Round 1 from Forest Oaks

My game matched the weather on a cold and damp day during the first round of this week's Egolf event. Forest Oaks is a great golf course, but with the greens softened by overnight rains, it is not overly demanding. I never felt comfortable in the opening round, however, and the course kept me working hard all day. Conditions were cold, windy, and little bit damp as rains threatened all day. I started poorly with bogeys on two of the first three holes but responded with a pair of birdies to make the turn at even par only to make a huge error off of the twelfth tee that led to a double bogey. I remained patient and upbeat however and was rewarded on the sixteenth hole as I holed a shot from the fairway for the second consecutive day. This time a holed a sand wedge from 98 yards. The shot got me back to even par, which is where I finished the day after two closing pars. My round of even-par 72 is certainly not a good score here at Forest Oaks, but I still saw plenty of positives from my game despite not feeling very comfortable. I think I will be ready to play a good round tomorrow and get back into the tournament.

One of the things on which I have been working very hard for the past month is a more relaxed attitude toward every golf shot. I want to be intense for about fifteen seconds before every shot as I come up with a good plan, but once I'm committed to what I'm going to try to do, I want to relax and stop worrying so much about the results. I have been getting better and better at doing this, and it allows me to make fearless and unrestricted golf swings when I do it right. I actually was taking it a step too far in round one, though. In order to be relaxed when I'm hitting golf shots, I need to be thoroughly prepared before I step up to the ball. Today, I was a little bit careless with a couple of shots because I didn't take the time to have a good plan before I hit them. I am really pleased with the way my mindset towards golf shots is evolving, but it is important that I not confuse being relaxed with simply being lazy. I'm close to getting it right.

I tee off in the afternoon on Thursday for my second round. I really like this golf course, and I am confident that I can put together a great round out there. Come back for some good news Thursday evening!