I decided that after a long stretch of tournament golf, and feeling a little fatigued, it would be good if I gave myself a day of rest. Rest and Gerald Harsley Jr. don’t exactly go hand in hand however. I gave it my best shot though, I woke up this morning and read a few chapter in a great book I am reading right now that talks about creating opportunities and making the best out of situations. It really is just a great study is the humps and hollows of chasing a dream.

After I filled my soul with some good stuff, I decided I would find a course to get some light practice in. I got extremely lucky by finding a course that had a free wedge range. I was able to spend about 5 hours just dialing in my wedges, which is so important because with my length and the courses we play I am hitting some sort of wedge into greens almost always.

The other thing I was able to do that I really enjoyed, and gave me some great confidence going into this next event was so the Jackie Burke putting drill. Jackie said the simplest way to know if you’re putting stroke is any good is by making 100 5 ft putts in a row. If the 99th one hit the lip and misses, start over. I was able to complete it on the first try and found a great feel in my stroke that I am going to carry into my next event.

One of my favorite authors Paulo Coelho once wrote “Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience.” So much truth in this, especially for me right now. Every event I am in right now is a learning experience for the next, and I am using each one to continue to build my foundation. No loses, only lessons.

Just finished my 2nd event on the Dakota’s Tour for the season, and it went almost identical to the first one. Played solid the first day with a few mistakes that kept me from going low, and then the second day I started off strong and then lit myself on fire coming in.

Think I can attribute more of today to a little bit of fatigue. Eight days of golf in a row preceded by two days of driving takes a bit of a tole that I didn’t attribute for, that being said, just got to figure it out! I knew that this season would be a huge learning experience, and it is proving to be there.

Some of the biggest lessons that I have learned are in regards to just how the body feels under pressure. Swing can get shorter, legs don’t work quite as fast through the ball, and I have a tendency to really speed up my process and thinking. All of these things I can control, and improve on now that I know what to expect and when they are coming.

I know that success is coming!

“Exceptional people are optimistic and confident! Because they are optimistic and confident, they react to setbacks not by getting discouraged and giving up, but with persistence. Because they persist, they get better. Because they get better, they experience success“.

Dr. Bob Rotella

It’s not just a Joe Crocker song! I once heard Tony Robbins day “If you’re trying to go along a path, find someone who has gone along the same path and learn from them.” I’m pretty fortunate that I have a few mentors that have played professionally at some point, and some experience some pretty good success. One guy in particular is Ed Schwent. Ed was the Director of Instruction at a course called Old Hickory in St. Louis, where I played out of in college.

Had a good convo with Mr. Schwent about playing professionally, obviously he was amazing in his day. He stopped me halfway a through explaining what I’m experience and goes “I know what you’re doing wrong. I know it absolutely. You’re trying to play to make cuts” and he’s absolutely right. Got to change my focus. On the back 9 in the last round of last weeks event, after I knew I had missed the cut, I had a slippery 7 ft birdie putt that I put it firmly in the back of the cup. When we walked off the green the guy in my group said “Well you hit the one firm.” To which I replied “well I’ve got nothing to lose now.” That’s the attitude I need to have the entire round and tournaments going forward.

He pointed out that the game isn’t about making cuts it’s about winning. He said he’d rather have a player that won 3x in a year and missed a dozen cuts vs hanging around the cut and barely making money. Reminded me of 1 Corinthians 9:24.

“Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭9:24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We also talked about playing out of the bluegrass rough that had my number the last event, and he gave me a solution that I hadn’t quite thought about. He said make practice swings with the face in different positions, meaning closed, open and square. Whatever moves through the grass the easiest dictates the shot that you should hit. I played around with it in my practice round today was really happy with the shots I was able to hit, specifically the consistency I was able to judge how the ball would come out.

“Exceptional people are optimistic and confident! Because they are optimistic and confident, they react to setbacks not by getting discouraged and giving up, but with persistence. Because they persist, they get better. Because they get better, they experience success“.

Dr. Bob Rotella

Just finished my first event on the Dakota’s Tour for the summer! Well let me clarify, my event is done, but for the guys who made the cut, the event will end tomorrow. Not the way I wanted to start my summer, but learned a lot to take into the coming events.

The week started off very good, I felt incredibly in control of my game. The two biggest questions would be playing on extremely fast greens, and getting up and down from thick bluegrass rough I haven’t played out of in years. The short game would be the biggest letdown of the week as I got up and down only 1 time and missed 9 greens. I spent a lot of time working on chipping and pitching before the event, but it is clear that it needs to be the priority for the time being.

The greenside rough this week.

Onto the Positives!!!

Hard to believe there were any when you miss a cut by 8 shots, but there were a lot of them. For starters, I struck the ball better than I ever have in competition. This was the first event playing with all of the changes I made with Andy (my coach) this off-season, and it was shocking to see the changes. 19 fairways hit, and 27 greens in 36 hole are numbers I have never seen before, that makes me excited going forward! As I mentioned earlier, because of the greens being as fast as they were I knew being above the hole was death and really focused on being below the hole. I only left myself 7 putts from above the hole. Once again, that is a big difference between what I saw in my game from last season. The one change I didn’t make with leaving myself so many good uphill birdie putts, was that I didn’t hit my putts with enough pace. I left so many putts short right in the jar. Even though I am beyond frustrated with my scoring, after some sweet tea to calm me down, I am so pumped going forward!!! I know the tools are all there, and I know that the full thing will manifest itself in the events to come.

One of the big things I forgot about is Tournament Speed! What I mean by that is just how much farther you can hit the ball in competition, vs during the practice rounds. To put that in perspective, on the par 4 2nd during the practice round I hit driver and had 110 yds in. During the first round I hit 3 wood, which left me 95 yds in and today I took driver across the country and had 65 yards in. Some of the mistakes I made were because of not being nailed in with the decision before I got over the ball. The two biggest things I will focus on going into the next few events are short game, and following my routine.

My next event is Monday July 1st, so I will wake up early tomorrow and drive to Sioux Falls. One of the things I was not expecting is the heat!!! You never hear an Arizonan complain about heat in other states, but with a heat index of 110 and humidity at 94% for both days I am beat. I can honestly say though through preparation, hydration and fitness I haven’t felt tired on the the course. I am saying all of this to say. I am excited going forward. I am in a great place with my game. I knew the journey wasn’t going to be easy, but man is it worth it.

As I’ve been writing this Golf Central has been in the back group breaking down how Cameron Champ could shoot 65 and follow it up with 75. Golf happens to us all!

“Learning is the beginning of wealth. Learning is the beginning of health. Learning is the beginning of spirituality. Searching and learning is where the miracle process all begins.” – Jim Rohn

Thanks again for all of your support! Off to bed so I can be fresh for next week!

You know the rest right? If you don’t, just tell him your plans and expectations. He gets a kick out of how you think your life will go!

I left Phoenix yesterday morning and started my journey to the Badlands! Unfortunately like most things in life, it did not go the way I expected.

After driving 11 hours and coming out of the Rockies, I was looking forward to a nice meal and getting some sleep. I noticed my phone had been lagging a bit behind, so I decided to restart it (cue the dramatic music). I would not have a phone for the next 14 hours!!! My phone would not come back on and I was in the middle of a town I have NEVER been to before. I drove around for awhile before coming across a Best Buy, where they informed me there was nothing they could do and directed me to an Apple store. When I made it to Apple, they were closed! 🤦🏿‍♂️ My next mission was to find lodging for the night, which would lead me on a THREE HOUR tour of Denver. Finally a found a place to sleep and crashed for the night.

This morning I got up, went to Apple, and was promptly told that I hit the Jackpot! Unfortunately not the one at the Golden Nugget. No one in the store had ever seen a phone glitch the way mine did, and was told there was nothing they could do about it, but give me a new phone, which means EVERYTHING on my old phone stored on my laptop in Phoenix 🤦🏿‍♂️🤦🏿‍♂️.

After that adventure, I got on the road for a quick 8.5 hour journey to Yankton, SD where my first event of the season will be. I am so excited to be here!!! Going to play a practice round tomorrow and the event starts Friday. I am looking forward to coming out guns a blazing, and getting this summer off to the right start.

One scripture has been on my mind for a few weeks now James 1:2-8, specifically verse 2. “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials…” Most of my greatest moments, and I bet yours too, have come from things in the moments that frustrated me, hurt me, and things I just flat out did not understand. I’ve matured into the thought that his ways are above mine, and his plans far exceed those I generally have for myself, and I think BIG! I don’t know what the reason for the detour on this trip was, but I am going to count it ALL joy.

LET’S HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!

This week I spent sometime with my coach Andy Patnau. We have been working together since August of last year. Growing up I never consistently worked with anyone on my swing, and it became apparent to me last year I was doing myself a disservice by not having someone as a second set of eyes. One of my good friends, James Sieckmann, who teaches some of the best players in the world in regards to the short game, told me the worse thing for a feel player to do is get to mechanical, and I have always kept that in mind. What I love about Andy is how simple he keeps things, and the drills that he uses to explain what “feels” we want. This time, we worked on feeling pressure on the top of the club when gripping it, to help stabilize the face, and then in the video below you will see me doing a drill that helps equal out slide and rotation. I tend to get a bit lateral on the downswing so this should help! One of the biggest things I instantly noticed was the trajectory control I had even on off speed swings. Being able to hit it high, low, and curve it while not going at it full bore is paramount to your game traveling well. One thing I have learned for sure playing professional golf, it is not about how high your ceiling is, everyone’s good is pretty darn good, it’s about raising the floor. How good are you when your good stayed in bed?

“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” – Pele

Hello, and welcome to my blog! I will be using this to keep everyone updated on my progress on my way this year through the Dakota’s Tour and beyond! Along the way I will be sharing my thoughts, going over rounds, discussing the journey itself, and (this might be the most exciting) sharing some of the meals that are local favorites to the area! My plan is to update this after every event, but may be more along the lines of a weekly post.

It is pretty crazy to think that in less than three weeks I will be on the road, headed up to the Dakota’s. The places that golf will take you are amazing, and honestly my favorite part of the game. A little over a year and a half ago I put together a plan to go play on the Dakota’s Tour, it did not happen for me right away. I would be lying if I said it wasn’t a slight bummer, but looking back and connecting the dots it was the best thing to happen for me. Not one to wait around for the opportunity to come (luck is when preparation meets opportunity), I begin to train and grind everyday for when I would have the opportunity to play. I once heard Denzel Washington in a speech say “If you hang around the barbershop long enough, eventually you’ll get a haircut”, and that is exactly what happened for me! A few months ago I meet an amazing man who believed in me and was fortunate enough that he decided to help me on my journey!

SCHEDULE

I am extremely blessed to be able to play a full schedule through November, and will be looking to add some if I can. My initial thoughts are to go to Q-school for the Asian Tour in December, but for right now my focus is just having a great summer! Below is my schedule so you can keep track!

· June 28th – 30th Fox Run Pro Am
· July 1-3rd – Plains Commerce Pro Am
· July 5-7 Bakker Crossing
· July 11-13th American State Bank Dakota’s Tour Pro Am
· July 14th Work with Sieckmann at 8 am at Shadow Ridge. Play Omaha Country Club with Mr. Root afternoon
· July 18th – 21st The Waterloo Open
· July 23rd – 27th Greater Cedar Rapid’s Open
· July 29-30 Hillcrest PJ-PW
· August 1-4th Yankton Open
· August 9-11th ProAm Jam $1,417
· August 12th Siouxland Federal Credit Union Pro Am
· August 15-18th Western ND Charity Pro AM
· August 23-25th North Dakota Bobcat Open
· August 26th – 30th In Chicago. Playing Chicago Golf Club, Knollwood, and Skokie CC
· August 31st Drive back to Phoenix
· September 10-12th New Mexico State Open
· November 5-7th Nevada Open

Thank you to everyone who has helped me out, offered any sort of encouragement, poured any sort of positivity of my life. We are the sum of all our experiences, and so everything that happened to this point has allowed me to get here and I am more than grateful!

1 Corinthians 9:24 – “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”