Eight Days Remaining...

[Fairway_CY]

... until the first round of 2010. I'll be keeping tabs of my season here at The Sand Trap via the Blog posting module. I've joined a club that plays at different courses on what equates to a bi-weekly basis (sometimes we play back to back weeks, but it's rare). The club consists of approximately fifty guys (twenty-four two-man teams and a few singles). I had the opportunity to meet my golf partner for the first time two days ago. Whether or not we're going to click as a team remains to be seen, but he IS a nice guy and I think we'll get along just fine.

Regarding the club... there are 13 'regular season' weeks. Each week, three formats are played. Individual Net for a tournament title... a singles match against an opponent in your group (low handicap vs low handicap, high handicap vs high handicap match play)... and a doubles match within your group (team net total vs team net total match play). There is also a two round Club Championship in late July... and at the end of the season, what equates to playoffs (if necessary) to determine the singles and doubles champions... and all net tournament winners are eligible to play in a Players Championship at the end of the season for a rotating trophy.

The season kicks off next Sunday, March 28th, at Royce Brook Golf Club in Hillsborough, NJ. I've played there once before, about five years ago, and played fairly well, considering. My goal for this round is to be somewhere below a 97, which would score me a net 71 or better. Being the first round of the season... I'm worried my chipping and putting is going to be horrible. I've been to the range quite a bit in the last 2 months... but the ranges either didn't have putting greens, they were closed, or what they did offer was so pathetic, it would have done more harm than good to my game.

In terms of goals for the season... I've got a few in mind. I'm ineligible (per club rules) to win a net title in my first three outings (handicap verification period)... so that knocks them off my list... but with that in mind, my goals are listed below:

• I'm hoping to win at LEAST two net titles this season and gain entry into the Players Championship.
• I'm hoping to finish the season with a singles record of 9-4 or better which should put me in contention for a title.
• I'm hoping, as a team, we finish with a better than .500 record in doubles matches.
• Individually, I'd like to lower my putts per hole from 2.03 (2009) to around 1.80 this season.
• I'm also hoping to raise my fairways hit percentage from 40.65% (2009) to above 50% this season.

Other than that... I'm looking to improve. My handicap dropped almost 5 strokes last season playing 12 rounds. I'm looking to drop my handicap another 5-7 strokes this season while playing between 15 and 20 rounds.

With just over a week to go, and time for only one more practice session (next Thursday)... I've got a lot of work to do. I'm going to do some chipping and pitching in my back yard this coming week... and I'll arrive to the course early next Sunday to get in about 45 minutes of putting. Hopefully the range work will pay off and I'll be able to compete right from the beginning.

I'll keep this blog updated with practice information and end of tournament results.

'til next week...

CY