Sunday, December 11, 2011

Everything Still Progressing Nicely

I don't have a lot to report, but things are still going very well. I battled some cold and rainy days but still had a great week of practice in East Tennessee, and on Friday I journeyed to Columbia, Missouri, and it it looks like I brought some good weather in with me. I had a great practice session by myself on Saturday afternoon and had a match with some of my former teammates from the University of Missouri on Sunday. A seven-birdie, one-bogey round was a testament to some solid ball-striking and a fairly sharp short game and putting performance. Everything doesn't feel perfect yet by any means, but I can tell that I am working on the right things, and it seems like my results are becoming more consistent. I'm excited to keep working on my game because I feel like I am really making great strides in the right direction.

In addition to that, I am still very excited about my fitness level. I am working very hard to improve my strength, endurance, and flexibility. My workouts and runs are continuing to get better, and I know that starting the year with a strong fitness base will serve me well when I start to get busy with tournaments and travel.

Everything is good! I will be in the midwest for another week, and the weather looks like it will be conducive to more good work. Keep it right here for more practice reports!

Monday, December 5, 2011

Getting Some Winter-Time Action

For the past five weeks, I have really been putting a lot of work into my golf game and have been pleased to feel some noticeable progress. Most of that work, however, had been done either on the practice facilities or on the golf course be myself. In the past five days, I have had three really competitive days of golf with some great matches here in East Tennessee. My game has looked and felt pretty darn good on all three occasions, and I am pumped with how I am playing.

The first two of those matches were at Holston Hills Country Club. Last Thursday, I drove the ball fairly well, was a little shaky with my irons, but putted well and shot a two under par to help my partner and I win a couple friendly bets in our group. Playing in a bigger match on Friday, I was much better. I drove the ball very solidly and was pretty good with my irons and wedges, too. Another solid putting performance resulted in a five-under-par round and a successful outcome to the match. A good weekend of practice, including a nice session with Bobbo during which he confirmed that things are looking good, had me ready for more action on Monday. Playing in a large group at Oak Ridge Country Club on a blustery day, I played very solidly. I got a little bit loose with the driver at times and had a major short-game gaffe to bogey a par-five on which I had a straightforward pitch shot for an eagle, but I still managed a three-under-par round and again helped my team come out on the correct side of the match.

My game felt effortlessly good in all three matches. I have a lot work to do in order to improve and ingrain the changes I am making, but I am really feeling good about my progress. The forecast isn't great for the next few days, but I will definitely get in more good work and continue to move in the right direction. Keep it here for more practice reports soon. Thank you for keeping up with me!


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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Great Holiday; Good Work

The Malnati Thanksgiving was a huge success in Maryland with my Dad's parents. Good times with great people and of course great food made for an extremely good week, and the fact that we had perfect weather only added to that. I spent more time with a frisbee in my hand than a golf club, but I was able to practice a little bit (see my driving range in the picture above!) and also stayed very much on top of my fitness work. Thanksgiving week was extremely enjoyable but still productive in terms of my progress with golf, so I'm feeling great.

My driving range at my grandparent's house was pretty darn cool. Each day I would launch shots from their yard into the river nearly 100ft below. It was fun to hit a variety of shots from that high vantage point because the ball would stay in the air forever and its curvature was exaggerated. Between hitting balls that way and chipping around the yard, I really did get in some good practice.

I am also excited by how fit I feel that I am becoming. Both my runs and my strength training are getting more demanding, but my body is responding beautifully. I knocked out a 7.1 mile run in less than 50 minutes on Thanksgiving morning. I had to make room for all the Turkey!

On Sunday morning, I had my meeting with Dr. Eric Hegedus in North Carolina to talk about my fitness and ensure that the work I am doing is contributing to improved golf performance. The results were great. The most resounding message that I took from our meeting is that the things that I am currently doing are working. That was encouraging to hear, but we also pinpointed a couple of weak areas on which I can work. A loose right shoulder (lingering effect from a college injury) and poor internal hip rotation were the two major physical weaknesses that I can improve with some added exercises and stretching, but Dr.Hegedus also thinks that I can become more efficient in my golf swing by implementing a slight change in posture. I have always hyper-extended my back a little bit over the golf ball, and by relaxing my lower back a little but at address, I might be able to turn more effectively. I am excited to get to work on a couple of new things, and equally excited to have confirmation that the things I have been doing are working. 

I definitely feel like I am improving in a lot of ways right now, and I'm excited to keep that going. I'm back home for a few days, so I should have some good practice and at least a couple of good matches to tell you about in the next few days. Keep it here for more progress reports. Thank you for following!


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Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Heading Back East

A great and productive week in midwest has come to an end, and I am flying back to Baltimore today to see my sister and make the short drive down to Southern Maryland for Thanksgiving with my Dad's parents. I am joining many others in the country who are traveling today, but the time that I was able to spend with friends in Kansas City and the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with my family are more than worth any hassles associated with Holiday travel. My time in Kansas City was great, and I am excited about a lot of things moving forward.

I was able to get quite a bit of good work done on my golf game during my time in KC. While I have only been able to have a full practice session one day since my great round on Saturday morning, I continued to see more good stuff from my game during a good afternoon of work on Monday. The work that Bobbo and I have done on my swing is really taking hold, and my ball-striking is feeling great. I am also pumped about the positive things I am seeing from my short game and putting. All areas of my game are improving, and that is very exciting--especially this time of year!

I am extremely excited about the work I have done on my fitness as well. I am continuing to push myself pretty hard with workouts and runs and have also done a good job of keeping up with a good stretching (yoga--sort of) routine. It all has me feeling as fit as ever, and I know that this kind of work can only help my performance. This Sunday, my sister Laura and I will travel to North Carolina to see a physical therapist friend of hers who also specializes in helping golfers increase their performance through physical training. I'm hoping that he can help me improve my fitness routine and ensure that I am doing the most good for my golf game with my workouts. I don't really know what to expect from this visit, but I am certain that it will either help a little bit or help a lot, and I like both of those options.

I am hopeful that I will be able to sneak in a little practice over the holiday weekend, but my main priority will be soaking up time with my family. I will definitely be able to practice a little bit and will continue to do good work towards my fitness, but I will also eat a lot and enjoy some relaxation with my family. I must say, though, that Malnati-style relaxation is seldom very relaxing, but it is always fun!

I have spent the last week with some friends and my sweetheart, and for them, I am incredibly Thankful. I am heading to D.C./Maryland to spend the Holiday with the family for which I am incredibly Thankful. And to each of you who continue to show me unyielding support, I am incredibly Thankful. It's going to be a great Thanksgiving for me, and I wish the same for all of you! Thank you for everything you have done for me.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Things Going Well in Kansas City

My excursion out to Kansas City has gone perfectly so far. My friend Bud Reynolds was successfully married yesterday in a great ceremony that capped off three nights of fun wedding preparation. That was great because I was able to meet some new friends and also reconnect with some very good friends from my past. In addition to the wedding and wedding prep, my days here in KC have also been extremely productive. Good weather and a great place to practice have allowed me to make some big steps forward in my golf game. I have been able to stay on top of my fitness work, too, so I am feeling good all-around. The last four days have been great!


On Wednesday and Thursday, I practiced hard both days without playing any golf on the course. I have always preferred to practice on the course, but I think I needed to have a couple of good range sessions, and I really have seen strong improvements from my mid-week work. In addition to the driving range, I was also fortunate enough to have a world-class short game area at my disposal, and I spent hours working on my wedge play, chipping, and bunker play. I feel awesome about the work that I did, and the benefits really showed the last two days. On Friday and Saturday I played with some friends at Indian Hills Country Club, and despite gusty winds, all areas of my game looked good both days. On Saturday, with winds gusting from 25 to 35 mph, I shot even-par 70 on a fairly tough golf course even with a brain-slip triple bogey on a hole. I really played well and felt great about my game!


Things have gone very well so far on this trip, and I am looking forward to more fun and productivity in the next few days. Keep it here for another update from KC soon!


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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Politics in D.C.

Just kidding about all that. I have been in our nation's capitol for the past three days, put politics haven't been on my mind. I have soaked up some great time with my family and found quite a bit of time to keep working on my golf game. A spirited day of golf with my friends from the Jackson Clinics (my sister, Dr. Laura Malnati's employer) kept me busy on Saturday at Evergreen Country Club. I was able to get in some more good work with a nice practice session on Sunday. I haven't missed a beat with my workouts,  either. Two great morning runs--including one over the Potomac River in D.C. this morning--and an awesome workout with my sister have me continuing to feel good about my fitness. All-in-all, I've had very productive and fun days here in the D.C. area with my family. I'm heading to Kansas City today, and need to keep up my good work. I feel great about the direction that my golf game is heading, but I need to have some good practice to solidify the work I've been doing and gain some consistency. I'm well on my way though. Keep it here for news from Kansas City!


The pictures above are:

My sister, Laura, at Evergreen Country Club & my sister, Gina, with my nephew, Isaac (almost 5) and my niece, Abigail (almost 3). I also have a 13 month old niece, but she was in bed at picture time.


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Friday, November 11, 2011

A Great Week

I have done a lot of good work this week. I have had very well-rounded practice sessions and have also played quite a bit of golf. Solid morning workouts have me feeling more fit and flexible. I feel great all-around and am excited to keep working on it.


Bobbo and I worked together a couple of times this week to see if some of the changes we have talked about are taking hold, and we both think that I'm on the right track. I'm trying to add a little bit of width to my backswing and get my lower body, rather than my arms, to start my downswing. The new position at the top of my backswing still feels a little awkward and causes some inconsistencies, but when I get it right, I hit shots that are even better than my good ones used to be. I feel more and more comfortable every day, and I'm really excited about the potential I see from my ball-striking.


Perhaps even more exciting are the great results I've been seeing from my short-game work. I'm not trying to change anything with my technique around the greens, I'm just making practicing my chipping, pitching, and bunker play an everyday priority, and it is cool to see how quickly my execution and touch have improved on all sorts of shots near the greens.


After a lot of holes played by myself and a lot of time spent practicing early in the week, I had a fun match on Thursday. Playing a course called Ruggles Ferry with a friend of mine named Jonathon Hodge, I put my work to the test under a little competition. I definitely hit a lot of shots where I looked uncomfortable, but I also hit some really good shots. I ended up shooting two under par and tying my buddy in the match. While neither of those results thrill me, I am very happy with a lot of the shots that I hit and a few putts that I made when I needed to. My game felt good, and I know that it will only be improving.


Right now I'm on the road with my family. I will be a bit of a traveling man for the next couple weeks as I'm heading to Washington D.C. right now for a four day stay with my sister before flying from D.C. to Kansas City to be in an old friend's wedding. After that, I will fly back to D.C. for Thanksgiving with my Dad's parents in Maryland. I'm excited to spend some time with some very cool people, but also am pumped to play and practice in some new places. I am going to keep getting better, and my travels are not going to slow that down.


Everything is going well, and I am feeling good. Keep it here for reports from D.C. and Kansas City. There should be great times and good practice. I'll keep you updated!


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Sunday, November 6, 2011

Off to a Good Start

This past Monday was the first day of my 2012 golf season, and I am off to a great start. I have gotten in good work on all areas of my game and have also been stepping up the intensity of my workouts. I am doing a few new things on and off the course, too, and am excited about how good things are feeling. I am going to improve over these fall and winter months!


I have already been working on a few new things. First of all, I've been working on my putting stroke. I have always tried hard to steer clear of any mechanical thoughts with my putting, but the truth of the matter is that despite solid putting all year, I have struggled on and off with getting the putter coming too far to the inside on my backstroke. I practice enough to putt pretty well even when that bad tendency creeps into my stroke, but I know that fixing that flaw will make my putting even better and more consistent. The picture at the top of this post is the drill that I've set up in the living room at home, and though it looks complicated, it's actually a very simple way to make sure that my alignment and stroke are both right where I want them to be with my putter. I have already seen good results from this work on the course and am excited to keep working on it.


Bobbo and I have also done some work this week. I definitely don't like to get technical with my swing, but Bobbo thinks that by adding a little width to my backswing and getting my hands farther from my head at the top of my swing, I can pick up a few more yards and a little more ball-striking consistency. The change led to a day and a half of frustrating practice, but it is already feeling great, and I think Bobbo is right.


Off of the course, I have added a little bit of yoga to my fitness routine, too, and it is feeling great. The weekend after Thanksgiving I am going to see a physical therapist who is also a personal trainer that studies the golf swing and helps golfers maximize their fitness work. I feel like I am pretty good at working towards being strong, fit, and flexible, but I'm hopeful that my visit with this physical therapist will help me create workouts that directly translate to better golf. I'll update you for sure after that meeting, but for now, I'm going to work really hard at strength training, running, and stretching.


I feel great right now because I really feel like I am getting better. I am excited to keep working. Thank you for following me, and I hope that you will stay with me this fall and winter as I continue to improve!


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Thursday, November 3, 2011

Back to Work. And Loving It!

It has been a while since my last post, and a lot of good stuff has gone on in that time. I'll try to give you a little highlight reel to catch you up on what's been happening since my disappointing early exit from PGA TOUR Q-school. My family and I spent the entire week after Q-school enjoying each other's company and doing some of our favorite things together. Two incredible hikes in the Smokey Mountains and a lot of frisbee golf were just a couple of the activities that contributed to an awesome week off from real golf. The combination of that week off and the disappointing way that my 2011 season ended now has me as motivated as ever to work hard and get better. When I went to bed this past Sunday night, I told myself that Monday was the first day of my 2012 season. I have been hard at work since then on my fitness and my golf game and feel great about things.

I have improved greatly over the past few years, but I know that a thorough off-season of work will have me ready to break through in a big way next year. I feel great and am as excited as ever about the big possibilities that are ahead of me!


I know that off-season work may not be the most thrilling thing to read about on here, but I've got some exciting ideas of ways to get better this winter, and I'm going to do a good job of keeping my blog updated as I improve.


Also, I'm going to start including more pictures with my posts. Enjoy a couple of pictures from our hikes in the Great Smokey Mountains for now, and look forward to more good stuff as I improve this fall/winter!


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Friday, October 21, 2011

Bad News (But a Happy Delivery)

I did not advance through the First Stage of PGA Tour Qualifying this week at the Club at Irish Creek in Charlotte, North Carolina. Three mediocre rounds left me a little bit behind the eight ball going into the final round, but I felt like I was ready to have a great final round. I went out today and handled the nerves like a champ. I was very calm given the circumstances, and I executed very well. I hit every fairway and every green on front nine and, despite misreading a couple of very make-able birdie putts, made the turn at three under par. I did hit a couple of squirrely drives on the first few holes of the back nine, but after bogeying number 11, I played stellar golf the rest of the way, but could not get any birdies to fall. The closing four holes at Irish Creek are all very long, and I hit two four irons and two hybrids into the greens on that stretch of holes. I gave myself great looks at birdie on 15, 17 and 18 and hit the four iron on 17 right over the flag into a very difficult spot long of the green. I hit great putts all day, too, but could never quite get anything to go in the hole. I ended the day with a one-under-par round of 70. That score left me three shots short of the eventual qualifying score for the week, but I am thrilled to know that I played well enough to get it done in the final round even though it didn't quite happen for me.

I am obviously very disappointed with this result, but I am not discouraged. My round today was very encouraging, in fact. I need a couple days to process all the events of the past week and spend some time with my family, but then I'll come back and talk more about the year in summary and what comes next. One thing is for certain: I am not slowing down or giving up! Thank you so much for following me and for all the support you offer. Come back for more news soon.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Keeping It Interesting

Two absolutely horrible swings cost me three shots during a very blustery third round, and my score of two-over-par 73 dropped me down the leaderboard a little bit. I feel like I played quite solidly with the exception of my two huge mistakes in round three, however. I was decent in all facets of the game and very good from close range with the putter. I feel like I found some rhythm on the driving range after the round today and have a lot of confidence in my short game right now, so I feel like I'm ready to play a great final round tomorrow. I will have to play well in order to advance, but I am ready to do just that. I feel good about things, and if I can stay calm and trust myself tomorrow, I'll be in good shape! Come back to hear the good news tomorrow!

On a side note: I got a healthy dose of perspective today. My Mom's mom passed away late in the night yesterday. My Grandmother has been suffering from an inoperable brain tumor for some time and has really declined a lot over the past couple of years. Her death is a blessing for her, my Grandfather, my Mom, and all of us who loved her, but everyone will miss her greatly. Tomorrow on the golf course, I hope that I can remember that what I do for a living is just a game. Golf is my career and Q-school is important, but at the end of the day, I am privileged to have the opportunity to play a game everyday. I hope I can remember that and have a smile on my face all day tomorrow. Thank you, Grandma, for everything that you have meant to all of us in your life.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Battling on Day 2

The second round of Q-school's First Stage here at Irish Creek was a very challenging day. Rain fell on and off throughout the day and certainly added to the challenge of the situation. I was fairly pleased with my play through the tough conditions, but a pair of uncharacteristic misses on short par putts left me with a score of even-par 71 for my round. Conditions certainly were not difficult enough to make that a good score, but I was pleased with the way I overcame a bit of adversity and turned in a solid score.

I made three bogies in my second round, and all of them were fairly sloppy. A series of poor shots led to a bogey on the par-five 6th hole before I made a pair of back-nine bogies by missing putts from inside of five feet. The first miss was truly just a misread, but the second one was a case of not getting comfortable over the putt and trying too hard to make it rather than just relaxing and trusting my read and my stroke. I was definitely feeling some tension at times today, so I will really try stay more relaxed and enjoy myself a lot more in the final two rounds.

My game feels good. I have played well all year and really feel like my skills are all sharp right now. As cliche as it sounds, I really do just need to go through my routine and trust myself on each shot and play one shot at a time, and I will be in great shape. My buddy, Clint Jenson, is trying to spoil my plan of winning this stage (he is 16 under through two rounds and leading the field by seven shots), but still feel like I can make a good surge in that direction over the next two rounds.

High winds are in the forecast for Thursday's third round, so it will be another challenging day. My game is ready for the challenge, however, and will be having fun out there! Come back for a round 3 report in the evening.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Slow Start But in Good Shape

My first round of Q-school did not go exactly according to plan, but the end result has me in good shape moving forward. I started on the back nine of the Club at Irish Creek and did not make my first birdie until the the fifth hole (my 14th). For the first 13 holes, I made 12 pars and one bogey. I definitely was not very sharp during that opening stretch of holes, but I did hit a lot of good shots and had a few well-played holes. Standing at one over par with five holes remaining, I flipped a switch, I guess. I rolled in a twenty foot putt for my first birdie of the day on the short par-four fifth and then added birdies at the reachable par-five sixth and the par-three eighth. I ended up with a two-under-par round of 69. The course offered a lot of birdie opportunities today, and my score was certainly not a great accomplishment, but given the slow start that I had, I am happy to have posted a decent number. I am excited about my strong finish and feel confident that I can roll that into tomorrow's second round and have a great day. I get started at 10:00 tomorrow morning. I am going to continue to play smart and have a lot of fun, and I still think I can win this Stage. Come back tomorrow for a round-two report!

Monday, October 17, 2011

Back to School

It is time to get Q-school started! "Q-school" is the shortened name for the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament each fall, and it is the avenue through which players can earn status on the PGA and Nationwide Tours for the following year. I have been working hard and playing well all year with thoughts of performing well here late in the year and advancing to a higher level in the world of professional golf. I have steadily improved all year, and I truly do believe that I am ready to compete at the Nationwide or even PGA Tour level. This week is the First Stage of Q-school, and I am competing at a course called Irish Creek, which is just north of Charlotte, North Carolina. First stage is a 72-hole competition and approximately the top 25% of the field will advance to the Second Stage. This is definitely a high-pressure environment, but it is also extremely exciting and fun to compete in this event.

My game is good, and I feel very prepared heading into Tuesday's first round. I have had two great days of practice on site at Irish Creek, and had an extremely thorough week of practice at home last week. I'm confident that my skills are honed, and I know that I am prepared mentally to handle the stresses that can accompany Q-school. My plan for the week is to treat it much like any other tournament I have played and go out and win the thing! I feel comfortable on this golf course and know that if I play intelligently and have fun out there that I can win this week. I get started at 8:50 on Tuesday morning, and I am feeling good! Come back for an early report after round 1 in the evening.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Great Preparation

I have been having a fantastic week. For the first time in a couple months, I took an entire day off from golf on Monday and had a nice time with my sweetheart, Alicia, in Athens, Georgia, where she will be working next spring. My alarm went off at 3:30 on Tuesday morning, however, and, since dropping Alicia at the Chattanooga airport for an early flight, I have been back to business. The last three days have been filled with morning workouts and full days of practice. I have been able to have some competitive little matches with a couple different friends each of the last three days and have also gotten to spend some quality time practicing. My ball-striking is feeling very good again, and I have had great practice with my putter. I need to re-sharpen my wedge play, but I feel like I am just one good practice session away from feeling great about that area of my game as well. I have two more days here at home before I will hit the road for the Charlotte, North Carolina, area on Sunday where I will compete in the First Stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School at the Club at Irish Creek. I need to complete a few more putting drills and get in some quality work on my wedge play, but I feel like I have already had a great week of practice and know that I am in great shape heading into next week. I feel awesome, and I know that the coming days will only help to cement that feeling as I begin Q-school next week. Keep it here for another progress report in the coming days. Thank you for following!

Friday, October 7, 2011

Disappointment Today; Excitement Moving Forward

My season on the Nationwide Tour has come to an abrupt end. After finally breaking through and qualifying for this week's event in Chattanooga, my worst, and most frustrating, ball-striking round in recent memory has cut my event short by two rounds. I opened the tournament with an under-achieving round of 68, but was in great shape heading into round two and felt awesome about my game. On the second day, however, I was a little bit off from the get-go. Despite feeling good about things, my execution was awful on Friday. I was close to driving the ball well but hit enough poor ones to keep things stressful, and my iron play was pretty darn bad. I missed a lot of greens, and even though I scrambled well, I was in too much trouble to recover a couple of times. In addition to that, I never gave myself any good opportunities for birdies on Friday, and the end result was a two-over-par round of 74 that left me at two under par for the tournament and two shots on the wrong side of the cut line.

It is incredibly disappointing to miss the cut here in my only Nationwide Tour start of the year, but I am not worried about the state of my game. My two days here at this event served only to confirm my belief that I belong at this level. I was very comfortable in the situation, and really do believe that my game is good enough to compete on the Nationwide Tour or even the PGA Tour. I wish that I was still playing this weekend, but I know that I will be ready for bigger and better things in the near future.

I have the next ten days off from competition and will use them to become even more thoroughly prepared for PGA Tour Qualifying School (Q-school). My game is ready, I just need to make sure that I re-capture that "lovin' feeling" with my ball-striking and further sharpen the other elements of my game. I am extremely excited about what the near future might hold for me, and I look forward to getting started soon. Keep it here for practice reports and more information about Q-school in the coming days. Thank you for following me, and I really appreciate all the support I was shown this week!

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Feeling Prepared

At this point in my golf career, the opportunity to play in a Nationwide Tour event is a great opportunity. With that said, I really do feel as though I belong out here, and have tried to have just a normal tournament week. My ball-striking has been a little bit off all week (including the Monday Qualifier), but I was able to have a very productive practice round at Black Creek, the tournament course, on Tuesday and also played a very fun and slightly competitive match at another course in the area on Wednesday. I would be lying to say that I was "firing on all cylinders" in either of those two rounds, but I do feel like I am swinging the driver very well and am trending in the right direction with the rest of my ball-striking. In addition to that, I feel very confident about my ability to manage my game and shoot good scores. In my Wednesday match, I recovered from a sloppy bogey, double-bogey start to shoot three under par (and win my bets!) on a good golf course called Council Fire. Everything about this week has me feeling good heading into today's first round at Black Creek. I do not tee off until 2:20, but a relaxing morning practice session and a long lunch hour should lead me into my tee time nicely. I am excited, confident, and just the right amount of nervous. I can't wait to get out there and get started, and I know that it is going to be a blast. Keep it here for good news throughout the week!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

I'm In!

My performance in the Monday Qualifier for this week's Nationwide Tour event certainly left something to be desired, but I was able to scrape and claw my way around the course at Cleveland Country Club, and in the end, I got the job done. Some poor ball-striking, atrocious wedge play, and lackluster putting had me behind the eight-ball through 13 holes, but, standing at even par with five holes to play, I turned things around. I birdied the fifth hole and the seventh hole (my 14th and 16th) to get to two under par, but was very disappointed not to birdie the easy par-4 eighth with a short wedge in my hand from the middle of the fairway. My finishing hole was a downhill par three that was playing 209 yards to a tough back right hole location. I hit a great four iron, and it settled nicely just 15 feet behind the hole. The ensuing putt was a swinger from right to left, but I trusted my read and hit the most solid putt that I had hit all day and rolled it right in the middle. It was a hard-fought round of three-under-par 68. I had to wait until the last groups of the day got done to see that my closing effort was enough to qualify, but man did it feel great when the news became official! I didn't have my "A" stuff, but I was able to bear down and get it done.

Though my game wasn't good yesterday, I'm confident that a couple of good days of practice will have me ready to go this week in Chattanooga. The event is at a course called Black Creek, which I played about 5 years ago in the Tennessee Amateur. I played well and remember really liking the course. I'm very excited for the opportunity to compete on the Nationwide Tour this week, and even though the odds are definitely stacked against me this late in the year, my number one "Outcome Goal" is still attainable.

With that said, I need to have a great week working towards my process goals to keep my game sharp and to continue improving. I am ready to have a great week, and I am going to enjoy myself. Keep it here for reports along the way from my first Nationwide Tour event of the year!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Time to Monday Qualify

I am in Chattanooga (well, just north of there actually), and I am ready to Monday Qualify for this week's Nationwide Tour event--the Chattanooga Classic at Black Creek Golf Club. My Qualifier is at Cleveland Country Club, and I have played that course the past couple years. A lazy and relaxing weekend in which I had a short practice session on Saturday afternoon and a leisurely practice round at Cleveland CC on Sunday has me feeling great heading into this Monday Qualifier. My game felt a little bit off in today's practice round, but I am extremely confident right now. Cleveland Country Club suits my game, and I know that if I can commit to a good plan on every shot and execute decently well, I will be in great shape. Come back for a good report after the qualifier!

Friday, September 30, 2011

An Over-due Report: Tournament Wrap-Up from Charlottesville

The Egolf Professional Tour was in Charlottesville, VA, this week at a great course called Spring Creek Golf Club. Weather-related delays caused some very long days in the course of this 54-hole event, but just before sunset on Friday, the competition was completed. I had a strange week during which I put some of my very best ball-striking on display, but also showed some struggles with my putter and made a few costly mental errors. The end result of my week was 71, 71, 68 performance that was good for a tie for 10th place, but there are some good stories that occurred along the way.

I was the first group of the day for Wednesday's first round and was at the course warming up by 6:55 for my 8:00 o'clock tee time. After I had a good warm-up session in very soggy conditions, The committee determined that the course was too wet and needed time to dry, so my tee time was delayed until 10:00. My group started at 10:00, and despite the fact that I birdied the first two holes of the tournament, I was uncomfortable from the get-go because two lost balls caused us to take 46 minutes on the first two holes and be way behind the pace-of-play guidelines. To make a long story short, we were slower than we should have been all day, and, rather than staying committed to my routine, I found myself rushing a lot of shots. I can go through my routine both quickly and thoroughly, but I simply did not do a good job of thinking through all of my shots and committing to a good game plan. In spite of that, I played a fairly solid first round in which I hit the ball well for the most part but threw away two shots with a huge mental error that led to a double-bogey on the par-four 7th hole and missed a lot of putts that I expect to make. The end result was a one-under-par round of 71 to open the tournament on a day that yielded a lot of good scores.

Almost half the field had to complete its first round on Thursday morning before the second round could begin. This, coupled with a fog delay of almost two hours, pushed my second-round tee time back to 3:40 on Thursday. I had a great practice session in the morning and spent some time relaxing as well, so I felt ready when it was finally time to play golf. Unfortunately, my putter again was none too sharp on the course, so a lot of quality shots led to mediocre pars. I hung in there nicely, however, and had it one under par through eleven holes of my second round as darkness began to set in. The horn blew to stop play for the night just after I had hit my tee shot on the 3rd hole (my 12th), but when play is suspended for darkness, players have the option to finish a started hole. My group chose to finish the third hole, but my brain decided that it was done for the day, apparently. Facing a 200-yard shot over a creek from a poor lie in a fairway bunker, I tried to hit a four iron onto the green. It was a huge mental error, and I hit a terrible, half-shanked shot that somehow cleared the creek but ended up in woods right of the green and in bad shape. Despite a couple of good efforts from there, I made a double-bogey on the hole and ended my second round on an extremely sour note. Despite hitting the ball very well for most of the twelve holes I had played, I was one over par for my second round, and very much in danger of missing the cut.

On Friday morning I arrived at the course bright and early to finish my second round. After a great warm-up, I was out to the fourth tee by 7:50 and ready for an 8:00 o'clock re-start. Needing a couple birdies and facing some difficult holes, I knew that I would have to be very tough mentally, and I was just that. I gave myself make-able looks at birdie on each of the last six holes in my second round, and was able to make two of them to post a second-round score of one-under-par 71 to make the cut and earn my spot in the afternoon's third round. It was a great feeling to know that I needed to execute well and deliver a good performance Friday morning.

The second round was finally completed by late-morning on Friday, and I was assigned a final-round tee time of 12:50. I was confident that I was going to play well and move up the leaderboard, but my start left a little bit to be desired. Great tee shots and good iron shots gave me decent birdie putts on my first two holes (10 and 11), but I didn't manage to convert either opportunity. Then, on the reachable par-five 12th, I hit two great shots and was pin high, just left of the green and only about twenty feet from the hole with a pitch shot for an eagle. It was a tough shot, and I executed well, but my ball scurried some 15 feet past the hole. From there, I looked like a real idiot. I rammed my birdie putt four feet past the hole and then missed the short, downhiller for par. I had to calmly roll in an eight foot putt just to salvage a bogey from my mess. Despite being one over par through three holes at that point, I knew that I was hitting the ball great, so I just tried to continue doing that. I am proud to say that for the 24 holes I played on Friday, I hit every green in regulation and had reasonable chances for birdie on all but just a few of them. My putter never did get hot, and I had to settle for a final-round 68, but I know that I was on the verge of doing something special.

My six-under-par total for the week was good enough to sneak into the top 10. That is a pretty good accomplishment for a week when my putter was a bit cold and I made two very uncharacteristic mental errors. One other slightly disappointing area this week was my par-five scoring--I was only three under par for the week--but I feel like I executed well on those holes and was just struggling to convert on my birdie opportunities. All-in-all, I am extremely pleased with the state of my game and continue to feel improvements. I am excited to keep going. I need to have a good weekend of practice and plan to earn my first Nationwide Tour start of the year on Monday in the Qualifier for next week's event in Chattanooga.

Thank you for following! Keep it here for more (and more frequent!) updates moving forward.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Ready to Go Again!

Here's just a quick summary of last week and a peak at what comes next:

I had a great day of practice on Saturday following the Missouri Open. I wrapped up all of my process goals for the week, and feel awesome about the work I did on my putting. My wedge play has continued to feel good, but I know that I can further sharpen that aspect of my game if I keep working on it. Everything is feeling good, and I am still very much enjoying playing and practicing, so I am excited.

I drove home on Sunday and am getting ready to leave tomorrow morning for Charlottesville, Virginia, and this week's Egolf "Fall Series" tournament. The tournament begins Wednesday morning and is at a great golf course--Spring Creek Golf Club. I will get up there in time to play a quick practice round on Tuesday afternoon. I like that golf course a lot and am ready to have a great week on the Egolf Tour.

Next week, the Nationwide Tour comes to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and I will most certainly be playing in the Monday Qualifier. That is an exciting opportunity for me because I really like city of Chattanooga and am comfortable on the qualifying course and the tournament course.

I'm excited to keep playing well and to continue getting better. I still feel like great things are coming! Keep it here for me news and for updates from the Egolf tournament in Charlottesville.

Friday, September 23, 2011

High Expectations

I'm not sure how to feel right now about my performance in this year's Missouri Open. At the end of the day, I posted two decent rounds of golf (69, 70) and had a decent finish (Tie 4th), but I certainly expected to win the event and feel that I should have. I find myself incredibly disappointed with that result, but the truth of the matter is that I played very solid golf from the 7th hole through the 34th hole of the event. A nervous and sloppy start combined with some untimely mistakes on the final two holes left me two shots behind the winning score, but neither of those two things change the fact that my game is in great shape and I am playing very well. I'm disappointed right now, but I know that with just a little time to process this, I'll realize that it was still a very positive tournament and another step in the right direction.

In the final round today, I played incredibly solid golf and had myself in position to win with two holes remaining. I was three under par for the round and hit a great drive right in front of the green on the par-4 17th. I hit a great chip but the ball landed more softly than I had envisioned that it would, and then my jaw dropped as the ensuing ten-foot birdie putt failed to take the break and lipped out on the high side. I was proud of every shot I hit on the 17th, and the end result should not change that. I did hit a terrible drive on 18 and followed it with a poor club selection and then a misjudged chip from a tough position over the green. Eventually I tapped in for bogey on the final hole, and a final round of two-under-par 70. I feel like I was in a good place mentally heading into the closing two holes, but I simply didn't get the results for which I was looking today. I know that I can play 17 and 18 at Old Hawthorne in one under par with my eyes closed, but I didn't do that today, and that has left me in a disappointing position right now. I'm still happy, and I still feel great. I can't wait to get back in action because I know that I am playing great.

I'll be back on here with another update very soon because I need to tell you about more exciting opportunities that are coming up in the very near future. Thank you for following!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Slow Start But in Good Shape in MO Open

I had a great morning heading into my 8:50 a.m. first round tee time today at the Missouri Open, but that did not translate into a good start. Two lousy shots at the opening hole led to a bogey on the benign par-4, and more poor shots and a couple of missed putts would lead to two more bogeys and a two-over-par-through-six-holes start. Some good self talk and a good attitude kept me going, however, and despite a couple of missed opportunities on holes 8 and 9, I made the turn and delivered a good back-nine performance that saw me make five birdies and no bogeys. In the end I had an opening round of three-under-par 69 and now find myself two shots behind the leader heading into the second and final round. I'll be playing a group in front of the leader tomorrow, but I know that if I do my job and stay focused on each and every shot, I will have a great day. I tee off at 10:20 and am looking forward to another exciting day and a chance to deliver a great performance. Come back to hear all about it!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Acknowledging Some Challenges, But Ready to Go in MO Open!

The Missouri Open gets under way tomorrow morning at the Club at Old Hawthorne. I have continued to have great practice and feel very thoroughly prepared to play well in this event. Entering this event, I know that I have a lot of people here in Columbia, MO, who are rooting for me, and quite frankly, I know that many of them expect me to win. I definitely want to deliver and believe that I can, but it will be very important that I approach this like every other tournament I play and have a present-minded focus on each and every shot. With that said, I am very confident and ready to execute well this week.

I tee off at 8:50 tomorrow morning in the first round. The Missouri Open is only 36 holes, but that doesn't really change my mindset very much. If I can have a smart game plan for every shot, commit to that plan, and execute confidently, I will be in great shape. I know that this tournament will be fun! Come back for a round 1 update tomorrow.


Sunday, September 18, 2011

Great Week in the Books; Exciting Things to Come

The past seven days have been some of my most productive that I can remember. I think I actually put in a lot more hours on non-competition weeks than do when I have tournaments. The good news is that I really enjoy almost every aspect of my work, so I never mind the long days. This week I finally completed all of my process goals, and I spent a lot of time on the course, too. I am spoiled when I am in Columbia to have the Mizzou Athletics Training Complex available to me, so my workouts were a bit heavier than usual this week as well. Long workouts and big days of practice equal a lot of time dedicated to golf, but I also found some time to relax this weekend as I caught a Kansas City Royals game at Kauffman Stadium Friday night and watched my Mizzou Tigers man-handle Western Illinois University (or High School, was it?) on Saturday evening in Columbia. It really was a great week, and it that has me feeling great as I move forward and get ready for more tournament action.

I want to share a couple cool stories from my week. My plan for Thursday practice was to go to Old Hawthorne and do a few putting drills, practice some wedge play, and then spend the entire afternoon out on the course by myself playing a couple of balls and hitting a lot of practice shots from any and everywhere. Instead, I got tipped off that there was a great game at Gustin Golf Course and found out that a couple of my former Mizzou teammates were playing, so I joined them. The game was just a big skins game, so overall score meant little, but making birdies could be valuable. After a slow start that saw me birdie just the reachable par-5 first and one other short par-4 through the first 8 holes, I made three tough birdies and an eagle over the final ten holes. Three sloppy bogeys on the round knocked my final score back to pedestrian four-under-par 66, but my birdie/eagle run over the last ten holes was rewarding--in more ways than one!

Another cool story from my week is the manner in which I completed all of my process goals. As I've discussed on here before, my putting drills have been giving me trouble lately, and upon my return to Columbia this week, I was unfortunately greeted by recently aerified greens at Old Hawthorne. They were punched with only small holes and had been top-dressed heavily, but still my early-week motivation to get after my putting drills was not great. Therefore, I entered Sunday needing to do not only my proxi drills with my wedges but also three putting drills in order to complete my goals for the week. Having struggled recently on perfect greens to complete my drills, doing three of them in one day on a green that still showed signs of its recent punching might have seemed like a daunting task. I know that putting is absolutely a strength of my game, and I was determined not to come up short today. Each drill I attempted felt like a tournament to me, and though there were some setbacks, I followed all of my rules and completed my six-footer drill, a three-footer drill, and capped off the last of my process goals in dramatic fashion by making a 50-foot downhill putt on the last hole of my lag drill. It was really good stuff!

My work this week was very good. I feel great about my wedge play and was so pumped to step up and complete my putting drills today. I really do feel pressure while I'm doing those and have to rely on the strength of my routine to complete them. I get back into competition this week with the Missouri Open on Thursday and Friday, and I feel like my game will be ready for it. I have a lot of possible tournaments coming up in the coming weeks, and the First Stage of the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament (Q-school) will begin in exactly a month. I am really pleased with the status of my game and the quality of the work that I am putting into it. I am confident that I will continue to improve and feel like coming weeks and months will bring some very exciting things. Keep it here to enjoy the ride with me. Thank you so much for following!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Moving Forward

I must admit that the feeling of a great performance to capture a win can leave me patting myself on the back a little bit, but I know that I absolutely must continue to improve and am working hard to do just that. Following the final round of the Nebraska Open in Columbus, NE, I had a relaxing celebratory evening with my hosts in Lincoln and spent the night there before driving to Columbia, MO, on Monday. I have no competitions until next week's Missouri Open (September 22, 23), so I plan to use the coming days to get in a lot of quality practice.

After a short workout and a quick nine holes with some friends on Monday afternoon, I put in a very full day of work on Tuesday. After a morning run in some refreshingly cool conditions, I was out to the golf course by shortly after nine o'clock, and spent the whole day there doing a variety of types of practice. One fortunate thing that I have going for me is that my home course here in Columbia, the Club at Old Hawthorne, is also the venue of the Missouri Open. Therefore, I will definitely spend even more of my practice time than usual in the next week playing the course. However, I am also working hard towards achieving all of my process goals and have already gotten a lot of work done with my wedges and completed one of my putting drills. I had a very balanced day of practice on Tuesday and feel great about what I was able to accomplish.

A rainy Wednesday didn't look very promising early in the day. I had a great workout in the morning, but then sat and watched a persistent rain drench Columbia, MO. In fact, both of the courses that take great care of me here (Old Hawthorne and Gustin G.C.) were closed. I was afraid I wouldn't get any work in, but some evening sunshine was too nice to resist, so I went out to the Mizzou Team's old short range with my bag of practice balls at about 5:00 o'clock and had two and a half hours of very peaceful and productive practice. It turned out to be a great day!

My game feels very good, but the thing that has me most excited is the fact that I still feel like I can improve a lot in every area of the game. I'm going to continue to have a productive week of practice and I am GOING to FINISH all of my process goals. Come back for more updates along the way. Thank you again for your encouragement following the NE Open!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Great Final Round = Winner Winner in Nebraska

That headline says it all. I played well today in the final round of the Nebraska Open and shot a 65 to come from two shots behind the 36-hole leader and win by three shots. It was great round, and I'll give you a brief play-by-play of the action:

I was determined today to stay committed to my game and take care of things that I can control. Therefore, my plan was to hit a lot of intelligent shots and think my way around the course regardless of what I saw on the scoreboards or from my playing competitors. My play on the first three holes didn't fit that description. After a solid opening tee shot and a safe par on number one, I drove it into the left trees on number two and the right trees on number three. A low, hooking shot out of the trees on number two got me near the green and a great up-and-down saved my par. From the right trees on the third hole, I pretty much had to chip my ball out into the fairway. Facing 107 yards for my third shot into the par four, I hit a great wedge right over the flagstick and calmly rolled in a 15-foot putt for par. To walk away from with pars on those two holes was a testament to my positive attitude and my good short game. I felt awesome escaping my two errant tee shots with pars, and I got back on track in a big way with three consecutive birdies on holes 4-6 to open up a two shot lead. In fact, after my conspicuous start, I followed my game plan almost perfectly the final 15 holes. With the exception of two more poor tee shots on holes 10 and 15, I hit great tee shots the rest of the way and hit each of the last 15 greens in regulation except for number 10. I made pars on holes 7-12 and saw a couple of players get back to within one shot of my lead. But on the par-5 13th, I ended my par streak in a big way. A great drive and a sweet hybrid from 235 yards set up a 12-foot putt for eagle and I rolled it right in the middle. That eagle opened up a three-shot lead, and pars on holes 14-17 kept me two shots clear of the field before I hit a great 7-iron approach within four feet of the hole on 18th hole for a closing birdie to seal my final-round 65 and a three-shot margin of victory. It was a solid round and a great feeling.

I won this week because I did everything fairly well. My wedge play was very good, but other than that, I did everything just fairly well. I hit a lot of good tee shots and was able to keep my misses in play; I hit a lot of solid iron shots and rarely hit what I would call a "poor" iron; and I putted the ball nicely all week. My touch was great on the very fast greens. I had no three putts this week, and, though I did miss four putts this week in the 3-6 foot range, I was fairly solid from short-range on the greens. My short game was sharp this week as well, and that was great to see. All areas of my game feel pretty good, but there is definitely room to keep improving, and I am excited to continue getting better.

I do need to say that I was not good at all this week at working towards my process goals. I really do feel like I had good practice sessions and obviously I did the things I needed to do to be successful, but I didn't complete my fitness goals, putting drills, or wedge-play practice this week. I put in a lot of effort with my putter and wedges this week, but didn't really manage my time very well and was again too lenient on myself about my goals. I have the entire next week off from competition, and I am going to hold myself 100% accountable for all of my process goals and get back into good habits with my practice.

With that said, my game feels awesome. I know that I need to continue to sharpen all the areas of my game and develop more consistency and continue to improve, but I feel like I am still progressing very nicely. My next competition will come September 22-23 in the Missouri Open at the Club at Old Hawthorne in Columbia, MO. I am excited to compete in my college town in an event that I won last year. I know that some good practice between now and then will have me ready to defend that title just like I did this week in Nebraska. My game is exciting, and more and bigger good things are on the way. Keep it hear for practice reports along the way!

By the way, the outpouring of support that I have already received from all of you after this win is awesome! Thank you so much for thinking of me and cheering for me!

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Exciting Final Round Coming

I played great in the second round of the Nebraska Open. A 10-minute period early in my round saw two strange things happen to me that cost me some shots, but other than that, I was very pleased with the way I executed and handled myself. I felt great heading into my round after a solid warm-up session, and started by hitting my first 13 shots of the day very well. Those shots got me through holes 10, 11, and 12 (I began on the back nine today) with a birdie and two pars and had me just three feet away from the hole for another birdie on the par-5 13th. It was there that I started a short stretch where things went crazy for a little while. I hit a horrible putt from three feet to miss my birdie on number 13 and then blocked my tee shot on the ensuing hole into some trees and rough right of the fairway. While looking for my ball, I kicked something, and sure enough, it was my ball, which must have been sitting down in some rough. I had to drop my ball back in the spot from which I had kicked it and incurred a one-stroke penalty for moving my ball. I ended making a double-bogey. I wasn't sure what to think for a minute, but I quickly remembered that I had been executing very well and realized that I just needed to get back on track with some solid golf shots. From that point on I made five birdies and no bogeys to shoot a second round score of four-under-par 67. I am very pleased with the way I rebounded from a little adversity and feel good about that score.

I currently stand at 8 under par for the event and am in a tie for second place. The leader is two shots ahead of me, but I will be playing with him in the final group tomorrow. I enjoy the position in which I find myself and relish the opportunity to compete for a win. My keys for tomorrow are going to be intelligence, patience, commitment, and confidence. If I can apply these four ideas to every shot tomorrow, I know that I can execute well and have a great day. I know that I will be enjoying myself. I expect great things, so come back to hear all about it tomorrow evening!

Friday, September 9, 2011

Solid Round One; Feeling Good in NE

In today's first round at the Nebraska Open, I delivered a solid performance. A short morning practice session before lunch had me feeling good, and I was very relaxed this afternoon for my 1:50 tee time. I began the day with three perfect golf shots for a birdie on the par-4 opening hole, and, after scrambling for pars on the next two holes, I settled into a very solid groove. In fact, I had make-able birdie putts on every hole from number 4 through 16. I missed the green right on long par-3 17th and hit a good pitch shot and a solid putt, but couldn't quite get my five-footer to fall. The bogey was my only one of the day, and it left me with a four-under-par round of 67.

Given the fast and firm condition of the greens, my solid--at times even conservative--play today was just what the doctor ordered. I kept the ball in good positions almost all day, and took advantage of the par-fives with birdies on all three of them. I had a lot of birdie putts today, and I did putt well, but had my putter gotten hot, I could have shot a very good round. As it was, my score was good enough to have me in a tie for fourth after round 1 and only one shot behind the leaders.

I feel good about all areas of my game. Nothing was particularly flashy today, but everything was pretty solid. I'm very confident that I can keep getting better the next couple of days, too. I tee off tomorrow at 9:20 in round two and will try to build on my success from round 1. Come back for more good news after the road, and check out the results at www.nebraskapga.com.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Nebraska Open Time

It is time to go in Nebraska. I competed in the pro-am today (Thursday) for the Nebraska Open, and am excited to get the tournament started tomorrow (Friday). The event is being held for the twentieth consecutive year at the Elks Country Club in Columbus, NE, and I certainly experienced some good memories being back there today. The layout of the course is the same as always and features short but narrow holes that are tree-lined and well-defended by dog-legs and some decent rough. A major difference this year is the fact that the greens are absolutely lightning fast. The course will be incredibly fun this week because shots will require a lot of intelligence into the greens and phenomenal touch on and around them. With that said, I feel like I know how to play this course well and expect that I will be able to shoot some great scores. I don't tee off until 1:50 in the first round, so I will have a relaxing morning of practice before lunch and then a fun afternoon on the course as I try to get off to a good start in the tournament!

Come back for a round one report in the evening. It's going to be good news!

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Putting (Drill) Woes

I have wrapped up another great week of practice. Despite practicing in four different cities this week (Pittsburgh, East TN, Columbia, and Kansas City), I have had a very productive week and have completed all of my wedge play and fitness goals for the third consecutive week. I think it's time to admit that my putting is in a bit of a lull because I have once again come up short of completing all of my putting drills despite putting a lot of effort into doing so. With that said, I still feel that I putt the ball as well as anyone and have continued to be happy with the way that I am rolling the ball when I'm on the course. I will continue to be diligent in working towards all of my process goals and am confident that I will get the putting solved. I am proud of the work that I have been doing in all areas of my game, and I really feel like I am continuing to improve.

I will start this week with a couple more good days of practice before I take off for the Nebraska Open on Wednesday. I will compete in a Thursday pro-am prior to Friday's first round. I obviously have great memories from last year's Nebraska Open, and I think that I can repeat! Keep it here for updates as I work towards doing just that!

Friday, September 2, 2011

Great Things Coming in the Midwest

I had a very solid four days of practice this week in Tennessee and this afternoon made the long (but easy) drive from my beautiful home in Dandridge, TN, to Columbia, MO. I am going to enjoy some time with friends and my sweetheart over the Labor Day weekend, but will also be working hard on my game to ensure that I am fine-tuned to defend my Nebraska Open title next week. I have done good work towards my process goals for the week, but have a little bit more wedge work and some important putting drills to do this weekend. I need to have a good weekend of practice and will do just that! The Nebraska and Missouri Opens are the next two things on my schedule, and I am determined to deliver solid performances in both! I'll give you a report with more specifics about those two upcoming events and a summary of my weekend practice in the next couple days. Thank you for following me, and have a great Labor Day weekend!

Monday, August 29, 2011

Drat

I played well today in the Monday qualifier for this week's Nationwide Tour event in Pittsburgh, but the final results certainly don't show it. Green Oaks Country Club is a fairly easy golf course tee to green, but becomes very demanding because of the severity of the slopes and speed of the greens. I handled the challenge well through 12 holes and recorded two birdies and no bogeys in the first two thirds of my round. The final six holes, however, were a different story. I hit a couple of really good shots on the 13th and 14th holes, but on both occasions, my ball found a way to end up in a less than desirable spot and I suffered back-to-back bogeys. A solid birdie on the par-five 15th gave me hope, but when I pushed a short par putt at the long par-three 16th and missed, I knew my fate. Disappointingly, I lost focus on the last two holes and played hockey on the greens to finish with two more bogeys despite having extremely make-able looks at birdie on each of the last two holes. The final tally for the day was a two-over-par 72. I played much better than that, however, and am still feeling good!

I am going to get on the road to head back home for another week of great practice. I won't get another shot at the Nationwide Tour for a little while, but I still have some exciting things coming up! Come back in the next few days for a practice report and to hear my plans for the near future. Thank you, again, for following me and for your support!

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Feeling Prepared

I had a great week of practice this week. For the second straight week, I failed to finish a couple of my putting drills that are part of my process goals for the year, but it sure wasn't for a lack of trying. I spent hours on the practice green, but was having trouble finishing a couple of my drills. It's disappointing not finish all of my goals, but I did a stellar job with my fitness routine and wedge-play drills and feel great about all areas of my game.

I had a smooth drive to Pittsburgh, PA, yesterday afternoon and played a great practice round at Green Oaks Country Club today. Tomorrow morning at 7:48, I will tee off at Green Oaks in the Monday Qualifier for this week's Nationwide Tour event--the Mylan Classic at Southpointe Golf Club. The qualifying course, Green Oaks, is an extremely old school country club course featuring a lot of short, tree-lined holes that are well-protected by bunkers and rough with greens that are small, slopey, and absolutely lightning fast. If you read that description and think, "that's right up Peter's alley," you are exactly right! I really like this course, and I feel like I had a successful practice round today. The course will require some intelligence on shots into the greens and patience on and around them, but I know that I will have to pick some spots to be aggressive and make some birdies. I am ready to play a good round of golf, and know that if I can be focused for 18 holes, I will execute well and be successful.

I'm going to be relaxed and confident tomorrow. It should be a great day. Come back in the evening to hear all about it!

Friday, August 26, 2011

Great Practice; Going to Try Again!

I want to give a quick update of my week thus far and tell what is coming next. I have been having a good week of practice in my beautiful East Tennessee home. Some time with my family and even some extended family has been very relaxing, but I have also been working very hard on my fitness and my golf game. Some days of very good practice and a couple of great "friendly" matches have me feeling good about my game. A six-birdie, no-bogey round on a breezy day at Holston Hills on Thursday afternoon showed the benefits of the work I've been doing as my wedge play and putting were both very solid. I still have some work to do on my putting and wedges to finish my process goals for the week, but I am on the right track! It has been a very productive week, and I feel like I am continuing to get better.

I had told myself that I was going to be done chasing Monday Qualifiers for a while after the one in Knoxville this past week, but given how well I've been playing, I have decided that I need to drive to Pittsburgh, PA, to play in the Monday Qualifier for next week's Nationwide Tour event. I am playing well, and I know that if I stay patient and continue to believe in myself, I will get into an event soon. With that belief firmly in mind, I will hit the road tomorrow afternoon for Pittsburgh and give it another good effort on Monday!

Between now and then, I am going to have another good practice at home tomorrow morning and a good day of work learning the qualifying course on Sunday. It's going to be a productive weekend. Come back for a good report on Sunday night!

Monday, August 22, 2011

Heartbreak Kid (Monday Qualifier-wise)

The trend continues, but this time both the disappointment and the optimism are magnified. To make a long story short, I have once again come up one shot short of Monday Qualifying--this week for the Nationwide Tour's Knoxville Open.

To miss an event that is so close to my beautiful home and one in which I had great success last year makes this the most disappointing missed qualifier I have experienced. On the flip side, the manner in which I came so close today leaves me feeling as optimistic as ever about my game. I was packed with nervous energy this morning at the beginning of my round, but I did a great job channeling that energy and focusing on each shot. My execution was great, but unfortunately, I was a little too "amped" and had trouble controlling my distances over the first few holes. A terrible first putt on the third hole resulted in a three-putt bogey from just 30 feet away before an inexplicably long seven-iron approach from the fairway sailed over the fifth green leaving a tough up-and-down and resulting in a second bogey. I was two over par through five holes, but felt like I was executing well. From that point on, my golf was nearly flawless. Despite a couple of missed opportunities on the greens and two disappointing pars on back-to-back par 5's at numbers 9 and 10, I birdied six of the final 13 holes and made no bogeys in the stretch to post a four-under-par round of 67. At the end of the day, it worked out that exactly seven players shot 66 or better, so I was once again left on the outside, but I am extremely proud of my performance today.

Coming down the stretch, I knew my back was against the wall, but I also knew that I was executing well enough to make something great happen, and I almost did. I was just one under for my round heading to number 15. A great up-and-down for birdie at the par-5 15th preceded an aggressive tee shot down the watery 16th fairway to set up a short-iron approach and another birdie. A solid drive and a very good 8-iron approach into the 17th left me with a 20-foot putt from directly behind the hole, but a well-hit putt missed high of the hole. I went to the 450-ish yard 18th hole determined that I was going to make a two. A perfect drive took advantage of the wind at my back and got me to within 130 yards of green. Facing an uphill approach, I launched a pitching wedge up into the wind right at the flag. When I climbed the hill to the green, my ball was sitting four feet directly behind the hole. A great putt found the hole and capped off my round. It was so great to execute well down the stretch. My game is great, and I am ready for great things to happen.

This one hurts; there is no doubt about that, but I am going to have a strong week of practice this week and be ready for whatever is coming up next. I need a night to process some things in order to come up with a good plan moving forward, but I will come back in a day or two with an update of where I'll be heading next. Something good is coming in the near future, and I can't wait to make it happen and then share it with all of you! Thank you so much for your support and encouragement!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Great Week of Practice; Ready to Go!

I am feeling good! The last five days my practice has been very good and productive. I was determined to finish my process goals this week, and, though I came up two putting drills short today, I am incredibly pleased with my effort. I was against the eight-ball in terms of time this week after missing two days of practice on Monday and Tuesday because of the weather-delayed Monday Qaulifier in Kansas City and then spending the better part of Friday on the road, but I still completed all of my fitness goals, all of my wedge-play goals, and made a strong attempt at all of my putting goals. My wedge play really feels sharp after my practice this week, and, despite struggling to finish my last two drills today, I had great practice with the putter as well. I feel good all-around and am excited for some good things to happen in the near future.

Tomorrow is the Monday Qualifier for this year's Knoxville Open on the Nationwide Tour. I had a lot of success in that event last year, and am hopeful that I will get the chance to build on that success this year. I tee off at 10:00 o'clock tomorrow morning at Willow Creek Golf Club in the qualifier. I have played Willow Creek before, but, having not seen it in four or five years, I played a practice round on Saturday to refresh my memory. I am comfortable on that course. I know it will take a good round to qualify tomorrow, but I believe that I am prepared to play great. It will be very important that I stay in the present and do a good job of committing to each shot tomorrow, but I know that I am ready to do that. It should be a great day. Come back to hear all about it after the round!

Friday, August 19, 2011

Going to Get My Practice Back on Track

I have spent the last two and a half days in Columbia, MO, and have had three of my most productive practice sessions of the summer. My travel and competition calendar has been a bit hectic the past four weeks, and I have used that as an excuse to get lazy towards my practice and fitness goals. The process goals that I made for myself this year are very realistic and do not require that I push myself above-and-beyond what would be a productive amount of practice. What the goals do is keep my practice very focused and add an element of pressure to my practice. I am pleased with the way that I have been playing all summer and feel good about the amount of work that I have put into my golf game, but I know that if I complete my process goals each week, my practice will be more efficient and provide greater benefits to me in my competitions. With that in mind, this Wednesday I rededicated myself to achieving my process goals each week . I have had three great days of practice since then. Today I will drive home to beautiful Dandridge, Tennessee, where I will have two more good days of practice in preparation for the Monday Qualifier for next week's Nationwide Tour event--the Knoxville Open. My game still feels awesome, and I know that it is just going to keep getting better. That breakthrough for which I have been waiting might just come on home turf! Keep it here for another report heading into Monday.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Rock Barn Wrap-Up & More Monday Disappointment

I'm sure by now most of you have seen the final results from last week's Egolf event at Rock Barn Golf Club in North Carolina. I am sorry that this update is late. After shooting 73, 64 to make the cut right on the number, a fairly solid weekend performance of 69, 69 moved me up the leaderboard to finish in a tie for 21st. I felt very comfortable at Rock Barn and would have liked to have had a better finish than that, but I am very proud of the fact that I kept a good attitude and played with confidence all week despite struggling a little bit with my ball-striking and putting. I was one over par midway through each of my weekend rounds before finishing strongly both days to shoot some decent numbers. My iron play, wedge play, and putting were all a little off at Rock Barn, but I made good decisions (the last three rounds) and did enough things right to pick up a solid finish.

The tournament at Rock Barn was the last event of the regular season on the Egolf Tour. The second of my three outcome goals for the year was to finish in the top 20 on the Egolf Tour's money list. I am happy to report that I have achieved that goal. I am currently number 18 on the tour's overall money list and number 15 among Egolf Tour members. The reason I mention that last number is that the Egolf Tour pays for the top 20 finishers on its members' money list to go to PGA Tour Q-school in the fall. That means that I will have a 4,500 dollar burden lifted from my shoulders. I am excited to have achieved this goal. It shows that my game was fairly solid throughout the course of the year and that the practice that I am putting into my golf game is working. Having narrowly missed qualifying for the U.S. Open in June (the third of my outcome goals for the year), it feels good to put a check mark next to this goal!

Speaking of my outcome goals, my number one goal for the year is to earn enough money on the Nationwide Tour to qualify for its Tour Championship in October. Despite playing well and having some close calls, I have not made any concrete progress towards this goal because I have not succeeded in Monday Qualifying for any Nationwide Tour events yet. I am certainly behind the proverbial eight ball in terms of achieving this goal, but I highly believe that it is still possible. The Nationwide Tour has a handful of events remaining before the Tour Championship, and I am confident that I can get on a run and play multiple events as soon as I get into one.

Unfortunately, I won't be making that first Nationwide Tour start of the year this week. The Monday Qualifier for this week's event in Kansas City was a bit of a weather-delayed nightmare. I was slated to tee off at 11:27 yesterday morning, but morning storms and torrential rainfall delayed tee times just over five hours, so it was a 4:45 in the afternoon before I teed off. The course was not in great shape by the time I got to it, but I was determined to be mentally tough and have a good day. Because play was horribly slow, I got in just 13 holes before dark, but I played fairly solidly and made three birdies and no bogies on Monday. I had to return to the course to play the final five holes this (Tuesday) morning, and I felt pretty good. With a fairly strong wind blowing, I made solid pars on holes 14-16 and hit a good drive on the par-5 17th. Facing a strong left-to-right wind and 270 yards to a green fronted by a pond, I hit a perfect lay-up shot down the fairway and left myself 85 yards to the flag. I hit a crisp wedge shot, but let the ball float a little too much in the cross-wind and my ball settled eight feet right of the hole. From there I faced a slick putt with at least a foot of right to left break, but I felt good about it and expected to make it. I didn't. I hit a very stupid putt. Having visions of the quick putt leaking low of the hole, I gave it a little extra speed to help it hold its line, and I rammed it through the break, and it rolled some five feet past the hole. I was fairly calm and went through my routine well on the ensuing par putt, but did not hit a very good putt and suffered a very disappointing bogey. A par on the difficult par-4 18th left me with a score of 70 and one shot short of qualifying. It is hard to swallow another close call leaving me on the outside, but I need to remain encouraged by the fact that my game is good enough to have me in these positions so often.

My game is still feeling good. I need to have some good practice this week because I have definitely been a little loose with my ball-striking the past couple weeks, but I am happy about how well I am able to hold rounds together even though things feel a little bit off. My wedge play needs some more attention as does my putting, but I know that the work I have done all year on those two areas of my game has me in great shape moving forward. I still think I can achieve my goal of getting to the Nationwide Tour's Tour Championship, and a good week of practice this week will help me move towards that next week when I tee it up in the Monday Qualifier for the Nationwide Tour's Knoxville Open. I know that my breakthrough is coming, and it would be very storybook-ish to have it happen at home!

Thank you all for following me and for your continued support. I really enjoy the encouragement I receive from you! Great things are coming. Keep it here to hear all the news.


Friday, August 12, 2011

Bad 9 + Very Good 9 = Okay Round 3 at Rock Barn

I was lazy, sloppy, and just flat out bad for my first nine holes in round 3. I made a couple of very uncommitted swings, a couple more poor swings, and hit a few putts without having any kind of line in mind. I started on the back nine and made the turn at one over par in perfect scoring conditions. I wasn't happy with my performance, but I knew that if I turned around my mindset, I could still play a good round, and I did just that. I executed well on the front nine (my second nine today) during which I recorded four birdies and no bogeys for a final score of three-under-par 69. That is not a great score given the perfect weather we had for the round, but it did move me up the leaderboard a little bit and leave me in a position to make a big move with a solid round tomorrow.

I had a great afternoon of practice today after the round. I spent a little time working on all areas of my game and gave particular attention to hammering out some putting drills. I really feel like my game is continuing to improve. If I can stay focused and commit to a good plan on every shot tomorrow, I know that I can execute well and post a great final round. I tee off at 8:20 on number 10, and I'm excited to have a great day. Come back tomorrow evening for a final round report and a tournament wrap-up.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Almost Great in Round 2

I played the easier of the two courses at Rock Barn today in the second round of this week's Egolf event, and for the first two-thirds of my round, I was able to take advantage of the many birdie opportunities offered by the Tom Jackson course at Rock Barn. I birdied my first four holes and got it to eight under par through 12 holes today, but a sloppy finish tainted what could have been a special round. In the end I posted a seven-under-par round of 64 to get it to six under for the tournament. My round was just good enough to sneak under the cutline, so I will get two more days to play the tougher Rees Jones course at Rock Barn and attempt to move up the crowded leaderboard. I feel like my game is in good shape, and I'm excited for the opportunity to make a move in these final two rounds.

I tee off tomorrow at 9:10. I am going to be intelligently aggressive and commit to every shot. It should be another great day, so come back to hear a good report tomorrow evening!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Not Good in Round 1 at Rock Barn

Scoring conditions were great at Rock Barn today in the first round of this week's Egolf tournament. Unfortunately, I did not take advantage. A balky putter and some mental errors really cost me today and led to a one-over-par round of 73. I hit the ball pretty well off of the tee and was happy a lot of the iron shots that I hit, but in the end, I didn't make the putts that I needed to make and threw away a couple shots with some poor decisions. I don't know why I wasn't sharp today, but I think I got a bit of a wake-up call, and will be much sharper mentally moving forward.

My round today has me in a bit of trouble as scores were quite low today. I am moving tomorrow to the easier of the two courses being used for this week's event, however, and I know that an intelligent and well-executed round tomorrow can get me back into the tournament. I need to be patient and positive tomorrow and also must execute well and putt more like my normal self, but I think I can do all of those things. I'm excited for the opportunity to play a great round tomorrow when I need it. I tee off at 9:30 on the Tom Jackson course at Rock Barn, and look forward to a very good round. Come back tomorrow to hear about it!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Long Few Days

I felt very good after the final round of last week's Egolf event. It was Saturday afternoon, I had just completed a solid final round to collect a solo 3rd place finish, and I made it to the Charlotte airport in plenty of time to fly back to the midwest on Saturday evening and get ready for the Monday Qualifier the for Nationwide Tour event this week in Springfield, MO. Then a cancelled Delta flight left me in Charlotte until Sunday morning before stormy weather in the Kansas City area kept me from making the three-hour drive down to Springfield until late Sunday evening. Then on Monday, I was fully prepared to have a great day and break through in a Monday Qualifier for the first time all year, but numerous weather delays pushed my 11:30 tee time all the way back to 3:30, and two more delays while I was on the course limited my play on Monday to just the first six holes of the qualifier. Some extremely sloppy golf in those six holes had me at one over par, and not in very good position when play was suspended for the day. Having already signed up for this week's Egolf event as a back-up plan, I had a predicament on my hands. The Egolf Tour offers no refunds to players involved in PGA or Nationwide Tour Qualifiers unless the player successfully qualifies, so I had to decide if I was going to finish the Monday Qualifier in Springfield and risk not being able to make it to North Carolina for the Egolf event which begins tomorrow (Wednesday) at Rock Barn Golf and Spa in Conover, NC. With twelve holes remaining in the Monday Qualifier, I couldn't just walk away from it, so I stayed in Springfield and gave it a great effort this (Tuesday) morning but in the end, came up short. I was four under for my first ten holes today and in a position where a birdie, eagle finish would have gotten the job done, but a par on 17 gave way to an overly aggressive strategy on 18 and an anti-climactic bogey to close what was otherwise was a great morning of golf. I finished the Monday Qualifier with a two-under-par round of 70, and began scrambling to make plans to get to North Carolina. I ended up finding a direct flight from Kansas City to Charlotte and luckily had a very smooth drive up to the airport from Springfield and had no delays or anything with the flight. I am now resting comfortably in Hickory, North Carolina, and am excited to have a great night (and morning) of sleep before my 12:10 first-round tee time tomorrow at Rock Barn.

The last few days have been a great learning experience for me. Travel issues and weather delays are a big part of being a professional golfer, and I have got to learn to be patient and positive in dealing with them. I definitely let the weather delays put me in a bit of a negative frame of mind on Monday at the Monday Qualifier because I was worried about how I would get to North Carolina if I didn't qualify. While that was a legitimate concern, I would have been much better off had I been able to stay my normal ever-positive self and play solid golf for the six holes that I was able to play on Monday. I played well enough on Tuesday in the final twelve holes of the Qualifier to get the job done, but I was in too much of a hole from my poor start on Monday. Patience with the weather and some scheduling adversity is definitely a quality that I will gain from this experience.

In all reality, though, I feel great! Rock Barn is a place where I played well last year and feel very comfortable. I definitely need a good night of sleep tonight and to get to the course a bit early tomorrow for some extra preparation getting used to the greens, but physically I feel very good, and I feel good about my game after playing well this morning. I am confident that I can have another good tournament this week on the Egolf Tour.

Thank you for keeping up with me! I've been saying this for a while, but I truly believe that something(s) great is coming very soon! Come back here for a report from round 1 at Rock Barn tomorrow evening.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Best Egolf Finish Yet, But Room to Improve

I am very proud of my final round performance in the Egolf Tour's Grand Harbor Open at the Patriot Golf Club in Ninety-Six, South Carolina. I entered the final round alone in 2nd place, one shot behind the leader, and I played fearless golf the entire day. I had a couple of hiccups here and there and certainly gave a performance that left a few things to be desired, but I am extremely pleased with how my mindset and my game responded to the pressure of the situation and am confident that my time for something great is coming soon. In the end today, I shot a three-under-par round of 69 to drop one spot on the leaderboard and finish alone in 3rd place, three shots behind the winner. It is my best finish to date on the Egolf Tour, but it left me with the taste in my mouth of what could have been and the hunger to go out and get it!

Today was a fun day. I was pleased with my ball-striking in the early-going of the round. I drove the ball well and hit some decent iron shots. Two solid pars on the first two holes gave way to a great birdie on the par-4 third hole before I added another birdie with two good shots and a nice chip on the par-5 fifth. I stumbled by missing a golden birdie opportunity from 97 yards in middle of the sixth fairway and then suffering a sloppy bogey on the short par-3 seventh. I rebounded beautifully, however, with a good birdie on the easy par-5 eighth and a great birdie on the difficult par-4 ninth. Heading to the back nine, I was two shots behind the leader, but feeling very good about my game. My worst drive of the day (which really wasn't that bad) came at the tenth and left me with a little tree trouble, but a great up and down saved my par and kept me rolling. On holes 11-14, I had birdie putts from ranging from 10 to 20 feet on each hole, but converted none of them. I hit poor putts on 11 and 12 but then executed what I thought were perfect putts on 13 and 14 only to watch the first slide by on the high side of the hole and the second stop an inch short right in the middle. I was frustrated through that stretch but remained determined to finish strongly. On holes 15 and 16, I hit both approach shots right at the flag only to watch one come up 40 feet short on the long par-3 15th and the other fly 30 feet long on the watery par-4 16th. A poor swing led to a bogey on the par-3 17th, and I found myself at 15 under par for the tournament heading to the 18th hole. I was determined not to pay attention to the leaderboard and rather to stay focused on executing each shot to the best of my ability, but I knew that the bogey on 17 had dropped me back into a large tie for 3rd and that a closing birdie would significantly improve my standing for the week. I tried my best to approach the par-5 finishing hole with patience and trust. I hit a solid drive up the right side of the long hole and faced 280 yards slightly uphill to a green that sits some 20 yards over a steep, grassy ravine. I picked a good yardage and line for my lay-up shot and executed perfectly to set up a 79-yard wedge shot uphill to the back left hole location. I decided to hit a three-quarter sand wedge in order to control the amount of backspin on the ball, and hit a nice shot eight feet from the hole. Knowing that quite a bit was on the line, I calmly went through my routine and rolled the right-to-left swinging putt right into the middle of the hole. While it wasn't the result for which I had hoped at the day's start, that finish felt sweet!

I am definitely happy with the status of my game. I feel like my ball-striking could be much more consistent, and I will always be working to further sharpen all the the elements of my game, but I am very pleased with the comfort level that I have over all types of shots right now. This week was just another step towards the breakthrough that I know is coming.

I would like to see that breakthrough happen this coming week and feel like it can. I am currently in Charlotte awaiting a morning flight back to Kansas City to pick up my car and head down to Springfield, MO, for the Monday Qualifier for the Nationwide Tour event next week. I was supposed to fly this evening, but Delta cancelled my flight--GGGRRRRRRRR! Despite the travel snafu, I feel awesome about things and am really looking forward to having a productive day of travel and preparation for the Monday Qualifier tomorrow. Keep it right here for more exciting news soon! Thank you for following and for your great support!

Friday, August 5, 2011

Time to Do It!

I shot a seven-under-par round of 65 today in the third round of this week's Egolf event. It was the low round of the day and propelled me from a tie for 10th into 2nd place. The round was a combination of some skillful misses off the tee, some decent approach shots, a shortgame that is improving greatly, and a putter that was very good at times. I really don't feel like I played my best golf today, but I did enough things right and was good enough with my poor shots to post a great round. I am thrilled to be in position to chase a win tomorrow, and I honestly believe that I have even better golf in me.

Tomorrow will be a lot of fun. Though I have been playing very solid golf of late, tomorrow is the first time that I will be in the final pairing of an Egolf tournament. I currently sit alone in 2nd place, just one shot behind the leader. I'm sure that I will have some nerves tomorrow, but I feel very confident in my game right now. I have not had my "A" stuff this week but have been able to piece together some good rounds anyway. If I can get something to "click," tomorrow could be a special day. If I continue to struggle a little bit, I will draw on the experience I gained from today's struggles to help me persevere and post another good round anyway. I truly think I'm ready to play well.

Sticking to my routine will be the most important part of my plan for tomorrow. I know that I will probably face some sort of adversity during the final round, but I also know that if I form a solid game plan for every shot and then commit to it and execute fearlessly, I can play a great round. I will do that on every shot tomorrow! It's going to be a great day. Come back to hear all about it tomorrow evening. Thank you for following me!

New Blog Site

Hi everyone! Thank you for continuing to try to keep up with me. As you might have noticed, I've not been updating this blog at all late...