moving in the right direction..

Since my last post, I have played in 2 tournaments. Both had really low scoring. This is going to be a lengthy post, hope it won't be a boring read!

In between my last event and these current 2, I was invited to play in a charity pro am. 15 professionals were asked to play in the pro am benefitting the 'Green Beret' US Special Forces. There are several organisations which allow veterans of the Special Forces to get together for events like the pro am, share stories and meet people. It was a really great couple of days, I got to hear some interesting things! I shot -1 individually, my team came 10th out of 25 teams, so not too bad. All good fun.

This time of year the 'Bent Grass' greens are struggling because of the heat. Most head green keepers have to keep them kind of slow and soft. If they didn't treat them with air and water, they would lose the greens. Augusta National stays closed throughout the summer to maintain their Bent greens. Bermuda greens, which are more common here in the southern states (and more economical), thrive in the more humid conditions but lately we haven't played any tournaments on those.

Anyway, that agronomy lesson was a long way of saying - the greens are soft, the conditions are benign, combine that with a strong group of professionals and you can guarantee low scoring.

In the first tournament at Forest Oaks, I played ok but not good enough. I didn't take advantage of my birdie opportunities when I had them and a couple of loose swings cost me badly. I shot +1 for the first round and +2 for the second. I actually played better in the second round but scored worse, that's golf! I did some hard work on my swing and had a phone conversation with my psychology coach before I headed to the next event. I am using my mental capacity better and better, a definite improvement and although I haven't had my best tee-to-green....I have been able to put some good rounds together.

My second event since my last blog entry, was this week at Mimosa Hills - another early 20th Century Donald Ross design (same designer as Pinehurst no#2 for those who didn't know...as well as many others in the Carolinas).

Round 1, I got off to a bit of a shaky start with a couple of errant tee shots. However, I got fortunate and was able to hit some good recovery shots. I birdied a couple of the easy-ish holes, so -2 for 9 steady golf. Then I bogeyed 11&12 to fall back to level. I bounced back well after those 2 bogeys and birdies 13&14, which was important for my round. I bogeyed the par 3 17th after finding a bad lie in the bunker and ended up -1 only 4 off the lead at that point.

Round 2 was better...I started on the 10th and didn't do much wrong on my front 9...I was plodding along, getting up and down when I had to save par and rolled in a couple of birdie putts to again make the turn in -2 (by which time the clouds were getting dark) I birdied the first, after a nice wedge shot, shortly before the horn sounded for suspension of play due to lightning in the area. At that point, knowing the time, I found a TV in the clubhouse and watched the England vs Uruguay nightmare. After 3 hours of watching that and waiting, we got called back on to the course to finish up. I was a little anxious to get my round finished off strong but stuck to my routine and took one shot at a time. I was able to make a birdie on the par 3 6th and finished with a slightly disappointing bogey at the last, but again bad lie in the bunker so couldn't complain. I was -4 for the 2 round and made the cut.

Round 3 was the tale of two different 9's. Teeing off on the 10th I made 2 poor bogeys on 11&13 and a triple on that bloody par 3 17th! That happened without me hitting too bad of a shot. I messed around in the bunker after getting ANOTHER terrible lie, and ended up tapping in for 6! Anyway, I didn't let it rattle me too much and kept telling myself to take each shot at a time.

The front 9 (my back 9) is where the fun started. I hit a wedge to 4 feet at the 1st, led to a birdie. A wedge to 3 feet at the 2nd, birdie. A wedge to 2 feet at the 4th, birdie. A wedge to 7 feet at the 5th, birdie. An up and down on the par 5 7th, birdie. A 6 iron to 5 feet at the par 3 9th, birdie!! So after all that, +5 after 9....I ended up shooting 29 (-6) on the back 9 and -1 for the day - a rollercoaster ride!

Round 4, I was hoping to build on the second 9 from round 3 and unfortunately couldn't quite do it. I was only -1 on my front 9 and to be honest....could have been worse if it wasn't for the short game. I made 3 more birdies on my back 9 but coupled with 2 bogeys I shot 68 (-2). A decent finish.

So this week was a couple of firsts for me; First time I've ever broken 30 for 9 holes in a tournament. First time I've ever shot 4 rounds in the 60's. Although I was a fair way off the lead in the end, I was proud of myself for that and feel this is going to be the springboard for the rest of the year. I ended up t26th on the week and made another pay cheque.

I still have a lot of work to do, mainly in the long game. I am not content with my play tee to green, it has to be better, especially on more demanding courses. I am up to the task.

My next event is a pre qualifier for the Greenbrier Classic (PGA Tour event) in West Virginia, this Thursday.

My girlfriend who has been here for the last 3 weeks sadly leaves today to go back to New Zealand for the rest of the summer. It's been great having her here and an advantage being on the bag at the last 3 events. For those wondering, I will be fine!!!

Sorry it's been such a long post. I had a lot to write.

All best,

Lee

end of may

Hi all

I had a decent week this week in Greensboro. I was finally able to put a couple of solid rounds back-to-back in order to make the cut.

I shot 3 straight rounds of 70 (E) on a tricky Pete Dye (same designer as Sawgrass) designed course. I ended up t24th so definitely making progress.

Overall, I kept the ball in play...minimised my errors and relied on my short game when I missed the greens. I didn't have my ball striking A game but my wedge and putter kept my score going. I was pleased with the way I remained in the present moment without thinking too far ahead.

Some highlights of the week:

Birdies on the par 3 2nd in both round 1&2
Holing a flop shot for birdie on 15 in final round
Driving on the front edge of the par 4 3rd (300 yards)
6/7 up and downs in the first round and 70% total for the week is pretty handy

Although this week was a step in the right direction, and I must take positives from every week. My goals are still as lofty as ever. Scraping around the cut line doesn't qualify as meeting my targets. I will continue to improve and use this as a launching pad for the summer but I am by no means satisfied or complacent.

I have a week off this week and then I will be playing back in Greensboro, NC at Forest Oaks Country Club the following week for which my girlfriend will be on the bag!

I have added a couple of pictures from this past week, to brighten up the blog a little bit.

Will update soon..

Cheers