Ladies European Tour: Martina Gillen'sDiary Being a rookie can be a frustrating time, but you have to take that chance

I knew I was taking a chance but when you're in your rookie season you can't afford to turn down opportunities. Going to Switzerland I knew that I was fourth reserve for the tournament, an event where some serious prize-money was on offer. This meant it would be even more difficult to get into the field.

I had pre-booked flights and accommodation so in the company of Claire (Coughlan), I set off for Milan/Bergamo airport and the cross-border excursion that would follow.

Claire and I had been debating how we were going to make the two-and-a-half-hour road trip to the venue when we were the beneficiaries of some good fortune.

England's Rebecca Hudson was on the flight and she had already booked a car.

She offered us a lift and as we discovered it was just as well because I'd say we would never have found the tournament venue otherwise: the fact she had been there before was a big plus as even she didn't get it right first time.

Having travelled all of last Monday we arrived at the course - five minutes from the hotel with courtesy transport - the following day and I was immediately struck by the prestige of the tournament and its trappings. There were large marquees, strict security and a practice range for which you had to wait (about 20 minutes) to get a slot.

It was a beautiful course, set in a valley but surrounded by mountains that made you feel slightly claustrophobic after a few days.

The rough was savage and you couldn't hit any less than a six-iron unless you were willing to play your next shot from a couple of feet away.

By the Wednesday morning I was down from fourth to second reserve. A girl called Lyn Kenny was first alternate but she had gone home from Spain but had a flight booked for Wednesday night if she made the event. A girl pulled out and suddenly there was a vacancy in the field.

I was called into the tournament director's office and told that they weren't sure about Lyn's return so the following morning I pitched up to the club at 7am. At 7.50am there was still no sign of Lyn so I went to the range to warm up for a 9.20am tee time. I was about halfway through my warm-up when Lyn arrived. She had flown overnight and made a mad dash to the venue, making it with less than an hour to spare.

That meant there was nothing to do other than wait around until 2pm and the last tee time to see if anyone failed to show; the remainder of the field was present and correct and so I hit the range and did some practice for a while before heading out on the course and caddying for Claire on the back nine.

I was always going to return home on the Friday if I didn't make it into the tournament but this meant losing my original flight. I booked another with Aer Lingus through Malpenza, eventually getting home just before midnight.

I followed the tournament's progress on the internet and was delighted the German girl Bettina (Hauert), who I had caddied for in the previous tournament, won this one. Having observed her game up close I know I can play at this level.

Getting the opportunity at the moment is key. I'm once again fourth reserve for the tournament in Italy this week, another event with a great deal of prize-money at stake, so I'm not hopeful.

I'll keep an eye on the website right up to Wednesday night to see if I move up the list and if it's physically possible to get there, no matter how late, I'll go.

The Ladies European Tour, stops in Ireland (Templepatrick) next week and I'm definitely in for that tournament and the next one in the Netherlands. There's nothing else to do but practice and I'll be doing a little bit of that at Slieve Russell.

I did take in some of Padraig Harrington's victory at Adare Manor and was delighted for him although I confess to not being able to watch the play-off.

I'll probably go up this week to Templepatrick and play a practice round later in the week but until then will spend a fair bit of the day keeping tabs via the internet on the Italian tournament for any late withdrawals.