Golf Channel Amatuer Tour
Friday April 30, 2010 11:26am

Although I'm not a low handicap player, I totally enjoy competition and have once again joined the GCAT.  I'm currently playing in the Jones flight which is for players with Handicaps of 13- 16 I think.  Currently, I'm hovering in the high 14's or low 15's.  I began the year terrbly shotting my first 3 tournament scores in triple digits.  Then went to the seasons first major, a 2 round tourney at Sandpiper Golf Course and shot well enough to place 3rd in my flight and qualify for the National Championships at Sawgrass in Florida.  It doesn't look like I'll be able to play the championship, but it was encouraging to at least qualify.

This weekend, I'm playing the Tour at Brookside in Pasadena.  Last year this was my first tournament with the GCAT and although I missed the top 3, I was encouraged with the way I handled myself as I struggled throughout the day but managed to post a respectable score anyway.  This weekend i'm hoping to go in there and at least compete for a flight win.  I think if I can shott mid 80's I'll be in the running.  Updates to follow.

Robinson Ranch GK Outing
Wednesday October 28, 2009 10:10am

What a great time!    This was my first outing with the GK group and to say that it met any expectations would be a considerable understatement.  All of the guys were friendly.  I think each and every one either stepped up and introduced himself, or at the very least said hello.  Top that off with a great facility and nice conditions and I wonder if the bar has been set too high!  I am truly looking forward to the next opportuntiy to play with these guys.

I shot well for the 3rd round in a row.  I have now posted 4 scores in a row below 90 and actually had a chance to go quite low, by my standards here, had I not lost concentration and played about 4 holes on the back as though I was just beginning again.  For some reason, I bgan spraying tee shots, could no longer chip, and lost the putting stroke all at once.  It could have been me getting a bit tired, but for whatever reason, it was frustrating afterwards to think about.  I may begin packing some fruit in my bag, I think one of my issues may be that I typically don't eat much breakfast before a round and I may be runnign out of gas.  Some fruit may help.

Anyway, it looks like my game is coming back.  I'm reasonably happy with most parts of the game, although my chipping is still my biggest stumbling block.  I seem to be thinknig my way around the course fairly well, taking slight risks where I think I can, and not trying to overhit the ball and focusing primarily on keeping it in play.  I must work on the chipping and short game and I would like to think that I can get down to a 12 by the end of next year.

It's nice to be back
Monday October 5, 2009 10:01am

After having the surgery on my knee I've spent spme time slowly getting back by going to the range at leat once a week.  Things felt ok for the most part and I seemed to be making pretty good contact with the ball.  I still haven't spent much time chipping or at the short game, but my primary concern was how the knee was going to hold up.  Everything seems fine.

I have played 2 rounds.  One at Los Robles and once at Tierra Rejada.  Both rounds I struck the ball as well as expected and actually scored well at Los Robles.  It was my first time on Tierra Rejada and with all the blind shots and quirky lies in fairways, although the score wasn't great (91), I was reasonably happy.  I am hoping ot begin playing a bit more, hopefully at least 2 rounds a month, with weekly stops at the range.  Short game focus to come in preparation for the new season on the Amateur Tour coming after the first of the year.

All in all, the game is coming back and I can't wait to begin competing again.  Trying to decide whether to use the handicap system here at GK or to continue with my current subscription through the Golf Channel site.

Almost time to start again
Tuesday July 7, 2009 1:31pm

Well, surgery was 6/12/09.  It turns out I had 2 tears in the meniscus as well as a tear in the PCL.  It's been slow going, but I have gotten permission to begin chipping and putting this week, so I'm hoping to get out after dinner tomorrow night.  It's been really awful sitting around and not playing, but with a goal of playing a tourney the first weekend of August, I've been trying to stay patient, but be as aggressive as possible in my rehab.  I did 2.5 miles on the stationary bike last night with no real pain this morning, so I'm feeling pretty good.  Now I just need to stay focused on my rehab, my workouts, and my practice and things should fall into place.

Updates to follow.

Why now?
Tuesday May 19, 2009 10:37am

I decided early in the spring this year to try and be more focused in my practice, with the hopes of improving my game a bit and maybe even getting the index down to a 12.  That's a pretty ambitious goal, to drop 4 points, but I truly feel with a better short game, it's attainable.  Things had been going fairly well.  I was practicing more than usual, without feeling guilty about leaving the family behind.  Additioanlly, I have begun entering all of my detail scores on the Golf Channel site using their GameTracker software, and have a better idea of the areas I need to focus on.

Last Friday, 5/1/5/09 I shoot the best score of the year and end up injuring my knee near the end of the round.  I had been posting almost all low 90 scores all year and now I had the chance to enter a very nice 83, with 2 birdies and almost chipped in a sand shot on #18.  Now, I'm on the shelf for the next 6-10 weeks with a torn medial meniscus in my left knee!!  I haven't had the MRI yet, but am hoping to have it sometime this week, so that I can get a better idea of the extent of the injury and schedule surgery as soon as possible.

In the meantime, I will be reading as much as possible and keeping up with the GK site, which I think is one of the finest user generated golf sites anywhere!!