My life is absolutely great, and I have all of the things that are most important to me. From a golf perspective, however, I hit a record low spot on Thursday. I hate that golf has the power to affect my mood, and at times even my general outlook on life, but I have been letting it do just that lately. I know that my life is great and that I am a lucky guy regardless of what happens on the golf course, and applying that knowledge might just help me get the good vibes flowing on the links as well.
So the last few weeks have been ugly. I followed up a disappointing performance at the Web.com Tour event in Panama with an even more dis-heartening performance at the PGA Tour's Valero Texas Open in San Antonio. The TPC San Antonio is one of my favorite courses that I have played on Tour, but my ball-striking and putting were both pretty lousy during that tournament, and I missed the cut by five shots. I was actually fairly encouraged by my practice, however, and traveled to Houston with hopes of getting into the Shell Houston Open. I was the third alternate on Monday morning, and, despite having a fairly positive experience in the Monday Qualifier, I shot even par and didn't really come close to getting into the field that way. When I woke up Tuesday morning, I was the first alternate, and thought I might sneak into the field via my Tour status. I used Tuesday and Wednesday to prepare as if I was in the tournament, and my game felt great. Unfortunately, no one withdrew on Tuesday or Wednesday, so I would have to show up early at the course on Thursday and hope that someone was unable to play. I was at the golf course from 6:15 a.m. until after 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, but no one scratched, and I was left out of the field as the first alternate. That was when I hit my record low spot. I left the course thinking about all the implications of my poor play and feeling in general like a failure.
After an hour of letting myself mope, I started to realize that I am still in control of my golf career and more importantly, my outlook on life. It does stink that I haven't gotten in many events, but I will have my chances this year. If I take care of the things that I can control, which are my attitude and my preparation moving forward, I will be in great shape to achieve everything that I want to accomplish this year. I reached a low point on Thursday afternoon, but the way I see it, I have no where to go from there but UP!
And what is really great news is the fact that poor performances on the golf course don't change the things that are most important to me. My wife still loves me; my family still loves me; and I have great friends who support me and believe in me. Life is good, and I'm going to start acting like it.
Now, with all that said, I do have to get my golf game back on track because I absolutely love my job, and I'll only get to keep it if I get back to doing it well. I know what to do, though. I need to have a solid preparation plan and be committed to that. I already have a good model from which to work with my goals, but I am really going to get after my plan in the coming weeks.
It's hard to believe that I can go from a record low time in my golf to a time of complete excitement all in the same day, but I am now feeling as ready as ever to get to work! I have some lofty goals for this year and I can definitely still achieve each and every one of them. I'm pumped.
Thank you very much for following me and believing in me. Please keep it here for practice updates and a "what's next" report very soon.
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