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.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Saturday, May 27, 2006
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
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
Thursday, May 25, 2006
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
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
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
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
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
Monday, May 22, 2006
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
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
Friday, May 19, 2006
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
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
Thursday, May 18, 2006
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
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
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
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.
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.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
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
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
Saturday, May 13, 2006
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
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
Friday, May 12, 2006
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:
Neil
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:
- 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.
- 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
Thursday, May 11, 2006
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
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
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Indian Lakes Resort Classic
Link-O-Rama
- My Tee Times on Thursday and Friday are 1:33 pm off of hole #10 and then 8:33 am off of hole #1.
- Where am I?
- Weekly weather forecast
- Golf Course's scorecard and information
- Player's in the field
- 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
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