Well, we made it back from Vegas safe and sound, and now Erika and I are in Clear Lake, Texas. This week, I'm playing in an Adam's Tour event here just outside of Houston at Bay Oaks Country Club. We arrived in town yesterday afternoon which gave me enough time to play 9 holes and get a feel for the course. Today, I was able to play the back nine and then get in some work on the driving range and putting green.
After 18 holes, I have to say that this is a very fair golf course. It's not long by any means, but has just enough character to make you pay attention on every shot. The golf course doesn't have anything really "special", but instead, it's got 18 solid golf holes. Every hole is playable, and with a well-placed tee shot, there are birdies to be made. I liked how every par-5 was reachable in two, and the par-3's were at good yardages to attack if necessary. There are some out-of-bounds and water throughout the course, but it's not nearly as tight as some others I've played in the past. I'd say this courses' toughest defense is the rough. They've grown it up around the greens which will make for some tough up-and-downs. The good news is the greens are in good shape so I'm hoping the putts will start fall.
Tomorrow's tee time is 9:10 off #1. This would be the perfect round to start this summer off right.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
U.S. Open Qualifier
Score: 78
Not the round I was hoping that's for sure. I started out missing a 3 footer for par on #1, missing a 10 footer for birdie on #2, and 3-putting for par on #3 after hitting the par-5 in two. So, instead of being -1 or -2 under after three holes, I was +1 over. It was a familiar scenario to the way I've started a lot of rounds in the past. From a ball striking stand point, I hit the ball pretty well all day. There was definitely a noticeable difference with my irons after making the changes on Sunday. I was also very pleased with the way I hit my driver throughout the whole day.
The main story of the day was the 36 putts I had. It was easily the worst putting round I've had since getting my new putter a couple months ago. The greens were in excellent condition and lightning fast, but usually those are the kind that I like. At the end of the round, I had been shut out from making any birdies...never a good sign.
There were two instances in the last few holes where I was left with plugged lies in the bunker, and because of that, I made two doubles to finish the round. So, even though the score was bad it was merely an issue of putting and a couple bad breaks that caused all the trouble. After seeing that -1 under made it through, I really wish I could of made one of those first few putts starting out because I feel like it would of set a totally different tone for the rest of the day. But, they didn't and so it's back to work again.
This week I'll be practicing and playing as usual before leaving town this Sunday. My in-laws have set up a family trip to Las Vegas so I'll be there for most of next week. It's my first time to Vegas so I'm really looking forward to the trip. Rounds at Shadow Creek and Cascata are on the agenda so, for me, that's what I'm excited about the most. This trip couldn't come at a better time, because when we get back, I've got 4 tournaments in the next 5 weeks. June will be a busy month to say the least.
Not the round I was hoping that's for sure. I started out missing a 3 footer for par on #1, missing a 10 footer for birdie on #2, and 3-putting for par on #3 after hitting the par-5 in two. So, instead of being -1 or -2 under after three holes, I was +1 over. It was a familiar scenario to the way I've started a lot of rounds in the past. From a ball striking stand point, I hit the ball pretty well all day. There was definitely a noticeable difference with my irons after making the changes on Sunday. I was also very pleased with the way I hit my driver throughout the whole day.
The main story of the day was the 36 putts I had. It was easily the worst putting round I've had since getting my new putter a couple months ago. The greens were in excellent condition and lightning fast, but usually those are the kind that I like. At the end of the round, I had been shut out from making any birdies...never a good sign.
There were two instances in the last few holes where I was left with plugged lies in the bunker, and because of that, I made two doubles to finish the round. So, even though the score was bad it was merely an issue of putting and a couple bad breaks that caused all the trouble. After seeing that -1 under made it through, I really wish I could of made one of those first few putts starting out because I feel like it would of set a totally different tone for the rest of the day. But, they didn't and so it's back to work again.
This week I'll be practicing and playing as usual before leaving town this Sunday. My in-laws have set up a family trip to Las Vegas so I'll be there for most of next week. It's my first time to Vegas so I'm really looking forward to the trip. Rounds at Shadow Creek and Cascata are on the agenda so, for me, that's what I'm excited about the most. This trip couldn't come at a better time, because when we get back, I've got 4 tournaments in the next 5 weeks. June will be a busy month to say the least.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
U.S. Open Qualifier - Preview
Tomorrow I'll be playing in the U.S. Open Qualifier at Money Hill Golf & Country Club. On Friday, I went over and played my practice round which went pretty well. This was the first time I've played out there since I winning the Louisiana State Amateur there in 2005. It brought back great memories, and I began to remember how much I liked that golf course. Each hole is different and the little elevation there is designed into the course makes it even more interesting. I'm really looking forward to playing tomorrow.
Today, I made a another big change in my game by adjusting the lie angle of all my irons by 3* degree's. Yesterday, while working with Brian on the range, we finally discovered what had been causing me so much trouble over the last year almost. My clubs are too flat and that has contributed significantly to the fact that I struggle with missing shots to the right. So, today I drove over to Slidell, LA to see James Leitz. He's the top club-fitter in Louisiana so he confirmed what Brian and I saw on film yesterday. Even though he moved all my irons 3* degree's more upright, it's still not what they need to be. To move them that much would risk breaking the clubs. But, I worked with them this afternoon and definitely noticed a difference. I think it will only help until I'm able to order a new set and customize them exactly how they need to be.
My tee time tomorrow is 8:00am off #1. I got the very first tee time so Erika and I have any early morning ahead of us. It takes about 1 hr and 20 minutes to get there so we'll be on the road at about 5:30. I'm feeling a good round coming....
Today, I made a another big change in my game by adjusting the lie angle of all my irons by 3* degree's. Yesterday, while working with Brian on the range, we finally discovered what had been causing me so much trouble over the last year almost. My clubs are too flat and that has contributed significantly to the fact that I struggle with missing shots to the right. So, today I drove over to Slidell, LA to see James Leitz. He's the top club-fitter in Louisiana so he confirmed what Brian and I saw on film yesterday. Even though he moved all my irons 3* degree's more upright, it's still not what they need to be. To move them that much would risk breaking the clubs. But, I worked with them this afternoon and definitely noticed a difference. I think it will only help until I'm able to order a new set and customize them exactly how they need to be.
My tee time tomorrow is 8:00am off #1. I got the very first tee time so Erika and I have any early morning ahead of us. It takes about 1 hr and 20 minutes to get there so we'll be on the road at about 5:30. I'm feeling a good round coming....
Friday, May 6, 2011
May Update
Wow. I didn't realize how long it has been since my last post. Time has just really passed me by. Here's a recap on what's been going on since I got back from Georgia.
After playing in the Hooter's Tour event in Georgia, I came back to New Orleans and began preparing for the PGA Tour Zurich Qualifier. For me, it was a two-step process having to go through the pre-qualifer on the Friday before the actual tournament and then the qualifier the following Monday. In the pre-qualifier, I shot 71 which was good enough to get me through to Monday. It was a pretty solid round under windy conditions. Hopefully, one of these days when I make 6 birdies in a round I'll be able to shoot better than -1 under, but I was pleased to shoot under par and get through the first round. On Monday, it was a fight against the golfing god's from the very beginning.
[Before going any further, I want to rewind to the week leading up to the pre-qualifier. During this time, I decided to make a pretty significant change. After almost two years of playing the Bridgestone golf ball, I went back to the Titleist Pro-V1. It's the kind of ball I played before switching to Bridgestone so I didn't think it would be that big of a change. Well, making the switch has brought back some critical distance off the tee that I was losing with the other golf ball. I've hit more drives over 340 yards in the last two weeks than I've ever hit in my entire life. It's changed my game for the better and I look forward to continuing to work with it and getting used to new found distance]
So, back to Monday's round. On the very first hole, I hit driver (which is the same club I've hit off that tee the other 30 times I've played this golf course) except this time it went 30 yards further than normal. It ended up going through the fairway stopping a foot short of going into the water. The next shot I hit was with one shoeless foot in the lake and proceeded to make a triple bogey (7). Now, in a one-day qualifier with 70 guys competing for 4 spots, there just isn't any room to be making triple bogies....let alone on the first hole of the day.
Needless to say, I didn't qualify for the Zurich which was more than disappointing. That's probably the one tournament every year that I prepare the most for so Monday's round was very upsetting. Hopefully, I'll have another chance again next year.
I was able to spend a few days at the actual Zurich Classic here in New Orleans and it was good to watch some of the guys on tour play. I feel like I learned a lot and found some things that I need to work on. At the same time, however, it's refreshing to see them go through some of the same struggles that I go through. It let's me know that there's still hope.
This week, I played in an Adam's Tour event in Baton Rouge, LA at Santa Maria Golf Course. I wish I was writing about how my third round went right now, but unfortunately I didn't make the cut this week. I shot 75-78 which was not nearly good enough. I went overboard with some of the things that I had been working on in my swing and it was just plain bad. Luckily, I was able to figure out the problem the day before the tournament started but it was too late. I hit some good shots during both rounds, but if I had a shot that I wasn't comfortable hitting, I wasn't able to to trust what I knew I needed to do. One of the many vicious cycles to this crazy game. How to work on things to improve your game without overdoing it?
Now, I'm back home in New Orleans going through my usual practice routines. I've got the first stage of U.S. Open qualifying coming up next Monday at Money Hill Country Club. Hopefully this will be the start of getting things back on track. Hope everyone is doing well and I'll have more on the qualifier as the time gets near.
After playing in the Hooter's Tour event in Georgia, I came back to New Orleans and began preparing for the PGA Tour Zurich Qualifier. For me, it was a two-step process having to go through the pre-qualifer on the Friday before the actual tournament and then the qualifier the following Monday. In the pre-qualifier, I shot 71 which was good enough to get me through to Monday. It was a pretty solid round under windy conditions. Hopefully, one of these days when I make 6 birdies in a round I'll be able to shoot better than -1 under, but I was pleased to shoot under par and get through the first round. On Monday, it was a fight against the golfing god's from the very beginning.
[Before going any further, I want to rewind to the week leading up to the pre-qualifier. During this time, I decided to make a pretty significant change. After almost two years of playing the Bridgestone golf ball, I went back to the Titleist Pro-V1. It's the kind of ball I played before switching to Bridgestone so I didn't think it would be that big of a change. Well, making the switch has brought back some critical distance off the tee that I was losing with the other golf ball. I've hit more drives over 340 yards in the last two weeks than I've ever hit in my entire life. It's changed my game for the better and I look forward to continuing to work with it and getting used to new found distance]
So, back to Monday's round. On the very first hole, I hit driver (which is the same club I've hit off that tee the other 30 times I've played this golf course) except this time it went 30 yards further than normal. It ended up going through the fairway stopping a foot short of going into the water. The next shot I hit was with one shoeless foot in the lake and proceeded to make a triple bogey (7). Now, in a one-day qualifier with 70 guys competing for 4 spots, there just isn't any room to be making triple bogies....let alone on the first hole of the day.
Needless to say, I didn't qualify for the Zurich which was more than disappointing. That's probably the one tournament every year that I prepare the most for so Monday's round was very upsetting. Hopefully, I'll have another chance again next year.
I was able to spend a few days at the actual Zurich Classic here in New Orleans and it was good to watch some of the guys on tour play. I feel like I learned a lot and found some things that I need to work on. At the same time, however, it's refreshing to see them go through some of the same struggles that I go through. It let's me know that there's still hope.
This week, I played in an Adam's Tour event in Baton Rouge, LA at Santa Maria Golf Course. I wish I was writing about how my third round went right now, but unfortunately I didn't make the cut this week. I shot 75-78 which was not nearly good enough. I went overboard with some of the things that I had been working on in my swing and it was just plain bad. Luckily, I was able to figure out the problem the day before the tournament started but it was too late. I hit some good shots during both rounds, but if I had a shot that I wasn't comfortable hitting, I wasn't able to to trust what I knew I needed to do. One of the many vicious cycles to this crazy game. How to work on things to improve your game without overdoing it?
Now, I'm back home in New Orleans going through my usual practice routines. I've got the first stage of U.S. Open qualifying coming up next Monday at Money Hill Country Club. Hopefully this will be the start of getting things back on track. Hope everyone is doing well and I'll have more on the qualifier as the time gets near.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Hooter's Tour - Albany, GA - Second Round
Score: 72
Since I didn't walk off the last hole yesterday until 8:10pm, I wasn't able to get anything posted about the round. In two days, it took almost exactly 12 hours to play 36 holes of golf. Easily the longest two rounds of golf I've ever played in my entire life. I honestly didn't think there was any way we were going to finish yesterday's round, but I'm glad we did.
Here's the recap:
It was a lot more windy the second round than it was the first, so overall the course played a little tougher. For me, it was still do or die because the cut was going to be under par and I needed birdies.....lots of them. On the front nine, I let a few good opportunities slip away but was still able to turn in -2 under par.
On #1 (my tenth hole), I had about a 12 footer for eagle that just missed on the high side. I tapped in for birdie and was -3 under for the day (even for the tournament). At this point, I was comfortable with where I was at but I knew I needed to make as many birdies as possible coming in. In the back of my mind, I was thinking the cut would be -4 under so that meant I had 8 holes left to find at least four birdies.
On #2, I hit a very poor wedge shot into the green and squandered a good birdie opportunity. Then, the next hole was where I really hurt my chances by three putting for bogey. The first putt was a pretty long, but I still should of made the 3 footer coming back for par. From then on in, I just wasn't able to get anything going. I was still hitting good shots, but the putts weren't falling. Finally, on the second to last hole, I lost focus on the tee and hit the one bad shot of the day that turned into a lost ball and lead to a double bogey (6). By the time we got to our final hole, it was nearly dark and I just missed from about 6ft for birdie. Not that it would of mattered, but it would of made me feel better had it gone in.
So, what was actually a very solid round of golf, wasn't really reflected by the score. This week was probably the best tee game I've had in a year. My driver, 3-wood and 2-iron were all working for me which was a good feeling. I was in position to attack almost every hole which allowed me to be aggressive in a good way. Unfortunately, it was my wedge game and putting that really let me down. Out of 17 shots hit with a wedge over two rounds (PW, SW or LW) only 15 of them were inside of 15ft. That's not very good. And for two rounds, I had 34 & 35 putts respectively with two 3-putts.
It seems like there's always one part of my game that fails to be up to speed with the rest of my game on any given week, so it'll be nice when the time finally comes where I can put together a complete round. The good news is these stats make it very clear as to what I need to work on going forward. I've got until next Friday to get that part of my game back in shape since that is the day I'll be playing in the pre-qualifier for the Zurich Classic here in New Orleans.
Since I didn't walk off the last hole yesterday until 8:10pm, I wasn't able to get anything posted about the round. In two days, it took almost exactly 12 hours to play 36 holes of golf. Easily the longest two rounds of golf I've ever played in my entire life. I honestly didn't think there was any way we were going to finish yesterday's round, but I'm glad we did.
Here's the recap:
It was a lot more windy the second round than it was the first, so overall the course played a little tougher. For me, it was still do or die because the cut was going to be under par and I needed birdies.....lots of them. On the front nine, I let a few good opportunities slip away but was still able to turn in -2 under par.
On #1 (my tenth hole), I had about a 12 footer for eagle that just missed on the high side. I tapped in for birdie and was -3 under for the day (even for the tournament). At this point, I was comfortable with where I was at but I knew I needed to make as many birdies as possible coming in. In the back of my mind, I was thinking the cut would be -4 under so that meant I had 8 holes left to find at least four birdies.
On #2, I hit a very poor wedge shot into the green and squandered a good birdie opportunity. Then, the next hole was where I really hurt my chances by three putting for bogey. The first putt was a pretty long, but I still should of made the 3 footer coming back for par. From then on in, I just wasn't able to get anything going. I was still hitting good shots, but the putts weren't falling. Finally, on the second to last hole, I lost focus on the tee and hit the one bad shot of the day that turned into a lost ball and lead to a double bogey (6). By the time we got to our final hole, it was nearly dark and I just missed from about 6ft for birdie. Not that it would of mattered, but it would of made me feel better had it gone in.
So, what was actually a very solid round of golf, wasn't really reflected by the score. This week was probably the best tee game I've had in a year. My driver, 3-wood and 2-iron were all working for me which was a good feeling. I was in position to attack almost every hole which allowed me to be aggressive in a good way. Unfortunately, it was my wedge game and putting that really let me down. Out of 17 shots hit with a wedge over two rounds (PW, SW or LW) only 15 of them were inside of 15ft. That's not very good. And for two rounds, I had 34 & 35 putts respectively with two 3-putts.
It seems like there's always one part of my game that fails to be up to speed with the rest of my game on any given week, so it'll be nice when the time finally comes where I can put together a complete round. The good news is these stats make it very clear as to what I need to work on going forward. I've got until next Friday to get that part of my game back in shape since that is the day I'll be playing in the pre-qualifier for the Zurich Classic here in New Orleans.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Hooter's Tour - Albany, GA - First Round
Score: 75
Well, my game plan wasn't to make double-bogey on the first hole, but that's exactly what happened. I guess I wanted to make it as hard as possible on myself to shoot a decent score. The good news is, I actually played a really solid round of golf from that point on. Unfortunately, having 35 putts didn't allow me to take advantage of all the good shots I hit, and consequently, I felt like I was in a holding pattern all day. Just couldn't get any momentum going. It's disappointing to say the least coming off three tournaments last month where I putted so well. The different grass on these greens combined with all the undulation made it very difficult for me to read putts correctly and get the speed down. Not the combination you want when trying to make birdies. I missed 3 putts inside 8ft on three of my last four holes of the day that could of helped me salvage this round.
Now, it looks like I'm going to need to dig deep for tomorrow cause the cut will certainly be under par....probably -3. But, judging by today's 6 hour long round and my 2:27pm tee time tomorrow, we're probably not going to find out for sure until Saturday....which is when I'm going to have to finish up my second round. That's it for now. Hopefully I can get the putter going tomorrow and crawl my way back into this thing. Stay tuned.....
Well, my game plan wasn't to make double-bogey on the first hole, but that's exactly what happened. I guess I wanted to make it as hard as possible on myself to shoot a decent score. The good news is, I actually played a really solid round of golf from that point on. Unfortunately, having 35 putts didn't allow me to take advantage of all the good shots I hit, and consequently, I felt like I was in a holding pattern all day. Just couldn't get any momentum going. It's disappointing to say the least coming off three tournaments last month where I putted so well. The different grass on these greens combined with all the undulation made it very difficult for me to read putts correctly and get the speed down. Not the combination you want when trying to make birdies. I missed 3 putts inside 8ft on three of my last four holes of the day that could of helped me salvage this round.
Now, it looks like I'm going to need to dig deep for tomorrow cause the cut will certainly be under par....probably -3. But, judging by today's 6 hour long round and my 2:27pm tee time tomorrow, we're probably not going to find out for sure until Saturday....which is when I'm going to have to finish up my second round. That's it for now. Hopefully I can get the putter going tomorrow and crawl my way back into this thing. Stay tuned.....
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Hooter's Tour - Albany, GA - Preview
This week I'm playing in a Hooter's Tour event in Albany, GA. It's the first Hooter's Tour event of the year for me so I'm excited to get out there. The competition is a little higher and the purse is a little bigger so I'm looking forward to stepping up my game.
I was able to get in two practice rounds so far, both yesterday and today. My take on it after playing it twice is that it's very fair. It seems like there is room on every tee shot and approach shot to "miss". Not that I'm trying to miss shots, but it provides a certain level of comfort knowing that I don't have to hit a perfect shot every time. There is trouble in spots throughout the course, but they're more of a risk-reward type situations. Meaning, you can avoid the trouble relatively easily by not challenging every hole so I guess I'm going to have to pick and choose my spots on where I want to be aggressive.
In terms of the greens, I think they're going to be the deciding factor this week. The greens are big, undulating, and tricky. I've seen downhill putts that looked lightning fast but were actually slow and uphill putts that I thought were slow and ran them well past the hole. It's hard to find the grain which makes judging the speed kind of difficult. But, I'm hoping that after two days of practicing and playing out here has helped me hone in my speed control and I'll be able to make some putts.
I feel like I've got a good game plan for this week. My swing feels pretty good so I'm hoping that will help set me up for a lot of birdie opportunities. We'll see what happens. My tee time tomorrow is 9:27 off #1.
I was able to get in two practice rounds so far, both yesterday and today. My take on it after playing it twice is that it's very fair. It seems like there is room on every tee shot and approach shot to "miss". Not that I'm trying to miss shots, but it provides a certain level of comfort knowing that I don't have to hit a perfect shot every time. There is trouble in spots throughout the course, but they're more of a risk-reward type situations. Meaning, you can avoid the trouble relatively easily by not challenging every hole so I guess I'm going to have to pick and choose my spots on where I want to be aggressive.
In terms of the greens, I think they're going to be the deciding factor this week. The greens are big, undulating, and tricky. I've seen downhill putts that looked lightning fast but were actually slow and uphill putts that I thought were slow and ran them well past the hole. It's hard to find the grain which makes judging the speed kind of difficult. But, I'm hoping that after two days of practicing and playing out here has helped me hone in my speed control and I'll be able to make some putts.
I feel like I've got a good game plan for this week. My swing feels pretty good so I'm hoping that will help set me up for a lot of birdie opportunities. We'll see what happens. My tee time tomorrow is 9:27 off #1.
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