WARNING: Heavy Analyzation Below

Before reading this post you're going to want to put your thinking cap on.


If you don't want to read some in depth golf talk, you probably shouldn't be reading this blog ignore this post.

Since the beginning of this blog, I've tried to write about my golf tournaments. It's not easy to explain a round of golf and it's tough for the reader to understand what I mean when I say, "I hit the ball well today." During my drive from Waterloo, IA to Marshall, MN I came up with 2 stats that I'll start using.

The first stat deals with putting. It's very simple to follow. If you 2 putt every green, you'll finish with 36 putts. So the first stat will be how many putts I have during a round. The baseline for a good putting day or a bad putting day is 30 putts. It'd be very tough to say I putted well when the number is 31 or more.

The second stat is more complicated and this is where you really need the thinking cap. This stat will focus on ballstriking. That includes everything that is not a putt. Most golf courses par is 72. Putting is allotted for 36 of the 72 shots. That leaves 36 shots not coming from the putter. If a golf course has par of 71, than 35 shots are left for ballstriking. A good ballstriking day would consist of 36 shots (that is 1 shot one every par 3, 2 on every par 4, and 3 on every par 5). Actually finishing with 36 "swings" would a be a very good ballstriking day so I'll say the baseline for a good ballstriking day in 40 shots. Having 40 shots means you hit around 14 greens in regulation and any day where you have 14 birdie putts leaves me a good chance to score well.

Now for a few examples

When I shot my 62 at the State Open here were my stats:
Ballstriking - 36 (I hit an extra shot on a par 3 and a par 4, but I reached two par 5's in two shots)
Putting - 26
Add those two numbers up and you get 62.

This past Sunday in Waterloo, IA I shot a 4-under 68:
Ballstriking - 37 (An extra shot on two par 4's, but reached one par 5 in two shots)
Putting - 30
Penalty Shot - 1 ( I had to take an unplayable lie)
Add 'em up and get 68.

Finally, today in Marshall, MN where the course is a par 71 (36 putts and 35 ballstrikes for baseline):
Ballstriking - 37
Putting - 33
That adds up to a 1-under par 70.


I'm done explaining. Hopefully I explained it good enough, but I doubt that I did. Send me a note if something is really confusing you and I'll try and clear it up. I think this will be an easier way to tell you how my game is performing.

Neil

Waterloo Open

Round one is complete and I shot 69. Check out the rest of the scores here. I'm going to take a nap before dinner.

In order to make the cut, I have to finish in the top 60. Looks pretty good after the morning scores.

Neil

The Good, The Sad, & The Depressing

The Good:

Shot -7 on the weekend (68-69). Ballstriking was outstanding and I had several eagle putts and hit 30 of the 36 greens in the last two rounds. It felt good to rebound in the 2nd and 3rd round after a poor first round.

The Sad:

My putting. I don't say sad, meaning my putting brought me to tears, but rather meaning that my putting was very dreadful. While shooting 7 under for the last 36 holes, I had 65 putts. Only 5 times during the whole tournament did I one-putt for a birdie/eagle. I had 4 two-putt birdies, which tells you I was hitting the ball good enough to go really low.

The Depressing:

Check-out time at Hotel - 10am. Final round tee-time - 1:50. That left three hours to waste in Vermillion, SD. I had no book to read, and I didn't feel like going to the course to sit in the clubhouse. Instead I snuck onto the University of South Dakota's campus and tried to find a piano that I could play. It wasn't until I drove to the North side of campus that I found the Music Building. It was open, but only because they had a music camp going on, so every practice room was filled with young kids practicing. No room for me. From there I went to Burger King and ate lunch alone. I should have just gone to the golf course and had a sandwich there and found a way to waste time there. I also will remember to bring a book so I can sit in the clubhouse with something to pass the time.



This weekend I have a two day shootout in Waterloo, IA. Lots of info on the tournament can be found here. From there, I'll be in Marshall, MN for three days.

South Dakota Open Results: I shot 213
Sioux Falls Pro-Am Results: I shot 73

One more thing. I played with Brian Geraty on Sunday and he has a website of his own. Feel free to check it out.

Neil

On The Road In Vermillion, SD

Two rounds are completed in the South Dakota State Open and I purposely waited to update the blog until after a good round. Round one was a dissapointing 76 and it felt very reminiscent to last summer.

Thankfully my game is in a totally different place this year and I was able to rebound with a solid 68 in round two. The highlight of the round came on my 5th hole (#14) where I drove the ball into the greenside bunker and then holed the second shot for an eagle.



That picture is layout of the course and I bet the first thing you notice is all the water. Very little of that actually comes into play and most of those small ponds are dry. The toughest part of this course are the greens. Every green has a severe slope along with many tiers. In fact, putting was the only thing that kept me from shooting lower than a 68.

Sunday is the final round and I'll try and post Sunday night or Monday morning.

Neil