I Let This One Slip Away

Today was smooth sailing for thirteen holes and then my brain got in the way and I started hitting the ball into the desert and into fairway bunkers. I kept things so simple for those first thirteen holes. I didn't let myself overthink my club selection, and I was very content with hitting my shot anywhere on the putting surface because that gave me a chance at birdie and subsequently an easy chance at par.

Once I got to #5, I debated way to long as to which club I shot hit off the tee. The hole is only 380 yards, but it gets very narrow at about 270 yards. Yesterday I hit a driver that reached the narrow area of the fairway and caromed into the desert. I went on to make a bogey. Today, that bogey was fresh in my mind so I thought about hitting 3-wood for accuracy. Unfortunately I was also telling myself that I was hitting the driver too good to not stay aggressive. The resulting pulled 3-wood went into the desert and managed to fly right into a bush.

I found the ball lodged in the bush about 6 inches above ground. I took one swing at it and nothing came out. Upon a 60 second search to relocate my ball I took another thrash at the ball. This time 2, that's right TWO balls came flying out of the bush. My ball bounced out into the fairway and the other ball trickled onto the cart path. Here's a quick question (I know the answer, but let's see if any of you come up with the same answer): If, on my second attempt at getting the ball out of the bush, I had only removed the other ball that wasn't mine, would I have been penalized for hitting the wrong ball?

Weird situation

Back to the rest of the round...I made a few nice par saves on 6, 7, and 8, but when I got to #9 I still had #5 in my brain. The ninth hole is only 360 so once again it's a lay-up hole, but after hitting such a poor 3-wood on #5, I didn't feel confident in hitting it on #9. So I pulled out driver and pulled it into a fairway bunker. I proceeded to hit the second shot short of the green, in the desert, and once again it levitated above ground in the same type of bush. This time it was about 2 feet in the air so I took an unplayable and made another double bogey.

Looking back to 4 days ago, you'll find a similar result to today. Round 2 of the Nebraska State Open was smooth sailing for 13 holes and then it was a grind for the last 5. On Thursday I need to find a way to keep swinging relaxed and without much deliberation for all 18 holes. If I do that, it'll be a fun scorecard to talk about.

I tee-off at 7:40 local time, so look for results in the mid-afternoon.

Stats - Not a surprise that the course average was 1 shot lower today. I thought the course played very easy today. The pins were accessible and with no wind, everything was right in front of you.

Neil

It Wasn't Pretty, But It Wasn't Terrible

My first round at PGA West was full of nerves, mistakes, timely birdies, and some great saves. I expected to be nervous, but what I felt on the first few holes was strange. The nerves made club selection more difficult. During the practice round, the first 5 holes were straight foward (with the exception of number 3. In the tournament round, I had a tough time getting through those holes at +2.

After the rough start where I was +4 through 7 holes I made a few birdies, and if it wasn't for 2 bad swings that put the ball in a hazard, I played well on the last 11. The best thing I had going today was my attitude. Even with the bad start, I was able to shake off all the bogeys and stay focused on my next shot. It was only the first round and I've got a lot more holes before I'm done. You don't have to go back very far before you'll find a tournament (Wisconsin State Open) where the 4 round tournament was a long week and wasn't over until the last round.

If you're interested, you can check out hole-by-hole stats.

Round 2 will be at 8:50. Check the results here


Neil

Ready for a Long Night Sleep

It was a long day of travel and then a practice round, but it all went very smoothly and I'm not resting in my hotel room.

I tee-off at 7:50 am on Tuesday, so you can probably check for results around 3:00 pm Minnesota time.

The golf course is a really good one. Driving is the key to scoring well because you won't be able to do much out of the pot bunkers or out of the desert.

I'll talk about my first round tomorrow night.

Neil

Columbus to Omaha to Dallas to Palm Springs; all in 24 hours

Boy am I glad this tournament isn't on the Dakotas Tour. Every tournament on the Dakotas Tour has a cut at around 30 players. If that was the case at the Nebraska State Open, I wouldn't have played a 3rd round. This tournament didn't have any cut, so everybody is invited for all three rounds.

I shot a final round 67 (4-under) and moved up enough places to receive a check. Most importantly, I putted really good today. Unlike the 2nd round, I actually think I got almost everything I could have out of my 67. Without question, I hit the ball better while shooting my 71, but I got the ball in the hole much better with the 67.

My ball found a lot of trees today, but I was able to make the most of what was given to me and hit punch shots back into the fairway or even onto the green. My ball hit a tree on holes 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 13, 14, 15, and 16. Holes 1, 13, 14, 15, and 16 I was left with a punch shot and I made a birdie on holes 13, 15, and 16.

It was a lot of fun to finally score well on a day where I don't hit it perfect. I still hit the ball very good (as you'll see from the stats), but it was far from how well I hit it in round 2.

Ballstriking: 39
Putting: 28

Tomorrow will be the toughest day in my 8 day marathon. I have a 5:50 am flight to Texas and then a connecting flight to Palm Springs. I should land in Palm Springs before noon. I will then pick up my rental car and drive to PGA West and play a practice round to get ready for Q-School, which starts Tuesday. I know I'll be tired on the golf course, but I'm going to have to stay focused during my practice round so I know what to expect come Tuesday. Everybody I've talked to has mentioned that the Norman Course at PGA West is really difficult so seeing it before the tournament will be very helpful.


Neil

2 Rounds, +3, 145

Round/Day 2 went better than yesterday. I shot even par 71, but I didn’t get everything out of my round. In fact, there haven’t been too many rounds this summer where I’ve gotten everything out of the round. I hit the ball way too good to only shoot 71 this morning. My putting is what has held me back all summer and it’s something about the 10-20 foot putts. I feel good about my putting stroke, but it doesn’t felt like I can make anything.

Starting on number 15 of round 1 through number 14 of round 2 I hit the ball as well as I have all summer. I only missed a few fairways in that stretch of 18 holes and only missed 2 greens. In that stretch I only played 4-under par and that includes 3 2-putt birdies. Basically I only made on putt for birdie outside of 5 feet. There was also a three putt in there.

So with one more round to go in Nebraska, I hope to figure out the greens and make some putts on Sunday. The greens are probably the fastest I’ve played all year, but they roll so smoothly that it should be easier to make putts. I just think I’m misreading every putt; mainly over-reading every putt.

Ballstriking: 40
Putting: 31

Round 2 results (I'm at 145)

Neil

Day 1 of 8

Today was the first of eight consecutive days of playing golf. Normally that isn't a problem, but 7 of the 8 days are competitive rounds of golf and the only day that isn't will be a travel day and a practice round day.

This weekend is the Nebraska State Open. On Monday, I will fly from Omaha, NE to Palm Springs, CA and get prepared for Q-School Pre-Qualifying.

I'm very excited about this week because I've prepared all summer for this time of the year. A lot of hard work went into being in shape physically and mentally for this much golf in a short time span.

The first round of the Nebraska State Open started off rough (1st round 74), but I have a optimistic attitude about the rest of the tournament and the rest of the nine days.

Ballstriking: 44
Putting: 28
Penalty Strokes: 2

Stay tuned for more posts. I hope to write a little something every day.

Neil

Back to Playing in the CVGA

The final tournament of the 2007 CVGA began today. I shot a 3-under 69 and find myself 4 shots behind the leader.

Ballstriking: 42
Putting: 27

Troy Shea, who is a member at the golf course we played, shot a 7-under 65. I'm tied with one other guy at 69 and then a group of people are at 70, 71, and 72.

My hope for Sunday is to get of to a good start so Troy feels a bit of pressure. We're playing in a two-some so it will almost have the feel of a match play round. I don't want to think like that because I'm tied with Jason Allen at 69 and he won this tournament last year. Additionally, there are several good players one, two, or three shots behind me.

I play at 11:20 on Sunday and I'm very optimistic about my chances. I definately gave this tournament away last year. I had it in my hands and I couldn't finish the round. All summer I've been talking about how my game is in a different spot than a year ago and tomorrow will be a great time to prove it.

I won't be able to post on Sunday or on Monday so to see results check of the CVGA website.

Neil

Round 2 at Dakota Winds

Shot yet another 72, which was 2 short of making the cut. I'm stuck in a rut of shooting 72's and that's not good on the Dakotas Tour. I need to find a way to shoot 3 or 4 under even when my game isn't at it's best. I believe I hit the ball well enough and made enough putts the past two days to make the cut or to shoot in the 60's, but I wasn't able to score in the 60's.

Stats today:
Ballstriking: 42
Putting: 29
Penalty Stroke: 1

Here's a course map of the course we played.


Friday will be a travel day for me. I'm heading home and will try and find a way to shoot lower scores. It's very cliche to say, "I'm close," but it feels like my game will all come together if I can just find the right focus.

Dakotas Tour Championship

Shot an even par 72 in round one. I was +3 after 11 holes, but 3 birdies in the final 6 holes got me back to even. Some player shot a course record 64, so I'm way back, but at least I have two rounds to make up the ground.

I tee off at 12:10 on Thursday. Hopefully round 2 won't be as windy as it was last year.

As for today's stats:

Ballstriking: 46
Putts: 25
Penalty Strokes: 1

Here's a quick update on what my stats were in the Wisconsin State Open:
Round 1 - Ballstriking: 42 Putting: 32 Penalty Stroke: 1
Round 2 - Ballstriking: 43 Putting: 30
Round 3 - Ballstriking: 45 Putting: 27 Penalty Stroke: 1
Round 4 - Ballstriking: 41 Putting: 29

Looking at those stats you can tell I struggled hitting the ball during the week and the only thing keeping me in the tournament was my short game (chipping and putting). Odd thing about those stats is I feel like until the last nines holes I putted horrible and I really didn't think I putted well during the third round. I guess chipping it inside of 3 feet saved me more than good putting saved me.

Neil

Monthly Update

It shouldn’t have come to this, but it’s been over a month since I last posted so I have a lot of golf tournaments to catch up on. I’m not sure what the overall mood of this post will be because there are some good tournaments to discuss and some bad ones too. I have high finishes, but also some cuts that were missed by a single shot

First, the tournament in Marshall, MN was a missed cut by one shot. After Marshall I had the Minnesota State Open and that was a great weekend. Through two rounds, I was tied for the lead. On Sunday, I didn’t play very aggressive and made a few too many mistakes. I finished 4th, but had a fun time signing autographs, doing radio/newspaper interviews, and feeling the pressure of playing in the final group of a big tournament.

I successfully qualified for the Wisconsin State Open up in Hayward, WI. Later in August, I placed 9th in the Wisconsin State Open in Sheboygan, WI. Round one, two, and three were a test of survival and I finished with scores of 75-73-73. That put me into 16th place going into the final round. Three bogies through the first 8 holes of round 4 had me going in the wrong direction, but once I made the turn a new golfer showed up. I birdied 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 to get to 2-under par. On 15, the horns blew and bad weather pushed the tournament into the next morning. I finished the round with 4 pars for a final round 70 (39-31).

Before I played in the Wisconsin State Open I traveled to Rapid City, SD and missed the cut by one shot. This one hurts because I shot 69-72 (1-under par) and was only 8 shots behind the leader, but this wasn’t good enough to make the cut. The top 30 and ties made the cut and I just missed it.

Currently I’m in Fargo, ND where I just missed the North Dakota Open cut after shooting 72-72. The cut was 141, and I missed that cut because I made no putts during the first two rounds.

I also have had a CVGA Tournament where I finished 2nd.

One final thing to mention is PGA Q-School, which will begin September 18 in Palm Springs, CA. I will be playing at PGA West (the Norman Course) and look forward to the grind that is Qualifying School. I’m much more prepared this year than I was two years ago so keep checking the site and I’ll try to update more frequently than once a month.

Neil