Posts Tagged ‘reflections’

Recharging Batteries

Posted: August 30, 2014 in Blog/Life, Tournaments
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Just a quick update for you guys…I haven’t been playing much golf in these past two weeks following my tournament win.  I felt it necessary to take a week or two off after I got home from Palm Springs because I’ve been so intensely focused on playing well in the tournament for many months now that I felt I needed to take some time to just enjoy the win.  I also needed to clear my mind and reset before going full speed again with playing and practice.  Also, they haven’t posted many of the pictures from the tournament still, only ones I can find are from day 1 at the Norman course and the final day banquet. So the couple pictures you see are of our day 1 group at the Norman course and the one of me being announced as champion.

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I haven’t completely left golf alone over these past 2 week(I’m too obsessed for that), I have been to the range a couple times and did play once this past Tuesday.  I actually played real solid, played at the Vineyard with a couple friends and shot a 74(+4).  My putting, as usual is what cost me, definitely a little rusty after not putting for a week and a half…I had three 3 putts and missed a birdie putt inside of 3ft…so that’s is 4 strokes right there that I gave away.  My tee to green game was fantastic and I’m excited that I can take a week or 2 off and still have my ball striking remain solid.  For the round I hit 10/14 FW’s and 15/18 greens, but had 37 freaking putts!!  Anyway, like I said, I’m not focused on anything these past 2 weeks, still a solid score and I know what I need to work on heading back into full time practice and playing mode here again next week.

I have the idea of playing in some Golf Channel Am Tour events here in San Diego starting next year, so over the next few months I’ll be working hard to improve with that goal of playing well in those events in mind.  Have any of you guys ever played in a Golf Channel Am tour even before?? I’m curious to know what your experiences were with them, please let me know in the comments!

Back 2 Back Champion!

Posted: August 19, 2014 in Blog/Life, Golf Rounds, Tournaments
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Got home from the annual Palm Springs tournament on Sunday night and I am so happy to report to you all that I have won the tournament for the 2nd consecutive year!  Back to back championships now and I’m so thrilled!  Unfortunately, I didn’t shoot that under par round that I was hoping for and I did make some uncharacteristic mistakes (I’ll get into that later), but overall, I played some real solid golf and in the end I accomplished the main goal of winning the tournament. 

For those of you who didn’t follow me or read my posts from last year’s Palm Springs tournament, it is a 3 day event where we play courses at both PGA West and La Quinta.  This year we had a field of about 90 golfers and although most of the field was just hacking it around, there are some really solid players that play in this event.  On the final round, the top 4 leading golfers in the tournament all play together and this year’s final group found me playing against some extremely good players.  It consisted of one who played at a division 1 college team, another who qualified for the Buick Invitational PGA Tour Event here in San Diego at Torrey Pines a few years ago (it’s now called the Farmers Insurance Open) and another a scratch golfer, who plays in many USGA events and was leading me by 3 strokes…not to mention it was about 110 degrees every single day.  This was now my 4th year attending this annual tournament in the desert and I had won it the year before so I also had that little added pressure of being defending champ!    

Day 1 – PGA West – Greg Norman Course

7340_10202274327331556_5856104486717021029_nThe first day we played at the Greg Norman, a course I had never played at before and it was extremely challenging.  I’ve never played a true “desert” course like that before…it was basically only fairways and desert.  Not much rough at all, but the fairways were narrow and you had to be deadly accurate both off the tee and on your 2nd shots or you were playing from the rock hard desert or losing your ball in the shrubs.  Playing any course for the first time is always difficult, obviously why pros play practice rounds, but I played some solid golf.  I ended up shooting a 78 (+6) with only 1 birdie, but was still only 2 shots off the lead after day 1.  My ball striking was really solid, but I was disappointed in my score, I just could not figure out the Bermuda greens and putted terrible.  My lag putting was horrid!  Left countless putts 3-4 ft short, but was making most of the 2nd putts, but I did end up 3-putting twice.  I’ve never played on Bermuda greens before and it’s something totally different than what I’m used to…so slow!!  I also bogeyed two par 5’s, something I almost never do, both as a result of tee shots that found the hazards.  So that is 4 shots right there that I should have the skills to avoid, so I left a possible low score on the course, but was still right there at the top of the leader board in 3rd place.

Day 2 – PGA West – Jack Nicklaus Tournament Coursenicklaus1a

I’ve played this course each of the previous 3 years, so I have some course knowledge built up by now.  I absolutely love this course; it’s challenging yet fun, beautiful and well maintained.  This only problem this year was that the greens had been aerated, must have been a few weeks prior, they weren’t sandy, but the punched holes still slightly remained, certainly enough to affect putts.  Nonetheless, I was most confident to play this course of all the 3 because I like the layout, my scores have improved every year here and I looked forward to trying to go low on a real difficult course.  My ball striking remained solid, but I just could not take advantage of ANYTHING all day and didn’t have a single birdie, yet was still able to shoot only a 75(+3).  15 pars and 3 bogeys, one of the bogies was another 3 putt and I again bogeyed two par 5’s!! What?!? I seriously never bogey par 5’s and I had now done it 4 times in 2 rounds, was frustrating beyond belief.  With my length, I expect to be making birdie on a lot of them and certainly never making worse than par.  As I had talked about in my previous post before I left, my wedge game from 100 yards and in was my main concern and it came into play big time during this round.  I had 5 shots from the range of 90-70 yards during the round and I only hit the green once!!  That is really really bad and I was left having to scramble for par (which I did successfully) rather than having a solid look at birdie and a par almost guaranteed with an easy 2 putt.  If I want to shoot under par, I must improve that part of my game, I’ll be sure to dedicate a lot more time to that area going forward.  The low round of the day was a 73(+1) from a guy who shot 77 the first day.  The person who was leading after a first round 76 ended up dropping back quite a bit and I jumped into 2nd place heading into the final round trailing by 3 strokes.  

**Here is a video of my tee shot on the par 3 17th hole.  You can’t really see the ball flight from the video, but I hit a 9iron that I tried to draw back to the flag…it finished about 15 ft pin high left.  2 putt par.**

Day 3 Final Round – La Quinta Dunes Course

This was a big day for me, all the work I’ve been doing on my mental game was going to come into play today.  I’ve never been in a tournament final round pairing before, last year I played in a pre set up group, so this year I had some nerves cooking.  I’ve never been in that type of situation before and I knew it was going to be great experience for later on when I play in bigger tournaments going forward, like Golf Channel Am Tour Events.  I studied my yardage book the night before, devised a game plan and visualized playing the course in my mind.  I even visualized them calling my name as champion at the banquet because I believe in the theory that if the mind can see it and truly believe it, then you can achieve it!  I went in with the mindset of keeping my emotions in check and trying to just focus on playing one single shot at a time.  I wanted to get lost in the game and try to go unconscious…I wanted to be in the “zone.”  I knew which player it was that I was 3 shots behind and I knew at some point if I looked like I was gaining ground or in the lead that I would be watching his shots thinking “ok, now I must make this putt to stay 1 down or 1 up” so I tried to make sure I didn’t fall into that trap.  In a sense I didn’t want to score board watch, I wanted to come down to the 18th hole not knowing if I was leading or not.  I just wanted to stick to my game plan I set up the night before and play my game, that’s all I can do and in the end if it’s not enough to be the winner so be it. 

I’m so proud of myself, I honestly kept focused on one shot at a time, when my mind did wander a few times, I recognized it and snapped back out of it immediately.  I let go of any bad shots, maintained a positive attitude and neutral emotions and got into that elusive “zone” that golfers strive for.  I honestly had no idea of my individual score I was so much in the zone, let alone where I was in relation to the lead. I could sense that I was probably in the lead, but wasn’t sure by how much if at all.  They set it up so that our 18th hole was the 17th hole(pictured below)laquinta which is the #1 handicapped hole and I have heard the 1st or 2nd hardest hole in all of California!  It is a long dog leg left holes with water all down the left side, extremely intimidating, but I didn’t think twice and stuck to my game plan of hitting a 4 iron off the tee.  I hit it right down the middle of the fairway, where as the person I was battling the lead with took driver and hit it through the fairway into a bunker.  He had an almost impossible 2nd shot and hit it into the water.  He later told me that he was thinking in his head as he saw me pull 4 iron “wow he’s going conservative and playing it smart”  He talked himself out of doing the same, it was nice of him to tell me how impressed he was with my mental attitude, my game and how I went about playing the course.  I ended up winning by 4 strokes after being down 3 strokes going into the final round and accomplished my goal of back to back championships!!  Now my mind is already set on that 3-peat next year and shooting an under par round.  I want that under par round at that tourney, it didn’t happen this year, but I will have it!

I know this is a really long post, thanks for sticking around and taking the time to read it, thanks for all your support guys!  You are all helping me make my dreams become reality one day at a time and I hope that I can help you all go after and accomplish your dreams as well…we are in this together, you all motivate me to be better and live a life which I have imagined.  Thank you, hope you enjoyed this tournament recap!  They haven’t posted any pictures from the tournament yet, so I’ll post a few when they get released.

Driver Swing and Tournament Time

Posted: August 13, 2014 in Blog/Life, Long Game Practice, Tournaments
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Alright well I’m leaving tomorrow for the 3 day tournament in Palm Springs and I’m both excited and little nervous.  I’m more excited than nervous really, but there is a part of me that has added some unneeded pressure on my performance this year because of the unexpected success I experienced last year.  I want to go into this years tournament just like last year with no expectations of results, just purely with the mindset of sticking to my routine and focusing on trying to execute one shot at a time…if i can do that, the score will take care of itself.  Don’t get me wrong, I have my goals for this tournament (shoot an under par round), but I know it’s going to be extremely difficult and that the only way I’m going to actually accomplish that is if I stick to my routine and stay positive.  Can’t get too up or too down and I must tag the same amount of low importance on every shot, from the first tee shot to the last putt and everything in between. A lot can happen in 54 holes…I know I have the ability to shoot under par now, I know that it’s possible, so lets have a positive mind set and give it my best shot!

I’m planning on taking some videos of my swing during the tournament and some pictures of the overall event that’ll be able to share when I get back.  That is if the camera on my phone doesn’t bug out on me again like it has been for the past week or so.  It’s been freezing up lately, but I got it working last night and had a friend record my last swing at the range.  I haven’t shown you guys the progress of my swing in many months, so I thought I’d show you guys a quick down the line video of my driver.  I’m really happy that I have figured out my driver in advance of the tournament, finally found a set up that is allowing me consistent solid strikes and the ball is jumping off the face with accuracy.  Any feedback on the swing would be nice, I haven’t looked at my swing on video in awhile, It looks like I get pretty steep, but I’ve always done that naturally and right now I’m sticking with it because I’ve learned how to hit the ball well with it…I guess it doesn’t matter if the ball goes straight.

Confidence With The Short Stick

Posted: August 8, 2014 in Golf Rounds, Statistics
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PGA-West-Nicklaus-Tournament-e1300984704835I’m a far better player than I was this time last year heading into the Palm Springs tournament.  My goal last year was just to break 80 all 3 days (which I accomplished), but this year my goal has been to shoot an under par round on at least one of the 3 days.  It is going to be an incredibly difficult task, but since I’ve been able to shoot under par a few times now recently, I know truly that it’s possible and I have the ability to do it. My game seems to be peaking at exactly the perfect time…I’ve never been so confident in my short game as I am right now, especially in my putting and the results are starting to show.  I had 11 1-putts yesterday and 7 birdies in route to a (-4) 56 at the Oaks North executive course.  The changes I made in my putting last week have turned my game around 180 degrees, the ball rolling off the face perfectly, tracking and staying on line so nicely and mentally I’ve never been so confident.  My ball striking is exponentially better right now than this time last year and I have added a cut shot into my arsenal that I can hit consistently.  I’m also hitting my driver consistently well again and with my improved accuracy with my 3 and 5 woods, I’m keeping the ball in or right near the fairway on every tee shot.  The one area I would say I haven’t improved as much as I would like is my wedge game.  I’m still not consistently putting the ball on the green or close to the flag from about 120 yards and in.  That’s the one thing that scares me right now heading into this tournament as something that will stop me from shooting under par…I have to take advantage of good drives and at least give myself a realistic opportunity for birdie.  My distance control hasn’t been consistent and my miss seems to be a block.  These courses at PGA West are very difficult (same courses they play at PGA Tour Q-School) so when you get a chance with a wedge in your hand to put it close you must take advantage to score low.  That is something I’ll be working on this next week both on the course and at the range and hopefully I’ll be more confident in it heading into next weekend.

Here are my scores for this past week:

8/4/14

The Vineyard Escondido Par 70 71.0/126 6,531 Yards

Score: 72 (+2) FW: 7/14 GIR: 12/18 Putts: 31 Up/Down: 4/5 Sand Save: 1/1 Penalties: 1

8/6/14

The Vineyard Escondido Par 70 71.0/126 6,531 Yards

Score: 74 (+4) FW: 11/14 GIR: 11/18 Putts: 32 Up/Down: 5/8 Sand Save: 0/1 Penalties: 0

8/7/14

Oaks North Executive Par 60 South/North 56.8/89 3,608 Yards

Score: 56(-4) FW: 3/6 GIR: 11/18 Putts: 25 Up/Down: 4/7 Sand Saves: 1/1 Penalties: 0

Denied By The Golfing Gods

Posted: August 2, 2014 in Golf Rounds, Short Game Practice
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10550821_10101246679486357_1570307122834162756_nWow!!  Almost had my first hole in one this past week! A 149yard 9iron, just hit a perfectly flush high shot right at the flag just about a half inch to the right!  You can see how close the pitch mark is from almost flying it in the hole.  I’ve had a lot of near misses over this past year, but the golfing Gods continue to deny me!  If I keep firing these darts at the flag sticks, one day, luck willing I’ll get one to fall.

Overall, I actually had a kind of a disappointing week in terms of scores.  Hit a few drives that found the out of bounds and a couple 3 putts sprinkled in here and there during the rounds.  I’ve actually made a big turnaround in my putting since Wednesdays round however.  I’m really excited as I’ve been reading Dave Stockton’s book on putting called “Unconscious Putting” and I have had a lot of success on the practice greens since.  I’m making a TON of putts right now, anywhere from 3-15 feet and even a few longer bombs.  I played an up and down game last night at the driving range:  I threw 3 balls toward a hole on the other side of the green and then when I got up there I pulled back the balls a full club length and tried to make the putts as if they were for par.  I did this 5 times with 3 balls, so 15 total attempts and all of them I pulled back anywhere from 3-15 ft…I only missed 2 putts!!  That’s just insane and I did that on Thursday and Wednesday after my round as well, it’s like a complete 180 turn around in my putting.  Stockton talks about just picking a spot about an inch in front of the ball and just trying to roll your putt over that spot.  Obviously there is some other stuff involved too, but this has helped me keep my putts online and they are all tracking at the hole now.  I’m really excited to see how it translates to scores this next week, I know that if I get confidence in my putting I have the ability to shoot some low scores.  I’m going to need great putting in the Palm Springs tournament coming up here in 2 weeks if I want to shoot an under par round there and defend my title.  I’m confident in what I’m doing with the putter now and confidence in putting is half the battle…I’ve been close to zero confidence for so long that it’s a huge turn around for me, let’s hope I can turn it into scores! We have some thunderstorms here right now for the next few days, so I won’t be able to play or practice unfortunately till Monday.

2nd Career Under Par Round And Other Scores

Posted: July 25, 2014 in Golf Rounds, Statistics
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Golf Club and ball banner

7/21/14

The Vineyard Golf Course 6,531 Yards Par 70 (Blue: 71.0/126)

Score: 69(-1) FW: 12/14 GIR: 12/18 Putts: 29 Up/Down: 7/8 Sand Save: 0/0 Penalties: 0

My 2nd under par round!! Feels great to validate my first under par round a few weeks ago and I’m happy about how mentally focused I stayed all day.  Golf is a funny game, even though I played really well last week too, my range sessions on Thursday and Sunday night this week were terrible in my opinion.  I just couldn’t feel comfortable and wasn’t hitting many shots out the center of the face.  I was getting really frustrated with myself, as I always seem to do on the range as of late.  I see how well I’m hitting it and scoring when I’m playing rounds, but for some reason I can’t stay consistent and repeat it on the range.  Don’t get me wrong, I would much rather have it be the way it is than the other way around, but it is slightly frustrating.

Anyway, needless to say, I didn’t have a lot of confidence in my ball striking going into my round today.  I just wanted to focus on the mental aspect of my game, making sure that I went through my pre shot routine on ever shot, visualized my target and how I wanted the shot to come off and try to play unconscious golf.  I tend to get extremely mechanical on the range a lot of the time, but when I’m on the course, I’m just trying to play without any conscious thought and it really does free up my swing.  I’ve been working a lot of my mental side lately and the idea of acceptance of outcomes.

I had it at 3 under with no bogeys through the first 13 holes, but bogeyed the 14th from the fairway with only a SW in hand and 3 putted 17 for a bogey after missed a 2ft par putt.  So Disappointing finish, but I played really great and I’m happy that I could keep it at under for the round!

7/22/14

Oaks North Executive Par 60 South/North 56.8/89 3,608 Yards

Score: 58(-2) FW: 3/6 GIR: 10/18 Putts: 26 Up/Down: 7/10 Sand Saves: 1/1 Penalties: 0

Played Oaks North today, finished at 2 under 58 for the day.  I hit my irons well all day, but my putting and driving were way off.  Missed a bunch of great birdie opportunities, that’s nothing new, but I basically hooked every one of the 6 tee shots with 3 or 5 woods on the par 4s.  I seem to have lost it off the tee today where that has been a big bright spot for my game over the last 2 months consistently, so that is kind of scary.  I still ended up getting an eagle on one of the par 4s on the back, I pulled the drive, but chipped it in from right of the green!  Back to back rounds I have chipped one in, yesterday I chipped in for a birdie at the 5th and today for eagle.

I’m still missing way too many short putts, ones that are pretty straight too.  My ball is just not starting off on line and the troubling thing it is a 2 way miss, some I’ll push others I’ll pull…I need to fix this fast before my tournament in 3 weeks.

7/23/14

Woods Valley Golf Club Par 72 6,670 Yards 72.2/131

Score: 79(+7) FW: 7/14 GIR: 11/18 Putts: 36 Up/Down: 2/7 Sand Saves: 0/0 Penalties: 2

Got a couple friends together and we decided to go up to Woods Valley again and play this challenging course.  I played absolutely terrible, just did not feel comfortable all day with my stance, grip, alignment or putting.  Shot a (+7) 79 with 4 3-putts!! That’s right, FOUR 3-putts, all less than 3 ft misses.  I’ve been trying to work on my mental game and stay as positive as I can, but I just can’t when I’m missing seemingly every 3 ft putt I look at.  Despite poor shot making and putting, I was only 3 over after 9 holes, but then I promptly 3 putted the 10th from about 20ft and then 3 putted for par on the par 5 11th after hitting 2 quality shots and being only 15ft for eagle!!  That just broke me mentally and I was basically done for the rest of the round

Despite the real bad day, I’m going to keep believing in myself and working hard.  I’m focused on playing well and trying to shoot an under par round at the Palm Springs tournament in mid August.  I need to keep working to improve my mental and short game if I’m going to make that happen.  Probably won’t be able to play again until Monday, so I have 4 days to practice and improve from Wednesdays round.

Recent Round Recaps

Posted: July 17, 2014 in Golf Rounds, Statistics
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7/14/14

The Vineyard Golf Course 6,531 Yards Par 70 (Blue: 71.0/126)

Score: 70(E) FW: 12/14 GIR: 13/18 Putts: 33 Up/Down: 3/6 Sand Save: 0/1 Penalties: 0

One of my best ball striking rounds of my life today and it should have been my 2nd under par round, but I blew it by 3 putting the par 5 15th for par after sticking it about 15 ft for eagle…ridiculous!!!  I drove it great all day, 12 out of 14 fairways is the most I’ve ever had.  Gave me some great opportunities to hit it close, finished with 13GIR, should have been a bit better, but missed a couple wedges.  Was only 3 of 6 on up and downs because I missed a bunch of putts again.  Hit two of my best shots ever on the 551 yard Par 5 15th…I’ve never gotten to that green in two before as it always plays into the wind and it’s slightly uphill, but today I absolutely bombed a drive down the middle, 316.  Had 235 uphill and into the wind, took a 5 wood and hit a perfect shot, landed high and soft right at the flag and stopped 15ft for eagle!  A pretty straight putt also, little left to the right slightly uphill, I don’t know what happened mentally, but I botched it and left it a good 5ft short! Obviously I lipped out my next putt to 3 putt for par after having hit back to back great shots.  I was proud of myself for what I did on the next hole however, hardest hole on the course and I hit a 300 yard 3 wood down the middle and then an 8iron to about 6 inches!  A great bounce back tap-in birdie, but I still finished at Even for the round.  Should have been at least 1-under, but because I 3 putted the par 5, I have to live with my sadness.     

7/15/14

Oaks North Executive Par 60 South/North 56.8/89 3,608 Yards

Score: 60(E) FW: 4/6 GIR: 13/18 Putts: 32 Up/Down: 2/5 Sand Saves: 0/1 Penalties: 0

They were having the Junior Worlds over at Oaks North today for the 7-8 age group.  Saw some very talented youngsters, but I decided to play a little too so I didn’t watch much.  Ended up shooting an even par 60, ball striking continued to be very solid, but my putting continues to be a struggle.  I missed so many 6-12 foot birdie putts, just having zero confidence in my stroke right now…I need to fix this, I’m letting so many opportunities go to waste.  On a good note, I hit another awesome 5 wood to about 12ft for eagle on one of the par 4s, but lipped out the eagle.  At least I didn’t 3 putt it like the day before!  I’ll figure out this putting soon, I’m going to keep working on it.

7/16/14

The Vineyard Golf Course 6,531 Yards Par 70 (Blue: 71.0/126)

Score: 75(+5) FW: 9/14 GIR: 11/18 Putts: 31 Up/Down: 2/5 Sand Save: 0/1 Penalties: 1

A putting struggle on the front 9 missed three consecutive 4ft or less putts on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th holes…not a fun way to start out.  Hit it into the hazard on the par 3 6th and took a double bogey.  Was (+5) after 6 holes today, but played well the rest of the way to finish at only +5 for the round.  Not my best ball striking round, but still had overall solid numbers.  Started to figure out my putting near the end, so I decided to keep going and play another 9 holes before dark.

9 Holes

Score: 33(-2) FW: 5/7 GIR: 9/9 Putts: 16 Up/Down: 0/0 Sand Save: 0/0 Penalties: 0

A great way to end the night, was playing quick and maybe that actually helped me, shot a (-2) over this quick front 9 holes!  Was hitting driver actually on most holes and drove it real well and hit all 9 greens.  Found a little something in my putting setup that seemed to work and I made a couple nice birdie putts and some good par putts.  Feels good to get this under par score in to end the day, feeling good going into tomorrow.

Latest Round Recaps and Scores

Posted: July 10, 2014 in Golf Rounds, Weekly Recaps
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golf-course11I’ve been playing alright in the few weeks following my first under par round…not as great as I would like, but still solid golf.  My ball striking has been close to the same, but my putting and chipping has been spotty.  If I’m making the 3-6 footers that day then I will score low, but even when I’m not, I’m still breaking 80.  I had a close call for another under par round the other day, but finished with a +1 total round. (-1) on the front, (+2) on the back.  Had another 9 holes under par at the carmel highlands shooting a back 9 of (-1), but a front 9 of (+5)!  So yea, I’ve still got the game to shoot another under par round, maybe I’m putting a little bit of added pressure on myself to do it again to prove to myself that it wasn’t a fluke.  I want to get at least one more under par round before the palm springs tournament in 6 weeks, just going to keep trying to get a little better each day and the scores will take care of themselves.

Here are my stats for my last 6 rounds since my last post:

6/30/14

The Vineyard Golf Course 6,531 Yards Par 70 (Blue: 71.0/126)

Score: 77 (+7) FW: 7/14 GIR: 9/18 Putts: 32 Up/Down: 2/6 Sand Save: 0/3 Penalties: 1

My first round since my under par on this same course and I shot a disappointing +7.  I was just a little bit off from the tee on this day and I found a total of 5 fairway bunkers!  Never hit it in that many fairway bunkers before in a single round and I found 3 green side bunkers as well (0/3 in saves).  Still hit 50% of FW’s and Green’s, but it was a struggle of a day.

7/2/14

 The Vineyard Golf Course 6,531 Yards Par 70 (Blue: 71.0/126)

Score: 71 (+1) FW: 9/14 GIR: 10/18 Putts: 30 Up/Down: 5/7 Sand Save: 0/1 Penalties: 0

I thought that this might be my 2nd under par round, but it was not to be.  Shot a solid -1 on the front 9, but 2 over on the back.  Couldn’t convert a lot of makeable birdie opportunities down the stretch.  Had an eagle on the par 5 9th hole, which was cool, but actually had a bogey on the drivable par 4 7th, which I almost never do anymore.  I did throw a 3 putt in there as well, but either way, a very solid round that I was happy with.

7/3/14

The Crossings at Carlsbad 6,835 Yards Par 72 (Black: 72.6/132)

Score: 79 (+7) FW: 8/14 GIR: 11/18 Putts: 36 Up/Down: 1/5 Sand Save: 0/1 Penalties: 3

My friend had a couple free rounds at the Crossings in Carlsbad, a beautiful semi private club and gave me an invite.  It was so much fun, I’ve always wanted to play this course, but it is so expensive.  An extremely challenging track with multiple undulations on just about every green and with no course knowledge, it’s difficult to know where to hit it into a lot of blind greens.  I actually played much better than my score would indicate, was only +2 going into the final 5 holes, but then I fell apart.  Had 3 penalties, and a 3 putt, very disappointing ending to the round, as I played really well all day.  Played from the tips as I always do and at 6,835yards it’s one of the longest courses around this area.  Also couldn’t make any putts, I hit it really well, but 2 putted every hole except one 3 putt and one 1 putt…not good.

7/5/14

Carmel Highlands Golf Resort 6,428 Yards Par 72 (Blue: 71.4/129)

Score: 76 (+4) FW: 9/14 GIR: 9/18 Putts: 31 Up/Down: 3/9 Sand Save: 0/0 Penalties: 1

Honestly, I hit the ball well enough on this day, that I should have shot about +1 at the worst!  Missed two less than 3 footers on the first and 3rd holes, was green side in 2 on the par 5 6th, before sculling it out of a bunker that was basically concrete into a hazard and making bogey.  Had about 3 or 4 other putts that decided to lip out or die across the hole…a very frustrating round.  On a positive note after a horrible +5 41 on the front 9, I shot a (-1) on the back with a streak of birdies on 15, 16 and 17, before a bogey on 18 from only 70 yards out.

7/7/14

The Vineyard Golf Course 6,531 Yards Par 70 (Blue: 71.0/126)

Score: 75 (+5) FW: 8/14 GIR: 11/18 Putts: 33 Up/Down: 3/5 Sand Save: 0/1 Penalties: 0

Started off playing well, birding the difficult #1 hole and shooting even par 35 on the front 9, but the back 9 was a different story however.  Always difficult, the back 9 at Vineyard got the best of me…shot a disappointing +5 40, with a lot of not so good shots.  Sculled one out of the green side bunker at #13 and ended up taking a double bogey 6.  I’ve done that 2 rounds in a row because of tightly compacted sand, I keep trying to play it like a normal bunker shot, but the bounce of the club just skips off the hard dirt and sculls it.  I know now that I need to play it with a lot steeper angle of attack and a more square face…cost me the last 2 rounds.

7/9/14

The Vineyard Golf Course 6,531 Yards Par 70 (Blue: 71.0/126)

Score: 73(+3) FW: 9/14 GIR: 9/18 Putts: 28 Up/Down: 4/6 Sand Save: 0/3 Penalties: 1

A solid round of golf today, missed a few birdies coming down the stretch that I thought for sure were in when they were rolling toward the cup, but nothing wanted to drop.  I only had 28 putts today, was making a lot of putts for par, but continued to struggle out of the sand.  Had one that was buried in the lip, so I don’t expect to get that up and down, but I hit another one to about 2 and a half feet on #14 and missed the putt!  I hit a lot of solid golf shots over my last 6 holes today, so I’m feeling good for the rest of the week going forward.

I had my ups and downs over my last 6 rounds, but I feel overall I continued to strike the ball really well.  I’m now consistently hitting about 50% or more of the fairways each round now and that feels great because I have been working hard in that area of my game.  On these last 6 rounds, I was 50/84 in FW’s, just about 60%!  Just about 3 or 4 months ago, I was only hitting about 30-40% of FW’s on average, so it feels good to see this progress.  It’s giving me a lot more opportunities and my scores reflect that.  The one negative I take from these past 6 rounds is my sand game. I was 0 for 9 on sand saves, but I’d say about 5 of the 9 I hit within 10ft, but missed every putt.  It’s frustrating to not convert a couple saves from the sand and it’s getting to the point where I can’t remember the last time I did…so that’s not good!

A Dream Realized: My First Under Par Round!!

Posted: June 26, 2014 in Blog/Life, Golf Rounds
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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PIC-GOLFI saw a stat once that said less than ½ of 1% of golfers have ever shot under par.  I decided just over a year ago now to really dedicate myself and go on a journey to try and join that elite group and accomplish that dream in my heart.  After a year of consistent practice, full of up and downs, close calls and near misses, I can now say I finally broke through and shot my first regulation under par round with a 68 (-2) at the Vineyard!!  I’m so ecstatic right now guys.  Hard work really does pay off and if you have any dream that you would like to accomplish, even if it seems impossible at times, just keep telling yourself everyday that “it’s possible.”  Even when things are down and times are tough, just that belief that it’s possible can push you through anything.  Thanks to all of you who have followed my blog over this past year and supported me in this pursuit of my dream.  You guys have kept me accountable to keep working hard and to not give up on myself or my dream. Whether you have been here since day one or are just joining my journey right now, thank you for your support.  This is just the first step however, there is so much more to accomplish.  Next step is to shoot under in a tournament and get to the point where I am doing it consistently and get that handicap to zero or better.  I look forward to pushing myself and excited for what’s to come because now I’ve seen it’s truly possible!   Here is a detailed round recap of my round, haven’t done one of these for a while and I just had to for my first under par round of golf…enjoy!

The Vineyard Golf Course 6,531 Yards Par 70

Front 9

Hole 1: 420 Par 4

A very difficult straight away par 4 that always plays into the wind.  #2 handicapped hole, with hazards on both sides.  Lately I’ve been playing an iron off the tee to keep it in and laying it back short of the 150 marker and hitting a mid iron in, but today I decided to hit my 21* Hybrid.   I hit a real solid shot that just ran through the fairway on the right.  Was left with just a PW into the green from about 133 out that finished 25ft above the hole.  Quick downhill putt, but judged the first putt perfect, tap in par. Par

Round (Even)  

Hole 2: 351 Par 4

Short dogleg left with water surrounding the left and right side of fairway and green.  Hit on a 5 iron off the tee, starting it down the left and drew it back into the fairway.  Had 126 left into a slight right to left cross wind.   Hit a solid gap wedge to about 18ft for birdie.  Big breaking putt, missed it and 2 putted for my 4. Par

Round (Even)

Hole 3: 125 Par3

Short par 3, was playing about 118 today, as pin was in the back middle.  Water is in front of green and out of bounds long, a very daunting shot.  Hit a solid sand wedge to center of green, ran my first putt up the hill about 3ft by, but made the comebacker for par. Par

Round (Even)

Hole 4: 404 Par 4

Been hitting 5 wood off this tee lately because there is a big tree down the left side, if I block my tee shot my 5 wood usually keeps me far enough back that I would have enough room to go around or over.  Absolutely bombed a 5 wood today and only had 118 left into the green. 286yard 5 wood…pin was up in front so it was just 95 to front.  I tried to hit my open faced 60* that I’ve been working on, thought it was perfect,but it hit just in the front rough and stopped…2 more feet and it’s a tap in birdie.  Routine chip that I was trying to make, almost did, but ended with a tap in par…solid up and down. Par

Round (E)

Hole 5: 401 Par 4

This hole heads the same way as #1 so it also always plays into the wind, there is a bunker on the right side that I know I will be short of with my 3 wood if I slightly pull my drive.  Hit a solid shot, but pulled it to the right side of fairway…my course management paid off and it stays short of the bunker and in the fairway.  128 yards into the green, but blocked a gap wedge that finished pin high off to the left.  Had a delicate chip that I had to land on a slope and feed it to the hole, but just didn’t hit it hard enough and it came up 10ft short.  Missed the par putt for a disappointing bogey from the fairway and not too difficult of a chip. Bogey

Round (+1)

Hole 6: 152 Par 3

Pin was far right side, sets up perfectly for a nice draw into the hole.  Just hit a PW, I’m usually exactly where the pin is today, so I felt really confident, but hit it slightly off the toe and it just barely stayed out of the hazard short.  Tried to play a bump and run, but took a club less than needed and left it a good 10ft short, missed the putt for back to back bogeys. Bogey

Round (+2)

Hole 7: 295 Par 4

A sharp dog leg right hole, but gives you an angle to drive the green in 1.  Usually about 250-260 to carry the hazard and drive the green.  I know from experience that my 5 wood usually ends up just off the back and that is exactly where it finished today.  Was left with a very difficult chip however, short sided and had to play a short flop shot as the green was running away from me to the flag…just sliced it perfectly popped it up straight up right in front of me landed it in the fringe and it released down  to about 2 ft…made the birdie! Birdie

Round (+1)

Hole 8: 419 Par 4

Similar to #4, this is a narrow driving hole with a big tree to the left side that will block you out.  I’ve been hitting hybrid lately, but I found that if I block it left I’ll reach the bunker and have to play a huge cut out of a bunker, no fun.  So I just hit a 4iron today and actually did block it left, but stayed short of the bunker.  Unfortunately I was still blocked out and had to hit a big 7iron cut around the tree, but I caught the top branches.  It still got through and finished in the fairway about 40yards short of green.  Played a little 40 yard low pitch, hit it crisp, but it spun and stopped after its 2nd bounce instead of releasing a little.  Left with a fast 15ft par putt down the slope that I drained!  Huge save for me. Par

Round (+1)

Hole 9: 503 Par 5

Very reachable par 5, but there is water about 280 out…so just hit a 5 wood to stay short of it, hit a solid shot, but pulled it slightly.  Finished in the rough about 220 out on a downhill lie with a tree and water in front of me.  Played a low big draw 5iron that came off really well and finished just short of green to the right.  Pin was back left so I had a really long chip…debated what club to hit, but I chose a gap wedge, tried to land it about 1/3 onto the green and let it run out, came off perfectly and actually lipped out for eagle!!  Nice tap in birdie to get back to even.  Birdie

Round (E)

Even par 35 on the front 9.  Bad bogeys on 5 and 6, but finished 2 under over my last 3 to get it back to even.  Fairways Hit (FW): 4/7 57% Greens in Regulation (GIR): 5/9 55.5% Up/Downs: 4/6 66% Sand Saves: 0/0 Putts: 14

Back 9

Hole 10: 389 Par 4

Uphill par 4, blind 2nd shot and fairway that slopes right to left…I hit a 5 wood down the right side hoping the slope would take it left, but it had some draw on it and finished in the right rough.  Blind 2nd shot that I had to draw around another big tree about 118 yards, hit a great shot that landed just past the hole and finished about 15ft.  Hit a great putt that just didn’t turn as much left to right as I thought and it stopped inches away.  Solid par on this difficult hole. Par

Round (E)

Hole 11: 457 Par 4

This is a very difficult driving hole where the fairway bottle necks as it heads down a hill.  There is out of bounds left, but room to the right if I pull it.  I decided to hit my first driver of the day and absolutely bombed it over the hill straight and it stayed in the narrow fairway.  Only had 98 yards in, so it was a 359yard drive…hit a nice wedge to about 10ft and was left with a great uphill birdie look on this #3 handicapped hole.  I tugged the putt a hair and missed it just to the right…would have been nice to take advantage of that difficult hole, but par is fine.  Par

Round (E)

Hole 12: 154 Par 3

Another par 3 over water into the wind.  Pin was back right, hit a 9iron slightly off the toe and it finished about 35-40ft below the hole on the green.  Made a great lag putt to about a ft and tapped in for par. Par

Round (E)

Hole 13: 477 Par 4

Another long par 4 that plays downhill…took driver and hit it real solid, but blocked it left into the rough.  Downhill, downwind 2nd shot to a pin that was only 2 paces on over the bunker that guards the front of the green.  A really difficult shot, hit a gap wedge that landed just over the bunker in the rough and hopped up onto the fringe.  Short putt from the fringe about 7ft that started downhill and moved uphill at the end…drained it for a great birdie to move to -1 with 5 to play. Birdie

Round (-1)

Hole 14: 412 Par 4

Water on the left and out of bounds on the right, stuck to my normal plan of 4iron off the tee and hit a pure perfect shot.  Had only a sand wedge into the green, threw a dart in there that landed 2ft above flag, hopped and stopped about 8ft.  Another great look at birdie, slightly uphill right to left putt, but I missed it on the low side, just not enough speed and missed another great opportunity. Par

Round (-1)

Hole 15: 551 Par 5

A long uphill all the way par 5 that was also playing into the wind.  I almost never hit this fairway, but I stepped up and crushed a driver down the pipe.  Was left with 250 left and a rare chance to go for this par 5 in two.  Hit a 3 wood, but I cut it to the left just about pin high.  Had a tricky chip, had to flop it over a bunker from a downhill lie and keep it on the top shelf where the flag was located.  I pulled off a great shot and left it about 7ft away.  Stepped up and made the birdie putt to move to 2-under with just 3 to play!  Birdie

Round (-2)

Hole 16: 453 Par 4

The most difficult hole on the course according to the handicap on the scorecard….a tight uphill tee shot.  I was certainly starting to get a little nervous at this point at the thought of pulling this out, but I recognized it and made sure I only focused on the shot at hand.  Stepped up and crushed a 3 wood down the middle.  Hit a wedge pin high to the center of green.  20ft putt that actually was dead center, but I left it about 3 inches short…would of been nice, but tap in par.  Par

Round (-2)

Hole 17: 157 Par 3

On my even par round last week,  I was 1 under heading into this par 3 17th before blocking it left into the bunker and bogeying.  Pin was in the back today, but was playing as an 8iron again.  I focused, saw myself hitting the shot I wanted to hit, trusted myself and hit the best 8iron I have ever hit under that much pressure.  Just a smooth pure shot right at the flag…I asked the golfing gods for it to “be right” and it stuck right over the flag and stopped 6ft!  A straight in birdie putt to seal it…but I babied it and pushed it slightly.  Come on!! A great chance to be 3 under heading into 18th and seal my first under par round, but I guess par never hurts. Par

Round (-2)

Hole 18: 411 Par 4

Now the real drama begins…the 18th is a beautifully scenic hole heading back down the hill to the clubhouse.  At this time of day, it was also right into the sun and you really couldn’t see your tee shot at all without somebody in your groups help. The group in front was having a lot of trouble and we never really waited all day until #18.  We had to wait what literally felt like forever and I was trying to block out all the thoughts, both positive and negative, that I was on the verge of actually accomplishing my dream.  Tried to stay in the moment and finally it was our time to go.  I hit a 3wood that felt really solid, but my playing partners were saying they saw it slightly right at the fairway bunker, but it should be great.  We got up there and I couldn’t find my ball…we looked all around the bunker, nowhere to be found, I obviously couldn’t see the tee shot because you look directly into the sun so I had to rely on their eyes.  Not going to lie, I started to panic a bit inside, not wanting to have to take a penalty on 18 and risk a 6 to finish at even!  I eventually located my ball that somehow must have taken a crazy kick to the right because it finished way over the hill and only about 5yards from an out of bounds stake separating the 18th from the driving range.  Thank the golfing gods that it stayed in bounds and I was actually left with a wide open wedge to the green…knocked a 60* to about 20ft and 2 putting to sweet victory!!  Par

Round (-2)

A great (-2)33 on the par 35 back 9.  All pars and 2 birdies.  Fairways Hit (FW) 4/7 57% Green in Regulation (GIR) 8/9 88% Up/Downs 1/1 100%. Putts: 15

Final Stats:

Score: 68 (-2) FW: 8/14 GIR: 13/18 Putts: 29 Up/Down: 5/7 Sand Save: 0/0 Penalties: 0

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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

Posted: June 20, 2014 in Golf Rounds
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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1920551_10101077522044227_1894234395_n“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Reverse that and you basically summed up my golfing week.  Played a couple rounds this week at my current favorite course the Vineyard and had two completely different rounds.  On Monday the 16th, I shot a disappointing 79 (+9).  Just didn’t feel comfortable with my swing all day and could not hit it where I wanted.  Was missing greens badly even from when I managed to be in the fairways and short sided myself all day.  Stats overall actually weren’t terrible; 7 of 14 FWs and 10 of 18 greens, but was only 2 of 8 on up and downs because I was missing short side and had two 3 putts on 15 and 16.  After playing so well for the past month with consistent low scores, I was certainly frustrated with this round, but tried to keep a positive mindset and continued to believe in my abilities.

On Wednesday, I headed out to the Vineyard again for a redemption round and I found it…shooting a career low round of Even par 70!!  In practice before the round I had figured out that I had started to creep a little too close to the ball on my address, slightly adjusted it to standing a bit further from the ball and it made a huge difference.  Had it to (-1) heading into 17, but blocked an 8iron into the green side bunker on the par 3.  I dropped another ball just to practice and hit it to about 2 feet for a tap in birdie…ughh if I could have just done that when it counted I would have sealed my first regulation under par round!! Nonetheless, wasn’t able to get my first ball up and down from the bunker and bogeyed to drop back to even.

I missed so many great birdie opportunities and the two birdies that I did make on the day were long distance putts that obviously I wasn’t really expecting to go in. So it’s kind of funny, when I was actually playing the round I didn’t really feel like I had my best round ever going because I was missing so many makeable opportunities.  Missed about 3 or 4 8-12ft uphill birdie putts, only scored a par 4 on the drivable par 4 7th after I had drove it just off the back in 1 and didn’t birdie either of the par 5’s after being near the green in two on both.  So as excited as I am to shoot a new career low round of Even, it is frustrating knowing just how many shots I left out there, but I shouldn’t be focused on the negative, there will always be shots you know you should have made and that’s why golf is a mental grind.  I’m going to keep staying positive and believing in my abilities and hopefully the results will continue and I’ll squeeze that under par round in here soon.

My annual Palm Springs tournament is coming up here in less than 2 months, so I hope I can shoot an under par round before then.  One of my goals for 2014 has been to be able to shoot an under par round at the tournament this year, so I’m focused on making that happen.

Stats:

The Vineyard Escondido Par 70 71.0/126 6,531 Yards

6/16/14:

Score: 79 (+9) FW: 7/14 GIR: 10/18 Putts: 32 Up/Down: 2/8 Sand Save: 0/1 Penalties: 1

6/18/14:

Score: 70 (E) FW: 8/14 GIR: 12/18 Putts: 29 Up/Down: 4/5 Sand Save: 1/2 Penalties: 1

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