For the select few who still follow me and are interested in my goings-on after the long hiatus of non-posting, I am back and ready to discuss what I have been up to for the past month or two.

The last time I posted, I wrote about my upcoming tournament schedule and my preparations up to that point. I sadly never discussed the results of the events I played in. For this I am sorry. The truth of the matter is, I was disappointed in my scores and embarrassed to share the bad news. I have gotten over that hurdle, realizing that this game and this journey will be filled with disappointment and also a rewarding sense of accomplishment and success; from week to week and perhaps even day-to-day, the emotions may differ strongly.

This negative energy has led me to adopt a new perspective and to regain a sense of purpose and add focus to my practice and playing sessions that I had been lacking previously.

So to take a step back, let’s get everyone updated briefly on what happened in the last few tournaments I played in before what I am calling my “restructure” :

GPro Tour @ Pinewood Country Club:

Round 1, 73

Round 2, 76

Place: T24 of 34

Recap:  Ball striking was pretty awful as I was struggling with some “losing of levels” during my swing (poor posture at address and changing posture throughout swing). This led to poor weight transfer, poor swing plane, and overall a very armsy and hands-dominated swing to try and direct the ball towards the target. Luckily, my putting was rather strong which allowed me to hang in there when my swing was just atrocious. I had numerous holes where I had incurred penalties from either a lost ball, out of bounds, water hazard, etc. which drove the score up especially in Round 2.

GPro Tour @ Cabbarrus Country Club

Round 1, 80

Round 2, 77

Place: T43 of 49

Recap: Similar issues here with the swing as I was not able to get them worked out in the three or four days in between events. This time however, my putting and chipping were both uncharacteristically hideous. And I mean that through and through. Hideous. For example, on the times I had some great approach shots to within 10 or 15 feet (sometimes even closer) I would three-putt and walk away with a bogey, literally every time. This was in part due to the nature of the undulating greens and the fact that they were very fast and firm. Even still, this should not have happened. On these days I could have scrambled to shoot 73, but the short game let me down as well and caused me to finish nearly last in the event.

Due to my performance in these events, I withdrew from the GPro Tour event at Musgrove Mill the following week and looked to get my game back in shape for the Magnolia Open at Magnolia Greens on October 4th and 5th.

As it turned out, the southeastern part of North Carolina received 15 or so inches of rain in about 3 days just prior to the start of that event. If you watched the local or national news around that time, you would have seen the damage done by the flooding to many communities in our area. This meant the golf course was in sad shape and would need extensive time to dry out and become playable again.

Once the rain finally finished, on Wednesday October 6th, we drove to Durham to visit Lisa’s family from Canada whom I had met for the first time several years back. We got back on Monday the 12th and the next day picked up my parents from the Wilmington Airport.

We had an amazing time with them while they were here! We enjoyed the perfect weather that week by driving to Oak Island and relaxing on the beach and attempting to catch some fish from the surf (with little to no luck I might add).

In addition to those things, I have also been busy with the following recent events:

-Drove again to Durham, NC to help Lisa’s parents with some house projects after dropping my parents off at the airport for their return trip back to Maine.

-My mom had double mastectomy to remove breast cancer (successful surgery)

-Flew to Maine to help take care of her during the beginning stages of her recovery.

-I just got home from that trip one week ago today.

So, as you can see, it has been a hectic start to the fall, with few playing opportunities available. No matter, I have used those weeks to continue to strengthen my body and am ready to get back to practicing.

To get back to my earlier point, I have created a new regimen for my practice sessions and for my workout requirements. Prior to this restructuring, I had made no weekly physical or practice goal requirements and simply practiced random things with little focus or drive behind them. As a result, I was just “going through the motions” hoping to get better. I think I actually did improve slightly but my motivation was fleeting as going to “practice” had little purpose behind it. It felt more like a hassle than a task to complete and check off my list.

I turned to a player I have followed for some time now who is again a PGA Tour card holder for 2016. His name is Peter Malnati and I have followed him ever since I played practice rounds with him at St. James Plantation during eGolf Tour events. Fun fact: Peter holds the competitive course record at The Founders Club @ SJP with a blistering 62 he shot during an eGolf tournament.

Peter worked his way from eGolf to Web.com and to the PGA Tour in a couple of years. He got his tour card for 2014 but was unable to keep it for the 2015 season and thus played all year on the Web.com Tour. Happy to say he secured his card again for the 2016 season after placing 4th on the yearlong money leaders list (Top 25 get PGA Tour card for next year).

Based on his work ethic and commitment to his game plan and process, he was able to achieve some great things in just a few short years. I figured if his process was this solid, I should model mine around it as well.

I am happy to report that I now have a series of weekly goals that I am sticking to in order to achieve the outcome goals I would like to see for the end of 2015 and in to 2016.

I have it on my phone so I can always see where I am for the week and how I am progressing in my skill sets and my drills for the week. It has given my practice sessions a great vibe and a sense of determination that I had not had before. I am so excited to see how this new process works out for me!

I hope to report soon on this and on my tournament schedule for the winter months. Stay tuned as I am also trying to be better about posting to this outlet not only for my followers (thank you for continuing to believe in me) but also for myself.

P.S. Lisa and I start yoga class tonight and dance class (for the wedding) tomorrow night! Super excited to see how these activities impact my golf game.

Cheers!