WRXers Scratch Amateur Tournaments Thread: Commitments, Results, etc....

[swizbeatz]

Had my first team play match last week, team lost but I was low man of the 16 guys at their home course which is a pretty tough 72.9/136 as a par 71. Bogied 3-5 but made a few birdies on the back to shoot 72, pretty happy with how I’m hitting it. I’ve got another match Saturday against a team with some top 50 Ams in the state and then both Senior/Mid am team and state Am qualifiers in the next 2 weeks.

[gioguy21]

i played two rounds - last friday and saturday. they were both practice rounds for upcoming qualifiers. friday i played the course that will host our state mid am -- and it was crazy short and imo really easy (shot -2 and they were punched about a week ago). saturday i played the site of the us open qual this week -- and it is insanely tight off the tee and the greens are very fast and firm. now that i know what clubs to hit off the tee and where to miss on the greens, i expect to play very well - all the tee clubs are comfortable to me (and the shot shape needed as well). i think a score of even or possibly +1 might get thru on this course. as for the mid am (on the 15th) - i think a score of no more than 1 over gets in; people will be going low there.

 

between now and then - played 18 last night and shot even on a course i know well, working shots i'd see in my qual thursday. today is nothing but stretching and relaxing; and tomorrow is a bucket of balls at lunch and some chipping/putting after work. game time is thursday, 8:40am off 1; if anyone wants to follow along:

 

https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/1955414

 

[ThinkingPlus]

> @gioguy21 said:

> i played two rounds - last friday and saturday. they were both practice rounds for upcoming qualifiers. friday i played the course that will host our state mid am -- and it was crazy short and imo really easy (shot -2 and they were punched about a week ago). saturday i played the site of the us open qual this week -- and it is insanely tight off the tee and the greens are very fast and firm. now that i know what clubs to hit off the tee and where to miss on the greens, i expect to play very well - all the tee clubs are comfortable to me (and the shot shape needed as well). i think a score of even or possibly +1 might get thru on this course. as for the mid am (on the 15th) - i think a score of no more than 1 over gets in; people will be going low there.

>

> between now and then - played 18 last night and shot even on a course i know well, working shots i'd see in my qual thursday. today is nothing but stretching and relaxing; and tomorrow is a bucket of balls at lunch and some chipping/putting after work. game time is thursday, 8:40am off 1; if anyone wants to follow along:

>

> https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/1955414

>

 

Good luck and play well.

[gioguy21]

> @ThinkingPlus said:

> > @gioguy21 said:

> > i played two rounds - last friday and saturday. they were both practice rounds for upcoming qualifiers. friday i played the course that will host our state mid am -- and it was crazy short and imo really easy (shot -2 and they were punched about a week ago). saturday i played the site of the us open qual this week -- and it is insanely tight off the tee and the greens are very fast and firm. now that i know what clubs to hit off the tee and where to miss on the greens, i expect to play very well - all the tee clubs are comfortable to me (and the shot shape needed as well). i think a score of even or possibly +1 might get thru on this course. as for the mid am (on the 15th) - i think a score of no more than 1 over gets in; people will be going low there.

> >

> > between now and then - played 18 last night and shot even on a course i know well, working shots i'd see in my qual thursday. today is nothing but stretching and relaxing; and tomorrow is a bucket of balls at lunch and some chipping/putting after work. game time is thursday, 8:40am off 1; if anyone wants to follow along:

> >

> > https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/1955414

> >

>

> Good luck and play well.

 

thank you!

[BuzzCat]

> @gioguy21 said:

> i played two rounds - last friday and saturday. they were both practice rounds for upcoming qualifiers. friday i played the course that will host our state mid am -- and it was crazy short and imo really easy (shot -2 and they were punched about a week ago). saturday i played the site of the us open qual this week -- and it is insanely tight off the tee and the greens are very fast and firm. now that i know what clubs to hit off the tee and where to miss on the greens, i expect to play very well - all the tee clubs are comfortable to me (and the shot shape needed as well). i think a score of even or possibly +1 might get thru on this course. as for the mid am (on the 15th) - i think a score of no more than 1 over gets in; people will be going low there.

>

> between now and then - played 18 last night and shot even on a course i know well, working shots i'd see in my qual thursday. today is nothing but stretching and relaxing; and tomorrow is a bucket of balls at lunch and some chipping/putting after work. game time is thursday, 8:40am off 1; if anyone wants to follow along:

>

> https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/1955414

>

 

Good luck! I like how you have your thoughts figured out for how to approach your week. I'm playing my first state qualifier this month and will try something similar. With work and little kids it's tough to actually play, but balls after work, putting at lunch, stretching at night...those kinds of things I can do.

[Obee]

I have U.S. Senior Open Qualifying and California State Am qualifying coming up. Not sure when, though. LOL

[gioguy21]

> @Obee said:

> I have U.S. Senior Open Qualifying and California State Am qualifying coming up. Not sure when, though. LOL

 

kill it man...patience and confidence.

[vietnameeh]

> @gioguy21 said:

> i played two rounds - last friday and saturday. they were both practice rounds for upcoming qualifiers. friday i played the course that will host our state mid am -- and it was crazy short and imo really easy (shot -2 and they were punched about a week ago). saturday i played the site of the us open qual this week -- and it is insanely tight off the tee and the greens are very fast and firm. now that i know what clubs to hit off the tee and where to miss on the greens, i expect to play very well - all the tee clubs are comfortable to me (and the shot shape needed as well). i think a score of even or possibly +1 might get thru on this course. as for the mid am (on the 15th) - i think a score of no more than 1 over gets in; people will be going low there.

>

> between now and then - played 18 last night and shot even on a course i know well, working shots i'd see in my qual thursday. today is nothing but stretching and relaxing; and tomorrow is a bucket of balls at lunch and some chipping/putting after work. game time is thursday, 8:40am off 1; if anyone wants to follow along:

>

> https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/1955414

>

 

good luck! love your mentality!. I assume you are the 8:40 tee time?

[vietnameeh]

I have the NCGA 4 Ball event at Spyglass Hill this weekend, luckily I have work nearby on thurs, so I am hoping to sneak away and go out to spyglass and get on their practice area.

We are going to get waxed, but I plan to take some nice pictures for instagram LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

[gioguy21]

> @vietnameeh said:

> > @gioguy21 said:

> > i played two rounds - last friday and saturday. they were both practice rounds for upcoming qualifiers. friday i played the course that will host our state mid am -- and it was crazy short and imo really easy (shot -2 and they were punched about a week ago). saturday i played the site of the us open qual this week -- and it is insanely tight off the tee and the greens are very fast and firm. now that i know what clubs to hit off the tee and where to miss on the greens, i expect to play very well - all the tee clubs are comfortable to me (and the shot shape needed as well). i think a score of even or possibly +1 might get thru on this course. as for the mid am (on the 15th) - i think a score of no more than 1 over gets in; people will be going low there.

> >

> > between now and then - played 18 last night and shot even on a course i know well, working shots i'd see in my qual thursday. today is nothing but stretching and relaxing; and tomorrow is a bucket of balls at lunch and some chipping/putting after work. game time is thursday, 8:40am off 1; if anyone wants to follow along:

> >

> > https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/1955414

> >

>

> good luck! love your mentality!. I assume you are the 8:40 tee time?

 

Yessir, 8:40am off 1

[Shades234]

Not sure if anyone cares, but I'll post my update for the thread. lol

 

Played an SCGA One-Day Series event on 5/4 at Riverwalk Golf Course in San Diego. Felt like it would be a good way to get some sort of competitive round under my belt since my last event was about 2 months ago. I wasn't expecting things to go perfectly, but I didn't expect to make as many mistakes as I did. Ended up shooting 78 with just 3 birdies. A few takeaways were that as the round goes on was slipping into auto-pilot. I was assuming I knew wind direction (or just not considering it) when it takes less than 2 seconds to just toss some grass while someone else is hitting. I also realized that I'm not nearly as good of a putter as I thought I was. I think I counted up 40 putts when everything was said and done. I expected to be above 30 since I was hitting a bunch of greens, but I gave myself 7 birdie looks from within 10' only to make the tap-ins (< 3'). Proximity to the hole wasn't a problem at any point on the day and I 3-putted multiple times from within 25' as well as missed a few 4' putts that would've been good par saves and one birdie. My issue is not with missing putts per say. I just wasn't making good strokes probably 50% of the time regardless of distance from the hole. It's frustrating to look back on, but just means I know where I'll be spending a lot of time going forward. I thought I was doing enough to maintain what I thought was pretty good putting from this past summer, but competition is a different beast I suppose. Positives were that my ballstriking was pretty good. Driver was behaving itself and I hit my short irons and wedges probably better than I ever have in competition. I've been putting a lot of work into approach shots and it was nice to get some validation that my work is paying off in these areas.

 

Sunday was a practice round at Shadowridge Club up in Vista. Glad I scheduled it and went up there ahead of time. I had played the course several times before, but it had been about a year since the last time and there was plenty that I didn't remember. The greens have so much undulation at this course that it's important to play to the correct part of the green to make your life easier.

 

Yesterday was my run at qualifying for the Cal State Am. It's being contested at Monterey Peninsula CC this year, so I was really hoping to get through. To make a long story short, my ballstriking was good enough to qualify, but my putting was not. Shot an 80 on the back of 39 putts. Was a windy day and scores did not go low. There were a couple 71's and a host of 72's that made it through. This was a day where the magic 30 putt number was attainable for me. I was keeping my approach shots on the correct side of the hole for the most part and when I missed a drive I was typically able to recover well enough to give myself a good look for par or even birdie. Unfortunately, my putter was just not behaving which was disappointing and by the 15th teebox I was 3 over with 4 to play and I knew that I had to birdie 2 (hopefully 3) of the last 4 to have a shot at a potential playoff (thinking back, maybe it was wrong to think this way?) The 15th hole is a ~200 yard par 3 playing into the wind with water short/left. I pulled a 4i long left and was short sided. After a lackluster chip I had about 15' for par. 4 putts later, my ball was at the bottom of the cup and my qualifier was over. Result for qual: https://calam-2019californiaamateurqualifyingsha.golfgenius.com/pages/4789526748020626403

 

So I have a couple of questions for the thread. What's your favorite putting drill?

 

And second, I've never qualified from one of these events. This was my 5th individual qualifier that I've played in and my scores have been 79 (Cal Am 2018 Shadowridge), 72 (SCGA 2018 Shadowridge), 70-75 (US Am 2018 Sunnyside), 78 (SCGA Mid-Am 2019 Bernardo Heights), 80 (Sunday Shadowridge). I played highschool golf and kept it in the low to mid 70's for the most part. I took 5.5 years off in college and starting my career, but I feel like I'm a much better player now than I ever was in high school. However, I'm not golfing my ball as well as I did back then. Do you guys have any advice for this? Anything you've figured out in your mentality for example? Maybe a book recommendation? I've read Rotella's books, but maybe I need to read them again. I'm not discouraged and feel like it's just a matter of time until I start piecing together good rounds, but if there's any advice you could offer, I appreciate it.

 

[Obee]

> @Shades234 said:

> Not sure if anyone cares, but I'll post my update for the thread. lol

>

> Played an SCGA One-Day Series event on 5/4 at Riverwalk Golf Course in San Diego. Felt like it would be a good way to get some sort of competitive round under my belt since my last event was about 2 months ago. I wasn't expecting things to go perfectly, but I didn't expect to make as many mistakes as I did. Ended up shooting 78 with just 3 birdies. A few takeaways were that as the round goes on was slipping into auto-pilot. I was assuming I knew wind direction (or just not considering it) when it takes less than 2 seconds to just toss some grass while someone else is hitting. I also realized that I'm not nearly as good of a putter as I thought I was. I think I counted up 40 putts when everything was said and done. I expected to be above 30 since I was hitting a bunch of greens, but I gave myself 7 birdie looks from within 10' only to make the tap-ins (< 3'). Proximity to the hole wasn't a problem at any point on the day and I 3-putted multiple times from within 25' as well as missed a few 4' putts that would've been good par saves and one birdie. My issue is not with missing putts per say. I just wasn't making good strokes probably 50% of the time regardless of distance from the hole. It's frustrating to look back on, but just means I know where I'll be spending a lot of time going forward. I thought I was doing enough to maintain what I thought was pretty good putting from this past summer, but competition is a different beast I suppose. Positives were that my ballstriking was pretty good. Driver was behaving itself and I hit my short irons and wedges probably better than I ever have in competition. I've been putting a lot of work into approach shots and it was nice to get some validation that my work is paying off in these areas.

>

> Sunday was a practice round at Shadowridge Club up in Vista. Glad I scheduled it and went up there ahead of time. I had played the course several times before, but it had been about a year since the last time and there was plenty that I didn't remember. The greens have so much undulation at this course that it's important to play to the correct part of the green to make your life easier.

>

> Yesterday was my run at qualifying for the Cal State Am. It's being contested at Monterey Peninsula CC this year, so I was really hoping to get through. To make a long story short, my ballstriking was good enough to qualify, but my putting was not. Shot an 80 on the back of 39 putts. Was a windy day and scores did not go low. There were a couple 71's and a host of 72's that made it through. This was a day where the magic 30 putt number was attainable for me. I was keeping my approach shots on the correct side of the hole for the most part and when I missed a drive I was typically able to recover well enough to give myself a good look for par or even birdie. Unfortunately, my putter was just not behaving which was disappointing and by the 15th teebox I was 3 over with 4 to play and I knew that I had to birdie 2 (hopefully 3) of the last 4 to have a shot at a potential playoff (thinking back, maybe it was wrong to think this way?) The 15th hole is a ~200 yard par 3 playing into the wind with water short/left. I pulled a 4i long left and was short sided. After a lackluster chip I had about 15' for par. 4 putts later, my ball was at the bottom of the cup and my qualifier was over. Result for qual: https://calam-2019californiaamateurqualifyingsha.golfgenius.com/pages/4789526748020626403

>

> So I have a couple of questions for the thread. What's your favorite putting drill?

>

> And second, I've never qualified from one of these events. This was my 5th individual qualifier that I've played in and my scores have been 79 (Cal Am 2018 Shadowridge), 72 (SCGA 2018 Shadowridge), 70-75 (US Am 2018 Sunnyside), 78 (SCGA Mid-Am 2019 Bernardo Heights), 80 (Sunday Shadowridge). I played highschool golf and kept it in the low to mid 70's for the most part. I took 5.5 years off in college and starting my career, but I feel like I'm a much better player now than I ever was in high school. However, I'm not golfing my ball as well as I did back then. Do you guys have any advice for this? Anything you've figured out in your mentality for example? Maybe a book recommendation? I've read Rotella's books, but maybe I need to read them again. I'm not discouraged and feel like it's just a matter of time until I start piecing together good rounds, but if there's any advice you could offer, I appreciate it.

>

Congrats for putting your game on the line!

 

Regarding advice: Yes, plenty. That's why I started this thread. I've been playing competitive amateur golf since I was ~30. Have some nice finishes in some decent events on my resume, but I'm a nobody.

 

WE, however (the collective "we" of GolfWRX competitive players who've entered tournaments and come out the other side with some qualifiers conquered, cuts made, and maybe even a win here and there) have plenty of wisdom to share -- together.

 

To compete against the best in any region, you need to be brutally honest with yourself. Start there. I don't even want to know what you are good at, because none of us struggling mid-ams are truly "good" at anything. I want to know what you suck at. It could be mental game. It could be 4-foot, uphill, right-to-left putts under pressure. It could be tight tee shots when you are in contention. Anything.

 

To me, brutal self awareness is where the journey begins....

 

It's my wife's birthday and I've been drinking, so take that all with a grain of salt.... :-)

 

[Ty_Webb]

> @Shades234 said:

> Not sure if anyone cares, but I'll post my update for the thread. lol

>

> Played an SCGA One-Day Series event on 5/4 at Riverwalk Golf Course in San Diego. Felt like it would be a good way to get some sort of competitive round under my belt since my last event was about 2 months ago. I wasn't expecting things to go perfectly, but I didn't expect to make as many mistakes as I did. Ended up shooting 78 with just 3 birdies. A few takeaways were that as the round goes on was slipping into auto-pilot. I was assuming I knew wind direction (or just not considering it) when it takes less than 2 seconds to just toss some grass while someone else is hitting. I also realized that I'm not nearly as good of a putter as I thought I was. I think I counted up 40 putts when everything was said and done. I expected to be above 30 since I was hitting a bunch of greens, but I gave myself 7 birdie looks from within 10' only to make the tap-ins (< 3'). Proximity to the hole wasn't a problem at any point on the day and I 3-putted multiple times from within 25' as well as missed a few 4' putts that would've been good par saves and one birdie. My issue is not with missing putts per say. I just wasn't making good strokes probably 50% of the time regardless of distance from the hole. It's frustrating to look back on, but just means I know where I'll be spending a lot of time going forward. I thought I was doing enough to maintain what I thought was pretty good putting from this past summer, but competition is a different beast I suppose. Positives were that my ballstriking was pretty good. Driver was behaving itself and I hit my short irons and wedges probably better than I ever have in competition. I've been putting a lot of work into approach shots and it was nice to get some validation that my work is paying off in these areas.

>

> Sunday was a practice round at Shadowridge Club up in Vista. Glad I scheduled it and went up there ahead of time. I had played the course several times before, but it had been about a year since the last time and there was plenty that I didn't remember. The greens have so much undulation at this course that it's important to play to the correct part of the green to make your life easier.

>

> Yesterday was my run at qualifying for the Cal State Am. It's being contested at Monterey Peninsula CC this year, so I was really hoping to get through. To make a long story short, my ballstriking was good enough to qualify, but my putting was not. Shot an 80 on the back of 39 putts. Was a windy day and scores did not go low. There were a couple 71's and a host of 72's that made it through. This was a day where the magic 30 putt number was attainable for me. I was keeping my approach shots on the correct side of the hole for the most part and when I missed a drive I was typically able to recover well enough to give myself a good look for par or even birdie. Unfortunately, my putter was just not behaving which was disappointing and by the 15th teebox I was 3 over with 4 to play and I knew that I had to birdie 2 (hopefully 3) of the last 4 to have a shot at a potential playoff (thinking back, maybe it was wrong to think this way?) The 15th hole is a ~200 yard par 3 playing into the wind with water short/left. I pulled a 4i long left and was short sided. After a lackluster chip I had about 15' for par. 4 putts later, my ball was at the bottom of the cup and my qualifier was over. Result for qual: https://calam-2019californiaamateurqualifyingsha.golfgenius.com/pages/4789526748020626403

>

> So I have a couple of questions for the thread. What's your favorite putting drill?

>

> And second, I've never qualified from one of these events. This was my 5th individual qualifier that I've played in and my scores have been 79 (Cal Am 2018 Shadowridge), 72 (SCGA 2018 Shadowridge), 70-75 (US Am 2018 Sunnyside), 78 (SCGA Mid-Am 2019 Bernardo Heights), 80 (Sunday Shadowridge). I played highschool golf and kept it in the low to mid 70's for the most part. I took 5.5 years off in college and starting my career, but I feel like I'm a much better player now than I ever was in high school. However, I'm not golfing my ball as well as I did back then. Do you guys have any advice for this? Anything you've figured out in your mentality for example? Maybe a book recommendation? I've read Rotella's books, but maybe I need to read them again. I'm not discouraged and feel like it's just a matter of time until I start piecing together good rounds, but if there's any advice you could offer, I appreciate it.

>

 

Not sure of any books per se, but I would suggest, if you’re serious about it, look into Decade by Scott Fawcett. Check out his YouTube first. There is a video on driving that is indicative of the sort of thing he gets into.

 

What Ober said is sound. There will be room for improvement in every part of your game, but my impression is your putting is going to give you the best bang for your buck.

 

Bear with me a second. There are two types of putting. Putting inside ten feet is mostly about getting your start line right. Speed is a little less important. That’s because most people can get speed right from inside ten feet. Outside ten feet speed control is more important. One of the key issues with longer putting is expectation management. Somewhere around 30 feet, tour players are slightly more likely to 3 putt than 1 putt. That means you should be trying to lay it dead from that range. Not to hole it.

 

Do you typically wind up long, short or is it a range? If it’s long you’re likely trying to hole it too much. Think of the ball dropping in the front edge of the hole. If it’s short, one thing I try to do which helps is make sure that I’m aware of the space behind the hole. That gives me permission to hit it by the hole. If it’s a range then do speed control drills. Stick three tees in the green in a line about a foot apart from each other. Then pace off 20 feet away and put some balls down. Hit a putt from 20 feet to the middle tee. If it finishes between the outer two, go back a foot and hit another. Goal is to get back to 30 feet. If you miss, start over.

[Shades234]

> @Obee said:

> > @Shades234 said:

> > Not sure if anyone cares, but I'll post my update for the thread. lol

> >

> > Played an SCGA One-Day Series event on 5/4 at Riverwalk Golf Course in San Diego. Felt like it would be a good way to get some sort of competitive round under my belt since my last event was about 2 months ago. I wasn't expecting things to go perfectly, but I didn't expect to make as many mistakes as I did. Ended up shooting 78 with just 3 birdies. A few takeaways were that as the round goes on was slipping into auto-pilot. I was assuming I knew wind direction (or just not considering it) when it takes less than 2 seconds to just toss some grass while someone else is hitting. I also realized that I'm not nearly as good of a putter as I thought I was. I think I counted up 40 putts when everything was said and done. I expected to be above 30 since I was hitting a bunch of greens, but I gave myself 7 birdie looks from within 10' only to make the tap-ins (< 3'). Proximity to the hole wasn't a problem at any point on the day and I 3-putted multiple times from within 25' as well as missed a few 4' putts that would've been good par saves and one birdie. My issue is not with missing putts per say. I just wasn't making good strokes probably 50% of the time regardless of distance from the hole. It's frustrating to look back on, but just means I know where I'll be spending a lot of time going forward. I thought I was doing enough to maintain what I thought was pretty good putting from this past summer, but competition is a different beast I suppose. Positives were that my ballstriking was pretty good. Driver was behaving itself and I hit my short irons and wedges probably better than I ever have in competition. I've been putting a lot of work into approach shots and it was nice to get some validation that my work is paying off in these areas.

> >

> > Sunday was a practice round at Shadowridge Club up in Vista. Glad I scheduled it and went up there ahead of time. I had played the course several times before, but it had been about a year since the last time and there was plenty that I didn't remember. The greens have so much undulation at this course that it's important to play to the correct part of the green to make your life easier.

> >

> > Yesterday was my run at qualifying for the Cal State Am. It's being contested at Monterey Peninsula CC this year, so I was really hoping to get through. To make a long story short, my ballstriking was good enough to qualify, but my putting was not. Shot an 80 on the back of 39 putts. Was a windy day and scores did not go low. There were a couple 71's and a host of 72's that made it through. This was a day where the magic 30 putt number was attainable for me. I was keeping my approach shots on the correct side of the hole for the most part and when I missed a drive I was typically able to recover well enough to give myself a good look for par or even birdie. Unfortunately, my putter was just not behaving which was disappointing and by the 15th teebox I was 3 over with 4 to play and I knew that I had to birdie 2 (hopefully 3) of the last 4 to have a shot at a potential playoff (thinking back, maybe it was wrong to think this way?) The 15th hole is a ~200 yard par 3 playing into the wind with water short/left. I pulled a 4i long left and was short sided. After a lackluster chip I had about 15' for par. 4 putts later, my ball was at the bottom of the cup and my qualifier was over. Result for qual: https://calam-2019californiaamateurqualifyingsha.golfgenius.com/pages/4789526748020626403

> >

> > So I have a couple of questions for the thread. What's your favorite putting drill?

> >

> > And second, I've never qualified from one of these events. This was my 5th individual qualifier that I've played in and my scores have been 79 (Cal Am 2018 Shadowridge), 72 (SCGA 2018 Shadowridge), 70-75 (US Am 2018 Sunnyside), 78 (SCGA Mid-Am 2019 Bernardo Heights), 80 (Sunday Shadowridge). I played highschool golf and kept it in the low to mid 70's for the most part. I took 5.5 years off in college and starting my career, but I feel like I'm a much better player now than I ever was in high school. However, I'm not golfing my ball as well as I did back then. Do you guys have any advice for this? Anything you've figured out in your mentality for example? Maybe a book recommendation? I've read Rotella's books, but maybe I need to read them again. I'm not discouraged and feel like it's just a matter of time until I start piecing together good rounds, but if there's any advice you could offer, I appreciate it.

> >

> Congrats for putting your game on the line!

>

> Regarding advice: Yes, plenty. That's why I started this thread. I've been playing competitive amateur golf since I was ~30. Have some nice finishes in some decent events on my resume, but I'm a nobody.

>

> WE, however (the collective "we" of GolfWRX competitive players who've entered tournaments and come out the other side with some qualifiers conquered, cuts made, and maybe even a win here and there) have plenty of wisdom to share -- together.

>

> To compete against the best in any region, you need to be brutally honest with yourself. Start there. I don't even want to know what you are good at, because none of us struggling mid-ams are truly "good" at anything. I want to know what you suck at. It could be mental game. It could be 4-foot, uphill, right-to-left putts under pressure. It could be tight tee shots when you are in contention. Anything.

>

> To me, brutal self awareness is where the journey begins....

>

> It's my wife's birthday and I've been drinking, so take that all with a grain of salt.... :-)

>

 

Great point. The past 6 months I've been working on improving the consistency of my ballstriking. I joined a club that has some tight fairways and I was losing a lot of balls off the tee... and from the fairway. So I thought that some swing changes were the way. I'm definitely a better ballstriker now, but since ballstriking was never the worst part of my game, it seems the improvement that I saw at my home club isn't actually as much of an advantage at other more forgiving courses (like Shadowridge).

 

Maybe I have some recency bias but the worst parts of my game right now are putting (inside 10' as well as general lagging), par 3 tee shots, driving accuracy. I can live with everything else even though I want to improve everything at the same time. I've always felt like my mental game has been a strength. I don't let mistakes early in my round snowball, but maybe I should be analyzing why I'm making early mistakes in the first place that put me behind the 8-ball later in my round.

[Shades234]

> @Ty_Webb said:

> > @Shades234 said:

> > Not sure if anyone cares, but I'll post my update for the thread. lol

> >

> > Played an SCGA One-Day Series event on 5/4 at Riverwalk Golf Course in San Diego. Felt like it would be a good way to get some sort of competitive round under my belt since my last event was about 2 months ago. I wasn't expecting things to go perfectly, but I didn't expect to make as many mistakes as I did. Ended up shooting 78 with just 3 birdies. A few takeaways were that as the round goes on was slipping into auto-pilot. I was assuming I knew wind direction (or just not considering it) when it takes less than 2 seconds to just toss some grass while someone else is hitting. I also realized that I'm not nearly as good of a putter as I thought I was. I think I counted up 40 putts when everything was said and done. I expected to be above 30 since I was hitting a bunch of greens, but I gave myself 7 birdie looks from within 10' only to make the tap-ins (< 3'). Proximity to the hole wasn't a problem at any point on the day and I 3-putted multiple times from within 25' as well as missed a few 4' putts that would've been good par saves and one birdie. My issue is not with missing putts per say. I just wasn't making good strokes probably 50% of the time regardless of distance from the hole. It's frustrating to look back on, but just means I know where I'll be spending a lot of time going forward. I thought I was doing enough to maintain what I thought was pretty good putting from this past summer, but competition is a different beast I suppose. Positives were that my ballstriking was pretty good. Driver was behaving itself and I hit my short irons and wedges probably better than I ever have in competition. I've been putting a lot of work into approach shots and it was nice to get some validation that my work is paying off in these areas.

> >

> > Sunday was a practice round at Shadowridge Club up in Vista. Glad I scheduled it and went up there ahead of time. I had played the course several times before, but it had been about a year since the last time and there was plenty that I didn't remember. The greens have so much undulation at this course that it's important to play to the correct part of the green to make your life easier.

> >

> > Yesterday was my run at qualifying for the Cal State Am. It's being contested at Monterey Peninsula CC this year, so I was really hoping to get through. To make a long story short, my ballstriking was good enough to qualify, but my putting was not. Shot an 80 on the back of 39 putts. Was a windy day and scores did not go low. There were a couple 71's and a host of 72's that made it through. This was a day where the magic 30 putt number was attainable for me. I was keeping my approach shots on the correct side of the hole for the most part and when I missed a drive I was typically able to recover well enough to give myself a good look for par or even birdie. Unfortunately, my putter was just not behaving which was disappointing and by the 15th teebox I was 3 over with 4 to play and I knew that I had to birdie 2 (hopefully 3) of the last 4 to have a shot at a potential playoff (thinking back, maybe it was wrong to think this way?) The 15th hole is a ~200 yard par 3 playing into the wind with water short/left. I pulled a 4i long left and was short sided. After a lackluster chip I had about 15' for par. 4 putts later, my ball was at the bottom of the cup and my qualifier was over. Result for qual: https://calam-2019californiaamateurqualifyingsha.golfgenius.com/pages/4789526748020626403

> >

> > So I have a couple of questions for the thread. What's your favorite putting drill?

> >

> > And second, I've never qualified from one of these events. This was my 5th individual qualifier that I've played in and my scores have been 79 (Cal Am 2018 Shadowridge), 72 (SCGA 2018 Shadowridge), 70-75 (US Am 2018 Sunnyside), 78 (SCGA Mid-Am 2019 Bernardo Heights), 80 (Sunday Shadowridge). I played highschool golf and kept it in the low to mid 70's for the most part. I took 5.5 years off in college and starting my career, but I feel like I'm a much better player now than I ever was in high school. However, I'm not golfing my ball as well as I did back then. Do you guys have any advice for this? Anything you've figured out in your mentality for example? Maybe a book recommendation? I've read Rotella's books, but maybe I need to read them again. I'm not discouraged and feel like it's just a matter of time until I start piecing together good rounds, but if there's any advice you could offer, I appreciate it.

> >

>

> Not sure of any books per se, but I would suggest, if you’re serious about it, look into Decade by Scott Fawcett. Check out his YouTube first. There is a video on driving that is indicative of the sort of thing he gets into.

>

> What Ober said is sound. There will be room for improvement in every part of your game, but my impression is your putting is going to give you the best bang for your buck.

>

> Bear with me a second. There are two types of putting. Putting inside ten feet is mostly about getting your start line right. Speed is a little less important. That’s because most people can get speed right from inside ten feet. Outside ten feet speed control is more important. One of the key issues with longer putting is expectation management. Somewhere around 30 feet, tour players are slightly more likely to 3 putt than 1 putt. That means you should be trying to lay it dead from that range. Not to hole it.

>

> Do you typically wind up long, short or is it a range? If it’s long you’re likely trying to hole it too much. Think of the ball dropping in the front edge of the hole. If it’s short, one thing I try to do which helps is make sure that I’m aware of the space behind the hole. That gives me permission to hit it by the hole. If it’s a range then do speed control drills. Stick three tees in the green in a line about a foot apart from each other. Then pace off 20 feet away and put some balls down. Hit a putt from 20 feet to the middle tee. If it finishes between the outer two, go back a foot and hit another. Goal is to get back to 30 feet. If you miss, start over.

 

I'll give Scott a Google. Thanks.

 

I agree with what you've said about the 2 types of putting. However, I don't think I've ever thought of it that way when I'm actually playing. In general conversation if someone told me what you had about tour players putting from 30', I wouldn't have any contention because I've heard all of these stats. I've never internalized them though. Hearing the stat has never influenced me to change an aspect of how I approach the game which seems foolish. You're right though, I'm trying to make everything I look at. For me, I try to hit the ball 1' by the hole every time. That's the pace that I like to see. Although there's a decent amount of variance in whether or not I actually do that. And I think this comes from me just hitting bad putts far more often than I hit good putts in competition. I define a good putt very simply as a putt that I make solid contact with that starts on my intended line. If I'm inside of 10' and I do this, I make the putt more times than I miss. The problem that I see is that I'm not making solid contact as often as I think I should be and when I don't make solid contact I also have some sort of face manipulation to accompany it. So not only am I missing the putt based on speed, I'm off target as well.

 

Speaking of space past the hole, that was also something that I wasn't considering as much as I should have until after reading a comment by Obee regarding the pins in some tournament all being placed on crowns so he was trying to die every single putt at the hole. I don't think that's something that I would've realized or been looking for if I hadn't have read that comment. However, this seems like such basic knowledge that I'm missing. I've played golf for 13 years now and for me to just start thinking about that makes me wonder what other items of basic knowledge I'm just clueless to. Or maybe I've noticed one time but not internalized.

 

What I'm realizing from typing this out is that a very important aspect of golf is data collection and analysis. You have to make decisions with a bunch of variables in a short period of time, and if the set of variables that you consider under tournament conditions are incomplete, then you're not giving yourself the best opportunity to choose the correct play.

 

I like the sound of that speed drill. That's something I will incorporate into my practice.

 

My friend told me a good short putting drill yesterday that I'll share as well. He said that you take 6 lines out from the hole and put a tee down at 3', 6' and 9' on each line. For a total of 18 putting locations. Par is 24. Seems that a game like this would be a good way to measure improvement over time. Something that's easy to keep score with.

[Ray Jackson]

Frustrating day today - qualifier at Corica Park South for NCGA Mid Am in June. Started badly, 3 putt first green for bogey 6 (par 5), dropped another on no.3 and weak drive leads to bogey on 4, +3 through 5 holes. Then I get it back to even par through 10 holes and I am now feeling ok. Then I get tight, miss a couple of shots by a couple yards either way or some putts lip out and that leads to a steady run of bogeys. To top it off I double bogey the last hole. +7 for last 8 holes and miss qualification by 1 shot. Even worse +4 for last three holes. Pretty much all came down to short game around the greens and first putts not getting to the hole. Short game needs to be better under pressure. What a disaster the back nine was. This is my first season of real tournament golf and what a learning experience.

[Ty_Webb]

> @"Ray Jackson" said:

> Frustrating day today - qualifier at Corica Park South for NCGA Mid Am in June. Started badly, 3 putt first green for bogey 6 (par 5), dropped another on no.3 and weak drive leads to bogey on 4, +3 through 5 holes. Then I get it back to even par through 10 holes and I am now feeling ok. Then I get tight, miss a couple of shots by a couple yards either way or some putts lip out and that leads to a steady run of bogeys. To top it off I double bogey the last hole. +7 for last 8 holes and miss qualification by 1 shot. Even worse +4 for last three holes. Pretty much all came down to short game around the greens and first putts not getting to the hole. Short game needs to be better under pressure. What a disaster the back nine was. This is my first season of real tournament golf and what a learning experience.

 

That sounds like a rough day. I’d be careful to blame your short game too quickly though. If you’re missing shots by a yard or two and it’s costing you shots, you might want to look into your target choices. Maybe aim a little safer and don’t fall for sucker pins. Similarly, unless you’re flubbing chips it’s unlikely to be completely to blame for +7 in 8 holes. In a typical 8 holes you should likely only be needing to get up and down 3-4 times max. Even if you fail every time you’re only looking at +4.

[Obee]

> @"Ray Jackson" said:

> Frustrating day today - qualifier at Corica Park South for NCGA Mid Am in June. Started badly, 3 putt first green for bogey 6 (par 5), dropped another on no.3 and weak drive leads to bogey on 4, +3 through 5 holes. Then I get it back to even par through 10 holes and I am now feeling ok. Then I get tight, miss a couple of shots by a couple yards either way or some putts lip out and that leads to a steady run of bogeys. To top it off I double bogey the last hole. +7 for last 8 holes and miss qualification by 1 shot. Even worse +4 for last three holes. Pretty much all came down to short game around the greens and first putts not getting to the hole. Short game needs to be better under pressure. What a disaster the back nine was. This is my first season of real tournament golf and what a learning experience.

 

Even par through 10 shows you have the game to compete, Ray. What was your mental state like the last six holes, knowing you were right there? And to have the cut be +6 and finish at +7 really sucks. I mean, you KNOW you have the game, right?

[Obee]

> @Shades234 said:

> > @Ty_Webb said:

> > > @Shades234 said:

> > > Not sure if anyone cares, but I'll post my update for the thread. lol

> > >

> > > Played an SCGA One-Day Series event on 5/4 at Riverwalk Golf Course in San Diego. Felt like it would be a good way to get some sort of competitive round under my belt since my last event was about 2 months ago. I wasn't expecting things to go perfectly, but I didn't expect to make as many mistakes as I did. Ended up shooting 78 with just 3 birdies. A few takeaways were that as the round goes on was slipping into auto-pilot. I was assuming I knew wind direction (or just not considering it) when it takes less than 2 seconds to just toss some grass while someone else is hitting. I also realized that I'm not nearly as good of a putter as I thought I was. I think I counted up 40 putts when everything was said and done. I expected to be above 30 since I was hitting a bunch of greens, but I gave myself 7 birdie looks from within 10' only to make the tap-ins (< 3'). Proximity to the hole wasn't a problem at any point on the day and I 3-putted multiple times from within 25' as well as missed a few 4' putts that would've been good par saves and one birdie. My issue is not with missing putts per say. I just wasn't making good strokes probably 50% of the time regardless of distance from the hole. It's frustrating to look back on, but just means I know where I'll be spending a lot of time going forward. I thought I was doing enough to maintain what I thought was pretty good putting from this past summer, but competition is a different beast I suppose. Positives were that my ballstriking was pretty good. Driver was behaving itself and I hit my short irons and wedges probably better than I ever have in competition. I've been putting a lot of work into approach shots and it was nice to get some validation that my work is paying off in these areas.

> > >

> > > Sunday was a practice round at Shadowridge Club up in Vista. Glad I scheduled it and went up there ahead of time. I had played the course several times before, but it had been about a year since the last time and there was plenty that I didn't remember. The greens have so much undulation at this course that it's important to play to the correct part of the green to make your life easier.

> > >

> > > Yesterday was my run at qualifying for the Cal State Am. It's being contested at Monterey Peninsula CC this year, so I was really hoping to get through. To make a long story short, my ballstriking was good enough to qualify, but my putting was not. Shot an 80 on the back of 39 putts. Was a windy day and scores did not go low. There were a couple 71's and a host of 72's that made it through. This was a day where the magic 30 putt number was attainable for me. I was keeping my approach shots on the correct side of the hole for the most part and when I missed a drive I was typically able to recover well enough to give myself a good look for par or even birdie. Unfortunately, my putter was just not behaving which was disappointing and by the 15th teebox I was 3 over with 4 to play and I knew that I had to birdie 2 (hopefully 3) of the last 4 to have a shot at a potential playoff (thinking back, maybe it was wrong to think this way?) The 15th hole is a ~200 yard par 3 playing into the wind with water short/left. I pulled a 4i long left and was short sided. After a lackluster chip I had about 15' for par. 4 putts later, my ball was at the bottom of the cup and my qualifier was over. Result for qual: https://calam-2019californiaamateurqualifyingsha.golfgenius.com/pages/4789526748020626403

> > >

> > > So I have a couple of questions for the thread. What's your favorite putting drill?

> > >

> > > And second, I've never qualified from one of these events. This was my 5th individual qualifier that I've played in and my scores have been 79 (Cal Am 2018 Shadowridge), 72 (SCGA 2018 Shadowridge), 70-75 (US Am 2018 Sunnyside), 78 (SCGA Mid-Am 2019 Bernardo Heights), 80 (Sunday Shadowridge). I played highschool golf and kept it in the low to mid 70's for the most part. I took 5.5 years off in college and starting my career, but I feel like I'm a much better player now than I ever was in high school. However, I'm not golfing my ball as well as I did back then. Do you guys have any advice for this? Anything you've figured out in your mentality for example? Maybe a book recommendation? I've read Rotella's books, but maybe I need to read them again. I'm not discouraged and feel like it's just a matter of time until I start piecing together good rounds, but if there's any advice you could offer, I appreciate it.

> > >

> >

> > Not sure of any books per se, but I would suggest, if you’re serious about it, look into Decade by Scott Fawcett. Check out his YouTube first. There is a video on driving that is indicative of the sort of thing he gets into.

> >

> > What Ober said is sound. There will be room for improvement in every part of your game, but my impression is your putting is going to give you the best bang for your buck.

> >

> > Bear with me a second. There are two types of putting. Putting inside ten feet is mostly about getting your start line right. Speed is a little less important. That’s because most people can get speed right from inside ten feet. Outside ten feet speed control is more important. One of the key issues with longer putting is expectation management. Somewhere around 30 feet, tour players are slightly more likely to 3 putt than 1 putt. That means you should be trying to lay it dead from that range. Not to hole it.

> >

> > Do you typically wind up long, short or is it a range? If it’s long you’re likely trying to hole it too much. Think of the ball dropping in the front edge of the hole. If it’s short, one thing I try to do which helps is make sure that I’m aware of the space behind the hole. That gives me permission to hit it by the hole. If it’s a range then do speed control drills. Stick three tees in the green in a line about a foot apart from each other. Then pace off 20 feet away and put some balls down. Hit a putt from 20 feet to the middle tee. If it finishes between the outer two, go back a foot and hit another. Goal is to get back to 30 feet. If you miss, start over.

>

> I'll give Scott a Google. Thanks.

>

> I agree with what you've said about the 2 types of putting. However, I don't think I've ever thought of it that way when I'm actually playing. In general conversation if someone told me what you had about tour players putting from 30', I wouldn't have any contention because I've heard all of these stats. I've never internalized them though. Hearing the stat has never influenced me to change an aspect of how I approach the game which seems foolish. You're right though, I'm trying to make everything I look at. For me, I try to hit the ball 1' by the hole every time. That's the pace that I like to see. Although there's a decent amount of variance in whether or not I actually do that. And I think this comes from me just hitting bad putts far more often than I hit good putts in competition. I define a good putt very simply as a putt that I make solid contact with that starts on my intended line. If I'm inside of 10' and I do this, I make the putt more times than I miss. The problem that I see is that I'm not making solid contact as often as I think I should be and when I don't make solid contact I also have some sort of face manipulation to accompany it. So not only am I missing the putt based on speed, I'm off target as well.

>

> Speaking of space past the hole, that was also something that I wasn't considering as much as I should have until after reading a comment by Obee regarding the pins in some tournament all being placed on crowns so he was trying to die every single putt at the hole. I don't think that's something that I would've realized or been looking for if I hadn't have read that comment. However, this seems like such basic knowledge that I'm missing. I've played golf for 13 years now and for me to just start thinking about that makes me wonder what other items of basic knowledge I'm just clueless to. Or maybe I've noticed one time but not internalized.

>

> What I'm realizing from typing this out is that a very important aspect of golf is data collection and analysis. You have to make decisions with a bunch of variables in a short period of time, and if the set of variables that you consider under tournament conditions are incomplete, then you're not giving yourself the best opportunity to choose the correct play.

>

> I like the sound of that speed drill. That's something I will incorporate into my practice.

>

> My friend told me a good short putting drill yesterday that I'll share as well. He said that you take 6 lines out from the hole and put a tee down at 3', 6' and 9' on each line. For a total of 18 putting locations. Par is 24. Seems that a game like this would be a good way to measure improvement over time. Something that's easy to keep score with.

 

Anything outside of about 25 - 30 feet -- and especially any putt that can "get away from you" or has a moderate to significant amount of break -- and "getting the ball past the hole" should NOT be what you're thinking. You should be thinking "high side, BARELY getting to the hole."

 

Lots more to say, but I love the way you think about yourself and the tournament game.

[gioguy21]

Woof. What can I say. Traffic got us to the course with just 30 mins to warmup, putt and get to the first tee. Took the front 9 to find a real swing...finished strong-ish. 45/38 for a terrible 83. I just played about as bad as I could...on to the next one.

[Ty_Webb]

> @gioguy21 said:

> Woof. What can I say. Traffic got us to the course with just 30 mins to warmup, putt and get to the first tee. Took the front 9 to find a real swing...finished strong-ish. 45/38 for a terrible 83. I just played about as bad as I could...on to the next one.

 

Tough way to start. I played that course in a US Am four-ball qualifier a few years ago. It’s not easy at all. I see -3 played off for automatic places and -2 for 2nd alternate. Tough school!!! Some of the best players in the Met area on that scoreboard. Former Met Am POTY got 2nd alternate spot and I see names of people who’ve played in majors on the didn’t make it list. Well, one anyway.

[ebrasmus21]

> @gioguy21 said:

> Woof. What can I say. Traffic got us to the course with just 30 mins to warmup, putt and get to the first tee. Took the front 9 to find a real swing...finished strong-ish. 45/38 for a terrible 83. I just played about as bad as I could...on to the next one.

 

Respect for not packing it in after that front nine. 38 is respectable after what happened to start the round.

[Obee]

> @ebrasmus21 said:

> > @gioguy21 said:

> > Woof. What can I say. Traffic got us to the course with just 30 mins to warmup, putt and get to the first tee. Took the front 9 to find a real swing...finished strong-ish. 45/38 for a terrible 83. I just played about as bad as I could...on to the next one.

>

> Respect for not packing it in after that front nine. 38 is respectable after what happened to start the round.

 

WRXers NEVER "pack it in"!!! We. Are. FINISHERS!!!! ;-)

[farmer]

There was a 16 year old who shot 61 at a US Open qualifier at Oak Creek Golf Club. Obee, isn't that one of your regular stops? Very impressive.

[ebrasmus21]

> @Obee said:

> > @ebrasmus21 said:

> > > @gioguy21 said:

> > > Woof. What can I say. Traffic got us to the course with just 30 mins to warmup, putt and get to the first tee. Took the front 9 to find a real swing...finished strong-ish. 45/38 for a terrible 83. I just played about as bad as I could...on to the next one.

> >

> > Respect for not packing it in after that front nine. 38 is respectable after what happened to start the round.

>

> WRXers NEVER "pack it in"!!! We. Are. FINISHERS!!!! ;-)

 

Amen, brother.

[Obee]

> @farmer said:

> There was a 16 year old who shot 61 at a US Open qualifier at Oak Creek Golf Club. Obee, isn't that one of your regular stops? Very impressive.

 

I have never played Oak Creek. I believe Monty gives lessons there. 61 in a US Open Qualifier is .... Wow.

[Obee]

> @farmer said:

> There was a 16 year old who shot 61 at a US Open qualifier at Oak Creek Golf Club. Obee, isn't that one of your regular stops? Very impressive.

 

Was this recently? What did everyone else shoot?

[Ray Jackson]

> @Obee said:

> > @"Ray Jackson" said:

> > Frustrating day today - qualifier at Corica Park South for NCGA Mid Am in June. Started badly, 3 putt first green for bogey 6 (par 5), dropped another on no.3 and weak drive leads to bogey on 4, +3 through 5 holes. Then I get it back to even par through 10 holes and I am now feeling ok. Then I get tight, miss a couple of shots by a couple yards either way or some putts lip out and that leads to a steady run of bogeys. To top it off I double bogey the last hole. +7 for last 8 holes and miss qualification by 1 shot. Even worse +4 for last three holes. Pretty much all came down to short game around the greens and first putts not getting to the hole. Short game needs to be better under pressure. What a disaster the back nine was. This is my first season of real tournament golf and what a learning experience.

>

> Even par through 10 shows you have the game to compete, Ray. What was your mental state like the last six holes, knowing you were right there? And to have the cut be +6 and finish at +7 really sucks. I mean, you KNOW you have the game, right?

 

The problem was after getting it back through 10 I started to get ahead of myself I think. I was 'playing scared' of not making a mistake rather than how I was holes 5 through 10 and fighting to get it back...…….huge mistake! I know better than that but it was so hard to shake out of it. Even the last three holes I was playing just don't screw up as I thought +5/6 would get through and it did. Gotta fix that attitude.

I know I have the game to be competitive to some degree, and I probably shouldn't put so much pressure on myself this first season, but its hard not to when you've been competitive in sports your whole life from a young age.

[Obee]

> @"Ray Jackson" said:

> > @Obee said:

> > > @"Ray Jackson" said:

> > > Frustrating day today - qualifier at Corica Park South for NCGA Mid Am in June. Started badly, 3 putt first green for bogey 6 (par 5), dropped another on no.3 and weak drive leads to bogey on 4, +3 through 5 holes. Then I get it back to even par through 10 holes and I am now feeling ok. Then I get tight, miss a couple of shots by a couple yards either way or some putts lip out and that leads to a steady run of bogeys. To top it off I double bogey the last hole. +7 for last 8 holes and miss qualification by 1 shot. Even worse +4 for last three holes. Pretty much all came down to short game around the greens and first putts not getting to the hole. Short game needs to be better under pressure. What a disaster the back nine was. This is my first season of real tournament golf and what a learning experience.

> >

> > Even par through 10 shows you have the game to compete, Ray. What was your mental state like the last six holes, knowing you were right there? And to have the cut be +6 and finish at +7 really sucks. I mean, you KNOW you have the game, right?

>

> The problem was after getting it back through 10 I started to get ahead of myself I think. I was 'playing scared' of not making a mistake rather than how I was holes 5 through 10 and fighting to get it back...…….huge mistake! I know better than that but it was so hard to shake out of it. Even the last three holes I was playing just don't **** up as I thought +5/6 would get through and it did. Gotta fix that attitude.

> I know I have the game to be competitive to some degree, and I probably shouldn't put so much pressure on myself this first season, but its hard not to when you've been competitive in sports your whole life from a young age.

 

ALL of this ^^^^^ YES!!!!

[gioguy21]

> @ebrasmus21 said:

> > @gioguy21 said:

> > Woof. What can I say. Traffic got us to the course with just 30 mins to warmup, putt and get to the first tee. Took the front 9 to find a real swing...finished strong-ish. 45/38 for a terrible 83. I just played about as bad as I could...on to the next one.

>

> Respect for not packing it in after that front nine. 38 is respectable after what happened to start the round.

 

i've never quit a thing in my life -- surely won't quit a round of golf.