This past week I flew up to Minnesota to hang with a friend for my birthday (the big 27! Not too late to spend gifts either!) The day or so before I left she (Brynn) texted me “Hey! my dad (Larry) wants you to play with his friend Tom Tuesday morning.” I will play golf with anyone, anywhere, and at anytime so I did not think too much of it, and told her I would be more than happy too! Brynn then followed with the text “That’s Tom Lehman if you need a last name.” 🤯

Fast forward to Tuesday morning I am awoken and told that we are teeing off in 20 minutes. Now I can be a bit of a trunk slammer when it comes to getting to the course, but when playing with Tom Lehman you would ideally like a warm up. I would have another small hurdle to climb as I did not bring my golf clubs! Larry had pieced together a set of clubs for me to use fortunately, but not an ideal situation for playing golf with literally one of the greats of all time! I get to the course and they are all already on the tee waiting for me, and off we go. Looking back I had 0 nerves, and I think I can attribute that to still being half asleep 😅.

On the 5th hole I rip a drive down the left center (Tom is riding in his personal cart from the 2016 Ryder Cup!) He rides up next to me and we start talking about my golf. He tells me that I have a great swing and I hit the ball really solid, and ask what clubs do I play, because it is painfully obvious that these aren’t mine and aren’t fit for me. I immediately take this opportunity to start asking him about his career, picking his brain for advice, and in general getting to know him better. I tell him I’ve been talking to OP (read last weeks blog to find out who that is) on a weekly basis. He said the most important thing for a young player to have is a mentor they can talk to and help guide them through playing (no one gets there alone.) He also remarked that his sons don’t really like to listen to him so he has them talk to his friends who say the same things but it sticks.

Some of what we talked about was the same thing I have had burned into my head already. Swing your swing. Find what works for you and then hone the ball flight. He told me once a young player had been struggling and asked Tom to come watch him hit balls. Tom meets him at the driving range, and the player has his camera out, hitting all these shots and not hitting it well. Tom asked him “when you were playing your best what kind of shot did you play?” He said that he would hit really high draws without taking a divot. Tom told him to hit some of those and said that he absolutely stripped about 20 balls in a row. Immediately after he steps back, looks at the camera and goes “that looks horrible I can’t play with that!” 🤦🏿‍♂️ Stories like this help me, and hopefully can help you to not get so locked up in the looks of what we do, but the outcome of it. Every successful person I have ever been around in any field always preaches, process, process, PROCESS! If you focus on the process, and your process is good, the results you are seeking will happen!

One thing that everyone knows about me, especially if you’re reading this blog, is that I am an absolute golf nerd. You know that guy who can tell you what everyone on the Cardinal’s batting average was the last 12 years? That’s me with golf. It’s pretty well known that I read every book growing up that the library had regarding golf. I would not be myself if I didn’t get some stories out of him about his career! Here are a few.

Lehman with the long ball

In Tom’s first Masters he went on to finish third, and he started off 1 shot back going into the third round and is paired with one of the longest players on tour at the time. The round started well and they get on the 5th tee. His playing partner unleashes a high bomb cut that finds the middle of the fairway. Tom steps up and hits a bullet draw that is absolutely roasted. As they’re walking to their drives there is a ball WAY out there. His opponent immediately thinking that it was his, walked past the first ball only to be called back by his caddy to his ball, the shorter of the two. Tom decided to pace off the distance between the balls, and the crowd noticed and began to count out loud! The final total was 67 yards past him! The other player of course did not take kindly to Tom doing this and said that they didn’t speak for a number of years after.

Sunday Singles vs Seve

One golfer I always ask about when talking to players is Seve. From all of the stories I have heard, I think he is one of the rare people that the legend doesn’t do the actual person justice. Tom got paired against him in ‘95 at Oak Hill on Sunday. He said after they teed off he wouldn’t see Seve until they got up to the green he was hitting it so bad. Tom hit every fairway and every green in regulation . Seve had hit no fairway or green in regulation and yet through 7 holes they were tied! Tom remarked it wasn’t just the fact that Seve was getting up and down and holing repeatedly, but where he was getting up and down from! He remarked that had he been playing himself and hit it where Seve had to play from he would’ve beat himself 10&8.

Major Championship Prep

Larry (Brynn’s dad) and Tom have been friends forever. When Tom was a vice captain in the 2016 Ryder Cup, Larry rode around Hazeltine with him in the his cart! June of 1996 they are at out at the lake having a blast when Tom tells Larry that he wants to go tubing. Larry hooks the tube up to the back of the speedboat and Tom gives him a very specific instruction. “I want you to throw me off of the tube.” Now keep in mind this is the MIDDLE of the golf season and Tom is #2 in the world at the time. Larry to his knowledge doesn’t remember if he actually threw Tom off, but what he does remember is the next day Tom was so sore he couldn’t swing a club! Two weeks later Tom hosted the trophy and was announced to be “Champion Golfer of The Year” at the Open Championship.

After the round we had lunch together, and the very first thing I see on the menu to order is “The Lehman.” I mean you just have to order it right!? Larry and I had another tee time so we excused ourselves from lunch to go play. We get to the 6th tee and Tom is driving back home in his cart and comes over to me and says “Do you just want to play with my clubs this round? We can meet up later for drinks and I will grab them from you then.” I am not sure if I said yes or if my mouth just hung open while I nodded my head up and down. I played with his clubs that second round and added a memory I won’t soon forget.

That night we meet at Zorba’s (if you are ever in Alexandria Minnesota I highly recommend) and we are talking more golf stories. I asked him about captaining the Ryder Cup and how the week went (this was one of the years that they got slaughtered.) He told me that they had 13 matches that week go to the 18th hole tied, they lost all 13 of them. When Tom was the captain I was 13 and really getting into the peak of my golf obsession. I remembered that he was almost a playing captain and we spoke about that. He lost in a playoff at the International tournament the week before qualifying ended. I looked over at him and said “if I remember correctly had the event been stroke play (it was stableford), you would have won and made the team on points.” He looked at me, grabbed my shoulders, looked around the table and goes “does this guy know golf history or what!?”

Some of my biggest takeaways from Tom was that he is above everything else a family man. He is a man of faith. He is a loving husband and father. He is a fierce competitor even in a friendly game. I left an eagle putt about an inch short on the 12th hole and he missed his birdie from about 6 ft which put us 1 up and he slapped the flagstick when he missed. When I told him about how his foreword in Seven Days of Utopia (the message was take what you do well and perfect it.) he really drilled that into me. He had people try and tell him that he couldn’t play at the high level because of things in his swing, but he proved them all wrong. I look forward to playing with him again soon!!

I am once again astounded by the opportunities that golf has given me. This is one I will not soon forget. You only get one life to live and I am fully sit on living mine to the absolute fullest.

Social Media is an amazing tool, one that I can confidently say I don’t always use for the most constructive things. It is hard to not get wrapped up in videos of dog skateboarding am I right? Well a few weeks ago I had a unique experience to form a relationship with a Hall of Fame golfer that has yielded so much knowledge, and I wanted to share it with you.

Roughly two weeks ago I took a break while practicing and started to scroll Facebook. When I got to the “suggested friends” section I saw a name and a face I immediately recognized. Preface this by saying I am the biggest golf nut in the world and there aren’t many names or faces of tour players I would not recognize instantly.

For the sakes of keeping his inbox from exploding,I will use the initials OP for him. OP is a World Golf Hall of Fame member, a multiple winner on the PGA Tour and a 3x Major Champion. That being said, you can probably imagine how shocked I was to see him on Facebook! Now another thing to know about me is I am a SPONGE for knowledge, if there is something I can learn I want to know and I have never been afraid to ask questions. No one gets to success alone. As George Foreman said “all of us at some point in life are like the blind man waiting to be lead across the street.”

So I sent OP a friend request, which he quite promptly accepted. Must be fake right? Some Russian troll pretending to be a famous athlete. At this point my curiosity has gotten the best of me and on the off chance it might be who I thought it was, I sent him this message. “Mr. P, I am a professional golfer, currently playing mini tours. I would love to talk and pick your brain just about playing the game at the highest level, the things you did to make sure you thought clearly and had the mental fortitude to have the career that you had.” Much to my surprise very shortly after, he respond! “I would be more than happy to! I am free anytime tonight after 6 just call me.”

Now what I should also say about this, is that I’ve written letters like this to golfers since I was a kid! (Lee Trevino is you’re reading this, it’s not too late to respond.) There are probably 20 of these similar messages floating out in the universe. To the best of my knowledge this is the second response I have ever received.

Immediately the planner in me started writing down questions to ask OP. When 6 o’clock hit I had my phone in hand like I was checking into a Southwest Airlines flight! We proceeded to have such an amazing enlightening conversation! We talked about his start in professional golf, coming down the stretch at majors, tendencies of other greats in the game and so much more. One story that he told in particular that stood out was when he was leaving Harbor town by two shots after three rounds. It would have been his first PGA Tour win except Saturday night while watching a rerun of the broadcast, he saw something in his swing that he did not like and tried to change it. He went on to shoot 77 the next day. This was a big lesson for him and realizing when you’re playing well, just keep playing well! I asked him what was the one common denominator he saw from all the greats and without hesitation he said it was their ability to stay calm under every circumstance. I am going to post some of the biggest keys I got from him below. Not only was he extremely gracious with his time, but he went out of his way to let me know that whenever I am free to talk, he’s available. We have sense talked a few more times and the conversations have been incredibly fruitful! What an amazing resource to have as I navigate this big, often confusing and certainly intimidating career.

If there is someone that you admire, respect or even just want to get to know NEVER be afraid to reach out. You have nothing to lose; and so much to gain. Remember it when you’re in their position and pass on the knowledge to someone else.

Continue reading “Ask And You Shall Receive” →

Welcome Back!!! It has been a long time since I have posted a piece in here, and it’s not a coincidence that I am posting now because tournament golf is back! Just finished up playing in the Met Open in St. Louis it was my first event back in about 10 months, and the rust was real! Before I get to that, wanted to let you know what I’ve been up to during the off-season.

The off-season this year was a bit different than in past. I worked hard on my game and made some changes that have shown immense progress in some areas I was lacking. My ball striking and shot making are much more controlled than it has ever been. Made a few small changes, how my lower body works through the ball with full swings and many changes to the short game. One of the biggest things that changed this off-season was me! Last summer on the Dakotas I was around 212-215 all summer. It was hard to carry around all of that, walking everyday and trying to be as sharp as you need to be playing golf. I started working out around Christmas time, and I am down to 192 and lost 8% body fat. I feel better, I believe I look better and I have already seen the benefits of the weight loss and strength gain. I feel like my energy and strength is able to stay consistent now, whereas it would peak and plummet in the past throughout a round or tournament.

With loosing that weight, made some swing changes inadvertently that I know have allowed me to swing the club so much better and freer. For a long time I have slid into impact and now with these changes I’ve been able to turn and post up a lot more than in the past. I’ve also gained some speed which is always welcomed! It’s hard to describe, but my body just moves better through the ball than in years past.

The Met Open was my first event back since last August. Due to working, corona, and some other life things I unfortunately didn’t get the chance to play in events since then, and boy let me tell you I picked a great event to come back to 😅. Lake Forest Country Club in Lake St. Louis was without a doubt the hardest set up I’ve ever played. Greens like grass, fairways like concrete and rough like Jurassic Park. You mix that with some nerves, and you get a recipe for some high scores. The first hole I three putted from 30 ft and that set off a little spiral that lasted the next 6 holes. By the time I had gotten my wits about me, I had dug an extremely deep hole. This post isn’t going to be about that though, it’s going to be about what happened after. I was staying with one of mentors, who is essentially a father for me, and after the first round we talked for about an hour. By we talking, I mean he spoke and I listened. He pointed out some great points, mainly that I didn’t look like I was having fun. I wasn’t talking, smiling, and if you know me at all, you know I can’t stop smiling or talking! He was absolutely right. I GET to play golf for a living, I don’t HAVE to. I was so stressed about playing well that I forgot to just go do what I do everyday and play great golf. He told me, which I know but it’s always great to hear, that it’s not a matter of talent at this point. I strike the ball well, my short game and putting are great. I just have to get out of my own way and play “Gerald Harsley Golf”. That’s what Coach Huff in college called how I played. Coach actually came and watched me play both days and gave me some great insight on what he saw. We will get to that later!

The second day, it took me a little to get settled as well, but once I did I was off the races. I felt free! My friend Brian, who’s caddied for me since I was college gave me a pep talk and loosened me up. The first day I was so tight we barely even spoke. I was smiling and having fun! I stopped trying to play the golf that I felt like I should; and started to play the golf that I naturally play. I hit driver all the way and didn’t miss a fairway, I hit my wedges close and gave myself great looks at birdies. I played free. On the 9th hole, the hole the day before where I made a 7 🤬 I stopped thinking about what the “right” play was and just hit the shot I wanted to hit. It was a 506 yard par 4 straight uphill into the wind with a drive over water. I aimed it right over the middle of the water, and absolutely annihilated one leaving myself 180 in. The day before trying to play “cautious” I hit my tee shot in the rough, leaving myself 220 in and made a mess of it.

Playing golf “free” was the missing ingredient that first round, but I am so glad to get this lesson now early in the season and can build on this. Coach Huff texted me this after the round “It was a blast Gerald! I thoroughly enjoyed it. I told my wife it was like old times. You were like the Gerald I know today. You were whistling, smiling and joking while still serious. By doing that you didn’t appear to be as tight and thus your leaves were closer to the hole. I wish I could have stayed longer each day. Please keep me informed of your schedule. Again, thanks for letting me tag along. Your best days are ahead!”

I am excited for the remainder of the year, and what is to come!!!

That is the beginning of the famous, and hilarious, quote by Mike Tyson. In it’s entirety it says “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” If there is one thing I know about life in my brief 26 years on this planet it’s that if you live long enough, eventually you will get punched in the face in the process of chasing a new endeavor. The beautiful part about getting punched in the face however is that it means you were TRYING. You were in the ring.

Former President Teddy Roosevelt delivered a speech in Paris in 1910 titled “Citizen in the Republic.” There is a particular section of that speech that I first learned about coincidentally in a book about Tom Watson. The particular section speaks about “The Man In The Arena.”

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

President Teddy Roosevelt

This season did not go exactly the way I thought it would go. In fact, it went the EXACT opposite of the way I expected it to go. When I got in my car June 23rd headed north, I expected nothing less than to come back dripping in success from a season up on the Dakota’s Tour. I had no reason to think things would be any differently. The week before I left I shot rounds of 67, 68, 63, and 66 the day before I left (to add even more context the 63 & 68 were bogey free)! I was brimming with confidence that I would go up and take the Dakota’s by storm!

So the question becomes, what happened? Well I have been back home for a few weeks now and I have had sometime to go over things from the summer and draw a few conclusions.

The first event was at Fox Run GC in Yankton, South Dakota, and I was so pumped to get going! During my first practice round at the course I hit 7-8 approach shots within 5 feet of the flag. Dropping balls around the green and putting them to potential hole locations it seemed like I was putting into a lake! I made just about everything I looked at. The first round came and I hit a solid tee shot into the fairway, followed by a wedge from 102 to about 10 feet, the putt found the bottom of the hole for birdie and I was off to the races. I proceeded to lip out for the next two holes for birdies, and then made a bogey on the par 3 fourth, and make two more bogeys on that 9. The 10th hole was a par 5 that I punished a drive and left myself 9 iron into, and walked away making a par that felt more like a double bogey. I made about a 12 foot putt on the 11th hole for par that settled me down and played the rest of the round in -1 from there in. Before leaving for the course the 2nd day the host family I was staying with, in an attempt surely too encourage me, told me they had great faith I would make the cut! Making the cut however had never even entered my mind. I was purely focused on a great comeback to win, but all of a sudden, I went out trying to make simply make the cut.

Golf, as well as life, has a weirdness too it. What we often focus on, we often end up following. Last winter caddying I would see this often. My player would say “I don’t want to end up in that bunker”, and a few minutes later I would find myself raking a bunker. The same can be said for players at my level. If you’re focused on making the cut, you will always be right around the cut line. The players in the winners circle started off the week projecting themselves in their minds that they would be there. The second round started off promising, going off of the 10th hole, I had a 10 ft putt for eagle straight up the hill that I lipped out. I will never complain about tap in birdies. The second hole I blistered a drive down what I thought would be the fairway, only to find my ball about 2 inches into the thick rough that lined the fairway. The flag was in the back of the green and long was absolutely dead, so I played for the middle of the green. The ball came out softer than I thought it would and left me with about a 50 ft putt up a rise that I preceded to 3 putt. For whatever reason, this bogey really startled me after playing what I thought were 2 great shots on the hole. I hit a great drive down the fairway the next hole and left myself with 103 yards into the green, at this point the wind was blowing about 15-20 MPH right into my face and had a hard time selecting a club. I decided (about half committed) to just hit gap wedge since even if it went long the flag was upfront and I could just two putt. As I mentioned earlier I was only about half committed to that decision, and when you make a half committed decision, a half committed swing is sure to follow, which is did and led to a double bogey. I went into full on panic mode (mind you this is THREE holes into the round), and made the turn an hour or so later with no chance to win the tournament, or even make the cut.

I wish I could say that this was the only time I made this mistake this summer, but so many times I found myself freaking out after a less than perfect start and spiraling out of control.

What causes this? Well for me I believe what causes it is can be broken down into a few thoughts, the biggest of those is simply Mindset

Making a bogey on the 2nd hole is no different than making a bogey on the 16th hole. It is great when you come out the birdie the first few holes, but at the same time you have to have the mental fortitude to know you can always bounce back after a mistake at any point. You can’t force a round great round of golf, you can’t force a shot to come off perfectly, and you can’t force a putt to go in. So many things are out of our control on the course, especially in tournaments. The weather you have, the tee time, your playing partners, etc. Your area of domain is extremely small, therefore you have to really protect it. The thing that is always in your control, whether you realize it or not, is your mind. You have control over the thoughts you choose the think, the value you give those thoughts, and how you choose to react to thoughts. Being completely honest, I am naturally very hard on myself. When I do something good, it is what I am supposed to do and no celebrations shall be had because of it. When I do something that I perceive as bad however, I treat myself like a war criminal that committed treason against my country. Anyone can see the problem with that. It’s hard enough to beat 150 players that are all talented and difficult enough to best, why would I add another adversary in the form of my mind to defeat. You have to be a friend to yourself. Negative self talk has no place in our lives in any capacity, especially when trying to achieve something that has its own challenges.

It is important to recognize our truths in situations. You have to be able to look at a situation objectively, removing the stigmas and thoughts it may be wrapped in. Taking away emotions and delivering the honesty that lies underneath.

What are the truths of my season? I did not play well. I missed cuts, made bad mistakes, didn’t accomplish my goals, fought my swing and my mind around the upper Midwest. Candidly I gave up in moments.I allowed the tough situations to dictate how I felt about myself as a person. I wasn’t a happy person the entire time on what was one of the most joyful experiences I have had in my life.

What are the truths about myself? I am a great player. I learned valuable lessons. I made a leap of faith into a goal I’ve had for since I was 7 years old. I met some amazing people. I had moments of playing some spectacular golf. I am a great person. I now more so understand the power of positivity and how if you want to achieve something that seems out of reach, you just haven’t knocked on the right door yet. I am on a journey, and this is just the beginning. I AM THE MAN IN THE ARENA.

So what is next for me? Well as I said I am just in the beginning of this journey. My long term goal for the next year is to play another season in the Dakota’s and after that go to Q School for the Korn Ferry Tour. More immediately I have really been processing this season in my head to get a feel for changes I need to make in order to be successful next season. I have gotten back in the gym (being on the road for 4 months takes it’s toll.) After reading a study how your physical strength goes hand in hand with your mental strength, I realize that it was an area I honestly did not focus on, and in something this competitive you can not leave any stone unturned. Along with that are some changes to my diet (Chick-fil-a’s stock is probably plummeting.) On the golf directly side of things I am continuing my work on the mental side of things, because obviously that is the biggest hurdle for me to climb. One of the bright spots is that my golf swing feels better now than it has ever been. I know that if I keep doing the right things, if I continue to practice discipline and really make a effort to make my weakness’ my strength’s than success will come. Behind every success story of any kind, there is a story of failure, doubt and learning process that precedes it.

“Be of good cheer. Do not think of today’s failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere; and you will find a joy in overcoming obstacles. Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost.”

Helen Keller

P.S. I want to give a very sincere and heartfelt thank you to everyone who has been reaching out to me over this journey. The phone calls, texts, comments, etc. Not one conversation has been taken for granted and none of your words are fallen on deaf ears.

I have heard it said several times that the difference between a dream, and a goal, is having a plan. We all have dreams, but most of them stay in that state. The power comes from putting a plan in action to achieve it. That same principle works in golf as in life. Shooting low scores doesn’t happen on accident. The best golfers have such a disciplined approach on how they play a course, and in order to play my best it is no different.

A game plan is extremely interesting thing because our sport is played in changing variables. Wind, rain, temperature, hole locations, etc it goes on and on the things that change. Having a solid game plan will allow you to calculate all of these things. Now like I said the variables continue to move so there will always be changes, but starting off with a firm foundation.

One of buddy’s is currently caddying for a top 50 player in the world and I asked him what those guys do differently than us and his answer really surprised me. He remarked that those guys didn’t hit it any better than guys playing lower levels, and in some cases, they hit it worse. The biggest thing that he’s noticed is just how specific the guys are in their thinking and their targets. Coach Huff in college would always tell us “aim small, miss small” and that statement has so much truth in it. The best players in the world have the ability to commit. Speaking for myself specifically, it can be a struggle. Sometimes I am not fully locked in before hitting a shot and that will cost you. Harvey Penick said “when you’re standing over the ball, the most important thing IN YOUR LIFE at that moment must be what you want to do with it.” I believe having a solid game plan will allow you to already have some pre set belief in what you’re doing before you start.

Having a game plan, is similar to having a girlfriend in high school. It may work out perfectly, but you want to be prepared if things go a little south. Somedays you will just hit it horribly, on those days you may have to alter your game plan a touch. Maybe you’ll have to hit it in the middle of every green (which is never a bad idea to start with) and try to roll in some longer putts, but be secured in the easy pars and work it out on the range after.

As I mentioned earlier we play this game outside so the variables are always moving, your game plan has to account for that. One instance I did not do a great job planning for that was in the Cedar Rapids Open this summer. During the practice rounds the wind was blowing 15-20 out of the north. The course is routed in the way you play a lot of courses into and downwind, not many cross winds. The 10th hole is 420 and during the practice rounds was dead downwind with firm fairways. I hit 3 iron which left me around 130, pretty simple right? Well the first round I started on hole 10 and the wind was blowing 20 mph dead into us, the complete opposite wind! I ended up hitting 3 wood off the tee and had 160 left, but from an awkward yardage missed the green left and made bogey. Lots of things to learn from this, which I did. 1. Always check the weather forecast for the days of the event and see what direction the wind will blow. Players on tour will even carry compasses to be certain they know which way it’s blowing even when surrounded by trees. Had I checked the wind I would’ve known the course would play completely different and would’ve made accommodations in my strategy. 2. It is a great idea to have multiple lines off of the tee. That means if I hit 3 iron I’ll aim at the third tree through fairway on the right side of the bunker (always talking in specifics), but if I have to hit 3 wood I’ll need to aim at the big pine tree further down the left side to set up a better angle. This course is constantly changing so you have to have audibles in your game plan already thought out. 3. Don’t freak out. Things happen that are out of your control. While having the game plan is extremely important, there will be moments where things happen you didn’t plan or account for. Don’t beat yourself, make the best possible decision you can in the moment.

All of these are things I am learning as I am on the journey, maybe they can help you as well! I’ll be putting them into play next week during the New Mexico Open! Feeling extremely good about it!!

In the infamous words of Allen Iverson, “We talking about practice!?!” Yeah we definitely are.

What do you define as practice? I can say working at country clubs since I was 15, very few people REALLY know what it is. What’s interesting is most people at every skill level have struggled with getting good solid practice that produces results, I am no different in that. One thing I can definitely say improved this summer, was my ability to have meaningful practice sessions.

I have come to the conclusion that practice should be broken into the following categories. Mechanical and Mental.

Mechanical practice is exactly what it sounds like. It is grooming the mechanics of your swing, motion, etc. The ONLY time you should work on this is on the range. You hear announcers all the time on TV talking about players struggling playing “golf swing” and not playing “golf.” It is impossible to play your best golf while thinking about the swing. A friend of mine who teaches the best players in the world says that mechanics give you the foundation, but in the moment you’ve still got to be an athlete. Some people might say “I am a feel player so I don’t want to get wrapped up in all those mechanics.” Bull💩. Mechanics worked properly on the range, will make your feel on the course 2nd nature.

My personal best example of that is I have been working on “9 o’clock wedges.” Basically with all of my wedges I’ve worked on knowing the exact yardage it flies when I take it back to my armpit or 9 o’clock. On the range I am very conscious of where my left arm feels and how I release it from there. Once I am on the course however, I am just trying to hit the shot. I have to trust that the mechanical work I put in have in turn developed the feel that I will use on the course to knock it stiff. This is just one example of many. Right now I have a few week break and I am going to work on how my lower body moves through the shot, but come September 10th when I tee it up in New Mexico Open, I will just be playing golf and have to trust that the mechanical work I’ve put in has developed the feel I need.

This is one of my 9 o’clock swings with my GW. This week it was carrying 116 and would pitch forward 2-3 yards.

Mental practice

Mental practice for me might be different than what some others think of it as. In college, I would listen to the same motivational speeches the football and basketball team did, for me that didn’t work. Those sports are played with full on aggression. You can play those sports angry and full of aggression. I have found, for me, the best way to play my best golf is to be in my natural mindset. If you know me at all than you know that is easy going, laughing, and having fun.

My first few tournaments this season I wanted so badly to play well, that I stopped playing like Gerald and tried to be someone else on the course. When I won the Pacific Office Pro Am last year shooting 63, I was so relaxed it was almost comical. I was laughing and joking, would focus for the 30-45 seconds and hit the shot, then go right back to cracking jokes. So my mental practice on that end is just having fun when I’m playing practice rounds and rounds with buddies. I am still studying, learning and figuring out the course. Being carefree doesn’t mean you’re careless. Carefree is accepting whatever comes, while giving it your best. Careless is taking on unnecessary risk, not picking good targets, and not being fully committed.

For me mental practice as well is continuing to put tools in the toolbox as much as possible. For me that means talking to veterans who’ve played professionally for awhile, talking with some guys who’s opinions I really trust that can give great insight, and reading good material. I will preface that though with this old southern term. Too many chefs in the kitchen can ruin a recipe. It’s a tough thing because everyone wants to help, and they mean well. You have to decide when you need advice, who’s advice you need, and most importantly make sure you’re in the right frame of mind to receive it. For me that’s generally about a day or so later after the emotion of the moment has left and I can be in a real place to receive it.

“You have to get comfortable with failure. You actually have to SEEK failure. Failure is where all of the lessons are. Successful people fail a lot, they fail a lot more than the succeed, but they take the lessons from their failures, and use the wisdom to come around to the next phase of success” – Will Smith

4,957 Miles. 103 Hours 59 Minutes and 15 Seconds. 2 Oil Changes. 1 Nail in Tire. 61 Birdies. 4 Eagles. 9 Cities. 1 bout of food poisoning. These are just a few of the stats from my summer golf experience that I was able to keep track of.

I learned so much on my trip in the Dakota’s, and I thought the best way to memorialize it for the future. In the coming days I will be writing a blog on each skill I picked up throughout. The first is featured below.

Patience – The simplest of concepts, and possibly the hardest to follow through on. Patience means so many different things in so many different moments. My first few events I was so excited to play that I would practice and play the course everyday before the event. I would spend hours at the range and working on a short game drills. Even after leaving the course I would go home and study the course via Google Maps. All of these are great practices, in moderation. I found myself mentally and physically drained when the actual event was being played. It’s something I adapted and changed in the middle of the tournaments and helped me improve my performance. Patience also has to be shown on the course in good moments and rough ones. If you get too high or too low it’s detrimental to the game. One phrase I would repeat in my head over and over is “don’t judge anything to quickly.” Whether that is bogeying the first few holes, or birdieing them. It’s almost like Henry David Thoreau wrote “Nothing is neither good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Having excellent patience allows you to take the blows and know that if you keep doing what is good, great things will come out of it.

“Sticking to good habits can be hard work, and mistakes are part of the process. Don’t declare failure simply because you messed up or because you’re having trouble reaching your goals. Instead, use your mistakes as opportunities to grow stronger and become better.” – Amy Moren

Quick update here! Yesterday I qualified for the Pro Am Jam! It’s the biggest event in Sioux Falls. Excited to tee off this afternoon and get going!

It’s not just a Peyton Manning call on the field! It’s a beautiful place with some amazing people, and some of the best golf I think you could find anywhere. I had the pleasure of going in between my event in Sioux Center, and the Waterloo Open.

I started off my trip seeing my good friend, and world renowned short game guru, James Sieckmann. As I have highlighted, my short game hasn’t been anywhere close to what I expect and neither has my wedge game. More than both of those issues, I’ve come to the realization that my course management has been extremely bad. Misses are apart of the game, so picking good targets is extremely paramount. As Sieckmann explained to me, in golf we are shooting a shotgun, not a rifle. There’s a center point of the spray pattern, but even the best players in the world have a certain percentage that they will miss (i.e. from 100 yds it’s 7.5% on avg). Makes me feel pretty silly that I have been aiming directly at flags overwater, behind a bunker from 230 yards, and a tour player might be aiming 5-7 yards away from a flag from 100 yds. We worked on some scenarios, looked at some holes, and talked about how to play them to different pin positions. In that same realm, he told me how his tour players go over future pin placements, pick out where to miss on greens and go over what he refers to as “Q.P.’s” which is short for “Quality Positions.” Quality positions are the best place to play the next shot from. It will ultimately change depending on the pin, situation, wind, and biggest thing, how you feel that day. This will be extremely important going forward with how I play and work my way around a course.

The other big thing we worked on was creating stock shots. James has worked with the best players in the world for the better part of 20+ years specifically on their games from 130 yds and in. We worked on the three shots that everyone of his players has with each of their wedges. A full swing, 9 & 7:30 o’clock backswing (swung at 70%). James has a tour proven methodology that the best wedge shot to hit is the one that always takes one hop and stops. It allows you to 1. maintain trajectory and spin 2. since it is not as ballistic at impact you can hit the targeted distance with increased consistency. We established approximately what those numbers are, and my homework is nailing those down. I bought some cones, and going to be working through those in the next few weeks and months.

After leaving James, I had the extreme pleasure of playing Omaha Country Club with two members of my course in Scottsdale, Emmet Root and his lovely wife Fran. Mr. Root is one of the most exceptional men I have ever met in my life. He and Mrs. Root have been married for 61 years and he is more physically fit than most 25 year olds. He is a model of what pretty much everyone should strive to be. As we were walking down the first hole, Mrs. Root’s ball was about a foot in the rough, as Mr. walked past he kicked it was sitting nicely in the fairway, maybe that is the key to a happy long last marriage.

Omaha Country Club itself is an unbelievable club. Built in 1899 by Perry Maxwell it is an absolute gem. When you think of Nebraska, you think of cornfields and flat, that isn’t what you will find at OCC. In 1899 they didn’t use bulldozers, whatever God gave you with the land, you used. That being said, OCC has some of the most severe elevation changes you will ever see. They recently redid their greens, and added some tee boxes as they are preparing for the US Senior Open. It will be a true test. It very quickly became one of my favorite courses I have ever played.

I was speaking with a buddy about this journey and I told him that every misstep on this journey has just led to more knowledge. Once in a speech I heard Denzel Washington day “to get something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.” Every frustration, “failure”, setback, etc has taught me more. I know it is all leading to something amazing. If you’ve ever listened to live music, there is always a great crescendo that makes your hairs stand up all over your body. I am somewhere on the way up that scale, and I am feeling the hairs start to shake a little.

Just finished my 4th event of the season on the Dakota’s Tour at the American State Bank Open. Some good, and some bad, but it all added up to another missed cut. It’s extremely frustrating getting the rust off, and it’s ALMOST there. I’m starting to get the feels I had when I was as playing tournaments consistently, making more birdies, draining some putts, but unfortunately a few mistakes have cost me.

I was extremely excited to play the first round because I was paired with Tim Ailes, a veteran on the mini tours and I knew I would learn something from, and boy I did. Tim hit 18 greens (that’s all of them for you keeping score), 12 fairways and never had stress shooting 66. After the round I asked him some questions about playing (never be afraid to get advice) and he told me that there’s a difference between being sharp, and tournament sharp. He said it was awesome how I fought back (being +3 after 5 and ended up playing in -4 from there eagling my last hole), but that I just needed to work on how I thought my way around the course which I heavily agree with. I learned a lot to take forward into next weeks event in Waterloo.

The second round was a little bit of what’s happened to me in the past on cut day, nerves cause mistakes that I normally never would make, but today was different in one major regard, I didn’t allow the bad start to rattle me. I doubled the second hole, and followed it up with a bogey, but I made two birdies on 6&9. I got off to another horrific start on the back, but made three more birdies coming in. I am SO CLOSE, but not quite there yet. Every week I get better. Every week I learn more. I just need to put it all together.

My biggest issue has been par 3’s, I can trace every missed cut to my par 3 play and this event is no exception. I was +1 for the event, and played the par 3’s in +7. Almost makes me sick thinking about it. One of the thing’s Tim told me was “when you pick a target you need to think of your shot as coming out of a shotgun, not a rifle.” I’ve been aiming my tee shots extremely aggressive, and my “misses”, which really are just normal dispersions, have hurt me. It will be my main focus going into next event. Most guys on the Korn Ferry Tour and about 50 guys on the PGA TOUR use a course management program called Decade Golf. It is something I am going to heavily look into, I know if I can manage courses better, I will get closer to my full potential.

I give a lot of credit to my better mental approach to Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect, which I’ve started reading again in detail, taking notes and really putting the stuff into practice. As well I’ve put into practice a 3 hole system. I am just trying to play every 3 hole segment in -1 or better . It makes me focus more on the moment, reset if there’s a bad stretch, and get some great bumps and encouragement throughout the round. Of the 12 possible segments I played 6 of them and hit the mark or better, including one stretch that I played in -3!

Tomorrow morning I am headed to Omaha to see my friend, and short game guru James Sieckmann. Excited to learn from him, pick his brain, and leave a better golfer!!

“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dream.” -Paulo Coehlo