Round 1: Sloppy but Encouraging

I came out firing in my first tournament round of the year. I was determined to be relaxed and committed on every shot, and for the most part, I did just that. I birdied my first tournament hole of 2012, and really played quite nicely for the entire front nine. I made the turn at two under par on the Robert Cupp course at Palmetto Hall and then hit a perfect tee shot on the par-5 10th. From there, my round got a little bit dicey. Though I was committed to my shot and executed fairly well, my attempt to reach the green in two at the 10th hole teased me by looking quite good in the air before falling just short of the green into a pond. A mediocre wedge shot following my penalty drop resulted in a bogey. Determined to stay positive, I hit some good shots in the next few holes and even made a great birdie with a four iron at the long par-3 12th hole, but my execution was definitely a little loose coming down the stretch. A poor drive and a horrific chip-out from the woods set me up for another par-5 bogey at the 15th hole, and a misjudged pitch shot at the 17th led to another bogey. I did make two great swings on the demanding 18th hole and finished with a solid par to shoot even-par 72 in my first round. On a day when weather conditions were absolutely perfect, that score certainly was not very good, but I was pleased with my comfort level on the golf course and with my execution for a large part of the round. Despite not posting a great score, today's round was quite good for my confidence, and I know that good scores are in my very near future...

...Like in the second round tomorrow! I will tee it up on the tenth hole of the Arthur Hills course tomorrow at 12:10 for my second round. If I can have the same comfort level that I had today and continue to enjoy myself, I'm confident that I will execute at a high level more consistently and have a great round. I've got some work to do as scores were pretty low today, but I feel like I am still in good shape. Check back for a round-2 report in the evening!