Florian is the most driven performer on the European Tour
Fritsch and fellowcountryman Michael Ballack won the Pro-Am prize at the 2015 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews.
“I decided that was it. There would be no more flying to tournaments.
“My last attempt at flying was about three years ago on a short flight from Frankfurt to Dusseldorf. It did not work and I have not flown since.
“I know there are other golfers who don’t like flying but are afraid to come out because of their image or losing sponsorship deals.
“I have talked myself into my current situation. I don’t see the harsh side or the bad consequences.
“It’s quite liberating. I see guys who have to plan a whole day around flying. They need to check out of the hotel, play, get to the airport, wait with maybe a delay, fly and then have to get home.
“When I’m finished, I get in my car and start the journey home. I’m in control.”
It is an unusual approach, but it worked last year. Fritsch gained enough money from his 12 starts to finish in 101st place and keep his Tour card, helped by three top- 10s, including a tie for seventh at the Alfred Dunhill Links at St Andrews.
As he begins his warm- weather preparations for Morocco, he will see 262 players above him on the Race to Dubai, but he is not letting that bother him.
“My disadvantage can be my biggest advantage,” he reckoned. “For some players, the European Tour schedule is the whole year. If there’s a tournament, they feel compelled to play.
“But I have time to recuperate, analyse my game and work on new skills. When can you do that if you play all the time?
“Knowing that I have a chance to get better every off-season makes me think I will do OK and can continue like this.
“It’s a game that I enjoy playing. I don’t have any high goals like winning a Major or being on the Ryder Cup team.
“I don’t thrive on that expectation and because I don’t have it, it takes the pressure off me.”
The Masters might seem impossible for Fritsch, but he has thought of a solution if he were ever to receive an invite to golf’s mostexclusive Major.
“If I did qualify, I’d have won one or two tournaments or had a really great season,” he explained. “Financially, I would then be in a position to take time off before and after.
“I do know there is a ship from Portsmouth to NewYork and that it would take me about a week to get to Augusta.
“That would certainly be an option. Obviously, I’d talk to my family, but maybe they would tag along!”
Matt Wallace.