Shaking the Rust Off!

Hello Everyone!

Over a month since the last entry, and there really hasn't been much going on. I had a great time home for Christmas, but with the snow and cold, it sure has been nice to be back! The weather has been a little spotty here in Texas, but as long as I can get out and play golf, I certainly cannot complain.

We have started our fifth tournament, and I struggled to a 77 today. It is very frustrating to continuously show potential and not see the results. I did not control the ball as well as I did at Cypresswood, in the last event, but I did not play as poorly as my score indicated. I felt good out there, but made some mental errors that I shouldn't have made. It took me about nine holes to really feel comfortable with my alignment, and pre-shot routine. These are things I should have spent a little more time working on while warming up today, and I do not think I will make tomorrow. I hit a poor tee shot off the 7th hole, which ended up out of bounds, that I feel was directly a result of poor alignment. Once I addressed these issues, I really felt good on the back nine, and hit the ball quite well. I am looking forward to tomorrow!

While I made a few errors that I could chalk up to being rusty, after a week of practice, that is not a very good excuse! My short game was not sharp. I did hit one fantastic bunker shot on the 3rd hole, and some pretty nice bump and run chips. That was very positive. I struggled specifically with my 58 degree wedge around the greens, and that just means I need to focus a little more on that club during practice! The game ultimately comes down to getting the ball in the hole, and today I just did not do that. I had 33 putts, and you cannot be competitive at this level doing that.

I spent a good amount of time working on my putting with my coach, Cory Kartusch, while back in Winnipeg. We changed my putting posture, and it has freed me up to stroke the putts better, and see the line much better. I really stroked the ball well, but I was not hitting the putts with enough speed to go in the hole on the lines I chose. This is easy to fix, I just need to hit them a little firmer!!!

Tomorrow is round two, and I am looking forward to building on today's round. I am going to be a little harder on myself, as I expect more than what I am currently displaying. I am happy with my effort, and the work I am putting in, but it is time to start seeing better scores! We have a great schedule of tournaments coming up over the next couple months, and I cannot wait to play them!

All the best!
Stew