Little Mountain

The latest stop was Little Mountain, where we enjoyed another 6.5 hour round. The bachelor party ahead of us (again), and cart path only made time creep along. Luckily, I enjoyed the time with my playing partners, but was eager to get home.

My mental experiment paid dividends, as I played one side well at 42, but struggled on two holes, and got into a mammoth bunker that was hard to get out of. I drove the ball much better, but suffered a bit from 100 and in. Putting was definitely better, as I had birdie chances. My game is coming around, I just have to play more. It's hard with a son and a wedding to plan - happy events!

Next is a scramble on Saturday for Our Shepard Lutheran School. It will be fun - especially knowing that my shots can be bad at times! We get 4 chances fir every shot! Good fun! Glad to see the warm weather - maybe we will actually get off of the cart path! :)

Boulder Creek

Boulder Creek was the last stop of the Golf Channel Amatuer Tour. We started playing #10 first, as the was a bachelor party on the front nine. SIX AND A HALF HOURS later, I finished my round. Again, it was cart path only, so I expected it to be slow, but not that slow. I teed off at 12 PM and finished at 6:30. Wow!

I tried using my new mental approach, and it worked, except for a few times when I became frustrated at outside instances (most notable the group behind us being off the cart path), which led to a higher back nine. I went out in a respectable 42, and got a birdie on the signature 17th island hole. Other thoughts got the best of me on the back, but I did hit the pin from 133 out and got a bad break. Our last two holes just beat the approaching thunderstorm, and that didn't help my score either. Again, a decent score, but not good enough to win.

The next tournament is Saturday at Little Mountain. I will really try to stay out of the bunkers there - they are enormous! My mental outlook continues to improve! I need to also work on my short putting - 4 feet and in. I feel it's costing my strokes....

I hope we can get out of "cart path only" sometime in June! Email me with questions and comments!

New look at 9...

I had the opportunity to play 9 this week, when the weather was approaching 80 and the carts were crossing at 90 degrees. I tried to use my new mantra - to forget about the score, and it worked to an extent. My problem is, my game is still erratic due to the long wet spring. I have been to the range 3-4 times, and have played 3 rounds total. I feel that my new clubs will come around the more that I use them. I feel comfortable with them.

I also got some advice about bunker play, and used it to make a nice shot. Alas, I missed the putt. As my irons are a bit off, I need to work some more on my bunker play so it is not a hindrance to my game. This week's tournament is at Boulder Creek, and I will be playing with the same people as last time. I hope the results are better! I will have a better frame of mind!

Look for my posts to increase as the school year ends! It is hard to it all and keep a full-time job! :)

As. always, email me with your questions and comments!

Tournament 2....and the agony of defeat....

Tournament 2 occurred at Sawmill Creek in Huron. I have stayed there before, but never played golf there before. It is a Tom Fazio design, relatively open, and it thought that I might do well. I did in fact do well, but the experience left a bitter taste in my mouth - due to my own play.

I was playing OK throughout the round - except for the par 3's. I really need to work on my bunker play, as it is erratic at best, and kept me from shooting an even better round. I am still adjusting to the new clubs I bought, and when I hit them right, the are pure, but I still am struggling a bit. Putting has improved from the last tournament - up until the last hole...but I digress.

The course was VERY wet, so it was lift, clean, and place throughout the golf course. That helped immensely in the rough. I finished with 5 pars in a row on the back until the dreaded 18th hole. This is where things turned for the worse. I was 99 out and just need to get a respectable score - and ended with a 7!? My approach was 10 yards short of the green on the shaved area, so I thought I would putt. My adrenalin was flowing, and I hit the putt past the hole, over on to the back fringe. I then three putted from there, giving me a 7 when I was 99 yards out in 2.

This put me in a playoff where I had a nice drive down the middle, but pulled the approach into a bunker. I did not hit a great bunker shot, and had about 50 feet for a birdie. Again, 3 putts later, and I finished 1 stroke behind to lose when I was up by 3 going into the last hole.

Here's what I learned - play your own game...I have heard this before, and have not heeded it. Many times in competition, I am too worried about what my competitors are doing, and what score I need to win. Saturday I finally learned my lesson the hard way - worry about trying to get the best score possible on each hole, and treat each hole by itself. If I would have done that, I would have won going away, instead of being in a playoff and losing. I'll work on that for the next Tournament - May 14th at Boulder Creek...We will see how my mental focus improves...It made for a long drive home from Huron!