Learning from Frustration in KC

It is a brand new week, so I will be brief with my commentary on last week's Web.com Tour event in Kansas City. The title of this post really says it all. I played poorly and felt out of whack both physically and mentally during the tournament. In very good scoring conditions on a golf course that didn't present too much of a challenge, I posted rounds of 68, 68, 70, 73 to finish in 71st place at five under par. The one very positive thing that I will take from my performance is the scrappiness I showed over the first two days. Despite hitting some horrific golf shots, I played hard, continued to believe, and made enough birdies to earn a spot in the weekend. After that, though, my performance and attitude both stunk over the final two rounds, and I definitely left the tournament feeling pretty crummy. It was not a good week of golf, but I am ready to learn from it and move forward. 

I'm not really sure why my game was off in Kansas City. I have been struggling a little bit with my accuracy lately, and that plagued me last week. I'm okay chalking that up to the cyclical nature of golf. However, my poor mindset on the course is much more bothersome to me. I was very impatient, results-oriented, frustrated, and downright unhappy much of the time on the course this past week. I know that I control my thoughts, and that means that I chose to feel that way. The good news about this powerful kick in the butt is that I can also choose better thoughts and feelings. I need to choose good thoughts, and I'm ready.

So what happened in Kansas City; how does a guy who claims his mental game to be his greatest asset as a golfer end up feeling the way I did on the course? By letting distractions linger and getting out of routine. I don't need to go into detail, but I did not follow a good practice regimen last week, and rather than feeling prepared and confident on the course, I found myself distracted and worried. That's a tough way to play, and it certainly isn't healthy for me. 

How can I be better? By simply taking care of my business and following my Process Goals. I will always have weeks and periods during which I have off-course stuff that is distracting, but I need to have the discipline to focus on my job when I'm at the golf course and get my work done. If I feel prepared heading into a competition, I find that I am much more at peace with the results either way. If I'm not prepared, I internally associate much more of my self-worth with the outcome, and that is just not a healthy state-of-being. Regardless of what is going on, away from the course, I need to be focused on doing my job well when I am there, and that helps me to be at peace in all areas of my life. 

I already have the formula for proper preparation in place in my Process Goals.  Though I didn't complete either of my practice schedules this past week in Kansas City, I put in a good effort over the weekend to finish a light fitness routine. The week in KC was the first week of my seventh five-week segment of the year. I can still get all of my Process Goals done for this segment, but I need to have some great weeks of work moving forward. I truly enjoy working at my craft, and I believe that my process works, so I am excited to get after it. 

Alicia and I arrived in Springfield, MO, on Monday evening, and I am ready to get to work. I have great memories from playing here in 2013, and I'm excited for more good stuff. If I take care of my business when I'm at the golf course and prepare well, I know that I'll get my attitude and my game heading back in the right direction. I'm going to do just that. 

Thank you for following and believing in me! More great stuff is coming! By the way, I'll do a better job of updating my blog during tournaments. That is another thing that helps me stay focused on the good thoughts, so I will make the time to do it. Keep it here for updates from Springfield. 

By the way, here is something cool from the week in KC. I got to throw out the first pitch at my beloved Royals' game last Friday. I zipped it over the cather's head and into the backstop, but it was my first wild pitch of the year, so the skipper was okay with it!