'Tis the Season

After a successful training camp in Texas my sights are set onto the next event: May 13th in Rochester New York, a pre-qualifier for the US Open.

I played two tournaments in Texas; both were pre-qualifiers for the Houston Open and then the Valero Texas Open. I improved from a T71 finish in the first week to a T37 finish in the second week. Some takeaways that will be the framework of my training for the next month:

• When I hit the green, I was -4. I hit 9 greens in the second event and was -4 on those holes. Focus on keeping GIR’s high. 

• I will improve my scrambling % around the greens. 

• Stick to my game plan more consistently coming down the stretch. 

My focus is improvement; from week to week and year-to-year. I was happy to see an improvement in my game within a week and I made lots of progress with my coach down in Dallas. 

I feel confident about the trajectory of my game. I spent most of my winter at The Bunker working on my swing and at the gym, where I added 25 lbs of muscle in the last year. The better technique, in addition to the added muscle, has increased my driver ball speed to over 170mph, which is almost on par with PGA TOUR Averages. The goal is to reach the tour average by the end of the month. 

Winter Highlights:

1. Increased speed.

2. Refined golf swing. 

3. Increased muscle mass.

4. Increased knowledge and self-awareness. 

5. Tournament experience. 

6. Inside 150yds strokes gained is PGA TOUR average. 

The off-season for a golfer can be quite interesting. My favourite part about golf is the competition and then executing when it counts. Sometimes, in the off-season, that experience is not always possible. 

I was lucky this winter to find The Bunker in Ottawa. They’ve been extremely kind to me, given me a job and a place to get in some reps and compete. I worked on my swing and spent a lot of time refining my competition mindset with my mental coach, Mike Kostka. Both Mike and the team at The Bunker have set me up for success for this season. 

Texas Training Camp: 

I was competing in Texas and set up a two week training camp there to stress-test the game. After my first competition, my coach looked at me and said, “How does a guy who swings it this good hit so few greens?”. It was a problem. But It was a problem that I knew how to address. In the second tournament round, I hit 7/9 greens on the front nine and was -2 at the turn. I learned a valuable lesson here: “Stick to the game plan. Remove ego from decision-making.” 

I actually had that phrase written on the back of my yardage book, but when I was -2, I started to think about playing the Valero Texas Open. How incredible would it be to springboard my career, make the team back home proud, and come back with something, some proof of progress. I started to attack pins more aggressively, but this was not a part of the game plan. By the time I realized my mistake, I was back to even-par. I lipped out on 16 and 17 and finished T37. Lesson learned. 

Here’s the good news, the swing is good. The game was there. I saw it and I felt it. I was able to execute shots when I needed to and I putted very well. Part of the game plan for the next few weeks is to really just train my eye and to practice trusting my judgement for wind, lie, spin, carry and rollouts which are some things I know I am good at and can become better at.

Thank you to my sponsors: 

The Bunker

Just For Him Menswear

Russ F.

Under Regulation Golf

I achieved my goal and successfully raised enough money to cover my entry fee for the first round of PGA TOUR Americas qualifying school in June. I will be playing at Crown Isle from June 9th-12th. 

Also, thank you to Charles for your knowledge and the loop at Tradition. And thank you, John, for your advice, kind words, and company at Indian Creek.