Tournament 1 in the books...

Well, I completed my first tournament on Saturday at Olde Stonewall in Mercer, PA. A really great course - lots of elevation changes, and some water here and there, both in the form of both rivers and lakes. My score was OK, but above where a 16 handicapper should be. I finished 3rd in my flight, and left a few shots on the course.

The course conditions were good considering the amount of rain that we have had this spring. I was presently surprised by the fact that the range was open, and able to be in use. I did that, and putted for about 20 minutes on the practice green, then headed for the first tee with no sign of the other 2 parts of my threesome for the day.

The fact that I did not see or hear of them until the first tee should have given me a bit of foreshadowing toward the scope of how my day was going to proceed. My two playing partners did not help my game, and I did my best to ignore them, and do my best and concentrate on having a great time at a nice course. I intend to discuss them (and other pet peeves) in a later post, but lets just say they were not conducive to having the best time possible on the course.

Speaking of the course, I did have 4 birdie putts (none converted), but did have 2 nice long putts over 10 feet that went in. Unfortunately, I also had 2 four putts (OUCH - I hate to even 3 putt), so I was not happy about that. Our tour director did mention to us on the first tee that the staff double cut and double rolled the greens, and they were running about 11-12. Thanks for that. My 2 four putts were on the front, and were a direct result of me being frustrated and not taking my time. I got it together on the back and only had one 3 putt on the back.

Overall, not too bad, although I have noticed I have to slow down now getting through the ball, or it goes left. My P90X workouts have made me stronger, so now I have to slow down. I went to the range Tuesday night, and fixed some things there - most notably the swing thought of keeping the back of my left hand through the target through impact. I also did a lot of putting.

This Saturday - Tournament #2 at Sawmill Creek. Looking to get a lower score, and strike the ball better given the amount of rain in the area. Let me know if you have any questions!