Stats

First off, I want to say congratulations to the New Orleans Saints for winning the Super Bowl. I've lived in Louisiana for almost 9 years now, and though I was not a fan before moving here, I have enjoyed watching them play since. Only the Chicago Bears would be ahead for me, but as long as they're not playing each other, I'm pulling for the Saints without a doubt. It was great to be apart of their first Super Bowl appearance/win and to experience a celebration like I've never seen before.

On the side, I've been crunching some numbers from the last 3 months and here is what I've come up with regarding my statistics during the 2009-10 Hooters Tour Winter Series. (FYI - I have eliminated the one round I played in the beginning of December where I shot an 86 during the worst weather I've ever seen. Right or wrong, I did it because other than bringing it up for this purpose it's been permanently erased from my memory.) So here we go:

• Total Rounds Played: 20
• Fairways In Regulation Avg: 7.75 per round
• Greens In Regulation Avg: 10.45 per round
• Putting Avg: 29.7 per round - 594 Total
• Putting Avg (includes putts from the fringe): 31.05 per round - 621 Total
• The reason I include this is because I feel that a putt from just off the green is the same as being on the green. I only count the ones within a foot of the green.
• Up & Down: 62 out of 124 attempts for a perfect 50% avg. (includes bunker shots)
• Up & Down (Bunker Play Only): 11 out of 18 attempts for a 61% average.
• Avg. Distance to the Pin with a wedge: 15ft - 20ft; impossible to know exact number, but this is the best I can tell according to the personal stats I've been keeping.
  
• Score: 1477 Total Strokes; Average Score = 73.85
• 1st Round Scoring Avg: 74.1
• 2nd Round Scoring Avg: 73.89
• 3rd Round Scoring Avg: 72.5
• 9 out of the 20 total rounds at par or better

So there you have it. Here is my personal assessment from all of this. I would consider everything except for my putting as very mediocre....my putting being worse than mediocre. Nothing great and nothing terrible. I would say that my putting would be my biggest weakness and my bunker play as my biggest strength. I know that my FIR and GIR averages aren't very high, but they're slightly misleading due to the fact that a lot of times I was just off the fairway or green. However, if it's not on it doesn't count. I will admit that my driving accuracy has never been great and something that could use improvement. Finally, my scoring average is just that.....average. I do like how the numbers went down as I got into the tournament though. If I can get off to some better starts I'll definitely see more success in the future. And, there is always room to improve on my short game. Like everything else, you can never have too good of a short game.

In no way am I ok with any of these numbers. I have very high expectations for myself, so looking at these stats I know there is a lot of work to do. I do, however, see promise and improvement. As the weeks went on, my confidence was rising and my scores were getting lower. Consistency is still an issue, but I think that will improve as I continue to gain experience and play in more tournaments. My next blog will contain information on my upcoming schedule and an update on how practice is going.

I'm excited about Mardi Gras coming up. I've got a couple friends coming in from out of town. As if Mardi Gras wasn't crazy enough, now that the Saints have won the Super Bowl it should be even crazier. Hope everyone is doing well. 'Til next time....