A Happy Thanksgiving!

I have so much for which to be thankful. My family loves and supports me. My girlfriend of more than four years goes through the ups and downs of my golf career with me (even from a distance) while working a full time job and finishing her Ph. D. I have friends all over the country who offer me support and warm homes during my travels. In addition to that, I have a team of people, most notably Bobby Bray (Bobbo), who have helped to cultivate my game over the last several years. All of these pieces come together and allow me to apply myself fully toward my goal of having a successful career on the PGA Tour. I am so thankful for the life that I am able to lead and for all of the people that help make it possible for me to do it. It was truly a happy Thanksgiving for me, and I hope the same for all of you.

In terms of a golf update, I fibbed in my last blog post. I have not as of yet analyzed my practice logs and stats from the year to give any concrete data to you. The one thing that I know for sure is that my competence as a ball-striker and my confidence in my ball-striking deteriorated over the last couple months of the season. Bobbo and I had a long talk on the phone last week to discuss a strategy for improving over the winter, and we had our first session on Sunday afternoon. We are going to make some changes, and I am excited about that. I don't like thinking mechanical thoughts at all, and I will not be making highly technical changes, but I am going to improve the way that my lower body works in my golf swing. I am also going to improve my impact position by getting my hands a little bit in front of the clubhead during the actual strike of the ball. I will fill you in more as I start to better understand the changes that I am making. I am really excited, though, because I know that I have a lot of room to improve as a ball-striker, and I can tell that these changes are going to spark that improvement.

I will give at least weekly updates of my progress throughout the winter, but I will also publish a summary of my 2012 season very soon. There is obviously a lot of positive information that I will remember, but I'm also certain that there is a lot from which I can learn and on which I can improve. Come back for more news soon, and keep it here for progress reports and a look towards potential 2013 schedule options. Thank you very much for all of your support and encouragement!

A cool view from a Saturday hike on the way up to Mt. Leconte in the Smokey Mnts.