Four weeks left. It’s hard to believe that my first semester of college is only a month away from being over. Anyway, here’s what happened this week:

Tuesday and Sunday: Stayed at the range for about an hour both days and focused primarily on strengthening my grip as recommended by @iacas.

Thursday: After seeing me play last weekend and talking a bit, my dad suggested I hit more 4- and 5-irons on the range so I could become more comfortable with them. And on this day, that’s exactly what I did.

I dedicated about two-thirds of the balls I hit on Thursday to getting more comfortable with the longer irons. And I can say that coming away from that range session I was definitely more confident.

Friday: Walked a total of 13 holes: The Loop (1, 16-18), then the back nine. The Loop didn’t go too well (bombed the 1st then bogey-bogey-par) but then here’s what happened with my nine hole outing:

     PAR: 4-4-4-4-3-4-4-5-3—35

SCORE: 5-4-6-7-3-6-4-5-4—44

So a little bit of everything here. I had two completely unnecessary misses with chip shots (12 and 15 in particular) and a wayward drive on 13. I played three holes at +7 and the other six at +2. Blowup holes are a common theme with me and it often leads to a messy scorecard that isn’t pretty to look at.

I also read over the GEARS post several times in the past few days, and I feel like I understand it to some extent.

The Monarch Cup was also this weekend, but I was unable to play. Spots filled up super fast and I just wasn’t quick enough to sign up. That still ticks me off. 

As for this week, I have a plan.

Mon: Walk 18 holes. I haven’t done much of this at all apart from the PAT, and that could come back to bite me at the next PAT in the spring.

And going forward, I would like to be able to walk 18 at least once a week, ideally early in the morning on weekends before the course gets too crowded.

Tues.-Thurs.: Spend at least an hour on the range each of these days and work on grip and the info in the GEARS post.

Fri.: Not looking good weather-wise, so not sure whether I will be able to get to the course. Might also be going home for Veterans Day weekend.

Weekend: It’s supposed to be considerably cooler this weekend, but I would like to get out at least one day on the weekend and do some range work.

First step: 18 holes tomorrow!