Just a Hiccup... Not a Slump

[Fairway_CY]

This game is so frustrating. First, I've been absent from the forums for quite a few weeks now. I FINALLY began a new job at the beginning of July and it's taken up WAY too much of my free time. That said... my golf game has suffered. First club round after I started, I posted a new career best... 85. I was ecstatic! Everything that day clicked for me. Then... I fell apart.

2 weeks following my best round ever, we had our Club Championship. I'd never played the course before and... even though it's not an overly difficult course (Jack Frost National in Blakeslee, PA)... if you don't know the course, there are a lot of blind shots and areas where you can EASILY get kicks into the woods. That's what happened to me. On Day 1... I started with a bad kick into a wooded area and could not find my ball. It continued to happen all day and the final tally was 7 lost balls... and a nifty 108 for a net 88. I was out of contention before Day 2 even began. Didn't matter as that day wasn't a whole lot better. I finished that day with a 98 for a net 78 and a two day total of 206 net 166 (+22).

I had hoped that it was just a bad weekend and that I'd be able to regain form. I took the next 12 days off and didn't touch a club because I was extremely busy. Finally, the day before my next round... I visited the driving range for some practice. I felt good on the range and believed that I'd be able to play well enough the next day to compete. It was, again, a new course to me... but it was open and I should have been able to score well. I needed to win my match to keep pace with the leaders and I had a very winnable match. But I blew up. An 11 on the first hole (put a ball 30 yards over the green OB with a sand wedge from 70 yards out) was followed by a flurry of other crappy holes and... at the end of the day, I was handed just my second loss (third techincally because I missed a match) of the season and dropped to 6-3-2. Unfortunately, the leaders also lost and I couldn't take advantage so... I stayed 2.5 behind

Anyway... heading into this week... I'd wanted to make it a point to get in some practice time. I hit the range twice during the week and really worked on the faults I'd had the week before... specifically... short irons and wedges. I put in some quality time with the 60-100 yard range... and then some more time with the 120-160 yard range. I felt confident again and wanted redemption. The day we played, it was nothing but rain. I'm not a fan of rain but... with my rain gloves... I wasn't worried about grip and I played as if it wasn't even raining. I had three poor holes where I posted 2 double bogey's and a quadruple bogey... otherwise, it was 6 pars and 9 bogey's for an 89 net 70.

Best shot of the last 4 rounds was on the 9th hole in a driving rain. I hammered my driver, but it didn't go very far. I was left with about 160 to the hole from the middle of the fairway. I pulled my 6 iron and put a nice, solid stroke on the ball and it landed 4 feet from the pin, skipped a foot or so... then spun back. Unfortunately, when I was standing over the putt... there was a river coming off the bill of my cap and I couldn't focus on anything BUT that... so I pushed the putt, but... still, it gave me a good feeling. It feels good to be back and confident again.

There are only 5 more opportunities for me to win an event (I've never won an event in golf before... ever) this season and I need a win to qualify for our Player's Championship so... it's a big goal of mine to get this in before the season is through.

Time to get some more practice time in.

CY

[soloredd]

Wondered why I hadn't seen you around here lately. Congrats on the job. Your threads and posts have helped me out a lot, I think we're on a similar level at this point. Anyway, tough to hear about your struggles. Try not to put too much pressure on yourself though. I know it's tough, from my basketball days we played a lot of tournaments and when you need to have a certain result to get to the next level its easy to push too much and take yourself out of your game. I need to feel confident enough to play in tournaments like you are doing. Like you said, just practice and focus on the things that you are struggling with. Hitting a SW 30 yards over the green from 70 out shouldn't happen. Sounds like you might be pressing too much and adrenaline caught you there. Personal tip: when it's raining, take off the hat over putts or turn it backwards :)

Good luck man, hope to see a success thread in the coming weeks!

[Fairway_CY]

Wondered why I hadn't seen you around here lately. Congrats on the job. Your threads and posts have helped me out a lot, I think we're on a similar level at this point.

Thanks... I appreciate it! Good to know SOMEONE here read my stuff. Based on handicaps, yes... I'd say were pretty much on the same level.

I wish you had given me that tip before Sunday. It was brutal out there and I couldn't help but focus on the river of rain water pouring off the bill of my cap. Regarding the wedge 30 yards over the green... I can't figure out what happened. The club I used is my 70 yard club. It's rare that I even hit it 80 when I smoke it... and I could also see it if I hit it thin but it was pure contact... it just took off on me. As soon as I hit it, I checked to see if I hit the 52 instead of the 56 but... I had the right club. I just killed it. And, it happened again later in the round. But the second time was more a result of a really poor shot that I hit with the blade of the club and it was just an ugly, low, line-drive that ended up ugly. Anyway... you mentioned the confidence to play in tournaments. I play in a club that uses full handicaps for net scoring purposes. I haven't won yet, but I've been fairly consistent all year (with a few WTF's in between). If you can find yourself a similar club... you should look into it. Try the Golf Channel Amateur Tour. I've known a few guys who have played locally and they've enjoyed it. Same premise... uses handicap to flight guys rather than the full handicap but... still, you'll get the competition and it'll prepare you for bigger tournaments. My ultimate goal is to get to about a 5.0 - 7.0 handicap range and compete in some of the NJ Amateur tournaments... but I've got a long way to go for that. Luckily, at only 31... I've still got some time. Good luck with your game and thanks for the reply. CY