TEE TO GREEN:As the Ladies European Tour heads to the south of Spain for a big team event, Ireland's pair of golfers are forced into a marathon journey by sea and road, writes REBECCA COAKLEY

THE PAST couple of days has given a new meaning to “life on the road”, that’s for sure. As a touring professional, you grow used to the non-stop security checks and queues which are a necessary evil at airports. But this?

Who could have predicted the fall-out of the volcanic eruptions in Iceland, and the lengths it would drive us to go to ensure a place in the field for this week’s European Nations Cup at La Sella resort in Alicante on the south-eastern coast of Spain.

Our journey – ie, Team Ireland, myself and Hazel Kavanagh – saw us swap airline tickets for a hastily-arranged car-ferry odyssey that took us first to Holyhead, on down to Dover and across the Channel to Boulogne, where we over-nighted before taking the marathon drive – 26 hours or thereabouts – the length of France and most of Spain to Alicante.

Talk about team bonding!

Fortunately, my fiance, Shane Codd, did most of the driving, and former tour player Yvonne Cassidy, now a tournament director with the Ladies European Tour, was also part of the four-strong travelling party to a tournament that, although a two-player team event with a format that combines fourballs and its own foursomes style, is an important one that kick-starts a strong run of events in Europe that takes in Turkey, Germany, Slovakia and Holland.

So, a lot of travelling in the weeks and months ahead, although this road trip will take some beating.

I’ve been looking forward to playing again, after spending much of the winter in Australia. I’d a good finish to the 2009 season, including three top-10 finishes in five tournaments, and I’ve made a conscious effort over the past few weeks to play more rather than just practice.

In fact, I’ve tried to make sure all departments of the game are good, working away on my chipping – especially – and also on my fitness and strength. It’s a long and demanding season and you have to ensure you are physically and mentally right.

If I can carry my end-of-year form from last season into this campaign, and perhaps improve a little more, I believe I can look forward to a good year. I set myself high expectations and, obviously, one of my main goals is to win a tournament. I also want to finish in the top-10 on the Ladies European Tour money list: last season I was 34th, my second-best finish on the order of merit.

A place in the top 10 is, I believe, a feasible target. If I can keep consistent and keep bogeys off the card, then it is very much achievable. I’ve practised long and hard – either at home in Carlow or at Killeen Castle – but you can do all the practice you like, doing it out on the course in competition is really what it is all about and it is up to me to ensure all the stuff I’ve worked on over the winter is applied to the course.

My status on tour means I’m able to map out a strong schedule and, with Solheim Cup points for the 2011 match against the United States in Killeen Castle already adding up, I’m aware that each and every tournament is an important one. Needless to say, it has been a long-term goal of mine to make that Solheim Cup team, but, to be honest, I don’t focus on that: if I focus on the smaller goals, then they will take care of the bigger ones.

Normally, I don’t mind travel and I particularly like to get out and about when I’m away, be it visiting local sights or eating out where the locals tend to go. Ironically, one of my pet hates is hanging around airports. I hate queuing.

Well, I sure got to avoid them on this road trip to Alicante, and it does seem that the likes of the Americans – Meg Mallon and Beth Daniel – and the Swedes, Anna Nordquist and Sophie Gustafson, competing here had a far more straightforward time in making their transatlantic flights than many Europe-based players who had to under-take long journeys on motorways through numerous countries. Ah, the glamour of a pro golfer.

Seriously, though, Hazel and I believe we have a good chance this week in what is a strong tournament. We’ve partnered each other for the past two years, are familiar with the course and also with the format. We’ve been playing well and, importantly, we are also good friends, and that is something that stands to you out on the golf course.

It is a big plus for us. And we both believe we can win.