Even Par…

I played four loops last night at Green Caye, and the second loop I shot even par, tying my course record there. I made a nice string of pars through the fourth hole, and birdied both five and six. I didn’t think too much about my score till after I parred the seventh. I tried not to think about it, but as I walked to the eighth tee I started to think about the results. I quickly gathered myself mentally and focused on the upcoming shot.

I had been having some trouble with this hole for some time. There is water immediately right of the green and the green gets smaller as it gets farther away from the water. I’ve hit plenty of shots into the water here, I’ve pulled plenty left. I tried taking a club that would take the water out of play but it’s a difficult hole to get up-and-down.

I decided to club up and hit a smooth shot at the pin. I pulled it slightly but landed on the green some 15 to 20 feet left of the pin. Releaved, and wanting to stay in the moment, I started thinking about the putt. By the time I got to the green I was thinking about another birdie!!!

Now this month I’m trying to focus on getting my putts past the hole. Sadly, I’m not having too much success. I leave many putts short or just a few inches past the cup. I just can’t seem to find the speed to go one or two feet past the cup and to be honest, I miss plenty of birdies as a result.

So there I was on the eighth hole at two under with a 15 to 20 footer for birdie and I slam the ball six feet by and miss the comebacker.

The ninth is the toughest hole on th course due to it’s length and OB on both sides. Over the past three months I’ve managed to par it just 25.8% of the time. I didn’t know the exact number when I got to the ninth tee, but I knew I usually bogy this hole. I tried to focus on the shot and the target but I couldn’t get the thought of hitting OB out of my mind. In my preoccupied state I hit a weak push off the toe that was short but in play. The pin was on the right side of the green and after giving up a shot on eight, I hit my short pitch left of the pin to the fat of the green. I had a chance, but I was easily twenty feet or more from the cup. A conservative two putts and I had earned my second even par round at Green Caye.

I’m very happy about the even par round, yet dissappointed that I gave a shot up with the three-putt.

I played two more loops and finished with about forty minutes remaining on the lights. Since the temperature was in the mid 30s I had the course all to myself; so, I hung out on the ninth green and had a great practice session.

Great Practice Routine…

My intent was to practice putting but I ended up working on up-and-downs (half of which is putting). I took five balls and tossed them in all directions around the green. The goal is to get all five balls in the cup in two. Each ball must be played out before the next ball is hit. Once a ball is in the hole, it stays in the hole unless it takes more than three shots to get the next ball in the hole. With this rule, you must avoid three-putting. Oh, and you can’t go home until all the balls are in the cup. While I did put myself in come challenging locations around the green, I was surprised that it took me over twenty tries to get all five balls in – and I never had to pull a ball out of the hole.

The number of balls you use should challenge you to complete the session in a given number of shots (or amount of time). For added fun, do it with a friend and make it a competition.

Tempo…

I’m starting to think about tempo. I’ve heard a lot about tempo. I think my game could benefit if I could find “my” tempo.

A common error I make is to get too quick at the top; I start the downswing too early. I’m fairly certain that working on tempo would reduce the occurrence of this problem.

I looked around and I found an electronic metronome that has a headphone output with adjustable output. It’s pocket-sized and looks to be exactly the type of thing that could be used to work on tempo. I know they make similar tempo devices specifically for golfers. Are there any other methods of working on tempo? Do I need to get a gadget to find “my” tempo?

Happyland...

I’m on pace to maitain another month with a 32 average. My wife has been very encouraging and sometimes even suggests that I go golfing. The past couple of months I’ve played golf nearly three times per week on average and at less than $100 per month – and that includes gasoline!!!

Not too shabby,
-Greg