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