Shell Houston Open - Qualifier

Score: Too High To Count

Sorry for not having this post up sooner. As soon as we finished our round on Monday, Erika and I drove straight back to New Orleans. It was a long day and yesterday was spent getting unpacked and almost 7 hours of practice. Why? Because apparently what I've been doing isn't good enough. As Monday's round was proof, my shots are simply not consistent enough and putting continues to be a struggle. This was one of those days where there isn't much to report. I was able to use the weekend to work on my swing and honestly felt really good going into the round. But again, I just wasn't able to transfer it to the course. For every solid shot, there were twice as many bad ones to follow. I just wasn't able to get into any sort of groove.

So that's that. Not exactly the start to the 2010 season I was hoping for, but it wasn't due to a lack of effort. If anything, perhaps one of my faults at times is to try too hard. Regardless, I've decided that I'm going to use these next couple of weeks to work even harder. I'm going to up the amount of time spent practicing all the areas of my game, try to play at least 9 holes a day if not more and continue to hit the gym. There's one thing that I do know and that is that failure is not an option. I'm gonna do whatever it takes to get better and that's just the way its going to be.

The next event on the schedule is the pre-qualifier for the Zurich Classic on April 16th. That will be played at La Tour Golf Club in Mathews, LA. I plan on getting down there to get as many practice rounds in as I can before the actual tournament. I'm looking forward to seeing better results in the near future. Hope all is well!!!

Adam's Tour (Lake Charles, LA) - First Round/Second Round

First Round Score: 77

After abandoning the swing change from yesterday, I was able to come out and hit some decent shots to begin the day. I managed to make 6 pars in a row before bogeying 3 out of my last 4 holes to shoot +5 over (77). During that span, things started to go a little wayward, and I continued to miss putts.

Second Round Score: 80

Once we finished up round one, we immediately went to #10 to start our second round. It seems that at this point, everything that's gone wrong in the last two weeks just came to ahead right then. My first two shots of round two (a chunked driver about 150 yards & a shanked 2-iron almost out-of-bounds) really sent my mind spinning out of control. I don't have a good reason, aside from what I just mentioned, as to why all of sudden everything was lost. I do know that it's a very humbling experience to go from feeling like you're on the right track to having absolutely no clue where the ball is going to go. By that I mean, as soon as round two was underway, it was like I was in a fight for my life just to keep the ball within the confines of the golf course.

9 holes later I was +7 over par and wanting nothing more than to tuck my tail between my legs and head straight for the car. But, I knew there was nothing good that could come from that, so I decided to press on and hope for the best. Well, the best turned out to be 2 birdies and 3 bogies and a swing that returned to barely mediocre. Add it up and that's a +8 over par (80) for round 2.

Needless to say I didn't make the cut this week. I was really hoping that I would play well and get this season headed in the right direction. It hurts. There's nothing I want more than to be successful and compete at the highest level in this game. Maintaining confidence is definitely one of the hardest things to do at times like this, but I continue to believe that it's only a matter of time before I start playing some really good golf. And I know that finding a way to get some putts to fall is going to play a huge part in my success. In fact, the most logical explanation for what happened today is the culmination of so many missed opportunities (putts). So, the only option is to continue to work on it and find a way to get the ball in the hole....whatever it takes.

The next couple of days are up in the air. As of now, the only thing we've got to do is be in Houston on Monday for the Shell Houston Open qualifier. Until then, I'll be trying to get in all the practice I can in order to prepare for that round. Wish me luck : )

Adam's Tour (Lake Charles, LA) - First Round

Today's Score: Did Not Finish

My original tee time today was supposed to be 12:50pm, so I showed up to the course around 11:00am because I wanted to do a little extra practice before playing. Well, about 10 minutes in, Erika and I found out that the morning rounds had been delayed 4 hours due to the weather that came through last night. So, my new tee was now 5:20pm. I ended up practicing for about an hour since I was already at the course and then decided to leave and come back later.

We eventually teed off on time (5:20pm) and managed to get in 8 holes before the official blew the horn due to darkness. I am currently +2 over for my round and largely in part because I committed the cardinal sin of tournament golf......changing my swing before the round. I was unhappy with the way that I hit the ball yesterday in Houston, so that's why I originally went to the course early to get some extra practice in. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it) I was able to fix some things by making a minor change in my swing. It wasn't anything drastic, in fact it was something that I was working on during the long break in February. But, as we all know, hitting balls on the driving range is completely different from hitting the ball on the golf course....in competition. I just simply could not transfer what had been been doing on the range to the course and it ended up costing me. I made 3 bogies and 1 birdie before dropping the new swing change on the 8th hole.

So, I accept full responsibility for making that mistake. On the outside looking in, it seems harmless trying to make changes in an effort to improve, but I should of realized things weren't working sooner and gone back to something I could trust. I have every intention of sticking with that game plan going into tomorrow and see if we can't right the ship and get back on track. Play will resume at 8:00am tomorrow morning where I'll pick up where we left off on #9. Hopefully good news to follow.

Shell Houston Open - Pre-Qualifier

Today's Score: 75

After playing a practice round yesterday in Lafayette for this week's Adam's Tour event, Erika and I drove over to Houston to get ready for the pre-qualifying round for the PGA Tour's Shell Houston Open. Because of the way everything worked out, there just wasn't time to make it over for a practice round so we went into the day without ever seeing the course before. However, once I reached the 17th hole, something just looked awfully familiar. On that hole it hit me that I had actually played the course before about 5 years ago, but that didn't really do me much good because up until then I didn't remember I single hole out there.

And as I'm typing this, I just checked the website and I made the cut right on the number.....so that's good. I was afraid that the 4ft birdie putt I missed on the last hole was going to cost me, but the website just made it official that +3 over got in. So here's a little bit about the round.

Once again, the story of the day was putting. For whatever reason, I'm really struggling with reading putts correctly right now. My speed control is getting better, but I just can't seem judge the break right. I'd say that my ball striking was worse than it's been of any round so far, but it was still decent for the most part. This was one of those rounds that should of been about even par judging by the way I hit the ball if I just could of gotten a few putts to fall. But, I'm going to remain positive and know that it's just a matter of time before things start turning around. And once they do, I know that there's some good scores to follow.

By qualifying today, that gets through to Monday where we'll play one more round (starting from scratch) for 4 spots. It'll be tough, but definitely worth the experience. And who knows, maybe we'll get some putts to go in.

The Adam's Tour event in Lake Charles begins tomorrow and my tee time is 12:50pm off #1.

Nationwide Tour Qualifier - Squirrel Run

Today's Score: 74

Today's round was sort of a continuation of how last week went. I hit the ball well, used good course management but I just couldn't make a putt. In these one day qualifiers where you're competing against 150 guys for 7 spots, it takes a really low score to get in. And the only way to shoot low scores is to make putts. I don't care how close you can hit the ball to the hole, it doesn't matter unless you make the putt. I'm not saying that I was right next to the hole every time, but I definitely had my chances and not once was I able to convert. I'd say that I probably had 5 birdie putts and 2 eagle putts inside of 15 feet and didn't make a single one. I feel like I was hitting good putts but unable to read them correctly. For me, I'm still at that point where I'll make one or two bad swings during a round which end up leading to bogies, but I certainly give myself plenty of opportunities to offset those mistakes and haven't been able to take advantage of them yet.

So, no luck this time, but I have many more qualifiers scheduled throughout the year. In fact, Wednesday we'll be in Houston for the Shell Houston Open pre-qualifier where there will be about 100 people for 40 or so spots. A little better odds than today. Tomorrow, we're driving to Lake Charles to play a practice round for this weeks Adam's Tour event which starts Thursday. Then, Wednesday we'll be in Houston for the one day qualifier and then back to Lake Charles for the start of the tournament there.

Oakwing Golf Club - Second Round

Today's Score: 73

What a day! Today's round definitely ranks up there among the best I've played so far. I hit a lot of really good shots and played solid throughout the entire day. Unfortunately, my putting really let me down. After hitting 16 greens in regulation, I totaled 36 putts for the round. Simply unacceptable. For whatever reason, I just wasn't able to adjust to the speed and firmness of the greens at this course. I still managed to hit a lot of good putts that could of gone in, but it seemed one after another would find a way to miss.

Overall, I'm proud of the way I hung in there today. I started the day with a bogey (as I did yesterday), missed 2 birdie putts inside of 5 feet on holes #3 & 4, didn't get up-and-down on the par-5 5th hole after being pin high in two, and then four-putted #6. Add it all up, and I was +3 over after 6 holes. But, I was playing well and found a way to make a couple birdies coming in on my front nine to make the turn at +1 over. My back nine, wasn't nearly as exciting....9 pars in a row. One 3-putt for par after hitting the par-5 2nd in two, and a total of 6 putts missed inside of 15 ft. That about sums it up.

So, I didn't make the cut this week, but I still feel good about how things have started out for this season. I could easily be right in there competing for this tournament if things would of gone a little differently on the greens. But, I'll take away all the positives from this week, learn from my mistakes, and continue to practice on the areas that need improving. I also want to mention that Erika's on the bag as my caddie and I think we make a pretty good team. Not having to carry my own bag is a huge help and I'm lucky to have her there with me.

Tomorrow, we're going to head to Baton Rouge for the weekend and then back to Lafayette on Sunday to play a practice round for the Nationwide Tour qualifier on Monday. 'Til next time......

Oakwing Golf Club - First Round

Today's Score: 74

My first reaction to today's round was that I played alright, and considering I've been off for 5 weeks, it wasn't all too bad. I hit about 4 really good shots today that didn't end up well for one reason or another. There were probably just as many bad shots that didn't end up well either and rightfully so. So, all in all, it was one of those rounds that could of been around even par if a couple of breaks would of gone a different way.

The biggest challenge this week, as I mentioned earlier, is getting a feel for the speed of the greens. As I went back over my round today, I noticed that I only got up-and-down 1 out of 7 times. 3 of those were from the bunker and I was unsuccessful all three times. It wasn't that I was hitting bad shots, it's just hard to judge how far the ball is going to roll once it gets on the green. And then sometimes when you plan on the ball rolling out, it will just hit and stop. So, for me, that's the biggest obstacle this week as it is for most of the players I'm sure.

I still feel good going into tomorrow. A lot of the work I've done on my mental game has helped minimize the amount of nerves I felt during today's round. I feel more relaxed on the course than I have in a long time and hopefully that area of my game will continue to improve. My tee time tomorrow is 1:30 of #10.

Oakwing Golf Club - Practice Round

It's that time again. This morning, Erika and I drove up to Alexandria, LA for the first Adam's Tour event of 2010. This week, we're playing Oakwing Golf Club. It's a course that I've played before and am pretty familiar with. I actually played in this tournament back in 2007 during my brief professional career out of college. Then, I played here again in a separate event while working at the New Orleans Country Club. So, I've got a good feel for the course and it's one that I enjoy playing.

Today, I played my practice round. It feels good getting back in the rhythm of tournament golf. After being off for 5 weeks, I'm ready to get back to competing again. I would say for my first practice round back, everything went well. I hit a lot of solid shots and was able to make 4 birdies throughout the round. It didn't take long, however, to figure out that this week is all going to come down to putting. I would say the greens are rolling as fast as I've seen in years. The condition of the course was extremely dry which made them play even faster. But, I've been working on my putting and with the changes I made during the break, I feel a lot more confident about that part of my game going into this week.

Tomorrow is the pro-am (which I am not playing in) so I'll be out there practicing.....especially my putting. The first round begins on Wednesday and my tee time is 9:00 off #1. I can't wait.....

Something in the 60's

Something in the 60's would be great. Not just as a score, but as a temperature.....outside! The weather here is just ridiculous. I've seen maybe 1 or 2 days since I've been home where the temperature outside has been above 60 degree's. Every time it tries to warm up, a front will be sure to come through immediately to return things back to normal........cold....wet....and windy! At least that's been the case so far.

So, practice hasn't gone quite according to plan these last couple of weeks. I've managed to play more golf than practice due to the conditions and course closures. However, that's probably a good thing. The good news is that when I have had the chance to play and practice, things have been going well. I had a practice session last week where I hit the ball so well that it lead me to consider that day as the best I've ever hit the ball in my entire life. I picked up a simple tip from a video I was watching, and as soon as I was able to put it to use on the range, I noticed a difference instantly. So, hopefully this will be something that will last and help me continue to improve.

There's a couple weeks left until we leave for our first tournament, so until then, things will be mostly the same as they have been. Practice and play as much as possible and pray for better weather. At least something in the 60's..........