Rio Pinar CC - Second Round

Today's Score: 76

Yet another timely choke down the stretch to finish off today's round. I really hope this doesn't become a trend. I bogeyed 4 out of my last 5 holes to miss the cut by a couple shots. All I can say is that I couldn't handle the nerves. As I got into my last nine holes, every swing and every putt was very timid. I missed just about every fairway on the back and a bunch of easy putts I should have made.

This is a really tough one to swallow. I thought for sure I was going to make the cut this week and finish this winter series on a high note. Instead, this has turned out to be the most disappointing outcome so far. I was swinging the club well, playing a course that I felt really comfortable on and I was making putts. But, for whatever reason it just wasn't meant to be. That's all I can come up with. I'm usually pretty good at handling pressure and fighting off the nerves but not this time. The only good thing I can come up with at this point is that at least I'm finding myself in situations where I'm actually competing for tournaments more often now. Hopefully, I'll begin to get more and more comfortable being in those situations and continue to move up the leaderboard instead of the opposite.

So this chapter of my professional career has come to an end. Definitely not the way I wanted to finish, but at least I had a chance these last three tournaments. There's one thing that can not be substituted in this business and that's experience. And because of that, I'm very thankful for having this opportunity to play in all these tournaments here in Central Florida. It's been a great experience and I know everything that I've been through so far can only help me in the future. It's all apart of the process I guess.

Coming Up: On Friday, Erika and I are flying to Arkansas for a wedding and then coming back to Orlando on Sunday. Monday, we'll be hitting the road back to New Orleans. I'm anxious to get home and catch up with everyone. Hope all is well!

Rio Pinar CC - First Round

Today's Score: 70

All indications so far is that the putting lesson and new putter are working. I made 5 birdies and 3 bogies today for a score of -2 under par (70). I didn't hit the ball quite as well as did the past two tournaments, but it was good enough to turn in a solid round. Even with some of the miss hits throughout the round, it was a couple unlucky breaks that lead to the bogies. The first bogey I made was on #5 where my right foot slipped on the downswing and I pulled hooked my drive badly into the left water. The second bogey came from a very poor lie in the left rough that forced me to pitch out......but, if I would of hit my drive in the fairway I wouldn't of had that problem. And the last bogey I hit was after hitting arguably my best drive of the day that went through the fairway and right behind a tree. Again I had to hit out sideways for my second shot.

But you gotta take the good with the bad sometimes. I'm just happy that I was finally able to make some putts, and for the first time in a while, play a whole round without a three-putt. My speed control was a lot better and I was able to make all the short putts that your supposed to make. If I can straighten out a few more drives tomorrow there's a chance to shoot some lower scores.

Today, I was in the last group of the morning wave of tee times, and when I finished at -2 under I was in 4th place. Now, I'm sure after the afternoon groups finish up I'll be further down the leaderboard somewhere.......but it's a start. Hopefully I can keep the putter working and we'll see what happens. My tee time tomorrow is 1:06 off #10.

Rio Pinar CC - Practice Round

Rio Pinar CC - Practice Round

I decided to play my practice round for this week's tournament yesterday (Sunday) because the forecast for today was for rain. My dad went with me and played as well so it was nice to have some familiar company. It was a course that neither of us had played, but had heard some good things about.

Rio Pinar Country Club has been around for quite some time in Central Florida. It used to be the site of the Florida Citrus Open, a former PGA Tour event. There is quite a bit of history behind the golf course and it offers an older style layout that I am beginning to realize suits my eye more so than others. Playing my practice round a day earlier proved to be a lot more relaxing than on the usual Monday's when everybody is trying to play. We got around in under four hours and were able to do our own thing while on the course. I always enjoy playing a course for the first time and having my dad there to talk things out with.

The course may be the most fair yet challenging layout we've played to date and should provide a good opportunity to score well if I can get some putts to fall. I've got some new ideas and a new putter that I'll be putting into play this week to change things up. My swing feels good and I'm hitting the ball well so there's no reason not to go out on a high note. I'm expecting good things for my last tournament. My tee time tomorrow is 9:06 off #1.

The Next Step

After all the rounds of poor putting and lack of improvement between tournaments it was time to take the next step. I decided to take a putting lesson from a guy named Fred Gibson here in Orlando. He was recommended to me by a former PGA Tour player and current member of the Champion's Tour named Fulton Allem whose opinion I really respect. Fred is a player in his own right....a past winner on the Champion's Tour.....and a notoriously good putter amongst his peers.

We met this afternoon at a golf course for about an hour. He watched me hit a few putts and immediately had some thoughts on what could be improved. Without getting into unnecessary details, I left with about three good things to work on. It was good to just hear a different opinion on things. If nothing else, I was able to pick up a few tips and if only one of them pans out then it was worth it. Because, whatever I've been doing isn't working.

Tomorrow I'm planning on going to the course and working on the things we talked about. I'm excited to see what happens and hopefully I'll leave the course tomorrow a better putter than when I got there. Hope all is well.

Diamondback G.C. - Round Two

Today's Score: 78

Simply put...I just choked today. I made the turn at even par (-1 under for the tournament) and completely fell apart on the back nine. Four of the first five holes on the front (my back nine since I tee'd off #10) are extremely tight and demand straight shots. For whatever reason, I wasn't able to execute the shots needed on those holes and a few bad swings lead to two bogies and a double.

I really wanted today's blog to be about how well everything went and describe how I shot a really good score. The fact of the matter is I did play well. I missed one shot on my first nine holes that cost me my only bogey on that side, but even then it wasn't missed by all that much. It just ended up in a really bad spot. But, once I hit that stretch of holes starting on the front nine I made three bad swings that turned costly based on where they finished. I played 14 holes very well and struggled with the other four.

The thing with golf is you're going to make mistakes....you're going to hit bad shots......and you're going to get bad breaks. But, the one single factor that holds everything together for the great golfers in this world is PUTTING. Those that are considered great putters find a way to get the ball in the hole and that alone makes up for so much that can go wrong in a round of golf. For me, however, I just haven't had that for any extended period of time now. I've had my rounds here and there where my putting has been good, but it's sparatic at best. I'd say, in this tournament alone, I missed 12 putts inside of 10 feet for two rounds. And I'm probably being kind by saying 10 feet. It's just simply unacceptable.

Therefore, I've decided to seek help. For the most part, I've always been able to figure things out when it comes to all the different aspects of golf. However, I just can't seem to get over that hump in putting that will take that part of my game to the next level. And, if I want to get the next level, I'm going to have to seriously improve my putting. Tomorrow, I'll be contacting some people here in town about getting a putting lesson and hopefully be able to meet with someone before my final tournament next week. I'll keep yall posted on what I'm able to come up with.

Diamondback G.C. - Round One

Today's Score: 71

Well half of my prayer was answered today. We did have a 1 hour and 15 minute delay due to fog this morning, but fortunately we were able to finish just as the sun went down. When we walked off 18 green, I don't think we could of played one more shot.

So round one is done and I'm at -1 under par. The most important thing is I didn't shoot myself out of the tournament on the first day. Now I get to play my second round trying to move up the leaderboard instead of having to fight my way back into competition. I would put today's round up there among the best I've played so far. I was able to stick to my game plan of hitting fairways and greens and found myself with a lot birdie putts. In fact, right out of the gate I was -3 under thru my first 7 holes after hitting three very close shots to the pin. I made the turn at -3 under and felt really comfortable with how the day was going.

After laying up on the par 5 10th hole, I hit my approach shot from 100 yards to about 25 feet. Not the best shot I've ever hit, but it was below the hole and I left myself a pretty easy putt. So easy that I 3-putted. (It would be nice to have one round without a 3-putt.....just saying) That lead to my first bogey of the day and a nice sour taste in my mouth. Two holes later, a 9-iron that came up short of the green lead to double-bogey (6). All I can say is it was one of the worst brain-farts you've ever seen and should of been a pretty standard up-and-down for par. After a great eagle on the par-5 16th, I was back to -2 under with two to play. On #17, I hit the best shot of the day with a 5-iron on the par-3 that was playing 197 yards. Unfortunately, it was so solid that it flew about 205 yards over the green and into a spot that was nearly impossible to get up-and-down from. I ended up lipping out from about 6 feet.

Overall, I'm very pleased with how today's round went. I still managed to make a few costly mistakes that turned a 67 into a 71, but I feel good about the direction my game is heading. If I can get it going again tomorrow, hopefully I'll be able to eliminate some of those mistakes and get into the hunt. My tee time tomorrow is 8:30 off #10.

Diamondback G.C. - Practice Round

Another successful practice round in the books. It seems as though for now things have continued from last week in terms of how I'm playing. I hit a lot of good shots today and was able to control my ball like I wanted for the most part. I know I talk about control a lot and it may seem repetitive, but in order to play good golf you've got to know where the ball is going. Especially on such a tight course like this one. Of course there is always going to be the occasional miss hit, but overall, too shoot good scores you've got to have confidence in your game and that comes from gaining control over your shots.

In my opinion, this course would rank among the worst that we've played so far. It's a relatively short layout, with trouble on just about every hole and every shot. A lot of the holes require irons off the tee which is a disadvantage to someone like myself who hits the ball further than average. This is definitely a course where length is not an advantage. Even some of the par 5's are too short/tight to hit driver. In addition to the layout, the greens are in pretty poor condition as well. They look as if everyone who has played golf there in the last year forgot to repair their ball marks so the greens are just littered with bumps and holes. Even still, everyone has to play the same course so we'll just have to hope for the best.

My strategy going into tomorrow is to put the ball in play off the tee first and foremost. If I can do that, the course will play much easier. Like I said before, the course is fairly short so if I can find the fairway then I'll have a short iron into the green. All that's left is just to get a few putts to fall and there should be a good round out there for the taking. My tee time tomorrow is 12:27pm. I'm praying for no delays because I would really love to finish my first round in one day. : )

Forest Lake - First Round Cont./Second Round

First Round Score: 73

We started the day with another one hour frost delay. At 9:00, we were on our 11th hole ready to resume play on our first round. It was cold again this morning which lead to some squirley shots in the beginning. For the most part, I was hitting the ball well but struggling with judging the speed on the greens. After playing late yesterday afternoon in the last group of the day, the greens were slow and a little bumpy to say the least. However, being the first out today, the conditions were quite different and it was giving me trouble all day. I finished off my last eight holes with 6 pars and 2 bogies for a +2 over (73). The officials of the Hooters Tour decided to convert one of the par 5's into a 520 yard par 4 making the par for the course at (71).

Second Round Score: 69

So I finally got my first round in the 60's. That part feels good. Except if my math is correct, the last time I checked the leaderboard it looks as if the cut will be -1 under par. That would mean that I missed the cut by 1 stroke. On one hand I'm a little upset....there were plenty of chances for me to save 1 stroke on the course between yesterday and today. (i.e. - a 3 putt from 8 feet for birdie in my second round) But on the other hand, I look at what happend last week and I'm proud of the way that I rebounded and at least had a chance of making the cut this week.

What's funny about these two rounds is that, overall, I played better the first round than I did the second and shot 4 strokes higher. Strange game!! I do know that I'd like to of had the chance to finish my first round yesterday because things were really clicking. The mistakes that I made could easily be fixed and who knows....maybe I could of saved a few strokes coming in. But, that's the way it goes. Sometimes you get the better draw with tee times and sometimes you don't......sometimes it doesn't matter either way. I've got some good thoughts going into next week. I know that my putting is really holding me back right now and all I can do is practice as much as possible the next 5 days and get ready for the next tournament.

Forest Lake - First Round

I'm happy to report that today picked up where yesterday left off. I was again able to hit shots like I wanted and control my game through the holes that we played. I'm currently at even par through 10 holes with three birdies and three bogies. Again I'm still finding ways to make too many bogies, but at least this time so far it hasn't been all my fault. I caught a really bad lie in the middle of a bunker and had to play out sideways, and I've missed about 5 putts inside of 10 feet. The good news I feel like I'm at least hitting the putts where I want to. I've just misread a few and the greens aren't in the best condition making it even tougher. But overall, things are off to a good start.

After a few more delays this morning, I didn't tee off until about 3:00 allowing us only enough time to get through 10 holes. We're supposed to be in position at 8:00am tomorrow to finish off round one. I was fortunate enough to birdie my last hole today so I've got a good feeling going into tomorrow. The forecast is for another chilly day, but at least the sun should be out and little less wind than today. We'll see what happens.

Forest Lake - Practice Round

This was one of the better practice rounds I've had in a while. It was one of those days where I was able to hit just about any shot I needed and ended up playing pretty well. Even though practice rounds are obviously a lot different then the actual tournament, it feels good to execute shots the way you want. I'm hoping tomorrow I'll be able to play even better and build off of today.

I was happy to see that the layout was kind of an older style golf course which is more similar to what I grew up on. About half the courses so far have been the newer style with water on every hole and housing developments throughout the course. The style of Forest Lake (holes that run alongside one another, more dogleg's, etc.) is more suiting to my eye and I guess I feel more comfortable at places like that. We'll see if that holds true tomorrow.

Tomorrow's tee times have been delayed an hour due to the weather forecast for tonight. That means I'll be playing at 2:00 and probably won't be able to finish all of my first round. The good news is I get to play in the warmest part of the day so at least I'll have that going for me.....which is nice.

I'm pleased to report that practice is going well. Much has improved since this past Tuesday. I've gone back to a few things I was doing in my swing the last couple of years and it seems to be helping. It's given me some confidence going forward to next week's tournament.

Today, I helped a friend move into his new place. It worked out well since the cold weather made it's way down here this morning. There were reports of snow flurries all throughout Central Florida so it was a good day to move furniture.

Erika has flown back to New Orleans for a few days to go to a wedding and a checkup with her doctor. Her recovery from surgery has gone well and I'd say she's pretty much back to 100%.

My plans are to get some practice in tomorrow afternoon while the temperature is above freezing and then get ready for my practice round on Monday. Hope everyone is doing well. More to come soon.

Shingle Creek - Round 1

Score: 86

No, I didn't mean to write 68.......that's an 86. The highest round of golf I've shot in almost 8 years. Because of how extremely bad today was, I'm not going to write very much on my round. I feel like the best thing I can do is forget about it quickly and move on. My summary from today is this: (1) The wind chill today never got about 35* degree's which made the conditions pretty difficult. (2) Even still, I was able to manage my game enough through 11 holes to only be +3 over par. (3) Two very poor shots on holes 12 and 13 lead to a double-bogey and quadruple-bogey respectively and pretty much took all the wind out of my sails.

In the past, rounds like today would have me brought me down for long a time causing me to have a hard time getting over them. But I'm older now, and learning from experience, the best way to rebound from a day like today is to forget about it almost as soon as you get home. Because of how high my score was, I will not be playing tomorrow due to Hooters Tour rules on score limitations. I'm going to do everything I can to pretend this round never happened and will practice and prepare myself for next week like any other. I apologize to everyone for not giving yall more to read about or follow for this week. I promise next week will be much improved.

Latest News

It's back to reality again. Our Disney vacation is over. This has been a great week and even with LSU losing on Friday it will go down as one of the most enjoyable times of my life. We managed to get in all the theme parks, all the rides, a couple rounds of golf, and an LSU football game all in just over 5 days. Not too shabby. There's something about Disney that makes you feel like a kid again and being able to enjoy all of it with Erika and the family was a nice break from the real world.

Now, Erika and I are back at my parents house getting ready for next week's tournament. I've got two days to tune up the things I have been working on and show up on Tuesday ready to play. They're predicting the temperature to drop into the 20's early next week so I'm heading out tomorrow to find some hand warmers and wind gloves. It's should be a fun challenge adjusting to the weather but that's just apart of it all. I'll have more after my practice round on Monday. Happy New Year to everyone!!!