Life on the Challenge Tour: In the latest instalment from Stephen Browne's first year as a professional, a trip to Russia brings back some pleasant memories, as well as creating some embarrassing ones

There is something about trips to Russia that ultimately prove unforgettable. My second visit to the country was for a recent Challenge Tour event.

I was there before on a school tour - the first time I ever had a drink. I was 16 and had a vodka and champagne cocktail and it blew the head off me.

I met a lovely girl from Dundalk while I was there. Her name was Claire. We became quite good friends over the week but it was a tale of unrequited love of sorts as one of my best friends stole her on the last night. To make matters worse he sat beside her on the plane on the way home and there I was sitting further down the plane with my head in my hands. It was a crushing disappointment.

I could quote his name (Barry) because I still haven't forgiven him for that. They were my initial memories of Russia. The other thing that struck me when I went back was that 12 years previously every car in Russia we saw was a Lada. This time it was completely different.

It's funny what else comes back. At the time of the school trip McDonald's had just opened. I remember the food we had been eating was so bad I lost half a stone in a week. Finally we gravitated towards the fast food outlet and I must confess I would have eaten chips through a carton. That is why I decided to order three of everything on the menu!

I didn't eat everything on the spot although I did a fair bit of damage. I brought the rest back to where I was staying and ate it for my remaining time in Russia. It was cold and I know it sounds revolting but the local cuisine was just so disgusting that it was either the cold McDonald's or nothing.

Russia proved a quite expensive place this time. The visa alone cost £200 but the set-up at the Moscow Golf and Country Club was superb. I didn't leave the complex for the whole week.

There were two official trips to Moscow but the nights in question didn't really suit me. The hotel was outstanding, as was the golf course, designed by Robert Trent Jones Jnr. It is the only 18-hole golf course in Russia. I was very sceptical before arriving but it (the course) was brilliant. I didn't have a caddie with me, and although there were a few Russian lads around, I wasn't about to entrust myself to one. In those circumstances they can be more a hindrance than a help.

The crowds were not very well versed in golfing etiquette. They were like sheep wandering around, not quite sure at what they should be looking for.

You just had to be very patient. Photographers were clicking away right throughout your swing. There were people coming out from behind bushes just as you were on the top of your backswing.

It didn't lend itself to great scoring but in fairness it was more innocence than anything else and there was a sense that you were there to spread the golfing gospel. A few Russian golfers took part, which was great, but none managed to make the cut.

Golf is like singing when it comes to performing before an audience. It's much harder to sing to two or three people than it is to 1,000. One thousand people go into a blur whereas you are more conscious of a couple of faces, exactly as we had in Russia. You could hear everything they said, change jangling in the pocket, phones going off. It was very funny at times.

The tournament didn't start too auspiciously as I was four over after seven and missed a short putt on the seventh to boot for a double bogey. I started my back nine - the front nine on the course - birdie, eagle, birdie and was very happy to finish the day on level par. I ground out a 70 the following day, knowing that I needed a birdie on the last to make the cut right on the mark.

It was on the Friday that I also suffered one of the most embarrassing experiences of my golfing life: my clubs, bag and trolley fell into a lake. I was two under playing the 15th, par five and had 240 yards to go to the front out of the semi-rough.

To say that it was a bit risky was an understatement but I felt that I had to go for it. I didn't go all the way to Russia to miss the cut by a single shot and I wouldn't forgive myself if I didn't go for it. It hung in the air and I had that sinking feeling, literally. It landed on the far side and came back into the water.

I knew that I could drop up there so I was wheeling the caddy car past these bunkers beside the water and didn't notice a rake sticking out.

The caddy car hit the rake, lurched sideways, the clubs went up in the air and splashed down, sending a ripple across the lake. My initial reaction funnily enough was that I was going to be hit with a two-shot penalty because you are not allowed bring your clubs into a hazard if your ball is in that hazard.

The next thing is the clubs start to float away. I didn't know what to do. I was thinking that this would be the end of the tournament and my initial reaction was that those clubs can stay where they are. I don't need you anyway. I borrowed a club from one of my playing partners, waded out and fished the clubs back in. Everything was drenched and there was seaweed in several places. I had to call a referee and waited for the bad news. Much to my delight he said that there wasn't a penalty because it wasn't deliberate and I hadn't grounded a club in the hazard. Fair enough they were floating in the hazard but I hadn't addressed the ball.

I dropped the ball and made six. I followed that with a par on 16, birdied the 17th and made the cut on the mark. I went out at the weekend and shot a brace of 69s that got me a top-15 place in the tournament and guaranteed I would have fond memories of trip.

Last week at Ballyliffin was tough and I was a bit unlucky. A poor bounce on the second hole of the opening round costs me a triple bogey seven. I was pleased with the way I played in very trying conditions and, although disappointed to miss the cut by one, can take heart from the way I am playing.

I have been doing a bit of work, changing my swing a little over the last couple of months and it is hard to marry those tweaks to remaining competitive on the golf course. I'm happy enough though with my game and just need that little bit of luck to make a breakthrough.

In an interview with John O'Sullivan