HOME!! Practice Report

I love competing, and, since Alicia is working from the road and traveling with me (and caddying!), I really enjoy the travel aspect of my job, too. With that said, there is something very nice about walking through my own front door after being gone for 32 days! After finishing the Web.com Tour event in Louisiana on March 29, Alicia and I drove to Houston and played the Monday Qualifier for the PGA Tour's Houston Open. I played well, but my three-under-par 69 was not very close to qualifying. So on Tuesday, we flew back to Jacksonville, Florida, where my car was. We had a fun evening with friends in Jacksonville before driving to Orlando on Wednesday morning so I could spend the day with Mitchell. After a productive session with Mitchell, only 645 miles separated us from HOME! We split the drive up into two days because we didn't leave Orlando until nearly 6:00 PM, but by early afternoon on Thursday, we walked in our front door, and it was a great feeling!

I love being home. There is something naturally comforting and restful about being surrounding by family, friends, and even just space and "things" that are my own. Of course, home also comes with quite a few errands and chores that I don't have to worry about on the road, but I'll gladly take that trade-off. I've been home now for a little less than a week, and I feel fully rested. 

It's not that I'm good at resting; it's just that my work routine is less exhausting at home because everything is comfortable. I've actually been getting after it pretty hard. I had two Light Weeks of Practice and Fitness work in Chile and Louisiana, so I needed to have some good work last week. The travel load in the first half of last week made it hard to complete all of my Process Goals, but I was determined. I did complete a Full Fitness Routine. That took a lot of will-power and discipline, so it felt good. I put in a very solid practice effort, too, but I came up short in a long battle with my final putting drill of the week. I'm going to do my six-footers one time extra this week to make up for that--even though technically I wouldn't say my practice drills are supposed to work retroactively like that. The point is, however, that I am putting in the work that I need to do to continue getting better. I love working on my game, and when I'm home, I have great facilities to work on my game and my fitness. That is what makes being home so great: I can work really hard, but still feel rested and recharged when it's time to hit the road again. 

I need to mention one thing here just to give it some public validation: my process works for me! I really struggled last year on the PGA Tour, but if I look back on the year, I didn't follow my process at all. I still felt like I was working hard, but I wasn't working smart. I wasn't following a system. I abondoned my Process Goals early in the year last year. During the off-season I made some commitments. I committed to new instruction on my swing mechanics with Mitchell Spearman, and I committed to a firm, goal-oriented preparation routine. l have carried over both commitments into the 2015 season. The results speak for themselves. With that said, I know that I still have a long way to go and much to accomplish. I have proven nothing yet except for the fact that my process works for me. So I am going to stay committed to it!

I have another train of thought on which I have been meditating during this small break from competition. I need to spill my thoughts about it on here, but I will save that for a post this weekend. 

For now, I will just say, thank you for continuing to believe in me. There is more great stuff to come. Keep it here to enjoy the journey with me!