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