So Dex...What's Next???

After my last post, Mike Southern who publishes Ruthless Golf reminded me of the fact that I had achieved the goals I had set for myself in 2011. Since I had achieved them, his question was, "What's next?" Since this blogs slogan is, "...because golf is all about getting better and having fun!, I thought my new goals should be based on this idea.

Getting Better

The next logical step for me as far as my golf game is concerned is to shoot par which means I have to get better. Or better yet, be more consistent. I have had rounds which I know I should have shot par but because of some of the inconsistencies in my game, I have failed to do so. I need to get to a point where all facets of my game are working together.

There are days when I hit 12 of 14 fairways but I can't find the green with my approach shots. There are other days when I miss every fairway but I am able to scramble to get up and down. Then there are day in which nothing is happening right except for my putter. Somehow the 10 to 15 footers start dropping. In all of these scenarios, I am left with a score between 78 and 82.

My best round of 75 came as a result of hot putter. I had 9 one putts and 27 overall. I only hit 4 of 14 fairways and 7 of 18 greens in regulation and I didn't chip very well, but I holed a bunch of clutch par putts and mixed in a couple birdies. The putts that I did miss, which resulted in bogeys, were burning the edges. So many shoulda-woulda-couldas.

To shoot par, I am going to have to set out a specific game plan. As I get closer to par, it is getting harder to go lower. When I was trying to break 100, once I did so, I made tremendous progress. Once I broke 90, I was able to get down to the low 80's relatively quickly. Now that I have broken 80, I am understanding that nearly everything has to go right during the round to break even. Once I eliminate the majority of my mistakes, par will be realized.

Having Fun!

I am competitive by nature. I grew up playing baseball, basketball, and competed in x-country and track and field as well. As much as I liked to win, it was never my main focus. I was more interested in the fundamentals of the sport. When I watch golf, while everyone else is just watching the results of the swing, I am paying attention to what the golfer did to make the shot possible.

To satisfy my desire to compete and my continued study of the fundamentals, I am planning on entering the 2013 Golfweek Amateur Tour. I was going to sign up now, but there are only a few events left in the 2012 season and I probably would not be able to accumulate enough points to qualify for the National Championships held in Hilton Head, SC. Here's a little bit about The Golfweek Amateur Tour as it reads on their website.

"Established in 1995, the purpose of the Tour is to provide amateurs of all ages, sexes, and handicaps the opportunity to compete in stroke-play golf tournaments on a regular basis in their local area. The Tour concludes with a National Tour Championship in which top players in each flight test their skills against other amateurs from around the country. Through this competition, the Golfweek Tour promotes the sport of golf by providing an atmosphere of friendly, fair, and well managed competition for amateur golfers in the pursuit of excellence."

You can find a tour near you and the events are broken up into five flights. Depending on your current handicap you will compete in the Championship Flight, 0-3.9, A Flight, 4-8.9(which would be me as of the writing of this post), B Flight, 9-13, C Flight, 14-18.9, and D Flight, 19 and above. I want to get my handicap as low as possible and then sign up at the beginning of the year in my appropriate bracket.

As I looked at the scores for my current handicap, I would be right in the mix. The average score of the winner of a given event is about an 82, which is exactly what the low golfer posted to take home the last event. I know I can shoot those scores under normal conditions, but I want to see how I would fair with a little pressure factored in.

So it begins. Over my next few rounds, I will be paying close attention to my stats so that I can pinpoint the areas of my game which need the most work. From there, I can formulate a game plan going forward. Feel free to share some of your goals whether accomplished or still in the works. I would love to hear what other golfers are doing to improve their game. Have a great round and always hit your target.

So Dex...What's Up With Your Blog???

This was the question posed to me during a recent rounds with one of my golfing buddies Bryce. It has been a while since I submitted my last post and much has happened within that time. Let me fill you in.

Work Life

On June 12th of 2011, I started working for NIKE as a part time athlete(sales associate). As some of you may remember, I got married last April and moved to Phoenix, AZ from Miami, FL. I basically had to start over work wise and after my savings began to dwindle, I began searching for part time work. I had experience working in athletic retail so I decided to see if NIKE was hiring. As it would have it, they were and after a successful interview, I started training the very next day. In December, I was asked if I wanted to do a stretch position as the Footwear Coach, which would put me in charge of the entire footwear department, which accounts for the majority of the business. I accepted and if you take a look into my archives, you will notice that this also around the time my posts start to become less frequent.

The stretch position (which is kind of like a try-out period to see how I would perform) was supposed to last for three months, but I was offered the position full time after only a month and a half. I officially started the position on February 1st and because of my new responsibilities, I have not written a post since. As of this past Sunday, my position has changed again. I am now in charge of the Back Of House. This means that I am responsible for every item that comes into the store. I can't talk numbers, but trust me, there are a lot of units to keep track of. It will be a challenge, but I'm all about learning as much as possible about all facets of the company so that I can be a true asset.

Personal Life

My wife and I celebrated our one year anniversary on April 1st. We were married at The Scottsdale Cottonwoods Resort in Arizona, and as a part of the wedding package, couples receive a free night on their one anniversary. Of course we took advantage of this, and enjoyed the day at the pool and acted like tourist, visiting some of the local hot spots in the Old Town area.

Last month we took a trip to New Orleans with my wife's parents, her brother and his girlfriend, and The Doctor and his wife. New Orleans, or at least Bourbon St., is like Las Vegas for me. Two or three days is all you need. After that it is just sensory overload. But, if you are into people watching, this is the place for you. After living on South Beach, I thought I had seen it all, but New Orleans just may have topped it.

The plan was to get in at least one round of golf, but it rained a few days while we were there, so we opted to take advantage of the weather when it was good to see some of the sights. The food was so good and in a culture that has a strong European influence mixed with its own southern flare, any appetite is sure to be satisfied. The music scene is of course legendary and we sat in on a few jam sessions which we happened to stumble upon. Some of which were right there on the streets.

Golf Life

Despite being busy at work, I have been playing golf at least two times a week. If I'm not working then I'm golfing. Every time I play a round, I think of something I can write about, but after a round, I just want to get some rest before I go back into work. But I'm hoping to change that. Bryce reignited a fire I had for writing about the game and my progress and amazingly, I have been receiving comments despite the fact that I have not been active.

My game is improving. I am averaging around 81 per round which currently has me at an 8.7 on the handicap index, and after my last three rounds, I am on pace to be at an 8.2. I shot a new personal best of 75 at Viewpoint Golf Course and have shot sub 80 rounds several times so far this year. The challenge now is to play well enough to shoot par.

My biggest improvement has come with my putter. I am getting much better with my lag putts and have been able to drain some big 5-10 footers to save pars. While I am happy with my putting, I realize that it will be hard for me to shoot par if I don't continue to improve in other parts of my game. My focus over the next few months will be on my chipping. I'm driving the ball pretty well off the tee. I still revert to bad habits from time to time by coming over the top, but for the most part my misses have not been too detrimental. Another area that has improved is with my approach shots into the greens. My GIR percentage isn't where it needs to be, but my misses are now good misses.

This brings us to my chipping. If I can become more consistent with getting the ball to within tap in range, I will be giving myself a better chance to score well. Chipping actual used to be one of the stronger parts of my game, but I think I know I lost focus on that as I worked on my driver and irons.

Moving forward, I will be playing more golf and writing about it. It's hot again in the Valley Of The Sun, but that means cheaper tee times. I already made it through my first summer in the desert so I am well prepared to play in triple digit weather. Thank you to those of you who continued to leave comments here and on my Facebook page. That just lets me know that there are a lot of golfers like myself who are working hard to get better at this crazy game. This alone is encouragement for me to keep, keeping on. Feel free to tell me what you have been up to for the past couple of months. I feel like I have missed so much. Have a great round and always hit your target. 

Photo found here.

My First Round Of Golf Walking A Full 18 Holes

I finally got to one of the courses I have been wanting to play since I moved to Phoenix in Aguila Golf Course. Not because it is famous or well known, but rather because one of my Stracka buddies, Pete-HEFF-L has been trying to get me to play it for a while now. Ironically, I didn't play it with him and I am a little hesitant to let him know that I did without him.

As I said in my last post, none of my regular golfing buddies could make it so I went out solo. As always I am paired with interesting people and this round was no different. I had the good fortune of playing with a family originally from Denver Colorado. I met John first and he introduced me to his wife Vickie and their son Brandon.

They were pleasure to be with on the course. They cracked jokes the entire time which took off a lot of the pressure that is sometimes felt when playing with strangers. They all played really well. John, while never hitting a driver off the tee, was an ace with his 3-wood. Straight as an arrow. Vickie stayed in the fairways. I think she hit all but three. And when Brandon got a hold of one, he sent his ball booming down the fairway.

I played pretty well, posting an 82 despite hitting only 3 of 14 fairways. Most of my misses were to the right. I wasn't really slicing it, but it made some of my approach shots into the green a bit more difficult than they needed to be. I'll be working on remedying this problem. Fortunately, my short game was on point.

Most of the nine pars that I recorded were due to great chipping around the greens. When I missed a green in regulation, I was able to chip it to within gimme range. It was a warm day, so I didn't have the same problems I have when starting early in the morning. If I had made a few more putts, it would have been a record breaking round for me. Not worried. That will come as I play more.

So back to the title of this post. I always book my tee times with Golfnow.com and Aguila is one of the few courses that allows golfers to walk the course. So it was either pay $51 to ride or pay $29 to walk. Always looking for a deal, I decided to walk it just to see how I would fair.

Many of the courses in Phoenix, or at least the ones that I have played, wind in and out of the mountains and walking them would be a chore. The drive between some holes can be nearly half a mile and then there are the elevation changes. It would take up to six hours to play some of these courses if one decided to walk them.

I consider myself to be in pretty good condition but I definitely felt it after the round. Let's just say, I slept really well last night. I have a new found respect for the pros that walk courses day in and day out. Granted, they have caddies carrying their clubs, but to do it for four rounds and with extreme pressure, I understand why they are flanked with a support team which includes personal trainers and nutritionist.

Aguila Golf Course is definitely recommended if you visit the Phoenix area. The staff was very friendly and I soon discovered that this may be a good place to practice. They have a driving range, chipping and pitching area, along with several putting greens. This course also has a par 3 nine hole course, which I'm told really tests your short game.

Aguila certainly gets a thumbs up from me. Pete-HEFF-L was telling the truth when he said it is a great place to play. Now that I have my first walking 18 under my belt, I'm looking forward to my next. It certainly is good exercise and I actually felt at one with the course. I had time to take in the scenery between shots which actually calmed me down after a poor effort.

Two days off in a row next week will hopefully yield two rounds in a row. Until then I may have to pay a visit to Aguila before or after work for a little practice. One thing is for sure. I'll be looking into a good push cart so that I don't have to carry my bag during my next walking round. Maybe that will keep my shoulders loose and help my putting;-) Have a great round and always hit your target.

Let The 2012 Golf Season Begin

Now that the pros are back and playing, it's time for me to get back on the course on a regular basis. Or as regular as my schedule will allow for. I was able to play two rounds last week and I was definitely a little rusty. Golf is a sport that requires that you play with some consistency if you want to get better. Because I had not played for about a month, the first few holes of each round were a bit of an adventure.

My buddy J.B. and I played at San Marcos Golf Club for my first round back. To be honest, my poor play on the front nine was due to the fact that I couldn't feel my hands. At the start of the round it was about 48 degrees and breezy. It wasn't until the 10th hole that I could actually feel my fingers. I shot a 47 on the front and a 40 on the back for a total of 87.

Despite not being able to feel my hands, I drove the ball really well, hitting five of seven fairways for the front. Where I had trouble, was around the greens. I consider my self to be a "feel" player and when my hands are frozen, chipping and pitching becomes very difficult. I sculled a few. Hit a few fat. It was very frustrating. Once it began to warm up, my touch returned and my short game immediately improved.

The second round was played at Camelback Golf Club(The Padre Course). This was my first time playing this course. I have visited Camelback before, but played the Indian Bend Course. The Doctor had played it the week before, and thought that I would enjoy it. While the Indian Bend Course is mostly flat, the Padre Course, has fairways with more undulation, which made for many uneven lies on approach shots.

Case in point. I came to the the short par 4, 16th and hit a great drive. I was left with only 65 yards into the green for my second. The only thing was that I had a down hill lie and there was a bunker guarding the pin which was on the front of the green. I proceeded to hit my worse shot of the round, hitting it fat, and advancing the ball about 30 yards. I turned a potential birdie hole into a double bogey. Ouch!

Despite this, I managed an 84. Not my best, but it was a step in the right direction. I plan on playing tomorrow. None of my regular golf buddies can play, so I'm going solo. Since it is peak season in Arizona, I know I won't be alone. I like getting out there and meeting new people on the course. For the most part, the golfers I'm paired with, are interesting and diverse. It will be a late morning start so I know I will be properly thawed out before starting. Hopefully this will allow me to get off to fast start. Have a great round and always hit your target.

Finding Trouble Off The Tee

Arizona Grand Spa & Golf Resort is one of my favorite courses to play here in the Phoenix area. That is...it's one of my favorites when I am playing well and hitting the ball straight. My last round proved to be, not-so-fun due to the fact that I couldn't find the fairways for the life of me.

Arizona Grand has a gorgeous layout with elevation changes that showcase a beautiful desert style course nestled into the rocky ridges of South Mountain. While the scenery can be breath taking, ending up in the desert after a golf shot spells disaster for any chance at scoring well.

Trouble for me started on the first. The tee shot calls for a blind shot up and over a hill. At the top of the hill, on the right hand side, sits a little pond, that if it is your first time playing the course, you have no idea it's there. I aimed way left of the pond but ended up slicing it right into the drink which led to a double bogey.

I actually hit two great drives on holes 2 and 3 which lead to pars. Again, if you keep it in the fairway on this course, you give yourself a great chance to do well. I only managed to hit two more fairways for the rest of my round and found myself having to drop because of multiple unplayable lies. Instead of playing for birdies and pars, I was often playing for bogeys and doubles.

Looks like I need to get back to working on my long game again. Mike Southern of Ruthless Golf wrote an article about which is more important, the long game or the short game. We often hear teachers say that amateurs need to work on their short game because that is the part of the game in which the pros excel. Mike, however, has a different take on it.

In my case, Mike would tell me to work on my long game. Off the tee, I did not give myself a chance at getting onto the green in regulation(if you don't know what this means, Mike explains it fully in his article). The short game is a very important part of golf, but if I'm still off the green after my third shot on a par 4, now I have to chip in just to save par.

So, for me, I'm going back to the beginning. I only had three pars during this round and no birdies. When I was able to play more frequently, I was averaging nine pars and at least two birdies a round. My greens in regulation had climbed from 17% to around 45%. This is why I was shooting in the high 70's-low 80's.

I'm not too worried. It will come back to me. Whenever my game gets a little sketchy, Mike gives me a little advise and reminds me that "I am close." In recent weeks, Tiger has been saying this a lot, because he knows, now that he is able to practice like he used to, it's the subtle tweeks in his game that are getting him back to the player he once was. Like Tiger, I'm close and now that I know what I need to work on, I'm even closer. Have a great round and always hit your target.

Photo found here.

Something To Be Thankful For

I am thankful for all of you who have taken the time to share in my exploits on the golf course. Your comments have been an encouragement to me and they push me to keep moving towards my goals. Have a great Thanksgiving Day everybody.

Photo found here.

I Need A Full Time Caddie

I was watching an episode of Golf Channel Academy today which featured Greg Norman and some of things he does on the golf course to be successful. The segment that caught my attention was when he was talking about visualizing his shots. Visualization and picking specific targets are aspects of the games that separate us as amateurs from the pros.

We have talked about visualizing our intended shots before and I do all I can to stay focused on the course, but sometimes there are just too many distractions that lead to poor shots. Norman talked about how amateurs see all the hazards and everything that can go wrong before a shot. Pros, on the other hand, have tunnel vision. It's like they have those horse blinders on. They don't see the trouble. I've heard pros say that they sometimes narrow their focus to something as minute as a leaf on a tree as an aiming point. We, however, see the entire tree.

The greatest advantage that professionals have over us in my opinion, is that they have caddies to help them stay focused on their targets. Caddies are meticulous when mapping out yardages and gaining overall knowledge of the course (s)he and their player are navigating. If I had a caddie, I would probably be a scratch golfer by now.

As I thought about it, my best rounds have been when I played on courses I had never played before, but was paired with someone who played it regularly. I remember playing at The Phoenician with Patrick Gibbons one afternoon, and even though I had played it once before, I couldn't remember how all of the holes played.

On one particular hole, like a caddie, he told me where I needed to hit it to have the best look into the green for my approach shot. I stepped up to the tee and hit exactly where he had told me to. He commented, "must be nice to hit where you're supposed to."

On another day, I played at Silverado Golf Club for the first time and  I was paired with a gentleman who knew the course like the back of his hand. He guided me through the course for the whole round and I produced some of the best shots I had ever hit in my career.

There was one par 4 that had a blind tee shot over trees in order to get to the fairway. My playing partner pointed out a pole that everyone used as an aiming point. He told me that if I hit it long and just right of the pole, I would end up in a good position. Again, I hit it just as I was instructed to do and was left with an 80 yard shot into the green.

If I always had someone telling me where to hit it, my scores would drop dramatically. It's almost like I didn't have to think about the shot, I just had to execute it, and I think this is a luxury that the pros have. Caddies take a lot of the guess work out of the game. They keep their player in a positive state of mind which translates into better quality shots.

I love when the producers mic a professional during a tournament and we get to hear the conversation that takes place between caddie and player. They talk about what they want to accomplish and it always ends with, "I like that shot" or "I feel good about that." After all the calculations have been made, they know exactly what they are shooting at and in their mind, they have already executed it.

Sure professionals hit poor shots from time to time but more often than not, they are dead on with what they wanted to do. While it is still on the player to hit the shot, a good caddie can be the difference between a shot ending up on the green or ending up in a hazard. This is why I want a full time caddie. Any takers? Have a great round and always hit your target.

Photo found here.

I Can't Feel My Fingers!!!

When I woke up for my round at Apache Creek Golf Club yesterday, it was a balmy 48 degrees. Brrrr. There is a low pressure system that is making it's way down from the Pacific Northwest and we are beginning to feel the effects of a cold front that is sweeping through the Phoenix Valley.

I have been very spoiled in the fact that I have lived in places where I can play golf year round. I have always been treated to great weather and have never really had to play in uncomfortable conditions. In Miami we had to deal with rain and high winds, but for the most of the year it was still warm.

The tee time was set for 6:50AM by J.B. whom I had met through this blog via Facebook. We had been trying to set up a time when we could get in a round for months but something always came up whether it was work or family related. J.B. whom I soon found out can hit the ball a country mile, is a morning golfer. During the summer when the sun rises earlier, he is often the first one on the tee for a 5:30 start.

Keeping true to form, we were the first golfers at the course, arriving before any of the employees. It was still dark and for me, very cold. I just kept looking towards the eastern horizon, hoping for a glimpse of sunlight. As we chipped around the practice green with glow in the dark golf balls that J.B. had which were pretty cool, my hands began to get numb. I was beginning to wonder how I would be able to hold my clubs.

After checking in at the pro shop, we headed to the driving range to warm up. Except there was no warming up for me. I had no feeling in my hands and it was hard for me to keep a handle on the grip. It reminded me of my days playing baseball in New England during early March. Mishits with an iron felt like the stinging sensation you get when you hit the baseball off the wrong part of an aluminum bat.

My drive from the first tee tailed off to the right which left me with a long approach of about 205 yards into the green. I hit hybrid and fell short and right of the green. I chipped it pass the hole about 20 feet and was left with a downhill putt. I held the putter as best as I could, let my shoulders swing, and drained it to save par.

Great start. Unfortunately, my hands could not warm up and I missed every fairway on the front nine. When you miss the fairways at Apache Creek, you are at a huge disadvantage. This is a true desert style course and golfers are penalized severely for wayward shots. Having to play many of my shots off of a hardpan lie led to four double bogeys on the front.

It wasn't until the turn that I was finally able to feel my fingers again. The sun had come out, and even though it was still in the low 60's, because of the bright sunshine, it felt a lot warmer. It showed in my tee shots. I hit four out of the seven fairways on the back nine and my iron shots into the greens were a bit more accurate.

I wasn't pleased with my overall performance, but I didn't expect much since I hadn't played in almost a month and a half. While much of my struggles were due to the weather, some of it had to do with being mentally rusty as much as mechanically rusty. When I look back on the round, I made decisions that I know I wouldn't have when I was playing three or four times a week. When I was playing regularly, my golf IQ improved as well as my swing which led to better scores. I just need to get out more and I'm sure it will all come back.

I have a new found respect for professional golfers when they have to compete in less than perfect weather. This past weekend, The Champions Tour held their season ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship at TPC Harding Park GC in San Francisco, California. The temperature was similar to what I faced and on top of that, they had to deal with windy conditions. Yet many of them were still able to shoot par or better. They are that good.

It looks like I'm going to have to invest in some warm golf mittens especially if I'm going to be playing more rounds with a "crack of dawn golfer" like J.B. The cold front is supposed to remain for a while and I would like to have some "feeling" in my shots. It's either that or wait for it to warm up again, but for me, that might take too long. Have a great round and always hit your target.