
Right. Right. So the emphasis obviously, was how
would you say Jogo Bonito?
Yogo Bonito. How do I say it thebeautiful game?
Luiza Altmann (13:53):
Jogo bonito?
Douglas Maida (13:56):
My apologies, Portuguese isn't my language.
Luiza Altmann (13:59):
That was good, though. That was good. I'll give
you that.
Douglas Maida (14:04):
Thank you. Sorry, I mangled it a little bit there.
So aside from that, then one ofthe things that makes up
football so attractive in Braziland places like that, is that a
lot of the younger children withdifferent backgrounds and less,
you know, disadvantagedbackgrounds and whatnot can play
the sport. Do you see thepossibility of golf getting to
(14:28):
that point where less privilegedchildren or underprivileged
children get the ability tostart picking up a golf club and
learning to swing and hit theball or anything of that nature?
Or do you think that's still afew years away?
Luiza Altmann (14:40):
No, absolutely.
It has improved so much in thatway. I'm in Brazil, I went back
home for Christmas and NewYears. And I, I got to
experience and I saw theprograms that like the Brazilian
Golf Confederation, and thefederation of Sao Paulo that
they're offering to kids thatdon't have the means to pay for,
(15:03):
let's say like a round of golfor a new set of clubs. So they
have been helping and giventhese like opportunities for
people that are not -- thatcan't really afford it. At the
moment,
Douglas Maida (15:20):
Can you describe for us what your life was like
as a competitive Junior golfer?
I mean, you've, I think one ofthe things we want to do is, if
there say any child out there ora girl listening in, or their
parents listening in, can youmaybe share with them what your
experience was like, as ayoungster growing up or a junior
player in your early teens? Interms of what your practice
(15:41):
routines were like? And whatkind of competition it was like
and and what they can expect alittle bit?
Luiza Altmann (15:50):
Yeah, of course.
So back in Brazil, the nearestgolf course to my house was
about one hour away. So I reallydidn't have the time to go there
every day, especially because Iwas in German school. So it was
very hard academically, so Ineeded to manage my time
(16:11):
studying and practicing. Soduring the week, I would just
hit some chips on my backyard,and my dad was able to build me
in that. So I could hit ballsduring the week, just just at
home really easily. And then onthe weekends, we would travel to
(16:32):
the golf course and just bethere all day. But I believe
it's managing the time that youdo the activity. So of course, I
would go to school in themorning, then come home, have
lunch, do my homework, andpractice for one or two hours in
the yard and then take theweekend to properly have a range
(16:56):
session and then play 18 holesin the afternoon. Yeah.
Douglas Maida (17:04):
Luiza, we're gonna take a short commercial
break. And when we come back,we'll continue this train of
thought and discussion. So we'llbe right back.
Luiza Altmann (17:11):
Sounds good.
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Douglas Maida (17:31):
Alright, we're back. Thank you for staying with
us. And we're here with ourguest today, Luiza Altmann, a
Brazilian professional player.
And we were just chatting alittle bit about her competitive
schedule as a junior golfer andlife as a junior golfer in
Brazil. Luiza, can you tell mewhen did you actually start
representing your home countryin international competitions?
Luiza Altmann (17:53):
So I will always remember my first international
one was to a junior tournamentin Uruguay. I was 12 years old.
And it was I think it was aSouth American. How do you I
don't know how to say it inEnglish. But it's the division
(18:15):
before you are considered ajunior golfer. So in Portuguese,
it's called pre junior level. Soit's 15 years old and under. And
that was my very first one. Andthen ever since then, I had been
traveling, representing Brazil,twice, maybe three times a year.
Douglas Maida (18:39):
So was there a sense of national pride then for
you to get out there and play?
Luiza Altmann (18:44):
Oh! It was the most honourable thing for me,
waking up putting on theBrazilian gear and going out
with a team and representing mycountry.
Douglas Maida (18:59):
So, you had the full, like shirts, caps, the
whole bit?
Luiza Altmann (19:03):
Absolutley. As you could tell me that I was
Brazilian from a mile away.
Douglas Maida (19:10):
Well, that's good. Great. Great to see good
pride. Cinderella story. Now wedid an interview last year with
the I think she was the veryfirst Cinderella story winner
Geneveieve Ling.
Luiza Altmann (19:24):
Oh cool for Season One?
Douglas Maida (19:26):
Yes, yes. Yes. So some of our listeners might be
familiar with Cinderella storyKLPGA. But why don't you give us
a bit of a snapshot about whatthe actual event is for some of
the new listeners and how it wasthat you came to be on that.
Luiza Altmann (19:41):
Okay. Um, so I made it on the Ladies European
Tour in 2018. And I was playinga golf tournament in Thailand.
It was an early t event. Andafter my round a couple of
Gentlemen asked me to for like afew minutes. And they sat me
(20:06):
down. And they showed me theconcept of Cinderella story and
asked me if I would beinterested in being the TV show.
And so I thought it was amazing.
So that January of 2019. With D,we did the recording. So it's 10
girls from all over Asia. But mecoming from Brazil. And we had
(20:31):
10 challenges. It was sort oflike big break style. So we had
long drive competitions, we hadbreak the glass, we had close to
the pin bunker shots, all kindsof golf challenges. And at the
end of every challenge, we wouldeach get the points, and the top
(20:54):
two golfers would get the spotto play in the KLPGA for 2019.
So I did -- we recorded theentire season, in one month in
Malaysia. But they aired everySunday on the Golf Channel for
(21:16):
seven months.
Douglas Maida (21:24):
Was it Kuala Lumpur that you were playing?
Luiza Altmann (21:25):
It was beautiful.
Douglas Maida (21:29):
Was it the TPC course?
Luiza Altmann (21:30):
It Yes, it was.
Douglas Maida (21:34):
Wonderful, wonderful. That's a beautiful
area.
Luiza Altmann (21:36):
It's gorgeous. It is gorgeous. We never actually
got to play 18 holes. The mostwe did was play one hole, but
record it over and over and overagain.
Douglas Maida (21:50):
Well, it's a it's a nice place. I see it all the
time on TV and in video andwhatnot. I've never had the
pleasure of playing it. Sohow are you finding? I'm kind of
jumping ahead here and I'm goingto come back to Cinderella
story. How are you finding it? Imean, the LET travels so much
more than the LPGA you see somany more countries, and so many
(22:10):
different cultures. Not that theLPGA doesn't travel. But you
know, with every country inEurope being a little different.
And then you have that Asianswing and then the Australian
swing as well. What's it like? Imean, how would you describe
that kind of opportunity to flyand see different parts of the
world and you know, like beingable to stay in Kuala Lumpur for
(22:33):
filming session and whatnot.
Luiza Altmann (22:34):
Honestly, there's nothing I love more in the world
than doing that. With COVIDnowadays, it really sucks,
honestly, because the pastcouple years after around or
after a tournament, we will beable to go sightsee see a little
(22:55):
bit of the city that we're in.
With COVID there's a lot ofrestrictions to where we can go
on the tour, like we're gettingtested three to four times a
week. So we're not allowed tosit inside and restaurants we
can only sit outside ourfriend's, like bubble. That's
what we called, it can only befour people. Whereas before we
(23:15):
can hang out, have dinner withwhoever we want. But still being
able to travel, see the citiesexperience different cultures.
It's I like I have no words forit. It just, it gives you so
much more perspective in life,and then you get to play
(23:35):
different courses, and Iabsolutely love it.
Douglas Maida (23:41):
So let's go back to Kuala Lumpur and your
filming. Do you have a favoriteexperience that came out of the
show or anything of that nature?
Luiza Altmann (23:51):
That's a good question. Um, I think just the
friendships that I made duringthe show because we were
together for one entire month.
And we had girls from Japan,Hong Kong, China everywhere. So
I got to learn a lot from them.
(24:13):
And then I got the chance toactually live in Korea. So that
was a, an experience that Icannot describe really, it's,
it's being as far away from homeas possible. And it's such a
different culture than what I'mused to. And so I just learned I
(24:39):
learned so much from beingthere. How the culture reacts or
how they treat people ofdifferent ages. How polite they
are. Everything works. You know,it's very clean. Everywhere you
go. I could literally eat mydinner. on the subway floor,
(25:01):
that's, it's so clean, theyclean, they keep it super neat.
Everybody's in lines to get intothe subway to the bus. So it was
like a very unique experience.
The second week that I wasthere, I received a text message
on my social media from twoBrazilian girls that their
(25:27):
family are Korean. So they wereborn and raised in Brazil. But
they are they were doing ainternational exchange. I don't
really know how to say it inEnglish, but like exchange
student, so they went touniversity in Korea. And they
(25:49):
saw me on the TV show and theysaid, well, there's a there's a
Brazilian living here. Like,let's just like they messaged
me, and they said, welcome toKorea. We speak we speak Korean,
but I'm pretty sure you don't.
So if you ever need anything,please don't hesitate to ask.
And we want to, to get to knowyou if you need anything. We
(26:15):
want to show you around so and Imessaged them back. And on the
first weekend that I was free. Itook the bus to the big city. I
met with them and they have beenone of my best friends ever
since. So they they really mademe welcome there. And it was
(26:36):
just such a cool experience.
Douglas Maida (26:40):
Oh, that's fantastic. How long were you in
Korea?
Luiza Altmann (26:45):
At a time I was for three months. I say there
three months at a time. Then Icame back to the US to play a
couple tournaments. Then I wentback there for three more
months.
Douglas Maida (27:00):
And was that follow up to the Cinderella
story?
Luiza Altmann (27:03):
Yes, it was. So I got to play 10 tournaments on
the KLPGA because of Cinderellastory.
Douglas Maida (27:11):
And how did you find that experience of playing
golf?
Luiza Altmann (27:13):
Oh, wow, that was spectacular. The golf there's
so elite. I learned a lot fromjust playing with the golfers.
They're just getting to knowthem and how they play and how
they see golf. And also how muchthey practice. Right? Because I
(27:39):
was like because of the KLPGAthey got me a place they got me
a place to practice. And I usedto practice with some of the
KLPGA golfers. So I stayed withthem all day with their practice
schedule. And it was just greatto see how different they they
actually do from what I'm usedto hear.
Douglas Maida (28:02):
Right. How did you find the, or how would you
say, the reverence and theimportance that's attached to
Women's Professional Golf inKorea? How would you compare
that and contrast thatexperience to playing in other
parts of the world?
Luiza Altmann (28:21):
I mean, golf in Korea is huge. It's one of the
biggest sports and for men notas much. And that's because they
they need to do the two yearmilitary. From 20 to 29 years
old, they have to do a mandatorytwo years in the military. So
(28:45):
take two years out of a golferslife is just too much.
Especially if you want to playat the professional level if you
don't, I mean if I take a twoweek off from golf, my golf
swing is all over imagine twoyears, right? So but women's
golf is huge. Just playingtournaments and seeing the
(29:05):
amount of like spectatorsfollowing the groups and it's
just fantastic. It's such a bigpart of Korean life. So it's
it's great to see that it'sgreat to see the support that
they give and like how many likeyoung kids are playing and it's
really cool.
Douglas Maida (29:25):
How would you like to be able to go back to
Brazil, say in 15 to 20 yearstime and you see golf elevated
to that level?
Luiza Altmann (29:31):
Oh, for sure.
That's that's one of my maingoals. I want to play
professional golf. But I want tobe able to help the sport grow
in Brazil and give the supportto to junior golf because that's
the future of the sport and thejuniors right now are the future
of the sport. So being able toplay European Tour, LPGA and
(29:52):
being like an image for futuregolfers. That's my main goal and
be able to help support whoeveris interested in the sport or be
able to just make it a morepopular activity, let's say in
Brazil it's one of my maingoals.
Douglas Maida (30:17):
So do you feel that very much -- a role model
responsibility to help reallygrow the game in Brazil?
Luiza Altmann (30:23):
Absolutely. The Brazilian Confederation and
somehow the Federation havehelped me so much with the
support that they give, thatthey have given me. So being
able to give back to my countryis, is huge for me.
Douglas Maida (30:43):
Do you have any special, I mean, it's very
difficult now with the COVID,and the travel restrictions and
whatnot. But did you? Or wereyou in the process of developing
any events or things like thatto for when you did head back to
Brazil to encourage Junior campsor anything like that?
Luiza Altmann (30:58):
Oh, absolutely.
Um, I did a women's clinic. Lasttime I was in Brazil. And I
tried to participate in as manyevents as possible. I know now
with COVID, it's really tough. Ican't really, if I go back to
Brazil, there's, I don't know ifI can go back to the US or if I
(31:20):
need to quarantine somewhere for14 days. So unfortunately, right
now, it's really tough. But Itried to do as many clinics or
help as many people as possibleto put golf out there. Yeah.
Douglas Maida (31:37):
Way to go.
Luiza Altmann (31:38):
Yeah, thank you.
Douglas Maida (31:38):
I mean, that's, that's the, that's the kids and
the girls and the young boys allseeing you out there. And, you
know, if they happen to see iton TV a little bit or catch a
picture on a website, have yougolfing and playing
professionally? I mean, that'sreally a powerful image for
children at that age,especially.
Luiza Altmann (31:55):
Yeah, I think having someone that can help
them, or just tell them a bit ofthe experience that I have had
through Junior golf, throughprofessional golf, whatever it
is, really, even if they're justplaying golf for fun and don't
want to make a career out of it.
Just having someone that theycan have, ask questions about
(32:18):
golf, or help with the swayingor help with some mental
thoughts. Anything.
Douglas Maida (32:26):
Great work, Luiza.
Luiza Altmann (32:27):
Thank you.
Douglas Maida (32:29):
Let's switch gears, let's start talking a
little bit about yourexperiences playing specifically
on the Ladies European tour. Andyou did play a couple events or
play a little bit on the SymetraTour as well. So how much time
do you spend in airports? Let meask you that.
Luiza Altmann (32:46):
Too much! way too much.
Douglas Maida (32:50):
It's kind of like that movie about the poor guy
who got stuck in the airport forall that time. And
Luiza Altmann (32:55):
Oh, tell me about it. Especially like going to
Korea or going to Asia? Or Idon't know, Middle East, I'm
spending like 20 hours on aplane.
Douglas Maida (33:07):
How would you say okay, let's say you're traveling
to and from Europe for -- what'sthe longest swing of tournament
events in on the LET for you.
Luiza Altmann (33:17):
So I just came back from playing five weeks,
five weeks in a row. I actuallydid know, that wasn't five
weeks, I'm sorry. I played fourweeks in a row. I had one week
off. And then I played threemore tournaments in a row. And
that's probably the most I'veever done. Without taking more
(33:38):
than a week off. The schedulenow -- it's getting a lot
better. After COVID we have alot more tournaments to play,
which is good. And they're veryclose to each other. Whereas
before a couple years back, wewould go Australia, South
Africa, Morocco, friends, thenThailand. So it was all over.
(34:00):
And now we just went from havingall our tournaments in Europe.
So makes it a lot easier fortraveling. Which is good.
Douglas Maida (34:11):
Yeah, that's totally understandable. I mean,
otherwise talk about the wearand tear of going from, say,
Spain, to Australia, to SouthAfrica, to Thailand to you know,
Europe again. Yeah, it'd be veryhard, and all the changing, not
to mention the changing timezones and getting your body
adjusted to all of that.
Luiza Altmann (34:32):
So because I was in Korea for so long, I didn't
play the latest European tourthat year. So I did not have a
full card for last year. And Ididn't play well in Q school. So
I got the chance to play thefirst events this year. And I
knew I needed to play a lot oftournaments to get a good
(34:54):
reshuffle to get a betterstatus. So that's why I tried to
play every single time I'mimpossible in the beginning of
the year, which I did. I got agood reshuffle. So now I have a
full card on the team. But Idon't plan on playing so many
events in a row like I did. It'sgood to have a break, especially
(35:17):
with like you said, all thetraveling It does. It does break
you. You have to listen to yourbody and say like, okay, now I
need one week of doingabsolutely nothing, just to get
that energy back. But it's veryimportant. For sure.
Douglas Maida (35:35):
Well, congratulations on getting your
priority. Full priority. Thankyou so much. Thank you. I can
only imagine how, how muchanxiety you go into the season
with and it's like, what's gonnahappen? What's gonna happen?
What's gonna happen? You know,and having that kind of pressure
every time you tee it up.
Luiza Altmann (35:51):
Exactly.
Douglas Maida (35:53):
We've kind of danced around this topic, Luiza,
but let me ask you this, youknow, there's some people out
there that think playingprofessional golf is such a
glamorous life. And in manyrespects, it is. But you know,
others think that it's makinglots of money, and oh, wow, she
must be, you know, earning somuch money. You know, she's a
professional player. Can youtell me and share with our
(36:13):
audience what is it really likebeing a professional player
trying to make it to the LPGA.
I presume the LPGA is eventuallyyour goal as opposed to,
Luiza Altmann (36:21):
Yes it is.
Douglas Maida (36:22):
Okay.
Luiza Altmann (36:24):
It's honestly not an easy life. It's, it's great
that you get to travel, you getto meet new people, you get to
play the sport that you love.
But at the end of the day, it ismy career. And I mean, it's
golf. Golf, you're gonna havegood shots, you're gonna have
bad shots, you're gonna havegood weeks, you're gonna have
(36:45):
bad weeks. It's about managinghow you react those bad weeks,
and keep going because it getstough out there. So you just
have to keep your head up, keepplaying, and eventually, good
rounds will come around. Andit's definitely worth it.
Douglas Maida (37:07):
Right? Do you have a full time caddy?
Luiza Altmann (37:10):
No, I don't.
Douglas Maida (37:11):
So how are you?
How are you doing that? Louisa,for the different? Are you
looking at locals for thedifferent events,
Luiza Altmann (37:17):
So I usually get local caddies, just because they
know more about the course.
Especially going from differentcountries, the grass is so
different. So getting a localcaddy where they know the
breaks, they know this, theyknow that is so important.
With COVID, we're not allowed toget local caddies anymore. So
(37:39):
that makes it tough. I've beencarrying pushing my bag the
first few events. Becausenowadays, we are allowed to
couple years, we when we needed-- a caddy was mandatory for
some events for the last four tofive groups, just for pretty
(38:01):
much like TV coverage. So now wehave the choice to just have our
own bags or have a local, not alocal caddy, but like your own
caddy in the bank. I haven't hadthat this year, but I will, for
the next five events. I havehired a caddy to be in trouble
(38:24):
with me for these next fiveevents.
Douglas Maida (38:30):
Oh, that's great.
So you'll start to develop a bitof a working relationship there
and have somebody to talkstrategy with and plot out your
days and practices. Are youable to use like, has the LET
adopted the use of rangefindersfor you?
Luiza Altmann (38:48):
Not yet. There has been a talk about it. I
think they're just waiting onthe shipment of the rangefinders
so that every single player canhave one. We are allowed to on
those team events.
And but it's mostly because ofpace of play. And because of the
(39:13):
amateurs, amateurs are notreally -- they don't really know
how to measure using a yardagebook. So that's the main reason.
Douglas Maida (39:26):
Yes, I could see that knowing how far you're out
from the pin.
Luiza Altmann (39:30):
Yeah.
Douglas Maida (39:30):
What club to pull?
Luiza Altmann (39:32):
Exactly.
Douglas Maida (39:35):
Do you use a green book or do they use green
books anymore? So those havebeen banned?
Luiza Altmann (39:41):
They have been banned, Yes.
Douglas Maida (39:43):
Okay. Just curious because I know that
they've started to look atbanning them elsewhere as well.
Luiza Altmann (39:47):
Yeah.
Douglas Maida (39:49):
Can you tell me what your favorite tournament is
that you've played? Do you haveone or is there a bunch of
Luiza Altmann (39:55):
Favourite tournament . . . I really like
tournament you like,those team events. There are a
lot of fun. Just because it's
Douglas Maida (40:00):
So when you see a team, and forgive me, we've
like a different format. You getto play and like with amateurs,
and it's a team. So you can talka lot more, you can talk about
strategy with the amateurs. Soit's, it's a lot of fun. I like
I feel like those are myfavorite events.
(40:23):
already touched on this a littlebit. How is it a team lose? Is
it just that you're playingtogether as a team for the four
days? or three days? Or?
Luiza Altmann (40:30):
No,
Douglas Maida (40:31):
It you also have like a team score for that
event?
Luiza Altmann (40:34):
Yeah, but the money is actually in the team
event. So you play with thepros. And then so it's four
players, and then you pick thetwo best scores each hole. And
at the end of the tournament,and whoever gets the lowest
score wins.
Douglas Maida (40:54):
Is there a requirement to use so many
scores from your amateur player?
Is there a requirement on theteam side of it to have a
minimum number of scores fromyour amateur player?
Luiza Altmann (41:08):
No, no, no.
Douglas Maida (41:09):
Okay.
Luiza Altmann (41:10):
Yeah.
Douglas Maida (41:10):
So it's not it's kind of not like a Texas
scrambled in where you have tomake sure everybody gets a shot
in.
Luiza Altmann (41:18):
Yeah,
Douglas Maida (41:19):
Great. Outside of those, do you have a favorite
event or an event that you lookforward to every year?
Luiza Altmann (41:25):
Not, really, I really like playing every single
tournament, it's a differentdifferent way, every single one
of them so I really just lookforward to to all of them.
Douglas Maida (41:37):
Okay, now traveling around a fair bit on
the LET and, and elsewhere. Whoare some of your favorite
players, or best friends on thetour that you'd like to play
with or get paired up with?
Luiza Altmann (41:47):
Um, . . . I like to play. Like, my best friends
are extra from Australia. So Ilike to play golf with them.
It's been tough now, becausemost of them are not traveling
as much. But they are the onesthat I usually just play golf
with.
Douglas Maida (42:09):
And I guess so they're not really in your
bubble either now, because thethey're not really playing so
much.
Luiza Altmann (42:15):
No, no, but each tournament you can have a
different bubble, buddy, so it'sgood.
Douglas Maida (42:22):
Okay, on that note, what are your goals for
the rest of the season? I mean,you've you've got your priority,
full priority now. So you've gota little less than half the
season left, what do you want toaccomplish?
Luiza Altmann (42:34):
My goal is to finish on the top, top 30 of the
team by the end of the year,just so I can keep my card for
the next year. I want to get mycard for the LPGA. So I have
Q-School coming up. So that'smy, one of my other goals. And
(42:55):
that's it. Those are my maintwo.
Douglas Maida (42:58):
When you came into this season, did you have
any sort of performance orientedgoals that you wanted to address
as well? Or was it just more onthe result side with your
playing and the priority?
Luiza Altmann (43:09):
So coming into the season, I wanted to get a
reshuffle for full card, which Idid, which I'm very happy about
I for the next five events, Iwant to get at least two on the
top 15. So whatever score I needto shoot that for that week.
(43:30):
That's my goal, to top 15 fornext five tournaments.
Douglas Maida (43:35):
So you didn't have any sort of offseason goals
with regards to say you wantedto work on your short game or
you wanted to reduce the numberof missed fairways, or you
wanted to try and find out, youknow, work on your skill off the
tee box to get maybe anotherfive to 10 yards off the tee?
Luiza Altmann (43:52):
Yeah, absolutely.
That's, that's something that'songoing. Every week. I've tried
to get better on every singlearea that I have. And -- but
it's a long list. Trust me.
Douglas Maida (44:08):
Yes, yes, I can see that. It always is.
Luiza Altmann (44:11):
Yeah, for sure.
Douglas Maida (44:12):
Golf's one of the sports that you know, you could
go out and shoot a 59. And thenext day you want to shoot 58
because you know you'd left astroke or two out there.
Luiza Altmann (44:20):
Oh, yeah.
Douglas Maida (44:23):
Yeah, that's that's the nature of the beast,
isn't it? As an LET player? Areyou getting any sort of priority
status in terms of which stageof the Q series for the LPGA
that you you enter into?
Luiza Altmann (44:36):
I am not too sure. But I think I think if you
are I think it's more aboutworld ranking. If you're top 150
I think you go straight to Qseries. I'm not too sure on the
numbers. I just know I'm not init unfortunately.
Douglas Maida (44:54):
So let's come back a little bit Luiza, let's
hear the weirdest or funniestthing that you've seen on the
golf courses of
Luiza Altmann (45:00):
I would have to say kangaroos on the golf
course. I was playing well myvery first tournament in
Australia and I had on the teebox, a kangaroo follow us
around, down the First Tee and Isaid, 'What on earth is
happening here'?
Douglas Maida (45:21):
Did you ever have the kangaroo interrupt your
swing or?
Luiza Altmann (45:24):
No I was I just waited I would did not know what
to do. He was right there.
Douglas Maida (45:32):
Did your playing companions or anybody give you a
little advice how to handle akangaroo?
Luiza Altmann (45:39):
No, no. Everyone was still in shock!
Douglas Maida (45:43):
It's one thing if it's a koala bear. It's another
if it's a kangaroo. kangarooscan put up put up a bit of a
fight if they want to.
Luiza Altmann (45:50):
Right!
Douglas Maida (45:51):
Any shared stories with others that you had
happen? Any people you meetalong the way any celebrities
you meet along the way in theairports or?
Luiza Altmann (46:02):
Hmm. well I got to play with my idol, Annika
Sorenstam, which was very cool,in her event.
Douglas Maida (46:11):
Oh, in Sweden,
Luiza Altmann (46:12):
In Sweden, that was very cool. You get to meet
so many players out there. I'm Igot the opportunity to play with
Gary Player, with AnnikaSorenstam, Ian Poulter. So
it's very cool. Just to just thepeople that I grew up, looking
(46:33):
up to, I get the chance toactually play around with them.
It's so one of the lifetimeopportunity, that's for sure.
Douglas Maida (46:41):
Oh, yeah, terrific.
Luiza Altmann (46:43):
I can say this.
He is the strongest person Ihave ever met. Every, every time
I meet him is like Luiza -- 'howmany setups are you doing a
day'? I said, like, 5, 10?
There's no, no, no, no, you gotto do a lot more. So he gets
down on the tee box. And does100 push ups 100 setups and it's
(47:05):
he's seriously the strongestplayer. The strongest player
I've ever seen. He can hold twoclubs with two fingers like
that.
Douglas Maida (47:14):
Oh, good. Yeah.
Good. That's a neat, neat. Well,there's a good story, right? You
got to see Gary Player do hispush ups for you.
Luiza Altmann (47:23):
On the Tee Box!
Douglas Maida (47:27):
So tell me what was it like playing with Annika?
I mean, that had to have been anincredible experience.
Luiza Altmann (47:35):
Just as she has been my idol since since I
started playing golf, and I gotthe invitation to play in her
event. So it was cool. I askedher way too many questions. I
feel bad for her. But I playednine holes with her and I asked
her How, So what do you do inyour practice rounds? How do you
(47:57):
plan for a tournament? What doyou think? Well, so it was cool
to try to pick her brain alittle bit.
Douglas Maida (48:05):
And I'm sure Annika was quite accommodating
and explain how she does things.
Luiza Altmann (48:09):
She's such a beautiful person. She just such
a welcoming and kind heart. Itwas. It was amazing.
Douglas Maida (48:18):
Well won't come as any surprise to you. But she
was always my favorite player ontour.
Luiza Altmann (48:21):
I don't blame you.
Douglas Maida (48:27):
So did you get paired with Annika the whole
round, every round?
Luiza Altmann (48:30):
No, no, just the practice round?
Douglas Maida (48:32):
Oh, okay. Oh, wonderful. Alright, so tell me
what's next for you?
Luiza Altmann (48:42):
Q-school.
Douglas Maida (48:42):
Okay. When does that start in a couple weeks?
Luiza Altmann (48:45):
Next week, sometime next week?
Douglas Maida (48:47):
When are you heading out to Rancho Mirage?
I go on Monday.
Okay. And do you have a caddyfor you?
Luiza Altmann (48:54):
Yes, I do. My coach is actually coming with
me. His name is Steven BalrushSohe will help me prepare for it
and helped me during the round.
Douglas Maida (49:06):
You mentioned, okay, -- Do you work with a
fitness training conditioningcoach as well?
Luiza Altmann (49:12):
I used to.
Nowadays I try and just see,especially because I'm on the
road so much, I see the physiofor the Ladies European Tour and
she helps me with like someexercises that I should do for
recovery. And during duringtournament rounds,
Douglas Maida (49:30):
So Q-school and then back to Europe for some le
TLS.
Luiza Altmann (49:34):
Yes, Exactly.
Douglas Maida (49:36):
Okay. What's your first LET event that you're
scheduled for?
Luiza Altmann (49:38):
The first two are actually in Sweden?
Douglas Maida (49:42):
Again, oh, going back to Sweden. I only thought
they were going there in thebeginning of the season.
Luiza Altmann (49:48):
For Two tournaments, actually.
Douglas Maida (49:51):
Oh, wow.
Wonderful. And after that?
Luiza Altmann (49:54):
After that, Switzerland and France.
Douglas Maida (49:59):
That'll Be nice.
Oh, that's great to be able toplay golf like that and
traveling around. How do youtravel in Europe?
Luiza Altmann (50:06):
How do I travel?
Douglas Maida (50:08):
Yeah. Do you take the train? Do you take? fly -
like EasyJet?
Luiza Altmann (50:13):
Oh Pfff!
Douglas Maida (50:14):
Okay, yeah. or whichever, whichever I just pick
that name out of the air.
Luiza Altmann (50:18):
Just, Oh, whatever is available.
Douglas Maida (50:23):
You have some young girls and boys watching or
listening in. What advice wouldyou give them about choosing to
play competitive Junior golf?
Luiza Altmann (50:33):
I'd say play as many tournaments as you possibly
can. As a junior golfer, you geta lot more experience playing
tournaments and being thatcompetitive, like the
competitive stage, rather thanjust playing, but make sure you
have fun. Just go out thereplayed the sport. And just enjoy
(50:58):
every single moment of it.
Douglas Maida (51:01):
Right, yeah. Get to play a little bit under
pressure and start to becomefamiliar with it. Right?
Luiza Altmann (51:06):
Exactly.
Douglas Maida (51:07):
Okay. Anything else you'd like to share? Or
thank or any people you'd liketo recognize?
Luiza Altmann (51:12):
Yeah, I'd love to thank my parents for
everything. They are my life. Iwouldn't be here if it wasn't
for their support, but also thesupport of the Brazilian
Confederation for helping mebuild my career and for helping
me get to where I am today.
Douglas Maida (51:30):
Did you want to also say it in Portuguese?
Luiza Altmann (51:33):
Let's say -- In Portugeuse -- Did you
understand that?
Douglas Maida (51:51):
I heard you say Obrigado. I understand that
too. And I'll say Obrigaso toyou well.
Luiza Altmann (51:58):
Thank you so much.
Douglas Maida (52:02):
All right. Well, thank you so much, Louise. It's
been an absolute pleasure.
Luiza Altmann (52:06):
It's an honor to be here. I really thank you for
this opportunity.
Douglas Maida (52:11):
Oh, no the pleasure is all ours.
We try to focus a lot on on theWomen's Professional Golf. So we
think that you're playing on theLET and helping to grow the game
and whatnot is a fantasticexperience. One word sharing to
everybody else.
Luiza Altmann (52:27):
Oh, thank you.
Douglas Maida (52:30):
All right. Well, you take care and best of wishes
and best luck for Q-school andRancho Mirage and hope to see
you, I'm pretty sure we'll seeyou at the next few stages and
getting into the Q-Series.
Luiza Altmann (52:42):
Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
Douglas Maida (52:47):
Thank you,
Luiza Altmann (52:47):
Alright,
Amy (Studio) (52:48):
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Thank you for listening
Hello, and good afternoon. Welcome to our show.
We're talking golf. I'm yourhost, Douglas maida. Now on
today's show, we're going tocontinue our look at golf and
the sports development in otherparts of the world outside the
traditional golf markets. Mostof you will know the traditional
golf markets as being theEnglish speaking countries of
(00:40):
the United States, GreatBritain, Canada, Australia, and
New Zealand. But golf is aglobal sport. It may not have
the universal participation thatsoccer or football does, what it
is growing significantly. And agood deal of that has to go to
the Olympics, and the inclusionof golf as a middle sport. In
(01:04):
golf major championships, therehave been winners this year
representing the countries ofJapan, the United States, Spain,
and one of those winners on themen's side was from the United
States but was an American ofJapanese ancestry.
That is even more profound inthe women's game. major
championship winners this yearinclude Thailand, the
(01:27):
Philippines, the United States,and Australia. This show is
being recorded before the lastmajor so we're going to see who
wins the AIG Women'sChampionship. Golf is a global
sport.
Thai fans were happy to see oneof their own Patty Tavatanakit
win the ANA championship thisyear, she joined Ariya
(01:51):
Jutanugarn as the only Thaiplayers to capture a Major.
Americans were delighted forNelly Korda in winning her
first major and the same couldbe said for Australia as Minjee
Lee at the Evian Championship.
And of course, the Filipinoshave been simply ecstatic since
Yuka Saso captured the USWomen's Open in San Francisco.
They celebrated across thenation, some calling for a
(02:15):
national day of celebration inthe Philippines. With the
exception of the United Statesand Australia, these winners,
both the men and womenrepresented nations that are in
a love affair with golf. It isthrough participation in
viewership that these nationssee themselves being reflected
in their new champions.
(02:38):
Whether it be a Japanese boy orgirl who sees Hideki Matsuyama
or Hinako Shibuno, who won theAIG Women's Open a couple of
years ago. Or whether it's JonRahm picking up the torch from
Seve Ballasteros and Jose MariaOlathobal for Spain. Young Thais
and Filipinos are beginning todream that they too can play
(03:00):
golf and compete on the worldstage. That is the power of this
sport. That is the power of golfin the Olympics, and it is the
power of seeing an internationalset of champions in the Majors.
Now our last show featured thegrowth and development of golf
and elite players from theNetherlands. Today's show
continues along that theme. Ourguest today is Luiza Altmann.
(03:23):
She's a professional player onthe Ladies European Tour (LET),
and she hails from Brazil. Nowit's time for us to take a short
break and when we come back,we'll get right to our special
guests and get right into theshow. Thanks.
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(04:11):
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Now, back to our show. Here isyour host Douglas Maida,
Douglas Maida (04:36):
We're back thank you for staying with us. I would
also like to take this time tothank you, our listeners from
around the world for listeningto our show. Now I would like to
introduce our guest. withoutmuch further ado, Luiza Altmann
is a professional player fromBrazil, currently playing on the
Ladies European tour. Shereturned to her home base in the
(04:57):
United States after spendingseven weeks competing on the
LET. She's joining us on ZOOMfrom her home in Lake Nona,
Florida.
Welcome to our show, Luiza.
We're glad to have you.
Luiza Altmann (05:08):
Thank you so much. I really appreciate being
here. And I'm excited.
Douglas Maida (05:13):
Oh, great. Great.
Well, we're very happy to haveyou here on the show. What do
you share a little bit aboutwhere you just came back from?
Because you were playing theteam event in Spain, I believe.
Luiza Altmann (05:23):
Yeah, I was. They have four series this year. And
it's team events on the ladiesEuropean tour was three
professional and one amateur.
And we compete for the firstplace. Right.
Douglas Maida (05:41):
And this is called the Aramco series, is it?
Luiza Altmann (05:43):
Yeah, it is. We started in London. Last one was
in Spain. The next one will bein New York, and then the final
one in Saudi Arabia.
Douglas Maida (05:53):
So do you have the same team that you play with
every event?
Luiza Altmann (05:56):
No, we switch it up every tournament.
Douglas Maida (05:59):
Okay, so it's a matter of keeping individual
score for the team members.
Right. So if I understandcorrectly, so your score, even
though you played with differentplayers, say in London and in
Spain, it's keeping track ofyour score cumulatively, or?
Luiza Altmann (06:14):
Oh, no, no, no, each. Each series is their own
little tournament.
Douglas Maida (06:18):
So a standalone event?
Luiza Altmann (06:21):
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah.
Douglas Maida (06:23):
No, no, that's great. All right. It's a brand
new concept this year, so it'sinteresting to get to know it
and see how it plays out. Luiza,tell us what it was like growing
up in Brazil, Sao Paulo areatrying to play golf?
Luiza Altmann (06:39):
It was actually a lot of fun. Since there aren't
many golfers in Brazil, we werea really close community of
golfers. So every tournamentthat I would go to, it's the
same people. So I grew upplaying Junior golf, playing
(07:01):
every month with the samepeople. So just grew up to be my
family, you know. But it wasgood. I used to just practice
and play with my parents. And wewere members at their house,
which was that. So that's in Itoin San Paolo. And when I turned
(07:25):
15, I think around 15 we decidedto move to the United States.
Douglas Maida (07:31):
Oh, so your family's all here with you?
Luiza Altmann (07:34):
No, no. They they stayed until I went to college.
And then they had to move backto Brazil, unfortunately.
Douglas Maida (07:41):
Okay, I understand. I understand. So, at
what age were you roughly whenyou started--when you first
picked up your first golf club?
Luiza Altmann (07:48):
Nine years old.
Douglas Maida (07:49):
Oh, wow. Wow. And who got you into that?
Luiza Altmann (07:52):
My dad.
Douglas Maida (07:53):
Because he was a recreational player himself?
Luiza Altmann (07:56):
Um, so my dad always used to play he played
from when he was like 20 yearsold. And then he moved to a year
Africa for work where he stoppedplaying because golf there was
just send. So and then he movedback to Brazil met my mom, they
had me, and they weren't doingany sports. He was getting fat
(08:20):
on display. So he turned to mymom and I and said, Well, I want
to do a sport. But I mean,running on the treadmill or
working out, you're just likeinside a box. It's kind of
boring for me. Tennis you alwayshave to play against someone
that's the same level. So wecouldn't really do that as a
(08:40):
family and family was soimportant for us. So one sport
that he always did that you cando when you're 8 or 80 doesn't
matter, was golf. So he said tomy mom and I, I'll bring you
guys to the golf course. If youguys like it will continue and
(09:01):
play. If not, we'll look foranother sport that we can do as
a family and I fell in love withit and kept playing since then.
Douglas Maida (09:10):
So when you were growing up, it's primarily your
family that you played golfwith.
Did you alsodevelop a lot of friends at the
Luiza Altmann (09:14):
Yeah.
clubs and on the golf course.
That you played with?
Absolutely, um,like I said, since golf wasn't
as big when I used to play. Alot of the junior tournaments
would be the same people andit's the same people that I grew
(09:34):
up playing with. So it was itwas very nice. Getting to see
everyone and competing week inweek out with the same people.
Douglas Maida (09:44):
And that carried over into playing with the
national team Federation and
Luiza Altmann (09:47):
Exactly.
Douglas Maida (09:48):
Like when you were younger, did you have a
coach or did you? How did youstart to develop from say, the
young nine year old who was justswinging the club and having fun
and getting into the game tobecoming more of a serious
player as a junior.
Luiza Altmann (10:03):
So I started, I had a couple coaches in my
course back home. Luis Meneseswas my very first coach. And
then Huber Lai they're both atTerras de So Jos , which is,
was my very first course. Butalso my dad, he helped me a lot.
(10:24):
We we used to go home and watch,like David let better videos and
just YouTube videos on things todo. And he would always show me
I know you're doing this, trydoing that just experiencing and
having some ideas on the golfswing as I was growing up. And
then when I turned 15, wedecided, like I really wanted to
(10:49):
do that as my career. So Ineeded somebody to be with me
like 24 seven and have like bepracticing golf every single day
where I couldn't really do thatthat can result. So I moved to a
Golf Academy in South Carolinawhere I was actually practicing,
(11:10):
like, six to seven hours a daywith a coach and with the other
players in my Academy.
Douglas Maida (11:17):
Do you have any sort of recollections of how it
was when your junior and you'rejust starting out, compared to
today? And are you able to see anoticeable improvement in golf
in Brazil?
Luiza Altmann (11:29):
Oh, absolutely.
Absolutely. I feel like Olympicshave helped quite a bit. But the
Golf Confederation itself havebeen helping improve the game
and bringing more juniors andjunior camps. And nowadays,
there's a lot more girls andboys playing. So I feel like the
(11:50):
sport has developed quite a bitsince I was, since I used to
play.
Douglas Maida (11:56):
Besides the Olympics, are you seeing an
increase in say the skill levelof the children coming into the
game? Like are they starting totake up and learn the
fundamentals much quicker thansay when you're younger?
Luiza Altmann (12:09):
Absolutely. I feel like also with technology.
These days, you can learn a lotmore through video calls. And
like having coaches with you nomatter where you are. Also the
use of like Trackman, orstatistics that has been brought
to the golfers much easier. Sopeople can improve a lot
(12:32):
quicker.
Douglas Maida (12:33):
Tell us a little bit about when you were playing
golf and what it was like toplay in a country where we
jokingly say that football orsoccer is a religion not a
sport.
Luiza Altmann (12:47):
That is actually very true. Um, it's something
that for example, like my highschool in Brazil, we like all
that we could choose in PE classwas either volleyball or soccer,
which we call football. And inthe high schools here in the US,
(13:07):
you can pick golf, baseball,basketball, literally any sport
you want. Whereas in Brazil, itwas just Alright, you guys are
playing soccer volleyball youpick. So that's why that's where
the junior camps and just theselike extra curricular activities
(13:31):
play like a huge role to thegolfers in Brazil, because you
need to do that outside ofschool because unfortunately not
many schools offer that as asport.
Douglas Maida (13:41):
Right. Right. So the emphasis obviously, was how
would you say Jogo Bonito?
Yogo Bonito. How do I say it thebeautiful game?
Luiza Altmann (13:53):
Jogo bonito?
Douglas Maida (13:56):
My apologies, Portuguese isn't my language.
Luiza Altmann (13:59):
That was good, though. That was good. I'll give
you that.
Douglas Maida (14:04):
Thank you. Sorry, I mangled it a little bit there.
So aside from that, then one ofthe things that makes up
football so attractive in Braziland places like that, is that a
lot of the younger children withdifferent backgrounds and less,
you know, disadvantagedbackgrounds and whatnot can play
the sport. Do you see thepossibility of golf getting to
(14:28):
that point where less privilegedchildren or underprivileged
children get the ability tostart picking up a golf club and
learning to swing and hit theball or anything of that nature?
Or do you think that's still afew years away?
Luiza Altmann (14:40):
No, absolutely.
It has improved so much in thatway. I'm in Brazil, I went back
home for Christmas and NewYears. And I, I got to
experience and I saw theprograms that like the Brazilian
Golf Confederation, and thefederation of Sao Paulo that
they're offering to kids thatdon't have the means to pay for,
(15:03):
let's say like a round of golfor a new set of clubs. So they
have been helping and giventhese like opportunities for
people that are not -- thatcan't really afford it. At the
moment,
Douglas Maida (15:20):
Can you describe for us what your life was like
as a competitive Junior golfer?
I mean, you've, I think one ofthe things we want to do is, if
there say any child out there ora girl listening in, or their
parents listening in, can youmaybe share with them what your
experience was like, as ayoungster growing up or a junior
player in your early teens? Interms of what your practice
(15:41):
routines were like? And whatkind of competition it was like
and and what they can expect alittle bit?
Luiza Altmann (15:50):
Yeah, of course.
So back in Brazil, the nearestgolf course to my house was
about one hour away. So I reallydidn't have the time to go there
every day, especially because Iwas in German school. So it was
very hard academically, so Ineeded to manage my time
(16:11):
studying and practicing. Soduring the week, I would just
hit some chips on my backyard,and my dad was able to build me
in that. So I could hit ballsduring the week, just just at
home really easily. And then onthe weekends, we would travel to
(16:32):
the golf course and just bethere all day. But I believe
it's managing the time that youdo the activity. So of course, I
would go to school in themorning, then come home, have
lunch, do my homework, andpractice for one or two hours in
the yard and then take theweekend to properly have a range
(16:56):
session and then play 18 holesin the afternoon. Yeah.
Douglas Maida (17:04):
Luiza, we're gonna take a short commercial
break. And when we come back,we'll continue this train of
thought and discussion. So we'llbe right back.
Luiza Altmann (17:11):
Sounds good.
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Douglas Maida (17:31):
Alright, we're back. Thank you for staying with
us. And we're here with ourguest today, Luiza Altmann, a
Brazilian professional player.
And we were just chatting alittle bit about her competitive
schedule as a junior golfer andlife as a junior golfer in
Brazil. Luiza, can you tell mewhen did you actually start
representing your home countryin international competitions?
Luiza Altmann (17:53):
So I will always remember my first international
one was to a junior tournamentin Uruguay. I was 12 years old.
And it was I think it was aSouth American. How do you I
don't know how to say it inEnglish. But it's the division
(18:15):
before you are considered ajunior golfer. So in Portuguese,
it's called pre junior level. Soit's 15 years old and under. And
that was my very first one. Andthen ever since then, I had been
traveling, representing Brazil,twice, maybe three times a year.
Douglas Maida (18:39):
So was there a sense of national pride then for
you to get out there and play?
Luiza Altmann (18:44):
Oh! It was the most honourable thing for me,
waking up putting on theBrazilian gear and going out
with a team and representing mycountry.
Douglas Maida (18:59):
So, you had the full, like shirts, caps, the
whole bit?
Luiza Altmann (19:03):
Absolutley. As you could tell me that I was
Brazilian from a mile away.
Douglas Maida (19:10):
Well, that's good. Great. Great to see good
pride. Cinderella story. Now wedid an interview last year with
the I think she was the veryfirst Cinderella story winner
Geneveieve Ling.
Luiza Altmann (19:24):
Oh cool for Season One?
Douglas Maida (19:26):
Yes, yes. Yes. So some of our listeners might be
familiar with Cinderella storyKLPGA. But why don't you give us
a bit of a snapshot about whatthe actual event is for some of
the new listeners and how it wasthat you came to be on that.
Luiza Altmann (19:41):
Okay. Um, so I made it on the Ladies European
Tour in 2018. And I was playinga golf tournament in Thailand.
It was an early t event. Andafter my round a couple of
Gentlemen asked me to for like afew minutes. And they sat me
(20:06):
down. And they showed me theconcept of Cinderella story and
asked me if I would beinterested in being the TV show.
And so I thought it was amazing.
So that January of 2019. With D,we did the recording. So it's 10
girls from all over Asia. But mecoming from Brazil. And we had
(20:31):
10 challenges. It was sort oflike big break style. So we had
long drive competitions, we hadbreak the glass, we had close to
the pin bunker shots, all kindsof golf challenges. And at the
end of every challenge, we wouldeach get the points, and the top
(20:54):
two golfers would get the spotto play in the KLPGA for 2019.
So I did -- we recorded theentire season, in one month in
Malaysia. But they aired everySunday on the Golf Channel for
(21:16):
seven months.
Douglas Maida (21:24):
Was it Kuala Lumpur that you were playing?
Luiza Altmann (21:25):
It was beautiful.
Douglas Maida (21:29):
Was it the TPC course?
Luiza Altmann (21:30):
It Yes, it was.
Douglas Maida (21:34):
Wonderful, wonderful. That's a beautiful
area.
Luiza Altmann (21:36):
It's gorgeous. It is gorgeous. We never actually
got to play 18 holes. The mostwe did was play one hole, but
record it over and over and overagain.
Douglas Maida (21:50):
Well, it's a it's a nice place. I see it all the
time on TV and in video andwhatnot. I've never had the
pleasure of playing it. Sohow are you finding? I'm kind of
jumping ahead here and I'm goingto come back to Cinderella
story. How are you finding it? Imean, the LET travels so much
more than the LPGA you see somany more countries, and so many
(22:10):
different cultures. Not that theLPGA doesn't travel. But you
know, with every country inEurope being a little different.
And then you have that Asianswing and then the Australian
swing as well. What's it like? Imean, how would you describe
that kind of opportunity to flyand see different parts of the
world and you know, like beingable to stay in Kuala Lumpur for
(22:33):
filming session and whatnot.
Luiza Altmann (22:34):
Honestly, there's nothing I love more in the world
than doing that. With COVIDnowadays, it really sucks,
honestly, because the pastcouple years after around or
after a tournament, we will beable to go sightsee see a little
(22:55):
bit of the city that we're in.
With COVID there's a lot ofrestrictions to where we can go
on the tour, like we're gettingtested three to four times a
week. So we're not allowed tosit inside and restaurants we
can only sit outside ourfriend's, like bubble. That's
what we called, it can only befour people. Whereas before we
(23:15):
can hang out, have dinner withwhoever we want. But still being
able to travel, see the citiesexperience different cultures.
It's I like I have no words forit. It just, it gives you so
much more perspective in life,and then you get to play
(23:35):
different courses, and Iabsolutely love it.
Douglas Maida (23:41):
So let's go back to Kuala Lumpur and your
filming. Do you have a favoriteexperience that came out of the
show or anything of that nature?
Luiza Altmann (23:51):
That's a good question. Um, I think just the
friendships that I made duringthe show because we were
together for one entire month.
And we had girls from Japan,Hong Kong, China everywhere. So
I got to learn a lot from them.
(24:13):
And then I got the chance toactually live in Korea. So that
was a, an experience that Icannot describe really, it's,
it's being as far away from homeas possible. And it's such a
different culture than what I'mused to. And so I just learned I
(24:39):
learned so much from beingthere. How the culture reacts or
how they treat people ofdifferent ages. How polite they
are. Everything works. You know,it's very clean. Everywhere you
go. I could literally eat mydinner. on the subway floor,
(25:01):
that's, it's so clean, theyclean, they keep it super neat.
Everybody's in lines to get intothe subway to the bus. So it was
like a very unique experience.
The second week that I wasthere, I received a text message
on my social media from twoBrazilian girls that their
(25:27):
family are Korean. So they wereborn and raised in Brazil. But
they are they were doing ainternational exchange. I don't
really know how to say it inEnglish, but like exchange
student, so they went touniversity in Korea. And they
(25:49):
saw me on the TV show and theysaid, well, there's a there's a
Brazilian living here. Like,let's just like they messaged
me, and they said, welcome toKorea. We speak we speak Korean,
but I'm pretty sure you don't.
So if you ever need anything,please don't hesitate to ask.
And we want to, to get to knowyou if you need anything. We
(26:15):
want to show you around so and Imessaged them back. And on the
first weekend that I was free. Itook the bus to the big city. I
met with them and they have beenone of my best friends ever
since. So they they really mademe welcome there. And it was
(26:36):
just such a cool experience.
Douglas Maida (26:40):
Oh, that's fantastic. How long were you in
Korea?
Luiza Altmann (26:45):
At a time I was for three months. I say there
three months at a time. Then Icame back to the US to play a
couple tournaments. Then I wentback there for three more
months.
Douglas Maida (27:00):
And was that follow up to the Cinderella
story?
Luiza Altmann (27:03):
Yes, it was. So I got to play 10 tournaments on
the KLPGA because of Cinderellastory.
Douglas Maida (27:11):
And how did you find that experience of playing
golf?
Luiza Altmann (27:13):
Oh, wow, that was spectacular. The golf there's
so elite. I learned a lot fromjust playing with the golfers.
They're just getting to knowthem and how they play and how
they see golf. And also how muchthey practice. Right? Because I
(27:39):
was like because of the KLPGAthey got me a place they got me
a place to practice. And I usedto practice with some of the
KLPGA golfers. So I stayed withthem all day with their practice
schedule. And it was just greatto see how different they they
actually do from what I'm usedto hear.
Douglas Maida (28:02):
Right. How did you find the, or how would you
say, the reverence and theimportance that's attached to
Women's Professional Golf inKorea? How would you compare
that and contrast thatexperience to playing in other
parts of the world?
Luiza Altmann (28:21):
I mean, golf in Korea is huge. It's one of the
biggest sports and for men notas much. And that's because they
they need to do the two yearmilitary. From 20 to 29 years
old, they have to do a mandatorytwo years in the military. So
(28:45):
take two years out of a golferslife is just too much.
Especially if you want to playat the professional level if you
don't, I mean if I take a twoweek off from golf, my golf
swing is all over imagine twoyears, right? So but women's
golf is huge. Just playingtournaments and seeing the
(29:05):
amount of like spectatorsfollowing the groups and it's
just fantastic. It's such a bigpart of Korean life. So it's
it's great to see that it'sgreat to see the support that
they give and like how many likeyoung kids are playing and it's
really cool.
Douglas Maida (29:25):
How would you like to be able to go back to
Brazil, say in 15 to 20 yearstime and you see golf elevated
to that level?
Luiza Altmann (29:31):
Oh, for sure.
That's that's one of my maingoals. I want to play
professional golf. But I want tobe able to help the sport grow
in Brazil and give the supportto to junior golf because that's
the future of the sport and thejuniors right now are the future
of the sport. So being able toplay European Tour, LPGA and
(29:52):
being like an image for futuregolfers. That's my main goal and
be able to help support whoeveris interested in the sport or be
able to just make it a morepopular activity, let's say in
Brazil it's one of my maingoals.
Douglas Maida (30:17):
So do you feel that very much -- a role model
responsibility to help reallygrow the game in Brazil?
Luiza Altmann (30:23):
Absolutely. The Brazilian Confederation and
somehow the Federation havehelped me so much with the
support that they give, thatthey have given me. So being
able to give back to my countryis, is huge for me.
Douglas Maida (30:43):
Do you have any special, I mean, it's very
difficult now with the COVID,and the travel restrictions and
whatnot. But did you? Or wereyou in the process of developing
any events or things like thatto for when you did head back to
Brazil to encourage Junior campsor anything like that?
Luiza Altmann (30:58):
Oh, absolutely.
Um, I did a women's clinic. Lasttime I was in Brazil. And I
tried to participate in as manyevents as possible. I know now
with COVID, it's really tough. Ican't really, if I go back to
Brazil, there's, I don't know ifI can go back to the US or if I
(31:20):
need to quarantine somewhere for14 days. So unfortunately, right
now, it's really tough. But Itried to do as many clinics or
help as many people as possibleto put golf out there. Yeah.
Douglas Maida (31:37):
Way to go.
Luiza Altmann (31:38):
Yeah, thank you.
Douglas Maida (31:38):
I mean, that's, that's the, that's the kids and
the girls and the young boys allseeing you out there. And, you
know, if they happen to see iton TV a little bit or catch a
picture on a website, have yougolfing and playing
professionally? I mean, that'sreally a powerful image for
children at that age,especially.
Luiza Altmann (31:55):
Yeah, I think having someone that can help
them, or just tell them a bit ofthe experience that I have had
through Junior golf, throughprofessional golf, whatever it
is, really, even if they're justplaying golf for fun and don't
want to make a career out of it.
Just having someone that theycan have, ask questions about
(32:18):
golf, or help with the swayingor help with some mental
thoughts. Anything.
Douglas Maida (32:26):
Great work, Luiza.
Luiza Altmann (32:27):
Thank you.
Douglas Maida (32:29):
Let's switch gears, let's start talking a
little bit about yourexperiences playing specifically
on the Ladies European tour. Andyou did play a couple events or
play a little bit on the SymetraTour as well. So how much time
do you spend in airports? Let meask you that.
Luiza Altmann (32:46):
Too much! way too much.
Douglas Maida (32:50):
It's kind of like that movie about the poor guy
who got stuck in the airport forall that time. And
Luiza Altmann (32:55):
Oh, tell me about it. Especially like going to
Korea or going to Asia? Or Idon't know, Middle East, I'm
spending like 20 hours on aplane.
Douglas Maida (33:07):
How would you say okay, let's say you're traveling
to and from Europe for -- what'sthe longest swing of tournament
events in on the LET for you.
Luiza Altmann (33:17):
So I just came back from playing five weeks,
five weeks in a row. I actuallydid know, that wasn't five
weeks, I'm sorry. I played fourweeks in a row. I had one week
off. And then I played threemore tournaments in a row. And
that's probably the most I'veever done. Without taking more
(33:38):
than a week off. The schedulenow -- it's getting a lot
better. After COVID we have alot more tournaments to play,
which is good. And they're veryclose to each other. Whereas
before a couple years back, wewould go Australia, South
Africa, Morocco, friends, thenThailand. So it was all over.
(34:00):
And now we just went from havingall our tournaments in Europe.
So makes it a lot easier fortraveling. Which is good.
Douglas Maida (34:11):
Yeah, that's totally understandable. I mean,
otherwise talk about the wearand tear of going from, say,
Spain, to Australia, to SouthAfrica, to Thailand to you know,
Europe again. Yeah, it'd be veryhard, and all the changing, not
to mention the changing timezones and getting your body
adjusted to all of that.
Luiza Altmann (34:32):
So because I was in Korea for so long, I didn't
play the latest European tourthat year. So I did not have a
full card for last year. And Ididn't play well in Q school. So
I got the chance to play thefirst events this year. And I
knew I needed to play a lot oftournaments to get a good
(34:54):
reshuffle to get a betterstatus. So that's why I tried to
play every single time I'mimpossible in the beginning of
the year, which I did. I got agood reshuffle. So now I have a
full card on the team. But Idon't plan on playing so many
events in a row like I did. It'sgood to have a break, especially
(35:17):
with like you said, all thetraveling It does. It does break
you. You have to listen to yourbody and say like, okay, now I
need one week of doingabsolutely nothing, just to get
that energy back. But it's veryimportant. For sure.
Douglas Maida (35:35):
Well, congratulations on getting your
priority. Full priority. Thankyou so much. Thank you. I can
only imagine how, how muchanxiety you go into the season
with and it's like, what's gonnahappen? What's gonna happen?
What's gonna happen? You know,and having that kind of pressure
every time you tee it up.
Luiza Altmann (35:51):
Exactly.
Douglas Maida (35:53):
We've kind of danced around this topic, Luiza,
but let me ask you this, youknow, there's some people out
there that think playingprofessional golf is such a
glamorous life. And in manyrespects, it is. But you know,
others think that it's makinglots of money, and oh, wow, she
must be, you know, earning somuch money. You know, she's a
professional player. Can youtell me and share with our
(36:13):
audience what is it really likebeing a professional player
trying to make it to the LPGA.
I presume the LPGA is eventuallyyour goal as opposed to,
Luiza Altmann (36:21):
Yes it is.
Douglas Maida (36:22):
Okay.
Luiza Altmann (36:24):
It's honestly not an easy life. It's, it's great
that you get to travel, you getto meet new people, you get to
play the sport that you love.
But at the end of the day, it ismy career. And I mean, it's
golf. Golf, you're gonna havegood shots, you're gonna have
bad shots, you're gonna havegood weeks, you're gonna have
(36:45):
bad weeks. It's about managinghow you react those bad weeks,
and keep going because it getstough out there. So you just
have to keep your head up, keepplaying, and eventually, good
rounds will come around. Andit's definitely worth it.
Douglas Maida (37:07):
Right? Do you have a full time caddy?
Luiza Altmann (37:10):
No, I don't.
Douglas Maida (37:11):
So how are you?
How are you doing that? Louisa,for the different? Are you
looking at locals for thedifferent events,
Luiza Altmann (37:17):
So I usually get local caddies, just because they
know more about the course.
Especially going from differentcountries, the grass is so
different. So getting a localcaddy where they know the
breaks, they know this, theyknow that is so important.
With COVID, we're not allowed toget local caddies anymore. So
(37:39):
that makes it tough. I've beencarrying pushing my bag the
first few events. Becausenowadays, we are allowed to
couple years, we when we needed-- a caddy was mandatory for
some events for the last four tofive groups, just for pretty
(38:01):
much like TV coverage. So now wehave the choice to just have our
own bags or have a local, not alocal caddy, but like your own
caddy in the bank. I haven't hadthat this year, but I will, for
the next five events. I havehired a caddy to be in trouble
(38:24):
with me for these next fiveevents.
Douglas Maida (38:30):
Oh, that's great.
So you'll start to develop a bitof a working relationship there
and have somebody to talkstrategy with and plot out your
days and practices. Are youable to use like, has the LET
adopted the use of rangefindersfor you?
Luiza Altmann (38:48):
Not yet. There has been a talk about it. I
think they're just waiting onthe shipment of the rangefinders
so that every single player canhave one. We are allowed to on
those team events.
And but it's mostly because ofpace of play. And because of the
(39:13):
amateurs, amateurs are notreally -- they don't really know
how to measure using a yardagebook. So that's the main reason.
Douglas Maida (39:26):
Yes, I could see that knowing how far you're out
from the pin.
Luiza Altmann (39:30):
Yeah.
Douglas Maida (39:30):
What club to pull?
Luiza Altmann (39:32):
Exactly.
Douglas Maida (39:35):
Do you use a green book or do they use green
books anymore? So those havebeen banned?
Luiza Altmann (39:41):
They have been banned, Yes.
Douglas Maida (39:43):
Okay. Just curious because I know that
they've started to look atbanning them elsewhere as well.
Luiza Altmann (39:47):
Yeah.
Douglas Maida (39:49):
Can you tell me what your favorite tournament is
that you've played? Do you haveone or is there a bunch of
Luiza Altmann (39:55):
Favourite tournament . . . I really like
tournament you like,those team events. There are a
lot of fun. Just because it's
Douglas Maida (40:00):
So when you see a team, and forgive me, we've
like a different format. You getto play and like with amateurs,
and it's a team. So you can talka lot more, you can talk about
strategy with the amateurs. Soit's, it's a lot of fun. I like
I feel like those are myfavorite events.
(40:23):
already touched on this a littlebit. How is it a team lose? Is
it just that you're playingtogether as a team for the four
days? or three days? Or?
Luiza Altmann (40:30):
No,
Douglas Maida (40:31):
It you also have like a team score for that
event?
Luiza Altmann (40:34):
Yeah, but the money is actually in the team
event. So you play with thepros. And then so it's four
players, and then you pick thetwo best scores each hole. And
at the end of the tournament,and whoever gets the lowest
score wins.
Douglas Maida (40:54):
Is there a requirement to use so many
scores from your amateur player?
Is there a requirement on theteam side of it to have a
minimum number of scores fromyour amateur player?
Luiza Altmann (41:08):
No, no, no.
Douglas Maida (41:09):
Okay.
Luiza Altmann (41:10):
Yeah.
Douglas Maida (41:10):
So it's not it's kind of not like a Texas
scrambled in where you have tomake sure everybody gets a shot
in.
Luiza Altmann (41:18):
Yeah,
Douglas Maida (41:19):
Great. Outside of those, do you have a favorite
event or an event that you lookforward to every year?
Luiza Altmann (41:25):
Not, really, I really like playing every single
tournament, it's a differentdifferent way, every single one
of them so I really just lookforward to to all of them.
Douglas Maida (41:37):
Okay, now traveling around a fair bit on
the LET and, and elsewhere. Whoare some of your favorite
players, or best friends on thetour that you'd like to play
with or get paired up with?
Luiza Altmann (41:47):
Um, . . . I like to play. Like, my best friends
are extra from Australia. So Ilike to play golf with them.
It's been tough now, becausemost of them are not traveling
as much. But they are the onesthat I usually just play golf
with.
Douglas Maida (42:09):
And I guess so they're not really in your
bubble either now, because thethey're not really playing so
much.
Luiza Altmann (42:15):
No, no, but each tournament you can have a
different bubble, buddy, so it'sgood.
Douglas Maida (42:22):
Okay, on that note, what are your goals for
the rest of the season? I mean,you've you've got your priority,
full priority now. So you've gota little less than half the
season left, what do you want toaccomplish?
Luiza Altmann (42:34):
My goal is to finish on the top, top 30 of the
team by the end of the year,just so I can keep my card for
the next year. I want to get mycard for the LPGA. So I have
Q-School coming up. So that'smy, one of my other goals. And
(42:55):
that's it. Those are my maintwo.
Douglas Maida (42:58):
When you came into this season, did you have
any sort of performance orientedgoals that you wanted to address
as well? Or was it just more onthe result side with your
playing and the priority?
Luiza Altmann (43:09):
So coming into the season, I wanted to get a
reshuffle for full card, which Idid, which I'm very happy about
I for the next five events, Iwant to get at least two on the
top 15. So whatever score I needto shoot that for that week.
(43:30):
That's my goal, to top 15 fornext five tournaments.
Douglas Maida (43:35):
So you didn't have any sort of offseason goals
with regards to say you wantedto work on your short game or
you wanted to reduce the numberof missed fairways, or you
wanted to try and find out, youknow, work on your skill off the
tee box to get maybe anotherfive to 10 yards off the tee?
Luiza Altmann (43:52):
Yeah, absolutely.
That's, that's something that'songoing. Every week. I've tried
to get better on every singlearea that I have. And -- but
it's a long list. Trust me.
Douglas Maida (44:08):
Yes, yes, I can see that. It always is.
Luiza Altmann (44:11):
Yeah, for sure.
Douglas Maida (44:12):
Golf's one of the sports that you know, you could
go out and shoot a 59. And thenext day you want to shoot 58
because you know you'd left astroke or two out there.
Luiza Altmann (44:20):
Oh, yeah.
Douglas Maida (44:23):
Yeah, that's that's the nature of the beast,
isn't it? As an LET player? Areyou getting any sort of priority
status in terms of which stageof the Q series for the LPGA
that you you enter into?
Luiza Altmann (44:36):
I am not too sure. But I think I think if you
are I think it's more aboutworld ranking. If you're top 150
I think you go straight to Qseries. I'm not too sure on the
numbers. I just know I'm not init unfortunately.
Douglas Maida (44:54):
So let's come back a little bit Luiza, let's
hear the weirdest or funniestthing that you've seen on the
golf courses of
Luiza Altmann (45:00):
I would have to say kangaroos on the golf
course. I was playing well myvery first tournament in
Australia and I had on the teebox, a kangaroo follow us
around, down the First Tee and Isaid, 'What on earth is
happening here'?
Douglas Maida (45:21):
Did you ever have the kangaroo interrupt your
swing or?
Luiza Altmann (45:24):
No I was I just waited I would did not know what
to do. He was right there.
Douglas Maida (45:32):
Did your playing companions or anybody give you a
little advice how to handle akangaroo?
Luiza Altmann (45:39):
No, no. Everyone was still in shock!
Douglas Maida (45:43):
It's one thing if it's a koala bear. It's another
if it's a kangaroo. kangarooscan put up put up a bit of a
fight if they want to.
Luiza Altmann (45:50):
Right!
Douglas Maida (45:51):
Any shared stories with others that you had
happen? Any people you meetalong the way any celebrities
you meet along the way in theairports or?
Luiza Altmann (46:02):
Hmm. well I got to play with my idol, Annika
Sorenstam, which was very cool,in her event.
Douglas Maida (46:11):
Oh, in Sweden,
Luiza Altmann (46:12):
In Sweden, that was very cool. You get to meet
so many players out there. I'm Igot the opportunity to play with
Gary Player, with AnnikaSorenstam, Ian Poulter. So
it's very cool. Just to just thepeople that I grew up, looking
(46:33):
up to, I get the chance toactually play around with them.
It's so one of the lifetimeopportunity, that's for sure.
Douglas Maida (46:41):
Oh, yeah, terrific.
Luiza Altmann (46:43):
I can say this.
He is the strongest person Ihave ever met. Every, every time
I meet him is like Luiza -- 'howmany setups are you doing a
day'? I said, like, 5, 10?
There's no, no, no, no, you gotto do a lot more. So he gets
down on the tee box. And does100 push ups 100 setups and it's
(47:05):
he's seriously the strongestplayer. The strongest player
I've ever seen. He can hold twoclubs with two fingers like
that.
Douglas Maida (47:14):
Oh, good. Yeah.
Good. That's a neat, neat. Well,there's a good story, right? You
got to see Gary Player do hispush ups for you.
Luiza Altmann (47:23):
On the Tee Box!
Douglas Maida (47:27):
So tell me what was it like playing with Annika?
I mean, that had to have been anincredible experience.
Luiza Altmann (47:35):
Just as she has been my idol since since I
started playing golf, and I gotthe invitation to play in her
event. So it was cool. I askedher way too many questions. I
feel bad for her. But I playednine holes with her and I asked
her How, So what do you do inyour practice rounds? How do you
(47:57):
plan for a tournament? What doyou think? Well, so it was cool
to try to pick her brain alittle bit.
Douglas Maida (48:05):
And I'm sure Annika was quite accommodating
and explain how she does things.
Luiza Altmann (48:09):
She's such a beautiful person. She just such
a welcoming and kind heart. Itwas. It was amazing.
Douglas Maida (48:18):
Well won't come as any surprise to you. But she
was always my favorite player ontour.
Luiza Altmann (48:21):
I don't blame you.
Douglas Maida (48:27):
So did you get paired with Annika the whole
round, every round?
Luiza Altmann (48:30):
No, no, just the practice round?
Douglas Maida (48:32):
Oh, okay. Oh, wonderful. Alright, so tell me
what's next for you?
Luiza Altmann (48:42):
Q-school.
Douglas Maida (48:42):
Okay. When does that start in a couple weeks?
Luiza Altmann (48:45):
Next week, sometime next week?
Douglas Maida (48:47):
When are you heading out to Rancho Mirage?
I go on Monday.
Okay. And do you have a caddyfor you?
Luiza Altmann (48:54):
Yes, I do. My coach is actually coming with
me. His name is Steven BalrushSohe will help me prepare for it
and helped me during the round.
Douglas Maida (49:06):
You mentioned, okay, -- Do you work with a
fitness training conditioningcoach as well?
Luiza Altmann (49:12):
I used to.
Nowadays I try and just see,especially because I'm on the
road so much, I see the physiofor the Ladies European Tour and
she helps me with like someexercises that I should do for
recovery. And during duringtournament rounds,
Douglas Maida (49:30):
So Q-school and then back to Europe for some le
TLS.
Luiza Altmann (49:34):
Yes, Exactly.
Douglas Maida (49:36):
Okay. What's your first LET event that you're
scheduled for?
Luiza Altmann (49:38):
The first two are actually in Sweden?
Douglas Maida (49:42):
Again, oh, going back to Sweden. I only thought
they were going there in thebeginning of the season.
Luiza Altmann (49:48):
For Two tournaments, actually.
Douglas Maida (49:51):
Oh, wow.
Wonderful. And after that?
Luiza Altmann (49:54):
After that, Switzerland and France.
Douglas Maida (49:59):
That'll Be nice.
Oh, that's great to be able toplay golf like that and
traveling around. How do youtravel in Europe?
Luiza Altmann (50:06):
How do I travel?
Douglas Maida (50:08):
Yeah. Do you take the train? Do you take? fly -
like EasyJet?
Luiza Altmann (50:13):
Oh Pfff!
Douglas Maida (50:14):
Okay, yeah. or whichever, whichever I just pick
that name out of the air.
Luiza Altmann (50:18):
Just, Oh, whatever is available.
Douglas Maida (50:23):
You have some young girls and boys watching or
listening in. What advice wouldyou give them about choosing to
play competitive Junior golf?
Luiza Altmann (50:33):
I'd say play as many tournaments as you possibly
can. As a junior golfer, you geta lot more experience playing
tournaments and being thatcompetitive, like the
competitive stage, rather thanjust playing, but make sure you
have fun. Just go out thereplayed the sport. And just enjoy
(50:58):
every single moment of it.
Douglas Maida (51:01):
Right, yeah. Get to play a little bit under
pressure and start to becomefamiliar with it. Right?
Luiza Altmann (51:06):
Exactly.
Douglas Maida (51:07):
Okay. Anything else you'd like to share? Or
thank or any people you'd liketo recognize?
Luiza Altmann (51:12):
Yeah, I'd love to thank my parents for
everything. They are my life. Iwouldn't be here if it wasn't
for their support, but also thesupport of the Brazilian
Confederation for helping mebuild my career and for helping
me get to where I am today.
Douglas Maida (51:30):
Did you want to also say it in Portuguese?
Luiza Altmann (51:33):
Let's say -- In Portugeuse -- Did you
understand that?
Douglas Maida (51:51):
I heard you say Obrigado. I understand that
too. And I'll say Obrigaso toyou well.
Luiza Altmann (51:58):
Thank you so much.
Douglas Maida (52:02):
All right. Well, thank you so much, Louise. It's
been an absolute pleasure.
Luiza Altmann (52:06):
It's an honor to be here. I really thank you for
this opportunity.
Douglas Maida (52:11):
Oh, no the pleasure is all ours.
We try to focus a lot on on theWomen's Professional Golf. So we
think that you're playing on theLET and helping to grow the game
and whatnot is a fantasticexperience. One word sharing to
everybody else.
Luiza Altmann (52:27):
Oh, thank you.
Douglas Maida (52:30):
All right. Well, you take care and best of wishes
and best luck for Q-school andRancho Mirage and hope to see
you, I'm pretty sure we'll seeyou at the next few stages and
getting into the Q-Series.
Luiza Altmann (52:42):
Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
Douglas Maida (52:47):
Thank you,
Luiza Altmann (52:47):
Alright,
Amy (Studio) (52:48):
You are listening to we're talking golf produced
by the world of golf. The viewsexpressed by our guests are the
sole views of the guest and notof the podcast show. We're
Talking Golf, nor of theproducer, the world of golf nor
any of its personnel includingthe host Douglas Maida. This
episode was recorded onSaturday, August 14 2021. If you
(53:10):
have an idea for a future show,please send us an email to info
at (53:15):
worldofgolf.org -- please include podcast show in the
subject line. This show is thecopyright of the World of Golf.
Thank you for listening
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