Conditioning my Strength and Conditioning

As I lay at home some nights and ponder my next step in the process of achieving scratch golf, I feel a weakness, or perhaps better put, a lack of energy on a daily basis. As I search and try to find solutions to all my issues I seem to continue to overlook the most simple and controllable of all the skill sets to master......FITNESS! I write before you today a man who has finally come to terms with LAZY! Nutrition and fitness should be as second nature as breathing but alas they are neglected each and every day! My focus beginning 1/1/11 is to incorporate a complete fitness and diet regimen into my daily routine, above and beyond the range time. It's time to eliminate all options for error other than pure swing flaws and focus. Fitness MUST become a part of my life that cannot be overlooked or passed over for any reason, it must be a priority! I'm 36lbs lighter than I was a year ago and for a person of my body type that is a big no-no! I WILL regain my strength, I WILL regain my energy levels, and I WILL not accept anything less than complete success!!!

Fairways and Greens!!

Off to the races!

Hello all and welcome to the first edition of the 2011 season(yes, two weeks early but the golf tournament season has begun!). Beginning with the good news this past weekends tournament was one to remember for sure! It began rather sketchy as I started the day double bogey-triple bogey and then the heavy rains came. As the round went on and I was able to get rid of the nerves I began to strike the ball with incredible accuracy. The confidence growing with each hole, each shot was better and better, shaping just as I envisioned them. As the rains continued and increased, putting became more of an act of will to simply 2 putt which became my goal no matter the distance, as standing water on the green was the theme of the day. As the round progressed the rain grew more steady, now sideways, blown by a wind so brutal, the rocks were screaming! Coming up to 17 I needed to par out for an 80 which I assumed would more than carry a victory on this day. playing into a 25-35mile per hour wind driven rain, it becomes a bit difficult to select a club. it was a short par 4 so normally a 4iron-5iron was the club, but I chose 3 wood to make sure I did not have a blind shot. The wind as it has impeccable timing, calmed down right as I made contact with the ball and the tee shot wound up behind a tree on the right side of the fairway. As I came to the ball I saw that I did have a shot at the green but needed to keep the ball low. As I lined up the shot I noticed a river developing on the green right at the hole. I thought, miss on the high side, two putt and move on. I hit a great shot, just on the fringe on the high side. By the time we arrived at the green, the whole was full of water and the river was right in my line. three putts later i am standing on 18th tee just looking forward to getting out of the weather. As I post an 81 in the clubhouse and look up at the scoreboard I see I'm tied with 3 other folks for first place. We head back out for the playoff and find standing water again on the green, 3 inch pond in front of my ball impeding my line. After some debate and discussion, I decide its too cold and too wet to worry so I three putt again through the river take my bogey, wish the rest of the guys good luck, take my second place and head to the warmth of the clubhouse. Checking the rules, I was indeed entitled to relief but there really was no where to take it. I was very happy with the overall performance. One really important step I need to take going forward is to find a way to channel the nerves on the first 4 holes, give me simply bogey on those firs two and I shot 78. Lessons to be learned from every situation. Heading to Palm Springs for Christmas to play some golf and hang out with some great friends! Hope everyone has a great holiday break.

Fairways and Greens!

Attitude is everything

Hello again blog-ville! Apologies for the lack of updates here, I was down and out for a while with the flu which caused the first cancellation of a tournament in my short career but I'm back!! I've had a great couple weeks for golf. My practice time has been limited but the quality of practice has been much better, more focused on short game now. I have found a better feel for my chipping and pitching. The release of the ball after it contacts the ground still gets me from time to time but I'm slowly developing a better feel for what the ball will do when I apply different shots to it, and also what it will do according to the conditions, type of grass, slope and speed of greens. My putting is getting better by the day. I have more trust in my new grip and have found a way to keep the tempo of the putting stroke more consistent. In addition to my short game work, I have added a new move to my ever evolving swing. While demoing clubs I was able to get a swing assessment from a PGA pro and after going over with him what I have been working on he gave me one free tip, I needed to "set" the club better at the top of my back swing to be more consistent with the swing plane, also adds a bit of lag and thus, a few more yards! Now I simply lift the club as I start my back swing, picture using my left index finger on the grip like I would be pulling the trigger of a gun(or hinging the wrist as they say) as I begin the swing, that allows the club to set much easier at the top of the swing and will also assist with limiting my forward tilt. I have played a few rounds since making this adjustment and it seems very comfortable right now and the results have been quite positive. Next tournament is this weekend, Sunday, December 19th at MT. Woodson. I've heard from some guys that the course is very narrow and requires high accuracy over distance(course only plays 6,000yds from the tips). So many 3wds and Hybrids will be swung this weekend. Lets get the season started off on a good note!!

Fairways and Greens!