Valuable Day

I am smart enough to know that not everything about my game is going to feel right or be sharp every day, but as my practice sessions continue to get better and better, I sort of forget that and expect that my performance should be effortless all the time. On Tuesday, I had a great match and it taught (more accurately, reminded) me of some valuable lessons. After a hot start saw me jump out to a big lead, I leveled off quite a big during the middle of the round. I wasn't hitting terrible shots, but I wasn't doing anything particularly well, either, and my opponents were creeping back into the match. My level of calm was definitely affected, and I felt myself start to press a little bit. I was trying too hard to make something happen, and in turn hit a few poor shots which added to my frustration and made me try even harder. Fortunately, all the hard work I have done on my putting really payed off down the stretch as I was able to make a very difficult six footer for birdie on the 16th hole and followed it up by making another downhill sliding four-foot putt on the 17th. I held on for a good victory, but more importantly, the match helped to drive home a lesson that I need to remember: I am not going to hit great shots all the time, but if I can stay relaxed through the average and poor shots, I will get back to hitting good ones much sooner. I know that I am good enough to achieve good results even if all aspects of my game are not clicking perfectly (this match was a good example of that), but I need to be able to stay calm and positive through some adversity for this to be true. With that said, my attitude is one of my greatest assets, and having this valuable reminder in my "pre-season" will help me be better this year.

In addition to the Tuesday match, it has been a good week of practice so far. My ball-striking has been just so-so the past few days, but a good session with Bobbo yesterday morning showed me that everything is still looking good. I am hitting enough good shots to let me know that I am doing the right things; I just need to continue to practice to develop a little more consistency with my ball-striking. My short game and putting are continuing to improve, and I am very excited about the work that I am doing on those areas of my game. My practice is definitely yielding strong positive results, so I am pumped to keep working!

Everything is going well, and my game is really feeling good. If I can combine the hard work I've done on my physical skills with a great attitude, I know that very good things are in my future. Keep it here for more practice reports as I get ready to take 2012 by storm! It is tournament time in less than three weeks!