Getting Excited!

So I'm back in East Tennessee. It's not exactly warm, but warm enough and I've been out the last couple of days and have been having some good practice. I'm feeling good and I'm really excited to keep getting better!

Motivation

I seldom need anything extra to motivate me, but since coming up just short at the second stage of Q-school, I've been content to take a little time off and recharge. The great practice I had last week was enough to get my juices flowing again, but the combination of some cold weather and the uncertainty of my upcoming tournament schedule have weakened my motivation for good practice sessions the past few days. I have been able to get out on the golf course to walk a few holes, but highs in the mid-30's and decent winds have shortened my productivity.

I officially signed up for the Egolf Professional Tour (more commonly called the TarHeel Tour) today. I will try to play a fairly full schedule on the TarHeel tour in 2010. This mini-tour plays 18 events and stays in four states, between Savannah, GA, and Charlottesville, VA. Heading into its fourth year, the TarHeel tour is gaining a reputation as being the mini-tour with the best pay-out and the one that plays the best golf courses. Having officially signed up motivates me. The TarHeel tour is not exactly where I want to be, but I'm going to go out there and be the leading money winner on that Tour next year!

Although that might not happen because I might monday qualify for a Nationwide Tour Event early in the year and play well enough in that to stay on the Nationwide Tour for the year! That is a long shot but a definite possibility!

While the weather is bum, I'm still going to keep getting better. I've been working out and running, so I feel good physically. I'm going to be a little bit patient with the weather as I'll be in Missouri for a few more days and then East Tennessee until after Christmas, but I'm sure I'll be able to get out and practice some. After Christmas, I'll be more serious about finding good practice conditions, and I'll get back into full-length practice sessions.

I'm excited for next year. I think I'm going to make something happen. I know that I have to work and keep getting better so that I'll be ready to take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself, but I'm ready and happy to do that!

Great Practice! ...Lousy Weather

I had an awesome practice session on Tuesday!

Bobbo and I spent a couple of hours together working on some stuff on the driving range and around the chipping green. I was hitting it awesome on the range, and I feel like a slight change we made in my chipping is really going to help me. Then I completed a couple of different putting drills with ease and played a few holes. It was a perfect day of practice and has me excited to keep working on it.

Unfortunately, the weather is kind of lousy. A terrible forecast in East Tennessee prompted a quick trip back to the Midwest, but, as one might expect this time of year, Missouri is no bargain weather-wise either. Now I remember why I am searching for a place to live in Florida!

I'm not sure how long I'll stay in Missouri, but I do know that I will probably be in either Missouri or Tennessee through the Christmas holiday, so I'm not going to let a little cold weather keep me from getting better. While I shy away from practicing too much with numb hands and five layers of clothes, I'll find some time to get out and do some practicing, but I'll also be honing my physical skills in the gym and my mental game by reading good books.

I'm excited to keep getting better, and I'm not going to let some winter weather stop me!

Recharged!

I'm ready to get back to work! After a great Thanksgiving with family in Maryland, I'm home in Tennessee and ready to start working on my game again. The five-day holiday from playing and practicing was good for me, and I'm already excited to get back to playing and practicing!

Still no definite plans as to when I'll compete again, but in all likelihood it will be shortly after the new year. I'm going to visit with Bobbo tomorrow to make sure that my practice is on the right track, and then I'll get back to fine-tuning all aspects of my game to make sure that I am ready to go make my break happen in 2010!

I love what I do, and I'm still excited to go get better at it!

Regrouping

For the first time in a very long time, I'm taking a few days away from the clubs. I'm in Washington D.C. right now with my sister getting ready to head over to my dad's parents house in Maryland for Thanksgiving. Should be a good time to relax with the family and eat some really good food!

I'm still running and working out this week, but other than a casual round of golf today in D.C., I'll be leaving the clubs in the car. I love to practice and can do it everyday, but I think a few days away from it will be refreshing. I'll get back into it in full force next week.

I'm trying to decide where I'll be doing most of my competing next year now that I know I will not be starting the year with a PGA or Nationwide Tour card. I will likely join a couple of mini-tours, though I will definitely be entering some Monday qualifiers early and often throughout the year. It is not unrealistic to think that I could get into a Nationwide Event and play well enough to keep myself out there for a while. My focus will be on being ready to compete and win every week so that if an opportunity presents itself, I will be ready to take advantage.

I'm going to keep getting better. I'm excited to continue working on my game and getting sharper in all areas. I'm not sure when I'll tee it up in competition again, but I will be the best player I've ever been when that happens!

BUMMER at Second Stage

A bogey-free final round was certainly what I had in mind as I headed into the final round of the second stage of Q-school. I got that, though I was hoping for a few more birdies than the three I made today. It was a final round 69, though it looks like that will leave me four shots short of advancing to the next stage.

I shot 72, 72, 71, 69 for a four under par total of 284. I'm going to finish tied for 42nd, and it looks like -8 will be tied for 20th, which is the number that advances to the next stage.

I'm definitely bummed right now. I know I am plenty good enough to have advanced this week, so it is frustrating that I won't be going on, but I'm pretty sure that I'll look back on this as a positive experience in a couple of days.

I'm going to keep working. I don't exactly know what I'm going to do from here, but I'll figure out that in the near future. I do know that I'm going to keep getting better!

Stage 2; Round 3

Well, I have my work cut out for me now. I actually felt pretty confident heading into round three, but I just couldn't get anything going and shot a one-under par 71 on a day when scores were pretty low. It looks like eight under par will likely be right around the 20th spot after tomorrow, and I'm tied for 50th at one under.

Bleak? Yes, but it sure will be a sweet feeling if I'm able to pull it off. I know that I can do it. I can shoot a 65 on this golf course without doing anything special if I execute the easy shots well and get a few putts to fall. I'm going to try to go out tomorrow and enjoy the challenge of every shot, and I hope that at the end of the day it totals up to something that is good enough to allow me to advance.

It's been frustrating in a lot of ways this week, but I'm learning a lot and I'm still having a lot of fun. I'm going to keep having fun tomorrow and if I play well, I may just get this done. It's a long shot, but in 19 hours I could have a ticket to the final stage of PGA Tour Q-school. I'm excited!