It's been a while...

So it has been a few days since my last update, here's what you've missed:

For those who didn't follow my round at Hunter's Creek, good, because it was kind of a disaster. Primarily because I decided to play from the blue tees, which totaled about 6900 yards (most blue tees come out to around 6400 on the places I've played). I was challenged by this distance, and that resulted in a lot of shanked shots and coming up just short (which is called a Danny DeVito, awesome...) of the green on a lot of holes. In any event, it was just an okay day...

I waited a few days before hitting the links again with Chris at the Country Club (where we will hopefully be playing in our first tournament this weekend if they havent filled up already). We walked 18 holes in the 95 degree heat, and we actually played okay. I finished with a 78 and Chris finished somewhere close to that I believe. We actually scrambled the back 9 and finished 1 under, which was sweet.

That following Tuesday I went with Julia and Cullen after work to the Pines, and it was just one of those days that didn't feel right. I somehow finished with an 83, but it was more because I was sinking putts to save bogey a lot: I could not hit my driver straight, every iron shot came up short, and there was a woman who was playing behind us that would stand on the tee box while we were hitting (ballsy I must say, she sucked every shot I saw, like hitting from the wrong fairways-sucked). I had decided after this day that I could not play for a few days, otherwise I might break a club (most likely my driver).

So, Thursday night after work, Chris and I dropped 7 bucks on range balls to figure out my swing, and after 2 hours of range balls, chipping, and putting, I really learned nothing at all. However, it rained lightly once I got home, so I popped in Tiger '09 and played 18 holes, which drove me to step outside into the drizzle to hit wiffle balls until I figured out how to hit the ball straight again. It was wet, and hot, after an hour or so, I accidentally hit a shot a little more back in my stance than usual. The result was a shot dead-straight and over the tree (where I was aiming). I noticed this "screw up" and tried it again: straight. I tried it with my PW: straight; my 7 iron: straight; my hybrid: straight; and then the dreaded driver: slight fade. I don't know how it happened, but moving the ball back in my stance seemed to level my swing out and catch the ball at just the right moment. I had figured it out, and now all I had to do was test it with a real golf ball...and the perfect chance was Friday with my baseball buds at The Pines.

To make a long story short, I finished Friday with a 72 (par 68). I had decide early in the round that I would not use my driver until the 6th hole (long water), and that seemed to make all the difference in the world. I have always hit my 3 wood straighter anyway, but with the swing adjustment, I hit it much farther and I didn't lose anything distance-wise that hurt my score. On the 6th hole, when I did pull out my driver, I crushed it (almost 280, which is a BOMB for me) and hit it straight. I finished the front 9 +2 (3 bogeys and a birdie), with no double bogeys and no 3-putts. The back 9 was just as good, although no birdies (looooong par 3's are tough) and 3 bogeys. It helped that the guys I was playing with were simply there to drink and try not to lose golf balls, which I think relaxed me but focused me at the same time.

Now to have a good day is one thing, but being able to repeat that good day (or close to it) is very important with a tournament coming up, so Chris wanted to play the Pines again. I rose to the occasion and followed up with another 72, with 3 birdies on the front and only one double bogey (hole 15, long par 3 of course). My method of moving the ball back worked because it allowed me to think less, swing hard, and not have to worry about small adjustments to my swing during the round. It was a good weekend, and now I just have to keep building on it.