Happy New Year

Music - "Aude Lang Syne"

Gustavus to be featured on "College Central"

There is some exciting news coming from my alma mater, Gustauvs Adolphus. The Golf Channel has decided to feature the Gustauvs men's and women's golf program on their show, College Central. I believe it will be the first Division III program to be featured. Here's the release that I received saying when the show will air:

A Golf Channel crew was on campus in late August to film the segment. Here are the air times; all times are eastern time:

Wednesday, September 27, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, September 28, 4:30 p.m.
Friday, September 29, 2:30 a.m.
Friday, September 29, 5:30 a.m.
Friday, September 29, 9:30 a.m.

Just one note about the times, I looked online and found that the shows will be on at 5:30 central instead of 6:30. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I'll be watching at 5:30 in case that is when it's on.

If you receive the golf channel on your tv package, check it out.

EDIT: (5:35 pm, Tuesday)
I just found out that the show will be on at 5:30. So disregard the times listed above. They are off by 2 hours. Wednesday night at 5:30 will be the first airing.

Neil

New Music Friday

Last weekend in Nebraska I got off to a good start, but played poorly the rest of the tournament. I shot a 70 in round one, but it was spread out over two days. After finishing round one on Saturday morning, I had a short break before beginning round two. After Saturday, I stood at 148 (70-78). On Sunday, I played ok through 11 holes, but played the last 7 holes 10 over par, finishing with an 82. And just to make things better, after playing that horrendously I had a 7.5 hour drive home! That's a fun way to conclude your weekend.

I choose not to play the event in Georgia. The primary decision was travel. If I didn't enjoy the 7.5 hour drive home from Nebraska, I certainly wouldn't have enjoyed the 20 hour drive to Georgia and then the 21 hour drive from Georgia to River Falls.

Without the event in Georgia, I thought I was done for the year. That changed Thursday night. Friday afternoon I'll be playing in the Hillcrest Country Club Pro-Am. This time, Hillcrest Country Club is in St. Paul, not Eau Claire like it was a few weekends ago. I love Hillcrest Country Club (in St. Paul) because it's an old style course with wonderful greens and rolling fairways. Unfortunately if you look outside, you'll notice the weather isn't good weather to play golf in. I'll just put on my rain suit and enjoy the course.

As for the new music, I received some feedback after posting the other songs. I have several new songs and some new recordings of old songs. A change for this set of songs is that I'm playing saxophone on some of them. "Between The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea", "Over The Rainbow with Sax", and "Autumn Leaves with Sax" all have me playing the sax, playing piano, as well as recording the Bass, Guitar, and Flute parts.

"Danny Boy" and "Danny Boy 2" are the same songs, but different versions. The first is me playing an electric piano and the second playing a grand piano. Listening to both is a good example of how the sound of the piano makes a difference in the style I play. The electric piano has much more short notes that aren't connected where as the grand piano is much smoother (especially the 2nd time through the melody).

"Over The Rainbow with Sax" was recorded on the first take. There are a few mistakes early on, but I liked the rest of it so I didn't record another take.

Here's a link to the new music. This one's a link to the old music. Feel free to download the songs or just listen to them via the internet.

For those of you working today, have fun. I'm going to go catch a cold playing golf.

Neil

Where Did All The Sunshine Go?

I looked at the forecast on Friday night and had a hard time believing it would only get to 65 degrees the next day. Boy, was the forecast right. On Saturday, I teed off at 9:44 and I actually brought a pair of mittens onto the course because my hands were so cold. I also put on an extra layer, meaning I was wearing a mock-turtleneck, polo shirt, and wind-jacket. Just two days prior I was wearing shorts and a polo shirt. It was quite a change and a big adjustment was needed. Wearing that many extra layers restricts the golf swing and I never felt it more than on the first hole on Saturday. I didn't hit any balls to warm up, and my first tee shot was dead into the wind. I had stretched, I had swung clubs to warm up, but my first swing felt like it had been months since I last hit a ball. My shot was pulled left and hooked even farther left. My swing kind of felt like I was wearing a straight jacket.

After that crazy first shot, I warmed up quickly and got into a pretty good rhythm. I made a great birdie on the 14th hole and another one of the 16th. A few pars after that and I had a 70 in round one. That put me in a tie for first.

Sunday's weather was very similar except there were small patches of sprinkles making it feel even colder. I was in the last group and the whole group seemed to feel the pressure of being at the top of the leaderboard. I never really found a rhythm on Sunday. I lost a ball on #6, but managed to save a bogey. Later on #15, I had a one shot lead and I hit my drive in the river and made bogey. The next hole my birdie putt lipped out and my opponent made his birdie. It wasn't a bad stroke, I just miss read the putt. I had the exact same putt on #17 and got the same result. A good stroke with good speed that just didn't break as much as I thought it would and it lipped out. For the day, I ended with a 75 and lost by one shot.

After the weekend, there are a lot of positive and negative things I can take from both rounds. Let me list the negatives first, then I'll make myself feel better with the positives.

• Come Sunday, the swing I had on Saturday had disappeared and I was struggling to find a new one. All year, I've had a difficult time carrying momentum from one day to the next.
• My nerves were shot and I played like I've never been in the situation of leading a golf tournament. At least I wasn't the only one; my whole group was feeling the nerves and struggling to get into a comfortable rhythm.
• I failed to get up and down to save par on #17 despite being 5 feet off the green on the fringe and only 70 feet from the pin. That put me 2 behind with only one to go.

Now the positives:

• My round on Saturday included several quality up and down saves. I've been working hard the last few weeks on my short game and to see the improvement in competition felt great.
• After missing a 5 foot putt on #11 (on Saturday), I one putted 5 of the remaining 7 greens.
• On Sunday, I was 2/2 on sand saves. One was a short short of only 20 feet, but the other one was a long shot around 80 feet that required me to fly the ball at least 50 feet. Just like my short game, I've been working on my sand game and have seen improvement in practice and now in competition.
• I shot under par, which I haven't done in competition very much this year.

Next up: Nebraska State Open From there, I'll travel to Valdosta, GA. That will be an easy trip. Don't be surprised if there's another crazy trip into my mind and eventually Georgia.

Remington Ste Neil Johnson

CVGA Extravaganza

This website needs some music. It's become boring without it; at least for me. The continued talk about inconceivable mistakes that I've made on the golf course have left me slaphappy enough to take drastic measures. I only have three remaining tournaments before I:

1. prepare myself for the winter off
2. try to forget about the poor golf I've played this summer
3. find some shred of optimism that I can carry over into the winter and next year
4. continue my search for an alternative domicile (anybody who knows of an awesome place to rent that is cheap, let me know) [I'm also looking to buy, so send me options if you have heard of anything in the area] {the area being: Western Wisconsin, Eastern Suburbs of the cities, and maybe St. Paul}

Getting back to the drastic measures, I've begun recording some music and realize that I can't possibly "miss a cut" when playing the piano. While up in North Dakota for 9 days, I stayed at the same place every night; Brian and Connie Evenson's home. They were wonderful hosts and were more than happy to have me continue staying with them, just as long as I played their piano for them. I've always enjoyed playing for other people because I can tell they feel good just hearing the live music. I feel good hearing the music, but it's even funner to be making it yourself. Enough talk.

Follow this link and you'll find five recordings that I've uploaded to the internet. All of these songs are familiar songs so if you don't recognize them, I guess I need more practice. Once you've reached that website, you'll have two options:

1. Listen to the music streaming from the internet (this is done in the small box located on the right side of the screen, below my name. Just press play)
2. Download the songs and listen to them over and over again on your computer

I hope you enjoy the music because I've enjoyed recording it. There will be more in the near future.

Now back to the golf. I play in Eau Claire, Wisconsin this weekend. It is the CVGA Championship. Two rounds played at Hillcrest Country Club. Nice thing is that since Eau Claire is so close I don't have to drive more than an hour and I get to stay at home all weekend. Much better than a hotel on the road.

I've played many rounds there throughout high school and have several memories. One of those was during my sophomore year when my whole group got disqualified for breaking a rule and then disordely conduct. Not my finest day on a golf course, but I redemed myself the following year when the conference championship was held there. I shot under par and helped the team tie for a conference title. My individual score also helped me secure the first of two conference player of the year awards.

The maturity I gained from playing there my sophomore year to my junior year was very obvious and that is why I always enjoy going back there. If I hadn't grown up, I would've burnt out or never amounted to much more than a talented high school golfer. My wonderful high school coach helped me mature during that year, so Paul Meyer deserves much of the credit. I hope my good fortunes and good memories on Hillcrest grow by the end of the weekend.

I tee off at 9:44 on Saturday. Check back here for updates and scores

Remember to check out the music

Neil

Wind Advisory

I woke up this morning at 5:30, took a shower, and checked the weather on my computer. The previous night I had checked the weather and it looked to be a nice day, but overnight a gigantic fan was turned on and directed at Dakota Winds Golf Club. The weather forecast looked like this:




At 5:45 the wind was already gusting to 18 mph and there was a wind advisory for the entire state of North Dakota. Further investigating, I came across this:



That informed me that the winds will increase to 30 mph with gusts nearing 50 mph. I really enjoyed the second to last sentence. "Winds this strong can make driving difficult...". They should've continued that sentence with ...putting impossible, chipping frustrating, and walking exhausting.

After two days of playing in these windy conditions, my face looks like a peach; dark red in spots and light orange in others. A few other players wore hats, but by the end of the day I noticed most everybody had either taken them off or turned them around backwards.

I shot a 78, which to me felt like a solid round. I started off pretty strong, but when I finally turned around and had a few holes with a helping wind, I wasn't able to take advantage of those easier holes.

My 73 yesterday was in 29th place. The cut was low 20 and ties and after I finished, I thought I might sneak in. But nope, I did not. Friday, I'll be coming home and getting ready for my event next weekend in Eau Claire.

Have a peachy weekend,
Neil

Where Should I Start...

...How about with the Wisconsin State Open:

• 74-70, make the cut. Tied for 13th going into last day. Struggle on Wednesday morning, but finish the round tied for 21st. Unfortunately, I signed the wrong score on my card and I got disqualified...

  Ha Ha Ha



• Then came the North Dakota State Open. Shot 73-74 and missed cut by 4 shots.


• Now I'm playing the Dakotas Tour Tour Championship. Shot 73 in the first round and find myself 8 shots back of the lead. The course is flat with no trees so the wind was howlin'. I felt ok with my 73, but it doesn't look so good when somebody shots 65 and several guys shoot 67 to 69.

One note on the golf course; it has 27 holes, but only 18 greens. How, ask you? Well, the back nine is ridiculous reversable so you can play it backwards and forward, tee to green, or green to tee. I kind of hope we play the course the other way during the second round. Might be fun to see another golf course on the same golf course...

I've got a friend's website for everybody to check out. Drew In Deutschland was set up by Andrew Evenson for his semester abroad in Germany. Hopefully he has a wonderful experience and I hope he's able to post a bunch of pictures from his travels.

Thank you, come again,
Neil

Schedule Changes

My schedule has once again changed, and I've finally gotten around to post the new one. You'll notice only one more Hooter's Tour event left. I decided to play the other tournaments because they're much less expensive and much closer to home.



For information on the next few tournaments, check out these websites:

CVGA Princeton Valley
Wisconsin State Open
Dakota Tour Events

Did Not Qualify

An unsuccessful attempt to qualify has forced me to travel to South Dakota for another tournament. Not much to say about my round in Nebraska except that hitting a bunker shot into a 30 mph wind when it is 100 degress is not something I want to do again. I knew the sand was going to fly back in my face so I didn't even look up, but the sand stuck to my neck and arms as if my skin was tape. Getting enough sand off to feel comfortable took a long time. Good thing is that I hit the sand shot to 4 feet and made the putt.

As for where I am now...South Dakota. Where exactly isn't important because it's South Dakota. I'm not suprised I don't have any bars on my cell phone. Where's Cingular when I need it.

Thanks for those who offered their caddying services, anybody now interested in lending their golf game?

Neil

Story Time

I intend to tell a story from Saturday, but first let me give details about Monday's tournament. I'm attempting to qualify for the Nationwide Tour's Cox Classic. I need to finish in the top 7 to make it into the event. My tee time is 11:10 so you might be able to check the results at this website after 4pm. Scroll down a little of half of the page and you'll see a tournament: Nationwide Tour Cox Classic Open Qualifiers at Indian Creek GC & Ironwood G & CC. Once the results are up, the small box with a gold diamond in the middle will have a link to scores. I play at Ironwood G & CC and it's supposed to be VERY hot and windy.

If I successfully qualify for the tournament, I will be looking for a caddy for the rest of the week. I'd need you for sure on Thursday and Friday, but it'd be great if somebody were available on Wednesday. When I make it, I'll see if anybody's interested and if anybody's able to take time off work. Send me an email if you're interested: mrneiljohnson[at]hotmail.com (For those who don't know, the [at] in my email is actually @. I'm just trying to avoid junk mail)

Now, I'll onto that story. I went shopping at Best Buy the other day and found a few movies I wanted to buy. Being on the road and in hotels as often as I have been this summer, I’ve found it very relaxing and enjoyable to watch movies. Most of the hotels have movie channels, but you cannot rely on HBO or Showtime to deliver when you ask.

After wandering the movie section for a good 10 minutes, I picked two movies to buy. One cost $19.99 and the other $9.99. Going through checkout I signed for a total of $21.45. The quick math in my head told me that wasn’t right, but I just assumed there was a sale on one of the movies that I was unaware of. The clerk handed me my bag and I began walking to my car.

Once outside, I fetched my receipt and looked at it. Turns out there was not sale, it’s just that the clerk only rang up the $19.99 movie. So I walked back inside and told the doorman about the mistake. He directed me back to the checkout counter and I promptly paid for the $9.99 movie.

A couple things struck me as odd about these happenings. First, the first time I went through checkout, the clerk checked my ID and signature for my credit card. When I returned, which could only have been 3 minutes at most, the clerk once again checked my ID and signature as if I decided to give him false ID this time.

The other thing that amazed me was how easy it was for me to get out of the store and into the parking lot with a DVD that hadn’t been paid for. I walked right by the doorman and right through the security EAS without raising suspicion. That doesn’t say a lot for my skills as a thief, but it really doesn’t say a lot about Best Buy’s security.

Am I the only one that wants to own one of those blue shirts employees wear around the store?

Neil

A Much More Delightful Day of Golf

It's obvious from my score alone that Friday's round was much better than Thursday's. I'll get to why in a bit, but first I need to revisit my rant from the other day.

My main complaint was that slow play is a major problem and the players who cause slow play aren't reprimanded or penalized for it. What's worse is that if the fast players try to take matters into their own hands, they are often seen as rude. However, in my mind the slow player is already being rude because he's slow. If the slow player then responds with the smug response, "We haven't been warned yet," why is the fast player judged. That's the double standard I was referring to. Once a fast player mentions that the group should speed up, the slow player should immediately be the one feeling worse; not me.

I also mentioned that there really isn't a whole lot that can be done. Enforcing stricter penalties would run the risk of allienating players from the tour. I now believe I've come up with a possible solution. If a tour decided to eliminate the "honor" portion of play then some power would be in a fast player's hands. No longer would I have to fear stealing somebody's honor on the next tee if I got there first. If "ready golf" was implemented, the first player to the tee would hit regardless of what they scored on the previous hole. It might work and it might not, but it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

That's it for me and slow play. Feel free to post a comment if you have another suggestion....

I played much better on Friday, but it's not like I hit the ball that much better. Most importantly I was mentally ready to go and prepared for just about anything. The things that broke my concentration and upset me on Thursday either didn't happen or didn't affect me on Friday. Most of the things didn't happen because one of the guys played much faster and wasn't quite as vocal as he was during the first round.

However, the guy that called me, "Bubba", "Boss", "Buddy", and a few other things besides Neil, did get fined for conduct unbecoming of a professional. On the third hole he hit a shot that landed near the hole but spun away to about 40 feet. As it spun away he slammed his club into the ground, broke one of the 10 commandments, and said something that rhymes with duck. The rest of the round he was well behaved, but it is also worth noting that his mother showed up on the next hole so I'm sure that was a reason why he remained calm. After the round, when he was awarded the fine, he disagreed. In my mind it was very well deserved; if not for his single action on Friday, at least for an accumulation of Thursday and Friday.

The same guy was actually very complimentary about my game. On Thursday he asked me how much I work on my putting stroke.

I told him, "About as much as anybody else."

He then told me that he really liked my stroke and that he can see me making a lot of putts with that stroke. Those compliments carried over to Friday where he once again complimented my putting stroke (on the 1st hole!). Later, he complimented the simplicity of my golf swing and how he likes that I seem to just step up and hit the ball, not worrying too much about where it goes. That was great to hear because that's is what I strive for in my golf swing and putting stroke.

On the day, I hit 14 greens which is something I haven't done in a tournament since May. I also hit a lot of fairways and the 2 times that I hit the ball into the primary rough, I was lucky to get a decent lie that I could advance the ball onto the green. The one thing that prevented me from shooting lower than 72 was putting. I just didn't make many putts. Perhaps the fact that it was late in the day and the greens were full of footprints and spike marks, or maybe I just misread the putts. Either way I leave Oklahoma with a lot more confidence than when I arrived and I leave with some momentum.

Next post is from Omaha, NE.
Neil

If My Game Doesn't Improve, My Vocabulary Will Have To

I'm running out of words that describe my days on the golf course. Frustrating, dissapointing, challenging, horrendous, tough, and horrible just don't cut it anymore. I'd like to use positive words like wonderful, exciting, fun, phenomenal, and peachy to explain my rounds; I just can't.

Physically my golf game was ready to go today. Thanks to a good week of practice and good warm-up session before the round, I felt very upbeat about finally putting all the pieces together. Any glue that was holding those pieces together melted on the first hole and I couldn't recover. That glue, was my mental game. My focus was thrown off on the first hole and I battled to get refocused, but I had a really tough time ignoring outside forces: mainly my playing partners.

NOTE: It's a terrible excuse to blaim poor golf on anybody but yourself and I'm not doing that, but I am going to explain what made me as mad as Joe Mikulik.

First let me explain a double standard that exists in the golf world when you are a fast player. On all levels of competitive golf tournaments, pace of play is a major concern for the officials. Nobody enjoys playing 18 holes in 5 or 6 hours, so most tournaments set up a 4.5 hour time limit. However, most players laugh at this because:
1) Rarely does the first group even finish in that amount of time making it impossible for the groups behind them to do it
2) Even if you do fall behind the 4.5 hour pace, I've only known one player who actually got penalized for slow play (That's in over 15 years of tournament golf)

Now, I am a fast player. In fact at times, I've played too fast and I've worked on slowing down so I don't have to wait as much or so that I don't disrupt my playing partners. So, despite having played only one round on the Hooters Tour under 5 hours (and that one took 4 hours 45 minutes), why am I slowing down? The best answer for that question is because slow players don't care that they are slow and aren't affraid to play slow. They know they'll be given at least one warning if not two about being behind the pace of play. The group then has a few holes to catch back up; at which point they will be put on the clock (if necessary). Slow players know it takes about 7 or 8 holes of being out of position before they will actually have to speed up. By the time a group finds itself out of position they're probably a few holes into the round, so by the time a slow player and his group might finally be put on the clock they're on hole #16 or later. Now that the group is on the clock, the slow player only has to speed up for the final few holes and it's not like they have to speed up a lot. You're given 40 seconds to hit your shot when you on the clock. That's an eternity. Take a break and come back in 40 seconds.....I'll still be here.

...1

....2

.....3

.......

........

.........

..........

...........40!!

Did you make a sandwich, take out the garbage, or make a phone call? Maybe you did all three?? That's how long we have to take practice swings, figure out the wind, and hit the shot.

Prior to being put on the clock, the fast players (myself included) are forced to deal with slow player in the group. If I try to get him moving faster a common retort is, "Well, the officials haven't warned us yet." It's the worst when a slow player has the honor on the tee. Since they're slow, they are usually the last one to the tee and take the longest time to decide what club to hit, but they're hitting first. Stealing his honor would be a very rude thing to do. It isn't any better when I have the honor. If I get to the tee first, figure out what club to hit, and hit my shot all before the slow player even gets to the tee I am once again seen as having poor ettiquette. Basically the fast player is at mercy of a slow player and left with hope that an official will warn the slow player early in the round.

If you don't believe me that a fast player is at the mercy of slow play and that taking actions into our own hands is seen as rude, read this article about Rory Sabbatini (fast player) and his encounter with Ben Crane (very slow player). Some people understood what Rory did and acceppted it, but he had to issue an official apology later. (Search Rory Sabbatini Rude on Google and see how many articles come up)

So what can be done? On the Hooters Tour, not much. If officials started enforcing slow play on a very strict manner, players would have a conniption about being penalized. If the enforcement continued, players might decide not to play Hooters Tour events because they'd be affraid to be penalized. The Hooters Tour is just a mini-tour and its survival depends on getting people to play regardless of their pace of play or their ability.

The real solution for this slow play double standard needs to start at the top: PGA Tour. In 2003 and in 2006, the PGA Tour implemented a new pace of play policy, but still to this day we hear players complaining about nobody enforcing the policy. Rory Sabbattini is still fighting to make a change, but he is becoming an outcast because of it. Maybe if the biggest tour in the world began enforcing the problem of slow play a trickle down effect would occur.

Will this occur in my lifetime??..........................No way.

I guess I'll just have to find a way to push slow players into playing faster without getting a smarty comeback from the player or without the player thinking I'm Rory Sabbattini.

I'd rather find a solution to the Poincaré Conjecture.

77
Neil

Tournament Begins on Thursday

I'm in Miami (pronounced My - am - muh), Oklahoma and my tournament begins Thursday morning at 8:42. The town on Miami isn't much to talk about, but the fact that 9 casinos are within 15 minutes is. You can drive in any direction and you'll eventually run into a casino. Every other billboard is for one of the casinos and the only thing open up after 9pm are the casinos; the rest of the town shuts down.

Peoria Ridge Golf Club: Considering what the rest of the town has to offer, I was happy that the golf course has 18 holes and that none of the greens are shaped like hearts, diamonds, clubs, or spades. First thing that blew me away about the course was the wind. Both Tuesday and Wednesday had breezes near 25 mph, which should make it tougher to score if it stays windy. The second thing to note about the course is how thick the rough is. During my practice round on Tuesday I hit my first drive into the rough and only found it because I nearly stepped on it. Some guys are going to lose their balls in the rough this week (I lost 2 during my practice round). Watch this video to see how deep the rough is:



The course design isn't anything too exciting, but what do you expect when the designers first name is Bland.....Check it out, I'm not joking.

My preparation this week has been very profitable and I believe it will carry over to Thursday and beyond. I've spent nearly 2 1/2 hours putting and about 2 hours hitting balls the past two days. I also spent about 45 hitting sand shots and chipping. On Tuesday, after practicing for 2 hours I played the front nine. Before leaving for lunch, I spent another hour putting and hitting balls. Later on Tuesday evening, when the temperature had cooled off, I went back out to the course to play the back nine. Wednesday is Pro-Am day and since I wasn't scheduled to play I would only be able to practice. I showed up at the course around 8:30 to find only two other guys out there. That's great though, because often times you have to wait for a spot on the range or fight for an open hole on the putting green.

My practice routing on Wednesday consisted on putting and hitting balls. On the putting green, I'm really working on keeping my backstroke shorter. When it gets long my stroke will often decelerate into the ball and that is one of the worst things, especially for short putts. To work on those putts I played a game on "pull-back" with myself. Any putt that I don't make, I have to pull back away from the hole the length of my putter. It guarantees that you will have to make at least a three-footer.

On the driving range I worked on my knockdown shots; this was a necessity because the wind was directly in my face on the range. I like that because hitting downwind gives you a false sense of your ball striking. Hitting into the wind your bad shots will be accentuated. While on the range, I figured out how to hit my knockdown the way I like it. Most of the year I've been struggling with the consistency of that shot. I hit balls for another 20 minutes AFTER I figured it out and then came back to the range once more before I left.

I'm sorry for all the specific golf talk. Some of you are probably bored after reading that, but this is a golf blog after all.

Neil

Round 2 at MN State Open

Round 2...Ditto

Next Up: Miami, Ok

Neil

Round 1 at MN State Open

76

Today I played with an extremely cold putter. I didn't make a single putt, but I got some advice and hope to turn my putting around tomorrow. My second round begins at 7:30 so hopefully I can take advantage of the early start. The greens will be perfect and there probably won't be much wind. Keep checking the live scoring if you can't make it out to Bunker Hills. They update scores after nine holes and then after 18 holes.

Neil

Directions to Bunker Hills Golf Club

For those of you who might be coming out to watch on Friday, here are directions:

From the North:

_{South on Highway 65 to Highway 242, Turn Right (West). Course is 4 Miles on the right.}

From the South:

_{North on 35W to Highway 10 West (Not County Road 10) to Highway 65 North to Highway 242, Turn Left. Course is 4 miles on right.}

From the East:

_{West on Highway 10 to Foley Blvd. Go North. Course is 4 miles on Foley.}

From the West:

_{North on Highway 169 to Main Street (Highway 242). Turn Right. Course is 8 miles on left.}

---

If you're coming from River Falls you can check out this link to get more detailed directions: River Falls to Bunker Hills Golf Club

Now I don't know if anybody besides my mom will be showing up to watch, but since this is the closest to home that I'm am playing this summer I wanted to open up the invite to all my relatives and friends in the area.

I tee off at 12:30, but if you're late you'll need to find the large scoreboard. Nearby will be some officials; just ask them where Neil Johnson might be. Tell them that I started at 12:30 on #1 and they should direct you where you need to go.

*EDIT*

For those of you who can't make it out to Bunker Hills, this link will direct you to live scoring for the championship.

I hope to see some of you tomorrow or throughout the rest of the weekend,
Neil

Newest Member of YouTube

If you know what YouTube is, raise your hand...

Basically YouTube is a website that allows users to upload, share, and view their video clips. It began about 15 months ago and grown into one of the biggest sensations on the internet. It actually outpaces the popular My Space. Proof here!

Now onto my video...since 2003 I've had a video camera and I have recorded my golf swing and putting stroke several times. Last fall, purchasing my Apple laptop computer allowed me to easily upload my recordings. I hope to put most of my recordings onto YouTube so people can enjoy the excitement of one man swinging a golf club over and over again for several minutes. You may not find the repeatition fun, but Henry Ford would love it. I promise you that the ending is the best part so you have to stick around for that.



Watch it once, twice, or even better...50 times. Let's see if we can get my video up onto the Most Viewed list. To get onto that list, my video will probably have to be viewed about 8000 times in one day, so get watching and get sending it to everybody you know that has an email address. One more note on my video, feel free to comment or ridicule my choice of music. It took me four times as long to choose the music as it did to upload and edit the video.

As for my next golf tournament, the Minnesota State Open. That begins this Friday and continues throughout the weekend. This tournament is the closest one to River Falls that I'll play all year. Considering all the people from River Falls and the Minneapolis/St. Paul area that read this blog I'm inviting all of you out to watch. You're more than welcome to come out to Bunker Hills Golf Club. That website has some directions, but I can post some tomorrow for those too lazy to check out that link.

Tee Times - 12:30 (Friday) 7:30 (Saturday)

Last Year's Results I hope for a 61 this year, no more of the 62 nonsense.

Minnesota State Open History

Watch My VIDEO!!! (please)

Neil

PS...This is what the alphabet would look like without Q and R (cue rimshot....but seriously check out my 1st video.

Scholarship America Showdown Qualifier on Monday

On Monday I will attempt to qualify for the Nationwide event that used to be at Troy Burne Golf Club. It is now being played down near Rochester, MN at Somerby Golf Club. I tee off at 1:27 so you can check the Minnesota PGA website between 6 and 7 to see my score.

Good luck to Travis Meyer and Adam Wynia as they compete in the US Amateur Publinks Championship.

Neil

Need More Birdies

Another day where I hit the ball well, but didn't get the score I was looking for. I played the par 5's better, but not the -3 that I was hoping for. On three of the par 5's I was within 25 yards of the pin after two shots, but failed to get it up and down for a birdie. That's what we in the golf business call missed opportunities.

On #13 I was just short of the green in two and chipped up and over a bunker to within 8 feet of the cup. My putt slowly rolled along the left edge of the hole, but didn't fall in. On the next hole, my approach shot trickled onto the fringe and I was left with a 20 foot birdie putt. Once again my putt crawled along the left edge of the hole this time lipping out and stopping just on the far edge. The rest of the holes I pushed a little to hard trying to make up for my missed putts.

By the end of the day I had four bogies and the rest pars. Now, I will be driving home. Good thing it's a short 21 hour drive home. I can taste Luigi's Pizza already. Thankfully I gain the shortest hour of my life back as I drive home so it's really only like 20 hours.

Leaderboard
My Scorecard

Neil

Steps in the Right Direction

I hit a lot of good shots today and actually played a really good round of golf. I played the par 5's +3 for the day and that doesn't get it done on the Hooter's Tour; they are the easiest holes we play since nearly half of them are reachable in two shots. Tomorrow I hope to reverse that +3 to -3. Besides the par 5's I played even golf, which I'm proud of because last week I played the par 4's +12 and the par 3's +2.

This week the par 3's are really tough because they are 225 yards, 221 yards, 219 yards, and 161 yards. I hit 2-iron, 2-iron, 3-iron, and 9-iron on those respective holes and played them well. Over the past few weeks my long irons have been a major weakness so making a birdie on a par 3, with a 2-iron, is good.

My putting was really good today too. I felt as comfortable on the greens as I have felt since I was in Pittsburgh a month ago. I made 50', 18', 13', 10', and 6' putts and felt good about making everything else I looked at. The greens are bermuda grass which is very different grass from what I putt on in Wisconsin. I've always struggled on bermuda grass greens so it made me feel good that my putting stroke was confident today. Here are a couple pictures of what bermuda grass is:

Four-pronged blade of grass isn't right (no wonder there is grain in the green)

Imagine a ball dropping into rough like this (it's not fun)

Until tomorrow,

Leaderboard

Neil

P.S. Partial credit will be given to Elizabeth for correctly guessing the picture. Being three hours later than Brent means you get two-thirds credit. More trivia is coming...

Trivia Time Is Over.......Let's Play Golf

Well, way to go Brent. I didn't even get a chance to give any hints. Brent's prize? There is no prize, but he does gain the satisfaction of ruining the fun for everybody else. The man in the red shirt was Corey Pavin and he played with Lee Westwood in the group in front of me on Monday. They were both playing a practice round because next Monday they will try to qualify for the British Open.

I saw several other PGA Tour member besides those two:

Frank Lickliter II
Cameron Beckman
Bill Haas
Charles Warren
Charley Hoffman
Jonathan Byrd
John Senden

They were all out the getting ready for Monday.

As for my tournament this week, I begin Thursday afternoon at 1:42. I've practiced very hard this week and have seen some improvement in my ball striking. Wednesday morning I got to the range and hit balls for about 30 minutes before an official asked me if I would play in the Pro-Am that began earlier that morning. Another pro golfer had to drop out so I filled in for him on the last 10 holes. It was a scramble format, but I hit the ball really well and made a few putts to help out the team. After the pro-am I could see a thunderstorm moving in so I went back to the hotel to rest for a few hours. Bad weather moved in and after it cleared out I returned to the course to continue practicing. I hit balls on the range for about an hour and then went to the putting green for about 30 minutes. With all the work I put into the physical part of my game this week I'm excited to see how well it pays off this week.

I've done work on the mental side of my game too. Instead of worrying about every shot I hope to have more fun on the course this week and just hit each shot the best I can. After all, it's not life or death out there; it's just golf.

It's going to be warm this week so I drink plenty of water and sit in the shade when I can.

Brook Valley Country Club

Neil

Pictures Are Worth 1000 Words

These are a bunch of pictures from my trip to Congressional Country Club. I got to play the course that hosted the US Open back in 1997. The US Amateur will be there in 2009 and the US Open will return there in 2011. I had a great time and practicing and playing at Congressional was a great way for me to get ready for this week.

Trivia Time: Who is the guy in the last picture wearing the red shirt?

If you think you know, post a comment and we'll see who gets it first (Paul, Mike, Mom, and Dad aren't eligible to guess because they already know).

Neil

Two Day Nightmare

Thursday and Friday were like some horrible nightmare that I could not wake up from. I thought taking Wednesday off wouldn't hurt my game, but it was like Alberto came into town and left with my golf game. Most of the time it felt like I was playing with left handed clubs, or that I would have been better off with left handed clubs. On Thursday, I hit one good golf shot and a handful of decent shots. The rest weren't up to Dorf's standard.

Friday began with some good shots and a good birdie on #2; I hit 4 consecutive good shots to make birdie. Another solid birdie on #6 had me feeling much better about my game. From #8 until the end, my game returned to it's form of Thursday. My driver was hitting balls into the trees and my long irons were missing the greens by 15 yards. It was an ugly couple of days and not any fun.

To top things off I've had some trouble at my hotel. First off, the A/C didn't work in my room so I switched rooms. It's been near 90 degrees so I would've melted had I not switched. The continental breakfast wasn't set up the first three mornings. My room is non-smoking, but next door is a smoking room so the smoke filters in through the door. Last, but not least, the pool. The hotel's outdoor pool isn't open yet and you can see why: To swim in that, I'll need one of these.

I'm taking a couple days off and hoping to return to the game with my normal golf swing. On Monday, I'll be up in Bethesda, Maryland playing Congressional County Club with Cody Smith. Cody is from River Falls and he's working at Congressional this summer. After that, it's down to Greenville, North Carolina for next week's tourney.

One more note: Congrats to Tyler Obermueller for finishing runner-up at the Wisconsin State Match Play.

My Scorecard
Leaderboard

Tune in next week - same bat time, same bat channel

Chesdin Landing Open Begins Thursday

Today was a complete rain out. I planned on playing one more practice round this morning, but when I woke up at 7 am it was raining. It is now 3:05 and it hasn't stopped raining. Alberto moved into the area and we caught all the rain on his outer edges. I'm going to try and head out to the course later on Wednesday afternoon. If it's only sprinkling, I'll practice putting and hitting some balls.

The forecast for the rest of the week looks good as long as the reminents of Alberto clear out.

I tee off at 1:24 on Thursday and I play with somebody familiar. Neal G. is also from Wisconsin and I played a lot of amateur golf against him. This is his first year on the Hooter's Tour and we have actually been sharing hotel rooms together while on the road. Should be a nice pairing, considering Neal and I have played several good rounds with and against each other.

Neil

Taco Bell, Grip Change, & High-Speed Internet

First thing, I’m sorry for not posting since Wednesday. I actually had a post writtenon Thursday, but my internet connection failed and I lost everything. Since then I’ve had an impossible time staying connected long enough to update my site. I’ve made a few changes to the sidebar, but that’s much easier to update when compared to entering a new post. My hotel advertises “free high-speed wireless internet”, but apparently our definitions of high-speed greatly differ…it’s more like “free internet, when you’re lucky”.

Back to Thursday; round one. I shot an even par 72, but it wasn’t pretty. I had great opportunities several times throughout the round to follow up one birdie with another. I squandered those opportunities each time and it turned out that I followed each birdie with a bogey. The last hole of the round summed up most of the day. After hitting a 3-iron into the middle of the fairway on #18, I pushed a 7-iron about 15 yards to the right and into the greenside bunker. My ball plugged into the sand and I was left with a very unlikely up and down. I blasted the ball out to 20 feet and missed the putt; end with a bogey for 72.

On Friday, I started off with a birdie that included a solid 10-foot putt. A couple holes later I once again pushed a 7-iron way out to the right and failed in getting up and down for par. On #14 I three putted for bogey and on #17 I pulled my tee shot into the left greenside bunker. So…after a birdie start, I made three bogies in the next 7 holes and found myself at 2 over par. I made a great putt on #18 from the fringe to make the turn with a 37. I continued my momentum on #1 with another birdie. On #2 I hit my drive into the fairway, but it found an old divot and I pushed my approach shot off the right side of the green. I missed my par putt and the uphill battle continued. I birdied #4 thanks to a great chip from just off the green. My ball was on a bare lie and I needed to chip over a mound, onto the green, with the pin only 4 paces onto the green. I ran the ball up over the mound and within 4 feet of the cup.

After a near miss on #5 for birdie, I three putted #6 for par and pushed my tee shot way right on #7. A bogey on 7 and my chances of making the cut were all but gone. Just to add insult to injury, I hit my 2nd shot on #9 out of bounds and finished with a double bogey; 75. To punish myself for such bad play, I went to Taco Bell for lunch. There is no better way to tell your body that you’re upset than to eat the meat in those tacos. (Later I felt bad and got some ice cream…my way of apologizing to my stomach)

Did you notice a consistency in those bad shots? A huge majority of them were pushed to the right so at least I can pinpoint where the bad shots are going. I should be able to correct that by next week. I already made a change in my putting. During a practice session on Saturday I changed my putting grip and hope that will result in a better putting stroke and more made putts.

Now I’m off to Chesterfield, VA for next week’s tournament. Chesterfield is just south of Richmond, VA. I don’t believe I have “free high-speed internet” or “free internet…when you’re lucky” at the next hotel, but I’ll find a nearby hotel that has some and park in their parking lot for a while.

My Scorecard
Leaderboard

Go USA,
Neil

Round One on Thursday

This week's tournament begins tomorrow and I tee off at 1:15 off of #1. The forecast looks good for the entire weekend. Add that to a short golf course that has 4 reachable par 5's and numerous short par 4's, you can expect to see a lot of low scores this week. Even if the wind blows, that isn't going to stop guys (including me) from going low.

If you're interested in who else is playing, you can look at the field here. When I finish I'll update, but you can check out the leaderboard on the Hooters Tour website.

Neil

A Long Trip Into My Mind And Eventually North Carolina

Monday was a long day. It began in Evanston, Illinois and ended in Statesville, North Carolina. Here is what happened throughout the day and a few thoughts I had.

• 3:30 am: Cell phone alarm goes off…roll over and reset alarm for 4 am.


• 4:00 am: Cell phone alarm goes off…roll over onto floor.


• 4:35 am: Start driving…only 780 miles, 6 States, and one mountain range to go through.


• 5:59 am: Drive by Remington, Indiana. Develop a sudden urge to shave or hire a private investigator.


• 7:00 am: A minute turns into the quickest hour of my life as I cross into EST.


• 12:45 pm: Stop for lunch. Pasta for power.


• 1:50 pm: See a variable message sign (VMS) that states, “Kentucky’s Highway deaths are down from 2005. Let’s keep it up.”…Thanks, I’ll do my best.


• 2:30 pm: Making good time through Kentucky, hoping to be in Knoxville, TN by 4 pm.


• 3:45 pm: Stuck near the Kentucky/Tennessee border in horrible traffic thanks to some construction. Hoping to be in Knoxville by…anytime.


• 5:15 pm: Pull over at a rest stop and take a short nap.


• 5:55 pm: Wake up with a kink in my neck thinking, “Am I really waking up inside a car that's 90 degress, in the middle of Tennessee, with some weird trucker right outside my window?”


• 7:00 pm: Enter the Smoky Mountains. Find myself coughing the rest of the night.


• 9:30 pm: Arrive at my hotel in Statesville, NC. I can’t tell you what hotel I’m staying at, but there are two trees involved.

It took me 16 hours to get to North Carolina. Every time I drove by a car with two passages, I cursed them because I would've loved to have another driver to help me out.

End transmission,
Neil

Right In The Clown's Mouth

I've returned home for the week and have had some time to rest. I arrived in River Falls around 6:30 am, Monday morning. After my round on Sunday I started driving and didn't stop until Black River Falls, WI. I pulled over, parked in a hotel parking lot, and took a nap. I originally planned on staying overnight at my brother's in Chicago, but after being on the road for three weeks I really wanted to sleep in my bed.

Most of you probably saw how I finished in Pittsburgh; in case you didn't here's a link to my scorecard. I shot a one over par 73, which included two 3-putts for bogies and two 2-putts for birdies. I nearly made eagle on #17 after hitting a very high and soft 3-wood within 20 feet of the hole. Then on number #7 I crushed a driver and a 3-wood to reach a 615 yard par-5 in two (and the wind was not helping). I two putted from 50 feet for that birdie.

After the weekend, I felt very good about my game. I felt very comfortable and confident over putts inside of 10 feet. My putts were rolling smooth and I received compliments from my playing competitors about my putting stroke. Another good thing to take from last week was the way I hit my 3-wood; it is usually a weakness in my game. However, I found myself hitting a 3-wood on every par-5 and hitting it where I wanted to.

Some bad things about the weekend were my double bogies. I have to stop making double bogies because they really take a bite out of a round. I also need to stop the 3-putts. Despite putting well on Sunday I still had two 3-putts. The greens were very difficult and the pin locations made it possible to 3-putt, but I pride myself on my ability to lag putt so I hope to improve on that next time.

Finally, I have some fun quotes to share. While on the course on Sunday one of my competitors had his dad caddying. I don't think the dad is a very good golfer (or a good caddy), but he certainly was a good cheer leader. He talk to every shot that his son hit. Whether he said, "Go!" or, "One time ball, come on!!" he was always talking. Some of the things he said were very entertaining so I'll pass them onto you. I think his main goal was to keep his son's energy up, but we're playing golf not hockey. I'll call the caddy Bozo, and you'll soon find out why.

Quotes from Bozo the Clown and other golfers



1. Son asks Bozo in regards to a 5-foot putt for par, "Do you see anything?" Bozo replies, "Yeah, I see something...I see right in the fu#*%?g clown's mouth!" (his son made the putt otherwise we might have heard this.


2. Son hits a punch shot from the trees that is heading towards the green and Bozo yells, "Oh what a golf shot. Go in the hole...one time today." The ball came up 20 yards short in a green side bunker. It was a good shot considering how far from the green the son was, but once the ball fell in the bunker, Bozo was upset that it wasn't in the hole.


3. Another player hits his shot on a par-3. As soon as it lands his wife (who's caddying for him) shouts, "Whoa.....Stop rolling." Immediately after the caddy/wife begins asking for the ball to stop the player interrupts and barks, "No, GO! I don't want the ball up there....Keep rolling." The caddy/wife sheepishly picked up the bag and stormed up the cart path. I'm sure she felt embarrassed, but I also got the feeling that she would be berating her husband after the round for making her sound so stupid.

That's all for now. I leave on Sunday for another three week trip. I'll be in North Carolina for two weeks and Virginia for one.

Neil

Schedule Picture

Schedule Picture
Originally uploaded by npatrickj1982.

I've posted an updated schedule. You can look at it by clicking on the picture in this post or find it in the sidebar.

Also, I've uploaded a new picture for my profile. Hopefully this one shows up clearer than the last one. Many of you expressed concern about the last photo that was not high quality. If this new picture shows up blurry like the last one, please let me know by posting a comment.

One of the Longest Days I Can Remember

My Saturday began with a wake up call at 5:15 am. I got ready for the day and arrived at the golf course at 6:30. I didn't leave the golf course until 7:30 pm. I played 31 holes of golf, sat around for an hour waiting to see if I made the cut, and then waited another hour to begin my third round.

First let me explain the second round. I only played 5 holes on Friday before severe weather moved in and forced us to finish Saturday morning. We restarted at 7:45 am and I finished with an even par 72, but there was a lot of drama. My first 15 holes were normal but on my sixteenth hole (#7) I hit my third shot over the green and into some thick rough. I had a very difficult chip that would be down hill the entire way. Thankfully I had a good lie and hoped to just flop the ball barely onto the green and let it run to the hole. Unbelievably the ball did just that and dropped right into the hole for a birdie. At this point, I got ahead of myself and started thinking about the afternoon round. I three-putted number 8 from about 25 feet and then hit a poor approach and a weak chip on number 9. I was left with a 5 foot putt to make the cut. It was a severely breaking putt from right to left and the ball did an entire 360 circle before dropping in. What an emotional way to finish my second round and make the cut on the number.

Round three began with a double bogey, but I played well the remaining 8 holes on that side. Making the turn for my final nine holes of the day, I missed several quality opportunities to make birdies. The first four holes on the front nine I had no more than 110 yards into the hole for my approaches and I wasn't able to make any birdies. After making an amazing save for par on number 5 I made a mistake on 6 and put my tee shot in the worst spot; another double bogey. I followed that up with some more loose shots and finished with a 2 over par 74. The third round should've been much lower, but after a long day at the course my mind lost focus and it cost me a few shots. At least I've got one more round to put together 18 great holes.

Leaderboard
My Scorecard

Neil

Process, Process, Process

The title is my new motto. I'll try and repeat that in my head throughout Friday's round. It should help me stay in the present and not worry about my results and stop me from getting frustrated with bad shots.

Round one started out as bad as any round this year, but I turned things around the last 10 holes and finished strong. It rained for the first 4 holes, but there is no excuse for the way my round began. Just poorly executed shots followed by an inability to recover.

Friday I play at 1:42. I promise a much stronger start and a round with a good process regardless of the results.

Neil

Tee Times and Other Things

I begin play on Thursday at 8:42. The weather has been gorgeous so far this week, which means some bad weather is moving in. A forecast with scattered thunderstorms means the storms might miss us, but we'll just have to wait and see.

The golf course will be a good test, especially around the greens. Off the tee, the course is fairly wide open, but if you're not hitting into the green from the fairways you'll have a tough time controlling where the ball will stop on the green. Most of the greens have severe slopes on them which means you want to be able to control the approach shots so you're not above the hole.

Check back Thursday afternoon, I'll update when I'm done.

Neil

Quicksilver Golf Classic presented by Ameriprise

I'm near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this week. I've never been to the Pittsburgh area and I'm surprised that it is so hilly here. The golf course this week is a very good one. It's hosted several tournaments before, but this is the first time the Hooters Tour has visited. Here's a link to the golf course and here's one to the scorecard and to some pictures.

Driving over to Pittsburgh was an easy drive. However, I didn't know how expensive the toll roads in Indiana and Ohio are. To drive all the way across Indiana it cost about $5, but to drive all the way across Ohio it cost $9. That doesn't sound like much, but I'm used to the Illinois tolls that cost about $.75. The nice advantage to having the tolls is that as a driver you will see many more frequent rest areas and much nicer rest areas. Going across Ohio, there seemed to be a rest area every 50 miles. Inside the rest areas were spacious with very clean restrooms. They also had a wide variety of restaurants (Panera Bread, Starbucks, Fazolis, TCBY, and Sbarro), not just McDonalds or Burger King. The rest areas also had free wireless internet, which is something I'll remember for future drives across these states. Finally, the rest areas have gas stations so you can fill up with gas right off the internet instead of taking an exit and finding the nearest pump.

So my point is that the toll roads keep travelling across that state very convenient and relaxing, which is definately something I'm looking for. On the other hand, I'm cheap and refused to fill my car up with gas in Ohio when I was already paying $9 to cross the state. Ha! I'll pay the toll road fee, but will not pay the gas tax (almost like double taxation). Instead I filled up immediately after I crossed into Pennsylvania.

More tomorrow, Neil

Horribly Frustrating Day

I was hoping for something so much better. I was expecting something so much better, but today was a struggle. Starting on number 10 I failed to take advantage of some early opportunities and some good shots that I hit. Despite making a bad triple bogey on my 5th hole, I made the turn at +3 with a belief that I would make some birdies and get back to even par. Unfortunately I couldn't stay focused and hit too many loose shots. I finished with a 77.

The two guys I played with also missed the cut. As a group we struggled to get some momentum. Last week, in Chicago, my group was able to feed off one another and hit a lot of good shots. This week, we were looking for each others balls in the trees and nobody made any birdie putts of any length.

Next week, I'm near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

My Grandpa's funeral was Thursday and I'd like to share one story about him that deals with this website. For the readers that have checking this website for a couple of months, you may remember a poll that I conducted. I had changed the look of my website and wanted to know whether or not people liked the new look or if it was too hard to read with a dark background. I kept the poll up for about two weeks and there were no limits as to how many times somebody could vote. In true "American Idol" fashion, my Grandpa tried to stuff the ballots box by voting at least once a day. His vote was for "No, it's difficult to read because of the dark background" and turns out he was the only one to vote that way. He voted that way 10 times and at one point there were 13 votes for "Yes, it's great" and 10 for my Grandpa's choice (the poll ended up 22-10). I looked into changing the background color because obviously my Grandpa had a strong feeling that he didn't like the new look, but unfortunately I couldn't find a shade of blue or gray that was easier to read while not being too bright.

I talk more from Pittsburgh. Until then, expect to see a few changes in the website. I plan to explain a little more about my travels and what it's like to live out of a car.

Take Care,
Neil

Round One in Indiana

I battled the elements and fought a bad swing today to finish with a 72. It was very windy throughout the day and at times it was very cold and some other times it was actually raining. For the first 12 holes I hit my irons awful, but I was able to get up and down for pars several times and I took advantage of the 2 reachable par 5s on the front side. The last few holes I hit the irons better and gave myself chances at birdie. I finished the day with my best drives (17 and 18) as well as my 2 best approach shots. I hope to continue those good shots tomorrow when I tee off at 1:15.

Right now the forecast looks good for the rest of the week. I'm sick of bringing all my rain gear, hats, and gloves along with. It'd be nice to know that no rain is in the forecast.

Check out the rest of the leaderboard, here.

An interesting fact about one of the guys I played with today. After graduating high school in 1995, he played 5 years of minor league baseball. He was a pitcher and was able to max out around 95 mph. Unfortunately he threw out his elbow and had to quit, but he is the third former minor league baseball player that I've played with on the Hooters Tour. The other two, Barry Roof and John Kimbell played shortstop and 3rd base respectively. At this pace I'll have played with every position by the end of the summer. Just ask around and the Hooters Tour could put together quite an impressive pick up game.

Neil

Unsuccessful at Qualifying for US Open

Today was a bad day on the golf course. I never found a rhythm in my golf swing and found myself missing a lot of greens. The course was set up to a high degree of difficulty with every tee box all the way back and a majority of the pins in the toughest spots on the green. Considering how bad I hit the ball, it wouldn't have mattered how the course was set up. For those who are curious, I shot a 79. Unfortunately my attempt to qualify for the US Open ends here. I guess I'll have to cheer for Michelle Wie to make it instead of me.

On a very sad note, my Grandpa passed away on Sunday. He was 80 years old and was a wonderful Grandpa. There is no doubt that my Grandpa was my biggest golf fan and I know that because nobody visited this website more than him. He kept a copy of my schedule in his wallet and always knew where I was playing. I played a lot of golf with my Grandpa and enjoyed the little 9-hole golf course up in Wadena, MN. His funeral is Thursday and there is a nice video tribute to his life on the funeral home's website. Click this link to read his obituary and then click the "video tribute" link to watch a video. I'll share a few more stories about my Grandpa later in the week.

Neil

One more note to Jerry: thanks for coming out to watch today. Sorry my group didn't hit any good shots while you were there. We were trying.

Round Two & Final Round

Today was a good day. I shot a 2-under 70. I hit the ball fantastic and gave myself tons of chances at birdies. For the day, I hit 17 greens. The only one I missed was in a bunker and I got that up-and-down for a par. My bogey was a three putt and the double bogey was a 2 shot penalty that I incurred because I played the ball from the wrong position. Unfortunately I accidentally moved the ball when I was trying to tap in my par putt on #15. After making the ball move an inch I tapped that into the hole. What I should've done was replace the ball and tap it in from the original position. I still would've been assessed a one shot penalty, but I would've made a 5 instead of a 6. I guess I'll learn a lesson from this, but it certainly put a little different spin on an otherwise fabulous round. These two rounds were my first two rounds under par as a pro (that might sound wrong, but it's true) and I should get a CHECK for finishing at 3-under par.


Once again my group played well. Ian Hessels shot 67. David Suggs also shot 67.

From here, I'm traveling up to Hartford, Wisconsin for the US Open Qualifying. I play on Tuesday at 8:20. Here's some information on the golf course and the tournament. After that, I'll travel to South Bend, Indiana for the next Hooter's Tour event.

Neil

First Round Finally Complete

After two days of patiently waiting we finally got onto the golf course and played. It was still a cold day and we got rained on throughout the day, but it was much better than what Thursday and Friday were like.

I played well on Saturday and shot a 71. I hit the ball great and only found myself in trouble a few times. I didn’t make as many putts as I would’ve liked, but I’ll remain patient and wait for them to start dropping. The last thing I want to do is start trying to force the putts into the hole.

The other two guys in my group played well too. We all fed off each other’s good shots. One of the guys I played with was Ian Hessels. He’s originally from Stillwater, MN and he shot a 69. The other guy, David Suggs, also shot a 69.

I tee off at 8:33 Sunday morning and that will be the final round. I’ll update tomorrow evening.

Neil

Round One Postponed Again

Still no golf played. The weather will not let up. It continues to rain, which gives the maintenance no time to get on the golf course and prepare it for tournament golf. Officials has said that they hope to begin Saturday morning at 7:30 so I'll be patient until then.

On another note I'm going to post my email address in case some of you want to get ahold of me. A few people have talked to me about wanting to get in touch with me, but not sure how to. If you are looking to talk to me you can do a few things:

1. Post a Comment. Comments are public and can be read by anybody so don't leave a comment if you want it to be private.


2. Signing my Guestbook. You can leave a simple message or more. You can also make the message private so only I can read it.

Neil

Round One Postponed

Round One was postoned because of weather. They didn't even begin play this morning. The course took on too much water throughout the night and with a forecast of "rain all-day" the officials didn't want to try and get started. Let's hope this bad weather blows through by Friday, but the forecast really didn't look good for the rest of the week. I don't mind the bad weather, but if the greens have standing water on them, then the course is not playable.

My first round is set to begin on Friday afternoon at about 1pm. I haven't officially heard if the tournament has been changed to a 54-hole event or if they are still going to try and get in 72 holes. The website says round one is "postponed" or "suspended" until Friday. One employee at the golf course told me round one has been "cancelled". Three different words to discribed one thing and they all mean something different in regards to rest of the weekend. That's enough semantics from me. I'm just here to play golf, not give an english lesson.

Enjoy this lovely May weather. I can see that it's not any warmer back home in River Falls or in the Twin Cities.

Neil

Indian Lakes Resort Classic

Link-O-Rama

1. My Tee Times on Thursday and Friday are 1:33 pm off of hole #10 and then 8:33 am off of hole #1.


2. Where am I?


3. Weekly weather forecast


4. Golf Course's scorecard and information


5. Player's in the field


6. Tournament's schedule of event
   

That's all for now. I'm playing in the Pro-Am Tuesday morning. Hopefully those thunderstorms miss us and we can play.

Neil

A Better Round

I'm sorry it's so late, but I'm back home after a long 2nd round and a drawn out drive home. Many of you probably saw my 2nd round score of 72, but in case you haven't you can click on the 72 to see my scorecard. It was a better round, especially the first 12 holes where I played a much more patient game. I just let the shots happen and didn't pressure myself on the putting greens. I struggled towards the end and finished with 2 bogies, but I was still happy with the round and glad I put together a better round.

My next tournament is in Bloomingdale, Illinois at Indian Lakes Resort.

Neil

Horrible Day

It was a rough day today. After a solid start, my game fell apart and I ended up shooting a terrible 80.

I hope tomorrow will yield a much better score. I won't update, but feel free to check. I tee off at 2:30 so I won't be done until 8pm (and that's if we don't have any weather delays).

Neil

Monday Qualifier a Success

Hello Everybody,

I'm writing from Augusta, Georgia with news that I successfully monday qualified into this week's event. I would have been exempt if I had played one more event, but since last week was my first one I had to earn my way into this tournament. It was actually good for me to play a round that meant something. If I didn't make it I would've had to decide whether or not to come home tonight or stick around until Thursday to see if I could sneak in as an alternate.

I shot a 76, and 79 was needed to qualify. Through 14 holes I was even par and then I finished bogey, bogey, par, double. Not a very good finish, but overall it was a really good day. I hit the tee ball great and had control of my iron play. It's too bad that I didn't make more putts through the first 14 holes because I could have had a better score.

This new course is totally different than last week's course. Last week, the bermuda grass was all dormant (which means dead) so there was no rough. This week has thick rough and fairways that aren't dormant, but quite healthy. Also, the greens this week are bent grass which is what we are all used to up North. I'll be working hard on the greens the next two days so I can putting can catch up with my ball striking.

As I said before, I'm writing from Augusta, Georgia. The main reason for that is because I don't have access to the internet in McCormick, South Carolina. I don't even get cell phone service there so it's kind of like a black hole for technology. I don't know how I will be updating throughout the week, but I'll figure something out. If you want to know where McCormick, South Carolina is look on a map at the Georgia-South Carolina border. North of Augusta (Georgia), but South of Greenville (South Carolina) is where I'm at. All around me are State Parks and Strom Thurmand Lake. Gorgeous area to visit if you want to fish or spend time on a lake. It isn't crowded at all, very quiet.

The reason I traveled to Augusta today was to 1) get something to eat (my only choices in McCormick are Subway and Hardees) 2) find internet service (I found some in a hotel's parking lot: Thank you Augusta Suites Inn) and 3) drive past Augusta National Golf Club. It was cool to see Magnolia Lane. It is right off the road and despite a strong urge to pull in there, I did not.

That's all for now. Hopefully I'll post again later this week.

Neil
This Week's Field (my name will be added soon)

36 Holes.......1 Birdie......2 Eagles!?!?

Yes, that's true. It's sad, but somehow I made more eagles than I did birdies. I like the 2 eagles, but only 1 birdie in 36 holes is horrible. Especially since I had plenty of chances. I never felt comfortable on the greens and never took advantage of my good shots by making putts longer than 10 feet. I was too worried about the speed of the green (or lack there of) and the bumpiness of them. That prevented me from making solid strokes. One good thing about my putting was that on the greens that were smooth, I made putts. Just goes to show you how your mind can get in the way of making a good putting stroke.

Besides the putting I struggled with my tee shots today. I needed to hit my 3 wood and Driver better to day if I wanted to score better. When I did find the fairway, I hit good approach shots and had opportunities to make birdies.

The score was better than yesterday so I hope to take the positives from today and this week and use them next week.

I will talk to you next from McCormick, South Carolina. Until then, have a nice weekend.

Neil
My Scorecard

A Good Day (despite what the score was)

Hello All,

Looking at the score, you might not think today was a good day, but it was. I hit a lot of good shots. It's just unfortunate that my bad shots and my mistakes blew up into really big mistakes. I did struggle with putting today, not making many putts. Overall I felt very cautious on the greens. The greens are slow and bumpy and my putting stroke isn't quite in mid-season form. I didn't make anything over 15 feet so despite feeling good about hitting the ball, I wasn't rewarded or able to take advantage of the good shots.

I saved my round on number 17 when I holed my shot from 110 yards. My second shot actually flew right into the hole and stayed there. It destroyed part of the cup and made me feel much better about my round. The next hole, 18, I hit my drive through the fairway and into a hazard. It was a dried up creek so I hacked my next shot through some branches, under a tree, and up onto the green. I two-putted from 25 feet to finish with a 77.

I play late on Friday so I won't update until after 9pm. You can wait until I update, or check the scores here.

Thanks for all the emails and phone calls. I appreciate all of my friends and family cheering me on.

Neil
Scorecard for Round 1
Leaderboard for entire Tournament