Up's and Down's
It has been a while since my last post, partly because things haven't been going that great on the golf course and I have been working my tail off trying to get things where I want them. In this post I'm probably just going to ramble if I am honest with you, just get a few things put out there as I'm sure a lot of you are watching my progress and wandering what is happening.
I started the year very well, three weeks in Florida getting my game in shape. Following on from that I played the Portugal Pro Tour where I played some lovely golf and managed to get a nice win thrown in there for good measure. At this point it really did feel like I was going to burst out of the blocks and get off and running quickly. That was not to be however, I flew to Kenya to do a Monday Qualifier for the Kenyan Open and the golf was not great. I struggled with the Kukuya grass with my chipping and struggled to a one over par and didn't qualify. It was a great few days though as Kenya gives you a bit of a reality check, the separation between rich and poor is incredible. It made me really appreciate what I get to do and see how lucky I am to be able to travel around and see the great places I do.
Even though I didn't get the result I wanted I actually felt like I hit the ball very good, and this is going to be a bit of a trend unfortunately. So far it's a season of could have been's and should have been's. I have been playing quite nicely but not being able to put a score together, even on rounds that I feel like I have the ball going exactly how I see it. I've now completed four Challenge Tour events and missed three of those cuts, something that is really bothering me. Looking at it in an analytical light, my worst ball striking week was actually my only made cut, I actually had no idea where the ball was going. To be honest, my win in Portugal was much the same, neither tournament I had any idea where the ball was going. I love hitting fades, and both of these weeks I had the ball going left, which for someone who fades the ball is not ideal. I found myself hitting driver out the neck to stop it going left and just getting it in play, and I did it to good effect both weeks.
My best ball striking week was this week in the Czech Republic, I had the ball moving lovely left to right and my iron play was great. Unfortunately the course has had a tough winter and the greens which are apparently normally in great condition have struggled with the winter. This is not an excuse but it made converting good iron shots harder. I have shot level par total for the first two rounds to miss the cut by one, hitting 28 greens in regulation, which I consider a good week. a lot of these greens in regulation gave me good looks at birdie but I just wasn't converting them.
A big issue at the moment is in the club selection and course management department. This week was better on the course management front, hitting to the fat side of the green. My goal each week is to hit 72 greens to the fat side and rely on my putter, a club that is usually very faithful for me. 72 greens in regulation offers a very very good chance of shooting some nice scores, I think this is sometimes over looked by many golfers. Lets say I hit 18 greens to the fat side of the green, the chances are a few of them go close inside ten foot, a few within twenty and then the rest outside. You cant shoot over par from there realistically.
However, my lines have been good but on occasions the club selection has been poor, short or long resulting in the missed greens or bogeys. This is something I really need to concentrate on this week on my week at home. I need to get really dialled in on my numbers through the bag and give myself the best chance to get better.
I want there to be no thought that maybe my commitment and work ethic aren't where they need to be. I have been working tirelessly on all parts of my game, everything feels great it is just purely my scoring aspect that is lacking at the moment. I will continue to work as hard as I possibly can and outwork my opponents to give me the best chance to succeed. All of this work doesn't come without a price though, this week I have had some issues in my left wrist that has required treatment and tape. This is something that I will need to keep monitoring and working on to make sure it doesn't get any worse and I guess one way to be able to do that is to reduce the amount of full golf shots I hit and spend more time on the short game to allow it time to heal properly.
Next up for me is the US Open Qualifier on Monday fourth of June at Walton Heath. Hopefully some of you can make it there to have a watch...
All the best
Scott!
I started the year very well, three weeks in Florida getting my game in shape. Following on from that I played the Portugal Pro Tour where I played some lovely golf and managed to get a nice win thrown in there for good measure. At this point it really did feel like I was going to burst out of the blocks and get off and running quickly. That was not to be however, I flew to Kenya to do a Monday Qualifier for the Kenyan Open and the golf was not great. I struggled with the Kukuya grass with my chipping and struggled to a one over par and didn't qualify. It was a great few days though as Kenya gives you a bit of a reality check, the separation between rich and poor is incredible. It made me really appreciate what I get to do and see how lucky I am to be able to travel around and see the great places I do.
Even though I didn't get the result I wanted I actually felt like I hit the ball very good, and this is going to be a bit of a trend unfortunately. So far it's a season of could have been's and should have been's. I have been playing quite nicely but not being able to put a score together, even on rounds that I feel like I have the ball going exactly how I see it. I've now completed four Challenge Tour events and missed three of those cuts, something that is really bothering me. Looking at it in an analytical light, my worst ball striking week was actually my only made cut, I actually had no idea where the ball was going. To be honest, my win in Portugal was much the same, neither tournament I had any idea where the ball was going. I love hitting fades, and both of these weeks I had the ball going left, which for someone who fades the ball is not ideal. I found myself hitting driver out the neck to stop it going left and just getting it in play, and I did it to good effect both weeks.
My best ball striking week was this week in the Czech Republic, I had the ball moving lovely left to right and my iron play was great. Unfortunately the course has had a tough winter and the greens which are apparently normally in great condition have struggled with the winter. This is not an excuse but it made converting good iron shots harder. I have shot level par total for the first two rounds to miss the cut by one, hitting 28 greens in regulation, which I consider a good week. a lot of these greens in regulation gave me good looks at birdie but I just wasn't converting them.
A big issue at the moment is in the club selection and course management department. This week was better on the course management front, hitting to the fat side of the green. My goal each week is to hit 72 greens to the fat side and rely on my putter, a club that is usually very faithful for me. 72 greens in regulation offers a very very good chance of shooting some nice scores, I think this is sometimes over looked by many golfers. Lets say I hit 18 greens to the fat side of the green, the chances are a few of them go close inside ten foot, a few within twenty and then the rest outside. You cant shoot over par from there realistically.
However, my lines have been good but on occasions the club selection has been poor, short or long resulting in the missed greens or bogeys. This is something I really need to concentrate on this week on my week at home. I need to get really dialled in on my numbers through the bag and give myself the best chance to get better.
I want there to be no thought that maybe my commitment and work ethic aren't where they need to be. I have been working tirelessly on all parts of my game, everything feels great it is just purely my scoring aspect that is lacking at the moment. I will continue to work as hard as I possibly can and outwork my opponents to give me the best chance to succeed. All of this work doesn't come without a price though, this week I have had some issues in my left wrist that has required treatment and tape. This is something that I will need to keep monitoring and working on to make sure it doesn't get any worse and I guess one way to be able to do that is to reduce the amount of full golf shots I hit and spend more time on the short game to allow it time to heal properly.
Next up for me is the US Open Qualifier on Monday fourth of June at Walton Heath. Hopefully some of you can make it there to have a watch...
All the best
Scott!
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