During my mini-break of 2010 here at the end, I'm filled with a sense of drive and impatience as I eagerly await the November 15th restart date for my practice and fitness training. On the one hand I want to kick start this thing tomorrow, hit the range for hours, start my fitness routine right away but I've come to learn over time that by having a proper plan with contingencies(as we all know, life throws obstacles out every day) you can better accommodate those changes. With this new season comes a new approach. Since my return from nationals I've made one tiny adjustment in my takeaway and have found a comfort zone for consistency or better explained, a "go to" swing that I previously have never had before. This off season is going to be focusing on ingraining that swing to muscle memory first and foremost. Just as important is to gain consistency from 100yds in. I believe that I can shave about 5-7 strokes off my hdcp this season with a combination of hard work and extreme focus! That would put me at a 2-4 hdcp by end of 2011 and keep my on pace with my original goals and time line. It is going to be a busy off season, filled with highs and lows but the best part is going to be the journey. I want to enjoy the great and learn from the bad and come out in 2012 with a new purpose! I will post another blog the day my journey into 2011 continues in two weeks, so stay tuned, this is going to get interesting!!
Fairways and Greens to all!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
perception is not the exception but the reality
Hello everyone,
First and foremost i would like thank everyone who has supported me so far in this journey!
To my family and friends, thank you so much for your love and support. It is just the beginning and I would not be able to keep this going if not for you.!!
to my buddy Kev,
Huge congrats on your solid second place finish!
To Chris,
great season had, solid top 25 finish!!
If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter(Akrueger1479) then you are aware of my poor showing at the Golf Channel Am tour nationals. I felt coming into the tournament that my game and my ever developing swing were making significant progress. At first glance when the tournament was complete and I was on the 5hr flight home, I thought long and hard about everything. contemplated many things, quitting the game, taking a year off, trying to golf right handed(LOL)etc...After all that thought and misery I wound up coming to a simple conclusion based on an old memory that resurfaced, coming from my youthful days as a PBA caliber bowler. When I was about 11-12 years old(too much damage to the brain to remember the exact date), I had a moment when I knew I could play that game on a very high level. I had about a 155 average at the time to start the season, wound up getting to know the pro shop guy pretty well and became a knowledge sponge, soaking up any and all information bowling related that I could, I would bike to the bowling alley after school every day, work until 5:30 then practice what they were preaching until they kicked me off for leagues. By the end of the season I was averaging 198, shot my first 600 series followed by my first 700 series a year later. About the age of 16 I was averaging about 215, and have been told i was considered one of the top junior bowlers in the state at that time. This point was made clear by my consistant showings in the midwest scratch am scolarship tournament, 16th and 12th out of some 250+ bowlers two years in a row. then comes junior nationals, feeling very confident about my game, I was exposed as "not ready for prime time". I didn't finish poorly but I was no where near where I thought I should be. this corralation can be directly made to my golf game as well. Entering nationals I was filled with a tremendous sense of over confidence due to my swing changes. Fact is my swing was so bad, any change was going to be good. I had not developed the muscle memory or consistency to perform at a high enough level to compete for 4 days on some of the toughest courses in the country. It was not for a total lack of effort but I believe much more could have been done to properly prepare, both mentally and physically. Now, I am very happy and lucky to have had such a fantastic lesson taught to me by this experience. Each time we are faced with adversity in life and on the course, the easy thing to do is quit, walk away, take the easy path, well, in my humble opinion, true success in life as it is in golf, comes from determining what you want, and setting out to achieve that goal. Pushing through all the obsticles, working through the failures, enjoying the successes, or as one of my favorite quotes talks about difficulty and greatness:
"It's supposed to be hard. If it was easy everyone would do it. It's the hard, that makes it great!"
I know that I can get to where I want to be, i just have to make sure I don't detour from my course. This off season is going to be a very busy one for me. Many more hours honing the fundamentals of my golf swing, learning more about mental game, fitness will be a HUGE factor this off season as well as planning and preparation. I have a very good feeling about the upcoming off-season, I feel you play like you practice so I will begin to practice to play!
I feel the following quote sums up my current state of mind so I will end this entry with it:
“Life's real failure is when you do not realize how close you were to success when you gave up.”
Fairways and greens!
First and foremost i would like thank everyone who has supported me so far in this journey!
To my family and friends, thank you so much for your love and support. It is just the beginning and I would not be able to keep this going if not for you.!!
to my buddy Kev,
Huge congrats on your solid second place finish!
To Chris,
great season had, solid top 25 finish!!
If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter(Akrueger1479) then you are aware of my poor showing at the Golf Channel Am tour nationals. I felt coming into the tournament that my game and my ever developing swing were making significant progress. At first glance when the tournament was complete and I was on the 5hr flight home, I thought long and hard about everything. contemplated many things, quitting the game, taking a year off, trying to golf right handed(LOL)etc...After all that thought and misery I wound up coming to a simple conclusion based on an old memory that resurfaced, coming from my youthful days as a PBA caliber bowler. When I was about 11-12 years old(too much damage to the brain to remember the exact date), I had a moment when I knew I could play that game on a very high level. I had about a 155 average at the time to start the season, wound up getting to know the pro shop guy pretty well and became a knowledge sponge, soaking up any and all information bowling related that I could, I would bike to the bowling alley after school every day, work until 5:30 then practice what they were preaching until they kicked me off for leagues. By the end of the season I was averaging 198, shot my first 600 series followed by my first 700 series a year later. About the age of 16 I was averaging about 215, and have been told i was considered one of the top junior bowlers in the state at that time. This point was made clear by my consistant showings in the midwest scratch am scolarship tournament, 16th and 12th out of some 250+ bowlers two years in a row. then comes junior nationals, feeling very confident about my game, I was exposed as "not ready for prime time". I didn't finish poorly but I was no where near where I thought I should be. this corralation can be directly made to my golf game as well. Entering nationals I was filled with a tremendous sense of over confidence due to my swing changes. Fact is my swing was so bad, any change was going to be good. I had not developed the muscle memory or consistency to perform at a high enough level to compete for 4 days on some of the toughest courses in the country. It was not for a total lack of effort but I believe much more could have been done to properly prepare, both mentally and physically. Now, I am very happy and lucky to have had such a fantastic lesson taught to me by this experience. Each time we are faced with adversity in life and on the course, the easy thing to do is quit, walk away, take the easy path, well, in my humble opinion, true success in life as it is in golf, comes from determining what you want, and setting out to achieve that goal. Pushing through all the obsticles, working through the failures, enjoying the successes, or as one of my favorite quotes talks about difficulty and greatness:
"It's supposed to be hard. If it was easy everyone would do it. It's the hard, that makes it great!"
I know that I can get to where I want to be, i just have to make sure I don't detour from my course. This off season is going to be a very busy one for me. Many more hours honing the fundamentals of my golf swing, learning more about mental game, fitness will be a HUGE factor this off season as well as planning and preparation. I have a very good feeling about the upcoming off-season, I feel you play like you practice so I will begin to practice to play!
I feel the following quote sums up my current state of mind so I will end this entry with it:
“Life's real failure is when you do not realize how close you were to success when you gave up.”
Fairways and greens!
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