Today's Score: 84
Well today pretty much summed up how this slump I'm in has been going. I thought that I had found something over the weekend that was going to help, but the bottom line is I've got so many thoughts running through my head right now I'm in no condition to be playing competitive golf. It's like I'm caught between the swing changes I've been working on and what I was doing before working with Brian. I simply can't get the ball in play off the tee, and on this course, that makes it nearly impossible to shoot a good score. With everything that is going on a this time, I've decided to withdraw from the tournament this week and not play in the second round tomorrow. Shooting 84 today pretty much kills any chance of making the cut and I think it's best to begin my break from tournaments now. Between having a late tee time tomorrow and the thought of playing again in 100+F degree weather in the hopes of grinding out a decent round, I think it's better that we just get on the road early and head home.
Without having too many details at this time to report, what I do know is I plan on taking the entire month of August off. The idea is to get back on track with my swing which includes seeking any and every bit of help I can find whether it comes from Brian or someone I haven't yet worked with. Basically starting tomorrow I'll be putting together some sort of schedule for the next month which will be based around figuring out a way to get better. I need more consistency in my game and I'm going to do whatever it takes to get there. So that's it for now. I appreciate everybody who's stuck with me through all of this. There's nothing I want more than to be successful in this endeavor and there's now way I could ever get there without everyone's support. So thank yall once again and I promise when I make my comeback in September it will be only good news from then on. Take care!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Hooter's Tour - Michelob Ultra Classic (Auburn, AL) - Preview
This week I'm playing in a Hooter's Tour event in Auburn, AL. The course we are playing is the Auburn University Golf Course. After playing two and a half practice rounds, here's my take on the course. Overall, it's pretty long in terms of yardage. There is a lot of elevation changes on just about every hole. The majority of the tee shots play somewhat downhill and then back up the hill to the green. On a handful of holes, its sort of a blind shot off the tee so picking out good targets during these practice rounds was crucial. I wouldn't call this course tight because the size of the fairways is very fair, but there isn't much rough and just past that is thick/heavy woods. Some are marked hazards and others are not. That means hitting a drive into an unmarked area is basically like hitting it out-of-bounds because there's a very good chance you're not going to find it. Not only that, the edges of the fairways are sloped towards the woods so a slight miss off the tee could end up kicking hard into the trees. For me, this is what I have to really focus on this week because if anything, that's the part of my game that is the most inconsistent. I plan on hitting a few 3-woods and 2-irons for placement purposes just to make sure I keep it in the fairway. The greens aren't the greatest either. For the second week in a row the greens are rolling quite slow and are very grainy. I feel like I can't hit the uphill putts hard enough and downhill is still a question mark because some roll slower than you would think and others will roll out.
As far as my swing goes, whatever I was doing this past weekend has been hit or miss since. Pretty much the story of my playing career and something I plan on taking the next step towards fixing during the month of August. In the last few days I've hit the ball great at times and poorly the next. Inconsistent would be the best way to put it so it's hard to say what I expect out of this week. My game plan is just to go out there and play...pick a target and swing at it and whatever happens happens. My tee time tomorrow is 8:12 off #1.
As far as my swing goes, whatever I was doing this past weekend has been hit or miss since. Pretty much the story of my playing career and something I plan on taking the next step towards fixing during the month of August. In the last few days I've hit the ball great at times and poorly the next. Inconsistent would be the best way to put it so it's hard to say what I expect out of this week. My game plan is just to go out there and play...pick a target and swing at it and whatever happens happens. My tee time tomorrow is 8:12 off #1.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Adam's Tour - Orr Hyudai Classic (Texarkana, TX) - Second Round
Score: 78
After missing the cut yesterday, Erika and I decided to make the drive back home and that has put me a little behind in getting this post up. I'm going to save yall the agony of having to read another blog describing every hole and how nothing seemed to go my way. Since I've already had 24hrs to go over every shot in my head, my goal is to move on and start preparing for next week. I guess in this business you've got to have a short memory to some aspect because after a bad month, a bad week or even a bad shot all that matters is the next shot or the next tournament and taking care of what needs to be done in order to be ready. So here is a somewhat shortened replay of yesterday's round.
The best shot of the day came on the second shot of the day as my approach into #1 hit the pin on the fly only to ricochet backwards 25ft from the flag. Par. On the very short, nearly drivable par-4 2nd, I decided to play safe by teeing off with a 5-iron only to hit the worst shot of the day as it went well right of the fairway and kicked into a very wooded area. Unmarked by any hazard stakes, I was unable to locate my ball and forced to re-tee. Double Bogey. On the 3rd hole, I hit another iron off the tee and ended up to the right again except this time I was right behind a tree. Forced to pitch out, I made bogey (5). Good birdie on the 4th hole and back to +2 over. The choke-down three-quarter lob wedge I hit for second shot into #6 from 100yards flew over the green and left a very difficult up-and-down. Bogey and back to +3 over. Still playing aggressive, I hit driver on #8 and the dreaded straight ball wound up behind yet another tree. Another bogey and now I'm +4 over. Again with the "attack mode" mindset, I hit driver on #9 only to go straight through the fairway out-of-bounds. Another double-bogey and I shoot +6 over on the front.
So here's a situation as a professional golfer that you really want to avoid finding yourself in. You're +8 over par for a golf tournament, you've got 9 holes left to make the cut and you've basically got to birdie every hole on the back nine. Quite the task but for me its enough of a challenge to make it even worth trying. When I walked off the last hole, I could say that I at least gave myself a chance for birdie on every hole except one. Every birdie attempt was within 20ft, but I just couldn't get a putt to fall. The greens were hard to judge this week as slow and grainy as they were rolling. The one hole that I didn't have a birdie putt was the one I made bogey on and that was just because a slight miss off the tee found one of the worst lies I've seen in the rough in a long time. Whatever troubles I was having on the front side seemed to disappear, and I finished with 8 pars and a bogey.
I'm back in New Orleans for the first time in nearly 3 weeks. It feels good to be home, but it's not going to be for long since Erika and I will be leaving early Monday morning for next week's Hooter's Tour event in Auburn, AL. It will be tournament number four in a row and I think you can expect a little break to follow once we finish up there. I'm pleased to report that this afternoon's practice session reached a level I haven't seen since early April around the time I was qualifying for the Zurich Classic. My swing felt solid and I had complete control over the ball. Why all of a sudden things decided to come together once again I don't know, but I'm certainly not complaining. Hopefully I can groove this feel over the weekend and carry it forward into next week's event. I'll have more on that and a update on this renewed swing thought in the days to follow.
After missing the cut yesterday, Erika and I decided to make the drive back home and that has put me a little behind in getting this post up. I'm going to save yall the agony of having to read another blog describing every hole and how nothing seemed to go my way. Since I've already had 24hrs to go over every shot in my head, my goal is to move on and start preparing for next week. I guess in this business you've got to have a short memory to some aspect because after a bad month, a bad week or even a bad shot all that matters is the next shot or the next tournament and taking care of what needs to be done in order to be ready. So here is a somewhat shortened replay of yesterday's round.
The best shot of the day came on the second shot of the day as my approach into #1 hit the pin on the fly only to ricochet backwards 25ft from the flag. Par. On the very short, nearly drivable par-4 2nd, I decided to play safe by teeing off with a 5-iron only to hit the worst shot of the day as it went well right of the fairway and kicked into a very wooded area. Unmarked by any hazard stakes, I was unable to locate my ball and forced to re-tee. Double Bogey. On the 3rd hole, I hit another iron off the tee and ended up to the right again except this time I was right behind a tree. Forced to pitch out, I made bogey (5). Good birdie on the 4th hole and back to +2 over. The choke-down three-quarter lob wedge I hit for second shot into #6 from 100yards flew over the green and left a very difficult up-and-down. Bogey and back to +3 over. Still playing aggressive, I hit driver on #8 and the dreaded straight ball wound up behind yet another tree. Another bogey and now I'm +4 over. Again with the "attack mode" mindset, I hit driver on #9 only to go straight through the fairway out-of-bounds. Another double-bogey and I shoot +6 over on the front.
So here's a situation as a professional golfer that you really want to avoid finding yourself in. You're +8 over par for a golf tournament, you've got 9 holes left to make the cut and you've basically got to birdie every hole on the back nine. Quite the task but for me its enough of a challenge to make it even worth trying. When I walked off the last hole, I could say that I at least gave myself a chance for birdie on every hole except one. Every birdie attempt was within 20ft, but I just couldn't get a putt to fall. The greens were hard to judge this week as slow and grainy as they were rolling. The one hole that I didn't have a birdie putt was the one I made bogey on and that was just because a slight miss off the tee found one of the worst lies I've seen in the rough in a long time. Whatever troubles I was having on the front side seemed to disappear, and I finished with 8 pars and a bogey.
I'm back in New Orleans for the first time in nearly 3 weeks. It feels good to be home, but it's not going to be for long since Erika and I will be leaving early Monday morning for next week's Hooter's Tour event in Auburn, AL. It will be tournament number four in a row and I think you can expect a little break to follow once we finish up there. I'm pleased to report that this afternoon's practice session reached a level I haven't seen since early April around the time I was qualifying for the Zurich Classic. My swing felt solid and I had complete control over the ball. Why all of a sudden things decided to come together once again I don't know, but I'm certainly not complaining. Hopefully I can groove this feel over the weekend and carry it forward into next week's event. I'll have more on that and a update on this renewed swing thought in the days to follow.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Adam's Tour - Orr Hyudai Classic (Texarkana, TX) - First Round
Today's Score: 73
Here's how to take a pretty standard -1 under par round and turn it into a +2 over (73). You begin by bogeying the first hole because you've focused so much on where not to hit it that you end up hitting it there anyways. There being right of the pin in the rough with no green to work with. For the record, I did hit a really good putt to save par but it lipped out. Next, on possibly the widest fairway of the entire golf course with enough room left to fit Tiger Stadium, you go ahead and hit it right. You'll notice there are a few trees to your right as well as some pretty thick rough...not the place you want to be for your second shot. Any decent drive in the fairway would leave nothing more than a 75 yard flip wedge, but right means you've got to hit a 9-iron under, over and around a series of trees. There's bogey number 2. After giving yourself a pep-talk that would only be considered appropriate for your conscience to hear, the next two holes surrender back-to-back birdies and things seem to be returning to normal. So why on the last hole of the first side do you decide to 3-putt from 17ft? Oh that's right, you've got to throw away some strokes otherwise you might shoot under par.
On to the back nine. Two solid wedge shots (nothing fancy) end up 15ft from the hole on #1 and #2, but both birdie attempts just miss. From #3 to #8, you might have a good up-and-down, pose on a couple wedges only to end up 15ft past the flag and miss a few more good looks at birdie. But, that's just the way my story goes....maybe your version is a little different. Basically, 8 straight pars on the back side and now your teeing off the last hole stuck at +1 over par. Another short hole is #9, out-of-bounds right, trees to the left. If you're like me, you'll hit the 2-iron to play somewhat safe. It takes away the chances of going OB and will leave less than 150yards for the second shot. I pulled my tee shot ever so slightly into the left rough, punch hacked a 9-iron that landed and rolled over the green, and then failed to get up-and-down. That's how I made my bogey, but I'm sure there are many other ways.
So there it is. What could of been a routine -1 or -2 under par round turned into +2 over par without breaking a sweat. Simply put, I've got to find a way to just clean up my rounds. I'm throwing too many strokes away too often. Tomorrow my goal is to stay aggressive throughout the round. I still find myself struggling to just "let it go" so to speak and swing freely. Hopefully I can dial in my wedges a little better as well and make a few birdies that way. I still feel like this course offers a lot of opportunities to make birdies so I've just got to take advantage when I get my chances. My tee time tomorrow is 8:00 off #1.
Here's how to take a pretty standard -1 under par round and turn it into a +2 over (73). You begin by bogeying the first hole because you've focused so much on where not to hit it that you end up hitting it there anyways. There being right of the pin in the rough with no green to work with. For the record, I did hit a really good putt to save par but it lipped out. Next, on possibly the widest fairway of the entire golf course with enough room left to fit Tiger Stadium, you go ahead and hit it right. You'll notice there are a few trees to your right as well as some pretty thick rough...not the place you want to be for your second shot. Any decent drive in the fairway would leave nothing more than a 75 yard flip wedge, but right means you've got to hit a 9-iron under, over and around a series of trees. There's bogey number 2. After giving yourself a pep-talk that would only be considered appropriate for your conscience to hear, the next two holes surrender back-to-back birdies and things seem to be returning to normal. So why on the last hole of the first side do you decide to 3-putt from 17ft? Oh that's right, you've got to throw away some strokes otherwise you might shoot under par.
On to the back nine. Two solid wedge shots (nothing fancy) end up 15ft from the hole on #1 and #2, but both birdie attempts just miss. From #3 to #8, you might have a good up-and-down, pose on a couple wedges only to end up 15ft past the flag and miss a few more good looks at birdie. But, that's just the way my story goes....maybe your version is a little different. Basically, 8 straight pars on the back side and now your teeing off the last hole stuck at +1 over par. Another short hole is #9, out-of-bounds right, trees to the left. If you're like me, you'll hit the 2-iron to play somewhat safe. It takes away the chances of going OB and will leave less than 150yards for the second shot. I pulled my tee shot ever so slightly into the left rough, punch hacked a 9-iron that landed and rolled over the green, and then failed to get up-and-down. That's how I made my bogey, but I'm sure there are many other ways.
So there it is. What could of been a routine -1 or -2 under par round turned into +2 over par without breaking a sweat. Simply put, I've got to find a way to just clean up my rounds. I'm throwing too many strokes away too often. Tomorrow my goal is to stay aggressive throughout the round. I still find myself struggling to just "let it go" so to speak and swing freely. Hopefully I can dial in my wedges a little better as well and make a few birdies that way. I still feel like this course offers a lot of opportunities to make birdies so I've just got to take advantage when I get my chances. My tee time tomorrow is 8:00 off #1.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Adam's Tour - Orr Hyudai Classic (Texarkana, TX) - Preview
This week's tournament is an Adam's Tour event being held in Texarkana, TX at Northridge Country Club. It's a city that is familiar to the Adam's Tour, except this year we are playing a new golf course. After arriving here Sunday night, I've had the opportunity to play two practice rounds over the last couple of days. Here's my two cents:
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that this will be the easiest course we'll play all year...and here's why:
LENGTH: Not here. The overall length is very short as the course totals out at just over 6,500 yards. Every hole has some elevation changes which can make some of the shorter holes play long and vice versa. Even still, there are only two par-4's that play over 400 yards which means I'll be teeing off with lots of 2-irons. If the course plays like it did the last couple of days, I would also anticipate hitting 13-15 wedges into the greens.
TROUBLE: Only if you decide to hit driver on every hole. It's not an overly tight course so there is room to get away with a bad shot. The rough is up in spots, but still only about half the length as last week. For the most part, you take what the course gives you and the trouble is relatively easy to avoid.
GREENS: Still not sure. They're in transition as the word on the street is they'll be double-cutting and rolling them everyday for the rest of the week. That's good news because, as of today, they were still noticeably slower than normal.
If you put all that together and sprinkle in some good weather what you've got is the perfect formula for some very low scores. My guess is the best wedge player will win this week and fortunately for me, that's actually one of the strongest parts of my game. I feel like it's time for me to catch a few breaks and hopefully that will translate into a successful week. My tee time tomorrow is 9:10 off #10.
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that this will be the easiest course we'll play all year...and here's why:
LENGTH: Not here. The overall length is very short as the course totals out at just over 6,500 yards. Every hole has some elevation changes which can make some of the shorter holes play long and vice versa. Even still, there are only two par-4's that play over 400 yards which means I'll be teeing off with lots of 2-irons. If the course plays like it did the last couple of days, I would also anticipate hitting 13-15 wedges into the greens.
TROUBLE: Only if you decide to hit driver on every hole. It's not an overly tight course so there is room to get away with a bad shot. The rough is up in spots, but still only about half the length as last week. For the most part, you take what the course gives you and the trouble is relatively easy to avoid.
GREENS: Still not sure. They're in transition as the word on the street is they'll be double-cutting and rolling them everyday for the rest of the week. That's good news because, as of today, they were still noticeably slower than normal.
If you put all that together and sprinkle in some good weather what you've got is the perfect formula for some very low scores. My guess is the best wedge player will win this week and fortunately for me, that's actually one of the strongest parts of my game. I feel like it's time for me to catch a few breaks and hopefully that will translate into a successful week. My tee time tomorrow is 9:10 off #10.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Hooter's Tour - Victoria Open (Victoria, TX) - Second Round
Today's Score: 74
Unfortunately, I was unable to break this trend I've got going with failing to hold it together enough in the second round to make the cut. I realize my goals are greater than just making the cut, but it is still one step at a time. For whatever reason, it seems as though I just keep coming up short; whether it be my swing, putting, course management or even just getting the breaks you need to shoot low scores. This week it was a matter of playing well, but just penalized enough on the few bad shots I hit and costing me crucial strokes.
I began the day swinging well; focused on hitting fairways and greens, waiting for the opportunities to make birdies. 3 pars in a row...solid start. On the par-5 13th (my 4th hole), I pulled my second shot just slightly left of the green and finished right up against a tree. I had to pitch out sideways left-handed and was unable to save par. +1 over thru 4. Two holes later, I 3-putted from a little less than 30ft for bogey. +2 over thru 6. I finished the side with pars and made the turn at +2 over. I was hitting the ball fine, but wasn't getting it close enough to the hole to really make a lot of putts.
I parred the first and bogeyed the second hole of the back nine. My drive nearly missed the fairway and ended up in the worst lie possible in the rough. (Last week I played the fasted greens I've ever putted on and this week I played a course with more/higher rough than I've ever seen. You'd of thought it was the U.S. Open) The best I could do was advance it 60 yards high and right with a wedge and again led to a third bogey. +3 over thru 11. On the par-4 3rd, I felt like my attitude really changed. I was determined not to give in and tried to stay positive as much as I could. Two great shots and I was able to convert about a 10 footer for birdie. +2 over thru 12. Again, I nearly missed the fairway on the next two holes and ended up with no second shot. One, I was fortunate to get up-and-down for par, but the other I was not. Back to +3 over. My second poor swing of the day came on the par-4 7th and for the fifth straight time ended up without a chance to hit the green. I was disappointed to say the least cause I felt like I was trying my hardest to finish strong. Even still, another bogey and now I'm +4 over thru 16.
The same situation as last week except this time there was a small chance that I could still make the cut if it somehow moved to +2 over. All I was thinking was birdie the last two holes and see what happens. I made the best swing of the day for me on the par-3 8th (my 17th hole) and nearly holed out for a hole-in-one. Birdie. One down, one more to go. For the last drive of the day, a solid shot ends up a yard off the fairway and yet again a near impossible second shot. 130 yards...pin tucked on the front right just over the bunker. I decided to go with the hard gap wedge and came up just a couple yards short. I had to go for it. The last blaze of glory came when the ball lipped out from the bunker and came to rest a foot behind the hole. Par.
I shot +3 over (74) today and grinded my butt off until the very end. The cut ended up being +1 over so I still would of come up one stroke short even if that ball would of gone in. However, I felt like if I could of had just one or two situations go my way I could of remained in contention. But, that's golf. You win some, you lose some. This time I can honestly say that I played well and fought 'til the end. I just came up two strokes short. Maybe next week.
As it stands, I plan on playing this coming up week in an Adam's Tour event in Texarkana, TX. I'm excited because Erika will be flying over to Houston today so we can meet up and travel together this week. I can't wait to see her and maybe she's what I need to score well next week. Thanks again to those who continue to read and follow along in this grueling process. I'm sorry if it gets hard to read these blogs that are continually filled with more bad results than good. I promise that I am trying my hardest and still have reason to believe that I can compete on the professional level. I know that looking at the big picture, I'm still pretty much in the beginning of my career. However, success breeds confidence and that's still something I've got to work on. Hope everyone is doing well. I'll have a preview for next week in a couple of days.
Unfortunately, I was unable to break this trend I've got going with failing to hold it together enough in the second round to make the cut. I realize my goals are greater than just making the cut, but it is still one step at a time. For whatever reason, it seems as though I just keep coming up short; whether it be my swing, putting, course management or even just getting the breaks you need to shoot low scores. This week it was a matter of playing well, but just penalized enough on the few bad shots I hit and costing me crucial strokes.
I began the day swinging well; focused on hitting fairways and greens, waiting for the opportunities to make birdies. 3 pars in a row...solid start. On the par-5 13th (my 4th hole), I pulled my second shot just slightly left of the green and finished right up against a tree. I had to pitch out sideways left-handed and was unable to save par. +1 over thru 4. Two holes later, I 3-putted from a little less than 30ft for bogey. +2 over thru 6. I finished the side with pars and made the turn at +2 over. I was hitting the ball fine, but wasn't getting it close enough to the hole to really make a lot of putts.
I parred the first and bogeyed the second hole of the back nine. My drive nearly missed the fairway and ended up in the worst lie possible in the rough. (Last week I played the fasted greens I've ever putted on and this week I played a course with more/higher rough than I've ever seen. You'd of thought it was the U.S. Open) The best I could do was advance it 60 yards high and right with a wedge and again led to a third bogey. +3 over thru 11. On the par-4 3rd, I felt like my attitude really changed. I was determined not to give in and tried to stay positive as much as I could. Two great shots and I was able to convert about a 10 footer for birdie. +2 over thru 12. Again, I nearly missed the fairway on the next two holes and ended up with no second shot. One, I was fortunate to get up-and-down for par, but the other I was not. Back to +3 over. My second poor swing of the day came on the par-4 7th and for the fifth straight time ended up without a chance to hit the green. I was disappointed to say the least cause I felt like I was trying my hardest to finish strong. Even still, another bogey and now I'm +4 over thru 16.
The same situation as last week except this time there was a small chance that I could still make the cut if it somehow moved to +2 over. All I was thinking was birdie the last two holes and see what happens. I made the best swing of the day for me on the par-3 8th (my 17th hole) and nearly holed out for a hole-in-one. Birdie. One down, one more to go. For the last drive of the day, a solid shot ends up a yard off the fairway and yet again a near impossible second shot. 130 yards...pin tucked on the front right just over the bunker. I decided to go with the hard gap wedge and came up just a couple yards short. I had to go for it. The last blaze of glory came when the ball lipped out from the bunker and came to rest a foot behind the hole. Par.
I shot +3 over (74) today and grinded my butt off until the very end. The cut ended up being +1 over so I still would of come up one stroke short even if that ball would of gone in. However, I felt like if I could of had just one or two situations go my way I could of remained in contention. But, that's golf. You win some, you lose some. This time I can honestly say that I played well and fought 'til the end. I just came up two strokes short. Maybe next week.
As it stands, I plan on playing this coming up week in an Adam's Tour event in Texarkana, TX. I'm excited because Erika will be flying over to Houston today so we can meet up and travel together this week. I can't wait to see her and maybe she's what I need to score well next week. Thanks again to those who continue to read and follow along in this grueling process. I'm sorry if it gets hard to read these blogs that are continually filled with more bad results than good. I promise that I am trying my hardest and still have reason to believe that I can compete on the professional level. I know that looking at the big picture, I'm still pretty much in the beginning of my career. However, success breeds confidence and that's still something I've got to work on. Hope everyone is doing well. I'll have a preview for next week in a couple of days.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Hooter's Tour - Victoria Open (Victoria, TX) - First Round
Today's Score: 71
I don't know what it is, but 3 out of the last 4 tournaments I've started off the first round shooting even par. The other time I shot +1 over. I remember a few months I ago I was writing about how I needed to do a better job of starting out golf tournaments with good scores instead of having to try and fight back in the second round to make the cut. Now, it seems that I've improved on my first round scoring average and need to work on carrying that over to day two.
For the second week in a row, I began the day with a birdie on the first hole. #1 is normally a 485yrd par-5 that the Hooter's Tour converted to a 471yrd par-4. So what is usually a pretty routine birdie when it plays as a par-5 has become a rather difficult par-4. Needless to say, starting off with a birdie there felt good. I followed that with a two-putt birdie at the par-5 4th hole and I was -2 under for the round. For the first 8 holes, I was swinging well and sticking to my game plan...."fairways and greens." The first glitch on the scorecard came on the 9th when I 3-putted from about 20ft. It wasn't the easiest putt I've ever had but certainly shouldn't of had 10ft coming back for par. Just a brain fart I guess. So I made the turn at -1 under.
#10 is one of the few holes that is a dogleg right (which I like) except that the out-of-bounds left makes it a little trickier than it should be. I started my drive just inside the tree line and faded it into the rough just off the fairway. I would of been better off missing it 50 yards right into #11 fairway which comes back the other way, because where I was there was no shot. All I could do was pitch out sideways and try to make par the hard way. I hit a wedge in there about 10ft but failed to convert the save. Then on #11, I just missed the fairway again except this time I had a shot and a pretty decent lie. I had only 146yds to the pin which is a perfect pitching wedge, however it flew about 150yrds and ended up over the green right in the collar where the fringe and rough meet. It was a very tough shot and I was on my way to making a third consecutive bogey. So, I went from -2 under to +1 over in three holes and really wasn't hitting bad shots. Fortunately, I was able to get one back on the par-4 17th and finished the round at even par (71).
My goal for this week is to hit 10 fairways a day. Today, I hit 7. I think if I would of reached the mark I set I would of been able to shoot 1 or 2 strokes less. But, even par isn't bad. I'll probably be in the middle of the pack somewhere leaderboard wise and need to shoot a couple under tomorrow to make it to the weekend. It would definitely be nice to get back under the cut line again and compete for four days. My tee time tomorrow is 2:00 off #10.
I don't know what it is, but 3 out of the last 4 tournaments I've started off the first round shooting even par. The other time I shot +1 over. I remember a few months I ago I was writing about how I needed to do a better job of starting out golf tournaments with good scores instead of having to try and fight back in the second round to make the cut. Now, it seems that I've improved on my first round scoring average and need to work on carrying that over to day two.
For the second week in a row, I began the day with a birdie on the first hole. #1 is normally a 485yrd par-5 that the Hooter's Tour converted to a 471yrd par-4. So what is usually a pretty routine birdie when it plays as a par-5 has become a rather difficult par-4. Needless to say, starting off with a birdie there felt good. I followed that with a two-putt birdie at the par-5 4th hole and I was -2 under for the round. For the first 8 holes, I was swinging well and sticking to my game plan...."fairways and greens." The first glitch on the scorecard came on the 9th when I 3-putted from about 20ft. It wasn't the easiest putt I've ever had but certainly shouldn't of had 10ft coming back for par. Just a brain fart I guess. So I made the turn at -1 under.
#10 is one of the few holes that is a dogleg right (which I like) except that the out-of-bounds left makes it a little trickier than it should be. I started my drive just inside the tree line and faded it into the rough just off the fairway. I would of been better off missing it 50 yards right into #11 fairway which comes back the other way, because where I was there was no shot. All I could do was pitch out sideways and try to make par the hard way. I hit a wedge in there about 10ft but failed to convert the save. Then on #11, I just missed the fairway again except this time I had a shot and a pretty decent lie. I had only 146yds to the pin which is a perfect pitching wedge, however it flew about 150yrds and ended up over the green right in the collar where the fringe and rough meet. It was a very tough shot and I was on my way to making a third consecutive bogey. So, I went from -2 under to +1 over in three holes and really wasn't hitting bad shots. Fortunately, I was able to get one back on the par-4 17th and finished the round at even par (71).
My goal for this week is to hit 10 fairways a day. Today, I hit 7. I think if I would of reached the mark I set I would of been able to shoot 1 or 2 strokes less. But, even par isn't bad. I'll probably be in the middle of the pack somewhere leaderboard wise and need to shoot a couple under tomorrow to make it to the weekend. It would definitely be nice to get back under the cut line again and compete for four days. My tee time tomorrow is 2:00 off #10.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Hooter's Tour - Victoria Open (Victoria, TX) - Preview
The tournament this week is being played at Victoria Country Club in Victoria, TX. As I mentioned in the previous post, this is course I played earlier this year on the Adam's Tour and was able to have some success. After playing two practice rounds now over the last couple of days, I have wonder why I was able to play well here rather than other places. Simply put, Victoria C.C. does not really fit my game. It's very tight off the tee with all but two holes either straight or shaped right to left. For those that don't know, I prefer to fade the ball so finding the fairway becomes even harder for me. Now that the rough is up about 2 more inches since we played it, putting the ball in the fairway off the tee is going to be the main goal this week. If I can hit at least 10 fairways each round this week, I think there's a chance to shoot good scores. Lately the winds have picked up so pars will be good on a lot of holes. The greens aren't as fast as last week (probably the fasted we'll see all year), but still quick enough to cause problems if you get it above the hole. Overall, I'd like to think that having played the course 8 times now and being able to draw on past success should help me to play well this week. My tee time tomorrow is 9:00 off #1.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Hooter's Tour - Texas Honing Open (Houston, TX) - Second Round
Score: 77
So now that I've got access to the internet, let me recap a little bit on everything that's been going on. This past week, my former teammate Andrew and I elected to do "private housing" while we were in Pearland, TX. The family was really nice...the house was great (right on the 13th green)...only problem was I didn't have access to the internet. Therefore, it was pretty hard for me to get anything written about how things were going. Now that lat week is over, I can say that everything worked out smoothly except for the fact that I didn't make the cut. Here's what happened during round 2 on Saturday.
I started off the day playing smart just trying to hit fairways and greens. Three pars in a row, just waiting for my opportunities to make birdies. My first chance came on #13 (my 4th hole) where I hit my approach shot to about 6ft. Unfortunately, I hit a good putt but just missed. On the very next hole, I was able to get another good look from about 8ft for birdie, and just missed again. One hole later, I missed another short putt except this one was for par. A 3-putt bogey and instead of going -2 under for the round I was +1 over. I was hitting good putts but they weren't going in....one of those days. A few good pars to finish the side and I made the turn at +1 over par (37).
So, here's what the situation looked like standing on #1 tee (my 10th hole). I'm +1 over for the day, +2 over for the tournament and there's an official there letting us know that it looks like the cut is going to be even par if not -1 under. Basically, I needed to make some birdies. I hit a poor drive on #1 that didn't allow me to take advantage of the somewhat short par-5. Then on #2, I hit a wedge from 117yds maybe a foot right of the pin and ended up spinning back 10yds off the green in to a low area....a near impossible up-and-down. A perfect example of the severity of the greens. They were so fast that certain pin locations were borderline ridiculous. But, that's to be expected. Now, I'm +3 over. The next four holes failed to yield any birdies and I found myself needing to play the last three holes -3 under in order to have any chance of making the cut. On #7 (my 16th hole), I put myself in great position off the tee about 130yds right in the middle of the fairway. Trying to make the perfect swing I hit a terrible shot and short-sided myself in the green side bunker. I had to try and hole it out and in doing so I made a bogey (5). So, that was pretty much the end for me. My only option from then would be to eagle the last two holes and I can tell you that that didn't happen. Instead, I actually made another terrible swing on #17 that ended up going out-of-bounds and lead to a triple bogey. I did manage to birdie the last hole, but it was too little too late.
So overall, a score of 77 is obviously not good but I felt like I played better than my score showed. Both days for that matter. In a position like I was in where you've got to birdie your last three holes, that's really all there is too it. You've got to go for it cause +3,+2 and +1 are all going home. If I could of saved a few strokes the last couple holes of round 1 and gotten a few putts to fall early in round 2, I think I'd be talking about how rounds 3 & 4 went instead of trying to figure out what went wrong.
Good news is, I'm in Victoria, TX now getting ready for this week's tournament. Another Hooter's Tour event....another chance to have a successful week. Fortunately, the course we're playing is the same course we played earlier in the year for an Adam's Tour event in which I made the cut and played quite well. I'm looking forward to this week and I'll have my tournament/course preview in the next day or so. Hope everyone is doing well.
So now that I've got access to the internet, let me recap a little bit on everything that's been going on. This past week, my former teammate Andrew and I elected to do "private housing" while we were in Pearland, TX. The family was really nice...the house was great (right on the 13th green)...only problem was I didn't have access to the internet. Therefore, it was pretty hard for me to get anything written about how things were going. Now that lat week is over, I can say that everything worked out smoothly except for the fact that I didn't make the cut. Here's what happened during round 2 on Saturday.
I started off the day playing smart just trying to hit fairways and greens. Three pars in a row, just waiting for my opportunities to make birdies. My first chance came on #13 (my 4th hole) where I hit my approach shot to about 6ft. Unfortunately, I hit a good putt but just missed. On the very next hole, I was able to get another good look from about 8ft for birdie, and just missed again. One hole later, I missed another short putt except this one was for par. A 3-putt bogey and instead of going -2 under for the round I was +1 over. I was hitting good putts but they weren't going in....one of those days. A few good pars to finish the side and I made the turn at +1 over par (37).
So, here's what the situation looked like standing on #1 tee (my 10th hole). I'm +1 over for the day, +2 over for the tournament and there's an official there letting us know that it looks like the cut is going to be even par if not -1 under. Basically, I needed to make some birdies. I hit a poor drive on #1 that didn't allow me to take advantage of the somewhat short par-5. Then on #2, I hit a wedge from 117yds maybe a foot right of the pin and ended up spinning back 10yds off the green in to a low area....a near impossible up-and-down. A perfect example of the severity of the greens. They were so fast that certain pin locations were borderline ridiculous. But, that's to be expected. Now, I'm +3 over. The next four holes failed to yield any birdies and I found myself needing to play the last three holes -3 under in order to have any chance of making the cut. On #7 (my 16th hole), I put myself in great position off the tee about 130yds right in the middle of the fairway. Trying to make the perfect swing I hit a terrible shot and short-sided myself in the green side bunker. I had to try and hole it out and in doing so I made a bogey (5). So, that was pretty much the end for me. My only option from then would be to eagle the last two holes and I can tell you that that didn't happen. Instead, I actually made another terrible swing on #17 that ended up going out-of-bounds and lead to a triple bogey. I did manage to birdie the last hole, but it was too little too late.
So overall, a score of 77 is obviously not good but I felt like I played better than my score showed. Both days for that matter. In a position like I was in where you've got to birdie your last three holes, that's really all there is too it. You've got to go for it cause +3,+2 and +1 are all going home. If I could of saved a few strokes the last couple holes of round 1 and gotten a few putts to fall early in round 2, I think I'd be talking about how rounds 3 & 4 went instead of trying to figure out what went wrong.
Good news is, I'm in Victoria, TX now getting ready for this week's tournament. Another Hooter's Tour event....another chance to have a successful week. Fortunately, the course we're playing is the same course we played earlier in the year for an Adam's Tour event in which I made the cut and played quite well. I'm looking forward to this week and I'll have my tournament/course preview in the next day or so. Hope everyone is doing well.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Hooter's Tour - Texas Honing Open (Houston, TX) - First Round
Today's Score: 73
Due to tropical depression #2, the first round that was supposed to be played yesterday was postponed until today. Needless to say, the course is very wet.
I started off the day with a close wedge shot into #1 that lead to a tap-in birdie. The remaining holes on the front nine were not nearly as exciting. 8 pars later and I made the turn at -1 under (35). I wasn't hitting the ball that great, but I was finally making putts. In fact, I can actually say that my putter saved me today and helped keep my score under control.
On #10 (a long par-5), I made a bad mistake by laying up in the rough. With the amount of rain this course has seen and the length of the rough, its the one place that is nearly impossible to play from. That mistake lead to my first bogey of the day. I made a nice putt on the very next hole for birdie to get right back on track. Another birdie on the par-5 14th, and I was -2 under for the day.
Unfortunately, all the days work was thrown away on 2 of the last 3 holes. On #16 (a long par-3), I pulled my tee shot left in the bunker. From there, I tried to hit the perfect shot and ended up leaving myself in a position where the best I could do was 3-putt for a double-bogey (5). Then on #18, my drive missed the fairway by a yard and left a nearly impossible shot to hit the green. I hit wedge from 164yds expecting a flyer and that's exactly what happened. My ball ended up over the green and again not where you want to be. I didn't get up-and-down and made bogey to finish at +1 over (73).
Had I of been able to finish off the round under par I think I would of been pretty happy cause overall I didn't play all that well today. So, I guess I can't be too upset with 73. I'm still in position to make the cut and get back in contention. I'm feeling better about my swing and now I'm starting to make some putts. I think tomorrow will be an improvement from today. Tomorrows tee time is 1:15...assuming no more delays.
Due to tropical depression #2, the first round that was supposed to be played yesterday was postponed until today. Needless to say, the course is very wet.
I started off the day with a close wedge shot into #1 that lead to a tap-in birdie. The remaining holes on the front nine were not nearly as exciting. 8 pars later and I made the turn at -1 under (35). I wasn't hitting the ball that great, but I was finally making putts. In fact, I can actually say that my putter saved me today and helped keep my score under control.
On #10 (a long par-5), I made a bad mistake by laying up in the rough. With the amount of rain this course has seen and the length of the rough, its the one place that is nearly impossible to play from. That mistake lead to my first bogey of the day. I made a nice putt on the very next hole for birdie to get right back on track. Another birdie on the par-5 14th, and I was -2 under for the day.
Unfortunately, all the days work was thrown away on 2 of the last 3 holes. On #16 (a long par-3), I pulled my tee shot left in the bunker. From there, I tried to hit the perfect shot and ended up leaving myself in a position where the best I could do was 3-putt for a double-bogey (5). Then on #18, my drive missed the fairway by a yard and left a nearly impossible shot to hit the green. I hit wedge from 164yds expecting a flyer and that's exactly what happened. My ball ended up over the green and again not where you want to be. I didn't get up-and-down and made bogey to finish at +1 over (73).
Had I of been able to finish off the round under par I think I would of been pretty happy cause overall I didn't play all that well today. So, I guess I can't be too upset with 73. I'm still in position to make the cut and get back in contention. I'm feeling better about my swing and now I'm starting to make some putts. I think tomorrow will be an improvement from today. Tomorrows tee time is 1:15...assuming no more delays.
Monday, July 5, 2010
On the road again........
I'm about to hit the road again heading to Pearland, TX. These next two weeks I'll be playing in Hooter's Tour events....the first being in Pearland, TX and the second is in Victoria, TX. This week, my friend Andrew and I are doing private housing which means we'll be staying with a family that lives somewhat close to the golf course. I'm not sure what the internet situation is going to be like so I don't know if I'll be able to post as frequently as I usually do for this week. Hopefully there will be some way to keep everyone updated. That's it for now. The plan for today is to make it into Pearland around lunch time and then play a practice round. Tournament starts Thursday.
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