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

update

Hi all,

I thought I'd better update the blog. Its been a couple of weeks so here we go;

In summary, my game has not been great of late. My short game has been decent and I have shown signs of positive play but overall my ball striking has been way off the mark in the last 3 weeks.

1. I made an error with the course selection for my US Open local qualifier. I didn't play my best golf, but I just couldn't get the greens, after a while the bumpy but quick surfaces got the better of my putting stroke which filtered into my long game. I started well and was dealing with it alright.... -2 through 8 holes.... but faded and played some poor stuff on the back 9. I didn't qualify unfortunately.

2. Next was the Web.com Monday qualifier in Rocky Mount, NC - a Donald Ross designed golf course. I was starting on the 10th hole, hit my tee shot to the right, chipped out to the fairway and then pulled a 4 iron, onto the cart path next to the green and out of bounds... A re-load after that, ended up with a triple bogey on my first hole. With these qualifiers requiring such a low score to qualify, I was already snookered. I hit my second shot over the back of the next and all of a sudden +4 through 2 holes :/ I actually played pretty good golf after that, level par for the remaining 16 but constantly fighting my swing..6/9 up and down saves helped but I wasn't going to qualify putting for par all day after that start.

3. Third update to report: Willow Creek Open. Nice course, got some good notes from my pal Tommy Everest who has played the course several times in his time in High Point, NC. If my swing would have accompanied me, I could well have challenged for the title. Unfortunately, a serious case of the lefts replaced my normal swing. I have been working on thinking less about the swing and more externally but was struggling with that. I bogeyed my last 2 holes in round 1 to shoot +5. In the second round I was just trying to find something on the range before hand and go with it. Luckily I did find something, I birdied all the par 5's and ground out a 70 (-2) to remind myself that I can still play this game. I holed some putts which was nice including a 40-foot par saver on the 5th.

I am going to take a day off from golf  tomorrow and possibly on Saturday. I have played nearly 300 holes this month so far and feel a break would help. I am going to speak with my swing coach soon and see if we can iron out a few of these swing issues.

I have an E-golf tournament in Greensboro next week. I am planning a more positive blog post after that! I will get to spend some time with my girlfriend starting next week...maybe she'll give me the kick up the arse I need!!! It'll come soon.

Cheers for following.

Lee

No Wells Fargo but heading in the right direction...

I played today in my first ever PGA Tour Monday Qualifier.

I got off to a slowish start, not hitting the ball that great but made 6 straight pars to begin with. On the 7th, I got a little bit of a flyer from the semi rough and went long - unable to save par. Then I didn't make birdie on the par 5 8th. So +1 through the first 8....not really the quick start I was after.

I saved par from the bunker on the 235 yard par 3 9th and then really started to play some good golf on the back 9 where I hit every fairway and every green in regulation. I was only able to get 2 birdies including one on the 18th. I ended up 69 (-1) - more like the scoring I am used to!

There were only 4 qualifying spots available from ~100 players and the mark was at -6 or better...a pretty tall order, but I'll make it with a great round sooner or later.

I'm happy with the work I have been doing and I'm definitely heading in the right direction. I'm thinking better and swinging better so good things will come..

I tee it up again on Wednesday in the Columbia Open, South Carolina.

Follow www.egolfprofessionaltour.com for scoring, I will also be updating my blog at the conclusion.

Next up after that will be U.S Open qualifying...Vamos!

A glimmer..

OK, first of all... I am sorry I haven't posted in about 3 or so weeks. It isn't really difficult to post regular updates, I just wasn't sure what I could say that you all didn't already know.

St James tournament was not very good. I was getting pretty down on myself both on the course and off it. My scoring was way off in the tournament and to be honest it seems like a long time ago. You have to use failure as fuel, you can't let it affect you negatively and that's what I've been working on. I have got over that now and begun moving forward.

In the past couple of weeks I've covered quite a lot of ground. I read a book called 'elite minds' by Dr Stan Beecham which was introduced to me by my girlfriend. Stan is a psychologist based in Atlanta, Georgia. After reading his book I decided to contact him and to see if it was at all possible to work with him.... after speaking on Monday, I travelled down 4 hours to Atlanta on Tuesday and spent the afternoon working with him. I learned so much and addressed a lot of the issues I have. Every golfer has a team around them and I finally establishing one of my own. I am looking forward to working with him in the future.

I got to put some of the work we have done into practice at the Wells Fargo pre-qualifier today. I shot 71 (+1) and was just enough to qualify for the Monday qualifier. I am now one quality round away from making my PGA Tour debut. It will be tough as there are only 4 spots up for grabs in a ~150 player field but my best golf is good enough so I will be trusting it. Today I made a 20 foot putt to birdie the 18th and qualify by 1 shot so I think that is a very good sign.

My schedule is set to get very busy so I will be updating my blog soon.

Cheers

Lee

Cowans Ford Open

I was hitting the ball very nicely in the lead up to the event at Cowans Ford. For the most part, I was driving the ball well and flagging my irons. My putting has been a little off, the greens at Raintree have been holo-tined so it has been difficult to do much constructive practice. However, I know that I am a great putter with a nice stroke so it will come back around, I just need to get the confidence up.

My practice round was hampered by a hail storm so I only managed to play 12 holes and walk the rest which wasn't ideal but better than nothing, I wasn't going to freeze to death! 

I got off to a decent start in round 1. I birdied the par 5 first and then threatened birdie at the next 5 holes without getting anything to drop (perfect Bent Grass greens by the way)....a par at 6 was followed by a slight misjudgement of the wind at the 8th which led to a bogey (missing a straight 5 footer). I made par at the 9th and turned at a respectable level par. Hitting all but 1 of the greens in regulation.

I got up and down for par at 10 (one of my few up and downs of the tournament)...and then made what turned out to be a good bogey at 11 after pulling my 4 iron into a bad spot on the 220 yard par 3. My first real poor swing of the day came at 13, where I missed the fairway left and went into a ditch....a bogey followed and +2 through 13. 2 great shots into the par 5 15 but only a par to show for it. Then a bogey on 17...hitting 6 iron straight into the sun I came out of it, and another failed attempt at an up and down. I finished the round at 75 (+3) not too bad on a windy day but really felt like I got nothing from my round.

Round 2 was a story of 2 sides to my game. Great off the tee, crap everywhere else! I hit 12/14 fairways and the 2 that missed were by 2 yards. I really was not able to get anything to drop, my short game was vacant and I really scored badly. I was level par thru the 16th (my 7th)....misjudged the wind on 17 and my normally terrific bunker game couldn't save me...so +1. The par 5 18th (my 9th) was where my round really came apart. I had 270 yards to the green for my second, and thought with a really hard 3 wood, I could get home...I suppose I was a little too aggressive because I made a bad swing and blocked it right and ended up out of bounds, 20 or so yards right of the green. I made par with the second ball but that cost me a double and +3 for the round.

The back 9 was mostly packed with great driving, and bad short game. I couldn't get anything in the hole for love nor money. I was again happy with my patience...I didn't let anything get the better of me but in the end I finished up +7 for the round. Very surprising, especially given how I drove it.

Like every event I try to take positives away, and I will. I haven't driven the ball this well in ages so I am happy about that. I have always had a good short game so I am not too concerned. I will continue to put in the hours at practice to get better. You can't really score if your short game is somewhere else. I plan to practice that a lot in the coming week.

Since the event ended, I have got new clubs. I have jumped ship to PING. I went to get fit for my new clubs in Atlanta a few weeks ago and finally they arrived last week after having them made in Phoenix, Arizona. I have got a G25 driver, i25 3 wood and G25 20 degree hybrid. I have gone for the s55 irons. They feel great and I now know that the clubs fit me 100% so I can gain optimum performance.

I am leaving next Sunday to go to St James Plantation. I will be playing a Pro-Am on Monday and then the tournament will begin Wednesday.

Stay tuned for more details and thanks again for following.

Sorry it's a lengthy post (will try to condense in future)!!

Lee

End of a very tough couple of weeks

I got back home yesterday from my first trip on the road this year, and a very below par performance.

In conditions that should have been in my favour, I wasn't anywhere near up to the standard required to be successful at this level. There were glimpses of good play and I will take what positives I can from the 2 events but there is a lot of work to be done.

My 2nd round was split into 2 parts. 11 holes and 7 holes......The 11 holes were in wind and rain and in all honesty some really poor errors...soon enough I had reached +9! So anyway, after that...I came back the next day after suspension of play and played some decent stuff. Hit the last 7 greens in regulation and shot level par for those holes with a 3-putt on 17. So as I said, every cloud! I did get a positive from the round.

I am not sure I was quite prepared as well as I could be, playing no competitive golf since October. I certainly did put in hours over the break but rust was obvious these 2 weeks.

Mentally I did feel more relaxed than I remember being last year. I am definitely more focused on the process than the 'what if's' and nerves from last year. Something I would like to improve is being quick to curse a bad break or a silly mistake. I have to remain more level headed which has always been an advantage I have over others. I know that hard work accompanied with a good temperament (not too high on the highs and not too low on the lows) will lead to success.

With all that being said....it wasn't just the times I was caught napping this week....I didn't execute the shots I wanted to. My ball flight was too inconsistent and no matter your mental condition you have to be able to keep the ball on the golf course!

I am actually going to have a revamp in my equipment. I won't say which company I am going with yet until it goes through but I am going to get fully fitted through my bag. I am due for this and think I will benefit from it hugely.

In order to give myself time to adjust to the new equipment and ready myself to compete again I will be missing the NorthStone Open and my next event will be the Cowans Ford Open starting on the 26th March. That will give me a good 2 weeks preparation and be ready to go again. I have approximately 24 tournaments on the schedule and I feel that a little time will do me the world of good.

Thanks all for following. I will update you soon.

Lee