New Month, Same Vision

Well at the start of this week I had the feeling that I was turning the tide and moving my game back to where it was in July. Perhaps I was asking a little too much when I thought I might be seeing some 60's later in the week. As I explained earlier the bermuda grass has been an issue on gaining confidence with shots around the green and putting. This week our golf course fertilized the greens which didn't allow them to cut, although they are dormant they still cut to keep them flat and smooth. Since they didn't cut this entire week it put doubt in the mind when putts would be pulled by the grain* left or right after making a great stroke. The objective for this week has certainly been staying confident and trust what I'm doing is right.

My practice has been going well and have been working on making even better contact and keeping my lower body as still as possible on shots around the green. This will increase my consistency and when I get to courses that have a fuller (almost easier) rough this practice will be extreemly helpful. I say easier because at the moment any time I miss a green I'm left with the toughest shots in golf. The idea is that with a fuller, more consistent rough the ball has a greater chance of sitting up off the ground allowing the ball to be hit a little easier. Unlike here in Texas the ball is sitting on the soil almost 90% of the time. I've also turned to some drills, Barry (my practice partner) has introduced a drill that works on putting and shots around the green. It takes about 2 hours to go through it completly but seems like it will really help with club selection around the green. This has really helped my putting and I've found my putting stroke getting extreemly smooth. This has helped with staying confident on the greens, with that grain it seems only the best of putts will fall. I've also found my ball striking to be getting increasinly better. I think it's because of the increased short game work and focus on solid contact around the green.

New into my schedule has been the addition of fitness in the morning. I joined the Bally's Gym here in Houston and it is a great facility to continue my fitness program. I have been out there by 7am and to the golf course by 10. This is the first time I have been able to include a productive fitness program with my increased time on practice. I'm hoping this will be my recipe for success. The work that's been going into my game these days can only help me reach new heights. One the perks to the early morning workout is the Bally's Gym I attend has a wonderful steam room to loosen up before swinging the club all day.

I'm looking at one month until Qschool comes and of course I feel like I'm on the right track. Keep a look out for video from practice sessions and playing. I want to use that for getting a better visual picture of game in general, hoping it will help in improving my game.

JS

* Grain, for the non golfer is the direction in which the grass grows. Usually on greens back home in Canada the grass on putting surfaces are bentgrass. When cut, there is really no grain grain affect the putt. Here in Texas and the south the grass is bermuda grass which is a weedy type of grass and grows in all sorts of directions. This makes it difficult to rewad and keep putts online. As the grass gets longer on the green, the grain will increase as well.