NICK Flanagan's brain is fried. The Australian Open is yet to begin but the Novocastrian can't wait for it to end. After a long and trying year in the United States, he wants nothing more than to put his clubs in storage and spend the next month surfing the east coast of Australia.
Golf will be the furthest thing from his mind. The game is driving him cuckoo.
"Anything other than golf for a month," Flanagan said. "I won't touch golf. I am just burnt out. I don't particularly want to be around it at the moment.
"I haven't been enjoying it much of late. I am struggling so much. It's a bit frustrating."
It doesn't bode well for his Open chances, although you get the feeling Flanagan isn't overly concerned with how he fares at Royal Sydney this week. Two years ago, he played solidly to finish in a share of 17th behind John Senden at the same venue.
Only an alarming reversal of form and attitude will see him repeat that finish. Flanagan made it clear yesterday his hopes weren't high heading into this year's national championship given his recent form and morale.
"It doesn't really worry me either way," he said.
"If I happen to play well, I play well. I am just looking forward to getting the year over and done with and not playing for golf for a month."
After a stellar 2007 in which he won three times on the Nationwide Tour, Flanagan had a bitter 2008. He never reached his own lofty expectations, making plenty of cuts but losing his US Tour card along the way because he failed to win enough prizemoney.
His year was compounded by a back injury which forced him out of the Australian Masters and PGA. Yesterday he spent more than an hour on the practice range with his coach Steve Bann searching for answers. He walked away nonplussed.
"I haven't been able to get a fix on the swing at all," he said.
"When I am not playing golf I really want to get out here and do it but when I get out on the golf course it just doesn't happen.
"I get pretty frustrated with it. Now I just want to have time off again."
He plans to steer clear of golf until the beginning of February, by which time he hopes to have his batteries recharged and his mind cleared of clutter. By then he will be ready to plot his year as he attempts to regain his US Tour card with another stand-out season on the Nationwide Tour.
"I have been struggling since the end of last year," he said.
"I came over this year and was pounding balls in the range trying to find something and not finding anything.
"This is the first time it has been this bad."
The problem is that the issues with his golf game are spilling over into the rest of his life. His enthusiasm is at an all-time low. You could hear it in his voice yesterday. Is he concerned he may never rediscover his mojo?
"I don't particularly like thinking about it that way," he said.
"Of course it does get a bit that way when you're sitting around a lot. I'm not really in any kind of clear conscious thought about how it's going to happen or what's going to happen.
"My brain is pretty fried. I am not all there right now. I just need the time off golf. It's just making me overly enthusiastic about things at the moment."
