I've been home 9 full days since getting back from Houston, and it's been great. Fortunately, the weather has been quite nice lately and allowed me the opportunity to get in some really good practice sessions. Coming off the last round I in January where I played well and shot even par in bitter cold conditions, has carried over into a week and a half of solid practice and added confidence.
As we prepare to hit the road tomorrow, I find myself looking more and more forward to playing in these next series of events. I like where my swing is at right now, I feel like I have something to go with in my putting (which is a lot more than I could say in the past) and now I've got some confidence. I'm praying for a little warmer weather in February, but now that I've got my own propane heater to put in my golf cart, I think Erika and I are more equipped to deal with whatever weather we find.
Tomorrow, we're planning on driving to Baton Rouge to get a leg up on our trip. Since my home course is closed on Monday, there isn't much I can do here golf wise so I'll probably do a little putting and chipping in the morning and then hit the road. That way we can take our time getting to Houston on Tuesday and then play a practice round on Wednesday. Stay tuned.....
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Adam's Tour - Winter Series (The Woodlands-Panther Trail) - Second Round
Score: 72
As you can tell now, I decided to play the second round yesterday. In fact, it went a lot better than I thought it would. But, how I came to the decision to even play is the real story. As I'm sitting there in our hotel room Thursday night going over the pairings for the second round, the first thing I noticed was that I was the second group off at 9:10am. We knew the weather channel had a forecast for freezing temperatures that night and it was supposed to be in the upper 20's when I was set to tee off. Right away, I'm thinking it was just too much. I had shot myself out of contention Thursday and now I've got to go play in this. Like I said in my last post, I was ready to cut my losses and head home.
Well, enter Danny Gonzales. Danny is a fellow player on the Adam's Tour and someone I've befriended over the last few months. We've been paired together a couple times in recent tournaments and have played a few practice rounds together. Not only is Danny a good guy, but Danny has the key ingredient to surviving freezing weather. From past experience, I knew he came equipped with a full cart cover and propane heater. It's about a $100 purchase that I'm starting to wish I had invested in when I started these winter series. For those of you who haven't experienced the cart cover and heater combination.....it's unbelievable. No matter how cold it is outside, it feels like 100 degree's inside. And the wind that makes riding in a cart even colder, is no longer an issue.
So now, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking if I can get to the course early and get set up on Danny's cart, I might just have a chance. I realize that it's starting to sound like this is the only reason I decided to play yesterday and that's not the case. But, it did make the decision a whole lot easier. And, hey, I shot 72 which only 6 people shot better than. In fact, had it not of been for two 3-putts coming in on the back nine, it could of been even lower. What's funny is this might of been my best round (start to finish) out of all the rounds I've played so far this month. Go figure. I was so close to not even playing and then one cart cover and a heater later and I'm playing the best round of the January series.
After finishing my round yesterday, Erika and I hit the road and drove straight back to New Orleans. That's why I'm a little late getting to this blog. We've got the next week and a half off so I'll be back out here practicing in hopes of making February a lot better than January. Our plans are to head back to Houston Feb. 1 for the final 3 events of the Adam's Tour winter series. Hope everyone is doing well and staying warm. Take care!
As you can tell now, I decided to play the second round yesterday. In fact, it went a lot better than I thought it would. But, how I came to the decision to even play is the real story. As I'm sitting there in our hotel room Thursday night going over the pairings for the second round, the first thing I noticed was that I was the second group off at 9:10am. We knew the weather channel had a forecast for freezing temperatures that night and it was supposed to be in the upper 20's when I was set to tee off. Right away, I'm thinking it was just too much. I had shot myself out of contention Thursday and now I've got to go play in this. Like I said in my last post, I was ready to cut my losses and head home.
Well, enter Danny Gonzales. Danny is a fellow player on the Adam's Tour and someone I've befriended over the last few months. We've been paired together a couple times in recent tournaments and have played a few practice rounds together. Not only is Danny a good guy, but Danny has the key ingredient to surviving freezing weather. From past experience, I knew he came equipped with a full cart cover and propane heater. It's about a $100 purchase that I'm starting to wish I had invested in when I started these winter series. For those of you who haven't experienced the cart cover and heater combination.....it's unbelievable. No matter how cold it is outside, it feels like 100 degree's inside. And the wind that makes riding in a cart even colder, is no longer an issue.
So now, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking if I can get to the course early and get set up on Danny's cart, I might just have a chance. I realize that it's starting to sound like this is the only reason I decided to play yesterday and that's not the case. But, it did make the decision a whole lot easier. And, hey, I shot 72 which only 6 people shot better than. In fact, had it not of been for two 3-putts coming in on the back nine, it could of been even lower. What's funny is this might of been my best round (start to finish) out of all the rounds I've played so far this month. Go figure. I was so close to not even playing and then one cart cover and a heater later and I'm playing the best round of the January series.
After finishing my round yesterday, Erika and I hit the road and drove straight back to New Orleans. That's why I'm a little late getting to this blog. We've got the next week and a half off so I'll be back out here practicing in hopes of making February a lot better than January. Our plans are to head back to Houston Feb. 1 for the final 3 events of the Adam's Tour winter series. Hope everyone is doing well and staying warm. Take care!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Adam's Tour - Winter Series (The Woodlands-Panther Trail) - First Round
Today's Score: 82
ERRRRRRRRRRR!!!! That's the sound of the brakes on my momentum train coming to a screeching halt. And, I refuse to believe another weatherman in Houston ever again. The front that was supposed to pass mid-afternoon came through literally a minute before I began my round. As I approached the first tee, I could see this huge line of dark clouds coming our way. A minute before we teed off, the rains came. It remained that way for the first four holes and then the weather turned bitter cold and windy. When I finished my round, the temperature was 44 degrees with winds gusting up to 32 mph. That made the windchill 33 degree's according to all the weather apps on our phones. If history tells us anything, we know that I struggle under 40 degree's.
I was prepared for the cold weather today, but it didn't matter. The winds were so strong that it was nearly impossible to stay still and concentrate throughout the round. Needless to say, I played terrible. Every other shot was left or right and far from being solid. And as windy as it was, putting became a nightmare. I can't tell you how many times I backed off my ball today because it was wiggling so much on the greens. It seemed like I had to rush every putt I hit just to make sure the ball didn't move when I addressed it.
I did finish on #18 by hitting the flag on my second shot, but that was the only highlight of my day by far. All in all, it was miserable. So much so, that I probably won't be playing the second round tomorrow. I would need to shoot about -5 under tomorrow to have any shot of making money and the forecast is for an "arctic blast" tonight. That puts tomorrow's high of about 48 with similar winds that we saw today. No thanks! I think I'll spare myself the misery of grinding out another 82 and probably cut my losses.
Then again, I may wake up and get the itch to put myself through the torture again. Either way, we should be back in Louisiana by tomorrow night as the January Winter Series comes to a close. It'll be nice to get back home and see if I can't groove the things I was working on before I left. Clearly, they haven't set in and the nerves of competitive golf showed that.
ERRRRRRRRRRR!!!! That's the sound of the brakes on my momentum train coming to a screeching halt. And, I refuse to believe another weatherman in Houston ever again. The front that was supposed to pass mid-afternoon came through literally a minute before I began my round. As I approached the first tee, I could see this huge line of dark clouds coming our way. A minute before we teed off, the rains came. It remained that way for the first four holes and then the weather turned bitter cold and windy. When I finished my round, the temperature was 44 degrees with winds gusting up to 32 mph. That made the windchill 33 degree's according to all the weather apps on our phones. If history tells us anything, we know that I struggle under 40 degree's.
I was prepared for the cold weather today, but it didn't matter. The winds were so strong that it was nearly impossible to stay still and concentrate throughout the round. Needless to say, I played terrible. Every other shot was left or right and far from being solid. And as windy as it was, putting became a nightmare. I can't tell you how many times I backed off my ball today because it was wiggling so much on the greens. It seemed like I had to rush every putt I hit just to make sure the ball didn't move when I addressed it.
I did finish on #18 by hitting the flag on my second shot, but that was the only highlight of my day by far. All in all, it was miserable. So much so, that I probably won't be playing the second round tomorrow. I would need to shoot about -5 under tomorrow to have any shot of making money and the forecast is for an "arctic blast" tonight. That puts tomorrow's high of about 48 with similar winds that we saw today. No thanks! I think I'll spare myself the misery of grinding out another 82 and probably cut my losses.
Then again, I may wake up and get the itch to put myself through the torture again. Either way, we should be back in Louisiana by tomorrow night as the January Winter Series comes to a close. It'll be nice to get back home and see if I can't groove the things I was working on before I left. Clearly, they haven't set in and the nerves of competitive golf showed that.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Adam's Tour - Winter Series (The Woodlands-Panther Trail) - Preview
I just finished up my practice round for the final event of this series and I'm glad I did. This course is definitely the tougher of the three we've played so far. It seems The Woodlands offers two types of golf courses. "The Oaks", which we played last week, was certainly more forgiving...especially off the tee. "Panther Trail", the one we're playing tomorrow, requires much more precision. It felt like there was water in play on every hole. Length wise, it's almost identical to the other two, but this course forces you to hit more irons and 3-woods off the tee to keep the ball in play. If there isn't water guarding each hole, then there's woods and/or houses lining the fairways. I'm going to need a solid performance out of my long game this week.
The greens are maybe a little smaller of the three courses we've played, but still offer the same amount of slope and undulation. They're not quite as fast as Lake Windcrest, but still quick enough to make you be careful.
Unfortunately, the weather we saw today is going to be short-lived. The forecast for tomorrow is rain in the early afternoon while a front moves through and then freezing temperatures into Friday morning. My tee time tomorrow is 11:10 so I'm just hoping to get in as many holes as possible before the weather turns bad. Hopefully, I can build of the success of this past tournament and keep the momentum going.
The greens are maybe a little smaller of the three courses we've played, but still offer the same amount of slope and undulation. They're not quite as fast as Lake Windcrest, but still quick enough to make you be careful.
Unfortunately, the weather we saw today is going to be short-lived. The forecast for tomorrow is rain in the early afternoon while a front moves through and then freezing temperatures into Friday morning. My tee time tomorrow is 11:10 so I'm just hoping to get in as many holes as possible before the weather turns bad. Hopefully, I can build of the success of this past tournament and keep the momentum going.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Adam's Tour - Winter Series (Lake Windcrest) - Second Round
Today's Score: 72
Well, score wise today got a little better again. In fact, for a while there it looked like today might of been a pretty special round. Right out of the gate, I was making putts and after 5 holes I was -4 under par. I had made three good putts and got up-and-down on the par-5 4th. I wish I wouldn't of been, but honestly I was quite surprised to see that many putts go in in a row. It felt good. On the 6th hole, things got a little shaky. I hit a poor drive in the fairway bunker and left myself 163 yards to the hole. It was into the wind, so I decided to take 2 clubs extra and ended up making a pretty sloppy swing. Those two swings lead to a double-bogey (6). That stopped the momentum alright cause I went on to bogey the next hole to move back to -1 under for the round. I parred in and turned at -1 under (35).
On #10, I got to work on my left-handed swing since my ball came to rest right up against a fence. Thankfully, it was a par-5 and I was able to hit my third shot on the green and save par. I followed that up with a chip-in birdie on #11 to get to -2 under. It was a fairly simple shot about 15ft below the hole. From there, I hit a great shot into the par-3 12th to about 12ft underneath the hole but ended up 3-putting for bogey. I wasn't trying to be aggressive on the first putt but I ran it by about 3ft and missed it coming back. It was pretty rocky trying to get to the clubhouse from then on. My swing felt off....I started guiding the ball a lot and didn't really hit a good shot for the remainder of the round. I finished with a bogey on #18 to end at even par for the day.
It was another foggy/rainy/misty/cold day which made for sloppy conditions again. I guess I can't be too upset with the way I was hitting it because this event was all about patience. I felt like I stayed calm the majority of the time. I ended up finishing tied for 11th which was good enough to pick up a check. Feels good!
Another practice round tomorrow before our final event of the series that begins on Thursday. That one will be played at The Woodlands again, except this time on the other course (Panther Trail). I'll try to have a preview up tomorrow night. Hope everyone is doing well.
Well, score wise today got a little better again. In fact, for a while there it looked like today might of been a pretty special round. Right out of the gate, I was making putts and after 5 holes I was -4 under par. I had made three good putts and got up-and-down on the par-5 4th. I wish I wouldn't of been, but honestly I was quite surprised to see that many putts go in in a row. It felt good. On the 6th hole, things got a little shaky. I hit a poor drive in the fairway bunker and left myself 163 yards to the hole. It was into the wind, so I decided to take 2 clubs extra and ended up making a pretty sloppy swing. Those two swings lead to a double-bogey (6). That stopped the momentum alright cause I went on to bogey the next hole to move back to -1 under for the round. I parred in and turned at -1 under (35).
On #10, I got to work on my left-handed swing since my ball came to rest right up against a fence. Thankfully, it was a par-5 and I was able to hit my third shot on the green and save par. I followed that up with a chip-in birdie on #11 to get to -2 under. It was a fairly simple shot about 15ft below the hole. From there, I hit a great shot into the par-3 12th to about 12ft underneath the hole but ended up 3-putting for bogey. I wasn't trying to be aggressive on the first putt but I ran it by about 3ft and missed it coming back. It was pretty rocky trying to get to the clubhouse from then on. My swing felt off....I started guiding the ball a lot and didn't really hit a good shot for the remainder of the round. I finished with a bogey on #18 to end at even par for the day.
It was another foggy/rainy/misty/cold day which made for sloppy conditions again. I guess I can't be too upset with the way I was hitting it because this event was all about patience. I felt like I stayed calm the majority of the time. I ended up finishing tied for 11th which was good enough to pick up a check. Feels good!
Another practice round tomorrow before our final event of the series that begins on Thursday. That one will be played at The Woodlands again, except this time on the other course (Panther Trail). I'll try to have a preview up tomorrow night. Hope everyone is doing well.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Adam's Tour - Winter Series (Lake Windcrest) - First Round
Today's Score: 73
So this round fell into the category of "worthy to talk about" so here it goes. With the rain that came through yesterday, the course was completely soaked today. Since we ride in carts for these events, we were cart path only and lift-clean-and-place in the fairway. Thank goodness because there was casual water everywhere which made for pretty sloppy conditions all day. It didn't help that there was a foggy mist for the first 15 holes either. Thankfully, the sun came out for the last 3 holes.
Overall, I'm continuing to play better as these tournaments go on. I've gone from 79, to 75 and now 73. I felt like today's round could of been a little lower if I could of eliminated the two 3-putts and the ball I hit in the hazard on the par-5 10th when going for the green in two. That was pretty bad cause there's about 50 yards right of the green to miss and I pulled it about 10 yards left. Not smart.
I did feel like I was just a little off on my swing all day which lead to a lot of shots missing just left or slightly to the right. If I missed a fairway it was just off the edge and the same if I missed a green. My short game was pretty solid today which helped me stay in control of my round.
I'm currently in a tie for 13th so I'll need to shoot under par tomorrow to secure a check for this week. Hopefully, the trend will continue and I'll have an even lower score tomorrow. I just need to clean up on the greens and fix whatever piece was missing in my swing today. My tee time tomorrow is 10:20.
So this round fell into the category of "worthy to talk about" so here it goes. With the rain that came through yesterday, the course was completely soaked today. Since we ride in carts for these events, we were cart path only and lift-clean-and-place in the fairway. Thank goodness because there was casual water everywhere which made for pretty sloppy conditions all day. It didn't help that there was a foggy mist for the first 15 holes either. Thankfully, the sun came out for the last 3 holes.
Overall, I'm continuing to play better as these tournaments go on. I've gone from 79, to 75 and now 73. I felt like today's round could of been a little lower if I could of eliminated the two 3-putts and the ball I hit in the hazard on the par-5 10th when going for the green in two. That was pretty bad cause there's about 50 yards right of the green to miss and I pulled it about 10 yards left. Not smart.
I did feel like I was just a little off on my swing all day which lead to a lot of shots missing just left or slightly to the right. If I missed a fairway it was just off the edge and the same if I missed a green. My short game was pretty solid today which helped me stay in control of my round.
I'm currently in a tie for 13th so I'll need to shoot under par tomorrow to secure a check for this week. Hopefully, the trend will continue and I'll have an even lower score tomorrow. I just need to clean up on the greens and fix whatever piece was missing in my swing today. My tee time tomorrow is 10:20.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Adam's Tour - Winter Series (Lake Windcrest) - Preview
Our next tournament is being played at Lake Windcrest Golf Course located in good 'ole Egypt, TX. It's just outside The Woodlands area of Houston, about 25 minutes from our hotel. I went ahead and played my practice round yesterday because I knew today's weather was going to be bad. I was hoping to get out there again today to work on my putting but it rained the entire day.
My initial reaction to this golf course is that it's very fair....much like the last one. Most of the holes offer plenty of room off the tee which is good for me. The greens are normal size, but deceivingly tricky. There's subtle undulations everywhere which can create some tricky putts. Every downhill putt is sneaky fast and uphill putts can be the same. Chipping and pitching around these greens will be interesting so staying below the hole is the best advantage to getting up-and-down.
There really isn't anything unique about this course to help me describe it's design so there's not much more I can say on this preview. I would expect with good weather that the scores will be low. I'm hoping to get out to the course earlier than usual tomorrow to get a better feel for the speed of the greens. In my opinion, that's going to be the major factor this week.....as it always is for me. My tee time tomorrow is 11:00 off #1.
My initial reaction to this golf course is that it's very fair....much like the last one. Most of the holes offer plenty of room off the tee which is good for me. The greens are normal size, but deceivingly tricky. There's subtle undulations everywhere which can create some tricky putts. Every downhill putt is sneaky fast and uphill putts can be the same. Chipping and pitching around these greens will be interesting so staying below the hole is the best advantage to getting up-and-down.
There really isn't anything unique about this course to help me describe it's design so there's not much more I can say on this preview. I would expect with good weather that the scores will be low. I'm hoping to get out to the course earlier than usual tomorrow to get a better feel for the speed of the greens. In my opinion, that's going to be the major factor this week.....as it always is for me. My tee time tomorrow is 11:00 off #1.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Adam's Tour - Winter Series (The Woodlands -Oaks)
I apologize again for getting behind, but this time I didn't forget to post an update....I just didn't feel like posting an update. As much as yall are tired of reading about bad rounds, I'm 10 times more tired of writing about them. And it's not like the 79 I shot yesterday was that terrible, but it's a 79. Unless this was the U.S. Open at Oakmont in blizzard like conditions, that's a very bad score.
Now, I will admit that I've come to terms with the fact that I struggle immensely when playing in temperatures under 40 degrees. Yesterday, it got up to about 39 degrees and I basically just ran out of gas on the back nine. So, you're probably wondering why am I even bothering trying to play this time of year when I know it's this cold. The only answer I an give you is that I still believe that I can play good golf. I feel like if I can somehow play my game and make a few putts, then I can play anywhere....anytime. Especially after coming back from a nice layoff and getting my game ready to go. It's rounds like today that keep me coming back for more.
Now, in no way am I satisfied with shooting 75 today, but the score is a little misleading. I hit the ball a lot better today throughout the entire round and gave myself a bunch of really good looks at birdie. Unfortunately, I was only able to convert one of them. The few poor swings I made were there, but that's to be expected when trying out new changes for the first time under pressure. The majority of the time, I was pleased with what I saw.
So, once again I'm looking forward to the next event. After the first round, I really needed to play like I did today to find some momentum going forward. The temperatures are supposed to be steadily getting warmer so hopefully there will nothing but low scores to come. I'm going to try and get a practice round in over the weekend and the first round begins on Monday.
Now, I will admit that I've come to terms with the fact that I struggle immensely when playing in temperatures under 40 degrees. Yesterday, it got up to about 39 degrees and I basically just ran out of gas on the back nine. So, you're probably wondering why am I even bothering trying to play this time of year when I know it's this cold. The only answer I an give you is that I still believe that I can play good golf. I feel like if I can somehow play my game and make a few putts, then I can play anywhere....anytime. Especially after coming back from a nice layoff and getting my game ready to go. It's rounds like today that keep me coming back for more.
Now, in no way am I satisfied with shooting 75 today, but the score is a little misleading. I hit the ball a lot better today throughout the entire round and gave myself a bunch of really good looks at birdie. Unfortunately, I was only able to convert one of them. The few poor swings I made were there, but that's to be expected when trying out new changes for the first time under pressure. The majority of the time, I was pleased with what I saw.
So, once again I'm looking forward to the next event. After the first round, I really needed to play like I did today to find some momentum going forward. The temperatures are supposed to be steadily getting warmer so hopefully there will nothing but low scores to come. I'm going to try and get a practice round in over the weekend and the first round begins on Monday.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Back to Work
While I'm sitting here watching the BCS National Championship game, I realized it had been 10 days since I posted anything and I know in my last blog I mentioned I would have some updates before I left. Oooops. There have been a few distractions over the last week and a half with a trip to Dallas for the Cotton Bowl, a wedding and a couple rainy days. Hopefully I can make up for it in this post.
I got together with Brian here at home for two lessons which have left me feeling pretty good going into this next series of tournaments. At first, we picked up on a flaw in my setup which was causing a big problem in my downswing. It was a relatively easy change to make and by the second lesson we were basically just grooving the feel with a few drills.
I haven't played as much as I would of liked leading up to these next events, but I'm still feeling confident about my game. As usual, I've continued to work on my putting and I have to say there's been improvement in that area of my game as well. In fact, some of the adjustments I've made in my swing have applied to my putting and things feel better.
We leave tomorrow for Houston to begin another series of (3) Adam's Tour events spread out over 9 days. These are 2-day tournaments with no cut so if I can get in a rhythm hopefully I'll be able to put some good rounds together. I'm planning on playing a practice round Tuesday and the first round begins Wednesday. I'll have a preview of the course Tuesday night.
I got together with Brian here at home for two lessons which have left me feeling pretty good going into this next series of tournaments. At first, we picked up on a flaw in my setup which was causing a big problem in my downswing. It was a relatively easy change to make and by the second lesson we were basically just grooving the feel with a few drills.
I haven't played as much as I would of liked leading up to these next events, but I'm still feeling confident about my game. As usual, I've continued to work on my putting and I have to say there's been improvement in that area of my game as well. In fact, some of the adjustments I've made in my swing have applied to my putting and things feel better.
We leave tomorrow for Houston to begin another series of (3) Adam's Tour events spread out over 9 days. These are 2-day tournaments with no cut so if I can get in a rhythm hopefully I'll be able to put some good rounds together. I'm planning on playing a practice round Tuesday and the first round begins Wednesday. I'll have a preview of the course Tuesday night.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy New Year
Happy New Year to all. I hope everyone has had a safe and enjoyable holiday experience so far. I got to spend Christmas with Erika and the family down in Cut Off which turned into a bitter sweet day. Her grandmother ended up passing away early Christmas morning, but fortunately we all got to spend time with her earlier that day and then again after the phone call came. With all the time everyone had to see her during the near three weeks she was in the hospital, I think by the time she passed we were all at peace having said our goodbyes and knowing she was heading to a better place. So waking up Christmas morning was a little more somber than usual, but it was great to get to spend all that time with family. And not to mention, a much needed break from golf.
Now that we've survived another New Year's eve, it's time to get back to work and start preparing for the next series of events. I'm almost certain I'll be heading back to Houston somewhere around the 11th of January to play in 3 more Adam's Tour Winter Series tournaments. I've gotten in a couple good practice sessions in the last few days, but tomorrow will mark the beginning of some serious preparation. It goes without saying that I need some better results going forward than I had in Orlando. Hopefully the weather will be above freezing and we can have a little more enjoyable experience.
I'll follow up with some updates on how practice is going. Hope everyone is doing well. Here's to a great year in 2011.
Now that we've survived another New Year's eve, it's time to get back to work and start preparing for the next series of events. I'm almost certain I'll be heading back to Houston somewhere around the 11th of January to play in 3 more Adam's Tour Winter Series tournaments. I've gotten in a couple good practice sessions in the last few days, but tomorrow will mark the beginning of some serious preparation. It goes without saying that I need some better results going forward than I had in Orlando. Hopefully the weather will be above freezing and we can have a little more enjoyable experience.
I'll follow up with some updates on how practice is going. Hope everyone is doing well. Here's to a great year in 2011.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)