My Next Shot

I have taken a break from a lot of things. I haven't blogged in three weeks. I haven't played a tournament the last two weeks--my first such break since December. Prior to the past two weeks, I had even taken an unintentional break from simply enjoying the fact that I get to live my dream every day. I am definitely ready to get back to doing these things. I'd like to blog more, and I will. I am embarking on a stretch of golf where I might play tournaments the next nine weeks in a row if I want to, and I'm excited about that. Most importantly, I'm ready to get back to realizing and appreciating that I get to live my dream every day. How cool is that! I never want to take a break from that again. 

The past two weeks have been so good for me. When I finished my last tournament two and a half weeks ago, I was feeling frustrated and down on myself. After some very intentional conversations and some great self-reflection, I'm now feel empowered to get back to work and have a lot of fun doing it. 

There are two over-arching ideas that I had allowed to rob some of the joy that I have always found in golf. The first is simply a lack of mental toughness. What I'm trying to do is hard. I compete at the highest level of golf with the best players in the world. It is going to be hard. And I don't want it any other way. I earned the right to play at the the highest level, and I don't want to be anywhere else, so I need relish the challenge that comes along with it. The second is comparing myself to other golfers. I was feeling inferior because I couldn't match areas of other players' games. I know that when I play my game well, I can succeed at the highest level. I want to strive for constant improvement, but I want to be the best version of myself and not try to be anybody else. 

So as I head back out for another stretch of doing what I love, I am going to commit to being tough and being myself. Doing these two things does not guarantee that I will have success every week, but it does give me the best chance to get my best performance out each and every week. 

There it is. That is my reflection on the the past several months. I have learned what I needed to learn, and now it is time to apply the lessons and focus on what I can control: my next shot. I am ready to go do that. And it's going to be fun!

Thank you for believing in me and following my career! Please keep it here for more updates. 

By the way, I am playing this week at the PGA Tour's Barbosol Championship in Auburn, Alabama.