Tournament Play - Time to Travel

Well it is Tournament Time.  Time to travel to Nashville for the Senior Open Qualifier.

I have been getting prepared by practicing the drills for  warm-up, short game,  putting, and routine work out.

As I talked about in my post for focus it is time to put it into realization.

My wife and I will depart tomorrow morning for the 3 1/2 hour drive to Nashville.  Once there we will check-in to our hotel and relax.

The next day we will go out to the course where I will meet up with my caddy.  He is a student at a nearby college that works at the golf course I will be playing.  He will provide me with local course  knowledge since I haven't played the course before.  If you are playing in a qualifier or any tournament and you don't have your own caddy, the best way to inquire for one is to ask the golf pro at the course who they might recommend.  I believe I will have a good caddy in this fellow.  You see he is a player with a 4.5 handicap, so he should not only know the course well, he will have golf knowledge.

I will start with a work out on the range for warm-up, then practice at the chipping and sand area, and finish up at the putting green.  We will then tee it up with 3 other qualifiers.  We will map out the course and figure our strategy for the tournament play the following day.

We will also be able to relax and hopefully get some good photos of the course, since during the tournament I won't have the time and will need my focus to be at its best.

Well, time to get ready for a good night sleep prior to the long drive.

Until next time, keep rested so you won't tire out during the long haul......

Golf Dreams - Getting Ready for Tournament - Tennessee Golf and Fiber Art

I took yesterday off from blogging to travel to Tennessee for a vacation with my wife at Wyndham Fairfield Glade Resort, Crossville, TN. 


This is the Golf Mecca of Tennessee, so they state.  I agree that this is a marvelous place to play golf and enjoy some quiet times along with many other activities.  They have 2 marinas, 2 beaches, 11 lakes and 4 golf courses.  We have  been coming here for about 2 1/2 years.

We will spend some time at the craft fair with my wife and our friends at Dunn Spunn a Fiber Art Studio and Store just off  I-40 on Peavine Road before you get to the Resort. 

Today, we spent time at the Craft Fair and with our friends.  It is so wonderful watching my wife enjoy herself in her element.  Crafting is one of my wife's and mine past times.  It is something we enjoy doing together and in a good relationship you need to enjoy doing things together.

There was many enjoyable crafts made of wood, glass ware, jewelry and such, but our most interested area is fiber art.

Our friend Katelyn, her friend Emily and Katelyn's Mom Kelley have a booth at the Memorial Weekend Craft Fair at Wyndham Fairfield Glade Resort.  They have a lot of marvelous items for sale and Katelyn demonstrated spinning. 

Katelyn is a wonderful talented fiber artists who taught my wife 2 years ago how to knit, and my wife loves spending time with Katelyn and her mom when ever we come to the resort.  Katelyn is not only a well known fiber artist but she is a talented instructor in fiber art creations, spinning, and knitting.  Please check their store out at facebook.com/DunnAgainShabbyShic

So if any one is interested in fiber art and golf this Resort is a wonderful place stay. 

I will spend the next 3 days working on my game and talk about my play and practice.

Until tomorrow, enjoy what you are doing at all times and the times you have will be great.......

Following the Dream - Getting Ready for Tournament - Daily Practice

It is another day for practice to get my self in shape for the next tournament. 

Today my main practice was on putting.

Below is the routine I followed:

• Started with 3 foot drill
• Place 8 balls 3 feet from hole
• putt until miss
• keep putting until make 50 in row

• Then worked on 5, 10, 15 drill
• place tee markers 5, 10, and 15 feet from hole in straight line
• place another tee marker 2 feet from opposite line of the 5,10, 15
• place three balls at 5 foot tee marker
• stroke each ball either in the hole or stopping before the 2 foot tee marker behind the hole
• If you hit any putts short of the hole or past the tee marker start over.
• continue to 10 and 15 foot marker
• again, if you miss any you must start back at the 5 foot marker and begin again
• continue until you have completed 3 balls at each marker

The first drill I worked on helps with confidence and consistency.  You will be amazed how much your confidence will build by making 50 putts in a row.

The second 5,10,15 drill will help build your distance and speed control.

By continually practicing these drills you will be able to not only impress your playing partners on the weekend, but take their money.

Until next time, keep your tempo smooth and your eye on the ball.......

Rainy Day Sundays

Today is a beautiful Rainy Day Sunday.

We have had a steady stream of rain since yesterday afternoon and today it is still beautiful.  I have been enjoying quiet time with my wife.  Her working on her genealogy and me thinking of what next to write about and enjoying a day of golf shows and other sports. 

It has been about three weeks since I broke my finger and I get to see the doctor this next week to see when I can start practicing again.  I have a couple of tournaments I want to get ready for such as the Senior US Open Qualifier in June and a local Pro-Am also in June.

I can't wait to starting working on my short game and eventually work on full swing to get my tempo in tournament condition.

As I have been sitting on my favorite chair looking out the living room window listening to the birds, watching our cat chatter at them, listening to the rain drops hitting the trees and ground along with the wind flowing through the trees and constantly looking at my gorgeous wife doing her thing I thought what rule can I talk about today and it came to me lift clean and place.

When playing golf for many years and with a variety of people I think the most misunderstood rule in golf is how to play lift clean and place properly.  A simple rule made hard by human thinking.

As provided in Rule 33-8a, the Committee may make and publish Local Rules for local abnormal conditions if they are consistent with the policy established in Appendix A.

If local abnormal conditions interfere with the proper playing of the game and the Committee considers it necessary to modify a Rule of Golf, authorization from the USGA must be obtained.

The Appendix A 4a is the one that will be utilized when the tournament director states they will play Lift Clean and Place.

Lifting an Embedded Ball, Cleaning:  Temporary conditions that might interfere with proper playing of the game, including mud and extreme wetness, or warranting relief for an embedded ball anywhere through the green or permitting lifting, cleaning and replacing a ball anywhere through the green or on a closely mown area through the green.

When this is implemented by the Director of the Tournament the proper procedure is to:

• Mark ball before lifting.
• Clean Ball (cannot change ball in play at that time)
• Tournament Rules dictate the distance can be placed from original spot no closer to hole.
• Ball in play

Well time to get back to the peacefulness of the Rainy Sunday and quiet time with my wife.

Until next time,

When playing in the rain keep as dry as you can and have the proper attire to help make the game stay fun..........

 

The Golf Dream Continues Even though had a set Back

Hi I am back.  Well before we get into rules of the game I want to let you know what is happening for my next tournaments.

Well I am still recovering from my broken finger so I have not picked up a club since the last qualifier in Georgia for the Champions Tour.

I have had to cancel and withdraw from the US Open Qualifiers because I won't be able to be ready to play on May 7th.

My finger is feeling better and I believe I might be able to still participate in the US SENIOR OPEN Qualifier in mid June along with a local tournament end of June.

With that possibility in my mine it still gives me hope that the final part of my dream will happen.  In the past 8 years I have changed my game to play like a pro, currently teach as a professional, play in professional tournaments, and still trying to qualify and play in the actual PGA Event on either the Champions or PGA Tour.

I think that within at least a week to two weeks I will at least be able to start putting drills, work myself to chipping drills and finally work on my full swing for tempo and distance.  That will get me back into form I believe for mid Jun qualifier.  I pray everything works out and With Gods help this will happen.

Until I can start practicing and preparing as stated in my last blog if anyone has any recommendations or comments on what they would like me to explain in the game of golf such as, rules, course management, certain drills, posture, swing drills let me know and I will be glad to provide this information and teachings.

During this time frame of not being able to work physically on my game, I constantly work mentally.  I still review the courses that I am to play and in my mind the drills I need to get myself in 100% playing ability.

Until next blog, remember even when you have an obstacle in your way you can still get around it.....

Childhood Golf Course in Backyard

Well, time to tell how I learned at an early age to have course management and use all clubs in the bag.

As a child of a golfer  and lover of the game  it was a passion to play golf at an early age.  My Dad was a really talented golfer and played with some of the greats, Chi Chi, Gary Player and others while he was in the Military.  This helped me develop my love of the game.  As a young child I caddied at the same private course he did.  Well enough of that information.

It all started with deciding to ruin my Dad's yard.  We lived in a subdivision and had a 1/4 acre of lawn around the house.  We loved the game a lot and caddied and watched Dad play as we caddied for him and wanted to play it more but couldn't get on the course as often as we wanted.  So we designed an 18 hold golf course around the house with dog legs, hazards and tin can cups.  We had 4 par fives, 4 par threes and the rest par 4's.  We had it scaled (didn't know that term at the young age) to fit our yard so we could use full set of clubs using a whiffle ball.   You had to use Driver, fairway woods, long irons, short irons and final a putter to putt into a tin cup.  I had two brothers and many neighborhood friends that liked playing we held mini tournaments.  While playing on the miniature course I developed a course management that aloud me to determine which clubs I should use on different shot makings to help get me around the doglegs (corners of the house) to have the best shots into the green (tin cup area).  We learned to play in windy, rainy, hot, and moderate conditions.  The whiffle ball gave a true flight of the ball as it was hit from the club just as if we were hitting real balls on real golf courses.  The management of this course that we manufactured allowed me to take the course management on this course and take it to the real courses.  This knowledge helped me understand the makeup of the bigger courses and allowed me to shoot better golf.

That was a lot of fun and I continually go back to those great memories.  My brothers and I still talk about it often.

Well, if I have no comments or interest in going through specific drills or help in swing techniques before my next blog I will start with some of the rules of golf.  If you have any particular rules you want clarified or interpreted just comment and I will provide replies to those comments..

Until next time, may your swing be smooth and true.......

Continuing the Golf Dream Journey

I am back to continue my blog. 

After I departed yesterday I went and practiced for about three hours.   I spent most of my time on the short range working on my shots 100 yards in. Today, I spent two more hours on the short game, working on mostly pitches and chips.   I believe that working on the short game and putting is the most important part of practice.  Don't get me wrong, I think hitting balls at the range with your other irons, driver and woods is important also.  When you work on swing techniques and figuring out your distances for each club, not just whacking at a bucket of balls for no reason.  But most of your scoring in the game is done from 150 yards in.  That is where I believe you need the Most accuracy.

As I go along, I will explain my philosophy and want I think is important in the game strategy and practice strategy.

No a little more on how I got to where I am in my golf life.   I eventually played a year in high school on the golf team, played in the Military, and then back as a civilian took about 12 years off only playing about once or twice a year because of economic times and too busy working.   I passed on the dream thinking I will never achieve it because of what I heard over the years as a young adult and  that you have to have a lot of money or you are not talented enough.  I think the toughest part as I look back was believing the people that stated I am not good enough and that you are a fool for trying or going for that dream.  It is unachievable.  Well instead of believing in myself and what I believed God wanted me to do, I didn't excel and eventually lost the drive to play.  Hence the 12 years of not playing much at all except when my Dad was in visiting we would play.  The one thing I never lost is playing the game with my Dad.  It is something we shared together and we both enjoyed a lot.

  On my next entries I will share with you how I got back in the game, what my drive was and inspiration.  I will also, provide a few tips on practice strategy.

Until next time, keep swinging and remember fairways and greens.......