Dented Drivers, New Commitments and The Future

Hi everyone!

It's a little bit of a crummy day here in the Woodlands today, so I've been taking it easy this morning. Had my first little sleep in for quite some time, and just got back from my morning workout at the gym. The last week has been a good week, and I've been regaining my confidence on the golf course, and starting to feel a lot more comfortable again.

Unfortunately, in the middle of last week, I noticed a strange almost dent on the toe of my driver. I was cleaning the face off, and as my thumb brushed over the toe side grooves, the face felt flat. Drivers have what is called bulge and roll on the face, and there is curvature to the entire driver, from heel to toe, and top to bottom. For some reason, the toe side of my driver is almost flat. I had a few people take a look at it, and the general consensus is that the driver face has caved in. This happens with drivers, and is usually a product of hitting too many old range balls. Range balls are often solid, and they do not react exactly like a real golf ball. They are much harder in most cases, and as they get older, get put through cleaning machines, and just get more worn out, they tend to get very hard. With as thin as a driver face is, it doesn't take much if you hit the wrong ball in the wrong spot on the face, and you can run into a problem. It is funny, my friend Scott Staub almost slapped me when I said I was only bringing one driver head down here with me, and I guess he was right! This happens a lot with drivers (by my count, this is the eighth or ninth driver I've caved in since I was 13), and the driver is being replaced, very courteously, by Taylor Made.

We have a tournament on the schedule this week, at Lake Windcrest Golf Club, but I am not playing because of not having a driver. This could turn out to be a good thing, though, because I now have a two week break before our next event. Thanksgiving weekend is next week, so there is no event scheduled. This gives me a bunch of time to work hard on my game, and get myself ready for our next tournament at Kingwood Country Club, the first week of December. I am going up to Norman, Oklahoma to spend Thanksgiving with my good friend J.R. and his family, and we'll have some good days of playing and practicing before and after!

I have made a very strong commitment lately to getting into a lot better shape. I have never been in bad shape, but I have never really worked hard to get into very good shape, especially on the aerobic side of things. The last week I have been waking up early every morning, and heading to the gym for around an hour of cardio work. This is very new to me, as I've always hated doing cardio, but I know it will pay off! I feel much better when I am at the course in the afternoon, I have much more energy, and I know the work I'm doing in the gym will only benefit me on the course. Once I get home from the golf course in the evenings, I also head back to the gym for my strength training workouts. I can't imagine there are many people who know me that would ever believe I'm doing two-a-days! The cardio and the strength training is something that I know will really help me reach my goals, and something I really need to do!

Things have been really good lately, and I am really looking forward to the last three events of the season. I have been spending a lot of time on the golf course working on my confidence, and it is starting to come back to the points it has been. I am working very hard on my putting, and I see it starting to pay off. I am confident that in a few weeks, when we tee it up at Kingwood, I will be ready to put my best effort forward, and continue my progress in my professional tournament play.

Take care everyone!
Stew