Practice Round #1

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Although the official challenge doesn't start until 2024 I thought I would get a jump on it.  I arrived at the course in a good frame of mind.  I had the first tee time and despite being a winter round, the weather was quite pleasant.  When I got up the range I realized I forgot my TFCC wrist brace.  I have been nursing an injury for several years now and it's gotten to the point where I don't feel comfortable playing without my brace.  After hitting 5 or six wedges I decided to race home to get my brace before a 9 AM tee time.  Not hitting some longer irons and some drivers prior to playing is very unusual for me.  I think this probably contributed to my slow start.

I had a lot of swings on the front nine where I just didn't trust what I was doing.  It's usually with a wedge in my hand and usually I catch the ball thin.  I think this may have something to do with the wrist injury.  Driving the club into the turf to take a divot with some hesitation is a sure way to get a poor result.  I was cruising at +1 until I arrived at the 5th tee.  An OB fence guards the right side of the hole and for some reason I lost balance in my swing and hit a terrible cut right over the fence.  This cost me a couple of strokes and I ended up making a double bogie.

I arrived at the 6th hole, which has been plaguing me for several months now.  My current strategy is to take one more club than I need and swing easy.  It worked out yesterday but I still have this feel of leaning right on my swing and losing the ball into the moat.  Moving forward, I want to have a clear plan of what I am doing on the tee.  What is my target, take aim, and trust my swing.  I haven't been doing that.

On number 7 I had another thinned wedge over the green, which cost me another double bogie.  Almost every error I have made in this round is a matter of not trusting my swing.  I cannot walk up to the wall with any doubt.  If I feel the doubts creeping in, I need to back off the ball until I have committed to a shot.  

On number 8, another hole that tends to be a struggle for me, I hit two perfect six irons from tee to green, and two putted for par.  Everything about the hole felt great and this is when I started compacting my swing and gaining confidence.

On the 13th hole is when I decided I was going to trust every swing I made and commit to it.  This is when the round started to change.  I hit a great shot into the green and made my first birdie.  This is the headspace I need to try and find for my entire round.

I played the rest of the round -1 and had another birdie on 18.  Not a bad start to the challenge.

I already knew this but getting to 0.0 is going to be a head game for me.  If I can get the right level of prep and focus I can achieve my goal.  I know I have the game.  I hope to get one more round in before next year starts.  This is a tough time of year to play golf in VA so if I can't play I have to work on fitness and getting in shape.