Posts Tagged ‘believe’

PGA Tour Stat Averages

Posted: March 28, 2014 in Golf Rounds, Long Game Practice, Short Game Practice
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images (3)Hello everyone, been a few months I know, but I have still been on the grind playing/practicing golf and I think it is time I give you all a recap of how I’ve been playing.  Over the past 2 months, I have made an effort to focus on my putting and chipping to try and raise my Up and Down stats. After playing with different ball positions and seeing how it affected the strike, height and spin of the wedges, I found that playing the ball off my back ankle when chipping gave me a consistent solid strike with solid spin.  I was able to control the height of the shot with my hand positions and club face angle.  For my putting, I started to create a consistent and repeatable putting routine….check the break from behind the ball, line up my mark to that spot, practice strokes while looking at hole to get distance feel, club face down feet together, look at hole while separating feet, one last look at hole, forward press and go.  My lag putting has gotten a lot better; I have only 3 putted twice in the last 3 rounds, made a ton of putts from 5ft and in and a solid amount from that 8-20 range.

My focus now is to try and raise my stats to PGA Tour averages, if I can do that or get close to those numbers than the scores will take care of themselves.  That under par round that I have been chasing is only going to come when my score is almost an afterthought.  The current PGA Tour Stat Averages are FW: 60% GIR: 67% Up and Down%: 57%.  Obviously they are playing much longer, narrower and more difficult courses, so I should aim to get much higher than those, but if I just reach these stats, with solid putting, I should be shooting under par.  I have been inputting scores into a website since about 2010 and currently I have 90 rounds in there and my stats are as follows.  FW: 39% GIR: 50% Up and Down%: 29%.  Because I have 90 rounds already logged, even with me playing at my best level ever right now, it is going to take a lot of consistently solid rounds to move these numbers significantly.  Just to give you a barometer of how I’m playing currently over my last 3 rounds my stats are as follows: FW:  23/43 53% GIR: 27/54 50% Up and Down% 11/18 61%.  I am playing well off the tee right now, been a big point of emphasis for me and my driver and woods have been solid, that number could be a lot higher as a lot of the fairways I missed where not by much at all.  The GIR of 50% is disappointing, especially since I am hitting more fairways, my wedge game has been off lately and I’m missing greens that I should easily hit.  My up and down % has gone from 29% to 61% since making the change to my putting and chipping so I’m excited to keep tine tuning that and get those numbers even higher.

My last two scores have been a +2 (74) at Double Tree and +5 (77) at Carmel Mountain from the tip Black Tees.  It was my first time ever playing from the blacks there as I have always wanted to, Carmel Mountain is a very challenging course, 6599 yards 73.2/133 slope from the tips with lots of out of bounds and tight fairways.  I’m really proud of the way I played there, should have been a lot better than +5, but could only make 1 birdie.

I’ll update again soon, doesn’t look like I’ll be able to play another round until next week sometime, so I’ll be hitting up the range over the next few days, hopefully I can continue my solid play.

First Golf Lesson in 5 Months

Posted: February 1, 2014 in Lessons
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Over the past 5 months since my tournament win, my golf game could be accurately described as a roller coaster ride…the ups and downs interchanging about every 2-3 weeks with only one half of my game playing well at any given time.  If my driving and iron play was descent one round, my short game and putting would be terrible, the next round the opposite would be true.  I have tried months where I only focus on the mental game, visualization and not swing mechanics with variable success.  My confidence could be at an all time high after ball striking well for a week, but if I hit a few bad shots in a row, my confidence drops close to 0% and before you know it, I’m lost.   It had been over 5 months since I last went in for a lesson with my coach and I could feel that I was falling back into my old habits.  I tried to go at this alone for the past few months thinking I could keep building on my successes and that was mistake.  I had no basis for what I was doing correctly or wrong in my swing, if I started to lose my swing, I had nothing to revert back to that I knew was correct.  I was essentially playing blindly these past few months with no stable base, so I was much over due for a lesson and boy I’m glad I went and did it.

Took the lesson with my teacher Justin Hicks over at Stadium Golf Center in San Diego yesterday the 31st and my improvement was almost immediate.  We found that I had indeed reverted back to my old habits of setting up with my feet and shoulders open to the target with my club faced closed.  The ball position was slightly too far back and was one of the causes to my ball starting out left (I’m lefty) of my intended target line.  Also I was back to shifting my body too far forward in the downswing.  It is funny how to me setting up square to the target line feels extremely closed at address because I’m so used to thinking my old stance (that was actually open) was square.  This is going to take a few range sessions to get used to, but soon it will become normal.  I am already hitting the ball so much better and I’m really excited to have a foundation now that I can build and improve upon.  I’m eager to get out and play with my new swing, but it will have to wait a few days because the forecast here is calling for rain the next 2 days, so won’t be able to get out and play until Tuesday/Wednesday.   My teacher made a video recap of my lesson with him that you can watch here below.  I have also linked his website under his name for anybody who would like to check out his site, I highly recommend him as a teacher if you are in the San Diego area.

2014 Farmers Insurance Open

Posted: January 23, 2014 in Blog/Life, Golf Rounds
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Like I updated in my previous post, was unable to play on Saturday when my plans fell through, but was able to go out and play today over at Carmel Highlands and I shot an 80 (+8).  I struck the ball very well, but short game again killed me and I had six 3-putts….that’s right SIX!!  I know where I will be all next week and that is on the putting and chipping greens, I am hitting the ball well enough to shoot low to mid 70’s every time right now.  Getting my short game  tightened up is going to help me lower my scores quickly.

I went to the Farmers Insurance Open here at Torrey Pines in San Diego yesterday and had a blast.  I went to the Wednesday Pro Am, it’s the only day you can take video of the players and I got some great footage.  If you have never had a chance to see the PGA Tour live and in person, you can’t really grasp how good they are.  These guys truly are on a different level, it’s a joy to watch and  it sure gives me motivation to try and hit it as well as they do one day.  I edited my videos together into a nice 1080p compilation for you guys, got a lot of the best players in the world, so here is the video, enjoy!

Weekly Update, 2 Vineyard Rounds

Posted: January 17, 2014 in Golf Rounds
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Golf-Photo-19f881bQuick update since it has been about a week…I played a couple rounds since last post with some mixed results.  Played on the 8th at Vineyard and shot a solid 77 (+7) with three 3-putts.  My last round on the 15th, I played at Vineyard again, but I shot my highest round in a long time with a very bad 86 (+16).  Funny thing is I actually feel really positive about my game right now and I feel like the score of 86 is just an outlier.  My short game is costing me so many strokes I can’t even count, Four 3-putts in this round and only 4/14 on up and downs attempts as I only hit 2 GIR’s all day.  That was mostly due to the high winds and semi erratic driving that left me with basically no chance to hit a lot of greens.

I’m playing tomorrow and I’ll probably update on Sunday about how I played, but I’m actually super confident going into tomorrow even after coming off my worst scoring round in a long time.  The stats might look terrible, but I actually hit a lot of solid shots and my work at the range since has been real solid.  It’s hard to explain I guess, but I really feel like my game is improving.  I’m starting to ingrain a consistent pre shot routine and now that I’m playing more often, I’m starting to understand my golf swing and the feelings associated with good and bad strikes.  I’m honestly not too concerned with scores right now, just as long as I’m continuing to improve certain aspects of my game, the low scores will come and take care of themselves.  I’ve dedicated a lot more time to practicing my short game the past few days and will continue going forward as that will be what lowers my scores the quickest.  I’ll update again on Sunday and let you know how I played tomorrow.

UPDATE 1/20/14: Unfortunately my plans to play Saturday fell through late Friday night and was unable to get out and play.  Will be going to the PGA Tour Farmers Insurance Open here at Torrey Pines this week and I’ll take some pictures and video from Wednesdays practice rounds for you all to enjoy, so stay tuned!

First Rounds of 2014

Posted: January 7, 2014 in Golf Rounds
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On New Year Day, after posting my 2014 golfing goals, I headed out to Oaks North, my local executive course, to get my first official 2014 golf round in.  I hope that this round is a reflection of what’s to come in 2014 because I hit the ball amazing!  Hit officially a total of 14 GIR’s, but had two more that were just on the fringe where I was able to putt, so really closer to 16/18 GIRs.  Been working on standing a little further away from the ball at address, feels like a much more comfortable position and it is allowing my arms to really move through the hitting area more freely.  Ball is starting more down my intended starting line with a nice very tiny draw that was pin seeking all day.  The Achilles heel for my game right now is my short game, my putting in particular, it has been terrible.  Both my lag putting and short putts have been bad and as a result I have been 3 putting like crazy.  This round, despite almost hitting 16 greens in regulation, featured four 3-putts and only two birdies, resulting in a +4 total round.  Having more 3 putts than 1 putts in a round is just not going to be conducive to shooting low.  I think a good bit of what’s wrong with my putting could just be mental, but I’m playing on Saturday at a course where last time I played, I had 40+ putts, so let’s hope I can putt a little better than last time.

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Carmel Highlands #5 Tee

061513152655On Saturday the 4th, I met a friend over at Carmel Highlands and played a round at the Par 72 course. Carmel Highlands is a tough tree lined course with really fast sloping greens, it is not in the best of shape right now, lots of dead patches, sandy lies and hardpan just off the fairways and greens.   Makes for a difficult track, but I continued to hit the ball well, however my short game really cost me again.  Shot a disappointing (+9) 81, had two more 3 putts and two double bogeys, both of them coming after I was in the middle of the fairway off the tee.  Hit 10 GIR’s, but was 0/8 on up and downs where I missed the green.   I know now for sure the area of my game where I’m losing the most strokes and I can improve my scores tremendously quickly if I can just tightening up my short game from about 100yards and in.  Having a really great and solid short game is the only way I’m ever going to get to scratch, I’m honestly hitting the ball well enough right now to shoot in the low to mid 70’s every time, so a lot more hours on the practice green is in my future.

2014 Golfing Goals

Posted: January 1, 2014 in Blog/Life
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NY2014blog1Well that certainly crept up on us fast huh? It is now the start of a brand new year, 2014 and I am happy to see it.  I’ll admit I’m the type of person who is a sucker for New Year’s resolutions.  The start of the New Year always fills my mind with so many possibilities, the chance to start fresh and refocus myself on my new goals.  I’d say I’m almost always at my most positive and creative state on December 31st, of course like most, that heightened state of mind slowly dissipates a few weeks later with the realization that truly reaching your goals is going to be a tough, harsh, mental and physical grind, but I’m ready.

Before I talk about my 2014 goals, I should probably do a quick recap of my 2013.  I started this blog at the end of May, so I’ve been at it for a full 7 months now, but in the past couple I have only been focusing on golf and not this blog.  In 2014, I will stay consistent in updating this blog because my hope when starting this blog was to entertain and possible help others who had similar dreams and interests, but also to feed off your viewership as a way to hold myself accountable to not only better my golf game, but better myself as a person as well.  In 2013, I accomplished one of my big goals and that was to win at the annual 3-day Palm Springs golf tournament.  Finishing 1st and beating a field of 85 players was an amazing feeling and I’m very proud of myself for staying focused and playing well under pressure.  My other main goal for the 2013 was to shoot an under par round of golf on a regulation course.  Unfortunately, I fell just short of that goal, posting a few +1 and +2 rounds, but had multiple 3-putts that cost me that under par round.  Had a round, at one of the most difficult courses I’ve ever played this year, where I shot +1 with three 3-putts…eliminate those and it’s a (-2) round.  Not all is lost however, I did manage to shoot a 4-under round at an executive course just about a month and a half ago and in some aspects, it can be considered tougher to shoot under on an executive because of the amount of par 3’s, where you must hit it close in order to score.  4-under par anywhere I feel like is a respectable score, so I actually consider this goal somewhat accomplished.  Those were my two big main goals this past year and I’m really pleased that I was pretty much able to accomplish both.

So now I head into 2014 and I’m ready to tackle it with full force.  This is going to be the most demanding year of my life; I will push myself harder and further out of my comfort zone than I have ever been before.  It will no doubt be uncomfortable and difficult, but I know that if I put in the effort and hard work, endure the struggles and sacrifices, that I will see myself accomplish the things that I can only dream about now and start to truly fulfill my potential.

I only have 3 main golf goals for this year of 2014 as of now and I’ll add more as my progress goes along, but for now here they are:

1)      Win our annual work tournament in April/May.  It is a scramble style tournament and my team and I have shot (-10) each of the past 2 years and come in 2nd and 3rd.  This will be our 3rd time playing and I want to win this tournament badly.  I will definitely have to improve my game over the next 4-5 months if we want to win as a lot of the shots will fall on my shoulders.  We will have to shoot in the 50’s to win and if I play my best, I feel we can for sure accomplish that.

2)      Improve on my scores from last year in Palm Springs and shoot an under par round at the tournament.  Even though I won this past year, my short game was abysmal and I could have easily shot a lot lower if that part of my game was sharp.  So my goal is to not only win again obviously, but to improve my total score and have one of the rounds be under par…that would be amazing.  The tournament isn’t until August 2014, so I have 8 months to practice and I think I will be able to sneak a couple under par round of golf into my game by then, hopefully!

3)      To play in and win a Golf Channel Amateur Tour Event.  I’ve wanted to play in these events for the past 2 years now, but have been hesitant to make this next step until I felt like my golf game was strong enough.  Truly it’s more just about nerves than anything else, so my goal is to step out of my comfort zone and play in a few tour events this year.  My plan is to focus on practice for a few months and then play some events starting in April.

So those are my top 3 golfing goals for the year 2014, besides the obvious one of trying to get down my handicap to scratch.  I will also aim to update this blog a lot more frequently, thinking at least 2 times a week going forward like I did when I first started.  I’m sorry I have not put the time and effort into this blog as I had intended, one post a month is just not right.464192

Thank you to all of my viewers for the wonderful encouraging comments you guys have provided in 2013, they really do help me in staying positive and focused on accomplishing my goals and dreams and I hope you all stick around, follow and enjoy my golf journey in 2014.

I’d like to end this post by asking what are your golfing goals for the year 2014? I’d like to hear them in the comments below and I wish you all the best with them.  I hope that this blog can possibly be a source of encouragement or help for you as we both head down that mysterious path together that accompanies that journey to accomplishing dreams, cheers!

Unlocking a Key to My Swing

Posted: October 22, 2013 in Golf Rounds, Long Game Practice
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It has almost been a month since I have updated this blog, I apologize for lack of content, but I haven’t been able to actually play many golf rounds in these past few weeks.  I have been going to the range a few times a week, but that is about all I have been doing, no real short game practice.  I have however, in the past week, had a serious breakthrough with my full swing.  I have talked about in previous posts that my miss in my golf swing tends to be that I become too “stuck” from the inside.  Getting stuck on the downswing produces inconsistent contact, mostly off the toe or thin and produces a block or pull ball flight.  I have known that this is my problem for a few months now and I have been working intently to correct it, but was not able to find a consistent fix.  I would analyze pro golfer swings on TV and the internet and then cross reference it with my own swing in the mirror and video.  I looked up numerous videos on how to fix getting too steep on the downswing, but nothing seemed to work.  It became a constant game of trial and error at the driving range…continually trying one fix and if it did not work, finding a new one in a few days and repeat.  Some would work for a few days or a week, hell I even won a large field tournament doing this a few months ago, but I knew that I was not comfortable with my swing.  I knew my mechanics were not sound and that I was relying solely on timing alone and that was not going to help me produce the consistent results I wanted.   If my timing was on for that day, I could hit the ball great, but ultimately my bad mechanics would catch up with me, cause inconsistent contact and then before you know it frustration sets in and I lose my swing all over again and feel lost.

Then a few weeks ago I stumbled upon a new video that was recently posted on YouTube called “how to stop getting stuck” I watched it and it all just clicked for me.   I have known the positions I was supposed to get into for months now, but just could not find a way to get the feeling.  This video broke down the downswing in the simplest way possible, basically just talking about feeling as though your back elbow stays in front of your shirt seam on the downswing.  It made a lot of sense to me and I noticed when going back and looking at pro golfers swings they all were doing the same.  I worked on the feeling in the mirror for a bit and then went to test it at the range…..haven’t hit the ball better in my whole life!  I even had groups of people at the range come up and stand behind me to watch.  Not only was my contact more consistent, but more importantly the quality of strikes was drastically better.  My accuracy improved tremendously and my swing felt free flowing and repeatable.  My new swing has held up so far over these past 2 weeks, some of my best range sessions ever and finally got to take my swing to the course yesterday where I shot a 76, hitting 7/14 FW’s (missed 3 by just a yard) and hit 11/18 greens.  My ball striking was great and my confidence is now riding at an all time high.  I should have shot better than 76, but my short game was terrible…haven’t been putting in the time needed on that front recently so that is expected to be a little rusty.  The great thing is that I do not have to worry about getting my elbow in front of my shirt seam or anything mechanical while I’m swinging; it is starting to get ingrained in my swing now from practice, almost second nature already.  It’s a great feeling when you can just go out and truly trust your swing when playing, not having to think about mechanics at all.  I have never really had that feeling of true trust on the course until yesterday and it felt great.

I’m still a long ways out from being scratch and in no way am I saying that I have solved the golf swing, but for me, I feel like I have made a major breakthrough and discovered a key to MY golf swing that I can go back to if needed to get consistent results.  I’m excited to keep fine tuning my swing over the next few months with my teacher, who I plan to see again in the next few weeks, as it’s been a good couple months.  Ultimately, I know that my short game is going to be the key to get me down to scratch and I intend to rededicate myself to more hours of practice on that front.  I’m still hopeful that I can reach my goal of shooting an under par round of golf by the end of this year and I know improving my short game is the only way I’m going to get there.  Also I’ll be updated this blog on a more consistent basis, no more 1 month breaks I promise!

EDIT: 11/11/13 I have been getting multiple requests to post the video where I saw the tip that helped me, so I will post it here, but please note like I said in the previous post and the reason why I really avoided posting it originally is that it helped me in finding a key feeling to MY swing that I had been searching for and it probably won’t apply to everyone.  Obviously there is no one golf swing fix, every swing is different and as others are at different stages of developing there own swings you need to see a PGA Professional to help diagnose the keys to your swing that you are missing.  These videos were free clips posted on a YouTube channel that I stumbled upon from the instructor Clay Ballard over at RotarySwing.com, so if you find it useful go check out his YouTube channel or website.

10 Day Break/Reset = Great Golf?

Posted: September 24, 2013 in Blog/Life, Golf Rounds
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I decided to take about a week and a half off from playing golf, clear my head and reset before getting back to the grind.  I played a lot of golf gearing up for my tournament in Palm Springs and the hard work certainly paid off with my victory, so I felt like I needed/earned a short break.  I have played 2 rounds now since my 10 days off and I think the reset has really helped me.  I shot a 74 (+4) last week and yesterday I shot a 72 (+2) round with a triple and double bogey!  Both rounds were at the Par 70 Vineyard course. I’m really playing some solid golf right now, but still making too many mistakes that are costing me that under par round of golf.

20130924_12401420130924_124003During my (+4) 74 round, I had 2 penalties and three 3 putts, easily could have been my under par round.  Yesterdays (+2) 72, had 4 penalties, a triple bogey 7 on #2 and a double bogey 5 of #3……the other 16 holes I played in (-3)!  It’s frustrating knowing just how close I am to shooting my first under par round of golf, it’s right there, I can taste it, I just need to eliminate the stupid mistakes.  Of course that’s much easier said than done, golf is one of the hardest sports on earth for a reason, it is so difficult to remain consistent.  However, I am determined to get my under par round of golf, it is crazy to think that according to the USGA less then ½ of 1% of golfers can shoot under par…I want in that elite group so badly and one day I will be.  I’m making a lot of birdies lately which is really encouraging, I have 7 birdies and an eagle over my last 2 rounds.  If I keep the ball in play off the tee, eliminate the occasional 3 putts and maintain my solid up and down game, I should be easily under par.  20130924_12404320130924_124120I’ll be playing a round on Wednesday at Eagle Crest, a very challenging course; have not played there in a while, so I’m hoping for another solid round.  I did shoot (-1) on the back 9 the last time I did play there, about 6 months ago and my game is much better than it was then, so you never know!

                                                               

Palm Springs Photos and Weekly Practice

Posted: September 6, 2013 in Blog/Life, Long Game Practice, Short Game Practice, Tournaments
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#18th Tee Mountain Course

**Here are some of the pictures taken at the tournament in Palm Springs few weeks ago.  The PGA West courses in Palm Springs are beautiful and it was a real treat to get to experience golf at some of the finest courses in the US.**

Spent most of my time this week at the range working on my long game to try and stop my shifting forward in my downswing.  It’s something that my coach identified as a problem months ago when I first started getting lessons again, but I could never fully grasp the correct “feeling.”  I dedicated myself this week to finding that feeling as I know that I have fallen back into my bad habit of shifting forward with my hips instead of turning through on the downswing…and it causes me to have real inconsistent contact with an either push or big draw ball flight.   I feel like now I have finally figured out the correct feeling and my swing feels a lot smoother and my contact is A LOT better.  Worked in front of a mirror, with swing analysis video on my phone and at the range and I’m seeing great positive results.

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Me putting on #18 Dunes Course

I played a round with my friend on Wednesday over at the Vineyard to try and take my practice to the course and see how it would hold up during a round.  I shot a disappointing 79, but my ball striking with my irons was really solid and my ball flight was a lot more accurate than it has been.  My only problem this round was off the tee with my driver.  I hit every single drive solid, with distance, it was just leaking left.  I found the out of bounds off the tee 4 times on Wednesday, causing me to have 3 double bogeys.  b1dfab579a60ec73ca8d4ebdbb0b10e9So I know what I need to work on again and it is straightening out my driver, the contact and distance is there, but I can feel I’m coming slightly over the top, now I just need to find the correct slot and that should straighten it out.  Worked last night at the range for a bit and my driver was getting a lot better, still slightly leaking left, but definitely straightening out.

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Chipping

My short game is the best it’s ever been right now, I’m really confident in what I’m doing with my putter.  I’m finally getting consistent solid contact in the center of the putter face and it has greatly improved my distance control.  The ball is rolling off the putter face as it should and my green reading is improving also.  I’m the most confident I have ever been on the greens right now and I hope to keep it going

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Our Group Day #2 at the Dunes Course

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get out and play this weekend, but hopefully next week I can get out 2-3 times and play some solid golf.  If I keep hitting the ball like I am and straighten out that driver, I feel like I can go real low, let’s make it happen!

Being Congratulated on the Victory

Being Congratulated on the Victory

The Winner of the 3-day Palm Springs Tournament Is….

Posted: August 24, 2013 in Blog/Life, Golf Rounds, Tournaments
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….ME!! 

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My View of the Nicklaus Course on Day 1

YES!! I’m still slightly in shock that I was able to win the tournament in Palm Springs this past week!  It was my 3rd time attending the tourney and ever since my 1st a few years back, it has been a big goal of mine to get my game good enough to try and win, so this is a big accomplishment for me mentally.  It proves to me that hard work and dedication really do pay off.  I did not play as well as I know I’m capable of, left a lot of shots out there due to short game, yet it was still just enough to get the job done as I beat the field of 85 by just 1 shot by the end of Sunday!

**I have been putting off writing a post about the tourney yet  because I have been waiting for them to post the pictures, but I think it’s time I at least clue you guys in and let you guys know that I actually won the thing!** 

It was a 3 day tournament in Palm Springs20130816_141930…Day 1 we played at the PGA West Jack Nicklaus Course20130824_103829, it was 110 degrees and I shot a 79 (+7), putting me tied in 2nd place after day one (low score of day was a 75).  This round was actually really disappointing for me, we started on hole #5 on a shotgun start and I was at Even par through my first 11 holes and then went +7 over my last 7 holes to finish.  I think the heat got to me near the end.  I was hitting the ball great all day, but near the end I started missing greens and could not get up and down to save my life.  Went 0-5 on up and down over my last 7 holes and had a 3 putt.  So even with the very disappointing finish to the first day, I was still only 4 shots back from the lead and feeling good.

20130824_103916 20130824_103926Final Stats for Nicklaus Course: Score: 79 (+7) Fairways Hit (FW) 7/14 50% Green in Regulation (GIR) 8/18 44% Up/Downs 2/9 22%. Sand Saves 0/0 0% Penalties: 0 Putts: 33

Day 2 we played at the La Quinta Dunes Course20130824_103953 and I tied for the low round of the day with a solid (+3) 75!  We started on hole #14 on the shotgun start and something amazing happened…..the first two holes, back to back, I chipped in for birdie!  Both were great chips that one hopped and fell into the cup, it was crazy and missed a 3rd on the next hole by an inch.  So that start was a nice treat, but unfortunately I was not able to make another birdie the entire day, but played solid golf to only finish at +3.  I doubled #17 which is the #1 handicapped hole, perfectly in the fairway, but I blocked my 7 iron and it found the water left of the green.  I did not hit the ball well off the tee this day, but my short game was a lot better and as a result I finished the day tied for the lead going into Sunday!

20130824_10402020130824_104007Final Stats for Dunes Course: Score: 75 (+3) Fairways Hit (FW) 4/14 29% Green in Regulation (GIR) 9/18 50% Up/Downs 5/7 71%. Sand Saves 0/1 0% Penalties: 1 Putts: 27

Day 3 (Final) we played at the La Quinta Mountain Course20130824_104047, my first time ever playing at this course.  It is a beautiful course, literally carved into the la quinta mountain side and it even features an island green, only it’s surrounded by rocks and not water like at Sawgrass.  We started on #14, the 2nd handicapped hole and I hit it to about 12 ft for birdie…..then I promptly 3 putted for a bogey, ridiculous!  I was very upset at myself, but I think in a way it almost freed me up to just go out and play and not worry about score or winning and just let the chips fall where they may.  I hit a lot of close shots for birdie, but could not convert a lot of them, missed 10 ft birdies on #15 and #17 and even a 3 ft birdie on #1, horrible!  I was +4 after my first 7 holes, but still striking the ball well.  I was able to make some clutch putts coming down the stretch, a few birdies and finished my last 11 holes at just +1.  I had no clue that my score of 77 (+5) was going to be good enough to win the tournament.  We all gathered back in the clubhouse to hand in our scorecards and that was when I was told that I had won the tournament by 1 shot!  I was in shock as the other person I was tied with on the final day had shot a 78.  Needless to say you can tell that this was not the most difficult tournament, as my final 3 day total of 231 (+15) won, but I’m still extremely proud to top the field of 85 players and happy to accomplishing a big goal of mine.  We played on the same courses where they play the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, the rough was long and fluffy and it was 110 degrees + every single day.  The Golf Channel Am Tour events will be more difficult and significant to win, but this win is a real confidence booster for me and a big stepping stone in my journey to become a scratch golfer.  My goal for next year at this tournament is to shoot an under par round, I believe if I keep putting in the time and effort, I can make it happen!

20130824_10405720130824_104104 Final Stats for Mountain Course: Score: 77 (+5) Fairways Hit (FW) 9/14 64% Green in Regulation (GIR) 10/18 55% Up/Downs 1/5 20%. Sand Saves 0/1 0% Penalties: 2 Putts: 32

**I will be posting pictures of the tournament when they release them so stayed tuned in the next week.**

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