Been getting back to the grind and making some good progress lately.  Played 36 holes worth of par 3 golf today against a 2 handicap and took him on the first 18 then we tied the second, which is a good sign.  The driver is still a mystery to me as it’s the newest club in the bag (Hit my first drive ever on November 13, 2011) but I realized that if I blank the swing thoughts from my mind and just swing away thinking only of solid contact I can actually hit it pretty well.  It’s all about clearing those swing thoughts and playing some Zen golf…

I will post a much more in depth blog soon.  For the time being, let me know how the CBS segment goes tomorrow and have a great end to everyone’s week!

The last couple of days have been amazing as far as weather, attitude towards training and general playing.  I’ve shot some solid scores and played the majority of my rounds’ holes very well.  The aspect that I’m working on is stringing together a full 18.  I’ve been playing 15-16 holes well per round, which is a huge improvement over where I was just a few months ago, but a bit disappointing to not finish out the entire round.

Two days ago I shot an 80 at Heron Lakes on the Greenback course from the blue tees.  And, that was with a triple bogey on the 16th and 17th holes…  Good news:  I birdied 18, but I think either physical or mental fatigue created that back end slop.  We played the back nine first and at the turn I had shot a 40, but turned it up on the front and was even after 6 of the holes, or just 4 over after 15.  Going into 16 (a 205 yard par 3) I honestly wasn’t thinking about the score, rather had decided to hit a 3-hybrid off the tee to the fat part of the green to play it a bit safe.  Before the round, I had hit balls for 5 hours that day, and my legs were a bit tired from that and walking the course to that point, but I knew I just needed a couple more decent tee shots to finish the round.  However, I completely topped the ball into two-foot tall nettles and had to chop it out.  Then, from 160 I left it just short of the green and chipped up to 10 feet then missed the putt for an eventual triple on the hole.  It was surprisingly easy to card that many strokes when you shank the tee shot, as most everyone knows..  On the next hole, the same thing happened with the driver, just topped it to the right about 50 yards down.  I tried to hit a safe 7-iron to 150, but hit it a bit fat and it landed behind a tree.  The next shot went in the green-side bunker and the first out attempt hit the lip.  The next one got out and a two-putt left me with a seven for the par 4.  Again, really easy to do  After that I finished strong with the birdie, but the damage was done.  A quick lapse of a couple of shots and an extra six strokes are carded.

That’s golf and that’s just how it goes sometimes.  These things happen and the real trick is to get over them after just one bad shot, to not string together a group of misses.  This is what I am trying to work on right now and I think that with patience and slowing down my pre-shot routine after a miss I can get over these types of holes.

A relatively similar thing happened the next day.  Playing the Great Blue course at Heron, I made the turn at 39 and was playing solid golf.  On ten, though, I hit the best drive of my day and only had 120 to the pin, which is a perfect 52 degree wedge when the wind is helping a bit.  The 52 is my favorite club right now and I think my mind was already on the next hole when I accidentally hit it fat and sent the ball just 40 yards.  Next shot was also fat and then the next I pulled a bit into a green-side bunker..  From there my out went long and I had to chip back on to one-putt for a triple.  It’s amazing that I, or anyone, can hit so many good shots in a round and then have three or four misses in a row.  After that hole, I don’t think I hit a fat shot again for the rest of the day, something had just temporarily changed in my swing and it took the entire hole to get over it.

That’s what my game is like right now.  Playing pretty solid for the majority of the holes and then have those couple of meltdown holes where nothing seems to go right.  I can get over it pretty soon, but am trying to learn how to break the pattern after just one miss.  That is the goal right now.

Those rounds were especially good as I am hitting about 30 percent of the fairways right now.  I’m working on getting the club-face back to square at impact (rather than open and hitting a block fade as has been the issue for a while) so when I over cook it I pull hook the ball and when I revert I block it out to the left.  It will come with time and a lot of hard work, but for now it’s safe to say getting off the tee is my weakness.  It makes sense, though, because that is the newest aspect of the game for me.  On the short game side, my chips have resulted in a lot of tap ins and I have had an average of under 30 putts per round for the past 4 rounds.

Good things come with hard work, I just need to put in my time and work out those kinks.  Glad there’s a bunch of brand new range balls at CECC:

And, it’s about time for some new wedges, the one’s I’ve used for the past six months are getting a bit slick:

First off, I played in the two-man two-day best ball tournament out at Rose City with a golfer named Tyler this weekend.  It was my first time being in a tourney of this type and I actually found it to be much more stressful than an individual event.  Tyler is about a 1 handicap and being a best ball (where you each play the hole with your own ball then take the best score between the two of you for the score of record) I not only had the pressure I put on myself to do well, but also didn’t want to let him down.

The thing about Rose City is that there is not a range to warm up on.  The first round was Saturday morning and I had a radio interview in the AM before we teed it, so didn’t have a chance to go to a different course to hit some balls first.  I’m not really at the stage where I can just walk up and have my first swing of the day be the drive on the first hole, so was a bit apprehensive going into the round.  My first drive, though, hit the fairway and we were off.  I didn’t play overly bad on Saturday, but after that first fairway my drive was off all day and when you are focussing on contributing to some holes but your second shot is in the rough behind trees all day, it gets to you.  Together, we shot a team 74 but my only additions to the team were to show him a few putting lines and by getting a par on one of the 3s as well as a birdie on the 18th hole, which might be the toughest hole on the course so a great way to end.

On Sunday, I woke up early enough to head to the range at CECC and warm up before we teed it at 8.  I didn’t hit a ton of balls, but 20-30 were enough to get a feel for the drive and when we played this day, the long sticks were on.  They set up the course extra tough (one group playing behind us was a team +3 handicap and shot a 64 on Saturday, 68 on Sunday) and the holes were quite exciting in length and pin placement.  We both played much better and were cruising along, but seemed to bogey the same holes.  In the end, we shot an easy 74 as apposed to the struggle for 74 on Saturday.  What hurt us was, surprisingly, my putting.  I had a number of birdie looks but none of them dropped.  I’ve never seen so many lipped out putts in one round.  If half of them had dropped we would have posted a 70, but that’s golf and sometimes it doesn’t roll your way.  I felt much better after this round as I had contributed more and hit enough fairways and greens to allow my partner to get aggressive in his game.

After that, it was three days of filming for two different media outlets.

On Monday, CBS’ morning show was in town from New York for an all day shoot.  We met out at CECC and they filmed me doing my thing on the range and putting area and an interview with correspondent Jim Axelrod then Axelrod and I hit the links for an 18-hole match play game.  He’s a 10.7 handicap, so we decided to go straight up in match play to see what would happen.  I definitely had the advantage as it was my home course and he had only played a couple times this year so far, but the added pressure of me getting filmed on every shot, I felt, evened that out.

A bit before we began the producer mentioned that 2.4 million people watch the show, “but no pressure” of course .  I always tell myself that cameras don’t make me nervous, but it was hard to get in a groove as you have to wait for them to set up and then basically hit on command.  It’s really different, but something to get used to and to work with.  I see these times as opportunities to work under pressure, and it’s a great thing all in all.  That said, I bogeyed the first hole, took a double on the second, bogeyed the third and hit a ball in the water on the par 3 fourth for another double.  Ended up the shooting a 10-over on the front nine and was down by two holes to Axelrod.

It was time to up the game and the cameras were forgotten by the turn, so I could start playing some solid golf to gain my ground back.  I started the back with a bogey, but then got hotter and parred the next five holes to go up 2 holes on Axelrod. We tied the next two so I won the match play, but then he wanted to press on the 18th for a double or nothing.  We both had decent drives, but were blocked by trees so had to lay up.  I pitched on from the layup and his landed just short and had to chip to get on.  We both two-putted, me for bogey he for double.

All in all, I shot an 85 out there, which isn’t great, but the back was much more solid.  I learned a bit about playing under pressure and had a great time with the CBS guys.  Not sure when the piece will run, but I will let you know as soon as I hear something.  Perhaps next week.

On Tuesday and Wednesday it was Golf Channel’s turn.  The Golf in America guys came out for an update of The Dan Plan.  They shot the story last July and were in town to see what had changed.  Last time they were here my longest club was a 6-iron and I had just started playing on par-3 courses, so a lot has changed.

Here are the guys:

The days went well.  A few different interviews and then shooting on the range and course.  I don’t think their piece will run until August, but if that changes I will definitely post something.

By the end of yesterday, I was pretty beat.  I hadn’t had a day “off” for a while and it’s been a high of 50 and rainy for the past few days, which has taken a toll on my body.  My back is sore and energy levels are lower than normal.  This weather has got to pass soon.  It’s May…  Seriously, we could use a spot of sun and a day where your body actually stays warmed up between shots.  It’s pretty hard on the back to take a big swing, cool completely down and then take another large swing.  Repeat this a couple hundred of times a day and things just get stiff.

But, who’s complaining?  I love what I do and will take any type of weather!  Heading out to the “office” right now for a non-filmed session.  It’s time to get back to practice and work on some swing aspects that need tuning after last weekend’s tournament.  Namely: getting off the tee.  That has been my biggest weakness in rounds, which makes sense as it’s the newest aspect of my game.  All things come with time.

I’m not sure if this is a by-product of having played my first tournament (successfully, in my mind) or if it’s just a natural time for a confidence boost.  Regardless of the cause, I am always ecstatic when things seem on the up and up.  There are plenty of peaks and valleys along the way and it is important to celebrate the peaks and to know that the valleys are temporary and fleeting.

I will enter this weekend’s two-man two-day best ball tournament at Rose City with a completely different mindset than last week’s tourney.  I was confident in my skills last week, but they had never been tested so that confidence was somewhat a farce.  Now, I know more of what to expect all around and have a better sense of my personal reactions to sub-optimal shots and how to get over them in preparation for the next shot.  Last week I began to hurry up a bit after hitting a bad shot, which is the exact opposite of what I should do.  I need to stop and analyze the options instead of just going for the big shot every time.  Laying up and taking my medicine could have saved a few strokes.  Live and learn.

What’s going right in my game is general ball striking with irons as well as a much cleaner short game and putting.  I have been getting a higher percentage of up-and-downs from within 20 yards of the green and have been putting well in general, although I’m still stumped by the speed of these slow Pacific Northwest greens.  It has taken my three weeks now to adjust to the speed and I’m still leaving some putts short.  Tomorrow I will get aggressive and make sure the ball gets to the hole.  The short irons and wedges have been flying well and the longer ones are coming along.

What’s causing the most strokes is getting off the tee.  I know it is the newest addition to the bag, but hitting the woods and driver off the tee has been an issue in my game.  The percentage of shots in the fairway is pretty dismal and I am often punching out and then scrambling to make a bogey.  It will take some time and work to get those longer sticks to feel more comfortable.  For now, I cannot help but wonder why I did not hit the driver for 10 minutes a day since day one.  I think that I short-sided myself by limiting my practice to just short clubs.  But, one cannot reverse time and what happened is what happened.  Now, I do feel confident around the green and that is pretty priceless.  It’s time to feet comfortable in the tee box, just need to put in another 1,000 hours or so

The game, though, is on the cusp.  Over the last 5 rounds I have started off very well, shooting just a few over after the first 9 holes and end up scoring in the low 80s with a couple of bad drives late in the day producing a double bogey or two.  Looking at my scorecards, I realize that there is definitely a difference between the first four holes and the last, so my mental goal for the next month is to work on sealing the deal.  I need to stay strong and stay in the game for 18 holes.   To do this, I am going to work on playing while fatigued, so will work out in the morning and then walk 36 holes through the day.  Whenever possible, you should try to make practice harder than competition.  Makes sense to me, at least.

Off for today’s rounds.

On the back 9, I actually hit three balls in the water, but made a bogey on two of those holes and then a double on 17 to put me at 7 over for the round entering the 18th hole.  It’s a longer par 4 with water all down the right side.  I pushed my drive (lefty, so pushes go left) into a fairway bunker 150 yards from the hole.  I hit this exact shot during the tournament at Pumpkin, so new it was in the bag.  Pulled out the 7-iron and made a good pass, sending the ball to the center of the green, which I could barely see as the sun had already set.  Walking up, I noticed there was about 40 feet of putting between me and my first 79.  I was more nervous on these putts than anything in the tournament round.  I hit my lag well and it ended up pin high but 2 feet right due to slope I didn’t read well in the darkening eve.  Nervously, I rolled the ball over a ball mark I didn’t see, but it fell in the cup and finally I hit my goal of shooting in the 70s.  Great feeling.

Now on to the tournament round.

I’ve been haunted by this round for the past three days.  The cliche is true in 20/20 vision and I wish I could reverse time and slap myself around a bit entering those late-round holes.  But, it’s through these experiences that we learn: investment in loss.

At first I thought physical fatigued had set in and caused me to make bad shots and score high, but after pondering the round I realized that it was mental fatigue that caused me to make poor choices on the final holes, creating some blow-ups.  It began on the eighth hole of the round.  Pumpkin only has one place where water is available on the course and I had run out a hole before.  With the sun getting brighter, I felt parched after finishing the ninth hole.  I ran between it and number 1 to try and find water before teeing off, but the clubhouse was too far away and I didn’t have time to stop in.  Standing on the tee box, my mind was thinking about how thirsty I was and instead of sticking to my game plan of hitting 80 percent drives and I let one rip, pulling it way right of the fairway.  From there I hit a poor 6-iron and then rushed a couple of bad chips, it was my first double of the day and purely caused by losing my game plan.  I got water shortly after that, but the mental lapse had changed the overall feeling of the round.  My concentration had been broken and even though I was only 2 over for the next three holes something had changed.

Entering the 13th hole, I was 4 over for the day and playing well.  This is the real turning point, though.  I hit a bad “safe” 3-hybrid off the tee and then tried to be a hero by making an overly tough shot from a horrible lie instead of taking my medicine and laying up.  Before the round, my goal was to play consistent and lay up if I was in a spot where the odds are strongly against successfully hitting the green.  Since my game had been going south, I went for it instead of playing safe and it cost me in the form of a triple bogey.  The exact same thing happened on the tenth hole (my quad bogey hole) where I could have laid up and tried to save par or go for the easy bogey, but got too greedy and ended up in a hazard.

These are things I never would have learned if not for trying them in a tournament.  I’m still proud of my round and in all honesty am glad for the mistakes I made.  It is the mistakes that I will remember and learn how to not repeat them down the road.

I have a lot more thinking to do about this over the next three days, and then have a two-day two-man best ball tournament at Rose City this weekend.  Having a partner is a different dynamic and I’m excited for yet another new experience.

Thank you to all the wonderful Twitter peeps for donating to The Dan Plan based on the number of birdies I sank in my first tournament round.  It was awesome to get two birdies at Pumpkin Ridge and to have such amazing support!

I did my best to not get nervous even though there were two camera guys and an AP writer following along.  In all honesty, I just felt bad for the three guys I was playing with as they had never played with a “gallery” of sorts.

It was a shotgun start and I began on the 12th hole.  Here is how the day went:

12.  370 yard par 4 with a dogleg right.  Made a 4.  I teed it up last and wanted to hit a 5-wood 205 to the opening to have a shot at the green, but hit it fat and ended up stymied behind a large tree 150 yards out.  Hit a 7-iron over the tree that landed just short of the green.  Flopped it on and then made the 10 foot putt for par.  Exactly what I wanted to shoot on the first hole, start solid.

13. 330 yard par 4 up a large hill.  Made a 3.  Hit a solid drive down the middle of the fairway with 105 remaining.  105 is my magic number and I hit a 52 degree to 6 feet from the hole.  Knocked the putt in for my first birdie in tournament play.

14. 201 yard par 3 down hill and with a huge green.  Made a 4. I pulled out the 5-wood again and hooked it way right into the rough.  Had a decent lie and pitched it on from 50 yards, but hit it a bit long.  Two-putted for bogey from about 35 feet.

15. 500 yard par 5 up a hill with a dogleg left.  Made a 5. My drive landed in the fairway but was too far out to go for it so hit a 7-iron layup.  Had 110 remaining and went for it, but hit the soggy ground which sent it just left of the green.  Chipped on and made the putt from about 5 feet for par.

16. short 110 yard par 3.  Made a 3.  Hit the green with the 52 degree and had 25 feet of putting between me and the hole.  Just missed the birdie putt but tapped in for par.

17. 270 yard par 4 well protected by a creek down the middle and a small green.  Made a 3.  I hit a driver even though the smart shot was to layup with a 5-wood, but seeing as I was 0-2 with that stick I went for it.  I hit a solid drive that landed just 15-20 yards short of the green then chipped on to 3 feet and made the birdie putt.  Was now 1 under for the first 6 holes, better than I could have imagined coming in to the tournament.

18. 400 yard par with with water on the approach down the right side.  Made a 5.  Hit a great drive down the middle to 140 yards from the stick.  With an 8-iron in hand and water all along the right side, I pushed it a bit (I’m a lefty, so that’s left side) and left it just short of the green.  Flopped it on a bit long and just missed the par putt from about 15 feet, tapped in for bogey.

1. 375 yard par 4 that’s pretty much straight away.  Made a 6.  Pulled my drive into the rough and it took ages to find.  From an angled lie, I hit it 20 yards short of the green then proceeded to slide the 56 degree under the ball for basically no movement.  Made the second chip shot on the green and two-putted from 30 feet for a double bogey.

2. 370 yard par 4 up a hill with a slight dogleg left.  Made a 4.  This was a miracle hole.  I pushed the drive really far into the thick rough to the left with 150 yard and some huge trees between me and the green.  I thought about punching it out to the fairway (probably the safe bet) but my 7-iron is a good friend, so I decided to try and go over the trees and fade it onto the green.  Hit a blind shot that I thought went too far right, but when I got up to the green it was actually on it.  I had a 20 footer almost go in for birdie, but tapped in for par.

3. 120 yard par 3 down a hill with a double tiered green.  Made a 4.  My tee shot went pin high, but I pulled it to the worst possible spot in perhaps the entire hole.  The shot landed plugged in the back lip of the bunker where, as a lefty, I had no footing and could barely get a club to it.  I hit the shot of my life just to get it out and on the green, but it landed 40 feet away on the top shelf of the green.  There was about 5 feet of down slope between me and the hole and my putt went 8 feet long, but I made the return putt to save bogey.  I’m proud of this hole.  In fact, the last two holes were an accomplishment that I’ll remember.

4. 500 yard par 5 up a hill with a dogleg right and well protected green.  Made a 5.  Hit a solid tee shot to the middle of the fairway but it was up a big hill and it plugged with 260 remaining.  In a practice round I would have tried to go for it, but my 3-wood just isn’t going quite that far these days so I laid up with the 7-iron.  Had 110 remaining and got out the trusty 52 degree.  Hit it a bit fat but the ball got on the green with 30 feet of putting to go.  Two putted for my par.

5. 190 yard par 3 down a large hill.  Made a 4.  Pulled out a 3-hybrid and wanted to hit a soft cut to the green.  Hit it thin and the ball landed 40 yards short, but on the short grass.  Pitched up to 20 feet and just missed the par putt, tapped in for bogey.  At this point, I was 4 over for the first 12 holes.  Solid first 12.

6. 341 yard par 4 with bunker all down the left side and a very small green.  Made a 7.  Hit the 3-hybrid again to play it safe because the further you hit up on this hole the smaller the fairway gets and my coach and I had talked about laying up here.  I hit it decent, but had a bit too much cut spin on it and ended up just past a fairway bunker on the upward slope.  I didn’t really have a good place to put my feet and had 150 in.  Tried to hit a 7 out of the rough, but the club got caught on the slope.  The ball ended up in a large green-side bunker with a 40 yard carry to the green.  I made a mental mistake and tried to hit out with a 56 degree when I should have used the 52 for that distance.  So, ended up flopping from the back of the bunker to the front.  Didn’t take enough time on the next shot and barely got out of the bunker into the long fringe.  Chipped on from there and two putted from 25 feet for a triple bogey.  Not my best hole, but was still positive on the round.

7. 385 yard par 4 up a hill then with a 90 degree left turn to the green.  Made a 5.  I hit a cut drive that I thought would be in the fairway and saw it bounce when it hit so was ready for an easy approach. When I got to the top of the hill I saw it had actually bounced backwards into the bunker.  I had 150 yards out and a tree between me and the green so hit a 7-iron that cut around the tree and landed in the middle of the green.  It was another shot where I actually kind of surprised myself that I pulled it off.  I had a 30 footer up a little hill to the hole but right when it came off the club I knew it was going to be short.  Later in the day someone told me that the greens actually slow down in the afternoon due to the grass standing up and I think that was the case as all of the greens for the rest of the day were putting slower.  I missed the 7 footer and tapped in for bogey.

8. 470 yard par 4 that is normally a par 5 but they changed it for today.  It is up a hill then has a dogleg right to the smallest green on the course.  Made a 7.  I pulled my drive slightly into the rough and then hit a 3-wood through some trees to 20 yards short of the green.  My pitched landed and rolled long to the back edge nestled against the long grass so it was tough to putt a putter on the ball.  I hit this one well short, perhaps 10 feet and then just barely missed that putt, literally one inch from the cup.  This is where I learned the hardest lesson of the day.  Never take anything for granted during tournament play.  I went up and swiped the back of the club at the ball to knock it in from one inch, but missed the ball completely.  Since I had intent to hit it cost me a stroke and I made a triple bogey on the hole.  Never again will I do this and I’m actually glad for the extra stroke to teach me that lesson.

9. 420 yard par 4 with water all along the left side during the approach.  Made a 5.  This might be the toughest hole on the course, at least when 8 if not playing as a par 4.  Hit a solid drive the the right side of the fairway, but it sloped down so I had a tough stance in the rough. I had 175 to the stick and left is completely dead, so I hit a 5-iron layup to the right rough with gripping the stick up 2 inches.  From here I pitched it on from a downslope in the rough and then two-putted from about 25 feet.

10.  453 yard par 4 that usually plays as a par 5 with a creek running down the middle.  Made an 8.  The only place you cannot go on this drive is left, exactly where I hit it.  My ball was in the rough on a steep side angle and again with no decent place for the feet.  I tried to punch out to the fairway but it landed just short in the rough.  With 120 left, I went to hit a PW but caught a bunch of wet grass and the ball went short landing in a small rock filled hazard.  The ball bounced really high and I thought it was going to be safe, but rolled back into the hazard so I had to drop 4 and hit five from the rough.  The next shot was on a steep downhill lie in the rough and I had an elevated green 50 yards away.  Again, the club got caught in the rough and I just got it over the hazard.  I pitched on from 40 yards and then two-putted for my quad bogey from about 20 feet.  Wish I had this one back, but that’s golf for you.  I made the same amount of strokes over par on this one hole as on the first 12 holes.

11.  135 yard par 3 with a creek on the right side.  Made a 4.  Final hole, the damage was done.  The round turned so quickly on me, but I was still stoked about my overall play for the first tournament.  I hit a 9-iron and pulled it a bit to the edge of the green in the first few inches of the long grass.  Chipped on kind of weekly and then two putted from 15 feet to bogey the final hole.

Total score: 86.

That’s it.  That’s my first tournament.  All in all, it went really well, but if I could have those three holes back I would be ecstatic.  I am proud of my 86 and know that I made a lot of good golf shots.  I didn’t put an entire round together, but learned so much from my first tournament.  It was a brilliant experience and next time I will have even less nerves to deal with.  Always onwards and upwards; having a baseline to work with gives me something to break in upcoming events.  Speaking of that, I have signed up for a two day two-man best ball tournament next week at Rose City.  My goal?  Avoid the blowup holes.

My mind is thinking about it, though.  I dreamed that I was in a Scottish golf tournament last night and the holes were all flat, long, and facing directly at each other so you had to dodge balls while making your tee shot.  This style of golf could really build some nerves.  How it is, though, I rarely have to worry about incoming balls when teeing it up, just have to get in position and let it go.  The more I think about it, I believe that my dream’s most obvious interpretation is that I need to ignore distractions while out there tomorrow.  Regardless if it’s a videographer on my line or someone teeing the ball directly at me (ok, I might not ignore that one) I need to not lose focus on the task at hand: making solid golf shots.

And, it’s as simple as that.  I walked the course yesterday with Chris Smith and we talked about the dos and don’ts of Pumpkin Ridge.  I know where to hit the ball and on a few holes where you simply cannot afford to miss; now it’s a matter of focussing on the shots and trusting in the work I have done to date.  I did not, however, get a chance to play due to the pouring conditions, so it will basically be a brand new course to me, which is a good test.

Today, I’m going to rest the larger muscles and just do some putting and short course work out at Columbia Edgewater.  I felt like my drives were pretty solid over the past two days (hit ten fairways the day after my last blog post, what a difference a day can make!) and instead of tweaking anything I think it’s more important to solidify short course confidence.  Will probably get in 3-4 hours then call it a day and rest up for tomorrow.

Speaking of the tournament..  I hope this doesn’t come off like I am asking for money, but wanted to share something that I thought was really cool.  A couple of people on Twitter have spontaneously decided to donate to The Dan Plan according to birdies/eagles scored tomorrow.  At this point, I think it is somewhere in the neighborhood of $35 total for each birdie and $20 for every eagle.  To be blunt, the most birdies I have ever scored in a single round is 2 and I have only shot one eagle in my entire career, so I do not think I will be breaking anyone’s bank, but it is an awesome incentive and added pressure for me over those short birdie putts.  Thank you for the support you wonderful Twitter peeps!