Recharged!

I'm ready to get back to work! After a great Thanksgiving with family in Maryland, I'm home in Tennessee and ready to start working on my game again. The five-day holiday from playing and practicing was good for me, and I'm already excited to get back to playing and practicing!

Still no definite plans as to when I'll compete again, but in all likelihood it will be shortly after the new year. I'm going to visit with Bobbo tomorrow to make sure that my practice is on the right track, and then I'll get back to fine-tuning all aspects of my game to make sure that I am ready to go make my break happen in 2010!

I love what I do, and I'm still excited to go get better at it!

Regrouping

For the first time in a very long time, I'm taking a few days away from the clubs. I'm in Washington D.C. right now with my sister getting ready to head over to my dad's parents house in Maryland for Thanksgiving. Should be a good time to relax with the family and eat some really good food!

I'm still running and working out this week, but other than a casual round of golf today in D.C., I'll be leaving the clubs in the car. I love to practice and can do it everyday, but I think a few days away from it will be refreshing. I'll get back into it in full force next week.

I'm trying to decide where I'll be doing most of my competing next year now that I know I will not be starting the year with a PGA or Nationwide Tour card. I will likely join a couple of mini-tours, though I will definitely be entering some Monday qualifiers early and often throughout the year. It is not unrealistic to think that I could get into a Nationwide Event and play well enough to keep myself out there for a while. My focus will be on being ready to compete and win every week so that if an opportunity presents itself, I will be ready to take advantage.

I'm going to keep getting better. I'm excited to continue working on my game and getting sharper in all areas. I'm not sure when I'll tee it up in competition again, but I will be the best player I've ever been when that happens!

BUMMER at Second Stage

A bogey-free final round was certainly what I had in mind as I headed into the final round of the second stage of Q-school. I got that, though I was hoping for a few more birdies than the three I made today. It was a final round 69, though it looks like that will leave me four shots short of advancing to the next stage.

I shot 72, 72, 71, 69 for a four under par total of 284. I'm going to finish tied for 42nd, and it looks like -8 will be tied for 20th, which is the number that advances to the next stage.

I'm definitely bummed right now. I know I am plenty good enough to have advanced this week, so it is frustrating that I won't be going on, but I'm pretty sure that I'll look back on this as a positive experience in a couple of days.

I'm going to keep working. I don't exactly know what I'm going to do from here, but I'll figure out that in the near future. I do know that I'm going to keep getting better!

Stage 2; Round 3

Well, I have my work cut out for me now. I actually felt pretty confident heading into round three, but I just couldn't get anything going and shot a one-under par 71 on a day when scores were pretty low. It looks like eight under par will likely be right around the 20th spot after tomorrow, and I'm tied for 50th at one under.

Bleak? Yes, but it sure will be a sweet feeling if I'm able to pull it off. I know that I can do it. I can shoot a 65 on this golf course without doing anything special if I execute the easy shots well and get a few putts to fall. I'm going to try to go out tomorrow and enjoy the challenge of every shot, and I hope that at the end of the day it totals up to something that is good enough to allow me to advance.

It's been frustrating in a lot of ways this week, but I'm learning a lot and I'm still having a lot of fun. I'm going to keep having fun tomorrow and if I play well, I may just get this done. It's a long shot, but in 19 hours I could have a ticket to the final stage of PGA Tour Q-school. I'm excited!

Stage 2; Round 2

I have good news and bad news from round two at the second stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School. The good news is that the field stayed pretty bunched, and the number is currently still four under as it was after round one. The bad news is that I was unable to move up. I had an up and down round that again ended with an even-par 72, and I held my position in a tie for 57th. Scores where higher in round two, however, and I still have a very realistic chance of advancing.

I hit more good shots than bad today, I just got very little from the good shots and could do nothing to recover from the poor ones. I feel like I'm going to play well tomorrow. I just need to keep hitting good shots, stop hitting poor ones and capitalize on the good ones!! I've done it before and I can do it again. It's crunch time.

I love this, though. This is fun. I'm going to enjoy myself these next two days. Though I'm sure I'll be nervous, I'm going to stay relaxed and have fun kicking this golf course's tail tomorrow and Saturday!

Stage 2; Round 1

My round one was a story of two nines. I played abysmally on the back nine for some reason, but the front was as solid as I can ever remember playing nine holes. The end result was an even par round of 72, but that is not very good considering that only 10 players in the 77 player shot over par.

I'm currently in a tie for 57th, and we are playing for the top 20 spots to advance to the final stage. The leaderboard is quite bunched right now, though, so a good couple of rounds will easily move me right back to where I would like to be.

I got off to a hot start today with birdies on three of my first four holes. In fact, I didn't really miss a shot on the front nine. I hit every fairway and never even threatened to make a bogey. I looked really sharp. The back nine got a little erratic, but I'm confident that I can settle back down and play the next 54 holes the way I played the front nine today.

I'm still having a blast doing what I love. It's just more fun when I do it well! I'm going to get after it tomorrow!!

Ready to Go!

I played practice round number two today, and, though I didn't hit it all that well during the round, I feel like I had a very productive day. I know my way around the course and the greens very well now, and I had a great day of practice other than some wayward shots on the course.

I mishit a lot of drives on the course, which is not like me. I worked on alignment and rhythm on the range afterwards, and I feel great about the way I'm hitting it now. A couple of hours on the putting green and at the short game area have me firing on all cylinders and feeling confident.

I tee it up at 9:40 off of number one for the first round, and I can't wait to start hitting good shots and making birdies. I'm going to play well, stay relaxed and have a blast doing what I love this week!

One Practice Round Down

The Mountain View Course at Callaway Gardens is perfect for me. It's not very long, and most of the challenge will be in hitting precise short irons and reading the greens--which are bermuda grass but in great shape.

I feel like I am sharp with my short irons, and I can putt with anyone, so I'm really excited about the way the course sets up for me.

While the tree-lined fairways are pretty generous, you do have to drive the ball fairly straight. The main focus of my practice today is ensuring that I'm sharp with the driver. It has been a little inconsistent lately, but I feel good about the way I'm swinging it.

It is definitely the kind of course where you can make a lot of birdies. I think I'm going to do that this week. I think the course is setting me up for a stage two win!!

In Georgia

I'm back in the Southeast. I had a really nice weekend of practice home in East Tennessee and now am just north of Atlanta ready to journey the rest of the way to Callaway Gardens tomorrow morning.

My game hasn't been its sharpest the past few practice sessions, but I feel like it is plenty close enough that I'll be more than ready to go on Wednesday when the Second Stage actually begins. I'm going to work hard the next couple days to learn my way around the course and get used to the greens, and I know that I'll be ready to go win another stage starting Wednesday!

Stay tuned for updates from the practice rounds.

"That Lovin' Feeling"

Ever since my last post, I've been having the best practice sessions. Everything seems to be in good form, and I'm feeling good about all aspects of my game.

The weather has been absolutely perfect and has allowed for a good variety of practice. One focal point has been wedge play, and I feel like I have really developed a great deal of consistency which is allowing me to dial in my distances. Good wedge play is so important, and I feel great about my wedge play now.

I'll have another full day of practice in Columbia, MO, tomorrow. Friday will consist of a short workout and a good practice session in the morning, before heading home to Tennessee in the afternoon.

The Second Stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School starts one week from today on November 18. I'll make my way to Georgia on the night of the 15th and begin on-site preparations. I'm really excited to keep getting better and hopefully win another stage!

Still Feeling Good

For the first time in almost two months, I had a couple days of practice where I felt I little bit out of sync. The last two days my ball-striking has been inconsistent and my touch has been a little bit off around the greens. It has made for a couple of frustrating days, but on both occasions, I have left the golf course knowing that I'm close to playing better than ever. 

The only real swing thought I have had for the past couple months is trying to slow down my transition at the top of my swing in order to let my lower body start the downswing. Though I haven't quite gotten it right, my timing has been impeccable and I've been hitting it solid and straight. I feel like my transition is as good as it has been in the past two or three months right now, but the timing needs to adjust to the club being in better position. I'm confident that this will not take long to happen.

Even though the last two days haven't been as good overall, I have still hit a lot of quality shots and have continued to feel good about my putting practice. I still feel like I'm on track heading into the second stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School.

The weather is still amazing in Columbia, MO, so I'll be sticking around here a while longer before heading back to the Southeast later this week to get the final preparations done. 

Time to head out to the course and get "that lovin' feeling" back as good ol' Bobbo would say!

Getting Better

The weather has been perfect in Columbia, Missouri, since I've come back. I have continued to have really nice practice sessions, and I've been back on a good schedule of running and working out. It all has me feeling great!

As usual, I've been spending a lot of my practice time on the golf course, but I've also been getting in lot of time working on my putting and on my wedge play. Everything feels really good. I'm hitting the ball straight off the tee and feel pretty sharp the rest of the way, too. I had a lousy day with the putter on the course Monday but have since had two really good sessions with it and putted well on the course Tuesday. 

I officially got my second stage assignment yesterday. I am going to be playing the Mountain Course at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia. The dates of the event are November 18-21. As I've said before, I'm ready right now, but I'll be even more ready then!

New Location, Same Good Story

After a rushed and unproductive practice session Friday morning, I made the long journey back to Columbia, Missouri. I was greeted with nice weather, which was great, and it appears that it is going to stay relatively warm and sunny for all of the extended forecast. This is good news!

It was back to work as usual yesterday. I got in a great run in the morning and finally felt really good throughout the 5.1 mile jog. Then, I went out to the golf course and had it all to myself thanks to an afternoon Mizzou game on television. I had a great practice session yesterday. All facets of my game felt sharp. I drove it great; my iron play was solid; and my wedge play was good. I didn't putt the ball particularly well on the course but spent an hour or so on the putting green after I played and was really rolling the ball very well. 

I'm heading out to the course now, and I'm going to have another great day!