Last Update for the Year...

I didn’t expect to play much till after the holidays, but at my wife’s urging (and because Green Caye is easy on the budget), I went down and signed up on the 21st. The first evening I played I had some reservations about maintaining my past months level of play and it showed in every aspect during the first loop where I shot a 34 (+7) featuring a pair of three putts and ball lost OB that resulted in a double. I played better the second loop where a birdie on five made up for the bogey on one and left me even at seven… where I pulled my shot left into the water. I came in with double, bogey, bogey for a 31. At the end of the night, I spent 20 minutes or so practicing putting on the ninth green.

The next evening was very windy (out of the NW at 20-25 gusting to 40) and during the two and one-half hours of play the temperature dropped from 63 to 39. I played three loops fairly well considering the winds. I made solid ball contact and I felt like I shot better than my scorecard showed. My scores were 33/33/34 and maintaining or besting a 32 average was beginning to look bleak.

The next evening I got an early start with the intention of playing for four hours or so (I can play as much as 45 holes in four hours). The weather was clear and cool with temperatures in the low 40s. I started playing fairly solid but a couple of three-putts spoiled a good loop and I finished with a 32. The next loop I struggled. I was hitting fat shots and my putting was terrible. I finished with just two pars, a triple, and 19 putts that resulted in a 36 on the card. With plenty of time left and a determined attitude, I played a third loop that was better until the fifth hole where I pulled a shot OB and made a triple. On six, I thinned a short chip and made double. I finished with 35 and went home, defeated.

I did not play again until the 29th. The temps were in the mid 40s with a light breeze out of the east. I wanted to find some confidence so I hit about ten shots on the range before setting out onto the course. Of those ten shots I hit maybe one solidly. I set out without expectations. I hoped to play well but had I bit of a feeling like I had little chance in reviving this month’s stats. Here’s what came out of five loops:


I played some very solid golf. It was one of those days where everything was working pretty good. My chipping was very good with many up and downs being tapped in from three feet or less. I was definitely tired on the final loop and left about 30 minutes early instead of practicing putting. I brought the average score down to 32.07 from 34 and change.

I’m reading FEARLESS GOLF, Conquering the Mental Game by Dr. Gio Valiante and Mike Stachura and it’s been a great read so far and has the potential of replacing The Inner Game of Golf by W. Timothy Gallwey as my favorite golf book. I’m not too good at doing reviews and such, but I think that we all tend to like the golf books that validate our particular approach to the game. This is certainly the case with me and this book (and Tim’s book) is helping me expand and refine my golf journey.

Happy New Year,
-Greg