Having a Great Week

22 days ago I packed my golf stuff and some clothes and left Tennessee for what I thought was going to be a one-week stay at Callaway Gardens. I have been down here ever since and have been able to work on my golf game everyday. This past week has been the toughest of my short stay in terms of weather, but given the blizzard that hammered half of this country and the "cyclone" that hit Australia, I don't think I can complain too much about some cold, rainy days. This past week hasn't been ideal, but I'm still in paradise down here at Callaway Gardens. I've got a golf course that hosted the PGA Tour for over a decade, a second golf course that is also very good, top-notch practice facilities, and two families that have adopted me as their own while I am here. Life is good!

In fact, even this week has been great. I have used the less-than-desirable weather to toughen myself. I had a great practice session on a cold and windy Wednesday and was literally the only person to set foot on the golf course on either Thursday or Friday. Thursday was too cold to stand still on the practice facilities, so I just walked 16 holes playing two balls on the shorter Lake View Course. I was really impressed with my tee shots that day, and I did a lot of very nice work around the greens. I would have played all 18, but I was spending so much extra time around the greens working on my short game that it got dark on me. By all means Friday should have been a day off from golf. It never got out of the mid-30's and a steady rain fell the entire day. I thought that it would be good for me to put on my rain suit and try to do a little practicing, but it only took 45 freezing cold, soaking wet minutes for me to realize I could afford an afternoon off! I know I have a great job because I get bummed when I get days off!

Despite a challenging week, my game is feeling very very good. The weather improved tremendously today, and I had a great day of practice. I spent more than six hours at the golf course today without playing a single hole. That is rare for me, but I maximized my practice today on a comparatively warm and sunny afternoon. I started on the putting green and struggled my way through my nine-hole lag drill in which I must complete nine consecutive putts from 30-60+ feet without a three-putt. It took me a little while, but towards the end I hit some great lag putts and finished the drill by holing a clutch six footer. I then mixed hitting some balls on the range with a couple hours of very intense distance-control practice with my wedges. The practice I had with my wedges today was spectacular. I then did my three-foot putt circle drill and spent some quality time chipping before finishing the day hitting some more balls until dark. It was a very productive day of practice, and I really feel good about the status of my game.

I've got a match scheduled for tomorrow with Taylor Hall, a fellow mini-tour professional who, like me, has the game to play at higher levels. It will be great to put my practice to the test with some competition out on the course.

I have just a little bit of work to do tomorrow to reach all of my process goals for the week, too. I need to perform one more putting drill and to complete a proximity drill with each of my wedges. After the wedge practice I did today, I'm confident that I can knock out those drills in no time. My workout routine has been solid for some time now, and will enjoy a day off from that tomorrow after a great week of weight-training and running that was capped off with a very demanding hill-sprint workout this morning.

My game feels great and I do, too! I have some exciting news that I will share with you soon, so keep it here for that as well as to hear another update about my practice from Callaway Gardens!