A Fun Update

The word "Fun" is going to be a big part of this post. It is in the middle of the motto by which I have been trying to live my life (Don't worry; have fun; play with Freedom), and remembering to do it is a key to success for me. Many people believe that they will have fun only when they succeed, and I have certainly fallen into this trap, too. The truth is that enjoying the journey is essential for me to achieve the results I want. I have always loved to play and practice, but sometimes I let thoughts of results and stress and pressure rob some of the joy from my profession. I don't want to let that happen anymore. I'll always work hard because that is a part of who I am, but I am going to make sure I have fun while I'm doing it!

I've actually been doing a nice job of this lately. Two weeks ago on Hilton Head Island, I had an absolute blast playing at Harbour Town. It quickly became one of my favorite venues on Tour. I did a lot of things well and was really close to having a good tournament, but I faltered just a bit down the stretch on Friday and missed the cut by one shot on a very bunched leaderboard. Though I was having a very fun week, I definitely let some anxiety get to me during that Friday round. That is where I've got to get better--remembering to fully enjoy myself even in the heat of the competition. I am getting better at that, and Alicia and I stayed on Hilton Head Island with our friends and had a lot of fun that weekend despite not getting to play. 

From a fun week in Hilton Head, Alicia and I traveled to San Antonio for the Valero Texas Open, and we definitely had a fun week there. We started by participating in a fundraising "Game Show Night." Alicia and I were contestants in the Not-so-Newlywed Game, and we were the talk of the evening with our mind-meld answers. We were easily the Newlywed game champs, but I'm pretty sure that was a fun night for everyone. After the game show night, I went to work more or less as usual to prepare for the tournament. The one thing that really makes the Texas Open fun for me is the fact that the host hotel is at the golf course, and it has a huge waterpark! Everyday I couldn't wait to get done with my work and go ride the waterslides. I even spent about an hour riding them Friday morning before my afternoon tee time for the second round. I was like a kid in a candy store, and I was having fun. One of the slides was fantastically horrifying. To ride it, you stood almost perfectly upright on a plexiglass floor that dropped away to release you down the slide. It was terrifying but so much fun!

It is silly to say, but I think the waterslides reminded me to have fun on the course, too. I found myself facing difficult shots and thinking that golf, like a waterslide, is great fun for me so I should just enjoy it! 

Not surprisingly, I played some great golf in San Antonio. I fired an opening-round, bogey-free 67 that featured a hole-out from 92 yards for a two on a par four. I overcame two bogeys in my first three holes on Friday to post a 71 and stand tied for 6th heading into the weekend. I maintained a great attitude throughout a troublesome 76 in the third round. (And I rode the waterslides on repeat afterwards with Alicia and my friends!) Then I calmly put together a bogey-free 67 including a chip-in birdie on my final hole to climb back up into a tie for 13th place on Sunday. I played beautifully for most of the tournament. It was fun!

There's no doubt that good golf is more fun than bad golf. Similarly, it's more fun to have good results than to have weekends off. These things are obvious, but I am convinced that the more I commit to having fun and enjoying the process, the more I will get to experience the good golf and the great results. Bad golf and tough stretches are going to happen, but if I can remember to keep having fun even through the challenges, I know that the sky is the limit for the success I can achieve. 

So I say to myself once again, "Don't worry; have fun; play with Freedom." After all, my life is essentially one big waterslide!

Thank you for keeping up with me and for your great support! I am enjoying a week off this week, but I'll be back in action for several tournaments in a row starting next week in Charlotte. Keep it here to enjoy the journey with me.