A Week Later....

Well, it's been just over a week since our Atlanta trip and here's the report so far. The minor change in my grip has been the easiest of all the corrections up to this point. In just a couple days, the new grip began to feel natural to me and is no longer a conscious thought. The second easiest transition so far has been the slight adjustment in my setup. Again, within a few days I was feeling comfortable with the changes. The two biggest changes (1) my takeaway and (2) the transition from the top of the backswing to impact have been the primary focus of every practice session since I've been home. Thanks in part to the drills I was given and the thousands of golf balls I've hit in the last week, I'm happy to report there's progress being made. I wouldn't say it's second nature just yet, but everyday seems to be better than one before.

I have managed to fit in a couple rounds in between the endless hours on the driving range. One being at the newly renovated University Club in Baton Rouge (a 7,700 yard par-72 course) and the other at Audubon Golf Course in New Orleans (a 4,200 yard par-62 course). The round I played at the UC was tough to say the least. It's easily the longest course I've ever played so even on my best day it would of been difficult. I think it was a little too early amidst the swing changes to expect any ground-breaking scores. Fortunately, the round at Audubon took place the very next day and yielded much better results. While Audubon is a full 3,500 yards shorter than the UC, it still felt good to make 6 birdies on the round and hit a lot of quality shots.

Tournament Update:

After multiple conservations with the family, I went ahead and registered for the 2010 PGA Tour Q-School. For a while there it seemed in question, but I think the swing advice I've received lately has been a big help and I'm confident that in a months time I'll be ready. I've elected to go back to Dallas for q-school, which is where I went last year, so hopefully I'll get my first choice. I should know within the next few days. If that site is already full, my next choice is Port St. Lucie, Florida so there's a chance I could end up there.

In the meantime, everyday will continue to be filled with more practice and playing trying to groove the swing changes. I'm getting together with Brian here at English Turn tomorrow to review everything I've been working on. He and Tom have been in contact lately so now everyone's on the same page with what I need to be working on in my swing. When we go to Atlanta Labor Day weekend for the LSU game, I plan on working with Tom that Friday afternoon to get another quick look. That's it for now. More to come next week.

Back from Atlanta

We're back home now from Atlanta so I wanted to post a recap on how the trip went. We got into Atlanta around 1:00 and by the time we got our bags, rented a car and drove nearly an hour north from the airport I arrived at Alpharetta Athletic Club at 3:00 in time to start my lesson. We began by going over a brief history of my golfing career and what ultimately lead me to being there in the first place. I explained the struggles I'd been having lately and he was quickly interested in seeing me hit some balls. For a good two and a half hours we worked together trying identify the main areas of my swing that needed work. It was nice having the ability to look at my swing from multiple angles in slow motion because it caused the flaws in my swing to really stand out. I'd say that there were 4 issues that we both felt needed improvement. For those that understand the golf swing here they are:


(1) Grip: My grip was too weak which was causing a lot of the shots I was missing to
to the right. Tom suggested that I turn my left hand over more to the right (stronger) just slightly which put my grip in a more neutral position.
(2) Setup: I need to center my weight more in my address position and put my head back a little and not cocked forward like it was.
(3) Backswing: For those that have played golf with me know that my backswing is short...no big secret there. Because its short, I tend to not make a big enough shoulder turn which affects my rhythm and tempo and can get really jerky under pressure. Tom gave me a good drill to work on that really helps with this problem.
(4) Impact: We noticed that when I would hit my driver, my left heel was jumping
about 2" inches off the ground right before impact. I didn't do this with any other club, but definitely another cause of hitting shots to the right...especially with my driver. Tom explained a better way to use my pivot on the downswing to help alleviate this problem and it seemed to work pretty well.


On Saturday, we got together again around 10:00 for a follow-up lesson. This time, we basically worked on the same things we had talked about the day before. We took some more video and introduced a couple new drills to work on going forward. We called it a day around lunch time, and from there I went next door to meet with the person in charge of club fitting. The facility we worked out of was a brand new building built just off to the side of the driving range. It had two hitting bays that could be opened up to the range; one for Tom to teach out of and the other to do club fittings. I was interested in demoing a few drivers and the guy there was more than willing to help. He did have a lot going on so what we did was pretty informal and more or less just me seeing what clubs felt the best. I tried one type of driver in about 10 different shafts and came up with a combination that might be a possibility in the future. It was a good experience and if I get back to Atlanta soon, I hope to set up an appointment with him again to do a more in depth fitting.

Once I was done with both the lesson and fitting, I drove about another 20 minutes north to a course called Hawk's Ridge. Tom had set me up out there and said that if I decided to go I wouldn't be let down. He was right. This place was one of the nicest golf courses I have ever played. It looked a lot like Augusta (even though nothing compares to Augusta) with all the tall pine trees lining the fairways, elevation changes on every hole, large bunkers and perfectly sculpted greens. It was an absolute treat to play and even Erika, who rode around in the cart with me, was impressed. I played 18 holes in just over 2 hours and only had to pass up one group for the entire round. It's like we had the place to ourselves.

Overall, it was a very informative trip and I'm glad I went. Any time you can get a second opinion from someone knowledgeable about the game it can't hurt. Everything we talked about I've seen, done or heard before so it wasn't like he was throwing a bunch of new ideas at me. But over time, you forget things and a trip like this becomes valuable to help put the pieces back together. When we left Atlanta, Tom said he would be more than willing to help again in the future and I hope the opportunity to go back comes sooner rather than later. Right now, my plans are to practice every day, all day and really try to groove these changes. I feel good about what's to come and I'm excited to get back to where I need to be. I'm gonna do everything I can to come out of this better than before. Hope everyone is doing well!

What's New

There's been quite a lot going on since returning home from being on the road. When I wasn't practicing, I've been spending the majority of my time trying to figure out where to go for help with my game. I feel like I know every teacher within a 500 mile radius of New Orleans and what they're all about. Something that I never thought I'd need to know, but now I'm glad that I've added this information to the memory bank in case I'm ever in this situation again in the future. After 10 days of doing research, sending out emails and talking with family & friends I've decided to seek the help of Tom Ness. Here's a quick description of his background:

Tom Ness is ranked as one of the Top 50 Greatest Golf Teachers in the United States by Golf Digest, and One of the top 100 Golf Teachers by GOLFMagazine. He has authored numerous articles for Golf Digest including cover stories How to Upgrade Your Impact and Slam the Door on Your Slice. He is also featured in selected titles of the Golf Digest Learning Library video series, such as Putting for Profit, How to Hit It Longer, and Straighter and Getting Started Right. An exceptional golf teacher, Tom began his golf career under the tutelage of Davis Love, Jr., and Bob Toski. He has taught numerous players from each of golf’s major tours and has participated in golf schools all over the world.

One of the biggest factors in making this decision was the fact that he came highly recommended by Brian Manzella (my current teacher). When I approached Brian about this situation, he was very understanding and was all for the thought of seeking a second opinion about my swing. He was confident that Tom would be a good fit. The idea was trying to find someone different enough to hopefully be able to pick up on things in my swing that may have been overlooked in the past, but yet not someone who would potentially try and drastically change my swing. As we approach September, the beginning of PGA Tour Q-School, I think it's best to try and find a solution to my swinging woes by changing as little as possible. I'm hopeful that Tom will provide that solution.

The other deciding factors were proximity and availability. Atlanta is relatively easy to get to considering there are approximately 8-10 direct flights from N.O. to ATL everyday, and Tom was available right away. So, tomorrow Erika and I are flying to Atlanta in the morning because my first lesson is tentatively scheduled for 2:00 Friday afternoon. From there, we're going to discuss a time for a follow-up lesson on Saturday and then Erika and I will be flying back Sunday morning.

There is also a high-tech fitting center at the same location that Tom teaches at, so I'm going to try and fit that in as well. My driver has been absolutely killing me lately so it might be time to try something new. That's it for now. I'll have another update when I get back from Atlanta. Hopefully nothing but good news.

Hooter's Tour - Michelob Ultra Classic (Auburn, AL) - First Round

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!

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.

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.

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.