Countdown to 10,000!

April 27-May2:  Just a bad week.  Saw Chiropractor Seth and he said I was all twisted up in the hips and lower back and needed a couple of adjustments.  First one was on Monday, followed by an easy Tuesday and then again in his office Wednesday.  Late wednesday night I came down with norovirus which knocked me out completely for Thursday and Friday so I scheduled the third adjustment with him this coming Monday.  The back feels better, it’s just the lower right side now which is the final adjustment coming Monday.  It’s been a long time off and not for a good reason, which is kind of a bummer, but better to get healthy than to risk deeper injury.  After Monday I should be able to at least go out and chip and putt on Tuesday, I hope.

April 25-26:  Played in the two-man two-day best ball tourney at Rose City with a friend.  I thought the back would be better, but it took everything I had to try and hit a tee shot and anything longer than a 7-iron from the fairway was instant pain.  We didn’t do so well on Saturday, I’ll take a lot of blame for that as I just couldn’t muster the approach shots on many holes, but improved on Sunday to at least shoot even par.  Need to see a professional tomorrow.  3,997 remain. Random Stat: I’ve never felt pinches like this.

April 23: Finally got through an entire round, which felt great. It’s not 100 percent, but so much better than earlier this week. I have a little tourney this weekend so am going to take tomorrow off to make sure it gets much closer to back to normal. 4,003 remain. Random Stat: had 2 birdies and no doubles.

April 22: Tried to play some holes and got through about 14. Not great, but it’s starting to feel better. No practice, just some play to see how the back was doing. 4,005 remain. Random Stat: I made it farther than I thought I might when on the range before the round.

April 18-21: Took four days off to rest the back. Not sure what it is, but feels like a pinched nerve on the lower right side which makes it near impossible to post up correctly. Hope this goes away soon, otherwise I’m going to my chiro to get it adjusted.

April 17:  Went out to Wildwood again as their greens are in good shape, one of the only non-punched courses in town.  I kind of scrambled around because I honestly could not post up on my right side.  If I tried to it was a sharp pain in the lower back.  Think I need to take a few days off completely to rest it up.

April 15:  The back is still a little weird and I’m in the middle of moving still so had limited practice time today.  I didn’t want to do too many full swings so just worked on the short game for a few hours.  4,006 remain.  Random Stat: Today is the 5-year anniversary of The Dan Plan.

April 14: Had an interview at 11 so practiced short game for two hours and then did that interview. Afterwords I teed it up with some guys and played 18. Hit it pretty decently. 4,009 remain. Random Stat: shot a 77.

April 13: I kind of hurt my back a little yesterday somehow, but had my Monday league play so after working in the yard through the morning (lightly) I went to Broadmoor and played a 9 hole match. It was absolutely pouring out and not much fun in the conditions, honestly. 4,013 remain. Random Stat: lost 2 down.

April 12: Sunday Masters day! Went out to Wildwood to play a different course and afterwords hung around to watch the final round of the Masters. So much fun this year! 4,014 remain. Random Stat: Spieth had it the whole time, quite amazing.

April 11: Played an early round at Riverside (7am start) so that I would finish around when the Masters coverage started. Was excited to watch the action so spent the afternoon watching some amazing golf. 4,016 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 80.

April 10:  Went to Heron to play with a few guys and got in a skins game.  One of the guys was a solid +1 handicap and won the first 8 skins.  I made a decent bird on the 13th hole to win the next 5 and it was pretty close from there on out.  Fun day and plenty of golf action to watch on the TV after.  4,018 remain. Random Stat: shot a 77 on the Greenback course.

April 9:  Masters starts today!  Finished some more moving in the morning and then went to participate in the Masters first “major” of the year at Riverside.  My team didn’t hit it too well and I led them with a 79, which wasn’t too great by any means.  Didn’t hit it that well and the bumpy greens make scrambling pretty tough.  4,020 remain. Random Stat: was about 5th net so not in any money.

April 8:  Same old story through the morning and then played a round with 7 others, two teams of 4, two-ball best ball.  I hit it really well today, had one 3-putt and a couple silly bogeys, but also made two good birds.  4,023 remain. Random Stat: shot a 74 from the blues.

April 7:  Still finishing the move and in fact have quite a bit left to do, so took care of some of it throughout the morning and then headed up to Riverside to hit some balls and play a round.  It was another beauty of a day but I wasn’t hitting it great and the putts are even worse now that the grass is starting to fill back in, very bumpy.  It’s best to just not really think about score in these conditions unless it’s a competition round.  Ended up having to walk off after 14 as I had to meet a construction guy at the house. 4,025 remain. Random Stat: was 6 over through 14.

April 6: Went down to Stone Creek with a buddy to play on non-punched greens and then in the evening had my first 9-hole round of a Monday league that I just joined.  Both rounds were good competition and I’m glad to have a regular Monday game starting up.  4,028 remain. Random Stat: tied low gross in the evening but lost to Blake in the morning round, so it kind of all evens out.

April 4: Played in the Saturday game pretty early and then had a lot of moving to do through the afternoon all the way to April 5.  Just moved back into my house where The Dan Plan began and am happy about the transition.  4,031 remain. Random Stat: It’s so important to feel settled.

April 3: Using the thoughts from yesterday evening with the driver I went out to Langdon Farms and played with a couple of guys I had never teed it with.  I hit the tee shots so much better and was just a couple over for the day a good feeling to have it going for a bit.  4,033 remain. Random Stat: shot a 77 from the blues.

April 2: Played in the Thursday game despite the bumpy greens and really just focussed on ball striking as putts were skittering here and there between the sand and holes.  Good day to just play around with the driver and I did just that after the round, a buddy came out and videoed my swing and I figured out that I have gotten too steep and coming over the top.  4,036 remain. Random Stat: couldn’t hit a fairway to save my life, but then got it going.

April 1:  Went out to specifically work on breaking the new clubs in on the range and then played a round with 4 others.  The greens are very bumpy and sanded due to the punching so it was a bit interesting chipping and putting. 4,040 remain. Random Stat: Shot another 83, not striking the ball very well this past week.

March 31:  Hit balls on the Heron Lakes range and then played 18 with a couple guys.  Huge storms with hail and lightening were passing through so it made any other work not too possible and the round had a handful of longer delays. 4,043 remain. Random Stat: we only get lightening about twice a year here, so it’s nice to hear thunder every once in a while.

March 30: Riverside punched their greens today so the course was closed.  A group of us went down to Salem and played a course called Illahe.  Quite a beautiful day and fun little excursion. 4,045 remain. Random Stat: shot an 83

March 28-29:  Played in the Iceberg Open at Rose City. It was the first tournament of the year and I was surprisingly nervous to start and those nerves cost me a bunch of strokes.  I was 10 over par on the first nine holes and then shot 84 on the day.  Sunday was better, although I had three doubles, two of them from the middle of the fairway and one from a  bad chip that led to a 3-putt, which killed the score.  Shot an 81 Sunday. Really not too happy with those scores, but I actually learned a good bit about how to play tourney golf that I will hope to utilize down the road. 4,047 remain.

March 27:  I was going to take a day off to let the body rest before this weekend’s tournament, but really wanted to go out and hit some balls so went to Riverside and worked on the swing for a couple hours as well as chipping and putting and bunker shots for two more hours. 4,051 remain. Random Stat: figured out a new chipping technique that just involves dropping the club on the ball, pretty easy and works well.

March 26:  Played in the Riverside Thursday game, but also got a new driver, hybrid and 3-wood today that I already love.  I haven’t had a 3-wood in ages and am really excited about having one back in the bag.  broke those clubs in and am ready to get them out on the course! 4,055 remain. Random Stat: they are all the new Titleist 915 gear and I love them so far.

March 16-25:  I didn’t have working internet this week so did not log my exact days activities, but I did keep a running count of the hours day-to-day.  In all, I took one day off and averaged about 4 practice hours for the rest of them for 32 hours of practice total. 4,058 remain. Random Stat:  funny how easy it is to rely on the internet..

March 14-15:  Riverside’s first event of the year, the Iceberg Open was this weekend.  It’s a 3-man scramble and on Saturday my team shot a 66, which was 4 off the lead as we only made one putt on the first 9 holes for one under on that side.  Overnight it dumped rain and when we all got to the club on Sunday they decided to cancel the second day.  A group of us wanted to play anyway so 8 guys went out and played 36 holes in some crazy rainy weather.  In the afternoon the winds picked up to 40mph gusts, adding to the challenge and fun.  It was a great day.  4,090 remain. Random Stat: Wish we could have made a charge on Sunday, but it was fun to play all-weather golf.

March 12-13:  Took two days off for the first time in maybe a year.  I’ve been getting frustrated and needed a little separation time.  It was nice to focus on other aspects for a couple days.

March 11: A pretty typical day of an hour of drills, 18 holes to see what’s working and what is not and then another hour of drills.  4,094 remain. Random Stat: today is my brother’s 40th birthday!

March 10: I had an afternoon meeting downtown so had to leave the course around 2.  I got up there at 9 and put in 4 solid hours of drills and swing work. 4,098 remain. Random Stat: I think I have gone from too shallow to too steep and it’s causing some of my misses.

March 9: Went to East Moreland to play with a regular Monday guy Blake and we both worked on “attitude” after hitting what one sees as a poor shot.  Both of us need to improve on this and we work it when we play a round together, helping the other one know if his attitude is going south. It’s a good practice.  4,102 remain. Random Stat: I broke 80 and won a buck off Blake for maybe the first time since we started playing together, he’s a good stick.

March 8: Was running a little late as I forgot about daylight savings time, but made it on time to Camus Meadows to play a round with a long-time reader of the blog and his son.  It was a great day and fun to watch his son play golf as well as play that track which I don’t make it up to enough. Met some of the coaches up there, too. 4,105 remain. Random Stat: shot a 79 after doubling the first two holes.

March 7: Played in the Saturday game at Riverside.  Nothing too special, just kind of made it around the course without too many big mistakes, but didn’t make any birdies, either.  4,107 remain. Random Stat: shot an 83.

March 6:  Needed a short-game day.  Spent 4 hours out at the chipping and pitching facility at Riverside.  It was good to get back to basics and work on my scoring clubs. 4,109 remain. Random Stat: 120 yards seemed to be a tough distance as it was in between clubs, but found a knock-down pitching wedge shot that works.

March 5: Played in the Thursday game and didn’t hit it quite as well as yesterday, but scrapped around a decent round.  After I spent an hour in the bunker as I had some issues with those shots on the course and needed to fine-tune the sand game. 4,113 remain. Random Stat: I was coming way too steep into the ball in the sand causing the club to dig.

March 4:  Met Jari to talk about clubs in the morning and then drove up to Riverside and warmed up for a round.  I hit it well and outside of a little string of 4 bogeys in a row played good enough to finally beat Wayne after he won 7 or 8 straight rounds from me.  After I continued my chipping and putting drills for an hour and hit some range balls, but not too many as I think the mats are detrimental. 4,116 remain. Random Stat: shot a 78 from the blues.

March 3: Did chipping and bunker drills for an hour and then played a round at Riverside against my now-regular competition Wayne.  It was a good match, but he beat me again by being just 2 over through 15 holes.  The short game practiced paid off and I am starting to get my groove around the greens again. After the round I worked putting drills for an hour.  The sun is starting to be out later and it’s getting back to solid practice season. 4,119 remain. Random Stat: shot a 79 from the blues.

March 2:  Riverside had an outside tournament today so three others and myself went to play Royal Oaks, which might be my favorite course in town. I hit it well and had a lot of fun on those tough greens, but ran into a silly string of 7 over in four holes.  3-putted a par 5, then hit my driver far left into the trees on the short 7th hole as I was trying to be aggressive and drive the green instead of hitting 5-iron, wedge, then bladed a chip over the 8th green to a dead spot and finally hit a drive OB left on the 9th so had to re-tee.  Outside of that I played pretty consistent, just 4 over on the other 14 holes. 4,123 remain. Random Stat: shot an 83 from the squirrel tees for the first post-able round of the year.

March 1:  First day we can start posting scores again to our handicaps.  I was still worn out from the tonsillitis or strep that hit yesterday, but wanted some glorious sun so went out for an hour to work short game and ended up playing 14 before I had to head home. 4,126 remain. Random Stat: was 4 over through 14, need to find my putter pace on the greens.

February 28:  Woke up with hugely swollen and nasty tonsils, not sure what’s going on, but need to drink lots of fluids and rest for the day.

February 26: Played in the Thursday game at Riverside and hit it a lot better.  this week has been very up and down, today was up.  4,129 remain. Random Stat: back in the 70s at least with a 79 today.

February 25: Had a morning interview and then went up to the club to just find some stuff that’s been missing in my game. Spent an hour in the bunker, an hour on the putting green, hour on the range and then played 9 holes.  Was great to get back in the groove and start hitting shots again. 4,131 remain. Random Stat: shot a 38 for the 9 holes.

February 24, 2015: Did a Skype meeting to file my taxes in the morning and then got out to Riverside around 11:30 for a round with Country Club.  It wasn’t much better, but was much better, if you know what I mean.  I started to find a few things that were completely lost yesterday.  4,135 remain. Random Stat: shot an 83, which was a nice 7 strokes better than yesterday.

February 23:  Dropped the car off at the window repair place and then had a buddy pick me up for a round at Riverside.  I’m not sure what’s out of sync, but had the worst round in months out there.  Could not manage to hit anything at all.  4,137 remain. Random Stat: shot a crazy 90.

February 22: Went to Heron at 10 to warm up and then played a round with the guys.  It’s good to go back to a course that is open as you can spray it a bit and not get too penalized.  Had a fun round and got back into hitting greens.  4,139 remain. Random Stat:  Even though my car was broken into last night I managed to squeak out a decent 78.

February 21:  Saturday morning game. Got out there a little bit before and then entered the match.  I played well through 11 holes, was just one over, and then ran into a few bogeys and doubles out of the blue.  Ended up not losing nor winning money, it was a push.  4,142 remain. Random Stat: Shot 37 on the front nine with a couple of lip-outs.

February 20:  Had a noon meeting and then ran into 4 guys who were going to play a round and joined them.  I hit it much better today, just missing my iron direction.  Feels like it’s almost back and I had a few realizations out there, namely that I was not attacking the ball. 4,145 remain. Random Stat: shot an 83 from the blues.

February 19: Had a 7am interview and afterwords went up to Riverside and warmed up for an hour getting the feelings and thoughts back into flow.  Then played 18 with a couple of guys and struggled a little bit, but it’s getting better and I started to find it through the round.  4,149 remain. Random Stat: shot an 86 from the blues, not doing much right.

February 18, 2015: Was a slow start back into golf today.  Took about an hour on the range to remember everything I was doing before I left and I basically spent the day catching up and getting my golf feet back under me.  After that I went out and played 9 holes, but was really all over the place.  then I went back to practice for a couple of hours.  Good day all in all, just need to find it again. 4,152 remain. Random Stat: it’s pretty amazing how quickly the good habits can fade.

February 17: flew back to Portland super early and then got caught up with all things here through the rest of the day.

February 16:  Got to play Pebble!  I hadn’t really hit a ball in a few days and was a little rusty, but it was an incredible experience and I managed to break 85 from the same boxes that the pros played and to the same pin placements.  4,156 remain. Random Stat: shot an 83 out there without really making a single put and a couple of OB doubles.

February 11-15:  Watched some amazing golf through the Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

February 10:  Had four 30 minute lessons by the Pebble Beach Golf Academy. Great learning experience.  4,158 remain. Random Stat: Learned a lot from those guys and want to go back for more.

February 9, 2015:  Worked with the Veterans Transition Center in the morning and then played in the Davis Love III Boys and Girls Club Pro-am.  Was a fun event and a great chance to play Monterey Peninsula Country Club.  Fun course!  4,160 remain. Random Stat: I shot a 79 and my team was just three shots off from winning it.

February 8:  Flew to Pebble and met the gang that I will spend the next 8 days with.

February 7: Had a morning round that went pretty well and after that spent two hours practicing short game before heading home to pack for the Pebble Beach trip starting tomorrow.  4,162 remain. Random Stat: shot an 80 from the blues.

February 6:  Had an all day photo shoot for Southwest Airlines magazine.

February 5:  Practiced for two hours and then teed it up for a round.  Confused with a few feelings right now in my swing, but working through the kinks.  Really not hitting it great at all.  4,166 remain. Random Stat: shot an 85 for the round.February 4:  Went out and warmed up then joined a regular group to play 18.  I hit the driver so good, better than I can remember in a long long time.  The irons were suspect, but I am still working on those, always. 4,170 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 80 with zero birdies and a few doubles due to errant irons.

February 3: Headed to Riverside and worked on the range and 35-60 yard shots for about two hours while mixing in a lot of putting and chipping work.  Then the course was completely empty so went out and played 6 holes over an hour period dropping balls all over the place to hone in my different short game distances and improve my bunker technique.  Followed it up with another hour on the range and short game facility.  4,173 remain. Random Stat:  found my 60-100 yard shots again!

February 2, 2015:  After the tourney I decided to go to the coast for the night as I never really get into the Super Bowl and the ocean sounded like a good thing to see and it’s only about 80 miles from Portland.  Woke up today and realized that Astoria Country Club was close and I get reciprocal privileges from being a Riverside member so went over in the afternoon and played 9 holes there.  Quite a great track.  4,177 remain. Random Stat: shot two over with two bogeys and no birds, punched greens made it hard to roll the ball.

February 1: Had a morning Super Bowl Shamble tournament at Heron Lakes with my buddy Ed.  A shamble is where you both hit a drive and then use the better of the two and play your own ball from there.  We both hit it well and had a ton of looks at birdie and even a couple eagles, but it was one of those days where nothing fell.  We each had two birdies and that was nowhere near enough to come close to placing.  4,178 remain. Random Stat: First “tourney” of the year was a good way to see where my game is. Need to focus on 35-60 yarders as I don’t have a go-to for those distances right now.

January 31:  Had a good warmup and then met three guys for a Riverside round.  Started off rusty with double bogeys on the first two holes and five over through 4, but then finished the round with four birdies and shot a respectable 76 despite another double on the back.  Made so many putts, which is hopefully a good sign going into tomorrow’s shamble tournament at Heron.  4,181 remain. Random Stat: that’s the most birds I’ve had out at Riverside in a couple of months.

January 30:  Went out and hit balls for 15 minutes before a group got me to go out with them.  Still working on changes on the course and it is honestly feeling better now. 4,184 remain. Random Stat: shot an 81, had it going so so much better, but randomly couldn’t make a put and 3-putted a few holes.

January 29:  Hit balls for an hour before heading out and playing a round with Lance.  We both took it as a day of on course practice and tried to play a gathering of different shots through the day.  My body was stiff and tired today. 4,186 remain. Random Stat: shot low 80s again, but it’s getting so close.

January 28:  Short game practice for an hour and then went out with a group of older guys and played 18.  I’ve been hitting it a lot better, although am not nearly 100 percent confident in my play right now.  That said, it wasn’t too shabby and I had a few very good strikes. 4,189 remain. Random Stat: lost a few bucks, but just because the guy I was playing with shot a net 66.

January 27: four hours of range work today.  Getting better with the change and starting to love it.  4,192 remain. Random Stat: hit hundreds of balls and getting so much more comfortable.

January 26: Course opens at 11, got there right at 11.  Worked on short game with me old wedges for an hour then worked on the swing for an hour before teeing it up to see how things are these days.  4,196 remain. Random Stat: shot an 82 from the blues, still struggling a little with the swing change, but it’s feeling much better.

January 20-25:  Each day I practice for two hours and then played a round, except for Thursday the 22nd where I had an all day photo shoot that kept me off the course, albeit for good reasons that will come to fruition soon.  five days at 4 hours a day puts me down to 4,200 remain.  Random Stat: best round throughout the time was 74, worse was 87.  Working through some big swing changes that are just a bugger right now.

January 19:  I had a meeting downtown at 1 so basically just hit balls and worked short game from when the course opened at 11 until 1.  4,220 remain.  Random Stat: not sure where my swing is going these days, but know it’s on the right path.

January 17-18:  At the end of the day on the 16th I felt something kind of pull or pop in my psoas muscle.  It hurt that night and the next morning so I, remembering past experience with the same thing, decided to take two days off of swinging and let it rest lest it get worse and I would have to take more time off.

January 16: Grabbed my old wedges and the R15 and warmed up at Riverside for an hour before heading to Heron and playing 27 with Eric.  Great day of golf and once things started grooving we both hit it great.  4,222 remain. Random Stat: Super muddy, but fun 27 as the sun came out.  We played straight match play and he won the first 18 and I got him on the final 9.

January 15, 2015:  It was pouring out and nasty so I hit under the rain cover for two hours, but called it a day, my shoes were still soaked from yesterday and I wasn’t feeling heading out into a windy nasty day on the course.  I also had my first committee meeting at Riverside that eve so attended that.  4,226 remain. Random Stat: It’s actually been a great year weather wise so far.

January 14, 2015:  With the demo TaylorMade R15 in my bag I warmed up and then played 18 with Eric and two others.  I hit it really well and loved the feel.  I also switched back to my old wedges, but by the end of the round realized that I actually like the feel of the new ones better, just need to break them in some more.  4,228 remain. Random Stat: won 11 skins in the match and shot upper 70s.

January 13, 2015:  Got the FlightScope out for a few hours and was playing around with different drivers and shafts, everything that I could find at Riverside which wasn’t much as they are in between clubs in a lot of brands before the new ones arrive for 2015.  Learned a lot about my swing though and was surprised to see about a 10mph difference between different drivers even though they had the same length shaft.  4,232 remain. Random Stat: Am going to test out the new TM R15 for a few days.

January 12:  Course was closed until 11 so got there right at 11 and hit balls around the chipping area for an hour with the new wedges to get a better feel for them.  I have to interact with the grass different with them which I thought was a negative, but realized today that it may actually teach me to hit chips better.  After I went out and played 18 dropping balls in random spots and working on shots.  4,236 remain. Random Stat: not sure about this new driver shaft, doesn’t seem to feel right.

January 11, 2015:  Made it out for 14 holes before it started to rain pretty hard and I forgot my rain coat so decided to call it a day and go home to watch some football.  I did realize that I think I want to rethink my wedge situation and go back to my old Vokey 54 as I had great feel with that one. 4,240 remain. Random Stat: no birds over the 14 holes, but working on some things and gaining a bit of feel.

January 10:  Played in the Saturday men’s day at Riverside and hit it like crud, at least my long shots and stuff around the green, I’ve lost a lot of feel around the green with my new wedges and I’m not sure if that change to an x-flex shaft was the best call.  I’ll give them a bit more time.  4,242 remain. Random Stat: shot an 87, really really bad round.

January 9:  Had a good ball striking day and hit a lot of greens.  Had 3 birdies after bogeys on the first four straight holes.  Finally had a lower scoring day after a little drought. 4,244 remain. Random Stat: shot a 75 from the blues.

January 8: Went out around 9:30 to meet a friend but he cancelled while I was driving up there so ended up putting in 2 hours on the FlighScope before going out and playing 18.  My irons and new demo driver are so much more on plane, it’s really great. 4,247 remain. Random Stat: shot mid-80s again, really just worked on seeing if this new demo driver is a good solution.

January 7: Met Jari down at his Oregon City Birdie Finnish shop to switch out the shafts in my driver.  I hit on his simulator while the new driver shaft cured and then went out to Riverside to hit some balls and play a late day 9 holes. 4,251 remain. Random Stat: Liking the new shaft much better.  It’s a stiff flex instead of the x-stiff the other one was.

January 6:  Feeling a little better, went to work on the range and short game stuff for a few hours, then called it a day as I was pretty beat.  4,254 remain. Random Stat: I can hit a good flop shot now, but am struggling with my old go-to bump and run.

January 5: Feeling still under the weather but better I decided to make it a lighter day and went out for a leisurely 18 to really just work on short shots around the greens.  4,257 remain.  Random Stat: shot mid-80s, not sure how to find my touch with the new wedges right now and have been either blading the ball over the green or chunking it, bad combo.

January 3:   Back to Broadmoor for one more round.  I didn’t get good sleep last night and a cold has set into my throat making my entire body achy and just plane nasty feeling.  Didn’t hit it well at all and should have probably left after 9, but wanted to at least get the walk in as I needed to stretch my lungs a bit.  4,260 remain. Random Stat: no clue what I shot, was just going through the motions, really.

January 2, 2015:  2015! Crazy.  Played a round at Broadmoor as Riverside was still closed and had another one of those crazy winter condition days.  Had to land the ball short and then chip up as it was nearly impossible to stick the greens.  Quite fun and challenging.  4,262 remain. Random Stat: shot an 80, which again wasn’t bad all things considered.

December 31:  NYE day round out at Heron Lakes. Riverside was closed due to freezing temperatures and will remain closed for the rest of the week so it’s off to the public tracks for a few days.  It was fun to play on iced greens, although a totally different game as you couldn’t hit the greens or the ball would fly off the back.  Winter golf at it’s finest. 4,265 remain. Random Stat: managed to shoot a 78 despite the conditions.

December 20-30:  Went down to Atlanta and Hilton Head to visit with family.  I didn’t play any in Atlanta due to catching up with the family, but once we got down to Hilton Head I got in 4 full 18s and one 9 hole round.  4,268 remain. Random Stat:  Played with a plus-3 handicap golfer who is going to Portugal later this month to go to the European Tour Q-School.  After playing one round with him I found some things in my swing and made a good improvement.  Makes me realize that I need to face stiffer competition.

The rest of 2014:  From December 9-19th I broke in the new clubs by playing a lot of rounds, one per day. I didn’t spend much time on the range except for to use the FlightScope and averaged about 4 hours of practice/play per day.  Admittedly, I was not very good at keeping up with this part of the site over that period of time, but I do have a log book with my hours in it and for those days in December I logged 36 hours of practice bringing my total down to 4,278 remaining.  Random Stat:  Working on figuring out the driver and 3-wood still, but absolutely loving the irons and wedges.

December 8: FlightScope up and running, I spent the afternoon at Riverside seeing what numbers the new clubs were getting.  I was pleasantly surprised to have the club path basically zeroing out, and then frustrated when I couldn’t seem to hit a driver to save my life, as always.  Need to get that fixed.  I then went and played a quick 18 and had similar results to what the FS numbers were saying:  Hit just 2 fairways but then hit a good bit of greens with the irons.  all but one of my bogeys were from punching out, hitting the green and two-putting. 4,314 remain. Random Stat: shot an 80 without a birdie as my putter was as cold as my driver.

December 6:  A stark contrast to the previous day, I went out to play in the Saturday money game and the ground was so amazingly soggy from heavy rains overnight that about half of my shots were fat.  Tee shots were all over the place and fat approaches and chunks out of the rough produced high scores.  4,319 remain. Random Stat: lost about 20 bucks by shooting mid-80s.

December 5:  Got up to the club around 10 and hit balls and worked the short chips and wedge shots for 2 hours then figured it was time to play a real round with the new clubs.  Tom was up there so the two of us played a match play round. I loved the irons and wedges and shot an easy 74 today, which is a good sign of things to come.  4,323 remain. Random Stat: Only had one birdie, but hit a lot of greens.

December 4:  One of the heaviest rains I have ever seen.  Two other souls were brave enough to venture out and we played a fun 9 holes in heavy Oregon rains.  It wasn’t exactly “golf” but was close enough and fun to try and putt through rivers.  4,327 remain. Random Stat: won the skins game with 4 skins.

December 3: Got an iPad in the morning so I can run the FlightScope, finally, but didn’t have the FS app so just went to Riverside and shot some video of my swing.  It’s been a while since I really hit balls and took some time to get back into form, also spent time working on finding my short game and putting once again.  Good day getting the groove back.  4,329 remain. Random Stat: played 9 and shot 3 over, not quite used to the new bounces and grinds of the wedges when it comes to short chips.

December 2:  First day back and it was a shock to the system. Came from 80 degree days in Mexico for the wedding to 30 degree Portland.  The greens were all temporary and the putting/chipping greens were closed. I hit balls for an hour off of frozen mats to get some rhythm back, but then called it a lost weather day.  4,333 remain. Random Stat: didn’t want to hit too many frozen balls off of a frozen mat with the new sticks, want to keep them in good shape for now, still haven’t gotten that first scratch.

November 26-December 1:  Went to my sister’s wedding and didn’t bring clubs as I wanted to spend time with the entire family.  It’s the first time in about 10 years we have all been at the same place at the same time.

Admittedly, I have fallen a bit behind on posting these on a regular basis.  For the days from November 20 – November 25 I played a round each day and then got new irons and wedges on november 25, which I spent two hours on the range breaking in and then played a round.  I didn’t get much practice in from November 20-24 except some rounds as I new an entirely new set of clubs was arriving and it seemed pointless to continue to work with my old sticks when they were going to be so different than the new.  So for the five days of 20-24 I put in 10 hours and then 4 hours of practice on the 25.  4,334 remain. Random Stat: I LOVE the new clubs.

November 19:  Riverside finally opened back up.  Hit balls and rolled some putts to figure out why I wasn’t making anything yesterday and figured out it was that I was aligning too closed and pushing everything.  After, I went out and played 9 holes.  It’s still pretty chilly, but the world is warming back up over here.  4,348 remain. Random Stat: shot a 39 on the front.

November 18, 2014:  Dropped my truck off at the brake shop and a friend picked me up to head out to Heron for a round.  The greens are starting to thaw out, but they were still rock hard at the beginning of the day.  We played a match play match that was decided on the 18th hole.  Hit the driver very well and had a ton of birdie putts but only one fell all day.  Bumpy frozen greens.  4,350 remain. Random Stat: shot a 77 on the greenback course.

November 17:  Wanted to practice at Riverside, but they had 18 temp greens, the putting and chipping greens were frozen and the range balls off of the mats felt like rocks. I hit about 15 balls and decided there were better things to be focussing on.

November 15-16, 2014: Michael Kruse, reporter, was in town and wanted to shadow me playing some golf so went out and played Heron Lakes due to Riverside being closed.  Was frozen and super windy, winter golf, but was also interesting in that you had to have more strategy approaching the greens as if you landed on them the ball bounced over, so it was a lot of hitting short and then chipping up.  The same was true on Sunday, but out at Broadmoor.  Neither round was a scoring round as the conditions were crazy, but still had a good game on both days.  4,352 remain. Random Stat: kept it around 80 both days.

November 11-14:  50mph winds and freezing conditions kept courses closed.

November 10:  Played Waverly for the first time and loved it.  That was the last course in the Portland area that I really wanted to play but had not been out on yet.  Got there a bit early to hit some balls and then the course opened at noon.  After the round it was already dark due to the Portland winter.  4,356 remain. Random Stat: Lost a bit of cash in a money game, but had a really good time just playing golf on a new course.

November 8-9:  The weather was off and I laid low.  Have a round on Monday and then the weather looks intense for a while.

November 7: Woke up feeling almost completely better, just some residual stuffiness that was not a problem.  Went and played a full 18 for the first time since Europe and hit it pretty decent, although the driver wasn’t acting too nicely after about the 6th hole.  And, only hit two fairways out there.  It’s totally fall too and the greens were covered with dew all day making putting a different experience.  All in all, it was great to be back out.  4,358 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 79 from the blues.

November 6:  Ventured out for the first time in a couple of days to get the body warmed back up.  Made some swings and walked 9 holes, which was about all the energy I had.  4,361 remain. Random Stat: shot a 39 for 9 holes.

November 4-5:  Wasn’t able to shake it and came down with something really nasty.  Was literally in bed all day on the 5th, think it was a flu as it was worse than a cold and came on surprisingly fast.  That’s two sicknesses already this fall, which is very unusual.

November 3: Went out to practice once the course opened up at noon and practiced for two hours then played 9 and afterwords started feeling strange in my throat like something was coming on so wanted to play it safe and went home to drink fluids and avoid an illness.  4,362 remain. Random Stat: No birds but shot 40 on the side, short game is not quite back yet.

November 2:  After a long flight back from Europe, getting in last night, I was really looking forward to hitting some balls so went out to Riverside for a couple hours on the range followed by 9 holes.  Feels good to be back.  4,365 remain. Random Stat: birdied my first hole and had 3 birds on the 9, good start.

October 28-29:  Spent time with family and then flew to Sweden for an interview.

October 23 and 27:  Played two rounds in Zurich.  Totally different conditions and a completely new landscape. Quite amazing.  In between I went on a few hikes with my brother.  4,368 remain. Random Stat: shot 84-83 on the two rounds.  Everything is different and it was hard to adjust right away.

October 20-22:  Flew to Zurich and spent a day with family.

October 18-19:  Played a round each day despite a bad head cold as I wanted to see how I would perform under the conditions.  After each one I nursed the cold in hopes I could quell the symptoms before flying to Europe soon. 4,372 remain. Random Stat: Shot low 80s both rounds.

October 17, 2014: Met with the FlightScope rep to do a training and then had a lunch meeting followed by 9 holes.  That was a big day considering how I feel right now.  Kept it flowing, but don’t want to overdo it.  4,376 remain. Random Stat: shot 2 over for the 9, which I was pretty proud about considering.

October 16, 2014:  Cold is setting in some more, but I wanted to get out there and play some holes to keep the mojo running and ran into a few guys I like teeing it with on the first tee right when I got to the course.   I warmed up for 5 minutes and then caught them on the second tee box.  Chris and I played a match for the remaining 17 holes.  He is a steady 1 handicap and beat me 2 and 1.  I had some wedge issues with the shafts of my new ones being significantly heavier and I am not quite used to them yet. 4,378 remain. Random Stat: shot a 78 from the blues.

October 15:  Woke up fighting a head cold and tried to go out but after about an hour of hitting on the range in the windy rain I realized that I needed to go and rest rather than make my condition worse. 4,380 remain. Random Stat: a glimpse of winter was upon us this day.

October 14: Warmed up and hit some wedge shots with a new set of Edel wedges that I have been trying out and then decided to play two-ball best ball for 9 holes.  Afterwords I worked on putting and chipping for an hour and then went out for 9 holes of normal one-ball golf. 4,381 remain. Random Stat: was 2 under for best ball and 1 under for single ball.

October 13: Got to the course at 11 when it opens on Monday and warmed up the swing for some time and then practiced putting before playing a 12:30 round with some other guys.  I hit it well on the front but then lost some ground on the back 9 for some reason, just wasn’t feeling it and missed a couple of easy shots.  All in all I am hitting it very well, though.  4,384 remain. Random Stat: shot a 37/40 from the blues.

October 11-12, 2014:  Took a weekend off to visit with a friend in Seattle.  We drove up Saturday and then came back on Sunday and there was enough daylight to go out and hit balls so I went to riverside and smacked some around. My swing felt good so I went out and played 3 balls for about 5 holes. 4,387 remain. Random Stat: Felt rested and ready to get the week started.

October 10, 2014:  Warmed up and practiced with new wedges out at Riverside before meeting up with Country Club at Heron for 18 on the great blue course.  The round started out good with a 36 on the front, just one bird and one bogey, but I got on a bogey streak on the back for a bit.  I won our match by one hole and one stroke, but it could have been quite special with how I was hitting it out of the gate. 4,388 remain. Random Stat: shot a 79 from the blue tees.

October 9, 2014: Had two hours of warm up and practice at Riverside before playing in a little Thursday money game with some guys I hadn’t really played with before.  One was quite good and it was fun to watch how he played the game.  Good group all in all and despite making some very strange swings that produced 3 lost balls I had some great holes and shots. My body was a bit tired from the 36 yesterday. 4,391 remain. Random Stat: shot an 83 from the blues, not a good day considering i was 38 at the turn and I usually play the back quite well.

October 8: Played with a group that I had never joined before early in the morning and hit it very well.  Decided to work on stuff on the range for a bit and then go out and play another 18.  By the end my swing was getting a little tired as the 36 with an hour of range in the middle after a lot of balls yesterday was quite the good little epic 24 hours. 4,395 remain. Random Stat: shot a 74 in the morning round and then played multiple balls in the afternoon.

October 7: Practice day. Spent five hours rotating between hitting balls and short game with almost every single shot being completely different.  Really solid work day today out there. 4,400 remain. Random Stat: getting my hands and basically arms out of the swing and letting the big muscles do the magic.

October 6: Got to Riverside right as it opened and played 18 as the range was on mats and the practice green was sanded and punched.  Played well and worked on my focus and play boxes.  4,405 remain. Random Stat: shot an 81 from the blues.

October 5:  I have decided to actively implement more rest days so am taking today off for the body and mind.  I think I will take a day off a week, or at least try to, as after a day off I am always so much fresher physically and mentally.

October 4: Had a morning round at Riverside where I just could not get the ball in the hole. The greens are punched and sanded and I found putting difficult and was struggling with my normal scoring clubs.  Just a frustrating round with 36 putts and a lot of missed chances. 4,408 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 85 from the blues, about everything that could go wrong did.

October 3:  Had a good focus and play day where I warmed up and then played 18 and followed it with another 14 holes before I had to split.  Worked on my playbox and hitting shots on the course as well as focus.  Hit it pretty good, but the greens are sanded and punched and the balls is rolling a bit erratically.  4,410 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 80 from the blacks and then was 5 over through 14 from the blues.

October 2: Went out to Riverside early to get in some range time and a practice round before heading back to the house to take care of some errands and take a couple important phone calls starting at 2.  Got a lot done for the limited morning hours including playing the first 16 holes and then seeing a group I knew on the first hole and joining them for the rest of the front. 4,414 remain. Random Stat: was 5 over through 16 and then about 3 over for the 8 holes on the front.

October 1:  Played a scoring round from the blacks and focussed on simply playing competitive golf.  Hit some good drives and had a few snafus out of nowhere.  Pretty solid considering the greens were punched yesterday.  4,417 remain. Random Stat: shot an 81 from the blacks.

September 30, 2014:  Caught up on a number of things around town from shipping off packages and updating my car’s registration to sending off emails and writing up a blog.  Then met Eric at Eastmoreland for a quick 18 where I worked on some of the new tools I got this past weekend.  My head was all over the place at the beginning and it took a while to get into the play box.  4,420 remain. Random Stat: Working on a fade and this course demands one, am getting a much better feel for what that means.

September 29, 2014:  Had a morning meeting and then flew back to Portland.

September 26-28:  Attended a 3-day Vision54 course down in San Diego and each day was a full length class, but a lot of it was learning about how to learn in the future, which is super important but not exactly something that ticks the hours down.  In all, we spent about 3 hours of the day literally practicing and then about 4 figuring out how to practice and what to work on later.  It was an amazing experience.  4,422 remain. Random Stat: I went in a bit of a mess and left with new resolve.

September 25, 2014:  Was flying to San Diego today for the Vision54 course but had time after packing up to hit the links and break out the FlighScope for the first time.  I hit with it for a little bit to start figuring out how to use it and then played a quick 18 before heading to the airport. 4,431 remain. Random Stat: shot a 73 from the black tees.

September 24, 2014:  Went out to work the range for a while and then decided to join up with two guys playing a round to see how the swing was going to hold up today.  It was way off and I didn’t really “find” the feel out there today.  Hope tomorrow is better. 4,433 remain. Random Stat: shot an 83 from the combo tees.

September 23: Back to the range today for a couple hours and then mixed in a couple hours of short game practice.  Was a back to the basics kind of day.  4,435 remain. Random Stat: Just need to groove that feel until I own it.

September 22, 2014:  After the last few days on the range and all I was pretty beat today and was going to take the day completely off but a friend asked to play and I figured 18 couldn’t hurt.  Went out to EastMoreland and played 18.  My body was tired and I wasn’t making very good turns which ended up creating a lot of big misses.  4,439 remain. Random Stat: shot an 84.

September 21:  Spent the day on the range and then got in 18 to see how the new swing was working.  Everything was spot on except for the tee shots which weren’t quite there, but I know why now:  it’s all about swing plane change and face not matching up with the new plane. 4,441 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 73 from the blues (unplayable ball on 18 ended up bogey)

September 20, 2014:  Driving range day.  On a new feel still and it’s really working out, just need to find it on the course so after a few hours on the range I played 18 to see where it was, but I couldn’t quite find it out there.  Scrambled well. 4,445 remain. Random Stat: shot an 81 from the blues

September 19:  The new feel is getting better and better.  I practiced it for an hour on the range and then played 18 to see what happened on the course and shot a decent score from the black tees then went back out and played 9 more from the blues followed by a little range time. 4,449 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 75 from the blacks and then a 37 from the blues for 9.

September 18, 2014:  Not ready to play yet and focussing on the swing only.  Spent four hours swinging and working it slow motion on the range.  I can feel the new move and am wanting to completely own it on the range before taking it out to the course. 4,453 remain. Random Stat: Can’t wait to own this new feel.

September 17: I had that a-ha on Monday and wanted to follow up and sure enough it was still there.  A completely different feel that actually produced a better visual swing and better ball flight and power/consistency.  Really good that it’s still there.  I then took it out to see what would happen and hit it on 18 holes to try to work it both ways.  I’m going to not do much on the course for a while until I own this. 4,457 remain. Random Stat: Was hitting it so much more consistent and actually farther.  Had a few birds and a handful of good drives.

September 16: Took a day off to go hiking in the woods.

September 15: Played a round at Heron and was struggling to find what I was working on in the swing.  Hit it decent, but didn’t have much confidence out there and afterwords I went to Riverside to hit on the range for an hour where I found what was missing.  Really good and I’m excited to keep working it. 4,461 remain. Random Stat: It feels like I am throwing the club straight out but in reality it is finally more on plane.

September 14, 2014:  Didn’t sleep all night due to a spend the night of the kiddos.  Also was bitten by a brown recluse spider and had a horrible headache from that (found out afterwords what it was when my finger started strangely swelling up and changing colors, guess that’s what the headache yesterday was from) I tried to play but was just too tired and left after about 13 holes.  Basically a day off all things considered.

September 13:  Went out to continue the progress with the new takeaway and swing plane and worked on the range for about an hour before heading out to see how it was looking on the course.  Had a strange and bad headache, though, and couldn’t really think straight so called it a day to rest up before a match play match tomorrow. 4,464 remain. Random Stat: Not great but still pushing forward.

September 12, 2014: Did an hour of practice at Riverside and then went to Heron to play 18.  Followed that up with some range balls at Riverside and then another 9 holes. Good play day. 4,465 remain. Random Stat: shot a 76 at Heron Great Blue and then a couple over at Riverside.

September 11:  Range day all day.  Worked it for 4 hours at Riverside plugging away at the new move.  Really liking what I learned from Bowen earlier this week and am on the right path at the moment. 4,469 remain. Random Stat: Keeping the club between my arms past my rear leg and it feels better and more on plane.

September 10: Had my homework from the lesson yesterday so went to the range and worked it for 3 hours and then did short game for an hour.  After making changes for that long I was pretty beat.  4,473 remain. Random Stat: Looking better and flying better, it’s just a start but it’s so nice to see straight ball flights again.

September 9:  I was struggling pretty hard core out on the range as I just didn’t know what I needed to work on and my swing is in pretty rough shape, relatively speaking, so I decided to go see John Bowen at Heron for the first time for a second set of eyes on the swing. He had some great insight and got me back on track.  Afterwords I went to Riverside and worked the new stuff.  4,477 remain. Random Stat: he had some tips as to how to get the club moving in the right direction for the first couple feet.

September 8, 2014:  Played in a 4 man scramble for charity in the morning and then went to riverside for 9 holes.  It was a long 6 hour round so after those 27 holes I was pretty beat.  4,481 remain. Random Stat: we won the scramble, second year in a row.

September 7:  Eric came out to Riverside and we played the two of us versus two other guys in a best ball match.  Neither Eric nor I really played well and we got swept in the match and had to buy the other guys lunch.  I really don’t like losing so stuck around and worked on the driver for an hour. 4,484 remain. Random Stat: I shot low 80s, Eric too, the guys we played were both in mid 70s so there wasn’t much of a chance in this one.

September 6: Practiced swing plane for a couple of hours and then hit it for 9 holes to work on the course.  So many good things are happening right now, but I’m still very much struggling with tee shots.  It’s been too long and I need to completely rethink it as I can’t continue to have no clue where the ball is going to be going.  4,487 remain. Random Stat: hit one fairway, barely.

September 5: Continued Wednesday’s work and put in 4 hours working on swing plane and then played 9 holes to see what was going on.  It felt unnatural but looks better on film which is what is important.  The ball flight is more in tune with how I think it should fly, too. 4,491 remain. Random Stat:

September 4, 2014:  Got straight to work on the swing plane and then was talked into playing a round so teed it up and instead of keeping any score just kept working on the swing change.  It was a bit rough, but there were some great shots hit, too.  4,496 remain. Random Stat: when I do it how I want to the ball goes higher and has less movement to it.

September 3, 2014:  I spent the entire day working on a swing change involving a bit steeper swing plane, getting things back on line and can already see the benefit but it’s going to take a while. 4,501 remain. Random Stat: Swing changes are never fun but part of the process

September 2:  Had a morning meeting and then met a videographer at the course for an interview.  He filmed me practicing and then we did an interview and then he shot some stuff while I played a few holes.  Afterwords we hit the range together and worked on the game for a couple of hours and I topped it all off with 5 more holes.  Great day.  4,506 remain. Random Stat: getting the darn club back on plane if it takes all Fall.

August 29-September 1:  Took a few days off for one last camping/break of the summer.  Headed to Bend to see friends and left the clubs.  I worked on slow motion movement and talked with a lot of people about better ways to strength train, but avoided making full swings to give the body a slight break.

August 28: Had the summer match play match at Riverside so went up there an hour early to warm up and find how my swing was today and then played it.  I had to give my opponent 3 strokes as he is a higher handicap than me and we shot the same score, which allowed him to win and move on.  He played really well, I scrambled great but only hit two fairways.  After I talked with Scott Hamilton about my driver swing and have some drills to work on to get it more on plane. 4,511 remain. Random Stat: we both shot 77, for me it was a net 72 and for him net 69 so he beat me with the strokes. Great match.

August 27, 2014: Went up to Riverside to work on the grass in the morning.  I played 9 holes after an hour of range work and then hit the range for an hour more.  I then focussed on putting and chipping for an hour while mixing in range work and play boxes.   Good day and I am ready for the match play round tomorrow. 4,514 remain. Random Stat: Got it back to closer on line.  After tomorrow’s match I’m going to take a few days off and then come back with a new game plan for working on my swing.

August 26: Played 18 at Riverside with two guys who were playing in the summer match play.  They both played a great match having 9 birdies between them on the back 9 alone.  Great to watch and I hit it pretty well myself. 4,518 remain. Random Stat: The match was 3 and 2 although it was epic.  I hit it well and shot a 78.

August 25, 2014: I was going to take a day off after the weekend and the past week of swinging, but decided to just play a fun round (while working on tee shots) down at East Moreland.  Teed it with a couple friends and put a few bucks on the line to make it a bit more serious.  Hit it decently although had a little bogey train string of holes. 4,521 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 79.

August 24, 2014: Final day of the Oregon Mid-Am.  Played much better despite another rough start of 5 over through 4 holes.  Was happy with my back 9 that day as well as my overall mental approach to tournament golf, super fun. 4,523 remain. Random Stat: shot better today by 7 strokes 42-38

August 23: Played in the Oregon Mid-Am.  Had a very rough first 7 holes and then calmed down and played better over the final 11 holes.  We went to dinner and relaxed for the rest of the day to get ready for tomorrow. 4,526 remain. Random Stat: shot a 47-40

August 22, 2014: Drove down with my friend Chris to play a practice round at Emerald Valley for this weekend’s Oregon mid-am.  We played 18 dropping balls in random places and making putts from all over the greens.  After, we went to get some food and then came back to practice chipping and putting for an evening hour. 4,529 remain. Random Stat: These greens are amazing, going to have to make sure and be below the hole.

August 21: Had a morning workout and then met with a guy who has been helping me try to figure out how to shoot some video stuff. After I went to Riverside and worked on all aspects of my game for 4 solid hours. 4,532 remain. Random Stat: I’m ready for the weekend!

August 20, 2014: Was talked into a 6am round at East Moreland this morning.  Was pretty tired swing wise and didn’t really get it started today.  After I took the day off as I needed a short break before the coming weekend. 4,536 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 40 on the back.

August 19: Was going to take the day off before the mid-am, but ended up just playing 18 at Riverside to work on some stuff out of the box.  I am not sure if it was a good idea, but I dropped a bunch of balls and tried to improve my fade as well as get the draw going well. 4,538 remain. Random Stat: didn’t keep score today, just focussed on making shots.

August 18, 2014:  After playing so many tight courses I wanted to go somewhere that was a bit more open from the tee box to instill some confidence.  I went to Rose City and teed it up with some strangers and despite starting with a bogey and ending with a bogey on 17 and 18 I played very well.  4,540 remain. Random Stat: shot a 73.

August 17: Played Riverside with my mini-tour buddy who was in town as well as his father.  He hits his driver how I hope to one day, with great distance and control.  He beat me on the course and played very solid, I had 3 doubles yet still shot a half-decent score.  Just need to get a couple big misses out of the bag from the tee box. 4,542 remain. Random Stat: shot an 80 from the blue tees

August 16, 2014: Played the Saturday morning game at Riverside with some people I had never played with.  They all played well and my short game was good, but I could not get out of the box well so had a rough day all around scrambling for an 83. Afterwords I hit tee shots for an hour until I figured some things out. 4,545 remain. Random Stat: disappointed to shoot in the low 80s.

August 15: Did a morning workout and then decided to just focus on short game for the entire day.  I put in 4 hours of pitches, chips and putts in the 90+ heat and got a bit mentally drained from standing in the sun all day so took a cool down break and then hit the range for an hour to try and mix it up some.  4,548 remain. Random Stat: Got my 60 yard pitch down to a science as well as solidifying that 35 yard shot.

August 14, 2014:  Thursday is mens club day at Riverside so I joined in the fun and played the 5 dollar game.  Hit balls working on forward pressing my hands at impact for an hour then played 18 to mixed results.  I had some good holes and a few big misses, especially with the driver.  In fact I think I hit one fairway with that stick.  4,553 remain. Random Stat: had an eagle and two birdies but still shot just an 80 as I had a couple doubles and plenty of bogeys.

August 13, 2014: One more round with my boy Scott.  Today it was the greenback at Heron Lakes.  We had a 4 man skins game going that went well, the 15th hole ended up being worth 12 skins.  Good competition and some solid shots were hit. 4,556 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 79 but managed to not win a single skin.

August 12:  Double dutch day.  Played an early morning shot with my friend Scott who is back from the desert where he has been playing mini-tour golf and we tipped out Heron Lakes great blue course.  Then I went over to Riverside and played 18 from the tips there.  Great 36 hole day. 4,559 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 78 on the Great Blue and an 80 at Riverside.

August 11, 2014: Everything was closed in the morning and it was a massive heat wave hitting a bit over 100 degrees today.  I spent about 5 hours practicing short game and range work before hitting a pool to cool off. 4,563 remain. Random Stat: developing a 35 yard shot and it’s harder to find than I had thought it would be.

August 10:  Took it easy after taking yesterday off due to having my head in the wrong place.  I got back at it and practiced for 3 hours before meeting Mary and the kids for the afternoon. 4,568 remain. Random Stat: it’s amazing how much one day away can help sometimes.

August 9, 2014:  Just needed a day off to readjust the head.

August 8:  Practiced for two hours at Riverside and then went to play in a 20 man money (skins) game at Heron Lakes on the Great Blue course.  I couldn’t hit the ball to save my life, but I did birdie on long par 3 that was good for a skin and doubled the entry fee. 4,571 remain. Random Stat: I had some bigger misses over the past two days with my driver than I can remember ever having.

August 7, 2014:  Practiced for an hour and then played the Riverside PGA Champ game to no real good end, I just hit a little rut. 4,575 remain. Random Stat: shot an 83, never got anything going today.

August 6:   Met a friend at Riverside and we practiced for an hour and then went off and played 18.  I hit it well on the front shooting a 34 with an eagle and three birdies (also had a handful of bogeys) then shot a 40 on the back when the putter and driver turned off. 4,578 remain. Random Stat: 74 felt good after a bit of a dryer spell.

August 5, 2014: Practiced for 4 hours through the heat and then played 9 holes. 4,581 remain. Random Stat: Shot even par on the front when I got out and played.

August 4:  Short game day from when the course opened at noon until 2 then went out and practiced on the course for a few hours.  4,586 remain. Random Stat: am hitting the irons much better now.

August 3, 2014:  Got out early before the heat and practiced the new forward press swing while mixing in short game and putting for four hours and then went home to escape the heat and do some mental game reading while also watching a bit of the Tour. 4,591 remain. Random Stat: Getting ready for this Thursday’s final “major” of the year at Riverside.

August 2:  Riverside was closed again so I went to Heron and hit balls for four hours and then went out and played 9 to see how it was coming along.  Swing is getting close and am liking it. 4,595 remain. Random Stat: shot one over for the 9 holes with two birdies and three bogeys.

August 1: Worked on what Bruce has me doing for 3 hours at Heron as Riverside is closed for the member guest.  After that I chipped and putted for an hour and then struck balls for another hour well into the heat of the day.  4,600 remain. Random Stat: getting more distance with the forward press strike.

July 31, 2014:  Met Bruce down at Langdon for our first lesson in quite some time.  It was great to catch up and he gave me some wonderful ways to practice lowering my dynamic loft as well as  helped me further understand how to compress the ball.  4,605 remain. Random Stat: without knowing it I have been casting the club just before impact.

July 30:  Another great full day.  Practiced hard for 3 hours in the heat and then took it to the course for a full 18.  Hit it pretty well, but lost some steam and got on a bogey train on the back.  4,608 remain. Random Stat: Shot another 80: 40/40.

July 29: Finally a full practice day!  It felt good, I went out with a lot of long awaited goals and got back into a routine.  Practiced all clubs and distances from short putts to drives over a 4 hours period and then practiced on the course for 9 holes.  Great day.  4,613 remain. Random Stat: shot a 39 on the front with one birdie and a few pulled putts from trying a new forward press putting stroke.

July 27-28, 2014:  Camped for two nights and then went straight to the course from the campsite on the 28th to warm up and play 18.  I hit it well and was actually surprised at how good my driver striking was.  4,618 remain. Random Stat: shot a 78 from the blue tees.

July 26: Had a camping trip planned but before heading out of town I went to Riverside and played 18 early morning holes.  Hit it okay, but I am looking forward to getting back to practice and having a lesson soon after the camping trip (which was planned a while ago and happened to be just after the Oz trip). 4,620 remain. Random Stat: shot 40/40 for an 80.

July 25: To get back in the saddle I went to Riverside and hit balls for an hour and then played 18 practice holes by myself.  Just dropped balls here and there and worked on getting my swing back after a very long journey home.  It was a great day and I hit it well all jet lag considered.  4,623 remain. Random Stat: Hit a couple of birdies and a few errant shots.

July 8-24, 2014:  I have to total these up as a group as I was in Australia for this time period and the schedule was kind of whacky and it’s easier to do it as a group rather than try and break every day down.  That said, I traveled for two days (time change), and then played 5 rounds in Sydney as well as spent 2 hours at Pure Performance working on my swing.  Those total 12 hours of counted practice and unfortunately I did not get much more than 2 hours of other practice in during that period, so 14 hours in Sydney.  Next I went to the Gold Coast and played 4 rounds plus just 2 hours of practice for a total of 10 hours and then filmed three episodes of a show and on those days got just 2 total hours of practice.  I learned a lot during the trip but had minimal hours towards my goal.  26 hours in total over the two weeks.  4,626 remain. Random Stat: Hit it well at first but slowly lost the swing over the trip, made me realize that I need and want to travel on different terms in the future where golf course access is available often.

July 7: Last day in the States before the big trip.  Practiced for two hours in the morning and then went out and played 9 holes before hitting the putting green and chipping area for two hours in the afternoon.  Then off to pack!  4,652 remain. Random Stat: shot two over for the 9 holes.

July 6, 2014:  Much better today.  I had a PlayBox and swing feel that was working and despite a couple of 3-putts I played the front pretty well.  On the back I was solid except for a couple of shots.  Much better than yesterday and I realized some good things with my driver swing that I can pull from down the road.  I learned a ton from this two-day tourney and am going to keep on learning. I feel in control of things through just paying attention to my actual swings instead of results.  4,657 remain. Random Stat: doubled 18 to shoot 82 on the day.

July 5:  Got off to a horrible start at the Portland City Championship and could not find a reliable swing thought/feel for the entire front 9.  I had a triple, a double and zero pars on that side.  It was strange, but no matter what I tried I could not find any decent shots.  I did have a breakthrough with my putting and chipping and kept that going, which is huge in the long run.  4,761 remain. Random Stat: shot a 48-40 for a dismal 88.

July 4, 2014:  Worked on the range and chipping area for an hour and then played a round at Riveside.  I hit it very well and shot a 76 so want to keep that momentum for the weekend.  4,765 remain. Random Stat: Everything feels solid and ready to go.

July 3: Had a morning call with K Anders Ericsson and stopped by BirdieFinish golf to have my 9-iron re-shafted as it somehow broke during the drive to Denver.  After, I went to Eastmoreland golf course to play a practice round before this weekend’s City Championship. I checked out all corners of the greens and am pretty much as ready as can be for the tourney.  4,768 remain. Random Stat: I was in the 90s last time I played in this weekend’s tourney so hope to beat that.

July 2: Back in Portland and ready to work on that mental game and play boxes.  I practiced at Riverside for three hours and then went out and worked on the course for two more.  I am already finding new things that work for me and am excited to be out there again!  4,771 remain. Random Stat: “feels” seem to make a huge difference even when not connected at all with the swing. For example, having a loose jaw gives me more power in the driver.

June 30-July 1, 2014: Drove back to Portland.

June 28-29:  Two day Vision54 class.  It was amazing and just what I needed!  I wrote a blog about the experience as it’s too much to not share.  Check it out, it is going to help me a ton, I am certain of it.  In total, I practiced and learned how to better practice for about 12 hours over the two days.  4,776 remain. Random Stat:  Mental game is my new favorite game.

June 25-27:  Drove to Denver for two days and then had a day off to celebrate my birthday.

June 24: Last day before heading to Denver for a Vision54 course.  I hit balls for a while at Riverside and then played 9.  My morale is pretty much at an all time low right now.  I just can’t get excited about the good shots and am completely focussing on the bad ones.  4,788 remain. Random Stat: I need a big boost right now.

June 23: Played in the Heron Lakes summer match play today.  My first opponent was also a 3 handicap so we played straight up.  I hit it pretty decent, but he was solid having 3 bogeys and 3 birdies on the day. Was a good match, but I needed to capitalize on a couple close birdie putts to make it a really good match.  4,791 remain. Random Stat: he won 3 and 2.

June 21, 2014: Spent June 21-22 on the road caddying for my friend Eric.  I didn’t hit many balls but tried my best to help him.  It was a good learning experience but I can’t realistically say that I got any practice in.

June 20:  Hit balls at Riverside but then it closed for a corporate tournament so I went to Heron to play 18 with some guys.  Afterwords had to head home and do some work before leaving for Lincoln City tomorrow to caddy for Eric. 4,794 remain. Random Stat: shot a 78 on the great blue from the blues with 6 over on the last 4 holes.

June 19, 2014: Warmed up and played the regular Thursday game. Beforehand a guy pointed out that my putting was all wonky alignment wise and I knew it was off but when I stepped back to check my alignment I saw it had gotten really off.  I didn’t make any putts, but then afterwords worked on my putting until I got it back on line and then also spent an hour on the range working on my irons as they have been both left and right lately. 4,797 remain. Random Stat: Shot 81 in the Thursday game.

June 18:  Riverside was closed for a tourney so I went over to Columbia and utilized their facilities for a couple of hours before playing 18 out there.  I miss that course, it was in such amazing shape and the range was awesome. 4,802 remain. Random Stat: shot a 78 from the blue tees.

June 17: I worked on the game at Riverside for 3 hours and then went to Heron to play in the summer match play round one.  I hit it pretty well in the match, but the guy I was playing with shot even par and won it on the 17th hole. 4,806 remain. Random Stat: I can’t sink a putt to save my life.

June 16, 2014:   I went to Riverside and worked on short game for an hour and then it started raining harder than I have ever seen it rain here.  Rest of the day was a wash. 4,811 remain. Random Stat: I created a new 40 yard shot that seems to work every single time.

June 15:  Took the day off to hang out with friends and family.  It had been a while since I had a day off and it felt good.

June 14:  I had a double whammy today.  Played in the Riverside Saturday game at 9 am and then went to Heron to play an afternoon round out there.  Lots of holes and a beautiful day. 4,812 remain. Random Stat: not even sure what I shot, whatever they posted.  I paid very little attention to score today.

June 13, 2014: For some reason one more tourney round sounded good to me today despite the recent hardships on the course.  I played in a memorial event at Rose City and hit it well through about 12 holes and then lost some shots and my swing got a bit askew.  I shot an 81, but after an even-through-11 start.  4,816 remain. Random Stat: 76 won it and I had a shot at that but let it slip.

June 12: The US Open day at Riverside.  Played in the 4-man game and they had the pins in tougher places, but the greens are still pretty slow (at least compared to Royal which are way faster than Riverside) and so it was pretty easy to make some putts.  I hit the driver awful, but scrambled all day to pull out a better-than-I-could-have-shot score. 4,818 remain. Random Stat: shot an 80 from the tips.

June 11, 2014: Played 9 at Riverside in the morning and hit the range.  I hit it well on the range and was hitting it pretty good for the 9, but am still not really scoring.  I’m not sure what I need to do, but think this is just a rough patch that is about to pass and I will continue to push until the light is evident.  4,822 remain. Random Stat: shot 40 for the 9.

June 10: Worked on the range for an hour and then decided to go play 18 after my chipping and putting on the practice green was pretty solid.  I needed some confidence back after the last week of missed tourneys.  But, the dismal play is continuing.  4,826 remain. Random Stat: shot an 86 from the blues at Riverside.

June 9: Was going to take the day off after what happened yesterday, but decided I wanted to get back on that horse so went out and hit balls for an hour at Riverside and followed that with 9 holes and then some afternoon short game practice for an hour. 4,830 remain. Random Stat: still not scoring well, was 6 over for 9.

June 6-8, 2014:  Played in the three day Royal Oaks Invitational Tournament and was enlightened to the current state of my game.  I could not, for the life of me, get the ball in the hole.  I actually hit it way better than I thought I would, but had 40 putts per day and my short game was abysmal for the entire weekend.  I couldn’t read the greens, never got a feel for the pace and the short game killed me leading to the very high scores of 88-87-88.  All three days were about 5 strokes more than what I was hoping to score.  Each day is worth 3 hours of practice as it was an enlightening tourney. 4,834 remain. Random Stat: Next year I will have a caddy or a better system for reading greens as well as figure out a way to learn the pace of those amazing greens.

June 5: Was going to just practice hitting hybrids and 3-woods off of tees for tomorrow’s tourney, but got asked to play the Thursday game and decided to work on those shots in real scenarios so played 18.  After that I worked the range for two hours to get ready for the weekend.  I’m ready.  4,843 remain. Random Stat: shot a 77 at Riverside.

June 4, 2014: I got into the Royal Oaks Invitational Tournament this weekend so after hitting balls at Riverside for an hour I went to Royal for a practice round.  Afterwords I practiced putting out there for a while, those greens are faster than anything I have played on this year.  4,847 remain. Random Stat: shot a 79 for the practice round and made some solid putts.

June 3, 2014:  Went out to warm up at Riverside and played a few holes to get my head screwed on right.  Then I headed down to Stone Creek and hit balls for 30 minutes, bunker shots, short game and made enough putts. I was ready to go.  Played the first hole well despite nerves: birdie, the rest is on the blog.  4,851 remain. Random Stat: shot an 86 and missed the cut.

May 29, 2014: One final round before picking up my parents and taking the next few days off before the Oregon Am qualifier.  I hit it well and started making some putts.  I am ready, although am a bit nervous about taking this much time off…  4,855 remain. Random Stat: shot a 79 at Riverside.

May 28:  Practiced short game for three hours in the morning and then took some visiting guests out to a waterfall in the gorge.  Was good to get away a bit, but there is also so much to work on right now.  Balancing act.  4,859 remain. Random Stat: putting is getting back on line!

May 27, 2014:  Practiced on the course until I hit good shots, made putts comfortably and started hitting the driver well again.  I want to end this week confident before taking four days off with family in town immediately before the Oregon Am qualifier next Tuesday. 4,862 remain. Random Stat: figured out tempo was the downfall of my irons and I need to be more balanced for my tee shots. Also, my left arm needs to feel close to my body during putts.

May 26: Practiced on the course for a while then on the driving range and putting green for a couple of hours.  Afterwords I had two friends fly in from Denver for a visit so spent some time with my guests that I had not seen in a couple of years.  Not hitting the ball terribly well right now. 4,866 remain. Random Stat: All of a sudden my irons are missing both left and right.

May 25: Played 18 at Riverside early morning and then went over and practiced for an hour at Heron before playing an afternoon 18.  Warmed up late and hit it pretty well at the end of the day, but had a bad slow start to the first round where I couldn’t seem to get anything in the hole. Just a lot of ways to bogey holes. 4,869 remain. Random Stat: shot 84 at Riverside and then 77 at Heron on the Great Blue

May 23-24:  Took two days off to recoup and spend some time with Mary.  We don’t every have a “weekend” together and took our first one of those in at least a year.

May 22, 2014:  Was going to play in the Thursday game at Riverside but it was a 2-man net best ball or something like that and I didn’t feel like playing a partner game so just went out to shoot a decent score on my own.  Hit it really well and outside of a few little mistakes was solid all day.  After I practiced short game and bunkers for two hours.  4,874 remain. Random Stat: shot a 76 from the black tees

May 21:  Riverside was closed again so I went and played a round at Oswego Lake.  Hilly and fun, I hit it well on the front then lost some steam on the back with a couple of double bogeys. Beautiful day all around and afterwords I practiced chipping and putting for an hour. The greens at Oswego were faster than anything I have played yet this year. 4,878 remain. Random Stat: shot a 79 from the tips.

May 20, 2014: Had a full day interview by CNN that included a lot of hitting balls but not much practice.  I did get an hour lesson in in the middle of the filming which was great. 4,882 remain. Random Stat: I am completely relaxed in an interview now. 100 percent so.

May 19: Practiced at Rose City for a while then played 18 holes.  The front was a mess but I played the back at even par which was the first time I’ve done that on that track. Afterwords I went to Riverside and practiced for an hour then played 9 more holes where I got my first eagle of the year.  4,883 remain. Random Stat: shot 78 at Rose then 34 on the back 9 of Riverside.

May 18: Just played some holes at Heron. It was super rainy and windy so didn’t get much work in, but had some good realizations on the course. 4,887 remain. Random Stat: ball striking with the driver is really coming along

May 17, 2014: There is a two-day tournament at Riverside this weekend so I avoided that place as it was just packed with people.  Went out to Heron and practiced putting for an hour where I had a lot of great realizations then went and worked on the course for 9 holes followed by range time and another 9 on the course.  4,889 remain. Random Stat: shot just 2 over for each 9.

May 16, 2014:  Practiced short game and some ball striking at Riverside then went to Heron for a round and followed that with about 2 hours of putting drills on the Heron perfect greens.  It was a good day, but I’m struggling some with my putting and can’t seem to find the stroke.  By the end of my putting practice, though, I was onto some things that I had forgotten and started making some again. 4,893 remain. Random Stat: shot a 76 with 34 putts.

May 15, 2014: The range was finally on grass so I worked on that for an hour before playing in the regular Thursday game and followed that with some more range work at Riverside.  The course is closed this weekend so I probably won’t play there until early next week.  4,899 remain. Random Stat: shot a 79 from the blacks even though I was just one over through 11.

May 14, 2014: It was Mary’s birthday today so I had a window to play 18 holes in the middle of the day and took the rest of the day off to hang out with her.  4,903 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 77 from the blacks.

May 13, 2014: Went out to Stone Creek after a good morning meeting and played a typical practice round to check out the course before the Oregon Am qualifier in a couple of weeks.  I’ve only played that track once so needed to hit some different approach shots to the greens and make some notes on how things break and where to miss and not miss.  It was a beauty of a day and I’m excited for the competition soon.  4,905 remain. Random Stat: didn’t really keep score, but found out the bunkers out there are totally different so I need to practice in that type of sand for at least an hour before the tourney.

May 12, 2014: Had a round planned with a blog reader today and was feeling much better so went out and teed it up with someone new at a course I had never played.  It was Persimmon in Gresham and it was a hilly walk for someone just getting their legs back under them from the weekend.  I hit it well and we had fun despite a two club wind that on four occasions blew my hat off it was so strong. I was getting pretty beat by the end, but still finished pretty strong.  4,908 remain. Random Stat: shot a 77 with two balls blown OB from being down wind.

May 11, 2014:  Slowly worked back into it today.  Played about 12 holes and then basically walked for the rest of a round with some guys.  My energy level is not quite there yet.  4,911 remain. Random Stat: it takes more umph than I had to put good hits on that many shots right after a bout with the flu

May 9-10:  Took two days off, had the flu and needed the rest.

May 8, 2014: Played in the Players Championship 4 team game at Riverside today.  Warmed up for a bit and then hit it.  I was not feeling well at all and took plenty of cold medicine to keep my head from exploding through the round. Caught a cold somewhere. Hit it okay, but need to work on putting as I missed out on some chances. Also need to improve chipping for better up and downs. 4,912 remain. Random Stat: our team got first net and second gross and I think we might have gotten 3 of the 4 kp awards.

May 7, 2014: Had a morning lesson with Bruce for two hours then went and worked on what he suggested before taking it to the course and working on course.  A lot of what he wants me to do this week is find my either waggle or forward press, something to keep my hands out of the take-away. 4,915 remain. Random Stat: changing your take-away is much harder than it would seem to be.

May 6, 2014: Grass range at Riverside so I practiced on that for an hour and then chipped and putted for an hour before playing 18 on sanded greens.  Afterwords I played another 9 holes and then stuck around for more putting practice. 4,920 remain. Random Stat: Shot 11 over for 27 holes.

May 5, 2014: Had the middle of the day wide open so I decided to work on short game aspects for 3 hours and then range work for a solid hour. After that I had come to some great realizations with my hitting and wanted to let it simmer in the brain for the rest of the day, also had to pick someone up and take care of some Monday errands.  4,925 remain. Random Stat: Putting is going askew

May 4, 2014:  Was an easier day as my shoulder is still bugging me a bit so instead of a bunch of swing practice I just played a round at Heron.  I hit it well but didn’t drop a single putt.  Time for putting practice.  4,929 remain. Random Stat: shot a 78 but can’t post it as it poured on a couple of holes creating conditions that did not allow putts so we all just took two putts instead of finishing out, there was a river on the green.

May 3:  Two man best ball tournament at The Reserve South course today. It was a fun event and we played okay, but at the end both doubled a hole which pretty much knocked us out.  Also, the greens were punched and for some reason we didn’t make a putt over about 2 feet all day. Lots of good shots were made, but it wasn’t a day where everything (or anything) dropped. 4,931 remain. Random Stat: we only had one birdie between us and shot somewhere around 3 or 4 over gross as a team.

May 2:  Shoulder bugging me so I just chipped and putted for 2 hours. 4,934 remain. Random Stat: need to ice this shoulder, it’s feeling crunchy.

May 1, 2014:  Warmed up at Riverside and then played in the regular Thursday game.  I was feeling pretty good and it was the warmest day of the year to date so I kept at it and played another 18 then practiced some putting.  Very great day out there.  4,936 remain. Random Stat: shot a 78 from the blues and then a 75 from the blacks.

April 30, 2014:  Had a morning meeting and a few phone calls that kept me wrapped up until about 11:30 then went out to Heron to play a round at 12:30.  Warmed up before and wanted to practice after, but the recent landing of sunshine made it a particularly long round and I ended up having to split after.  Didn’t hit it great, but was hitting the driver better and that was the goal. 4,942 remain. Random Stat: lost 4 and 3 to Eric.

April 29:  Went out to Langdon an hour before my lesson to practice and warm up then had a 2.5 hour lesson with Bruce where we found some great things for me to work on.  Afterwords I went to Riverside to practice on the course for a bit.  Great day all in all. 4,945 remain. Random Stat: need to not sag my rear leg in the backswing.

April 28: Course was closed for a tournament so I went to Oswego Lake to play a round.  I hit it well, but there was no food on the course as everything was closed and I arrived hungry so by about the 14th hole I really ran out of steam.  Was just 3 over through 13 and ended up shooting 79 on the track.  4,950 remain. Random Stat: shot that 79

April 26, 2014:  Back in Portland.  I went out to play a morning round at Riverside and got a 10am time.  I was wanting to play in about 4 hours as I also had some other things to take care of after a short trip east, but after taking more than 2.5 hours to make the turn I decided to head home.  Not sure why, but Riverside has been a tough place to try and play lately.  4,953 remain. Random Stat: Was 5 over at the turn and not enjoying waiting 10 minutes on every shot.

April 25, 2014:  One final round in Atlanta before flying back west.  This time was at Capitol City Club in Brookhaven. It was another incredible course that I was lucky to get a chance to play.  I started rough with bogeys on 6 of the first 7 holes, including one double, and then got it together and finally started hitting the ball well.  It took three days, but I put together one decent round before heading home. I think a lot of it was about both relaxing and understanding better how to hit/chip out of bermuda rough.  Great trip east!  4,955 remain. Random Stat: shot a 76.

April 24, 2014: Played in the charity tournament today.  It was at Peachtree Golf Club, which was the most amazing course I have played to date.  The aesthetic is incredibly magical and the greens were way different than anything I have had the privilege of playing to date.   I had some good holes, but found myself in the wrong place on so many different occasions that I didn’t come close to scoring well there.  It was the type of track that you need to play once before knowing how to play it.  4,958 remain. Random Stat: shot another 90 from not hitting it well and when I did hit it well not reading the greens right.

April 23, 2014:  Had a round scheduled at East Lake with my host for the trip.  We were going to tee it at 3pm but I got there at noon to eat lunch, check out the clubhouse and then use the practice facilities.  It was a great course and a lot of fun.  I didn’t hit it well off the tee (really bad, actually) and was punching out on most holes which killed any chance for scoring.  The course really wasn’t that tough from the black tees as long as you had a decent drive.  I want to go back and hit the driver well there.  4,961 remain. Random Stat: shot a 90 due to a handful of OB drives and other big misses with that stick.

April 22, 2014:  Flew to Atlanta to play in a charity tournament with a group of guys.

April 21, 2014:  Had an interview with NPR in the morning then hit balls at Riverside for an hour before heading back to Heron to play with a friend.  Hit it well, but didn’t make any putts as I had yesterday.  Still, an easy solid round.  4,965 remain. Random Stat: shot a 74 on the greenback course.

April 20, 2014: Easter Sunday, hid some eggs and did an easter egg hunt in the morning and then made it for a round at 1pm at Heron Lakes.  I didn’t warm up and just went for it and played what started as a pretty decent round then got better as the day went along.  I managed to get in a decent position with my tee shots then either hit greens or be close to them and scrambled well.  All in all shot the best round to date and was very happy about it.  4,968 remain. Random Stat: shot a 70 to finally break par!

April 19, 2014:  Played in the regular Saturday specifically to work on the driver swing with some pressure context.  I hit it well, but didn’t putt great on the sanded punched greens and had a slew of bogeys on the front during a pretty heavy rain/wind spell.  Good things are on the horizon and despite no birdies I had a decent score.  4,970 remain. Random Stat: shot a 77 from the whites.

April 18, 2014:  Worked on the range for an hour at Riverside with a couple of different shafts in one specific driver head and then headed over to Heron lakes to play with Eric. The course got switched last minute and then we ended up joining a two some on the back instead of playing from one and my goal of being mentally prepared had to take a back seat.  The first few holes were no good as I got frazzled and my focus was on something completely different but I got the swing down after that and hit some good shots. 4,973 remain. Random Stat: shot 6 over on the one 9 we played then we switched courses and I shot 1 over on that 9.

April 17, 2014:  Another big driver day.  Tried out a few different ones at Riverside then hit them on the range for about 2 hours followed by 9 holes and then another hour of driver time.  My body was pretty worn out by the end of it all.  4,976 remain. Random Stat: I think I’m on to some swing feels which is a surprising benefit of trying new sticks.

April 16, 2014:  After a morning meeting and phone call meeting I continued the driver work on the range at Riverside and after about an hour of swinging it I decided to play 9 holes to see what was going on on the course.  Hit it pretty well and really only had one bad hole which was a par 3.  Afterwords I hit drivers for another hour until I could tell I was getting physically worn down so decided to stop for the day. 4,980 remain. Random Stat: shot 2 over for the 9 holes.

April 15, 2014: hit balls for an hour at Riverside then went to Heron Lakes to play 18 which turned into an extra 9 holes as we played 18 in about 2.5 hours.  Was a great day to work on tee shots, but I couldn’t quite find what I had found the day before.  It’s there, though, and when I did connect well it was much deeper down the fairway. 4,983 remain. Random Stat: Was 11 over for the 27 holes in total.

April 14, 2014: Decided to try out some new and different drivers so went to Redtail to hit different sticks for about two hours.  Someone eventually needed my spot and I hadn’t quite made up my mind driver-wise so I went to Riverside to try some different ones out and after a narrowing it down I went out and played 9 with one in particular.  4,987 remain. Random Stat: didn’t get it in the air very high, but the driver was going deep: 290 yards.

April 13, 2014:  Wanted to work on the course with the driver so went out and played 18 with a regular group of Sunday guys.  I decided to hit the new TaylorMade SLDR for the round to see what that was like.  Warmed up for an hour working with the driver and then played the 18. Started off with two doubles and a 45 on the front where I didn’t hit a fairway and continued the drought.  Warmed up and hit it better on the back. 4,991 remain. Random Stat: shot a funny two sides:  45 on front 35 on back.

April 12, 2014:  Played in a NW Golfguys tourney at Langdon Farms.  Didn’t hit it nearly as well today as I did in the Riverside event two days ago and didn’t putt as well so shot a bit higher of a score.  Still kept it in the 70s despite hitting just a couple of fairways.  Tough driving week, or perhaps past year. 4,994 remain. Random Stat: shot a 78 with just one birdie and 3 doubles.

April 11, 2014:  Was pretty tired for some reason today, but wanted to get to the course and try some things out.  I showed up and practiced chipping and bunker shots for an hour, but didn’t want to hit off the mats as my shoulder bugs me if I do that too often and the greens were punched so putting practice was out so I played a very quick 18 and then called it a day. I didn’t keep score as I dropped random balls and hit it from different locations throughout the round.  4,997 remain. Random Stat: Still missing every fairway.

April 10, 2014:  Both the 4 year anniversary and the 5k mark on the same day.  Totally random and excellently cool to have happen.  It also happened to be the opening day of the Masters today, too.  Good coincidence.  To celebrate the milestone I played in the Riverside Masters tournament.  It was a field of about 88 golfers from plus handicaps to high handicaps and the pins were in pretty hard spots on every green.  I hit it well and enjoyed the day.  5,000 remain. Random Stat:  Shot a 75 which was good for third place.  73 won the event and there was one 74.  I also placed second net with a 69.  Here’s to the 5k to come!

April 8, 2014: Signed up at Bend Country Club to play with a group of guys I teed it with last time I was in town here.  Had a fun round, although was completely exhausted for some reason from the very beginning and didn’t hit it well at all.  Missed most of par 3s long as the ball was flying an unbelievable distance at this elevation, hit a 7-iron about 200 yards and it was hard to adjust to that. The greens were tough to read too.  5,002 remain. Random Stat: shot about an 85 with two birdies.

April 7, 2014:  Drove down to Salem on the way to Bend and stopped to play the Salem Golf Club.  It’s an older course that’s pretty short but with tight fairways and fair greens.  I hit it pretty well, although had a few silly errors on the front, perhaps one or two from not knowing the course well.  5,004 remain. Random Stat: shot a 76 from the back tees.

April 6, 2014: An epic two round day where Eric and I met for 18 at Broadmoor in the morning and then decided to head to Heron for an afternoon 18.  Hit the ball well all day, but didn’t drop any putts.  Broadmoor it was because the greens were punched and sanded, then at Heron was on a lip-out train.  5,006 remain. Random Stat: shot a 78 at Broadmoor and a 77 at Heron.

April 5, 2014:  Had a nice morning catching up on some non-golf aspects of life/work and then went to join a friend for 18 with his son at Riverside.  Was a good day to just enjoy a round and try to make some decent shots.  I hit it pretty good, but need to work on not pulling my irons somewhat.  5,010 remain. Random Stat: shot a 78 at Riverside.

April 4, 2014:  Went out to Heron and ran into about 20 people I know who were playing in a little pre-wedding tourney.  I saw them as the groups were making the turn and decided to hop in a group for the back 9. Hit it well and then decided to play another 9 which turned into a full 18.  Great day all in all and good to see some of the folks to there after a long time away. 5,012 remain. Random Stat: shot 3 over for the first 9 and then a 74 on the 18.

April 3, 2014:  Started to play a round at Riverside, but just wasn’t feeling it and after a few holes totally checked out.  My energy would be better spent somewhere else today.  These things happen.

April 2, 2014: Headed to Riverside to try out some Portland bent grass golf after a couple of weeks near the coast on bermuda.  It was a great day out so after an hour of hitting on the range (mats, really tired of hitting off of them and my body is not liking it, especially my lead shoulder) I joined in with a few people I had never played with before and teed it up for a few holes.  Afterwords I worked on some chipping and putting for a while.  5,015 remain. Random Stat: Was hitting way more fairways.

April 1, 2014:  Hung out with the parents for my last morning in Hilton Head then flew back to Portland.

March 31, 2014:  Played a final Hilton Head round today at Berkley Hall with a sports psychologist. He had a few great pointers for me to focus on with the driver; in particular to focus externally on a specific target and not focus so much on internal swing feelings. It worked well and I will continue to work on it and explore better ways to successfully hit that little ball. Back to Portland tomorrow.  5,018 remain. Random Stat: didn’t keep score, instead worked on course management and focus areas.

March 30, 2014:  Met a blog reader at Crosswinds Golf Course near the Savannah airport and we played 18 and then played the par 3 course there. Today was literally the worst round I have ever played and I’m just not sure what was going on.  I’m going to do my best to just forget it as I was topping balls, slicing, hooking, hitting off the toe, etc.  Everything that could have gone wrong did.  Luckily, tomorrow is a new day.  5,020 remain. Random Stat: shot and ESC 96 and a straight up 101, which I think is the second time in my life shooting 100 or higher.

March 29, 2014: Met my dad’s cousin at Eagle’s Point or a round in the morning.  I warmed up for a few minutes and then we went out.  I birdied the first hole, but after that hit both my driver and 3-wood so terribly I didn’t come close to another fairway.  I could actually manage to get the 3-wood pretty close, but the driver was horrible.  5,023 remain. Random Stat: I shot an 81 due to a lot of scrambling and punching out.

March 28, 2014: Had lunch with a mental coach and then decided to practice chipping and putting at a local public course.  I realized they had cheap twilight rates so went out and played about 19 random holes until the sun was close to setting.  5,025 remain. Random Stat: Driver is not near my favorite stick right now.

March 27, 2014: Had an early morning round at Palmetto Dunes (see blog about this day) and afterwords I decided to play another round on a different course out there.  A great day of golf all around and I’m definitely tired at the end of it, mostly from being in the sun for 10 hours.  5,028 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 78 on the first round and an 80 on the second.

March 26: Went fishing.  Didn’t catch much, I don’t think the water is quite warm enough.

March 25, 2014:  Practice day followed with 9 holes at Pinecrest.  I hit balls and worked the short game for three hours then played a very quick 9 holes out there in 30mph winds.  It might have been the windiest 9 holes I have ever played in as it was gusty on top of that and on one shot I had to hit a 3-hybrid just to get the ball 150 yards to the green.  5,033 remain. Random Stat: Had one birdie and a couple windy errant drives.

March 24, 2014:  Met my dad’s cousin at Pinecrest golf club to play 18.  Showed up early and practiced for an hour then played the fun course.  It was quite a challenge off the tee and I hit about 4 tee shots in water, but had some good holes and had a good time all around.  5,037 remain. Random Stat: shot an 81 from the blue tees.

March 23, 2014:  Was pretty beat after a long few days so took it easy in the morning and then went out to find a close by practice spot.  I made it to a course down the street that had a decent putting green for putts and chips and a range to hit some balls at.  Spent three hours mostly working on figuring out Bermuda grass and then hit balls for a while to groove my swing after a few days of just playing. 5,040 remain. Random Stat: It was $50 to play super twilight when I could just get in about 7-8 holes so skipped playing for the day.

March 22, 2014:  Presentations in the morning and then the individual competition day.  I wanted revenge on the course and we happened to be playing Panther Lakes again.  The round started off slow with a 3-putt bogey on the first hole and a bogey on the third, but ended on a better note.  I hit it significantly better today, but still struggled with the Bermuda Greens having 35 putts on the day.  5,043 remain. Random Stat: shot a 76 and was the medalist in the group this year.

March 21:  I presented to the group on the morning and then listened to a few other presentations.  Afterwords we all went out for a team game on the Panther Lakes golf course.  I had a very off day and couldn’t do anything right so I kind of let my team down, but one of the guys playing in our foursome had the best round of his life, which was quite fun to watch.  5,046 remain. Random Stat: I shot an 86 on this course due to a boat load of things being off.

March 20, 2014:  Drove to Orlando to meet up with a a group of people who gather once a year to present their human performance based research and golf for a few days. This year’s event was at Orange County National and today I got to play the Crooked Cat course and the tooth par 3 course.  It was a VERY early morning, especially for someone still on west coast time.  5,048 remain. Random Stat: shot an 80 on the Crooked Cat course after falling apart on the last couple holes from being overly tired then shot even par on the par 3 course.

March 18-19, 2014:  All day flight to Hilton Head then a day with the family.

March 17, 2014:  Went out to work on putting and chipping for a couple of hours then got in an afternoon 18 at Riverside where I hit a couple balls from different locations to work on uphill and downhill lies as well as moving the ball different directions.  Afterwords went home to pack up for tomorrow’s trip.  5,052 remain. Random Stat: Was hitting my irons better, hope to keep some positive momentum into this next weekend.

March 16, 2014:  Day two of the scramble began better with a long putt birdie on the first hole, but the team didn’t get another one for 6 more holes as we, again, were not making putts.  It’s not that we didn’t have plenty of chances, just kept splitting the cup and lipping on both sides. Just one of those weekend.  Today we played better, but still were far out of the hunt. 5,056 remain. Random Stat: shot 4 under for the day.

March 15, 2014:  Played in a two-day three-man scramble starting today. It was an 8:30 shotgun start so I got there in time to warm up and then play the 5.5 hour round.  Afterwords it was time to go home and get ready for tomorrow.  We hit the ball well, but as a team could not get any putts to drop.  All three of us are good putters, just wasn’t happening today.  5,058 remain. Random Stat: we shot just 3 under for the day.

March 14, 2014:  For some reason I was exceptionally physically tired today.  I had agreed to play a round so showed up and hit the ball along side my playing partners, but didn’t do a great job finishing my swing or making solid putts.  Just kind of slapped it around for a below average round.  In retrospect today should have been a day off.  5,060 remain. Random Stat: shot an 82 from the blues at Heron Lakes.

March 13: Practiced swings and putting for two hours then played 18 in the Thursday game at Riverside.  It was a two man stableford and I teamed up with a buddy I hadn’t seen in a while.  We played well, but I’m not sure how we held up compared to the field; will know soon, but it’s a regular game through the season and points add up.  Every week is a different format so it’s a good way to get some tourney like experience.  5,062 remain. Random Stat: I shot a 77 with one bird and one double and a few bogeys.

March 12:  Drove straight from Bend, OR to Heron Lakes and made it about 2 minutes before a tee time with Eric and the head pro, who played just the front with us.  Shot surprisingly well considering I had just spent 3.5 hours in the car.  I didn’t really hit the ball too great, but managed to make decent scores on most of the holes.  5,066 remain. Random Stat: Made just a few bogeys and two birdies to shoot a 74 on the Great Blue course.

March 11, 2014:  Played the Bend Country Club for the first time.  It was actually my first round playing in Central Oregon and took a while getting used to hitting the ball noticeably farther than I do down in the valley at sea level.  Met up with a group of regulars there who told me some places to hit and where not to miss.  I drove the ball well, but didn’t seem to hit a solid iron shot all day leading to a lot of strangely positioned chips to the green. 5,068 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 81 from the blue tees, could have been better if those pesky irons had been working.

March 10, 2014:  Went down to Salem, OR on my way to Bend and played the McNary Golf course there with a member.  We chatted most of the round and didn’t really pay much attention to score, it was mostly just a day off and a new course to walk through.  Not sure what I shot, but it was somewhere between 79 and 82. 5,070 remain. Random Stat: it was so muddy after the rains that balls were getting lost in the fairways.

March 9, 2014:  Went back out to Heron today and warmed up with some chipping and putting then worked on the swing for about 3 hours.  Good solid day and I was making some progress on what Bruce wants me to do shoulder turn wise.  5,072 remain. Random Stat: went out afterwords and played 9 and shot one over from the whites.

March 8, 2014:  Wasn’t really planning on playing today, but got called in the morning and decided to give it a go. Started off really well, best to date actually, with 4 birdies in a row and a 33 on the front which is my best 9 holes score to date.  Held it together through 14 holes, then dropped one in the water on a par 3 for a double, had a silly double on the next two holes and then hit my drive in the water on 18 to end up being 5 over on the last four holes.  Then played another 9 and shot one over.  5,076 remain. Random Stat: shot a 75 for the first 18.

March 7, 2014:  Had a morning lesson at Langdon with Bruce where he showed me a couple of ways in which I had reverted a bit in the past 6 weeks and gave me some things to work on, then went up to Heron and chipped and putted for a while before playing 27 holes as the weather was finally sunny and nice.  5,080 remain. Random Stat: shot a 78 for the first 18 and then 3 over on the final 9.  I was just one over through 13 holes, but then had my shot on the par 3 get caught in the wind and land in the water, ended up doubling that hole and bogeying the next 3.  Poor finish, but hit it very well all in all.

March 6, 2014:  I went up to Riverside to work on some stuff, but overnight the winds were so strong the rain shelter was literally blown to pieces.  It was very windy and rainy and honestly I did not feel like standing in a storm to hit balls as I was pretty tired for some reason anyway, so watched the WGC golf for a bit then took care of errands.

March 5, 2014:  Rains, a ton of rain.  I was a bit disappointed with how wet and soggy everything was as I wanted to get out on the course, but instead spent three hours on the driving range and figured out a few things about my irons based on the takeaway.  It was a surprisingly good day of practice.  Couldn’t really chip or putt as there was a lot of standing water on the greens, but glad I got in full swing work.  5,085 remain. Random Stat: it’s all about the takeaway and tempo for me right now.

March 4, 2014: Work on the range at Riverside for a little over an hour and couldn’t get much going for some reason.  I was hoping to ride the ball striking wave of yesterday, but alas, golf is golf and you can’t control everything.  I then went to Heron and played 18 with Eric and the head pro there.  It was a total scramble for me and I hit nary a solid shot.  5,088 remain. Random Stat: shot an 82 on the Great blue course with 3 doubles and 3 lost balls.

March 3, 2014: First full round of the season today.  I warmed up and practiced iron shots for about an hour then was the first person off after an OGA Pro-Am (which I didn’t know about but wish I had been able to play in it).  I played from the same tees and after the 100 or so golfers went through in front of me the greens were pretty trampled.  But, I hit it very well today and had a ton of birdie chances, non of which fell..  5,092 remain. Random Stat: shot a 77 for my first post-able round of the season.

March 2, 2014:  It was a crummy day and even though I took yesterday off after about two rainy hours on the range and not being able to chip or putt due to standing water on the practice greens I decided to call it a day and watch the end of the Honda Classic in the pro shop.  5,097 remain. Random Stat:  Was surprised at how the leaders somewhat fell apart on the final stretch.

February 28:  36 hole sunny day!  Was great out there today, arrived at the course at 8:30 to warm up then played 36 straight holes.  Had some good ones and some bad ones, but all in all just had 2 double bogeys on the day and hit it pretty solid, although the new iron swing additions are not quite going on the lines I want yet. 5,099 remain. Random Stat: per 9 shot:  43, 39, 41, 39.

February 27: Had a morning interview then went out to the course around 10:30 to work on the swing.  Ran into a group playing the front so joined them for 9 holes then spent a few hours working on chipping, putting and half swings.  5,104 remain. Random Stat: Still struggling with getting my putts on line.

February 26, 2014:  Worked a good full day at Riverside today.  Practiced putting and chipping and range work then played the back nine with some regular guys and followed that up with ball striking drills for an hour then played a two-ball best ball style front 9.  5,109 remain. Random Stat: shot 3 under on 9 holes using two balls and playing from the best shot each time. Hit every green in reg and just missed some makable birdie putts.

February 25, 2014:  Windy!  25mph made it tough to play so I worked on the range for a while and then with putting again. I’m starting to want to explore other putter options as my blade style I think is a little too unforgiving and even a good stroke if not hit perfectly in the center pushes and pulls the ball just a hair too much. I’ve never tried a mallet putter so maybe that will be in the books soon: exploration with putting.  Went out on the course and hit different shots from different distances, but my body was not acting right so I cut practice short after just 3 hours.  5,114 remain. Random Stat: Dropped a one-ball natural birdie on both of the holes I doubled yesterday, which felt good.

February 24:  Got to Riverside right when it opened today at 11 and spent the day there.  Working hard on figuring out what was going on in my putting first and finally realized it was that my shoulders were not making the appropriate turn and I was using too much hands. Then had a great realization with my full swing and how I was holding my left arm back through impact, when I hit it “right” after that I was getting more distance and control, felt good.  Played 18 and followed that up with some more range time.  5,117 remain. Random Stat: shot a personal record 75 on the track with a 41 on the front and 34 back.

February 23:  Played an early round with Eric at Rose City and then had some errands and a meeting to go to in the afternoon.  Started off slump-esque, but then got it together on the back, it’s always hard for me to play that course as there isn’t a range and I don’t seem to find my feel for the first few holes.  5,122 remain. Random Stat: lost the match after going down 5 holes on the front, dug too big of a hole, but ended up 4 down for the loss and shot well on the back: 38

February 22: Went to Riverside and chipped and putted then hit the range for a while before playing a match play round with a friend.  The round went well on the front but lost it for two holes for doubles on both of those, then parred the last 4 holes.  5,125 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 40-40 for an 80 on the day and won the match.

February 21, 2014:  Worked on the iron swing and shortish range putts (7-10 feet) for an hour then played 18 at Riverside followed with a bit more putting practice.  I’m struggling with getting those money putts to drop right now, good at lagging and good with less than 5 feet, but the big saves are just all lipping out and I want them to drop more often to save pars and make birds.  5,130 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 84 after falling apart on the last 4 holes: 7 over for those.

February 20, 2014:  Had a morning meeting with a man helping me with a few different aspects of the project then went up to Riverside to work out the kinks in my current iron swing.  Figured out a few things, namely that I was spinning my head and shoulders through the swing which was causing the club face to cut across the ball.  Then played 9 holes with 3 balls and finished with a bunch of putting practice.  5,135 remain. Random Stat: If I try and actually see under the ball immediately after impact it keeps me from over rotating my top half.

February 19, 2014: Hit balls working on my iron swing for an hour at Riverside then went to CECC to play 18. Before the round I practiced putting for a while and some chipping as the range was closed due to balls plugging in the soaked ground.  The 18 went well, although I had a string of doubles when my swing inexplicably went awry on a few hole.  5,140 remain. Random Stat: Was 3 over on the first 7 on the front and 2 over for the first 6 one the back, the rest was a mystery.

February 18, 2014:  Another day of extreme rain and wind.  I put in two hours at the range, but what I wanted to really focus on was club path, which was hard to know on the mats and with 30-40mph winds cutting across it was also hard to see ball flight well, so called it a day.  5,144 remain. Random Stat: I think the weather will break tomorrow, I haven’t seen this much rain in ages in such a short span.

February 17, 2014:  Ranges were closed due to extreme rain over the past 24 hours, but the sun came out so I went up to Heron to play 18 holes.  We were calling it Heron 10,000 lakes as there was a ton of standing water throughout the fairways.  I didn’t hit it well and my club path is starting to really cut across the ball more and more, tomorrow I will work on fixing that issue.  Still scored okay, but my approaches were not ideal by any means.  5,146 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 78 on the greenback course without a single birdie.

February 16, 2014:  Played 18 at Heron.  Still very windy, but at least it wasn’t a downpour today.  It was hard to get pars due to the wind on approach shots, but all in all I hit it pretty well.  Plugging fairways from yesterdays rains made the round a bit of a mess.  5,149 remain. Random Stat: shot an 81 with a long string of unfortunate bogeys.

February 15, 2014:  Worst type of day to play golf.  30mph winds, around 40 degrees and heavy rains.  I managed to get in 9 holes, but it was just plain awful out and I wasn’t exactly learning anything, just thinking about how nice it would be to warm up the hands. 5,153 remain. Random Stat:  I have no clue what I shot, was just trying to push through.

February 14, 2014: Met up with Eric and we were going to play 18, but kept it going and ended up getting in 30 holes today.  An epic day that started out a bit rough, but began to come together for the back 18. 5,155 remain. Random Stat: We tied our match play round for the last 18 holes.  I think I shot around 12 over for the 30 holes.

February 13, 2014: Hit balls at Riverside for a while to try and figure out what I was doing wrong yesterday.  I then went and played 18 and was nearly shanking balls.  I think my club path has started to really cut across the ball for some reason and I need to get that sorted ASAP.  5,161 remain. Random Stat:  Shot in the mid-80s due mostly to very good putting.

February 12, 2014:  Went to Heron and warmed up then played 27 holes.  It started promising from the realizations from yesterday, but after about 9 holes I lost it for a while and didn’t recover my driver feel until later in the final of the 27 holes.  I need to grove this new feeling as it produces some great drives.  5,165 remain. Random Stat: shot 39/41/37 on the respective 9s.  On the second I hit two balls in the water when I “lost” it giving me a double and triple bogey.

February 11, 2014:  Finally an outdoor range was open and the roads were clear enough to drive today.  I made it up to Riverside and hit balls for four hours.  It was funny, but after five days of not hitting balls today my fingers were raw at the end of my session.  At first I struggled to figure anything out, but by the end I had a great realization out a better way to take the club away that was in line with what Bruce wants me to do. It was a good session.  5,169 remain. Random Stat:  It was so foggy out I couldn’t see where the ball was landing, but it was taking off straight and doing what I wanted for as far as I could see.

February 6-10, 2014:  Snow.  Lots and lots of snow for PDX.  It first came down and covered the streets, then freezing rain landed on top of it making it an icy mess.  Every course in town is closed and may not open until Tuesday or Wednesday.  Cabin fever hitting critical levels.  I’m ready to get back out. Luckily, it is supposed to be almost 50 degrees by tomorrow so the roads should be passable again, now just need to figure out when the ranges will open back up.

February 5, 2014:  The high today was about 28 degrees and the winds were blowing from 20-30mph.  I was going to not hit the range, but the sun was out and I was tempted in.  For being the only one at the course it actually wasn’t all that bad out, although the wind was especially biting.  I hit balls for 3 hours working on some things I noticed in the videos I shot yesterday.  I hope I am making progress, but it’s not always apparent when you are working on your own.  I have to just have faith that I am doing the right things.  5,173 remain. Random stat: tried to play a few holes but my plastic tee snapped in half when I tried to get it into the frozen ground.  3-4 more days of this then it should start looking up.

February 4, 2014:  I worked out in the morning and then had an afternoon meeting and the course was pretty frozen so just got an hour of ball striking work done.  I videoed the new swing and hope to post it very soon.  Still have a lot to work on looking at the swings on film, but it’s going in the right direction.  5,176 remain. Random Stat: still have a wristy start to the takeaway.

February 3, 2014:  The final day before a cold front hits Portland and the courses are pretty much closed for a few days.  Today I went out and warmed up then played 9, but my body was not moving right and I couldn’t seem to hit the ball well.  I worked on short game after that and felt strangely tired.  Afterwords played the back nine and hit it tons better, but wasn’t making putts.  Strange day.  5,177 remain. Random Stat: shot 42 on the front 9 and 38 on the back.

February 2, 2014:  The club had a super bowl shotgun tournament in the morning and was pretty much closed so I showed up around 12:30 to hit balls.  The tourney ended surprisingly quick and I got out and played the front 9 then hit some balls and practiced putting.   After that I went and played about 6 more holes with a few balls to work on iron accuracy.  5,181 remain. Random Stat: shot 2 over on the front 9, although didn’t make a putt over 4 feet.  I can’t seem to get the ball to roll on my line right now.

February 1, 2014:  Went for a 7 mile hike in the gorge as it was a beautiful day and I felt like going on a long hike.

January 31, 2014:  Got to the club and practiced on the range for about an hour then ran into a friend who was making the turn from the back side.  I played the front with him and afterwords worked on short game for a while then tried to figure out why I was pushing so many putts so stayed on the putting green until I figured it out.  5,185 remain. Random Stat: shot 4 over on the front as my irons are still suspect.

January 30:  Had to meet a fridge repairman in the morning and then run some errands that left me getting to the course right at noon and two guys were teeing off and I wanted to see if I could keep my on-course tee shots in play so decided to go straight from car to tee.  Bogeyed the first 3 holes, but got it together after that and made some good shots.  I’m hitting the driver and 3-wood way better, the new swing has my irons a bit off, though.  It will come together soon.  5,189 remain. Random Stat: shot around 82, didn’t keep score, but had a birdie and a handful of bogeys.  Making progress!

January 29, 2014:  It was a crazy windy day out there.  seemed always right into the face at about 20mph steady.  I played a round, after warming up a bit, with Eric and a buddy Tom and the rain and wind caused some pretty crazy shots on the front.  After we turned the weather broke and the sun came out, although still windy.  Afterwords I stuck around for bit and hit balls. 5,191 remain. Random Stat: shot an 82: 42-40

January 28, 2014:  Full practice day at Riverside that began with remembering how to hit a solid bunker shot, short game practice, rolling the ball and then on to groove the new swing.  Afterwords the course was empty so I decided to play 18 and it only took 2 hours 5 minutes for the full round.  Hit it well, but my irons are not quite predictable yet.  5,194 remain. Random Stat: shot a 78 with only one bird.

January 27, 2014: Practice day at Riverside.  Started with chipping and bunker shots to get a feel for NW grass and bunkers then played 9 and followed that with a good range and putting session.  Finished with another 9.  5,198 remain. Random Stat: on the last 9 I shot 2 over with 3 birdies, when I did what I want to do I was close and had tap-in birds, when I reverted I was way off the fairway.

January 26, 2014:  Played a round with a group of guys I hadn’t seen in a month out at Heron Lakes today.  I hit the long sticks better than I have in ages, although not on the first two holes where I hit both drives OB.  After that I hit a bunch of fairways and my irons were just a bit off landing on fringes where I could not seem to adjust to the different conditions quite yet and chunked a couple of easy shots.  5,202 remain Random Stat: Shot an 83 after starting 5 over through 3 holes.

January 25, 2014:  Back in PDX!  Had a late night getting settled back in and moving some things so didn’t wake up until about 9 this morning. Headed out to Riverside to work on some of the swing aspects while they were still fresh and to start grooving those new wedges.  I hit balls and short game practice for two hours then went out and played a few balls for 9 holes to see where I was swing wise.  Need to continue to improve the iron accuracy, driving is better.  5,204 remain. Random Stat: I need to feel like my shoulders are closed at impact in order for them to not be wide open.

January 24, 2014:  Finished the drive back to Portland, just had 330 miles remaining today, but after getting in and unpacking it was dark out.  Going to rest up some and get ready to hit the range tomorrow.  It’s actually sunny here!

January 23, 2014:  Woke up and drove 770 miles back towards Portland.

January 22, 2014:  Packed up all of my things in the morning and said bye to Scott then went to meet the same man from yesterday at Bermuda Dunes for lunch and a round.  He had hurt his knee so I ended up playing 18 with the assistant pro out there who does mini-tour golf in the summers.  He hit it well and I struggled a bit with the new swing, but got some drives into play and made a handful of decent saves.  5,208 remain. Random Stat: dunked a ball from 53 yards, landed in the cup.

January 21:  Had breakfast with an interesting man who happened to write a biography on Billy Casper then went to Bruce’s range to warm up before a Korean film crew was supposed to arrive and do some filming.  After an hour of warming up they arrived and filmed a lesson with Bruce that lasted an hour.  Afterwords they wanted me to show them how I practiced then we did interviews and such for the rest of the afternoon. 5,210 remain. Random Stat: Hitting bunker shots towards a hole where a camera man has placed his camera is getting remarkably easier.

January 20:  Showed up early for a lesson with my coach at his course to warm up and work on somethings then Bruce and I talked swing and did some filming to see how my progress has been.  It’s better, but the turn needs to be bigger and I need to move my head off the ball less and my lower body needs to be both more stable and turn better.  Things to work on for the two days remaining down here before heading back to Portland.  5,213 remain. Random Stat:  bigger shoulder turn, more waist turn, get behind the ball and start the downswing with my lower body.

January 19:  Played a 7am round with my cousin and his friend at my cousin’s other course (there are two at his club) and then went to my coaches’ course for a couple hours of range work on the new shoulder turn and some other swing drills.  I was pretty beat after that so went home and watched the San Fran Seattle playoff game.  5,217 remain. Random Stat: the course was funky with 5 par 3s and 5 par 5s.  I finally broke 80 down here and was hitting the new driver much better, 3-wood still needs work.

January 18, 2014:  Reconnected with a cousin who I have not seen in 25 years today.  He happens to be the head pro of a golf course down here and we met up and played 18 at his course: Mountain Vista.  It was a fun round and we had a ton to catch up on over the four hours of the round.  I also played with my new driver and 3-wood for the first time to some good and some bad results, will take a little while to get the feel of them down.  5,221 remain. Random Stat: had one birdie and no doubles.

January 17: Woke up in Carlsbad did a little workout then went in to the Titleist HQ for a lunch with a couple of the marketing guys there.  It was a good lunch and was nice to catch up with them and afterwords we went in and found a couple of the clubs that were suggested from my fitting so I got to leave with them to start practicing right away. Afterwords I drove back to Palm Springs, but got in after dark so didn’t get to try them out.

January 16, 2014: Had a morning meeting in LA from 9-11 then a lunch and afternoon meeting with another person. Afterwords I was supposed to have a 9-hole round but was running late so couldn’t make it.  I drove to Carlsbad and arrived just as the last millimeter of the sun dipped into the Pacific ocean.

January 15:  Drove the 100 miles to Carlsbad for an updated club fitting at Titleist. We worked for three hours on the sticks and swing but finally ended up finding two replacement wedges, a new driver, 3-wood and hybrid.  I’m very excited about the new sticks and look forward to getting them soon. 5,223 remain. Random Stat:  going back to a stiff shaft for more feel instead of the x-stiff.

January 14:  Had a two hours lesson with Bruce then worked on the range for two more hours until they unexpectedly closed the range early. Bruce found some amazing things for me to work on and I’m excited to get that feel moving forward. 5,226 remain. Random Stat: Working on turning my hips more and keeping my head from moving too far off the ball.

January 13, 2014:  Had a three hour chipping and putting session and worked on the turn some, but since the last lesson I haven’t had a good internal feel for what Bruce wants me to do so I held off until tomorrow. 5,230 remain. Random Stat:  Working on making a better flop shot with more spin involved so the ball will check up well.

January 12:  Played a round in Vegas with some very interesting people, one of which was a “how to practice” expert.  Learned a lot and realized that I had struck some things out of my practice that I need to get back to.  Namely, practicing with more consequences. 5,233 remain. Random Stat:  Practicing with consequences is the best way to actually recreate a pressure shot on a round.

January 10: Had agreed to play a round, but wasn’t looking too much forward to it after yesterday’s experience.  After a few holes I put away the driver and 3-wood and just played with irons so that I could move the ball forward.  It was a fun round, but a bit frustrating.  Afterwords I worked on the move for an hour on the range.  5,235 range.  Random Stat:  Didn’t hit a drive close to successfully all day.

January 9, 2014:   A long lesson with Bruce followed by playing 9 holes with him.  Sometimes during lessons something clicks and I understand it and other times it feels so foreign that I cannot manage to hit a ball.  Today was the latter and I lost 6 balls on 9 holes.  He says just keep working at it and make a bigger shoulder turn. 5,238 remain. Random Stat: No matter what I need to make a bigger turn to get Tour distance down the road.

January 8:  Morning interview and then a solid five hours of range, chipping and putting. Both practice and short game games against Scott.  Worked a lot on the shoulder turn Bruce wants me to do and had some good realizations. 5,242 remain. Random Stat: Lost 7-6 against Scott in a putting game but won a chipping game 11-10.

January 7:  Was able to utilize the range facility at Mission Hills (and putting green/chipping area) from noon until 4.  Great practice day with a lot of progress happening.  5,247 remain. Random Stat: Came up with a new chipping game that involves different diameter rings and points for getting the ball inside the rings.

January 6:  A lesson day!  So excited to work with Bruce again.  We had a solid two hour lesson and then I stayed on the range working on what he wants me to do until the sun set 3 hours later.  Great day.  5,251 remain. Random Stat: read the blog to see some videos from the day about what I am working on.

January 5:  Warmed up on the range at Mission Hills then played the Tournament Course.  It was my first time playing a legit 7,200 yard course and I just wish that I could keep my driver in play as when you are erratic on a course like this you have a ton of very long approaches and end up in unfamiliar bunkers to brand new greens.  Very fun round and I learned a lot despite have just a handful of pars all day.  5,256 remain. Random Stat: basically shot bogey golf.

January 3, 2014:  Took two days off out of town for New Year’s and then packed on the first and drove down to Chico on the second.  Today I met a blog reader and friend in Auburn, Ca for a round on route.  We had a great time even though I didn’t play well (couldn’t read the greens, had about 5 3-putts which is a shame).  He set a personal record for the round, which is wonderful.  5,259 remain. Random Stat: shot an 86 out there with a couple penalties and lots of putts.

December 29, 2013:  Last round of the year was played at Heron Lakes. It started off promising then hit a few walls and finally ended on a decent note.  It’s been a pretty crazy year filled with both highs and lows.  I’m excited about 2014 right around the corner and am ready to hit it hard once I get to Palm Springs.  5,261 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 83 on the great blue for my final round.

December 28:  Had an early morning round at Riverside and followed it up with an hour of shoulder turn work trying to groove the new feeling. 5,263 remain. Random Stat: still working on hitting the ball with the new swing, didn’t have that many good shots, but when everything went as planned I hit a couple of great ones.

December 27: Worked on making the better turn for 2 hours then ran into some guys making the turn that I joined up with to see how my swing was actually functioning then followed that with another hour of swing work. 5,266 remain. Random Stat: It’s hard to bring it out to the course and important not to think about score when doing so.

December 26:  Post-Christmas round out at Riverside, was trying to find the feeling that I was working on before xmas, but couldn’t seem to find it all day and didn’t hit a single fairway.  Afterwords I stayed on the range until I managed to “remember” what I was working on.  I need to ingrain this. 5,270 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 84 by the skin of my teeth, tough day.

December 25, 2013:  Christmas, took a couple days off to spend time with family :)

December 23: Hit the range for an hour and tried to find a feel that I found and lost in the last couple of days.  I twisted my ankle a little yesterday at the very end of the round by simply stepping on a curb wrong which at the time just made me fall down but today seemed to affect my ability to post up well.  Hit the ball okay on the range but played 18 and couldn’t find that “feel” I was looking for. 5,274 remain. Random Stat: Lost by one skin today and topped a few balls, just wasn’t moving well through the ball.

December 22: Sunday round with the boys at Heron.  Started off well but then tripled the second hole after somehow topping my drive into the water.  Recovered after that and ended with a decent score, but nothing special after being 4 over through 3.  5,277 remain. Random Stat: shot an 80 on the Greenback course.

December 21: Shortest day of the year.  Glad that’s over and the days start growing in length, the early sunset kills practice time.  Put in one hour of range work at Riverside then played 18 with a new group of guys.  had a skins game going and did well, winning 13 of the 18 possible. 5,279 remain. Random Stat: shot an 77 with no birdies.

December 20:  Full head cold has set in, but I needed to get out and have the course clear it up.  Worked on the range for two hours and had a great realization about what it feels like to make a shoulder turn.  Then tested it on the course for 9 holes and actually shot under par. 5,283 remain. Random Stat: with a different shaft in the 3-wood I actually hit both fairways I used it on, getting a birdie on the 6th hole for the first time. I shot one under for the 9.

December 19, 2013:  Took the day off as my head was exploding.  Guess that explains yesterday.

December 18:  Worked on the range for an hour with TrackMan looking at club head numbers then played 18 with my buddy Country Club.  Felt very weak and started to come apart at the end, not sure what’s going on with my body today. 5,286 remain. Random Stat: Lost on the 14th to CC, he hit it well, I hit a wall.

December 17, 2013: Got out my old 3-wood to try it out and to my surprise every shot with it I was closing the club face about 10 degrees.  When I really tried to hold it off it would be open about 6 degrees.  I couldn’t seem to square it up and I suppose this is why I took it out of the bag in the first place.  I’ll have to try out a different shaft.  5,289 remain. Random Stat: 4 hours on the range and feeling good about the swing.

December 16:  Full range day working at Riverside with TrackMan.  Mostly I worked on club path with long irons and driver, but at the end I did what I could to see how fast I could swing the driver. The putting green was finally open after being closed for 2 weeks so I practiced there, too.  5,293 remain. Random Stat: hit 107.7 mph with the driver.

December 15:  Was back in Portland and decided to play 18 with my old putter to make sure I still new how to make them. Played much better and rolled it well.  5,297 remain. Random Stat: shot an 82 on the Great Blue course, although finished 5 over on the last 3 holes.

December 14, 2013:  Played 18 holes with Dr. Bob Bjork and Dr. Dan Schacter.  Last time down there they both beat me handily, this time it was a much better match although I brought a different putter which was a bad idea:  39 total putts.  5,298 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 83 with 39 putts.  one 4-putt and 4 3-putts.

December 13:  Flew to LA for a meeting.

December 12:  Had a morning meeting then got up to Riverside and worked on the swing for 3 solid hours and afterwords played 9 holes trying to bring the new stuff to the table for the first time.  It was pretty tough going, but I need to stick with it to get to the next level. 5,301 remain. Random Stat: it was all temp greens so hard to say what my score was, but I hit a couple solid drives and some awful ones.

December 11:  Course still closed but I get my TrackMan license updated so got it out for the first time in a week, which was good as I could see that my shoulder turn swing change is producing much more down the line club paths. 5,305 remain. Random Stat:  getting the club path on plane is huge, I used to be about 6-10 degrees inside out.

December 10, 2013:  Worked with my swing-knowledgeable friend for three hours on the range before heading to PSU to see a presentation on The Dan Plan about it’s potential business viability. 5,308 remain.  Without outside eyes this change would not be possible.

December 9: Course closed still and range didn’t open until noon so did a morning workout and then put in 3 hours of swing practice before it just simply got too cold to do much at all.  Afterwords hit the gym again for something else to get in. 5,311 remain.  Random Stat:  I’m really enjoying focussing solely on the swing for an extended period.

December 8, 2013: Took the day off simply because it was a high of 28 and 25mph winds.  Wind chill was about 5 degrees and it was crazy out.  I got in a solid new workout then caught up on life stuff.

December 7: Course closed so I put in 4 hours on the range working mostly on long sticks and a shorter swing mixed with a new take-away. 5,314 remain. Continuing the process and starting to get a better feel.

December 6: Met my “swing watcher” friend out at Riverside again and we worked on the one-piece takeaway and a shorter swing for about 3 hours.  Course and putting green closed for the foreseeable future. 5,318 remain. Random Stat: Making some solid swing progress, I can tell by how awkward it feels.

December 5, 2013: Course and putting green closed so it’s range for the next little while.  Put in 3 hours on the range before my shoulders started to ache (working on frozen mats.) 5,321 remain.  Random Stat:  I think that not being able to play may help me a lot in the long run.

December 4:  Worked on TrackMan and the range for about 2 hours before a friend came out to help me with my driver swing.  We worked on that for another 2 hours before the cold and dark set it.  5,324 remain. Random Stat: Got my driver back towards on plane!

December 3, 2013:  Met a friend at Riverside and we hit balls for a bit then played 18 behind some traffic so it took a while.  Afterwords it was too cold and dark to do much else, so is the winter..  5,328 remain. Random Stat: shot a 77 with a birdie on 1 and 18.

December 2: I got to Riverside right when it opened at 11 to work on the range and TrackMan for a couple of hours (long game mostly) then played a handful of holes before returning to a couple more hours on the range.  I’m really losing it from 180 yards and out.  5,331 remain. Random Stat: Am getting too flat again with my driver.

November 30:  Another Heron Lakes round with Eric for the same reason: Riverside is shut down due to cold.  It was cold and windy out there, but nobody on the course so we looped it in about 2 hours.  Afterwords I hit balls for an hour.  5,336 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 78 on the Great Blue course, but lost to Eric who shot 72.

November 29: Played a round with Eric, Country Club, out at Heron because Riverside was using 18 temp greens.  We both played well and he won our match on 18 despite shooting the same score.  5,339 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 76 on the Greenback course.

November 28, 2013:  Day off with the family for Thanksgiving

November 27: Worked a TrackMan combine for an hour on the range then went to play a match play match at Heron against Country Club.  Shot poorly on the front and ended up losing on the 18th. 5,341 remain. Random Stat: Carded a 79 although still lost the match with a bogey on 18.

November 26: Went back to my home old home track CECC for the first time in 6 months and warmed up then played 18 holes out there.  I was even through 7 then had some driver struggles. 5,344 remain. Random Stat: shot an 80 at CECC from the blues after being even through 7.

November 25, 2013: Had a dental appointment in the morning then made it back to the course by noon and had a few hours to practice (3) before having to meet up with family coming into town for the Turkey Day holidays. 5,347 remain. Random Stat: chipped and putted then worked on driver for a while.

November 24: Went to Riverside for two hours of TrackMan range work then played a 18 with a couple of balls to work on some on-course stuff. 5,350 remain. Random Stat: Scored a 73.7 on the Combine test of TrackMan

November 23:  Played 18 at Heron Lakes after practicing putting and chipping for 2 hours. 5,354 remain. Random Stat: shot a 78 on the greenback course.

November 22, 2013: Spent three hours working on short game then hit the gym.  I wish there was more daylight, but had things to do in the morning and there is just so much light to work with. 5,356 remain.  Putting like a champ!

November 21: Spent a full day working on the range, really want to figure out that driver and what to do with it on the  course. Feel like I need to get the club more on plane and was working with that. 5,359 remain. Random Stat: Have to keep the club more on path.

November 20:  I had to go to court for a  traffic ticket (tail light wasn’t working and got it fixed) which took from 7am until 1pm, then went to the range to practice for 3 hours on TrackMan.  5,364 remain. Random Stat:  so unfortunate that it took so long just to prove I had fixed my tail lights.

November 18:  Got to the course once it opened at 11 then played 3 balls for 18 holes and followed it with a solid hour of range work. 5,367 remain. Random Stat: Best ball three ball score was 69, but some of the misses were off this planet from the tee.

November 16, 2013:  Worked on the driver for a couple of hours on the range, then did some TrackMan work and followed it with a couple of hours of chipping and putting. 5,370 remain. Random Stat: driver still keeping me down, I need to find that feel

November 15: Practiced for an hour then played 18 and followed it with an hour of range work. Solid day all in all.  5,374 remain. Random Stat: shot a 78 from the blues, 42 on the front and 36 on the back of Riverside.

November 14: Worked the range with TrackMan for a couple of hours and then played 9 and followed it up with some more TrackMan driver work, think I’m on to something here.. 5,378 remain. Random Stat:  realized through the work how to get the drive on plane, this could be huge.

November 13: Had a morning meeting and an early afternoon one followed by a workout that left just one hour of light remaining for range work in the day. 5,382 remain. Random Stat: Taller driver swing, on to it!

November 12, 2013: Went to Riverside for an hour of TrackMan work then played a match play round with a couple of solid golfers.  I beat one and lost to the other. 5,383 remain. Random Stat: I scored in the 70 on the TrackMan combine.

November 11:  There was a tourney at Riverside so I went to Oswego Lake Country Club  to play a round.  Had about 45 minutes to warm up and hit the range before heading out, afterwards it was too dark to practice, darn winter sun. 5,386 remain. Random Stat: had a bad day, shot 84 from the blue tees there in the intense wind. I want to go back an have a rematch with that course.

November 10: Practiced putting and chipping for an hour then played 9 with a handful of balls at Riverside, followed it up with another hour on the putting green. 5,388 remain. Random Stat: was 3 over for 9 and on to some new things with the driver.

November 9, 2013: Met some fellow golfers to play 18 at Heron Lakes. Hit it pretty well and shot a decent score, although missed a ton of putts on the bumpy greens. 5,392 remain. Random Stat: carded an 80 and won the match play on the 18th hole again.

November 8, 2013:  Hit balls for an hour at Riverside then went to Broadmor Golf Course to play 18 and put in a bit of putting practice afterwords. 5,394 remain. Random Stat: shot a 77 on the day and won match play on the 18th hole.

November 7: Practiced chipping, putting, short game and range work for a solid 5 hours at Riverside.  5,398 remain. Random Stat:  it’s super soggy out, the time to head south is drawing close.

November 5:  Played a rainy 18 at Riverside in less than 2 hours then had some time to practice for an hour afterwards. Unfortunately, I had morning meetings and the sun set at 5 so there wasn’t that much golf I could practice on this early November day. 5,403 remain. Random Stat: Shot another 78 from the blues with two bogeys on the last 3 holes.

November 3, 2013: Met with a writer in the morning and then went out to play some holes at Riverside. I had enough time to play about 14 before having to head home.  After that I went to help Mary and the kids pack up for their week in Bend. 5,406 remain. Random Stat: had 7 pars and 2 doubles on the front 9.

November 2: Played another 18 at Riverside as I felt like I was on to something good playing wise. Shot well, although bogeyed the last hole, but it felt great to hit some solid shots once again.  5,408 remain. Random Stat: shot a 78 from the blues.

November 1: Played 18 at Riverside and followed it up with some range work with the driver.  Played well, but still not hitting nearly enough fairways.  5,411 remain. Random Stat: shot my personal Riverside best of 77 from the blue tees.

October 31, 2013:  Halloween!  Practiced at Riverside for about four hours then went to meet Mary and the kids for some trick or treating.  5,414 remain. Random Stat: I love working on the little punch shots with all of the clubs.

October 30:  A nice day of practice.  Did a bunch of range work then hit the links for a few holes and stopped by the short course area for a couple of hours.  Solid all in all. 5,418 remain. Random Stat: was good to get back to the short course area.

October 29:  Went to Riverside early and practiced for about 3 hours before a round with a couple golfers.  I worked hard on the things Bruce wants me to change and think I am making some good progress. 5,423 remain.  Random Stat: Tied Eric and Eric and I pushed with Scott in a best ball match.

October 28, 2013: Went to Riverside for an hour to hit balls then played 9 holes with a handful of balls to work on different types of knock-down shots that Bruce wants me to have in my arsenal.  All in all solid day. 5,429 remain.  Random Stat: Was even through five then kind of had a couple big mistakes.

October 27:  Hit balls for a bit at Riverside then went to Heron for a match with a few people.  I played well and actually scored the low round of the day despite the high quality of golfers that I was playing with.  5,432 remain. Random Stat: shot a 76 on the greenback course.

October 26, 2013:   Played a round with Eric at Rose City and managed to win our match play round for the first time about 9 months.   5,434 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 79 on the track.

October 25: Met with Bruce in the morning for a two hour lesson then had some other meetings through the afternoon.  Great to see him again and get some pointers before he heads to Palm Springs for the winter. 5,436 remain. Random Stat: I need to work hard, Bruce says so and I agree.

October 24, 2013:  Met Eric out at Heron Lakes for an afternoon round with an hour of range work beforehand.  Hit the ball pretty well and managed to push our match play match, which is the first time I have done that in ages.  5,438 remain. Random Stat: If I can push a match with Eric I’m on to something good.

October 23:  First day back in PDX.  Decided to jump in and play a round at Riverside.  Was good to get back to bent grass greens and some familiar situations.  Hit the ball pretty well and putted lights out.  5,441 remain.  Shot a 79 from the blues.

October 20, 2013:  One last Hilton Head round, this time on the island.  Played Planter’s Row and found it quite challenging even though it was a shorter course as there was overhand and tight shots all over the place. Hit the ball well once again and after a few holes started to see how to read bermuda, which is a solid positive. 5,443 remain. Random Stat: shot a 79 on the track with 3 3-putts.

October 19, 2013:  It was Crescent Point today.  Another fun challenging course for about $20 bucks.  Played pretty well, hit the ball well at least, but have not figured out putting yet. 5,445 remain. Random Stat: shot an 82 from the back tees.

October 18:  Played Eagles Landing near Hilton Head for a ridiculous price of $18.  Good track playing 6,800 yards and rated about 73.3 137.  5,447 remain. Random Stat: shot an 83, although started pretty well, but could not put at all with a handful of 3-putts on the bermuda grass.

October 17, 2013:  took a week off to spend time with family. Went out today and played Pinecrest just off of Hilton Head Island.  Good track, was the home of Hank Haneys IJGA thing, which seemed to be brining in a lot of high paying golfers.  5,449 remain Random Stat: shot an 81 on the track from the blues, was the first time in a year I’ve played on Bermuda grasses.

October 9:  Practiced for a solid couple of hours then played 9 out at Riverside before heading home to pack up for the trip tomorrow.  5,451 remain. Random Stat: working on not hinging so much, yet again.

October 8, 2013: A film crew was in town and met me at Langdon to shoot me working with Bruce.  The interviews and such took most of the morning, from about 9:30 until 2:30, but I did get a solid hour lesson in with Bruce. 5,454 remain. Random Stat: I thought I was coming over the top a bit, but it was much to the contrary, Bruce pointed out how I was coming too far from the inside with a slightly open face which was producing a push (the one that went OB in the tourney)

October 7:  Pretty worn down from a long stretch of golf capped by the two tourney days, but went out to Riverside to practice short game for 2 hours then played 2 hours worth of holes before a large storm blew me off the course. 5,455 remain. Random Stat: was just 5 over through 14 holes at Riverside which is pretty good for me on that course.

October 6, 2013: Day two of the tourney.  Not quite as good as day one as I had an OB triple and double, but still pretty solid. 5,459 remain. Random Stat: shot an 83 with those two miscues.

October 5:  Tourney day!  I was really excited to get back out there and had no clue what would happen or how my game would hold up.  But, it went very well with just 5 bogeys and one birdie. 5,462 remain. Random Stat: broke 80 for the first time in a tourney and shot 76.

October 4, 2013: Went out to practice putting and short game, but the greens were sanded and punched so ended up hitting the range and then playing 9 and then range and then 9 more. 5,465 remain. Random Stat:  Still ball testing and played two ball best ball for the back 9. shot even par on sanded greens and was equally impressed by the Pro V1X and TaylorMade Lethal.

October 3: Hit balls for an hour at Riverside and was going to do more short game stuff but they just finished punching so it didn’t make much sense.  Went to Rose City and play Country Club in a match play round.  5,470 remain. Random Stat: Was 2 up to start but ended up losing 3 and 2 to my main man.  One day I really hope to beat him, although I hope it’s be breaking par and not from a bad round on his end.

October 2, 2013: Had a meeting at Portland State University in the morning then went up and hit some balls at Riverside (front 9 closed for punching) and played the back 9 a couple of times.  worked a lot on putting and mid-iron striking. 5,473 remain. Random Stat: played a number of new balls that I will blog about soon.

October 1:  There was a bit of a break in the rain so I met some guys for a round at Heron.  It was a tale of two 9s type round.  5,477 remain. Random Stat: shot a 79: 42 on the front and 37 on the back.

September 30, 2013:  The storms have been harsher than anything I can remember in my entire 7 years in Portland.  It’s rained inches every day for the past three days.  Today I went out and played 18 at Heron Lakes in some inclement weather, but there was a bit of sun peaking out at times, which was nice.   5,479 remain.  Random Stat: shot a 76 from the blues on the Great Blue course with five bogeys and one birdie.

September 29: Played just 9 holes at Riverside today and was literally the only person on the course as 35mph gusts and a few inches of rained cleared everyone away on this Sunday. 5,481 remain. Random Stat: shot a 40 on the front despite the rain and wind.

September 28:  I wanted to play somewhere, but I haven’t seen a storm this bad in a while so decided to lay low.

September 27, 2013:  Played a practice round out at Forest Hills to get ready for this weekend’s Forest Hill’s Am, but afterwords the pro-shop guy said the tourney was cancelled due to the storm that was set to pass through town. 5,482 remain. Random Stat: Birdied the first hole and played pretty well all-in-all, but didn’t keep score as it was a practice round and we were there to putt from different sections of the  greens and hit different approach shots.

September 26:  Ask me about this day a couple years from now.  There have been some major things happening and I don’t think that I will be fully comfortable talking about this until after the fact.

September 25, 2013: Had a morning meeting then played a match play round with my buddy Country Club on Heron Lakes Greenback course.  He went up early and I tried to fight back, but lost a few holes late in the round to lose 3 and 2.  5,485 remain. Random Stat: I birdied the first hole and was one-under through 5 then lost my drives.

September 24:  Had a morning meeting with a web developer to chat about redesigning the dan plan website then went to Riverside to play a match play game for the Fall Riverside match play tourney.  I was up by 3 after 4 holes but then seemingly lost my driver and lost the next 6 holes.  5,488 remain. Random Stat: we only tied 2 holes the entire round and I lost on the 16th.

September 23, 2013:  Feeling good about my new-found game I went to Heron to play the Greenback course.  I played well although didn’t sink a putt all day with 34 putts and one chip-in.  5,490 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 77 from the blues.

September 22: After the round with my coach, I decided to play a match play against Country Club and managed to take it to the 18th hole for the first time in months.  5,493 remain. Random Stat: CC chipped in for a birdie on the 18th to win the match.

September 20, 2013: Met my coach for my first playing lesson at Langdon.  Was running late so met Bruce and his brother on the 8th hole and had some terrible drives at first, but he had some tips to get me straightened out after that.  then went to Riverside and practiced short game and drives.  5,496 remain. Random Stat: hit a blind 37 yard bunker shot to 6 inches, felt great.

September 19: Played a round with a buddy from Royal Oaks at Riverside and had a good time, although missed a handful of drives both left and right.  All in all I had a couple of birds and a couple of doubles. 5,500 remain. Random Stat: shot an 83 from the blues and made some solid putts.

September 18, 2013:  Decided to play a full 18 today for the first time in a long time (for score).  Afterwords I chipped and putted for quite some time. 5,502 remain.  Random Stat: shot an 82 at Riverside from the blues.

September 17: Took a lot of time away to work on the soul and shoulder.  Getting back at it today was amazing and fulfilling.  5,507 remain. Random Stat: Got back on the horse and found out how to hit some shots once again.

September 3, 2013:  I was oddly sore from the workout two days ago to the point where I really couldn’t make a full swing, even though I played a full round yesterday and all was well.  Today, I had to just spend 5 hours on the short game as I couldn’t make a proper turn then for some reason decided to head to the gym for a workout that I hoped would get my body moving again. 5,511 remain. Random Stat: felt much better after the gym time.

September 2: Met up with Country Club and played a round at Heron Lakes on the Greenback course.  Started really off with the irons which caused a ton of bogeys and a couple doubles.  5,516 remain.  Random Stat: shot an 84, but was 10 over at the turn before I realized a few things with those irons.

September 1, 2013: Talked with my brother (lives in Switzerland) in the morning and then headed to the course for a solid four hours.  Afterwords I realized that I hadn’t had a good 2 hour workout in a long time so went to the gym and kicked my own butt.  It felt great. 5,518 remain. Random Stat:  I pushed some physical limits of where I was.

August 31: Stayed up late with the visiting family and today my energy was as low as the heat was high.  I mustered three hours of range work and then honestly had to call it a day as my concentration was limited.  5,522 remain. Random Stat: having family visit is amazing and takes a toll on your abilities.

August 30:  Played 27 holes at Riverside with a bit of ball striking in between the 18 and the 9.  All of it was match play against Country Club. It’s coming back baby!  I was finally hitting it well out of the box and even Eric said, “I can’t tell you how good it is to see you getting out of the box again.   5,525 remain.  It’s on!

August 29, 2013: Had a two hour practice in the morning then met my visiting sister-in-law at Mary’s bakery for a long lunch break and then went back to the club for another 3 hours of range work. 5,530 remain. Random Stat: it’s getting really darn close.

August 27: Had a meeting in the morning then went to Langdon to work with Bruce who showed me how I was taking the club back closed and then closing it more through the swing, he said this might be a transitional moment as I finally realized what it meant to open and shut the face.  Went up to Riverside afterwords for 2 hours of range work before meeting some family who were visiting from Switzerland. 5,535 remain. Random Stat: I think we are on to something folks.

August 26, 2013: Spent a solid five hours on the driving range today just working out kinks and trying to figure out why I was hooking so many shots even though it feels like I am keeping the face wide open at impact.  5,538 remain. Random Stat: Irons feel better, but driver is just awful.

August 24: Was the ladies member guest at the club so the course was closed, but the range was open. I spent the majority of the day on the range with a bit of chipping and putting to break up the swings.  5,543 remain.  Random Stat: Shot some video of my swing today and was surprised both pleasantly and sadly: http://thedanplan.com/new-golf-swing-video-comparing-now-and-six-months-ago/

August 23, 2013: Worked on the range for a solid 5 hours.  Making some huge headway, I hope, in the swing.  Not going to play a round for a bit until this is more concreted.  I feel good about that. 5,547 remain. Random Stat: My body isn’t nearly as tired as my desire to grow is healthy.

August 22: Worked on the range for 5 hours and then went out on the course for a few holes to see how I could implement what I was working on.  5,552 remain.  Random Stat: Tried to hit fades and was hooking them, the face is that last piece of the puzzle.  Irons were striking well.

August 21:  Worked on the range for a straight up 5 hours.  Making sure that I make the changes needed right now.  It’s time to make some major moves.  5,558 remain.  Random Stat: There’s nothing that will stop me from making these changes right now.

August 20: Met Bruce at Langdon for a lesson for one hour then worked on the range for a bit and got in 9 holes in the evening.  Making some great changes with the swing and finally seeing concrete results. 5,563 remain. Random Stat: he likes the direction I’ve been going, now just need to keep on pushing it.

August 19:  Hit the range for 5 hours in order to concrete what Bruce wants me to do before out next meeting.  Have to get a bigger shoulder turn with a shorter swing. 5,568 remain. Random Stat: It’s time for a new sense of urgency with the swing change.

August 18, 2013:  Just chipped and putted for a couple of hours to get back into it after a kind of crazy few days of filming and such. 5,573 remain. Random Stat:  Tomorrow we start afresh.

August 17:  Played 18 holes and called it a day, was beat from the past two days with the Nat Geo crew. 5,575 remain. Random Stat:  Lost match play to Eric on the 14th hole, not too good on my part, although he played very solidly.

August 14:  Got back from camping over the past 2 nights and went straight to Riverside to hit the range and play 9 holes.  Also broke the putter out for some solid rolling the ball practice. 5,577 remain. Random Stat: Had a few bogeys and a few pars, made some solid swings.

August 11, 2013:  Practiced for 4 hours at Riverside on the short course area working specifically on bunker shots from both green side and fairway bunkers. 5,581 remain.  Random Stat: I always love the short course days.

August 10:  Played 18 at Green Mountain golf course in a type of scramble then got in 16 more holes at Heron Lakes before it got too dark to finish. 5,585 remain.  Random Stat: Am definitely starting to better understand how I’m suppose to swing.

August 9, 2013:  Practiced for a few hours at Riverside then went to Heron and had an afternoon round with Country Club.  5,592 remain.  Random Stat: Was hitting it better, especially off the tees on the back. Shot an 84 from the blues, but that’s with 8 over on the front.

August 8: Met a blog reader at Heron Lakes and my Texas buddy from the day before.  Played 18 with them and then went to the range to lick some wounds, definitely not hitting it well right now as I can’t seem to find a square face. 5,596 remain. Random Stat: shot an 86 from the blues on the great blue course.

August 7, 2013:  A reader of the blog visited from Texas and we played 18 at Riverside.  Definitely a fun day and beforehand I went out there for a range hour.  5,600 remain.  Random Stat: Shot an 83 from the blues after a couple of esc holes.

August 6:  Played in a scramble at Langdon but first met up with Bruce to work on the driver for a bit.  5,604 remain. Random Stat: I hit it so well!  Not perfect by any means, but we used my drive and approach shot on the majority of the holes.

August 5, 2013:  Hit the range at Heron Lakes after a morning meeting and then played 18 dropping multiple balls on different shots.  5,608 remain. Random Stat: Was much better, my goal was to appreciate each shot for what it was and I learned a ton!

August 2:  Had a morning conference call and then went to play 9 at Heron before going to the gym and having an afternoon meeting and then helping Mary pack for the weekend in Bend.  5,612 remain.  Random Stat: missed every fairway once again.

August 1, 2013:  Practiced short game solely for 4 hours then hit the gym and came home to look into some driver mental aspects.  5,614 remain.  Random Stat: I’m going to figure this out this weekend.

July 31:  I’m beginning to think that my driver rut is more mental than anything else.  Played 9 at Riverside and then worked on drives for a bit. 5,618 remain.  Random Stat: playing bogey golf after hitting greens on the third shot.

July 30, 2013:  Practiced short game at Riverside and collected TrackMan data then went to East moreland to play a round.  It was terrible off the tee. 5,621 remain.  Random Stat: shot an 89, still missing every tee shot and ending up in the trees or worse.

July 29, 2013:  Practiced short game and pitching then played 18 at Riverside.  Everything is good except getting out of the box. 5,625 remain.  Random Stat: shot a poor 85 from the blues, missed every fairway.

July 28:  Had a meeting in the morning and then helped Mary hand shelves in her bakery then headed to the course for a couple of hours of simple short stick work. 5,629 remain.  Random Stat:   it’s great to not focus on tee shots.  So much fun practicing with the scoring clubs.

July 26, 2013: Had a potential new physical trainer meet me at Riverside to do a movement screen then worked on the driver and range for about 4 straight hours. 5,632 remain.  Random Stat: seemed to be hitting it well on the range, will see how that translates soon.

July 25:  Worked on what Bruce showed me with getting my hips more through the ball and ending with my belt buckle pointing towards the target.  Hit balls for 5 straight hours then went to the gym.  Gotta figure something out.  5,636 remain.  Random Stat: At times it seems like the more I work on something the worse it gets, at least in the present.  It all works out down the road, just have to keep on plugging away.

July 24, 2013:  Started hitting some drives at Riverside and realized that I just needed to go see Bruce. Bruce worked with me for a couple of hours and then I put in another working on the range. 5,641 remain.  Random Stat: Need to get those hips to clear in the swing, I think I know what I need to do now.  It’s time to solve the tee shot riddle.

July 23, 2013:  Had a couple guests come out and play Riverside with me and worked on the range for an hour before the round.  Started pretty well, but got into some driver trouble on the course. 5,644 remain.  Random Stat: Had a couple good birds on the front and played well when I was close to the fairway, but the misses off the tee are getting worse.

July 20, 2013: Went out on the course and worked on approach shots for a few hours then hit the short course area for a solid hour for bunker practice.  5,648 remain.  Random Stat: am hitting the irons so well, just need the driver and fairways to catch up.

July 19:  Spent the entire day at Riverside working on ball striking from all distances.  Made some great progress with the driver and tried out a new Titleist driving 2-iron that was an awesome club, might have to replace my hybrid. 5,653 remain.  Random Stat: had fun hitting 30-70 yard one hop stop shots.

July 18, 2013:  Went down to Salem and played Illahe Golf club.  Was a great time and a fun track.  Didn’t keep score, but hit some good drives and a few horrible ones.  5,658 remain.  Random Stat:  I have to avoid the hook miss.

July 17: Worked on the swing for a few hours then a buddy came out to Riverside and we looped around pretty quickly.  5,661 remain.  Random Stat: shot an 80 from the blues.

July 16, 2013:  Worked with Bruce for two hours then went up and hit the gym for two hours.  After getting stuck in traffic for 1.5 hours in between those two locations I had time to come home and rehearse some of the moves he was showing me but not enough to go back to the course. 5,666 remain. Random Stat: he has me working on less wrist hinge with my sticks.

July 15:  Went back to Riverside and had a much better round and a good practice session.  Shot in the 70s which felt great after the last three days of horrible tee shot misses.  It “clicked” and I realized what I had been doing for the past three days. I was almost upset about it, but happy at the end of the day that I am at a point where I can figure out (eventually) what I am doing wrong :)  5,668 remain. Random Stat: The pins and boxes were in the exact same place as yesterday and today I shot 10 strokes better, completely and just because of tee shots.

July 14, 2013: Day three of the club championship was better.  I finally birdied a hole (the second) and was playing okay until getting a double on 8 and bogey on 9.  Made the turn at 42 and ended up shooting 87. 5,672 remain. Random Stat:  I hit just 3 fairway in total for all three days.  This is a tough course when you are missing as bad as I was.  Next year we will get them.

July 13: Day two of the club championship started out a lot like day one and I was about at bogey golf entering the 15th hole.  I went for it in 2 (par 5 water carry approach) and long story short what I thought was my ball was in the rough, I swung at it 3 times before it was so buried that I had to retrieve it and found out it wasn’t my ball.  Took a two stroke penalty on top of the 3 swings and took a drop before the water, hit it up and two putted for an 11.  I doubled the last 3 holes and carded my worst tournament score ever: 98.  5,675 remain. Random Stat: Learned after the fact that if your ball is in the hazard you can pick it up to identify it.  Will do next time.

July 12, 2013:  Decided to play in the Riverside club championship that is a three day tourney despite Bruce telling me my driver and tee shots were not ready. I was nervous on the first tee but after missing the first 5 fairways I let go of nerves and just tried to figure out what I was doing wrong.  At the end of the day I missed every fairway and shot an 87.  5,678 remain. Random Stat: It couldn’t get worse, right?

July 11:  Had a lesson with Bruce down at Langdon for a couple of hours then went up to Riverside to putt on their greens and get ready for the club championship starting tomorrow. 5,681 remain.  Random Stat: Riverside must have the fastest greens in town.  I have to remember to leave myself uphill putts.

July 10, 2013: Met a golfer at Heron Lakes and played the Great Blue course then went to Riverside to work on some full swing and chipping. 5,685 remain.  Random Stat: Shot a 79 from the blue tees with a bogey bogey start.

July 7: Worked out in the morning then spent the day at Riverside working on bunker shots and putting and then went back to the gym for another workout in the afternoon.  5,690 remain. Random Stat: I’ve gotten too hand oriented with my sand shots.

July 6: Went up to Riverside to work on the range for a bit and the pitching area then found an opening so went out and played the front 9 while dropping a few balls at different distances along the way.  Great day for practice.  5,694 remain.  Random Stat: landed my first birdie out there, hope there are tons more where that came from.

July 5, 2013:  Met a group from out of town who I had played with once last year and we teed it at Quail Valley.  It was a super fun round and a very windy day which caused some approach problems.  5,698 remain. Random Stat: shot an 82 with a double bogey on 18

July 4:  Worked out and then went to Riverside to play a practice round and practice a bit on the course. I am loving that place and am happy with the transition.  5,700 remain.  Random Stat:  Am starting to hit some really good drives due to the new moves.

July 3, 2013:  Spent a couple hours down at Langdon with Bruce Furman working on the driver. At the end he pointed out that my shoulders were getting past my arms at impact and that I need to work on squaring up.  It immediately paid off. Afterwords I went to Riverside and practiced it for two hours.  5,704 remain.  Random Stat: Can’t wait to test this on the course.

July 2, 2013:  First day of the bakery for Mary! very exciting.  Drove her to work then hit the gym and met some people at East Moreland to hit some balls around for a bit. 5,708 remain. Random Stat: Still can’t seem to control the driver, I need to go see Bruce.

July 1: Practiced at the new digs (Riverside) for 5 hours grinding that short game before going to the grand opening party at Mary’s bakery. 5,710 remain.  Random Stat: the pitching area is awesome, you can make up holes from five to 130 yards.

June 30:  Last day of June and I found  a new club to practice and play at.  I will announce it as soon as things are finalized, but I love it out there so far! 5,715 remain.  Random Stat: shot an 82 in my inaugural round there.

June 29, 2013: Practiced chipping and putting and hit the range pretty hard at Heron Lakes.  It is starting to get hot in town and the ball is beginning to fly like it should in the summer.  Was out there for a few hours then went and played 9 with a buddy on the Great Blue course.  5,719 remain. Random Stat: shot a few over for the 9 but was striking the ball very well, driver is coming alive.

June 28: Went down to see Bruce at Langdon and ended up hitting balls on TrackMan with him for about 3 hours.  Great day to work on the driver. 5,724 remain. Random Stat: with a better post I got the driver up to about 107 consistently.

June 26, 2013: Found a great golfnow deal for a course near my house that I had only played once in the past and decided to tee it up there.  It was a super quick round as nobody was there and afterwords I chipped and putted for an hour on there greens.  5,727 remain.  Random Stat: shot a 77 from the tips of Glendoveer east without a birdie.

June 25, 2013:  Met some golfing friends of last summer at Heron Lakes and played a redemption round on the Greenback then stayed and worked on half wedge swings for an hour before the rains started dumping.  5,730 remain. Random Stat: shot a 77 from the blue tees.

June 24: Played a fund raiser scramble at Langdon Farms then hit the range for about 2 hours.  5,734 remain. Random Stat:  Our 3 person team shot a gross 58.

June 23:  Day two of the member guest tourney at Heron.  Today Scott didn’t play quite as well and we both missed some putts to go low.  5,738 remain. Random Stat: shot a team 69 on the Blue course.

June 22, 2013:  Day one of 2 day member guest tourney at Heron Lakes.  My playing partner Scott shot a 65 on his own for the best ball tourney and didn’t need me for a single hole.  It was great to see him play but disappointing to not use any of my holes, even birds were matched by him. 5,742 remain. Random Stat: he eagled the first hole and went strong from there.

June 21:  Practiced with TrackMan down at Trails End driving range for 4 hours of swings then hit the gym.  Ended after that to not be too sore before tomorrow’s tourney.  5,746 remain.  Random Stat:  all the new TrackMan club stats are posted.

June 20, 2013:  Met Bruce for a lesson at Langdon and stayed down there to work on things for about three hours. 5,750 remain.  Random Stat:  Still working on that shoulder turn.

June 19:  Played 18 at Heron Lakes early on then stuck around for some chipping and putting practice for a couple hours in the afternoon.  5,753 remain. Random Stat: shot a 78 from the blues on the great blue course.

June 18:  Had a morning meeting in Newberg an hour away then hit the range there before going to an afternoon meeting in town and then heading to Rose City for some twilight work.  5,758 remain.  Random Stat: played two drives per hole and was one under after 14 holes, but that was with the best of the two drives.

June 17, 2013:  Met up with a regular playing partner for 18 at Heron Lakes then stuck around for an epic chipping and putting session around the practice green.  It’s good to get back to the basics where it all started. 5,761 remain.  Random Stat: shot a 79 from the blues on the Great Blue course.

June 16:  Decided to dedicate the entire day to short game and working out.  Practiced chipping and putting for four straight hours then hit the gym hard.  5,769 remain.  Random Stat:  Need to knock them tighter always.

June 14, 2013:  Had a tough morning workout then needed to do some moving around my house that took way longer than I thought so didn’t get out to the course until about 4 at which point I put in a few hours of good practice. 5,773 remain.  Random Stat:  driving definitely improving, now time to return to short game work.

June 13: Went to Heron on a strangely rainy day and worked on the range for a bit and putting then played a few holes with a fellow golfing buddy and finished with some range work then straight to the gym.  5,777 remain.  Random Stat: driver is getting so much better.

June 12, 2013:  Met with coach Bruce down at Langdon and worked with him for about 2 hours then stayed there for an hour to practice what he wants me to improve. 5,781 remain.  Random Stat: still working on that full shoulder turn.

June 10:  Took today and tomorrow off to get out of town for a bit and think about life and golf in the woods.

June 9, 2013:  Morning round at East Moreland messing around with hitting draws and cuts with multiple balls from different spots where possible then headed to Heron and played and afternoon 12 holes. 5,784 remain.  Random Stat: Started to understand what a relaxed swing feels like towards the end of the day, swing changes getting more comfortable.

June 8: Teed it at Heron Lakes at 10am then hit drives for about an hour in the backyard.  5,789 remain. Random Stat: shot a 78 from the blues on the Greenback with an even back side.

June 7, 2013: Morning interview and some backyard TrackMan work for about an hour then went and played some holes at Broadmoor and capped the day with some driving practice in the back yard. 5,794 remain. Random Stat: Was working with Eric on course strategy for the Pub-Links qualifier that is going to be held there next week.

June 5:  Spent three hours with Bruce Furman down at Langdon working with TrackMan and my swing.  Making some awesome progress. 5,798 remain.  Random Stat:  Going to start my drive swing by moving my head first so as to not get a messed up spine angle.

June 4, 2013:  Played 36 out at Heron Lakes.  Such a beautiful day, glad summer is here!  5,801 remain.  Random Stat:  Shot an 81 on the blue and 79 on the green.

June 3:  Hit some balls for a bit and then played some holes at Heron messing around with different balls and different shot shapes. Afterwords went out to celebrate Orion’s 7th birthday. 5,805 remain.  Random Stat: Learning to find square and when I try to hit a fade it goes straight so need to do more of those until I can curve it that way.

June 1, 2013:  Played in a NW Golfguys tourney at Camas Meadows.  Was a shit show as Bruce warned me, couldn’t find a square club face or even the ball on some shots. 5,808 remain.  Random Stat: shot an 85

May 31:  Perhaps my last day at CECC was spent on the range and working with TrackMan then a stint on the short course.  If I’m not going to get back out there I will definitely miss it.  We shall see in the coming weeks if it will still be my golfing home.  5,811 remain. Random Stat:  I can’t believe I’ve been out at CECC for two years now, time flies!

May 30, 2013:  Had what was supposed to be a one hour lesson with Bruce today that extended into about a four hour afternoon working on a lot of big changes.  These will take some time to sink in and Bruce suggested I don’t play for score for a little while. 5,815 remain.  Random Stat:  Going to make a much bigger shoulder turn that should produce some serious yardage soon.

May 29, 2013: Spent the day at CECC working on TrackMan and looking at driver numbers.  Was a good day all in all and I think I’m ready for another lesson with Bruce as the swing is starting to make more sense.  5,819 remain.  Random Stat:  Tomorrow will be one month since I started working with Bruce.

May 28:  Went out to implement what Bruce wants me to work on at CECC and after about an hour I started to kind of get a feel for it and the new grip was making a bit more sense.  Worked for a while longer and then decided to take the swing to the course.  Shot pretty well, but just because my short game was on fire.  The rest will come soon.  5,823 remain.  Random Stat: shot a 79 from the tips.

May 26, 2013:  Met Bruce out at Langdon for a lesson.  I had a 30 minute lesson then he worked with someone else for 30 while I practiced what he suggested then we met for about 1.5 more hours. Back on track now, I had overcooked some things and that was causing the hooks and general misses.  5,828 remain.  Random Stat:  Need to keep my weight back in the back swing.

May 25: Tried to play some match play with Country Club at Heron Lakes but we mostly just messed around with different shots and I hit a few balls on some holes working out the kinks with my irons and trying to figure out why I was hooking them so much.  Made sense after a while, but I know it’s time for another lesson with Bruce. Things are feeling a bit jumbled in my swing.  5,831 remain. Random Stat: I have completely changed some aspect and I think it’s time for others to change to to keep up.

May 24, 2013: Warmed up and played 18 with a regular group at CECC then ran into a Swedish friend Oskar who plays on mini tours and Monday qualifiers for the Web . com tour so we hit the short course for a bit and then topped off the day with three more holes on the big course.  5,834 remain. Random Stat: shot a not-so-nice 84 from the blues.

May 23: Another day focussing on making some changes that Bruce suggested on the range then played 6 holes, back to range and then finished with 9 holes of hitting a couple balls from different spots.  5,840 remain.  Random Stat: not hitting fairways or greens right now, but it’s on the cusp, just have a bunch to work on.

May 22: Decided to focus on short game for most of the morning and then hit the range to get to work on my full swing for about an hour before really nasty rains made me decide to visit with an old friend who was in town with a band.  5,844 remain. Random Stat:  Still got that wedge game and love the short stuff, just need to keep grinding on the driver.

May 21, 2013:  Back to work in Portland.  Got the TrackMan out to figure out how to implement everything I learned while at the seminar yesterday and then played a very quick 18 from the tips for score.  5,848 remain.  Random Stat: shot a 79 from the tips, good to get back to scoring.  Didn’t drop a single birdie and fought a bunch of rain and hail.  The country is having some crazy weather right now.

May 18-20:  Spent the weekend at a Titleist TPI seminar getting certified in that and then attended a TrackMan University class on Monday.  Great informative data, excited to use the new knowledge.

May 17:  Had a lesson with Bruce in the morning out at Langdon for an hour then went up to CECC to get to work on the new changes he is having me do.  I love the new swing and am excited to see what happens when it’s more ingrained.  5,852 remain.  Random Stat:  I need to play a full 18 for score soon.

May 16, 2013: Jammed my wrist yesterday and today it felt like I shouldn’t use it too much on full swings, so I spent the morning chipping and putting.  Always can use extra work on the short game.  After a few hours I decided to do a workout and catch up on a load of other writing and work.  5,856 remain.  Random Stat: I think I hit too down on the ball with my 3-wood..

May 15:  Spent the morning at CECC working with the new sticks and new golf moves and then did a ton of short course work including some new chipping games and the par 3 course out there.  5,859 remain.  Random Stat: shot even for 9 holes of par 3 golf, two birds and two silly bogeys.

May 14, 2013: Took yesterday off to celebrate Mary’s birthday.  Today, back to CECC to work on the new swing moves and grip.  It’s actually starting to make some sense to me, which is a relief. Worked the short course in the afternoon.  5,863 remain.  Random Stat: I think the new move is really going to pay off, just need to keep those hands high and stay away from getting trapped behind my body.

May 12, 2013: Knocked it around for 18 holes today dropping multiple balls and playing different shots.  The new swing moves have me a bit jumbled at the moment.  It’s going to take a while to get everything down.  5,868 remain. Random Stat: Am hitting about 50 percent good shots and 50 off.

May 11:  Played 18 at Wildwood course and struggled more than I can ever remember just hitting the ball with all the new aspects getting jumbled in my head. 5,871 remain.  Random Stat: I think I am starting to understand the new take-away and how the grip affects that.

May 10:  Worked on the new swing and grip at CECC for 3 hours then went to Heron to play 18 with my buddy Eric in the afternoon. Got my new driver!  Struggled to get anything to do what I wanted it to, though, with the changes in the swing, this is going to take a week or so to get down, it’s pretty big. 5,876 remain.  Random Stat: Lost by a bunch of holes to Eric in match play.  Now isn’t the time to put too much emphasis on scoring, it’s swing groove time.

May 9, 2013:  Had a lesson at Langdon with Bruce Furman and then went to play at Stone Creek down the road.  I’m making some big changes and it’s going to be a while until they are grooved. 5,881 remain.  Random Stat: struggled to shoot 80 at Stone with problems throughout the bag due to major changes.

May 8: Spent the day at CECC breaking in my new sticks.  They are amazingly lovely and I am very happy to have them in hand.  5,885 remain.  Random Stat:  Irons go about 10 yards farther, can’t wait to get them on TrackMan to see what the real differences are.

May 7, 2013:  Went to CECC and to my surprise the new clubs arrived!  All but the driver so far.  They are amazing and were fun to start breaking in.  5,889 remain.  Random Stat: Shot an 80 from the blues with the new sticks, can’t wait for that driver!

May 6:  Had a morning interview then went to CECC for an interview round with an Oregonian writer.  Played very poorly for some reason, but a bit better on the back. 5,895 remain.  Shot an 85 on the day, boooo

May 5: Went out to Langdon Farms for a lesson with Bruce Furman then worked on the new moves for an hour. 5,898 remain. Random Stat: love working with Bruce on mechanics.

May 4, 2013:  Tourney time.  Played a two-man best ball with my buddy Eric Sack out at the Reserve South.  We hoped to win the thing, but ended up shooting a 74 on the day.  5,900 remain.  Random Stat: We doubled the same hole which is never a good thing in a best ball.

May 3: Played Riverside golf club for the first time today and had a good time in the sun while taking on a familiar golfing rival.  Afterwords, went to CECC to practice a bit and play 2 more holes. 5,904 remain.  Random Stat: shot an 81 from the tips at Riverside.

May 2, 2013: Full day of swing mechanic work at CECC including a long stint on the short course area and 9 holes with an Oregonian photographer following along.  5,908 remain.  Random Stat: shot a 40 for the 9 holes including a double on the 9th.

May 1: Got to CECC earlier than normal and practiced on the range with TrackMan for three hours before doing a short interview and finishing the day with two hours of short course work.  5,913 remain.  Random Stat: check the stat page for some updated numbers

April 30:  Went for a lesson at Langdon Farms then headed up to CECC to work on everything that I picked up during the lesson.  Was great to get my swing filmed again.  5,918 remain.  Random Stat:  working on getting wide in my backswing.

April 29: Had a morning interview then warmed up and played 18 at CECC.  Afterwords, practiced the driver for a while. Really can’t wait for my new stick.  5,923 remain.  Random Stat: shot an 81 from the tips.

April 28, 2013:  Spent an hour collecting Trackman data on the range at CECC then went to play 18 at East Moreland to get back into a groove. 5,927 remain. Random Stat: tied Eric in a match play round, we were prepping for a best ball tourney we are playing in this Saturday.

April 25:  Had a full club fitting at Titleist that included about an hour of practice as I learned quite a bit during the fitting. 5,931 remain. Random Stat:  Lots of stats from the fitting will be posted shortly.

April 22, 2013:  Had a morning meeting then went to CECC when it opened at noon to give into some short game practice drills and a round at Heron Lakes.  Great day. 5,932 remain.  Random Stat: shot an 80 from the blues.

April 21:  Had a radio interview in the morning then went to CECC to work on the driver and play a full 18.  Was a pretty great day all in all, but I didn’t have the 913 and was looking forward to heading to Carlsbad to find one that fits.  5,937 remain. Random Stat: Spent a long time putting for the first time in a while, and it felt great.

April 20, 2013:  Had a morning round at CECC followed by a range session with the new 913 driver then another 9 holes. 5,941 remain. Random Stat: shot an 81 from the blues with 4 double bogeys.

April 19: Practiced at CECC on the range, driver specific, then played 18 to see how it payed off.  I missed all of the fairways for the first 9 then realized that my swing had gotten way too flat, the realization payed off on the back with a couple birdies and much better play all in all. 5,946 remain.  Random Stat: shot a 78 from the blues

April 18, 2013: Got out to CECC on a windy but beautiful day and played a round for the first time in a while. Afterwords I practiced that darn driver for a straight hour.  5,951 remain.  Random Stat: shot an 81 from the blues.

April 17:  Had a couple hours free at Blair Academy so practiced some different types of lies and grasses before flying back to Portland. 5,955 remain.  Random Stat:  not sure what type of grass was on those greens but it was fun getting to know the speed.

April 14, 2013: Went to the club and practiced with a few different drivers both on and off the course while dipping in to watch some Masters action as it was unfolding.  5,957 remain. Random Stat: Ready to head to Jersey tomorrow to speak at Blair Academy.

April 13:  Tourney time!  Arrived at Langdon 30 minutes early to warm up then played 18 holes of tournament golf and then went to CECC to work on a couple little things before calling it a day.  The tourney round was long and cold and I was pretty beat. 5,961 remain.  Random Stat: shot an 80 which happens to be my tourney low score.

April 12:  Had a lesson with Adrian and then worked on all sorts of aspects of the game through the day then went to Heron to play 18 with a few buddies who were playing in tomorrow’s tourney. 5,965 remain.  Random Stat: Shot an 80 on the Great Blue course

April 11, 2013:  Warmed up and hit on TrackMan for an hour then played in a two-man best ball tournament at CECC.  Great day for golf!  5,969 remain.  Random Stat: Shot a 82 and a team 77, net 72.

April 10: Played a rainy morning round with a friend at CECC then went to work on irons and driver on the range.  Irons are acting up a bit.  5,973 remain. Random Stat: Lost a match play match with a bogey on 18.

April 8, 2013:  Nice Monday with the typical late start as the club opens at noon. Got out there around 11 to warm up and hit some balls then played 18 with two guys.  Afterwords had to boogie home to help Mary and as it was our anniversary I was happy to oblige.  During the round I used the Ping demo and hit 10 fairways. 5,977 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 78 from the blues without a birdie, was putting okay but nothing fell.  Hit the ball great, though.

April 7, 2013: Watched the kids in the morning to help out until about 10 then went to CECC to work on that pesky driver.  Hit the range for an hour then played 9 missing horribly every fairway.  had a talk with Adrian and hit a special tee ball setup that he made to help with hand action and went back out with a Ping demo driver and shot 1 over on the back hitting a lot of fairways.  Great transformation!  5,981 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 79 after being 7 over on the front 9.  What a difference gear can make!

April 6, 2013: Met a buddy at CECC for a morning 18 and then had to split in the afternoon after a bit of range work to take care of a presentation that I am giving next week in Jersey. 5,985 remain.  Random Stat: Driver was beyond awful. This stick is killing me. Shot an 88 with no fairways hit and 4 penalty shots from OB balls.  Demoralizing.

April 5: Practice at CECC for a couple of hours and then had a mid-day meeting.  Afterwords played 18 at Heron Lakes. 5,988 remain.  Random Stat: Shot an 80 on the Great Blue course.

April 4: Started the day with a lesson from Adrian where we specifically worked on the driver for an hour.  It was great to grind on that stick, but I still can’t seem to hit that Nike driver to save my life.  After I played 9 and then worked on the range for a couple of hours.  5,993 remain.  Random Stat: shot 6 over for the 9 holes without a fairway touched.

April 3, 2013: Went to CECC for a bit of range work then to Heron Lakes to play 18.  Afterwords I went home to work on a Blair Academy presentation.  5,998 remain.  Random Stat: shot an 82 from the blue tees of Heron Lakes.

April 2: Met a reporter in the morning for a 9-hole interview then went out and played 18 on my own followed by a range session.  Starting to really hit it well again!  6,002 remain.  Random Stat: Shot a 79 from the blue tees.

April 1, 2013:  Things are really starting to make sense again.  My irons “clicked” and the driver is beginning to as well.  Played 18 at Heron on the Great Blue course and even though the greens were punched and bumpy I hit the ball much better than I have in the past month.  6,007 remain.  Random Stat: shot a 77 from the blues.

March 31:  Morning round with Eric and another buddy at Eastmoreland golf club.  It was the first time I have played that since last year’s Portland City Championship and I wanted a bit of redemption after my second day 92.  Shot much better then went to practice at CECC for a couple of hours.  6,013 remain.  Random Stat: Shot an 82 from the blues.

March 30, 2013: Practiced at CECC for a while in the morning waiting for a tee time.  It was super busy as the weather was outstanding.  Practiced for two hours then went to play 18.  Still no good with that driver.  6,018 remain.  Random Stat: Shot an 81 from the blacks.

March 29:  Full day of sun and swings out at CECC.  Warmed up and practice for a couple of hours then played 18 followed by about 2 hours on the TrackMan. 6,023 remain. Random Stat: shot an 82 from the black tees.

March 28:  Morning practice at CECC of range time and short game, then called it a day early to do a favor for my coach and shoot family portraits of his family.  6,029 remain.  Random Stat: Range was up so I didn’t get to work on the driver too much, but I adjusted it to square and seemed to be going okay.

March 27, 2013:  Just two hours.  Friend visit in the morning and then got to the club in the early afternoon.  For some reason, be it allergies or fighting a cold or something, I felt exhausted today and just couldn’t concentrate.  It’s been a long week and tomorrow will get back into the swing. 6,032 remain.  Random stat: my mind and body need an afternoon off after the tourney weekend, house guests and photo shoots.

March 26, 2013:  Full day photo shoot with Time Magazine left me just one hour in the middle of the day to practice.  Swung a club all day, but not towards learning.  6,034 remain.  Random Stat:  being a model in a shoot is way more tiring than being the photographer.

March 25: After the full weekend of tournament golf I felt like a little enjoyable round today.  Practiced for one hour then played Heron Lakes.  Played the front of the greenback course and the back of the great blue.  6,035 remain. Random Stat: shot a 39 on the front of the greenback then messed around and didn’t keep score for the rest of the day.

March 24, 2013:  Tournament day round two.  Tee time was 8:30 and no range so didn’t have a chance to warm up, but played pretty good all in all. Started with four bogeys, but got it together on the fifth hole. 6,037 remain. Random Stat: Shot another 81, which I am proud of as it was a tougher setup to the course.   Onward and upward

March 23:  First tourney of the season!  Very excited to get this going.  Warmed up at CECC then teed it up and kicked it off.  6,041 remain. Random Stat: shot an 81 in my first tourney round of 2013, which ties my record tourney round.

March 22, 2013:  Practiced at CECC all day including a full round  Good day out there, but I’m just not feeling the driver.  Not sure what to do before tomorrow.  6, 045 remain.  Random Stat: Missed every fairway and wasn’t able to really hit the range even.

March 21:  Full morning working at CECC on finding a new driver during the TM fitting day then tried it out for 9 followed by putting practice and a practice 18 at Rose City in the evening.  6,051 remain. Random Stat: wasn’t really counting (practice round) but shot about an 85 there.

March 20: Practiced short game and putting on the par 3 course at CECC for three hours then felt like something wasn’t sitting right in my back so went to see chiropractor Seth. Got stuck in a ton of traffic, but had enough daylight to go to Rose City for an hour of putting practice on their greens. 6,057 remain. Random Stat: I need to think about hitting the ball 5 feet past the cup to get it to the hole.

March 19, 2013:  Workout in the morning but couldn’t do dead lifts and the PT said my pelvis was off. He adjusted it and told me to take 24 hours off, so no practice.

March 18:  Morning workout then took the afternoon off to hang out with Mary.  We rarely get a day off together and it’s important to nurture all aspects of life.

March 17:  Met Eric at Heron for a round which went pretty well, although just didn’t score where I need/want to be as I found a silly way to bogey so many holes.  Afterwords went to CECC for a full day of practice.  6,060 remain.  Random Stat: Shot an 85 on the Great Blue from the blues.

March 16:  Morning workout and then one hour of short game practice.  Was going to do more, but my body was too tired from four workouts this week and full swings felt like a bad idea.  Need to have a hair of rest to physically get back in it.  6,066 remain.  Random Stat: Putting is solid and back to 100 percent.

March 15, 2013: Went to CECC after a couple morning calls and played 18 then worked on short game for quite a while.  Didn’t score too great, but the putting is getting much better.  6,067 remain.  Random Stat: Shot an 83 from the whites.

March 14: Morning workout then did a full day on the Mason course with Country Club.  Great to have some short game competition!  6,071 remain.  Random Stat: He won by one after 36 holes.  We’re getting very close competitively.

March 13, 2013: Morning workout then up to CECC to play a round and follow it with some driver work.  Was striking it well, but only hit one fairway as the driver is less than great by any means.  6,076 remain.  Random Stat: shot an 83 from the blues.

March 12: Full big day at CECC from short game to 27 holes.  Didn’t have any workouts and felt great on the course.  Striking the ball well and on track.  6,082 remain.  Random Stat: Shot an 84 from the blues.

March 11, 2013: Started the week with a workout at Shawn’s gym then went up to Rose City for a round to get ready for the Iceberg next week.  6,088 remain.  Random Stat: Shot an 83 on the course with way too many putts.

March 10:  Practice round at Rose City to warm up for the first tourney of the year coming March 23-24.  Was a good day to smack it around and think about course management.  6,091 remain. Random Stat: shot a n 84, but with a lot of random shots and poor putting.

March 9: Played mister mom in the morning and had a radio interview then had an hour long driver lesson with Adrian followed by an hour of practice and the rest of the day spent with the girlfriend and kiddos.  6,095 remain.  Random Stat: it’s my number one priority to get a new driver.

March 8: Met a new guy out at Heron for 18 then went to CECC and put in a pretty full day of practice.  Great day out and a view of the beautiful spring and summer to come.  6,097 remain. Random Stat: shot an 81 on the Great Blue course.

March 7, 2013: Worked out then went up to CECC and get TrackMan out on the range for an hour. Afterwords, played some up and down games on the putting green then teed it up for 9 holes followed by short course practice. 6,103 remain. Random Stat: shot 6 over from the tips for 9, it’s slowly getting back to where I was a couple months ago.

March 6: Morning workout then a cold rainy day cut practice a bit short. Standing water on everything so I played 9 holes and then hit the short course to try out some new Vokey wedges! 6,108 remain. Random Stat: five over for 9 from the tips.

March 5, 2013: Play day. Played 18 holes from the black tees at CECC with two other guys then joined in and replayed the back with a different group. Followed it with some putting and range practice. 6,111 remain. Random Stat: Shot a mind numbing 91 from the tips.

March 4: Morning workout followed by a short course day. Am aiming to get my distances fine tuned from 40-100 yards. Making some progress with short chips, too by forcing myself to get 3 up and downs in a row before moving on. 6,117 remain. Random Stat: took an hour to get the 3 up and downs.

March 3, 2013: Another round at Heron Lakes followed by a couple hours of practice and a lesson with Adrian at CECC.  Driver has got to go, going to find a replacement tomorrow.  5 balls OB with hooks and slices today, way too much sidespin.  6,121 remain. Random Stat: shot an 87 on the Greenback course.

March 2:  Early morning round with the Heron Lakes men’s club and then to CECC to practice all aspects of the game, especially chipping and putting.  My drives are beyond awful right now with five balls OB on the day.  6,127 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 84 on the Greenback course.

March 1, 2013:  They turned the handicap system back on today and I met a buddy at Rose City to play the first official round of the season. Started off bad at 5 over after 4, but got a bit of rust off on the back nine.  6,132 remain.  Random Stat: shot an 83 from the blues.

February 28: Another full day spent on short game and the par 3 course.  Today it only took an hour to get 3 up and downs, but there is a lot more that needs to happen in this area. 6,135 remain.  Random Stat: Played the front nine at 7 over, hitting everything fat right now.

February 27, 2013:  Back at it full on today.  Spent the entire day working on short game with just a small taste of the full swing.  In order to score I need to be able to get up and down much more often so am going to focus on that for a while.  6,141 remain.  Random Stat: it took 2 hours to get 3 up and downs in a row.  Way too long.

February 26:  Was going to take the day off to catch up on rest as I was fighting a little bug and exhausted from the trip, but couldn’t pass up a good day and got out there for a few hours in the middle of the day.  6,146 remain.  Random Stat: I need to get a new driver.

February 25, 2013: Early morning round with the docs and then flew back to Portland.  It was a great trip to Southern California and I hope to return soon.  Better score today, but still left a ton out there.  6,149 remain. Random Stat: shot a 79 from the white tees of Rancho Park.

February 24: Met Dr. Bob Bjork and Dr. Dan Schacter in LA for a round at the Encino municipal course.  Still fighting the hooks something fierce.  Great company, poor score.  6,152 remain. Random Stat: shot an 87 from the blue tees, that’s been my, unfortunately, go to score lately.

February 23: Rancho Bernanrdo was the course and a short stint of range time afterwords made it a three hour day.  I hit with another lefties driver to good results.  6,155 remain. Random Stat: shot an 87 from the tips.

February 22, 2013:  Played a round at The Crosby course with about an hour of practice beforehand and a bit afterwords.  Was a good day and a tough track.  Hooked a lot of balls OB. 6,158 remain.  Random Stat: Shot an 87 on the day.

February 21:  Had a two hour wedge fitting today that was enlightening.  I was not going to count it as practice, but I learned a lot and that is the definition of practice.  6,162 remain.  Random Stat: Ordered four new wedges and can’t wait to get them.

February 19: Finally feeling good enough to practice today. Put in 4 hours on the short game out at CECC.  Very happy to be able to swing again, although the full swing was still a bit iffy so I worked just short stuff all day.  6,164 remain.  Random Stat: it was a beautiful day to be rolling to ball, excited to get down to Southern California tomorrow.

February 18, 2013: Went to See chiropractor Seth Alley and PT Shawn Dailey today.  Seth got my pelvis back in line and taped me up and then Shawn cupped the area and ran a stint machine to relax the muscles.  Glad to be getting treatment and ready to get back to work.

February 17:  Tried to play in a little golf tourney of friends but only made it through 3 holes before whatever was nagging in my hip made it so I couldn’t swing.  no hours practiced. Random Stat: Hobbled through 2 boggies and a par.

February 15, 2013:  Morning workout did something to my hip area that made it so I couldn’t make a full swing.  Practiced putting for a couple of hours then called it a day.  6,168 remain.  Random Stat: Need to get this figured out.

February 14: Warmed up on the range and then played 27 holes at Heron Lakes.  Was good to get a decent scoring round in after a couple of weeks of swing changes.  6,170 remain. Random Stat: shot a 77 on the Great Blue course.

February 12, 2013: Took yesterday off and went on a long hike then got back to work today.  A friend met me at CECC and we practiced short game most all day as well as worked on the TrackMan for a couple of hours.  6,175 remain.  Random Stat: David schooled me on the short course even though I shot pretty close to par.

February 10:  Practice day at CECC.  Worked on the range and short course for a while, and then really focussed on the driver for a couple of straight hours. 6,180 remain.  Random Stat: I got to get that club more consistent.

February 9, 2013: Double booked a round so ended up playing 36 at Heron Lakes with a bit of practice beforehand.  Great day for a lot of golf.  6,185 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 86 in the men’s club in the morning round and an 82 in the afternoon round.

February 8: Started the day with a big workout at Shawn’s place and then went to CECC to spend as much time as I could muster the strength for on the range. Was a beautiful day. 6,190 remain. Random Stat: Played the front 9 with a totally new swing and shot 5 over.

February 7: Back to work. Great day spent on the range, the entire day was dedicated to learning the driver and I had a lot of realizations that will pay off soon. 6,194 remain. Random Stat: I have been firing my hips around and not up, I need to lead with my glute and push off the ground.

February 5, 2013: Flew back to Portland today and got in early enough to be able to practice for two hours before the sun set. Good to be home. 6,199 remain. Random Stat: I’m going to make the driver a priority.

February 4: Played one final Georgia round before heading back to the Pacific Northwest. Went out and teed it at the Manor Golf Club with a psychoanalyst for a nice round. 6,201 remain. Random Stat: after a rough 7 over start I shot an 81 for the day. Played much better on the back.

February 3, 2013: Met up with a Georgia golfing buddy and his two Irish friends at Golf Club of Georgia for a round.  Warmed up and then played the Lakeside course.  6,204 remain. Random Stat: shot an 85 from the Tradition tees (black blue combo) which was 9 strokes better than the last time I played there.

February 2: Was invited to play Atlanta Athletic Club and so spent the afternoon out there. Warmed up and then played 15 holes before storms kicked us off the course. 6,207 remain. Random Stat: was 9 over after 8 then 1 more over for the next 7 holes.

February 1, 2013: Went back up to Cartersville for the day.  Practiced on the range for a couple of hours then worked on the front of the course for two more.  6,210 remain. Random Stat: hitting everything fat with the new changes.

January 31: Back in Cartersville! Spent a lovely sunny (albeit cold) day at the Cartersville Country Club working with Scott Hamilton. Great forward movement, especially with my pivot. 6,214 remain. Random Stat: I was moving my hips all wrong, got it on the right path now.

January 28, 2013:  Full morning workout at Shawn’s gym then to CECC to play 9 holes before heading home to clean my house before new roommates move in and to pack for Atlanta. 6,220 remain.  Random Stat: didn’t play very well off the box, but had a nice birdie on 9.

January 27: Went out to CECC early before having to spend the afternoon preparing my house for new roommates moving in.  Spent about 3 hours at the club working on the range and short game. 6,222 remain.  Random Stat: my right thumb was jammed about a week ago and is still bugging me.

January 26: Put in a full day of short game and some range work at CECC.  Played the short par 3 course and did a lot of pitching work.  6,225 remain.  Random Stat: shot one over for 9 par 3 holes.

January 25, 2013:  Did a workout at Shawn Dailey’s gym in the morning and then went to Trails End driving range and met with my swing coach Adrian to hit on the TrackMan for a few hours.  Was a really good day of progress.  6,230 remain.  Random Stat: still hitting down on the drive, but now just about .5 degrees down.

January 24:  Full work day at CECC.  Was actually a little warm out when the sun came out.  Practice with the TrackMan and on course for a full day.  6,234 remain.  Random Stat: Learning how to hit up with the driver.

January 23, 2013: Must have been the toughest golf weather day yet. High of 34 and freezing rain, so I practiced on the range for an hour then played 9 at CECC filming the entire experience. 6,239 remain. Random Stat: shot a 38 on the front.

January 22: Another round of morning workout made the rest of the day better suited for short game practice, so went to CECC and powered through four hours of putting and chipping. 6,242 remain. Random Stat: I love the new workouts and can’t wait for the next one.

January 20, 2013:  It’s cold out.  I met Eric and another regular playing partner out at Rose City and we tried to play 18, but it was not exactly “golf” out there. In total, the three of us stuck 3 greens in regulation on the entire day as the ball would literally bounce over the green if it hit from any distance.  I hit one 205 yard par 3 with a beauty of a 4-hybrid and it literally bounced over a tree and 20 yards off of the back of the green.  Really funny out there.  6,246 remain.  Random Stat: There’s no point in keeping score on a day like today but Eric did beat me in match play through the round.

January 19:  Frost delay until noon and stuff to do at home so I spent the morning working on etceteras and then hit the course for a round in the fog.  Kind of ready for a nice warm day.  6,250 remain.  Random Stat: shot an 82 on the Great Blue course and was missing all my iron shots fat, realized late in the game it was because my glutes were sore from this week’s workout.

January 18, 2013: Frost delay so went to Trails End and worked with the TrackMan for a few hours before heading up to CECC for a lesson with Adrian and some short course work.  6,254 remain. Random Stat: scored a 67.7 on the Combine.

January 17: had an intense workout in the morning then went to Trails End driving range for a little while and topped it off with 8 holes at cecc before the sun set. 6,259 remain. Random Stat: it’s very hard to make full swings after an intense workout.

January 16: warmed up at cecc then played a round with the regular guys out there. Was way off with my irons but hit some great drives. 6,262 remain. Random Stat: shot an 85.

January 15, 2013: Met with chiropractor Seth in the morning and then went out to Quail Valley to play for the first time. It was frost delay until about 11 and the greens were ridiculously wet to the point of not really being playable. So, we played match play and tied after 18. 6,265 remain. Random Stat: was an up and down match, but we both parred out 18 for a tie.

January 13: Frost delay for a lot of the morning and then went out to CECC around noon for a few hours of practice before I had a conference call with Dr. Rob Bell, a sports psychologist I have been talking with. 6,267 remain. Random Stat: Everything is a go mentally!

January 12, 2013: Frost delays and frozen grounds all day, but Heron Lakes opened so Deryk and I played a match play round out there. Just 18 holes, no time for anything else with the frost. 6,270 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 73 on the Greenback course.

January 11: Frost delays until about 11:30 today but then brought the TrackMan out to CECC to use it on the grass for the first time. It was fascinating and I realized that my driver swing is way over the top. 6,273 remain. Random Stat: Did a Combine but scored just 63 on it.

January 10: Woke up pretty sore from yesterday’s workout and figured playing a round was the best way to stave that. Started rough, five over after five, but then got it together. 6,278 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 76 from the blues at CECC.

January 9, 2013: Had a physical assessment with Shawn Dailey and then went to Trails End and hit balls for a couple of hours, but was pretty sore from the workout. 6,282 remain. Random Stat: it’s hard to hit balls immediately after maxing out in the bench and squats.

January 8: Played CECC with my buddy Jason and then hit some balls on the range, but was a bit sore from a few days of hitting a ton of shots, so took it easier. 6,284 remain. Random Stat: we tied at 79, although I was 4 over on the last 3 holes when I kind of ran out of steam.

January 7: Spent the day with TrackMan at Trails End range. A solid four hours of hitting balls and analyzing stats. I love having solid feedback. 6,287 remain. Random Stat: shot a 63 combine.

January 6, 2013: Back to CECC. Worked the range and putting green then had a meeting with my swing coach followed by playing the front nine. 6,291 remain. Random Stat: shot 5 over on the front, but am working on a new inside-to-out swing that is starting to pay off.

January 5: Cold and windy out so made it a full TrackMan day and went to Trails End range. Worked for 4 solid range hours and had a lot of realizations about the swing. 6,295 remain. Random Stat: I am about PGA Tour average with the short irons, but lack on the longer ones.

January 4, 2013: Met Country Club at Heron Lakes to play a match for “best golfer of 2012″ honors. We played 18 then I stuck around and teed it up for 9 more. 6,299 remain. Random Stat: shot a 79 which was good to win the match by one stroke.

January 3: CECC day. Worked on the range then played 18 and then spent a bit more time on the range. The greens were so hard it was nearly impossible to stick a green, the ball just bounced like cart path. 6,303 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 85 which was actually pretty decent for the conditions.

January 2, 2013: Took New Year’s Day off to spend some time with Mary and the kids then went back to it today. The course had a frost delay for most of the day and there were 25mph winds, so I went to Trails End driving range and worked on the TrackMan for three hours. 6,307 remain. Random Stat: Think I’m learning more about how my body generates power.

December 31: Great day to end the year. Found my mojo after a few day slump and played pretty well despite absolutely frozen greens that played like hardpan. Didn’t score super well, but found my drive and iron shots once again. It snowed for a lot of the day. 6,310 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 80 at Heron Lakes and about 5 over for 9 at CECC

December 30: Felt about the same as yesterday, just cannot make a shot even if my life depended on it. Played 18, but know that I just need to step back for a second and approach it anew tomorrow or the next day. 6,315 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 83 from the blues with one birdie.

December 29, 2012: really not feeling it today. I played 18 but just could not focus at all and was all over the place with my shots. 6,319 remain. Random Stat: shot an 82 from the blues.

December 28, 2012: Cold morning and a bit rainy, but I went out to CECC to work for a few hours. I feel like I’m about to start a slump for some reason, just not feeling it out there and am having a hard time concentrating. 6,322 remain. Random Stat: Played 27 and shot okay, but around 40 average per 9.

December 27: Short course practice day with 40-80 yard emphasis and trap work. Then had a full swing lesson with Adrien. 6,326 remain. Random Stat: didn’t realize how much out to in I had been hitting the ball.

December 26: Took yesterday off due to rain and family in town. Today, got in four hours in the middle of the day including 24 holes of pretty solid golf. 6,330 remain. Random Stat: had three birdies in a row for the first time ever.

December 24, 2012: Christmas eve, spent the morning getting the car towed to the mechanic and then went to CECC to hit the range and work on putting for the rest of the daylight hours. Not many people out there, but I got some solid work in before Christmas. 6,334 remain. Random Stat: Shot 3 over for nine holes.

December 23: Went to the range in the morning for two hours then took the rest of the day off to go to the Hood River Train Polar Express with the kids. It was a great little trip away for them. 6,337 remain. Random Stat: the gas station put regular in our diesel.

December 22, 2012: Back in Portland in time to hit the range for 2 hours. I’m ready to play a round of golf, it’s been a while since I got in a full 18. 6,339 remain. Random Stat: got my 8-iron up to about 87 mph for some swings.

December 21: Shortest day of the year, so tomorrow the days get longer! Had a couple of hours in the morning to hit balls before heading to Seattle in the eve to see Louis CK perform. Great show. 6,341 remain. Random Stat: shot 3 over for 9 from the blue tees at CECC.

December 20: Back into full swing mode today. I’m very glad that I did not have a serious injury and it was something that my chiropractor could fix in a day. Lucky. Full swing and chipping and putting today as well as a bunch of distance work on the short course. 6,343 remain. Random Stat: Haven’t actually played golf in a while, just working on the swing.

December 19, 2012: Was feeling much stronger today so went out and had a normal practice session. That said, I did a lot of putting and chipping and short game work, but then got the driver back out. Tomorrow I’ll have another TrackMan range session. 6,347 remain. Random Stat: was getting a lot of birdies on the par 3 course.

December 18: The back was tight and sore in the morning but eased up through the day. Still, I avoided big swings and focussed on short game for 4 hours. Working on scoring, nothing better than that. 6,351 remain. Random Stat: I can feel my putting getting better, always.

December 17: Had a morning of meetings from a dentist to a Leupold Tour to my chiropractor and PT. My chiropractor popped my hip back into place but said that I should not take full swings for the rest of the day. Afterwords I went and practiced putting for an hour. 6,354 remain. Random Stat: love just bringing the putter out and getting back to basics.

December 15, 2012: Went to CECC to work on the range for a while then played the par 3 course. While walking it with my carry bag I felt something strange in my hip and it really began to hurt so I finished the day after just three hours. 6,355 remain. Random Stat: Not sure what it is, but it was lingering.

December 14: Finally set up the TrackMan and love it! Went to Trails End driving range to utilize the covered bays and hit on it for a solid 4 hours. This is huge for the project. 6,358 remain. Random Stat: started the data collection..

December 13: Played Heron Lakes with Country Club for the first time in quite a while. It was super soggy and the greens were pretty rough, typical winter conditions. 6,362 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 81 for a one stroke loss to CC.

December 12, 2012: 12/12/12. Had a cold morning putting meeting with Pat from SeeMore where he showed me how to best utilize the putter. Then practiced irons and fell into a game with some regulars. 6,366 remain. Random Stat: shot a 77 with 32 putts.

December 11: Back to work on a cold rainy day after one day off. Warmed up on the range and worked on short irons and hybrids then played a few holes and worked through the afternoon on putting. 6,371 remain. Random Stat: keep that head down.

December 9, 2012: Early morning round at Heron Lakes started off stiff and cold but got warm through the day. Then went to the range at CECC and finished with a few more holes. 6,375 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 79 on the Great Blue course.

December 8: Range work followed by 18 with a fellow regular CECC member. Played my best out there for 9 holes and pretty darn good for the entire 18, but bogeyed 3 of the last 4 holes. 6,380 remain. Random Stat: shot a 74 from the blue tees.

December 7: Worked on irons then played 9 practice holes followed by 18 scoring holes. Things are starting to click. 6,385 remain. Random Stat: shot a 75 from the blue tees.

December 6: Practice and play again today because it was actually dry out. COLD this morning, but it got to the upper 40s by the afternoon. played very poorly. 6,390 remain. Random Stat: shot an 86 with only two fairways hit.

December 5: Practiced for an hour and then decided to take out the new swing on the course. Hit the ball really well, but the rain soaked greens were so slow that I just couldn’t adjust and had a ton of putts. 6,394 remain. Random Stat: shot an 81 with 41 putts.

December 4, 2012: Practice day. Worked on everything that Adrian has me doing with the irons and driver, which amounts to an entirely different and new feel at impact. Spent about 4 hours out there doing reps of the new, especially a lot with half and quarter swings. 6,398 remain. Random Stat: I want to try out this new stuff on the course soon.

December 3: Course opens at noon so I got there at 11 to work on putting and then had a lesson from 1:45 to 3 which was awesome. Afterwords, worked on some aspects for a bit then headed to the dentist for my first cleaning in a long long time. 6,402 remain. Random Stat I need to stop flipping my wrists through impact.

December 2: Late start to the day and a lot of rain left with just about 3 hours of training. I worked really hard to find a “feel” that I had the last day out and it wasn’t until the end of the day that I got it back. I’m onto something, just not quite sure what it is yet.. 6,406 remain. Random Stat: It’s winter for my course until March, so no more posting scored for handicap, but will still keep them for stats and here.

November 30: Ran some errands in the morning and then got to the club around 11. Adrian gave me a good iron look-over and I praticed getting the club back to square at impact for a while before playing 7 holes and then putting practice. 6,409 remain. Random Stat: Hit the flag on my approach on the first hole and left a couple just a few feet away, much better.

November 29, 2012: Met a friend in the morning to play from the blacks on a super windy and cold day. It was funny teeing off into the wind and only getting 180 yards out of a good drive. 6,413 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 82 from the tips.

November 28: Play went better today and I was starting to hit more fairways, but there is just something really off with my irons.. I need a check-up pronto. I got my new putter and it was pretty awesome, had 13 putts on the front including a 45 foot birdie on the second hole. 6,418 remain. Random Stat: shot a 76 from the blues.

November 27: Worked on my full swing for a while then played 18 and then back to range where I realized that I just need to hit the ball and not think so much about it. I played very off again, but chipped and putted fairly well. 6,422 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 81 from the blues.

November 26: Monday the course opens at noon so I got there at 11 to work on putting. After about two hours I played 18 with a group and hit the ball worse than I can remember doing. I need some serious range time tomorrow. 6,427 remain. Random Stat: shot an 82 from the blue.

November 25: Back to work today as the rains were nowhere to be seen and the course was pretty open. I short-coursed it for a while and worked on the range so much I think I was forgetting to remember to work on one thing at a time. My full swing is a bit suspect right now. 6,432 remain. Random Stat: played 9 holes at four over.

November 24, 2012: Much better day out. Got in a full one before heading home to meet with Mary who’s business was burgled. 6,436 remain. Random Stat: Shot 4 over for 11 holes.

November 23: Went out for a few hours today, but it was honestly raining harder than I can recall. After about 3 hours I was soaked to the bone and there was standing water everywhere to the point where you couldn’t find a dry spot on the range. 6,441 remain. Random Stat: Played a few holes but couldn’t get the putts to go anywhere through the water.

November 22: Turkey day. The course was pretty open as it was Thanksgiving so I worked on the range until there were no balls left them played about 16 holes and finished with putting. It’s been a while since I took a day off.. 6,444 remain. Random Stat: was 6 over from the tips after 16 holes.

November 21, 2012: The rains abated and the sun came out today. It was a good day for practice and had a solid lesson with Adrian then worked away at it the rest of the day. 6,448 remain. Random Stat: Need to stay more connected and get my left arm through the swing.

November 20: Between downpours and some sun, I actually managed to work well for about 4 hours today. It may be about time to get out of dodge. 6,454 remain. Random Stat: shot 5 over for 9 holes from the black tees in the heavy rain.

November 19: Tried to practice and play some holes today, but it was raining harder than I have ever seen the rains fall. I got in 6 holes after a little warm-up but that was it, standing water and sideways rain and 50mph winds.

November 18: Practiced for a few solid hours working on short game and range work. Afterwords, played 18 at CECC that was focussed on dropping balls in different spots to do on-course work. 6,458 remain. Random Stat: it’s starting to get really wet out there.

November 17, 2012: Arrived at 10 and hit balls for an hour. Unfortunately, the laptop I want to use with TrackMan needs a new battery so will have to wait. I then played 18 in the hard rain and finished with short game work before it got too dark to continue. 6,462 remain. Random Stat: shot an 80 at CECC from the blues.

November 16: Had a visitor from Seattle meet me at Heron Lakes for a round. Went well and was fun and he presented me with my first military Challenge coin. After, I went to CECC and hit balls until dark, which came at 4:30. 6,467 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 80 on the Great Blue course.

November 15, 2012: Only was able to practice for two hours before having to go home and wait for the UPS guy to deliver a TrackMan. Super excited to get out there with it tomorrow. 6,472 remain. Random Stat: It was such a beautiful day, shame to not be able to be out there for longer.

November 14: Met a couple of guys out on the short course and practiced/played there all morning. Was great to have some short game competition to push me a bit more. Afterwords, hit the range for a bit then played 9 hole. 6,474 remain. Random Stat: Shot even on the par 3 course.

November 13, 2012: Practiced for an hour then played 18 and finished practicing until well past dark. 6,480 remain. Random Stat: off day, really off. Shot a 90 at CECC.

November 12: Had my first lesson with Adrian today. Went great and we only went over chipping. Can’t wait for the next one. The rest of the day went to working on what he showed me with short chips. 6,486 remain. Random Stat: picked up a plethora new games.

November 11: Took the day mostly off as I took care of the kids today. Practiced for two hours in the morning then spent the rest of the day with them. 6,492 remain. Random Stat: Shot 5 over for 9 holes.

November 10: Decided not to play but rather spend the entire day exploring diffrent swing thoughts and had some wonderful break throughs, especially in how my shoulders rotate through the ball, it works well if I think of my head as disconnected from my body. It’s all about feel. 6,494 remain. Random Stat: I messed around on the course some with 2 balls, one a 20XI and one a Vapor Speeed. Found some interesting aspects to both that I will blog about soon.

November 9, 2012: Just a strange day. An old friend of mine died last night. In the morning I tried to go and practice but just couldn’t focus. Took care of some things in the afternoon and then in the evening the only thing I wanted to do was to practice to get my mind away from sad thoughts. I got in two hours then went home and dealt with some emotions. 6,500 remain. Random Stat: Just hit the ball.

November 8: Full day of practice at CECC mostly focussed on short shots and working on drawing the ball with my mid and long irons. Great day to get some work in. 6,502 remain. Random Stat: I need to get my club path going more out than in.

November 7: Practiced putting in the morning then played 18 at Rose City followed by afternoon practice at CECC until the early sun set. 6,508 remain. Random Stat: shot an 89 at Rose on the first round back after a week, bad driving bad putting, just off.

November 6: Full week off took about half the day to get over before I was hitting it well again. After a long time to process the swing I felt like I was understanding it at a different level today. Good things are always on the horizon. 6,514 remain. Random Stat: Spent all day on the range and putting, going back to “feel” putting.

October 28: Made it out for one last soggy day of practice before heading to Hilton Head for my mother’s 60th bday gathering. The rain was hard and steady. 6,521 remain. Random Stat: shot a 40 on the back 9 of CECC.

October 27: Put in just a few hours today and about 12 holes. It was really wet out and I didn’t mind the rain, but was bone tired after not taking a day off for about 15 days. Still, learned a lot and had fun out there. 6,526 remain. Random Stat: shot 4 over for the 12 holes.

October 26: Practiced and warmed up for a couple of hours then played Deryk, a buddy, in the first round of the Fall match play at CECC. It was a great match and we both had the lead a couple of times. He birdied 15 and then won 16 to go 2 up with two to play, then I won 17 and had a tap in par on 18 to force the playoff, but he sank a ten footer to win the match. It was a great experience. 6,529 remain. Random Stat: I shot an 81 and played some holes well, but left a few out there early on due to nerves.

October 25: Played 18 with some regulars out at Heron Lakes with pride and a sleeve of balls on the line then went to practice at CECC and played 9 more in the evening. A good day and I’m ready for my first official match play round tomorrow. 6,533 remain. Random Stat: shot a 79 at Heron on the blue course.

October 24: Worked on the range for quite some time then decided to play 18 with a group going off. Afterwords I did putting and chipping drills then had to go home for some off course workout stuff. 6,539 remain. Random Stat: shot an 81 from the blues.

October 23: Warmed up and played 18 with a regular group of guys and then stayed to chat with Adrian and work on some short game stuff around the putting green. I’ve been having way too many putts on the course. 6,544 remain. Random Stat: shot an 80 from the blues.

October 22: Again spent a good bit of time focussed on short shots and finding my putting stroke, then went out and practiced mid-irons on the course by dropping in several spots to test shots. 6,549 remain. Random Stat: didn’t shoot for score, but the more relaxed my swing the better it was.

October 21: Spent the day working on putting and chipping, a really solid short game day for the first time in a while. I need to shore up those short shots. 6,554 remain. Random Stat: Started getting chips inside the 3-foot circle again.

October 20: Early morning hour of practice then a long Shamble tournament round afterwords. Was a good day for golf despite the cold and rains coming in. 6,560 remain. Random Stat: Our two man team shot a 69 in the shamble.

October 19: Practiced short game at CECC then played 18 and afterwords worked the range and short course for a while. 6,563 remain. Random Stat: shot my all-time best 75 from the blue tees.

October 18: Met with a few people in the morning then worked with Adrian in the swing room for a bit at CECC. Afterwords, spent the day on the range improving the swing. 6,568 remain. Random Stat: We got a baseline of my swing and have set up goals to see where we can take it this winter.

October 17: Played a morning round at Heron Lakes that went quite well then practiced for a couple of hours at CECC and played 9 then topped the day off with some range time. 6,573 remain. Random Stat: shot a 77 on the greenback course from the blues.

October 16: Practiced for a couple of hours at CECC then played 18 and called it a day early to run some errands. 6,579 remain. Random Stat: shot an 82 at CECC from the blues.

October 15: Participated in my first Pro-Am today. It was at Royal Oaks Country Club and was extremely rainy out. I didn’t hit the ball well with my irons which caused a lot of problems on the tree-lined holes. 6,583 remain. Random Stat: putted well to save an 88 on the day.

October 14: Spent the day on the range. Figured out some great aspects of my takeaway that I have been struggling with for the past 6 months, pure gold. Namely, my hinge, got it to where I want it finally. 6,587 remain. Random Stat: haven’t played 18 in a while, maybe tomorrow is the day.

October 13: Full morning of practice followed by a friend’s wedding. 6,593 remain. Random Stat: just worked on the range for the morning focussing on keeping the club in front of me.

October 12: Back in PDX with enough time to practice for a couple of hours before night and the rains took over. 6,598 remain. Random Stat: working on some completely new mechanics, very excited about the winter rebuilding months.

October 11: Took it to the links in Chicago for a round with Steven Levitt. It was cold and windy but we had a great time. 6,600 remain. Random Stat: they just punched the greens so we didn’t keep score, but I birdied the 18th hole which was a nice finale.

October 7: Played a morning 18 at Heron then went to CECC to work on my irons and have Adrien take a quick peak while he was out there. He got me straightened up and gave me a couple of things to work on that was getting the back on line. Took it to the course and played another 9. 6,602 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 81 from the blue tees on the Great Blue course.

October 6: Short game practice. Worked on putting with Adrien at CECC taking a peak then practiced with the 60 degree wedge for the first time. I love that club already. afterwords, played 18 on the short par 3 course. 6,608 remain. Random Stat: I think I found my new putting stroke, nice and steady. It’s what I used to always hit it like but had forgotten over the months.

October 5: Played 18 at Heron Lakes after practicing putting for an hour. I need to focus more on this because my putts just aren’t rolling in. Granted, the greens are punched and sanded, but still.. 6,612 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 79 on the Great Blue course.

October 4: Had a round at Portland Golf Club then an afternoon spent brainstorming the future of The Dan Plan. 6,616 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 81 from the blue tees.

October 3: Warmed up and played 18 from the tips at CECC then picked up a 60 degree wedge at Nike and went to Glendoveer to play 18 more holes. 6,619 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 83 from the tips of CECC

October 2: Spent the morning on the range at CECC and working with short shots around the green, then played 9 holes and followed it up with an hour on the par 3 course hitting 5/6 balls on each hole. Afterwords, went to Heron to play 9 more. 6,625 remain. Random Stat: Shot 6 over at CECC for 9 and 3 over at Heron.

October 1: Practiced putting for an hour then played a par 3 course to work on chipping and wedge shots. 6,631 remain. Random Stat: shot a 65 for 18 par 3 holes, was just one over after 9 but then the wheels fell off, I really need to hit the drawing board again on all aspects of the game this winter.

September 30: Warmed up and then played in the NW Golfguys tourney. Hit the ball well, but putted horribly. I’m surprised at how much putting is holding me back during these events. 6,634 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 85 with 39 putts.

September 29: Went out to practice some short game aspects and kept it pretty low key before tomorrow’s tourney. Spent 3 hours out on the chipping area and range of CECC. 6,638 remain. Random Stat: I hope tomorrow is the day to break 80 in tourney play.

September 28: Had a round at Portland Golf Club with my chiropractor Seth Ally and then went to CECC to practice for a few hours and play another 9 holes. 6,641 remain. Random Stat: shot 83 from the blue tees.

September 27: Went to Pumpkin Ridge to have an extended lesson with my coach, hadn’t met with him in a few weeks (perhaps a month), but it was a fairly productive session looking at the full swing and taking some numbers from the FlightScope. 6,647 remain. Random Stat: my driver swing, when going all out, is 107 mph, which is lower than Tour average but better than it was a few months ago.

September 26: Practiced on the short course area of CECC for a couple of hours then played a little money game on the course, followed up with a couple of hours on the range and green working on iron swings and putting. 6,653 remain. Random Stat: shot an 81 from the blues.

September 25: Played 9 holes of practice golf in the morning at CECC and then hit the range for an hour plus some time on the putting green followed by a round with something one the line and then some short game practice stuff. 6,659 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 85 from the blues.

September 23: Round two. I was determined to do better and after a silly 3-putt bogey and then a miss-chip bogey I finally got a front 9 par on the third hole then played much better all in all. Never got comfy on the greens, though. 6,665 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 82.

September 22: Got to Forest Hills an hour early to warm up and then played the tourney. Was paired with three people I have played with before so I thought it was going to be a comfortable easy round. I never warmed up and didn’t get a par until the 12th hole. Shot poorly in all aspects. 6,670 remain. Random Stat: shot a 92.

September 21: Practice round at Forest Hills today. I played it with a couple other guys playing in the weekend’s tourney and really just walked the course and made some putts and chips to see how things broke. I didn’t get a good feel for the greens and wasn’t hitting any of them with my irons. Hope the weekend is different. 6,675 remain. Random Stat: There’s a lot of break on these and you need to keep it below the hole.

September 20: Played an afternoon round out at Heron even though I was suppose to take the day off before this weekend’s tourney. Shot well and hit it pretty well, although had a rough start with the driver. 6,678 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 82 on the Greenback course.

September 19: Warmed up and then played Royal Oaks from the black/blue combo tees and topped the day off with a round at Rose City. 6,681 remain. Random Stat: shot 81 at Royal and 79 at Rose, my first sub-80 round at Rose City.

September 18: Worked on some new swing mechanics my coach wants me to implement out at CECC, but the were punching the course so I went to Heron Lakes to play the Greenback course after a couple of hours on the range. Played well shooting my lowest round where I didn’t drop a single birdie. 6,687 remain. Random Stat: shot a 78 from the blue tees.

September 17: Practiced chipping and putting and then played 18 out at Colwood, a short little course near my house that is a fun, albeit pretty easy, challenge. I had a great realization with my chips and how to keep my legs quiet during them. Afterwords I worked out hard and then was pretty beat in my core. 6,693 remain. Random Stat: shot 80 on the par 72 course.

September 16: Short practice today of three hours. My back was feeling a bit tight so I called it after that many on the range to save some for tomorrow. I got a good bit of work in and some solid realizations on the new swing mechanics. 6,698 remain. Random Stat: back and forth, without a cross-over.

September 15: Had a two hour lesson with my coach talking mostly about the takeaway and divot pattern. Then headed to CECC and worked it for a four hours. 6,701 remain. Random Stat: Trying to look more like Rory on the takeaway, he’s got such a pretty swing.

September 14: Back to normal today and back to old Nike driver. Practiced for three hours then played 18 and finished the day with another hour of work. 6,707 remain. Random Stat: shot a 79 from the blue tees.

September 12: Early round two of the tourney. Got to the course 30 minutes before my 7:30 round so warmed up and played hard. I was doing much better through about 13 holes, but then got an 8 on the hole I scored a 10 on yesterday and the wheels kind of came off. 6,713 remain. Random Stat: shot an 86 today.

September 11: Got the the course three hours before the tournament and decided to approach it like a normal day and practice hard. Put in three hours of work then played a long tourney round. Eye opening experience and I think I brought the wrong driver. 6,719 remain. Random Stat: got killed out there and shot a 91 with a 10 on a par 5 hole and a 7 on a par 3.

September 9: Short day of short game work. Was going to add in a full round, but my back was really tight from this week of 35+ hours, so I called it a day to rest up and get mentally ready for the tournament this week. Can’t wait! 6,725 remain. Random Stat: Stuck a good number of birdies on the short course.

September 8: Some range work and then another 18 at CECC. Figured out some more aspects of the swing, think I’ll be ready come Tuesday. Can’t wait for the tourney! 6,728 remain. Random Stat: shot an 84 from the tips.

September 7: A big golf playing day again. I can work the driver just fine on the range, but have been losing it and hooking it on the course, so played 27 holes today after a lot of range work to try and find it. Didn’t go very well until the end. 6,732 remain. Random Stat: shot an 85 and then a 38 for the last nine.

September 6: Played CECC then played CECC again and followed that with range time and then played another 9 at CECC. 6,738 remain. Random Stat: 45 holes is definitely the most I have played in any one day.

September 5: Played CECC then worked on the range and followed that with 18 on the Mason course then another 9 on the big course. Full good day. 6,745 remain. Random Stat: aced a hole on the par 3!

September 4: A week off does the body wonders. Went back out today for the first time in a while and after practicing/warming up for an hour played 18 at Heron Lakes. Short game was a little rusty, but still managed to play well, better than I thought I would, actually. 6,752 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 80 from the blue tees on the Greenback course.

August 26: Went to CECC for an hour of practice then headed out to Wildwood to play in a game with a couple guys. Started off with a triple (two balls in the water off the tee) then played decent golf. Heading to the woods tomorrow for a week off, my body needs it. 6,757 remain. Random Stat: shot an 82.

August 25: Practiced at CECC for the morning then joined a couple guys to play 18. Afterwords I practiced drives and long sticks for about an hour. 6,760 remain. Random Stat: shot an 82 from the blues, but realized on the 15th hole that my driver head was loose, hit it MUCH better after that.

August 24: I’m starting to get worn down and am glad that a small break is on the horizon. My body feels like it needs a few days off. I practiced at CECC for the morning and then played a little money game starting at noon. 6,765 remain. Random Stat: shot an 82 from the blue tees of CECC.

August 23: Visited the chiropractor in the morning and then went to Heron to play 18 and then to CECC to practice and play another 9. Long day of playing and I was pretty beat by the end of it. 6,770 remain. Random Stat: saw my buddy Eric ace a par 3 and eagle a par 5 and then saw another guy eagle a par 4 from 100 yards, great day to watch golf!

August 22: Practiced at CECC for three hours in the morning and then went to Heron Lakes to play the Great Blue course. Played well, was even after 12 holes, then hit a couple bumps. 6,775 remain. Random Stat: shot a 78 from the blues.

August 21: Worked on drives for an hour in the morning then played 18 at Broadmoor then worked on woods and played 9 at CECC in the afternoon. 6,780 remain. Random Stat: shot an 82 at Broadmoor and a 40 on the front of CECC from the tips.

August 20: Got to CECC early in the morning and took pictures of the course, then practiced for a couple of hours before heading to Heron to play the Greenback course in the afternoon. 6,786 remain. Random Stat: shot an 80 from the blue tees.

August 19: Practiced at CECC mostly short game stuff, then played 18 on the Mason par 3 course. It was my lowest score on the par 3 to date. 6,791 remain. Random Stat: Shot 4 under for 18 par three holes.

August 18: After dropping my mom off at the airport, I went to CECC to practice for two hours, then played 9 at Heron Lakes then played 9 at CECC. It was a busy day everywhere. 6,796 remain. Random Stat: Shot 4 over on each nine.

August 16: Practiced all around CECC for about 4 hours then went out and played 18 holes followed by 9 holes. Won Five bucks on a little money round. 6,801 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 83 from the blues.

August 15: Practiced for a couple of hours at CECC then played a little money game with some regulars out there. 6,807 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 78 from the blues and won 12 bucks.

August 14: Practiced for two hours at CECC then went and played 9 at Heron Lakes then back to CECC for practice and another 9 holes there. 6,812 remain. Random Stat: shot a 36 from the blues on the second 9 at CECC.

August 13: Took the weekend off as my mother came into town. Today, I took her out to hang out and walk 18 with me for her first time on a golf course. 6,818 remain. Random Stat: shot an 86 from the blues at CECC.

August 10: Practiced in the morning at CECC then went to Wildwood to check out a new course. Afterwords played a few holes at CECC while shooting photos of the course. 6,820 remain. Random Stat: shot a 79 at Wildwood.

August 9: After a morning chiropractor meeting I went out and played an extremely long scramble tourney. My team played very well despite the fact the the other three guys hadn’t played in over a year each. 6,826 remain. Random Stat: we shot team 63, using a bunch of my shots.

August 8: Played 18 early in the morning then worked on ball striking through the afternoon. I’m really loving this game and practice these days. 6,830 remain. Random Stat: shot an 80 from the blues at Heron Lakes.

August 7: Practiced ball striking and short game chipping work around CECC for a few hours and then played some holes in the afternoon to see how the work paid off. 6,836 remain. Random Stat: I am slowly but surely stopping the quick hinge with my wrists.

August 6: Played 18 at Heron Lakes in the morning and then worked on short game stuff and played 36 on the Mason par 3 course at CECC. Good day to get back in the saddle and play some solid golf. Birdied the last two holes on the Great Blue course. 6,842 remain. Random Stat: shot an 80 from the blues.

August 5: Exhausted start to the day. I didn’t sleep at all last night due to heat and the kids not being able to sleep. Played horrible off the bat but then finished pretty strong. 6,848 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 88 after starting 10 over after five holes.

August 4: Hit balls for an hour and worked on putting at CECC then went to Eastmoreland for the first day of the two-day Portland City Championship. I shot an 81 which I am very proud of. Didn’t make a lot of putts, but played pretty consistently through the day. 6,853 remain. Random Stat: birdied the 6th hole par three after just missing an eagle putt.

August 3: Was going to take the day off completely, but wanted to work on drives and longer clubs to went to CECC for 2 hours in the afternoon. i’m ready for this weekend’s tournament now. 6,859 remain. Random Stat: I need to work on the driver and 3-wood a lot in the coming months.

August 2: To warm up for the weekend’s tourney I played 18 at Heron Lakes with a small wager on the line and then went to CECC to practice short game aspects for a few hours. 6,861 remain. Random Stat: won the match play competition agains a 3 handicap.

August 1: Had a morning meeting with nonbox, a creative agency in town, and then went to CECC to work on irons and a one-piece take away. Hit it hard for about 4 hours then went and played 9 with the assistant head pro in a match play style game. 6,866 remain. Random Stat: he started birdie, birdie, par, birdie, birdie to basically kill me, although I played steady with 3 pars and a birdie out of the gate.

July 31: warmed up and then played 18 with a little money on the line with a group at CECC and afterwords worked on chipping and finally found the “feel” for what my coach has been trying to get me to do with less wrists in the take away. Great day. 6,871 remain. Random Stat: shot an 83 from the blue tees.

July 30: Met a man who is starting a new golf news website called Birdie Hunt in the morning to chat and do a little interview then practiced putting and chips for a while at CECC before heading to Heron for a round. 6,876 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 82 from the Blues of the Great Blue course.

July 29: Nice Sunday. Got out fairly early and practice a one-piece takeaway on pitches/chips and some new ideas with how to keep my head behind the ball in drives. Then played a couple holes and hit the range again. Afterwords, played 9 holes with three other people. 6,881 remain. Random Stat: Shot 5 over for the nine from the tips.

July 28: Full sun day, I split it into two sessions, a little over two hours in the earlier part of the day and then a little over 3 hours in the later part. I got a ton of good work in and am feeling better about all parts of the game. 6,887 remain. Random Stat: Played 6 holes from the tips at 3 over par.

July 27: Worked at Pumpkin Ridge on the range and chipping are for most of the day then went out and played 9 with my coach and a solid golfer from South Africa. 6,892 remain. Random Stat: Played well, shot about 6 over for 14 holes. The guy we played with could move it, he hit his 3-wood 280 yards, it was impressive to watch.

July 26: Practiced at CECC for a few hours, also had KOIN news out for a story, then went out to Cedars in Camas, Washington for a round. Driver is still the hardest stick to hit in the bag, causing most of my extra strokes. 6,898 remain. Random Stat: Only won 2 skins in a match with two other guys.

July 25: Met with Clicgear in the morning then went to Rose City for 18 of the toughest holes to date. Nothing worked for unknown reasons. 6,904 remain. Random Stat: shot a 92.

July 24: Spent the morning at CECC working on the range trying to break in the new irons more fully, then went to Heron Lakes for an afternoon round on the Greenback course. 6,907 remain. Random Stat: Shot 46-37 for an 83, just didn’t get started well.

July 23: Took yesterday off to go camping in Bend and then only got back in time to work for a few hours at CECC before it got too dark. Got the engines moving in anticipation for a good week and figured out a feel for my 3-wood. 6,912 remain. Random Stat: I need to bump my hips out a hair to stay behind the ball with a good spine tilt.

July 21: Practiced short game for a while then went head on into a round at Heron Lakes as a walk-on with two other guys. Played very poorly on the front then got it together and shot even 36 on the back. 6,915 remain. Random Stat: shot a 79 on the Greenback course.

July 20: Decided to take on Broadmoor again with the new sticks. Things seem to be clicking a bit more, but still plenty of growing pains. Played what felt like a ton better, but only a few strokes off of last time around. 6,920 remain. Random Stat: shot an 82 fom the blues.

July 19: Went out to Skamania Lodge to play in the gorge. Was an amazing day out, but a little rough with the new moves and clubs, definitely a work in progress but I’ll push through this and the rounds will be good in a little bit. 6,924 remain. Random Stat: pushing things left with the new ball position back in my stance.

July 18: Picked up the new irons today!! Then headed to CECC to break them out and followed that with a round at Broadmoor. Great day, but it’s going to be a little while before I figure the new sticks and new swing move out, so won’t be playing for score for at least a week, just working on moves. 6,928 remain. Random Stat: blew over a couple of greens with the 8 and 7 iron, there’s more pop in these.

July 17: After a day off I went out to CECC to work on the new driver move for a while then decided to take it to the course. It’s always rough going, so I wasn’t expecting to shoot any type of decent score, just see how it goes. 6,932 remain. Random Stat: hit a lot of off drives, but later in the round hit a couple decent ones and got birds out of them.

July 15: Hit the short course at CECC for a couple of hours then headed to Pumpkin for a lesson with my coach. We worked on drives and irons and figured out a couple of things with my driver that I look forward to implementing this week. 6,936 remain. Random Stat: I need to move off the ball during my drive swing then keep my head back.

July 14: Practiced on the range until I “found” something with my driver that I thought was good, then went and played 18, not making one solid drive.. That’s how it goes some times. Afterwords, played 9 more and started bringing it back together. 6,940 remain. Random Stat: shot an 87 from the combo tees at CECC.

July 13: Practiced at CECC for a few hours, then had an ESPN radio interview followed by 18 holes at CECC. 6,946 remain. Random Stat: shot a 79 from the blues.

July 12: Went to see my chiropractor in the morning then played a round at Pumpkin which went better than the previous ones. 6,952 remain. Random Stat: shot a 79 from the blues at Pumpkin.

July 11: Practiced at CECC in the AM then went for a round at Heron lakes with some solid golfers. It was a team match play and my partner and I won 4 and 3. 6,955 remain. Random Stat: I shot an 81, my partner a 77, but together we shot 70, ham and eggs..

July 10: Picked up where I left off with some solid range time, good putting drills and short course work. I have a feeling a few things are about to click, could sense it today. 6,959 remain. Random Stat: felt different in my swing, more shoulder turn less arms.

July 6: Epic day of golf out at Pumpkin Ridge today. Played 36 with a friend and had a great time on a sunny warm day. 6,962 remain. Random Stat: shot an 86 and 83 from the blue tees on that tough course.

July 5: Early round out at CECC followed by a session of driver practice. Still working on getting a bit more regularity out of that stick. 6,968 remain. Random Stat: My irons seemed to have left me for the past two days, but I got them figured out better on the back and had two birdies.

July 4: Played an early morning round at Rose City. I never play that course well and shot my best score out there today, but still managed to bogey far too many holes. 6,971 remain. Random Stat: Scored an 82 from the blue tees.

July 3: Double round day. Played a morning round with the golfswingfreak.com guy at CECC then headed to Heron for an afternoon round with a couple of usually players. The day started off okay but slowly went down hill, just didn’t play well at all, but did hit a couple good drives. 6,974 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 85 at CECC from the combo tees.

July 2: Another month has come and gone.. Went out specifically to work on the driver today. Spent about 4 hours just with the longer clubs and think I know a bit more about what I need to do to keep them straight, basically: keep my head behind the ball through impact. Also worked on putting 3-5 footers. 6,980 remain. Random Stat: Went out and played 9 holes and shot a few over, but hit some great drives.

June 30: Practiced the new sticks on the range for a while then played 6 holes then more range time and then a full 18 out at CECC in the evening. Good day all around, but it’s going to take a little while before I have the new driver solidly down. When I do hit it, I hit it further than the old one. 6,985 remain. Random Stat: hit the ball about 15 yards further with my new stick.

June 29: Played in a scramble tourney at The Reserve North Course today that took ages. I warmed up and practiced drives with the new driver for a couple of hours beforehand, but afterwords it was late and I had to drive back to town so called it a day. 6,990 remain. Random Stat: we shot team 59 which was good for about 4th place. We’ll get it next year!

June 28: Picked up my new driver, fairway wood and hybrids today and cracked them out on the range for an hour before playing a round at the Reserve course in Hilsboro as a practice round before a scramble there tomorrow. 6,994 remain. Random Stat: shot a 76 from the white tees.

June 27: Birthday round at CECC from the combo blue/black tees with my friend Country Club. Shot the best score I have shot from back tees to date and crossed the 3,000 hour mark, good day all in all for a birthday. 6,998 remain. Random Stat: shot a 77 from the combos.

June 26: Had a morning meeting with a potential sponsor then played 18 out at Heron. I could tell my body was tired from the marathon of 36 and practice yesterday and nothing was working too well. Still shot okay, but was definitely off with my game. 7,002 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 85 at Heron Lakes on the Great Blue course.

June 25: Had a morning scramble tournament at Langdon Farms Golf Course then after those 18 went to Heron Lakes to tee it up for another 18. We shot a team 62 at Langdon, which was good enough for 4th place, next year we will win. 7,005 remain. Random Stat: shot an 80 on the Greenback in the evening.

June 23: My physical therapist and I played 18 at Charbonneau golf center then I went to CECC to practice and finish the day with 18 holes. Figured out what I had been doing wrong with the driver for the past week, which is an awesome realization. I was trying to turn my body into it instead of staying posted up on my lead leg. 7,011 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 80 from the blue tees at CECC.

June 22: Met some folks from out of town who invited me to play the Reserve course in Hillsboro. Was a good round, but with mixed performance especially with the driver. 7,017 remain. Random Stat: shot an 81 from the white tees.

June 21: Met with my physical therapist in the morning for a little over an hour then went to the course and practiced for a bit and played 18 at Rose City. 7,020 remain. Random Stat: had an off day, shot an 85 out there, nothing was working.

June 20: Had a two hour club fitting today that was awesome. Going to get a completely new set of sticks next week! Then, went to the course and practiced/played 18. A good day in the Dan Plan. 7,023 remain. Random Stat: Won 5 bucks in a round of match play.

June 19: Played 36 holes today, once at Rose City and a round at Heron Lakes. The morning round was tough as far as putting goes, but the afternoon round all the putts decided to drop. 7,028 remain. Random Stat: shot an 85 early and a 76 in the afternoon.

June 18: Looped for a guy today who won the Oregon Amateur last year. He was playing in the Oregon Am again and shot the low round for the day at 69. It was really good to watch him play.

June 16: Worked on the range at CECC then played a round from a combination of tees and with different people who joined throughout. 7,034 remain. Random Stat: shot an 80 from the combo of tees.

June 15: Had an early round then called it a day after a bit of range work and putting exercises, my short putts are not where I want them to be right now and I need to get back to getting all of those 5 footers in the cup. 7,038 remain.

June 14: Shoulder still bugging me so I made it another shorter day of some practice and a full 18 holes at Heron Lakes. 7,043 remain. Random Stat: Was very off on my irons and putter but still shot an 84, which isn’t too bad for an off day.

June 13: Had a one hour lesson with my coach and then worked on the chips and bunker stuff we covered before heading out and playing a round at CECC from the tips. 7,047 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 81 from the tips and won a match play game against a 12 handicapper who I gave strokes too and he played from the blues, me from the tips.

June 12: Hit the range in the morning and then played 18 at Columbia Edgewater but afterwords cut the day short as my left shoulder has been nagging me and I think it needed a shorter day of swings. 7,053 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 82 from the tips

June 11: Did some short course work at CECC then played a full 18 out at Heron Lakes. 7,057 remain. Random Stat: didn’t keep score and didn’t get a birdie, but made a bunch of good pars and only had a couple of blowup holes.

June 10: Practiced with my coach out at Pumpkin Ridge for the afternoon. Worked on the course with him for most of the lesson. 7,061 remain. Random Stat: Played the first 14 holes out there pretty well, no score kept but made some good pars and birdied one of the tougher par 5s.

June 9: Warmed up and practiced some at Heron Lakes then played the Great Blue course again. Was a slow start today, but had a solid streak on the back nine after doubling a par 3. 7,065 remain. Random Stat: shot an 80 from the blue tees.

June 8: Worked short game for a couple of hours then had a small range session before heading out to play 18 at Heron Lakes on the Great Blue course. Had two 20 minute rain delays due to storms, but was playing well. 7,069 remain. Random Stat: shot a career record 78 from the blue tees.

June 7: Took yesterday off and my shoulder has been pretty tweaked for some reason, but went out to test it today and it seems to be doing alright. Played 18 at Heron Lakes and then practiced some putting. 7,075 remain. Random Stat: shot an 80 from the white tees on the Great Blue course.

June 5: Range and putting green then 18 on the course at CECC then back to range and putting green before capping it off with the front 9. 7,078 remain. Random Stata: Shot an 81 from the blues.

June 4: Worked on chips and putts in the morning then teed it up for 18 out at Heron Lakes. Played pretty well, although had about 3 bad holes. Baby steps. 7,084 remain. Random Stat: shot an 84, but had three birdies on the back 9 which is a personal record.

June 3: Worked out some kinks on the range then played 18 at Glendoveer Golf Course for the first time. It’s a pretty tough little track if you are not hitting fairways. Lots of trees and you have to make some golf shots to recover. 7,089 remain. Random Stat: Shot in the 90s for the first time in a long time with a 92 on the day.

June 2: A good day to play some golf. Got in 18 out at Heron Lakes after a couple of hours of short course work at CECC in the morning. 7,093 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 80 on the Greenback course with two balls in the water.

June 1: Range time and short course work then 18 at Heron lakes. Started really well and had a couple of bogeys, but all in all played pretty well. 7,098 remain. Random Stat: Shot 14 over on the Greenback course.

May 30: Played 9 at CECC then worked on a few things on the range before heading to Heron Lakes to play 18 on the Great Blue course. 7,103 remain. Random Stat: lost a lot of holes in match play, but did birdie number 9 which felt pretty good.

May 29: Played 27 holes at CECC then worked on the short course area for a couple of hours. Good day all in all. 7,109 remain. Random Stat: shot an 83 from the blue tees.

May 28: Practiced at CECC for a couple of hours then went to Rose City for a round. Played the front well, then fell apart a bit on the back 9. 7,115 remain. Random Stat: shot an 86 from the blue tees.

May 27: Played a round out at CECC then worked on a few aspects of why I’m still hitting a little push fade on the range. 7,121 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 86 from the tips at CECC.

May 26: Practiced for a bit then went to Royal Oaks Country Club to play 18 with a member. 7,125 remain. Random Stat: shot an 86 with a 45-41 round. I felt really good about how I played.

May 25: Warm up, play 18 holes, work on range, play 18 holes. It was that kind of day. Great stuff and lots of realizations on the course. 7,129 remain. Random Stat: Shot mid-80s for both rounds but my drives started to make more sense thorugh the day.

May 24: A bit better out there as far as morale goes. Still working on finding a feel for any tee shot and it is slowly starting to come along. 7,135 remain. Random Stat: Only had time for 16 holes and was 12 over after 16 from the tips.

May 23: Very frustrating day. Nothing seems to be clicking or working at all, especially from the tees. Practiced for a long time working on things and then play 18 plus a few extra holes afterwords (about 18 more) 7,141 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 83 from the blue tees.

May 22: Today’s practice included 9 holes with Allison Hanna who used to play on the LPGA and a lot of drives sent awry.. Not sure what was going on, but I couldn’t seem to hit a solid shot all day. 7,147 remain. Random Stat: she beat me by 4 holes on the 9 holes of match play, but we were tied after 4, which is something.

May 21: Put in a few hours then had a short break after 9 holes and came back to finish practice and the back 9. Did much better on the front, it kind of “left me” on the back for some reason. 7,153 remain. Random Stat: shot an 84 from the blue tees at CECC.

May 20: Hard day to get the engines warmed up. Started out slow, but the day picked up and I realized a lot about posture and balance in the swing by the end of it all. 7,157 remain. Random Stat: Staying balanced and keeping my head over the ball makes a huge difference in quality ball striking.

May 18: Wrapped up the week with some range work and a rather dismall show on the course. Trying to work in my new grip into the game and pushing things even more right now. 7,162 remain. Random Stat: Only played 15 holes as I had an interview on NPR in the middle, but had a handful of double bogeys leading the negative charge.

May 17: Watched The Dan Plan clip from the CBS morning show this AM then went to CECC for a full long day of practice. Had a mini-lesson with Adrien out there and then got to work. 7,166 remain. Random Stat: played the par three as a worse ball with three balls against a 1-handicapper and lost in a playoff hole.

May 16: After a full morning interview with ABC Nightline (which luckily included a full lesson from my coach), I got back to work at CECC on the range, big course and then 54 holes on the par 3 course to work on short game. Really good full day. 7,172 remain. Random Stat: Got back in form and shot a couple under total for the 54 holes.

May 15: After two days of camping I got back out to CECC in the late afternoon for some range time and then 9 holes on the course. Working on generating power from my feet through the body. 7,178 remain. Random Stat: Hit a great drive on holes 1 and 9 and then sprayed it for the rest.

May 12: Last day before taking two off to go camping and clear the head for a bit. It’s good to get away for a short while every once in a while, I always come back stronger. Practiced for a full day out at CECC and played 9 from the tips. 7,181 remain. Random Stat: single bogeyed every single hole and all of them were from silly errors, no balls hit OB or bad off the tee, just long or short approaches and missed putts on plugged greens.

May 11: Pure work day. Got a groove on the range for my new ball striking with the face more closed at impact, then worked short game at CECC and played 4 balls on the par three course and finished with range and putting. 7,186 remain. Random Stat: Had a nice spell of birdies on the par 3, was striking the ball well.

May 10: Met with the Nike footwear team in the morning to talk shoes a bit then practiced and had a round out at Heron Lakes. Afterwords hit balls to work on the long sticks. 7,191 remain. Random Stat: shot an 83 from the blues on the Great Blue course with a triple and two doubles.

May 9: Worked on the game at CECC for four hours and learned a lot about my putting and ball striking, then went to Heron and played 18 on the Greenback course. Great day! 7,196 remain. Random Stat: shot an 80 from the blues with two triple bogeys.

May 8: Practiced for a bit then headed to Pumpking for a redemption round. Started off well, but lost so many balls in the rough out there, it’s just a frustrating course to play and takes ages as everyone is looking for balls. Not a big fan of that one. 7,202 remain. Random stat: shot an 85 from the tipped out blues.

May 7: Putting practice for 2 hours out at CECC then a mid-day meeting with Nike and afterwords back to CECC for range and oncourse practice. 7,207 remain. Random Stat: shot 5 over on the back nine with two coming from a ball in the water off the tee on a par 5.

May 6: Back to CECC in the morning for a few hours then off to Rose City for a round of working on all of the new swing aspects that Christopher and I talked about yesterday. Was a troubling round, but expected when bringing new swing thoughts. 7,212 remain. Random Stat: shot my high end score of 92 out there, was toping the ball a bit off the tee in attempt to hit with my right hand more down, it will come with time.

May 5: A short day or one hour practice then two hours of lessons out at Pumpkin Ridge. Got a lot of new stuff to work on this week. 7,217 remain. Random Stat: I need to get over the ball with my hands and stop the face from being open at impact.

May 4: Rainy day of work out at CECC. I’m ready for some sun to start shining. Worked on the range and short course for most of the day then played a few holes to try some stuff out. 7,220 remain. Random Stat: was either on or off on the 9 holes, shot a couple double bogeys then a string of pars.

May 2: Last day of shooting. This was kind of an epic week.. I hit balls for the camera and played a hole with three balls. Not sure if I got any good practice in, but did get to practice hitting balls on camera which is different and a whole new way of concentrating, so it wasn’t all for naught. 7,225 remain. Random Stat: Made a birdie of sorts on the one par 5 hole I played for them. Hit three drives, three layups, three approaches and all three were on the green about 10 feet away, then made one of the putts.

May 1: It sure doesn’t feel like May out, a high of 51 and rainy today.. Golf Channel showed up at 3:45 to shoot some interviews, but before that I got in 4 hours of practice. It was a bit late afterwords, so called it a day. 7,228 remain. Random Stat: Day two of filming is over, ready for this to be finished so I can get back to work.

April 30: Different kind of day. CBS was out filming all day so I got to practice some shots under a whole new type of pressure. Did some of my normal routine then went out and played 18 with the correspondent. 7,232 remain. Random Stat: we played match play and I won by 3 holes, he is a 10.7 handicap.

April 29: Day two of the tourament was today. We both played a lot better, but shot the same score. Funny how that happens. Was a good experience and I think more stressful than an individual event as you don’t want to let down your partner. 7,236 remain. Random Stat: shot another 74, putts just would not drop today.

April 28:Played the first day of the two day tourney out at Rose City today and was driving the ball so poorly I went to the range for a while afterwords. My partner played well, but I was just not on until the last hole. 7,241 remain. Random Stat: we shot a team 74 for the day.

April 27: Went out to work on drives and play a few holes at CECC then hit the short course area for a couple of hours to warm up for this weekend’s tournament. Putting and chipping are solid. 7,246 remain. Random Stat: shot two over for 6 holes, but was striking the ball well.

April 26: Worked on a couple swing aspect out at CECC then went over to Rose City for a practice round before this weekend’s two-man best ball tournament. 7,252 remain. Random Stat: shot an 84 at Rose City, but got a good feeling for the greens and know what to do this coming weekend. Going to get agressive with the slow greens.

April 25: Went up to Seattle for the night and ended up playing a round at West Seattle Golf Club today. Played pretty well, but had a handful of bogeys on the final holes which brought my score up. 7,258 remain. Random Stat: shot an 82 from the blues.

April 23: Today’s goal: figure out how to strike the ball when physically worn down. So, it was the hottest day of the year so far out here in Oregon and I wore heavy pants and walked 36 holes with no food to see how my body reacted when beat. It went very well and I learned a few things about how to stand over a drive when tired. 7,261 remain. Random Stat: shot 84 on the Greenback course and then 79 (my first time!) on the Great Blue course of Heron Lakes.

April 22: For the day after the tournament I wanted to hit a few balls and play some holes, so spent the afternoon out at CECC. Played 18 and worked on putting and ball striking for a bit. 7,268 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 84 from the blue tees.

April 21: Tournament day! Warmed up for an hour then played the slow round of tournament play. I’m counting all of these hours as I learned so much about my game and how to play in these. It was a great day. 7,272 remain. Random Stat: shot an 86 out at Pumpkin Ridge for my first tourney. Solid.

April 20: Warm up for tomorrow’s tournament. Played 18 then hit balls and putted for a while out at CECC. 7,278 remain. Random Stat: I tried all sorts of things for tomorrow off the tee.

April 19: Only had a chance to practice for 3 hours then took three hours to walk around Pumpkin Ridge with my coach to talk about strategy for this weekend’s tournament. I’m ready for it now and think that I’ll do a light day of chip and putt tomorrow then hit it Saturday. 7,283 remain. Random Stat: Will be pulling out the 3-wood for a number of the holes Saturday.

April 18: Was an on-course practice round type day. Did the normal warm up routines and then played 27 holes with some ball striking drills afterwords. 7,286 remain. Random Stat: hit the fairways much better, shot an 82 for 18 with a couple blow up holes.

April 17: Practiced for 2 hours out at CECC then hit balls at Heron before playing 18. Afterwords, worked on putting some and getting the ball started on line. 7,292 remain. Random Stat: shot a 91 out there with only 2 fairways hit. Tee problems.

April 15: Year three begins today! Got in a very full day of 18 then 36 holes on a par three with a short game practice session in the middle. Perfect way to start the new year of The Dan Plan. 7,297 remain. Random Stat: shot an 85 at Redtail with 42 putts.

April 14: Practiced for a while then played 18 with some new guys. Afterwords I hit balls for a bit to try and get that drive headed straight. 7,303 remain. Random Stat: Again had blow up holes. Shot a 50 on the front and a 40 on the back, had a few triples on the front due to lost balls on the drive.

April 13: Got in 4 hours today including a full round out at Portland Golf Club. Has some good holes and some trouble holes, but all in all it’s getting off the tee that’s keeping me from scroring right now. 7,308 remain. Random Stat: shot an 87 for handicap purposes and a 91 including two blow-up holes.

April 12: Practiced for two hours then played 18 with Jerome Kersey (Portland Trailblazers) then hit the range for an hour. 7,312 remain. Random Stat: shot an 86 from the blues, but was hitting it better, just had an OB triple and two doubles.

April 11: My goal today was to figure out why my drives were going so left, so I saw Adrien out at CECC for ten minutes to have a look and he noticed that I was coming from way inside and pushing it out. After working for four hours on drives, I think I know more about what I need to do. 7,318 remain. Random Stat: went out and played 6 holes at 1 over from the tips.

April 10: Practiced for an hour then played 18 and topped it off with a three hour session on the range. 7,322 remain. Random Stat: played well except for my drives which just want to block left.

April 9: Got back yesterday, but needed a bit of time to unwind after 3,000 miles in the car. Today, went out and worked on short course stuff and started getting used to the speed of these greens again. 7,328 remain. Random Stat: shot a couple over for 18 holes on the par 3 course.

April 3: One final trip to the range before heading back to Portland. Put in just three hours then off to pack. 7,332 remain. Random Stat: I’m ready to give the Pacific Northwest another go.

April 2: Next to last day in Georgia. Went out and played a round with the producer of the episodes and the camera guy. We had lunch riding on the game and so I played it like a mini-tournament round. It was also hot, very very hot. 7,335 remain. Random Stat: Had a great first 11 holes then the drive left me and the doubles creeped in. They played best ball between the two of them and they beat my by two holes in match play.

April 1: Went to Cartersville for just three hours to work on drive consitency. Think I figured out a thing or two, but will hit it again tomorrow (of course). 7,339 remain. Random Stat: I keep blocking the ball left, perfectly straight yet left.

March 31: March ended with a blast of heat and a good day of practice. Was out at Cartersville for one of my last days out there and worked on a lot of stuff, but mostly focussed on iron shots and building a new feel to accompany my new distances. 7,342 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 41 from the whites for 9 then a 41 from the blacks for 9.

March 30: Hit some balls, made some putts, chipped a bunch and played some holes. A great day. 7,348 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 85 from the blues then a 40 for 9 from the blacks.

March 29: Back to Cartersville for four hours of practice and a few holes of golf. For some reason my irons are going 15 yards further all of a sudden. 7,354 remain. Random Stat: shot a 40 on the front nine from the blacks after starting 5 over on the first 4 holes.

March 28: Hit balls and worked on putting for about an hour then played 18 on Pinehurst No 4 in North Carolina. 7,358 remain. Random Stat: shot an 81 from the whites.

March 26: A full day of filming and then a few hours of practice afterwords. I have to head to Greensboro tomorrow, but will be back on the course Wednesday. 7,362 remain. Random Stat: played 3-ball worse ball and got some triple bogeys with it.

March 23: Back to practice at Cartersville. Had a good day going but then a huge rainstorm pretty much shut it all down. 7,365 remain. Random Stat: I’m starting to get what my short pitches should feel like.

March 22: Practiced for an hour then played 18 with a new group of guys. Started very well then had a couple little trouble holes. 7,369 remain. Random Stat: shot mid 80s with a triple and two doubles.

March 21: Worked on chips and pitches for most of the day and then went out to play nine very quick holes (40 minutes). 7,373 remain. Random Stat: birdied both of the last holes, the first time I’ve gotten two birdies in a row.

March 20: Great day working on hand action, something completely new and good to know: soft hands equal lag in the club and power. 7,378 remain. Random Stat: course was punched and sanded so I worked on contact with half swing almost all day.

March 19: I chipped for about 30 minutes, hit balls for about 1.5 hours then played a full 18 with something on the line. It was a 7 hour day, but I’d say there were about 5 learning hours in there. 7,383 remain. Random Stat: shot my first ever eagle.

March 18: Sunny and pollen-y out. Back at work at Cartersville. Put in 4 hours of really good work with a few realizations about the chipping adding to what I realized yesterday. Will blog about it today. 7,388 remain. Random Stat: Tournament still going on, so didn’t get to play any holes.

March 17: It was packed today due to a 160 person tournament out at Cartersville so after 3 hours I decided to head up to North Georgia for the night and stay in a cabin to get some fresh air. 7,392 remain. Random Stat: when up there I spent about 2 hours chipping around and had a huge realization that I will share in a blog tomorrow.

March 16: Took a short day today due to lack of ability to concentrate. I didn’t want to practice poorly so after about 2 hours I called it a day, felt like things were just catching up to me and I needed to just work out and lay low for the afternoon. 7,395 remain. Random Stat: working on hand action and keeping those hands working together.

March 15: Spent the day at Golf Club of Georgia, but it was really mostly spent on a round waiting for the group in front of Rob Stocke and I, so I think I got in the equivelent of 3 hours. 7,397 remain. Random Stat: we only got to finish 14 holes before lightening shut the course.

March 14: Met up with a fan of the plan to play 18 at the Marietta Golf Center and had a good round, especially the front. Practiced and warmed up for a while then played the 18. 7,400 remain. Random Stat: I shot an 82 with a front side 36, putting was tough on the sanded punched back 9 greens.

March 13: Was hot out, and humid. Who knew I should have brought shorts to Georgia this early in the year. I practiced for a while then decided to just play 18 with the main idea of working on chips and pitches. I actually hit it well and had just a couple of little mistakes which I recovered from well. 7,404 remain. Random Stat: shot an 82 from the tips, my best score from the tips to date.

March 12: After two days off it was good to get back out and play the Monday round. Things went okay, although I am sick of my chipping right now, I just need to focus on that and only that for a while. 7,409 remain. Random Stat: on the front I shot a 41 with 2 double bogeys, two birdies, three bogeys and two pars.

March 9: It was a cold day out and early on I felt something strange in my lower back on the range. I went out and played some holes but couldn’t seem to hit the ball right then my back started to get tight and by the time I got home I couldn’t really use my hip right. So, I think I’ll take tomorrow off and let it rest. 7,414 remain. Random Stat: I just could not strike the ball right on the fairways.

March 8: Worked on pretty much nothing but short pitches today and was out there for a good 6 hours but a couple of those were dedicated to giving my mother and niece their first golf lessons. 7,418 remain. Random Stat: you can learn a lot by teaching.

March 7: Spent 8 hours out on the course, but the first half was with a videographer catpuring the next couple episodes for the site, so in the end I put in about 4 hours of solid practice. 7,422 remain. Random Stat: Played 9 with the videographer and he could hit it suprisingly far.

March 6: I really didn’t sleep well last night and after about 4 hours I felt as though I was starting to spin my wheels, so I called it a day. 7,426 remain. Random Stat: Played 9 holes of bogey golf, just was not hitting anything overly well or overly bad.

March 5: Practiced for about two hours then played 18 holes for score. 7,430 remain. Random Stat: shot an 85 from the blues, had an off day with the putter with 3 3-putts and hit 2 balls ob, but was striking the ball well.

March 4: It was my day off, but I wanted to test a couple of things so went to Cartersville for a while. Then, got some rest for the week to come. 7,434 remain. Random Stat: After watching the golf yesterday I have a better idea for what I need to feel in the swing.

March 3: Getting closer, I can feel it. Put in one last full day for the week but was delayed a bit due to tornadoes coming through town last night. 7,435 remain. Random Stat: Played 9 holes and shot 5 over, but had 3 birdie looks from about 20 feet, nothing seemed to drop.

March 2: Another great day. Full day, although I was quite tired in the morning and it lingered for a bit of the day, just couldn’t sleep last night. But, still worked on a lot of good things. 7,440 remain. Random Stat: Still hitting a bit fat, but less than yesterday.

March 1: It’s already 75 degrees here in Atlanta, it’s going to be a hot summer. Got out to Cartersville late after stopping by the production office to shoot some stuff for next week’s episode, so only got in 4+ hours of practice, but was beat from the heat at the end of it. 7,446 remain. Random Stat: played a few holes and started really well, but then began thinking far too much about the swing and it fell apart.

February 29: Leap day! Went to Cartersville for the majority of the day, but got in just five hours due to a few small interuptions. Everything is starting to straighten itself out in the swing. 7,450 remain. Random Stat: played nine not for score, but had some solid pars, no birdies.

February 28: Grinding away in the sun/rain. Good full day and things are coming together. 7,455 remain. Random Stat: I’ve built a quick-hinge into my swing for so long that it’s taking quite some time to break the habit.

February 27: After a day of rest it was back to Cartersville for a full day of training. Got in 6 hours both on the range and course and by the end was really starting to feel this new swing. 7,461 remain. Random Stat: Still working on pivot and swing plane, but more so on the plane right now.

February 25: Final day of a really tough but great week. Felt like things were finally coming together and I think one day off to rest and let my brain absorb all of the new swing thoughts will be good. 7,467 remain. Random Stat: I need more seperation between my legs and shoulders in the swing.

February 24: Finally feels like some of this new stuff is clicking. Put in 6 plus hours out at Cartersville and took it to the course on a windy day and had some good shots with the new swing. 7,473 remain. Random Stat: shot an 89 from the blues.

February 23: Worked on mechanics for five hours out at Cartersville and would have put in more time, but my neck and elbows were aching to the point where I knew it better to retire for the day and save myself for another full day tomorrow. 7,479 remain. Random Stat: learning how to attack the ball swinging down on it and trying to build lag in my wrists.

February 22: Getting frustrated a bit, but know that what I’m working on wil click one day soon and it will all be for the best. Full day in the sun today, which was great. 7,484 remain. Random Stat: was 10 over after 16 holes, but was interupted and didn’t get to finish.

February 21: Working on the new stuff I spent five hours on the range and chipping area and then was spent for the day, my back and body didn’t want any more swings for at least 20 hours.. 7,490 remain. Random Stat: it’s gonna take a while before I can implement this new swing more of really keeping my head behind the ball at impact.

February 20: A great day for crossing the 2,500 hour mark. Put in a full 6 hours working both alone and with one of the coaches at Cartersville. Worked on a lot of swing mechanics and am looking forward to this next rebuilding period. 7,495 remain. Random Stat: The swing is looking better and the drive is going straighter, working on shortening up my iron swing.

February 19: Back in the ATL. Went to Cartersville after noon due to heavy rains in the morning and then put in 3.5 hours before they shut the place down due to the fact that I was the only one out there. 7,501 remain. Random Stat: Got to get my head behind the ball at impact.

February 17: Practiced for 3 hours then had a 3 hour lesson with my coach out at Pumpkin Ridge. We went over a lot of different aspects for practice when I get back to Atlanta. It’s been a great trip to Portland. 7,504 remain. Random Stat: Coach said my swing was looking much improved from the last time we met in late December, that’s good :)

February 16: Had a full day photo shoot with Angus from Golf Magazine but we finished by 1:30 so there was still time to put in four good hours of practice. 7,510 remain. Random Stat: Found the swing! Need to get my left arm out and the club gets back to square, which creates good things.

February 15: Worked for four hours before Angus from Golf Mag arrived to start shooting, I hit balls for a while in the afternoon while he shot my swing, but I definitely don’t count that time as work. 7,514 remain. Random Stat: The swing is coming back, slowly but I think I know what to work on.

February 14: Not a bad day. I figured out a bit of what was going on in my swing yesterday and it felt pretty good to be able to self-diagnose, although I would like to be to the level where I can do that on the course, just isn’t quite happening yet. 7,518 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 29 for 9 holes of par 3 golf at CECC.

February 13: The golf gods, they don’t really like me right now. All of my shots seem to be going left and no matter what I do that club face just wants to stay open. I hope to figure it out tomorrow. Today was a hard day. 7,522 remain. Random Stat: shot a 99 from the tips at Columbia Edgewater.

February 12: Full day of work. Got in 6 hours of work both on the course and on the range/putting green. 7,527 remain. Random Stat: shot another bad round, haven’t had a good one in a while now, shot 89 at Rose City Golf Course mostly through bogeys but with two blow up holes.

February 11: A short day was all I had time for, got in 3 hours out at Heron this afternoon, looking forward to getting back to work for real tomorrow. 7,533 remain. Random Stat: it’s been harder than I thought to readjust to the greens of the Pacific Northwest.

February 9: Had a full day interview with Alan from Golf Mag today so didn’t get much practice in despite playing 18 holes and spending about 3 hours on a Trackman. All in all, I’ll say it was about 1 hour of actual practice. 7,536 remain. Random Stat: shot a 90 at CECC, not much was working out there.

ebruary 7: It was only a couple hour day as I had a lot of packing and getting ready to do before flying to Portland tomorrow. Am excited about getting back to the Pacific Northwest for a few days. 7,537 remain. Random Stat: elbow was really sore, so it might be a good thing to have had a quiet day out there swing wise.

February 6, 2012: Nice quiet Monday on the course. I practice for a bit then played 18 with two guys, one who works at CCC and one who is playing on mini-tours and trying to make it up to the big tours. Was hitting it pretty well. 7,539 remain. Random Stat: shot an 83 from the tips.

February 5: Back to CCC for a 70 degree beautiful day, this is why I came here and I was happy to get out there for it. Was a full day of practice and a few holes added in. 7,545 remain. Random Stat: shot 82 from the blues.

February 3: Another sunny and warm day, can’t beat that in February! Was out at Cartersville for the majority of the day but after about 4.5 hours I started to get a bit brain and body dead from the past 6 days of hitting it hard, so called it quits for the day to watch some film and practice putting inside. 7,551 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 42 from the black tees on the front nine.

February 2, 2012: Nice full day of sun and practice. Went out to CCC for the majority of the day, getting in six good hours. 7,556 remain. Random stat: Shot an 85 from the black tees

February 1: rainy day. Good chance to play a new game I came up with called Pars. The goal: use one ball and you have to shoot at least a par on the hole before moving onto the next. I played at the end of the day and made it through the first 7 holes before they came and got me because the course was closing due to the heavy rain. 7,562 remain. Random Stat: I started putting side saddle and have been putting lights out for a couple of days.

January 31: Game on tomorrow. Got a last day of practice in before heading out to start really registering rounds tomorrow. Feel good about my swing and putting right now, hope that lasts the next week. 7,567 remain. Random Stat: shot a 42 from the tips on the front nine with a triple bogey on one of the holes.

January 30: Found out I can practice at Cartersville on Monday even though it’s closed. This is awesome. Put in a great full day including 18 from the tips and a LOT of work with this new mallet style putter. 7,573 remain. Random Stat: shot an 86 from the black tees, didn’t make a single one-putt, though as I couldn’t seem to get the ball rolling on line. After the round, I realized what was wrong: I was aiming poorly..

January 29, 2012: Had a little break there while my girlfriend visited. I did hit some at a simulator one day, but it didn’t really count as practice. Went out today for a full and great day. Got back into the groove on the range and broke in a new putter, a mallet one. 7,579 remain. Random Stat: mallet putters bring a whole different weight to the ball, it will take a while to get used to it.

January 24: Was on the range for more than two hours at Cartersville and could not seem to hit the ball worth a darn no matter what I was trying. Decided to take it to the course and play 18 with the goal of not getting frustrated. To my surprise, I shot my best round to date. 7,584 remain. Random Stat: shot an 80 from the blue tees out there.

January 23: Went out there for a few hours, but took an extra long time to work on things with lots of time to stop and think about what was happening in the swing, so really only two hours of practice. 7,589 remain. Random Stat: The ball really doesn’t move when the humidity is 97 percent.

January 22: Practiced short game for a couple of hours then headed across town to meet with my coach who happened to be passing through Atlanta and we had a lesson for a couple of hours. 7,591 remain. Random Stat: hit some on the TrackMan system and the driver was up to about 106-107mph.

Janaury 21: Went to Cartersville despite the heavy thunderstorms and got in three hours of training before they announced that the course was closing due to weather. 7,595 remain. Random Stat: Still pushing those drives left.

January 20: Finaly a good day has returned. After a couple bum days, today was back on top. Put in a full one out at Cartersville before the rains and the evening hit hard. 7,598 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 84 from the blue tees.

January 19: Spent the entire day at Cartersville, but there was some filming done for a couple of the early hours so I only got in four hours of practice. I had a lot of realizations, though, and was getting my energy back. Good day all in all. 7,603 remain. Random Stat: about 20 yards short right now of hitting the teaching shed with a drive from 280 yards away.

Janaury 18: The funk continues. Only got in 3 hours before I felt strangely weak of body and mind. Going to eat well, work out and then hit it up strong tomorrow. 7,607 remain. Random Stat: Getting a better feeling of short pitches, doing a lot of video watching and reading tonight on the swing in general.

January 17: I’m in a bit of a energy level funk. Was out there for three hours but then I felt like I just couldn’t focus. 7,610 remain. Random Stat: I’ve lost my feel for short pitches, need to get it back.

Janaury 16: Went out to Golf Club of Georgia again to play Creekside with a new friend Alan. We hit beforehand for a while, played 18 and then I stayed a bit afterwords until dark to work on short shots. 7,613 remain. Random Stat: lost a few balls and had a tough front 9 for a total round score of 94.

January 15: Had a short day out. Just wanted to focus in on a few things before heading out to play the Golf Course of Georgia tomorrow. Got a few things sorted out in the three hours I spent at Cartersville. 7,617 remain. Random Stat: stop swinging your arms when your shoulders stop turning for shorter clubs.

January 14: Much nicer out. Was a great day of practice, am making some good headway to where I need to be. 7,620 remain. Random Stat: Gotta get those arms out in front of my body and stop crossing the club back across me at the top of my swing.

January 13: Freezing. Not the best day to forget one’s coat.. The course didn’t open until after noon but that was okay as it was a filming day with the producer and crew. We shot the next three episodes of The Dan Plan and then when they left there were three hours of light remaining to practice. 7,626 remain. Random Stat: I’ve now shot par of better on every hole. Going to see what a full round brings tomorrow.

January 12: The stuff I’ve been working on over the past couple of days is startig to click. It usually takes a couple of days and that’s exactly what has happened. Good to know! 7,629 remain. Random Stat: Went out to try and par three specific holes and got a par on all of them from the tips, now just need to hit those holes during the round.

January 11: Put in four hours after which I knew that if I did any more it wouldn’t be in the right direction so went to workout and read for the rest of the day. 7,634 remain. Random Stat: starting to get a better feeling for lag.

January 10: Good day. Worked on some new stuff after a tip by Cartersville Pro Scott Hamilton, he’s a good guy and had some good pointers. Spent almost all day on the range. 7,638 remain. Random Stat: The more you know the more you can pull from when making your decisions.

January 9: Worked out then headed to the course for a three hour range session. Afterwords, went for a jog and was strangely mentally tired so decided it was better to not practice sub-optimally so did some relaxation exercises and called it a day around dinner time. Not sure where the time actually went.. 7,644 remain. Random Stat: If I de-loft the putter a hair I can get it rolling on a straighter line.

January 8: Full day up at Cartersville Country Club. Practiced everything then played a quick 27 holes through the downpours of what seemed to be summer showers in January. 7,647 remain. Random Stat: shot a poor 90 for 18 then a marginally better 42 for 9.

January 7: Practiced for five hours up at Cartersville Country Club going through a new routine of sorts that I hope to blog about this evening. Was an eye opening session. 7,653 remain. Random Stat: I need to really focus on chipping for a while.

January 6: Spent half the day at Terminus Club in Buckhead, GA and had a great swing analysis with Jon Tattersal and Nick Garrity. Only one hour to report for practice, but there was much more learned and discussed. 7,658 remain. Random Stat: Need to fire my glutes more and quads less.

January 5: Last day with my brother before he moved to Zurich, so I didnt’ get out to the course until after his plane took off. Got in 3 hours out at Cartersville and it was a solid 3 hours full of realizations about moving off of the ball in the swing. 7,659 remain. Random Stat: shot an 85 from the blue tees.

January 4: Spent the day up at Cartersville Country club on the range, putting green and on course. It was a great day despite the cold. Finally put in a full day and am ready for a lot more to come. 7,662 remain. Random Stat: shot an 89 from the blues on my first round up there, just couldn’t drop a putt to save my life and dunked a ball on a par four for a 7 total.

January 2: Finally back to work. Was a blustery cold day of 38 degrees and 25mph winds. I’d never played in winds quite like that before, it was a good experience. Practice and a round. 7,668 remain. Random Stat: played 36 holes and shot 84, 88.

December 31: Met producer Peter at the Capitol City Club Crabapple course for a new years eve round. Final round of the year was a beautiful one, although it wasn’t an 80 breaker.. 7,673 remain. Random Stat: shot a 92 from the blues out there.

December 30: Spent an afternoon out on the range hitting and giving lessons to my father and brother. Was a great way to celebrate my dad’s birthday, bringing him to a golf course for the first time. 7,676 remain. Random Stat: he seems to have a nack for the driver.

December 28: Hit balls for a bit then went to the Golf Club of Georgia to warm up and then play 18 with some new friends. That’s a great facility. We played the Lakeside course and had a great time with it. 7,677 remain. Random Stat: didn’t keep score, but it was my first round ever with a full set.

December 26: Got out to a course with a grass range and chipping/putting area. Put in a solid four hours and it felt good to get back to work. 7,680 remain. Random Stat: I’ve never hit off of Bermuda grass, looks like it gives good lies but can be tough to chip out of.

December 24: Drove around my new settings in Marietta looking for a good range to practice at. Found a couple and stayed for a large bucket at one to break in the new clubs. It’s different having 14 clubs to hit with! 7,684 remain. Random Stat: Love hitting the fairway woods for the first time.

December 19: Went to Camas Meadows to play a round and got in a solid hour of practice beforehand and after the 18 spent an hour with coach CS at RedTail golf center working on the TrackMan swing system. 7,685 remain. Random Stat: losing 7 balls on poor drives caused me to shoot about 94 today.

December 18: Spent four hours with coach CS out at Pumpkin Ridge today for an extended end of the year type lesson. We filmed all aspects of the swing and putt and worked on everything, as well as started to lay out a game plan for my trip to Atlanta. 7,691 remain. Random Stat: Changed back to the Method putter for the coming months.

December 16: Warmed up for a while then played 18 out at Rose City then met my coach for a few hours of lesson time at CECC. 7,695 remain. Random Stat: shot an 87 from the Blues.

December 15: I’m giving away too many strokes. Played 18 at East moreland for the first time and practiced putting and chipping for an hour before and then two hours afterwords. 7,701 remain Random Stat: Shot a 90 from the Blues.

December 14: Played Heron with three good sticks and had some good holes and some bad, but the bad was almost all due to lack of confidence in chipping. My short chips have been lacking in style points for about a week and it’s time to go back to the drawing board and find that confidence. 7,706 remain. Random Stat: shot an 85 on the Greenback course from the blue tees.

December 13: The lack of sunlight and frozen conditions are getting annoying. Practiced for a couple hours and then two more on the course. 7,710 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 87 from the blues on the Great Blue course at Heron.

December 12: Was a truncated day due to frost delays lasting until noon and then a meeting I had to attend at 3. But, managed to fit in 2 hours in between the frost and commute. 7,714 remain. Random Stat: played 9 holes, had 5 pars, 2 bogeys and 2 bad holes.

December 10: Played 18 with the idea of shot execution in my mind only. Hit some great shots and lost a few strokes to fat hits, but all in all I enjoyed the round and learned a lot about how to manage 18 holes. 7,716 remain. Random Stat: shot an 89 from the blues at Heron with completely frozen greens.

December 9: Met my coach for a nine hole on course lesson that was more about the two of us playing so he could get a better understanding of how I was managing the game. Went well and afterwords I played nine more with the new idea of “shot by shot” play rather than score focussed play. Practice on the range came after that. 7,719 remain. Random stat: didn’t keep any score, but judged myself on shot execution.

December 8: Had a two hour lesson with CS then hit for a while out at a range before playing a pretty cool simulator down at Trails End Driving range in the evening for a while. 7,724 remain. Random Stat: played St Andrews on the simulator and shot about 18 over, almost all of that was putting though as it was hard to get a feel for distance.

December 7: Practiced for two hours then played 18 over at Heron. I realized, with the help of my buddy Eric, that I overthink the game while I play it and need to just play golf when out there, one shot at a time. 7,728 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 85 from the blues on the Greenback course.

December 6: Instead of playing 18 to try and break 80 today I realized that first I needed a short course refresher, as well as to figure out a kink in my putting stroke.. Think things are more settled now. 7,732 remain. Random Stat: chip like you’re hitting downhill drive like you’re hitting uphill.

December 5: Was a CECC range and short course day. Practiced the new setup and swing moves both slow motion and in real speed then went to the short course to work on less wrist hinge on chips and pitches. 7,736 remain. Random Stat: shot 9 over for the first 18 then with the shots down better shot 3 over for the second 18 on the par 3 course.

December 4: Hit balls and putts for an hour then had a three hour on course lesson with Christopher Smith. Worked on stance and driver shots a good bit. 7,741 remain. Random Stat: There’s a video posted from the lesson, lots to work on especially with setup.

December 2: Practiced for a couple of hours and then played 18 out at Cedar’s in Battleground, Washington. Didn’t shoot well and didn’t keep score, but it felt like all of my approach shots were fat. 7,745 remain. Random Stat: Had a string of one-putts, five in a row, but outside of that there wasn’t much good to tell about the round.

December 1: Practiced for an hour then play 18 over at Broadmoor for the first time (it’s the closest course to my house, not sure why I’ve never played it) and shot ok outside of two bad holes. 7,749 remain. Random Stat: shot an 89 out there from the blues.

November 30: Had a photo shoot with Men’s Journal for most of the day, but still got in about 2 hours of practice. It’s pretty tiring to pose in golf postures all day.. 7,753 remain. Random Stat: got a birdie on the 9th hole for the first time, and while being photographed.

November 29: Practiced for a couple of hours and then played 18 followed by some practice and a trip to Red Tail to work on the TrackMan system for a couple of hours. 7,755 remain. Random Stat: shot an 83 from the blues at Heron Lakes on the Greeenback.

November 28: Back at it! Got in a full day including 18 towards the end. It was the best I have played to date and was on track to be my first sub 80 round but a couple of lost balls on the back nine kept that mark away. 7,761 remain. Random Stat: shot an 82 from the blues at Heron Lakes on the Greenback course.

November 27: Went to CECC in the morning to meet with KATU news for a story then put in two hours. Was on a mental vacation and couldn’t concentrate, so took the remainder of the day to start wrapping up my house for my 3 month absence beginning in a few weeks. 7,767 remain. Random Stat: worked it putting, had to make 5 2-putts (or better) in a row from at least 30 feet on each green before progressing to the next.

November 26: Was going to stay away from the course for four days, but it was beckoning so I went out for an hour of practice and 18 holes. 7,769 remain. Random Stat: shot an 89 on the Great Blue course at Heron Lakes.

November 22: Packing for this week’s trip to the girlfriend’s parent’s house and an almost-flooded basement (had to dig out some window wells and bail lots of water) limited practice to just two hours today. But, even with 40mph gusts and over 2 inches of rain, I shot my best front nine at CECC to date. 7,773 remain. Random Stat: shot a 39 on the front nine of CECC from the whites.

November 21: Despite the rain (there were only two other golfers out all day) I got in 2 hours of range and green work and then 18 holes, afterwords I spent some more time on the range working on fades and draws. 7,775 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 83 from the whites at Columbia Edgewater.

November 20: Spent an hour warming up at course A just to find out I was actually playing course B across town, so had to bust it to get down to B for the tee time, and made it running up to the tee about five minutes late. I was way rushed and shot 5 over on the first two holes. 7,780 remain. Random Stat: shot a 90 at Stone Creek Golf Course from the blues.

November 19: The amount of light in the day is really putting a damper on things.. Put in 5 hours at CECC and with small breaks between exercises it was about the most I could fit in. 7,784 remain. Random Stat: shot an 85 from the blue tees.

November 18: Range and working on new driver stance for most of the day, as well as a bunch of lag putting to get my feel back there. 7,789 remain. Random Stat: shot a 44 from the blue tees on the front 9 of Columbia Edgewater.

November 17: Was a four hour lesson day with CS working on driver and putting. Did a lot of on course work as well as video analysis. 7,793 remain. Random Stat: a stronger grip keeps the ball from slicing for me.

November 16: Hit the TaylorMade performance lab at CECC for a swing analysis and then worked on the range and hit a few holes before heading down to spend the afternoon with physical therapist Shawn Dailey developing this winter’s workouts. 7,797 remain. Random Stat: my driver club head speed is 105mph.

November 15: Practiced for an hour then played 18 holes at Heron Lakes. 7,800 remain. Random Stat: my putting is just off right now across the board, think I lost my confidence and need to get it back asap.

November 14: Warmed up for a while on the range and then played 36 holes of true link style golf, which was completely new to me. I’ll count it as five hours of learning and deliberate practice despite the fact that I was out there for about 11. 7,803 remain. Random Stat: shot a 94 on the Pacific dunes course.

November 13: Had a two hour long driver lesson then hit the road for Bandon Dunes. 7,808 remain. Random Stat: Not much, just learned how to address the ball for a drive :)

November 12: I put in just two hours of actual physical golf work today and the rest of the day was dedicated to mental work and getting ready for my trip to Bandon tomorrow after the first driver lesson in the morning. 7,810 remain. Random Stat: trust in the swing, you don’t have time to change it in mid-air.

November 11: Worked on the range through the cold morning figuring out a few internal feels, then putted and short chipped for an hour before taking it to the par 3 course for 36 holes of competitive golf with a 2 handicapper. 7,812 remain. Random Stat: The 2 handicap golfer won by 4 strokes after 36 holes, but I was up by a few at one point, just had a couple poor closing holes.

November 10: Practiced 2 hours before heading down to see Shawn Dailey for a new winter workout routine/schedule. We worked on things for a while and by the time I got back to the course there were only two hours of light left, but they were two good ones. 7,817 remain. Random Stat: The power of the drive starts in the rear leg, fire those leg muscles!

November 9: Practiced long sticks and short iron through the morning and then after an hour of putting played 18. In the afternoon it was range work and finished with putting. 7,821 remain. Random Stat: shot an 84 out at Columbia Edgewater from the whites.

November 8: Spent three hours with range work and putting then played 18 holes at Heron Lakes. Shot well despite a lost ball and 7 on one hole. 7,827 remain. Random Stat: shot an 82 on the Greenback course from the whites.

November 7: I’m starting to understand where the power comes from in the swing. Getting my easy iron shots out much further. Practiced for three hours and then played a full 18 pretty quickly. 7,833 remain. Random Stat: shot 87 on the Great Blue course at Heron Lakes.

November 6: It’s the quality of the hours. I got in a very good four hours today and honestly felt like my concentration would be low if I continued, so I hit the gym and called it a day. Lot’s of good things happened. 7,839 remain. Random Stat: Shot a surprising 8 over for 18 holes of par 3 golf. But, I was happy with how I was hitting it, just figuring some things out.

November 5: After a few days in San Fran doing some “field research” (ie meeting and following a couple Champions Tour golfers) I got back to work on my swing today. Very glad to be out there and grinding! 7,843 remain. Random Stat: I think I now understand where the power of the swing comes from, my core muscles felt like they were firing the right way for the first time.

October 31: Got in a full day of practice alone and three hours with my coach out on the course. It was good to get out with him and play some holes so he could get a feel for where I was at with a few odds and ends. 7,846 remain. Random Stat: he beat me by a lot of strokes..

October 29: First tournament! Went out early and warmed up and then we played an 18-hole tournament. Afterwords I celebrated by playing 9 holes. 7,852 remain. Random Stat: as a two-person team we placed 3rd of 72 teams.

October 28: Practiced for three hours and then played 9 holes. I took the rest of the afternoon off to rest up a bit for tomorrow’s tournament, should be a blast! 7,858 remain. Random Stat: Shot 4 over for 18 holes on the par 3 course.

October 27: Worked short game and putting for 3 hours and then played a handful (36) holes on the par 3 Mason course. 7,862 remain. Random Stat: shot 4 over for 36 holes of par 3 golf.

October 26: Practiced short game for 3 hours and then played 18 holes at Columbia Edgewater. 7,866 remain. Random Stat: Got a bit of mojo back and shot an 86 for 18 from the whites.

October 25: Putting practice for a while in the morning and then hit up 18 holes at Heron in the afternoon. It was still a high scoring day, energy level is not quite back yet, but will be by tomorrow. 7,871 remain. Random Stat: shot a 98 on the Great Blue course.

October 24: After spending two days resting to get over an illness I went to CECC for four hours today. That was about as much energy as I could muster, but it was great to get back out there. 7,876 remain. Random Stat: shot my career worst and first 100 today.

October 21: Went to Red Tail Golf Course for a club fitting on the TrackMan system there and learned a lot about my swing. Then went to CECC for some implementation of the new swing thoughts. 7,880 remain. Random Stat: We bent my irons to 2 degrees flat.

October 20: Started at Pumpkin Ridge for a two hours lesson and some practice time then headed to Columbia Edgewater for a couple afternoon hours. 7,885 remain. Random Stat: need to keep my shoulders square at impact.

October 19: Lots of interuptions today, but a solid 2 hours of practice at CECC and then 18 holes over at Lake Oswego Par 3 course (which is a good challenge, you really have to stick the small greens). 7,890 remain. Random Stat: shot 16 over for 18 holesa of par 3 golf.

October 18: Was a full day out at CECC, spent good amount of time all over the place and mainly worked on contact. Afterwords, went out and played 9 holes to see where I stood. 7,894 remain. Random Stat: shot bogey golf for nine.

October 17: Spent 3 hours practicing around Columbia Edgewater and then met up with a few guys to play 18 at Rose City. 7,901 remain. Random Stat: shot an 89 at Rose City, had some good tee shots with the 3-hybrid but putted quite poorly, a reverse of what has been going on over the past week.

October 16: Practiced for a couple of hours and then played in a little 6-hole scramble game with Dr. Rob and Terry (former NFL player). 7,907 remain. Random Stat: Rob and I scrambling against Terry, we lost by 3 holes after 6. Terry is a 1 handicap.

October 15: It’s the 18 month anniversary today and my play was pretty much on fire. I practiced on the range for a bit and then played 36 par 3 holes with a buddy, Eric. He gave me 7 strokes (he’s a 2 handicap) for the 36 holes and won on the last hole by one stroke. My striking was on, though, which is great. 7,910 remain. Random Stat: Shot two over for the 36 holes.

October 14: Hit CECC for three hours in the morning and then went to Heron for 18. 7,913 remain. Random Stat: shot 85 from the whites on the Greenback course.

October 13: Started with a two hour lesson with my coach out at Pumpkin Ridge then headed over to CECC for some practice and 18 holes. A good sunny and rainy day out there. 7,919 remain. Random Stat: shot a 91 from the whites.

October 12: Spent five hours at CECC working on not hitting the ball fat. The winter makes this even more important as a fat shot rips through the ground and can actually go under the ball completely.. 7,925 remain. Random Stat: shot a 50 on the back nine from the blues.

October 11: Went out to the range at CECC after a couple conversations in the morning with performance experts. Spent a couple of hours on the range and putting green, then played 9 holes, then range and finished with 9 rainy holes. 7,930 remain. Random Stat: Playing bogey golf and not too happy about it.

October 10: Back to work officially. After a visit from an old friend over the weekend I’m back to work for good now. Got in a solid 6 hours out at Heron Lakes. 7,936 remain. Random Stat: shot an 89 from the blues on the Greenback course.

October 7: Took a bit of a break there, but am back in action! Practiced out at CECC for 6 hours, a lot of the day was getting back into the swing of things and then played 27 holes. 7,942 remain. Random Stat: shot a 90 from the blues and then a 43 for 9 from the blues at CECC.

September 30: Spent four hours working at CECC and then took an afternoon break for lunch/etc. In the evening, I went back to CECC for a couple of hours of trying to get my 6-iron swing back. 7,948 remain. Random Stat: Cannot get away from hitting fat shots.

September 29: Started off with 9 holes at CECC then had an afternoon conference call with Dr. K Anders Ericsson and then headed to Pumpkin Ridge for a playing lesson with CS. 7,954 remain. Random Stat: just lots to work on, really. Sometimes you need to put your nose to the grindstone more than usual and it’s one of those times right now.

September 28: A full day out at CECC with 27 holes and a ton of range work. For some reason, my irons just aren’t cutting it right now, but putting is on fire and so is short chips/pitches. It’s always something.. 7,960 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 45 for 9 holes on the big course and with only 14 putts, definitely some off irons.

September 27: Not sure why, but the energy level is way down right now. I went in the AM to get my 3-hybrid fixed and then got to the club a bit later. Hit on the range and practiced on the chipping/pitching area for 4 hours. Solid practice, but I need to figure my irons out. 7,966 remain. Random Stat: Shot even for 18 holes on the Mason course.

September 26: Fall is here. Spent 3 hours out at CECC playing around with my new swing thoughts. The course is being punched and there was a tournament going on so the range was a bit full, so went home to work on some other aspects of my training. 7,970 remain. Random Stat: New swing thoughts = hitting the ground a lot. It’s a transition and will pay off down the line, just need to remember not to get frustrated.

September 25: Went out for a lesson to Pumpkin Ridge. Needed to have a tune up on short chips and full swings. By the sound of it, I’m on track with my swing but am just a hair off with contact, which will come in time. 7,973 remain. Random Stat: I’m going to start aligning with the ball a fraction closer to the toe for the next week.

September 24: I decided to go out for a little bit on my day off and was in such a good zone that I ended up putting in five hours. Had a good bit of realizations about how to stand tall and keep tall through the swing. 7,977 remain. Random Stat: My 3-hybrid is broken, the head has come loose from the shaft, will have to get that re-glued tomorrow.

September 23: started with two hours of practice and then went out and played 18 holes at Heron Lakes. 7,982 remain. Random Stat: shot an 84 on the Greenback course.

September 22: Put in two hours on the range and then three hours out on the short course at CECC. 7,988 remain. Random Stat: Lost by about 3 strokes to my friend “Country Club” after 36 holes on the Mason Course.

September 21: Double header. Played 36 holes at Heron Lakes, both the Green and Blue courses. Was a learning experience about how I perform when tired by the end of the day. 7,993 remain. Random Stat: Shot 86 on both.

September 19: Was a solid good day to hit 2,000 hours. Started at Heron and played 18, then hit the range and putting areas of CECC for a couple of hours and topped it off with 9 holes out at CECC. 8,000 remain. Random Stat: shot an 83 out at Heron on the greenback from the whites, including a 10 on the first hole.

September 18: Spent a Sunday morning on the range for an hour, hitting nine holes and then a bit of putting work, what a great way to spend a day! 8,007 remain. Random Stat: Shot a PR of 40 for 9 at CECC.

September 17: Was going to take the day off, but felt like hitting the range for an hour and getting in 18. Was hitting the new style shot better today than yesterday. 8,010 remain. Random Stat: shot an 86 out at CECC

September 16: Had a lot to work on out at CECC with all that CS pointed out, so my plate is full for this next week. Practiced on the range for 4 hours then played 18 with my new ball position and stance. 8,013 remain. Random Stat: shot an 87 out at CECC.

September 15: Had a two hour lesson with CS and then practiced here and there for an hour. Lots to work on this week. 8,019 remain. Random Stat: need to get my head behind the ball.

September 14: Practiced for a few hours out at CECC and then headed over to the Lake Oswego par 3 course to play a round with physical therapist Shawn Dailey. 8,022 remain. Random Stat: Lost to Shawn by 3 strokes, will get him next time!

September 13: Full day started at Heron for five hours and ended over at CECC for a 2-hour sunset practice. Feeling really great about the progress to date and am excited about getting to the course every day, which is a good thing. 8,028 remain. Random Stat: shot an 86 on the Great Blue course at Heron.

September 12: Was a Heron of a day out there. Practiced for two hours then played 9 holes then practiced on the range for an hour and finished with an 18 hole round that kind of fell apart a bit. 8,035 remain. Random Stat: shot a 49 on the first 9-hole outting, not very sharp.

September 11: Another fantastic day. Today, I spent 4 hours out at CECC working on 3-hybrids and general control of all of my clubs. 8,041 remain. Random Stat: shot one over for 18 holes on the Mason Course.

September 10: One of the hottest (and best) days of the year. Was out at CECC for a solid six hour day and had a good bit of mechanic realizations. 8,045 remain. Random Stat: shot an 89 for 18 on the big course. Had two triple bogey holes.

September 9: Was a bit worn out from the week of filming so instead of pushing it on less than optimal focus I made it a four hour day. Was actually the best day of practice in a long time, I feel like I’m on the verge of a good hitting spell and figured out some putting issues. 8,051 remain. Random Stat: Shot one over for 18 holes on the Mason course.

September 8: Practiced for two hours out at Heron while the production complany filmed some interviews, then went for a two hour lesson with Christopher out at Pumpkin where we worked on putting and some on-course stuff. 8,055 remain. Random Stat: My putting stroke had gotten a bit truncated.

September 7: Not sure what to put down for today. It was a super long one of being filmed while playing. Got in 9 on the Mason course and 9 full holes, as well as a pure hour of practice. In all, I’ll call it three hours. 8,059 remain. Random Stat: shot even on the Mason course for 9.

September 6: Hit the range at CECC for a couple of hours and then headed over to Heron for 18 holes. A videographer showed up for the back nine putting a bit more pressure on me and my score took a bit of a hit.. 8,062 remain. Random Stat: shot a 90 on the Great Blue golf course.

September 5: Started over at CECC for a couple hours then moved it to Rose City for the rest of the day. 8,068 remain. Random Stat: Shot an 87 over at Rose City from the whites.

September 2: I really can’t believe it’s September, but then again I am constantly shocked it’s 2011. Went to CECC for a few hours, then had a lunch break, then back to CECC for some short course work. At one point in the day I “got it” but then an hour later I completely “lost it” and that’s golf. 8,074 remain. Random Stat: By the end of the day I had completely lost it, but at least left after making one solid shot with every club.

September 1: Practiced at CECC for about an hour then headed to Portland Golf Club to play 18 with Dr. Seth Alley. Afterwords, I stayed there for about an hour and practiced on the range and their chipping area. 8,078 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 89 from the whites out there.

August 31: Skipped around from CECC early morning to Heron then back to CECC for the evening. In the middle of the day I got a flat tire, but a very quick fix got me back on the road. 8,083 remain. Random Stat: shot a 45 with the new mechanics for nine holes out at CECC.

August 30: Got a late start to today due to spending the night and morning with a friend in the hospital, but still made it out to the course for a few hours. 8,089 remain. Random Stat: I think I understand what I need to do with my swing now, just have to do it.

August 29: Full day at Heron working on the new mechanics CS has me doing. It’s a big shift of ball forward more in my stance and my body aligned a bit differently, so it will be a long week of adjusting. 8,093 remain. Random Stat: keep it off the course while working on mechanics for mental sanity.

August 28: A good swing lesson with CS out at Pumpkin Ridge. Got the 3-hybrid out for the first time and loved it. Stuck around for a few hours afterwords for some practice. 8,099 remain. Random Stat: Not sure how far it went, but it felt pretty darn good to get that ball out there with the longer stick.

August 26: Four hours at CECC and a couple over at Heron and then I knew it was the end of the week. Lots of sore moving parts in this body, a full day of rest will do wonders. 8,103 remain. Random Stat: Not much to tell today, just worked on lots of mechanics.

August 25: Full sunny day out at CECC. I practiced for four hours on the chipping area, putting green and range and then met a guy named Rob for some holes on the big course. Afterwords, I stuck around and worked out some kinks before the sun went down. 8,109 remain. Random Stat: Shot a 44 on the back nine of the big course, including a 10 on one hole (tried to Tin Cup it over the water a couple of times..)

August 24: The entire beautiful day was at Columbia Edgewater (CECC). Lots of good bunker and short game practice and I played nine holes from 160-ish yards. 8,115 remain. Random Stat: shot 4 over for those 9 holes. (par 3 each)

August 23: Morning was CECC, then to McMenamin’s Edgefield for some chip and putt practice, then over to Rose City for an evening 9. 8,121 remain. Random Stat: shot 41 on the back 9 of Rose City.

August 22: Was a full day split between Heron and CECC. Practiced at Heron and then met my coach out at Columbia for a few hours of lessons. Perfect day. 8,127 remain. Random Stat: we played nine for dinner and I lost by three strokes. Had some opennings to catch up on the last few holes, but had dug too deep a hole.

August 21: Went to CECC for a few hours of practice and played the Mason course once, landing my first hole-in-one which was simply awesome. 8,133 remain. Random Stat: shot a 3 under for 18 holes on the Mason.

August 19: Back at it. Went to CECC to work on everything including playing 9 from the white tees for the first time. 8,136 remain. Random Stat: shot a 41 for 9 from the whites.

August 18: Was a day where I felt exhausted. Perhaps the long day in the sun yesterday had something to do with it, not sure, but I felt so so tired I couldn’t really focus after a couple of hours. 8,142 remain.

August 17: Played 2 full 18 holes rounds today from the white tees to get some course management knowledge in and practiced a bit in between. 8,144 remain. Random Stat: shot a 97 on the first round and a 90 on the second.

August 16: Went to CECC for 6 hours and worked on short game a good bit. Putting seems to be hot right now. 8,151 remain. Random Stat: shot 2 over for 18 holes on the Mason course. Still not averaging even, but getting close.

August 15: back to it and nicely inspired. put in a solid 6 hour day between CECC and Heron. Practiced everything, but especially moving my hips laterally in my full swing. 8,157 remain. Random Stat: shot a 46 for 9 holes from the whites for the first time out at Heron.

August 9: Got in one hour before heading to the airport for Atlanta. 8,163 remain.

August 8: Last day before heading to Atlanta to watch the PGA Championship went well. I began at Heron and ended at CECC. 8,164 remain. Random Stat: shot a 42 on the front of the Great Blue course with a 6-iron from the red tees.

August 7: Sunday on the range. Spent three hours out at CECC working on all sorts of different things. I played a few holes on the mason course and felt like I was playing very well despite the score. 8,170 remain. Random Stat: shot 5 over for 18 holes on the Mason course.

August 6: It was Saturday, but I really felt like practice so went to CECC for 3 hours and worked on bunker shots and short roll-out chips. 8,173 remain. Random Stat: felt like I played well, but shot 5 over for 18 holes on the Mason course.

August 5: Got out to CECC early, around 8, to get in an hour before the Portland Monthly people came out to film a bit. Then, stuck around for the rest of the day and played with Eric as well as practiced a good bit. 8,176 remain. Random Stat: He beat my by 4 on 18 holes of Mason Course play.

August 4: Started with a lesson out at Pumpkin and then transitioned to CECC for the afternoon. 8,182 remain. Random Stat: Shot one over for 18 holes on the Mason course.

August 3: Back in action! First day back to the range and green was great as always. Played some holes and got in a few hours of practice. Glad to be back. 8,188 remain. Random Stat: shot a 42 on the back nine of the Great Blue course from the red tees.

July 28: Last day before heading to Montana for a wedding. Spent two hours at CECC and two at Heron. 8,194 remain. Random Stat: My body is ready for a couple of rest days, for sure.

July 27: Was a shorter day of about 4 hours split between Heron and CECC. I actually had a bunch of great realizations, though. Think I’m starting to understand the full swing, now just need to do it! 8,198 remain. Random Stat: shot 2 over on the Mason course for 18 holes.

July 26: Morning was time put in over at Heron and then the afternon was filled with some range, short game work and a few holes out at CECC. 8,202 remain. Random Stat: Shot about five over out on the Mason course. learning.

July 25: The entire day was out at CECC today. I practiced a lot and then played a game with an LPGA player who completely crushed me on the Mason par 3 course. Lots to learn. 8,208 remain. Random Stat: she won by a commanding 16 strokes after 18 holes.

July 24: Went to CECC and hit the driving range, chipping area, putting green and Mason course. Three hours of work in total and had some great realizations about my swing and where the clubhead should be at impact. 8,214 remain. Random Stat: shot 2 over for 18 holes on the Mason course.

July 23: Put in one hour out at CECC on chipping and putting, was a bit sore and it was Saturday so decided to lay low after that. 8,217 remain.

July 22: End of a good week, feels like everything is getting back on track and the full swing is coming along. Spent most of the day out at Heron with a two hour stint over at CECC. 8,218 remain. Random Stat: Shot 2 over for 18 holes on the Mason course.

July 21: Learned a lot during a 3 hour fitting in the AM then brought those thoughts out to Heron for 2 hours and then went to CECC for a couple hours in the evening. 8,224 remain.

July 20: Spent three hours out at Heron on the range and then two over at CECC getting ready for a club fitting tomorrow. 8,230 remain. Random Stat: figured out a few things with my full swing, we’ll see if they work in the morning.

July 19: Was a McMenamin’s Par 3 morning for 3 hours, then off to Heron to work on the full swing on the range. 8,235 remain. Random Stat: shot par for the first ten holes and 7 over for the second ten holes, then 3 under for the final 8 holes of the day.

July 18: Spent the morning at CECC working short pitches and putting then headed to Heron for a round where I played pretty terrible, couldn’t get the 8-iron working for some reason. 8,240 remain. Random Stat: shot 1 over for 18 holes on the Mason and about 100 for a round at Heron.

July 16: I decided to hit the range for a bit today despite it being Saturday and hit them pretty well. so, then went out on the empty course for a while to see where my accuracy stood. 8,246 remain. Random Stat: 2/3 rule. I’m hitting 2 out of 3 8-irons where I want them, better then the 1/2 rule of two weeks ago.

July 15: A full day out at CECC. Got the 6-iron out for the first time and hit some great initial shots with that, can’t wait until the day I get to bring it out to the course.. 8,249 remain. Random Stat: shot well on the Mason course, but had about 3 3-putts on 36 holes.

July 14: Back on track. went for a 2 hours lesson and then hit Heron for 4 hours in the afternoon. Felt back to my normal golfing self after a couple off days. 8,255 remain. Random Stat: birdied my first par 5 hole, hit 3 140 yard 8-irons and then sank a 60 foot putt.

July 13: Another tough day with morale, must be a small cycle and I hope it will be over by tomorrow. Just getting a bit frustrated with the game, alsthough it’s always something.. 8,261 remain. Random Stat: Starting playing 9 holes, but went back to the putting green after a couple, need to work on mechanics rather than play holes right now.

July 12: Was not so good of a day. I got really frustrated out there and was put off so much I had to call it a day, could just not focus in a positive way. Got in four hours before the mini-meltdown.. 8,265 remain. Random stat: shot 5 over for 18 holes on the Mason course.

July 11: Great day. Spent the first three hours out at Heron on the range and playing the Great Blue course then went to CECC for four hours of putting, chipping, range and some holes. 8,269 remain. Random Stat: shot a 44 on the front nine of the Great Blue course, on track for my best round there.

July 10: A short day out on the course, worked on contact for three hours at CECC and then spent the rest of the day getting ready for the week to come. 8,276 remain. Random Stat: 8-irons are coming off clean right now.

July 8: Was a CECC day today. Went out for three hours and then two more after an afternoon break. Wanted to get in six, but was the end of a long week and five seemed to be a good time to cut it off. 8,279 remain. Random Stat: Shot 4 over for 9 holes of worst ball, it felt better than last week.

July 7: Spent most of the day hanging out with a writer and teaching him how to play golf and then went back out for a solid three hours of practice. 8,284 remain. Random Stat: shot 3 over for 18 holes of par 3 golf.

July 6: Put in three and a half hours out at CECC working on some short game stuff then after a break went to Heron for three hours of some playing/range work. 8,288 remain. Random Stat: Shot 11 over for the front nine of the Great Blue course from the red tees, was off and on.

July 5: Game on! I felt back to my normal non-medicated self. Didn’t need allergy meds today and felt back in things. Practiced for 3.5 hours out at CECC on the short course side, then after a break practiced for 2.5 hours on the big course side. 8,294 remain. Random Stat: for nine holes each: shot 5 over from 140, 4 over from 100 and even from 75 yards.

July 4: Spent three hours out at CECC on the range and short course, and did some putting, then split for some Fourth BBQ. 8,300 remain. Random Stat: My balls are going much straighter now!

July 3: Went to Pumpkin for a lesson and CS figured out why I had been pushing the ball so much: my takeaway was way open and so I was not getting the club back to square on contact, good to know. 8,303 remain.

July 1: Spent the first day of July getting handily beat by my friend Eric out on the Mason course of CECC. Was a horrible show on my part, but still, we had fun and I had some realizations about my swing. Good day. 8,306 remain. Random Stat: at one point, I shot 11 over for 9 holes of par 3 golf, my worst rounds to date.

June 30: Morning was at CECC practicing and paying some worst ball then went to Heron for some putting and driving range in the afternoon. 8,312 remain. Random Stat: shot 11 over for 18 holes of worst ball.

June 29: Split the day between Heron in the morning and Edgewater in the afternoon. Not feeling completely connected to my body right now with the allergies and allergy meds, but am trying to learn how to play through that kind of thing, just use your body however you can for that day. 8,318 remain. Random Stat: shot 5 over for 9 holes of worst ball.

June 28: Hay Fever’s getting me down… Went out to CECC for three hours of practice and then off for lunch. Back in the afternoon for 3 more hours where I couldn’t seem to stop hoselling the ball, my head’s not screwed on right today at all. 8,324 remain. Random Stat: shot 4 over on the Mason course playing “worst ball”

June 27: Birthday golfing! went out for five hours in the AM then back for an hour in the PM. Was good to practice some short chips after missing a few on the round I played Friday. Back to basics. 8,330 remain. Random Stat: played 9 holes of “worst ball” and shot 5 over for a par 3, need to get that down to par!

June 24: Finally back to work. Got in a good six hours today of mixed practice and hole action. Felt good to be back at it after a few days of filming stuff. 8,336 remain. Random Stat: Was playing bogey golf for a while but then hit a couple troubles and two holes of 4 over each.

June 22: Filmed all day then got in two hours at the end after everything settled.. 8,342 remain. Random Stat: There will be a time when I will need someone to arrange these media type sessions around my practice :)

June 21: Got in just two hours before other aspects of the day took me away from training. Will make this up this weekend.. 8,344 remain. Random Stat: my draw is actually looking really good right now.

June 20: Warmed up, played a full tournament and then hit a little in the afternoon to end up with about 4 hours on the day. The day was actually a lot longer, but it seems like there was about 4+ hours of actual learning and practice. 8,346 remain. Random Stat: My team shot a 62 in the scramble.

June 18: Went out to get my putting groove back and glad I did because I not only figured out what was going askew there, but also figured out a bit about my draw, so a good short day of three hours. 8,350 remain. Random Stat: shot 4 over on 18 holes out on the par 3 Mason course.

June 17: Was out on the course for a long time today and actually played a large number of holes with different people, a good sunny day. Probably played 60 par 3 holes and got some range work and green work in too. 8,353 remain. Random Stat: Played very well at first and then when it “counted” my game went down hill fast, but I learned a lot from the experience.

June 16: Put in three hours of practice and short course play out at CECC and then went to Pumpkin for a 2 hour lesson with CS and another hour of practice beforehand. A good day full of new golfind ideas. 8,359 remain. Random Stat: shot even for 18 holes of par 3 golf on the Mason Course.

June 15: Full morning out at CECC with some range, putting and the back nine of the big course then headed over for some chips and pitches as well as a few holes on the Mason. Took a lunch break and went back to it in the afternoon. 8,365 remain. Random Stat: For nine holes each, shot 8 over from 140 yards, even from 100 yards and 1 under from 75 yards. Moved the distances back since yesterday.

June 14: Went and played a few holes for the first time out at CECC after a couple hours of range and green practice. Then went back to pitch for an hour in the afternoon. 8,371 remain. Random Stat: shot 9 over for 27 holes, 6 of those”overs” coming from 140 yards.

June 13: I pushed it today to see how I’d play when a little mentally/physically tired. So, practiced for 5 hours over at Heron and then played the par 3 course in a competitive setting (played someone with something on the line) out at Columbia Edgewater for 2 hours. 8,376 remain. Random Stat: We played 36 holes and I won by 2 strokes, my first time winning a betting game.

June 12: Just a short day since I went out for a half day yesterday, went out for about an hour of hitting to get a feel for what CS wants me to do this week. 8,383 remain. Random Stat: Not much here, just remembered to always pay attention to what the body is doing.

June 11: Went out for a rare Saturday (normal day off) lesson at Pumpkin Ridge. Got out there about 2 hours early to practice and then had an hour long lesson. Learned a lot and have a good bit to work on this coming week. 8,384 remain. Random Stat: still working on that swing..

June 10: First full day of practice at the new course. Went very well, I practiced chips, pitches, full swings, putting, played the Mason course and then did it all again. 8,387 remain. Random Stat: Shot one under for 9 holes on the par 3 course.

June 9: Started out at Heron for a couple hours and then went to the new club for two hours before a lunch break and a jog, then back to the new club for two evening hours. 8,393 remain. Random Stat: Played 36 holes of par 3 golf and shot 5 over total.

June 8: Spent the morning getting orientated at the new golf course, then after lunch put in four hours of practice at the course, which was great! 8,399 remain. Random Stat: Played the 9-hole par 3 course and shot a 29, not bad for the first round back!

June 7: First day back after the first vacation went well. My swing was back to where I left it, but it seems that my touch was a bit rusty, especially on the short chip shots. I practiced for about 4 hours, but didn’t play any holes yet. 8,403 remain. Random Stat: My swing was the best when I was getting warmed up, for about the first 45 minutes, before I started thinking too much about it..

May 29: Went out for a lesson with CS today after hitting some balls for about an hour over at Heron. Learned a lot during my lesson and have a lot to work on over the coming weeks! 8,407 remain. Random Stat: CS and I played 9 holes of putting and he won by three strokes, not where I want to be..

May 27: It was a mixed day. My shots are still going left and I can’t seem to figure out exactly why, so needless to say I’m excited about my lesson this Sunday, many questions.. 8,410 remain. Random Stat: When you can’t self diagnose a swing flaw, it’s time to see your coach!

May 26: Worked on short game for the first 2 hours, then the range for 2 and then hit the gym before heading back to Heron to play some holes for 2 hours. Figured out some lag issues with my putting.. 8,415 remain. Random Stat: I played 21 holes from 100 yards and in and shot one under in total.

May 25: A hard day to get in gear. Was overly tired and sore for no good reason, so practiced for 3 hours and realized it was better to focus my energy on other aspects rather than just grind away mindlessly out on the course. 8,421 remain. Random Stat: shot 14 over for nine holes.

May 24: The morning was filled with some short game work out at McMenamin’s Par 3 course. Then, in the afternoon, I got in some range work and putting practice out at Heron. 8,424 remain. Random Stat: shot 7 over then 5 over for the two 20-hole rounds of par 3 golf.

May 23: A great day to play some golf. Went out and played 36 holes so I knew what to work on for the rest of the week. Worked for 6 hours, then hit the gym and then went back out to the course for an evening hour. 8,430 remain. Random Stat: shot a 92 on the Great Blue course and an 85 on the Greenback.

May 22: A short Sunday out at Heron. Just worked on the swing mechanics that CS pointed out during our lesson: get the swing plane lower and square up the shoulders. Excited about getting a couple rounds in this week. 8,437 remain. Random Stat: Hit about 8 buckets of balls..

May 21: Had a Saturday lesson with CS today out at Pumpkin. Shot some video of my swing and talked about what the next stages might be over the coming months. 8,440 remain. Random Stat: Before the summer is over, there might be a driver involved in The Plan…

May 20: A short day today due to the fact that I couldn’t get out on the course and had some other business to attend to in the evening. But, I’m going out for a lesson tomorrow, so all will even out. Four hours were spent at Heron and they were some of the best four yet. 8,443 remain. Random Stat: Align the shoulders and you will hit it straighter! That’s what I learned today..

May 19: Started with some range work at Heron and then went over to McMenamin’s Edgefield to play the par 3 with my coach. Was a beautiful day. 8,447 remain. Random Stat: We played head-to-head for 24 holes and he beat my by seven strokes. Not bad on my part, but a long way to go!

May 18: Put in 5 hours of solid putting green and driving range practice before heading to see PT Shawn Dailey about conditioning advice and for a general loosening of the back. A good day, but a bit too much of it was spent in the car.. 8,453 remain. Random Stat: for 9 holes of chipping and putting I scored 22 strokes.

May 17: Broke out the new 8 iron today and had a blast with it. Played 18 and then worked on the range for a few hours, as well as practiced some putting, of course. 8,458 remain. Random Stat: from the red tees, shot 14 over on the front (including 7 over on one hole) and then 6 over on the back for a 92 total.

May 16: Started the week a bit bumpy after having a 24 hr flu on Sunday. But, still got out for 6 hours of practice and hit the gym! 8,464 remain. Random Stat: for 9 holes of difficult putts, I shot 18 strokes.

May 14: Went out to Pumpkin for a lesson, showing up 2 hours early and then working with CS on the course for two hours. A good end to the week. 8,470 remain. Random Stat: still working on getting the club on a flatter swing plane.

May 13: Ended the week well (I say ended, but I am going out to Pumpkin tomorrow, so not sure if it’s quite over..) by starting at Heron for 3 hours and then going to a par three down the street for about 2 hours. Nice day, the sun was out and my pitches were on. 8,474 remain. Random Stat: Shot a horrible 7 over on the first round on the par 3..

May 12: Played the par 3 McMenamins course this morning a couple of times. Then, went to Heron for some range work and topped it off on the putting green. A sunny Spring day, it truly was. 8,479 remain. Random Stat: for 20 holes of par 3 golf, I shot 8 over the first time, 3 over the second.

May 11: Some days are for long grinds and some are for testing where you are. Today was a testing day. I played 27 holes (from within 100 yards) over three hours and did pretty well. 8,485 remain. Random Stat: In total, for 27 par-3 holes I shot 3 over. My goal is to be even or under, but 3 over wasn’t too bad.

May 10: Was out at the course for a long time today, but can only count 5 of those hours as practice, two in the morning and three in the afternoon. Lots of breaks in between to think about what I was doing right and wrong. 8,488 remain. Random Stat: for nine holes of putting, it took me 18 strokes, all holes were at least 30 feet.

May 9: After two hours of range work, I went down to meet up with Christopher and put some new grips on my wedges. Then, it was back to Heron for 4 hours of playing holes and putting practice. 8,493 remain. Random Stat: For 9 holes each, I shot 1 over from 50 yards, 2 over from 75 yards and even from 100 yards.

May 8: Another week off to a great start. Went out to Heron for what was collectively 5 hours today. Played some holes, worked on the range, worked on the green with a new putter. Good times. 8,499 remain. Random Stat: for 9 holes each: shot 1 over from 50, 3 over from 75 and even from 100 yards.

May 6: Started at Heron, but only lasted an hour due to having so many questions in my swing. So, went to Pumpkin for four hours, including an hour of lesson from CS. I’ve got new homework and direction for next week! 8,504 remain. Random Stat: For a 9-hole putting competition, I shot 17, one under par and good for me.

May 5: Started the day at a par 3 course near my house for four hours, then headed to Heron Lakes for 2 evening hours. The swing is coming along, but I’m definitely ready for a lesson tomorrow. 8,509 remain. Random Stat: shot 7 over for 18 holes of par 3.

May 4: Busy day out at the course, the sun was up and everyone was out having a good time. I got in 2.5 hours in the morning, took a break to let the course cool down and then went back out for 3.5 hours. Simply a good day. 8,515 remain. Random Stat: played 9 holes from random distances between 50 and 110 yards and shot 2 over, both due to putting..

May 3: After a nice 5-hour morning, I took a lunch break and then hit the gym hard. Afterwords, it was so nice out that I was going to go back out, but realized that I couldn’t give it 100 percent if I had (was pretty beat from the day and sun and workout) so instead layed low and got ready for tomorrow’s practice. 8,521 remain. Random Stat: a fellow noticed my swing was all based on “arms” and pointed out how to let your core do the work, made a huge difference!

May 2: The week is off to a good start. Practiced for a solid 7 hour day today before heading to the gym for a workout. All was well and my pitching swing is actually much better already after last weeks lesson. 8,526 remain. Random Stat: Played 9 holes from random distance between 50 and 120 yards and shot 2 over.

May 1: Just a short day. Went out to concrete what Christopher had instructed me to do during out lesson on Friday. Two hours out at Heron and then hit the gym and took the rest of the day off to have a great start tomorrow. 8,533 remain. Random Stat: If I stretch out more, the ball goes straighter, and farther. Good stuff.

April 29: woke up early to have a chat with BBC Scotland which went well and then was out at the course so put in four hours at Heron before heading to see CS for a lesson at Pumpkin. Stayed around for two extra hours to make it a great 7 hour end of the week. 8,535 remain. Random Stat: for 9 holes each, shot 2 over from 50, 4 over from 75 and 3 over from 100

April 28: Heron in the morning for 4 hours, then a good workout and back to Heron for what turned into just one hour. Honestly, I’ve just felt worn down this week and rather than push that extra hour I would rather recoup my energy and get back out there tomorrow. 8,542 remain. Random Stat: For 18 holes from random distance from 60-110 yards, I shot 10 over. Shanked a lot left until I figured out what was going on, my arms were getting way out in front :)

April 27: went out to McMenamins Edgefield today to play the par 3 course for the first time. A great place to practice the short game and I’ll have to start going there once week. Played 40 holes over 4 hours and then in the afternoon went to Heron for 2 hours. 8,547 remain. Random Stat: par was 60, I shot a 75, not too good, but 6 months ago it would have been a couple hundred :)

April 26: After an early morning radio interview I hit the links and put in 5 hours before heading to the gym. Afterwords, I planned on going out for two hours, but only made it one because the workout was a particularly good one. 8,553 remain. Random Stat: not a stat, but I realized that I was pushing the ball because I was coming out of my posture, a good thing to have realized.

April 25: Back to work. Woke up feeling under the weather and achy, so figured it was a good chance to get some “sick” training in because you can’t take a day off on Tour, so it’s good to know how your body functions in that situation. Practiced and played for a little over 6 hours. 8,559 remain. Random Stat: Played 9 holes from 100 yards and shot 5 over, my chipping and putting were excelent, but the “drives” were all going short and left.. Gotta square up.

April 24: Seeing as it was Easter, I cut practice short to have some good food at the neighbors house. Put in two hours of putting and am glad I did because it’s really starting to work for me. 8,565 remain. Random Stat: for nine holes of putting, I shot an 18.

April 22: A great end to another amazing week. Spent four hours on putting and short game, hit the gym and then went out and worked on some pitching shots for two hours. 8,567 remain. Random Stat: putting is getting better! lags were falling like Niagra.

April 21: Put in four hours of good putting practice, then hit the gym before going back out for one hour on my way to see PT Shawn for a mechanics talk. It rained, the sun was out, it rained, sun, rain, sun, rain. confused day, this one. 8,573 remain. Random Stat: Played 15 holes and had 3 3-putts, still not acceptable, but it’s getting to feel better.

April 20: Got out early and was feeling great, so worked on putting and some short chips for four hours at Heron before having to go to a long lunch meeting. Afterwords, went to East Moreland and hit balls, worked on draws and fades, for 1.5 hours. 8,578 remain. Random Stat: for 9 holes of putting, I shot a 19. Putting is in a rebuilding week.

April 19: Split the day into two 3-hour sessions. The morning was all about putting and then in the afternoon I hit some balls on the range, practiced 3-foot putts and then played a few holes. 8,583 remain. Random Stat: the new putting stroke is going to take a while to get down, I 3-putted 5 of the 15 holes I played.

April 18: Got out to Heron around 8 this morning for a three hour training session before heading to Lake Oswego for an intense workout with Shawn Dailey. He really kicked my butt and afterwords I met with Christopher for an hour then called it a day. 8,589 remain. Random Stat: I finished Shawn’s timed workout in 28 minutes, my goal was to break 30.

April 17: Woke up early and got out to Heron Lakes by 8:30 for four hours of practice before heading in to do an interview with Jeremy. Afterwords, I went to practice my putting for an hour, it was such a beautiful day out! 8,592 remain. Random Stat: the new putting stroke feels solid, made a number of good 20+ footers.

April 16: Went out to Pumpkin Ridge to see Christopher for a lesson. Was a one hour lesson where we went over a bit of everything. 8,597 remain. Random Stat: I’ve got to tighten up my putting stroke.

April 15: One year!! Today is the Plan-niversary and it couldn’t have been a better day, albeit a bit on the rainy side. To celebrate, I hit the range and then went out and played a full 18 holes, from the red tees, with a pitching wedge, 56 degree wedge and putter. 8,598 remain. Random Stat: For the 18 holes, I shot an 89. That’s a personal record, but only the second time I’ve done it so I hope to break the record very soon.

April 14: It was a different type of day, spent about 9 hours at Heron, but took a lot of breaks so ended up with 6 hours of actual training time. I liked the broken up schedule and made some solid groundwork today. 8,603 remain. Random Stat: I tried, about 150 times, to hit a ball 75 yards into a one foot diameter bucket. Got so close so many times, but it wasn’t a drop in the bucket today.

April 13: My putting feels awkward and I cannot figure out why. So, I practice putting for a while before going out and playing some holes. My average pitching wedge shot is now going about 120 yards without much force, which is a good thing. With a huge swing, it’s around 130, so getting to be closer to where it will eventually need to get. 8,609 remain. Random Stat: for 9 holes each: shot 2 over from 50, 5 over from 75 and 2 over from 100 (had a 3-over hole from 75, my first 6, due to hitting a sand trap and then straight into the water..)

April 12: Everything was firing on all cylinders today except my putting. Still, got in two hours, a good workout and then five more hours out at Heron, just couldn’t quite get the feel of my putting for some reason. 8,615 remain. Random Stat: for 9 holes each: shot 3 over from 50 yards, 2 over from 75 and 3 over from 100, almost all of that was due to putting.

April 11: The week started out a bit on the low-energy side. I woke up tired and never quite shook it off. I did feel good after a workout during lunch, though. 8,622 remain. Random Stat: Only went out and played 9 holes from 100 yards and shot 6 over, almost completely due to pour putting via low concentration levels.

April 8: Ended the week with a bang out at Heron. It was a beautiful end to a week that started cold and rainy. On Monday, there were only 2 other golfers on the course with me from 8-12, on Friday, the parking lot was full. It’s great to see people coming out to play! 8,627 remain. Random Stat: Played 9 holes from the red tees with just a pitching wedge and putter and shot 10 over. Felt good.

April 7: Put in four hours of practice on the putting green and then Jeremy came out to film some on the course. Afterwords, I hit the range for an hour and then was feeling nice and worn out. 8,633 remain. Random Stat: I need to learn to focus when the camera is rolling, it was good concentration practice.

April 6: I could not imagine doing anything else, what a great game and great day. I put in a full 7 hours of solid, and focussed, training today, one of the best days in a while, and I’ve had a lot of good days lately! 8,638 remain. Random stat: I played 9 holes with just a pitching wedge and putter from the red tees today and shot 9 over, that’s bogey golf and I’ll take it.

April 5: Just a plain old nice day. I practiced and played at Heron for two hours and then went down to East Moreland in the afternoon for 2 hours of hitting in the field, realized a few little things about my swing, which is a plus. 8,645 remain. Random Stat: For 9 each: shot 1 over from 50, 3 over from 75 and 5 over from 100 (was pushing it WAY left, into bunkers almost every hole, but think I figured out why)

April 4: A wet one! But, warm enough that it wasn’t a bother. Practiced for 6 hours out at Heron and was pretty much the only person out there, especially before noon, there were 2 other people on the course besides me. I’ll take a private course when I can get one! 8,651 remain. Random Stat: 9 hole each: shot 2 over from 50, 2 over from 75 and 3 over from 100

April 3: Nice start to what should be a wonderful week. Went out to Pumpkin Ridge today to change up the scenery. Practiced for 5 hours, including a couple friendly chip-n-putt challenges. 8,657 remain. Random Stat: Lost the first 9-hole chip and putt game by two strokes, need to work on the short game tomorrow morning!

April 1: First day of April was a beauty. Got in 3 hours of practice and then went to see PT Shawn Dailey and then there was enough sun to practice for 4 more hours, I’m going to love the spring and summer. 8,662 remain. Random Stat: for 9 holes each: shot 1 over from 50, 2 over from 75 and 1 over from 100.

March 31: The sun was out and spirits were up today. A nice ending to March and a welcome view of what April will bring. A full 7 hour day, and a great one at that. 8,669 remain. Random Stat: For 9 holes each: Shot one over from all three distances, 50 75 and 100 yards.

March 30: Before heading to Beaverton to meet with Kevin Nakaji and with Christopher Smith, I practiced for 3 hours out at Heron. 8,676 remain. Random stat: had my worst hole yet, scored a 6 from 75 yards, my tee shot hit the bunker and then I shanked it out of bounds, dropped for three and hit my fourth on the green then two putted.

March 29: A good yet short day. I practiced for four hours out at Heron Lakes before the mix of rain and sanded greens made it a little ridiculous to be out there. That’s Oregon) for you! 8,679 remain. Random Stat: for nine holes each: shot even from 50 yards, 1 over from 75 and 1 over from 100 (my best round yet)

March 28: It didn’t rain, ourside of a few drops in the afternoon, and that’s a good thing. I practiced for four solid hours and then went out and played 18 from 100 yards. 8,683 remain. Random Stat: Shot 5 over for the first nine and 2 over on the back, I got the new grip down a bit better by the back nine.

March 27: Went to Pumpkin to have a lesson with Christopher Smith and he changed up my grip quite a bit. It’s going to be awkward for a while, but that’s the name of the game, if you want to get better you have to be willing to get worse for a little while. 8,690 remain. Random Stat: not really a stat, but I think I’m in the market for a new putter, at least to try a new one for a while.

March 25: Broke up the day between two sessions, 4 hours of practice and then a short break followed by a 2 hour session on the course. 8,694 remain. Random Stat: For 9 holes each, shot 2 under from 50 yards, 4 over from 75 yards and 1 over from 100 yards.

March 24: Some days it’s best to take it easier and focus on a few things, today was one of those days. I practiced for 3 hours, mostly on making solid contact with my full swing. No revelations, but it’s getting there. 8,700 remain. Random Stat: It’s wet out and I’m hitting the top of the ball.

March 23: Five hour day out at Heron. Did not play any, but worked on mechanics for everything from a 1-foot putt to a 100 yard pitch. Solid. 8,703 remain. Random Stat: for nine holes of chip-and-putt, I shot a 22. Still want to get that down to a 20 over the next couple of weeks.

March 22: Went out for 1.5 hours and then headed down to see Shawn Dailey (physical therapist) and talked about injury prevention. Then, back out for 2.5 hours of practice. 8,708 remain. Random Stat: my swing is still in transition, shot 6 over from 100 yards for 9 holes.

March 21: A great day today out at Heron. Got in a very rare 7 hour day between a morning and an afternoon session. Much welcomed. 8,712 remain. Random Stat: for fun, I played a par five from the red tees with a pitching wedge and shot a 5, four solid consistent pitches and a one-putt.

March 19: Was going to take the day off, but the sun came out and it was too tempting, so I went to Heron for four hours of short game practice. Worked some kinks out of my putting and then tried to figure out how to put spin on short shots. 8,719 remain. Random Stat: shot 18 for 9 holes of putting from at least 20 feet, 3-putted one and holed one.

March 18: Thought it was going to be a rare 7-hour day, but hit a hunger wall about 15 minutes after 6 and didn’t have any food with me, so had to head home for dinner. Still, a great day out there trying to realign my swing. 8,723 remain. Random Stat: new swing=tough day, for 9 each, I shot 6 over from 50, 1 over from 75 and 8 over from 100 (hit a lot of hazards to the left)

March 17: Practiced for a bit and then had a lesson with Christopher out at Pumpkin and then stuck around for a couple more hours of practice. 8,729 remain. Random Stat: He realized that why I was pitching the ball left was a mix of aiming left and leaving the club face open, good things to know and to work on.

March 16: It was a taxing five hour practice today at Heron Lakes. My body and mind seemed a bit sluggish and I think it is due to the greyness and rains pervading Portland. 8,734 remain. Random Stat: For 9 holes each: shot 2 over from 50 yards, 7 over from 75 yards and 1 over from 100 yards. (Keep hitting it long past the greens from 75.

March 15: This is what you call a rainy day.. So, I spent a couple hours in the gym and a couple hours working on my swing in the garage. 8,739 remain. Random Stat: Not much today, just swinging away.

March 14: Good start to the week today out at Heron. I got in a few hours of practice and then played 27 holes over a few hours. 8,741 remain. Random Stat: for 9 holes each: shot one over from 50 yards, two over from 75 yards and 5 over from 100 yards.

March 12: Was supposed to be a day off, but the sun came out and I really wanted to practice, so I followed my gut and hit balls for an hour before playing 27 holes on the Great Blue course out at Heron. 8,747 remain. Random Stat: for 9 holes each: shot one over from EACH 50, 75 and 100 yards. Was on fire!

March 11: My brother’s birthday! I went out to Heron for a bucket of balls and 27 holes before heading to Beaverton to see coach Christopher. Spring is near! 8,750 remain. Random Stat: For 9 holes each, shot 1 over from 50, 3 over from 75 and 5 over from 100 (water was not my friend.)

March 10: Got to pitch around at East Moreland for a couple hours before playing a windy 27 holes out at Heron Lakes on the front of the Great Blue course. A good day. 8,755 remain. Random Stat: For 9 holes each, shot 2 over form 50 yards, 1 over from 75 yards and 2 over from 100 yards. Getting there.

March 9: Was a windy day out, so good to practice some putting while getting pushed around by gusts of 30mph. I practiced for three hours and then played 27 holes for a couple hours. 8,760 remain. Random Stat: 9 holes each: 50 yards: 3 over; 75 yards: even (yay!); 100 yards: 1 over (also a personal best)

March 8: Split the day into two sections, 2.5 hours of “playing” and 2.5 hours of practice time. I shot well and practiced well, working on getting my pitches on the line I am aiming for. 8,765 remain. Random Stat: 9 holes: 50 yards: 1 over; 75 yards: 3 over; 100 yards: 5 over.

March 7: Played a few holes out at Heron Lakes and then practiced on consistency for a couple hours. I think I’m finally starting to understand what it means to really learn something. 8,770 remain. Random Stat: played 9 holes from three different distances: 50 yards: 4 over 75 yards: 3 over and 100 yards: 8 over.

March 5: Went out for just two hours today. I wanted to do an intense, yet quick, practice session and got a good one in. Hit the driving range and then worked on short chips, making sure each shot was a repeatable solid stroke. 8,775 remain. Random Stat: took me an hour to go through 70 balls on the range, concentrating on each one.

March 4: Heron was dry and approachable today so I went and hit on the driving range for about an hour before playing 27 holes. I played 9 from 50 yards, 9 from 75 yards and 9 from 100 yards. 8,777 remain. Random Stat: shot 2 over from 50 yards, 1 over from 75 yards and 5 over from 100 yards (hit a couple hazards)

March 3: Went out for a long overdue lesson with Christopher Smith today. It had been about 5 weeks since we saw each other and my swing could feel it. We went pretty much everything and did some filming. Now, I have some homework to do.. 8,782 remain. Random Stat: we played a pitching game and he won 5-1.

March 2: What a break, I took a few days off after the Florida trip due to frozen greens and then to figuring out an attack plan for the coming months, but went out for a few hours today and had a good session back. 8,786 remain. Random Stat: shot 7 over on 18 holes of 75-yard golf.

February 23: Last day in Florida went well. Nice and hot. Got in about 3 hours out at Mangrove and then, after a workout, played nine over at Treasure Island. I’ll miss Florida, but am excited to get back to Portland. 8,789 remain. Random Stat: shot a Florida best 21 on a chip and putt game.

February 22: Next to last Florida day. Went out to Mangrove and met up with Juan on the putting green. I put in about 6 hours throughout the day, working mostly on putting and especially on lag putts. 8,794 remain. Random Stat: shot a 24 on a 9-hole chip and putt game.

February 21: After a two day hiatus up at Tallahassee and a day off to recoup and relax, I got in five hours out at Mangrove Bay and then hit the gym for a good (and much needed) workout. 8,800 remain. Random Stat: shot a 25 on a 9-hole chip and putt game.

February 17: I was out at the course for about 6 hours today, but only got in 4 hours of practice. A St Pete Times photog was out there and a new friend, Juan, stopped by, too. Then, off to the gym and wrapped up the day by getting ready for the conference at FSU this weekend. 8,805 remain. Random Stat: shot a 23 on my 9-hole chip n putt game.

February 16: What a beautiful day! 75 and sunny, can’t complain! I spent 6 hours out at Mangrove and then went back to the beach for a 4 mile jog. Now, I’m off to prepare for the presentation at FSU this weekend. 8,809 remain. Random Stat: shot a 22 on a 9-hole chip and putt game.

February 15: half-n-half day. Three hours at Mangrove, a workout and then three hours over at Treasure Island. Practice went really well, playing was not so good… 8,815 remain. Random Stat: career worse (and that’s sayin’ something!) 48 on a par-3 9 hole course. Hit about 10 balls in the water. Played 18 more and shot 10 over total for those, so was starting to get my groove back.

February 11: Went to Mangrove for some sandtrap practice this morning for about 4 hours (also got in a lot of putting and chipping) and then spent an afternoon hour practicing sand hits on the beach, nice! 8,821 remain. Random Stat: scored 18 on a 9-hole putting game.

February 10: Mangrove it was for today. Spent 3 hours and then hit the gym for a nice afternoon workout and then headed straight back to Mangrove for 3 more hours before calling it a day and going to the Dali museum. Good day. 8,826 remain. Random Stat: shot a 24 on a 9-hole chip and putt game.

February 9: Mangrove Bay for 3 hours, a nice break for lunch and then back at it at Mangrove. It was the first really good day of the Florida trip as far as training goes and hopefully not the last! 8,832 remain. Random Stat: made five shots in a row from every distance, 1 foot to 30 yards.

February 8: Days seem to be getting better over here in Florida, now that I have a good routine down. I put in 3 hours out at Mangrove Bay and then headed over to Treasure Island after a beach jog and got an additional 2 hours of practice. 8,838 remain. Random Stat: Shot 9 over for 18 holes, which is much better than the 10 over I shot on 9 holes the first time.

February 7: Spent a five hour morning out at Mangrove Bay and then went to downtown St Pete to meet with St Pete Times reporter Michael Kruse, good guy! 8,843 remain. Random Stat: I’ve never putted in winds quite like this, it was good practice on how to play the wind.

February 6: Checked out a new course today, the Chi Chi Rodgriguez golf center a bit north of town and it had a good practice facility. I put in three hours before just hanging out and enjoying the day for a bit! 8,848 remain. Random Stat: After 30 tries, I could not land a ball in a net 50 yards away.. I’ll get it next time!

February 4: Finished my first week in St Pete with a five hour session out at Mangrove Bay. Everything seemed to lining up well today, whether it was a one-footer or a forty-yard pitch. 8,851 remain. Random Stat: hit 10 40 yarders in a row to within 6 feet, by far a personal record.

February 3: went out for a two hour practice session and then picked up my brother and we played 18 hours and practiced some short-game stuff for about 3 hours. 8,856 remain. Random Stat: My brother, who never plays golf, and I tied after 18 holes of par-3 golf, not sure if that’s good for him of bad on me!

February 2: Think that jet lag finally caught up to me. Not sure if that’s the case, but I was exhausted all day today, never really woke up. I got in three hours out at Mangrove and then hit the gym pretty hard, followed by two hours at Mangrove and then home to write some notes for a presentation at FSU next weekend. 8,861 remain. Random Stat: not a stat, but you can feel the grain, using your hands, you can actually tell which way the grass grows and in turn where the ball will roll!

February 1: Start a new month fresh, that’s the way to do it! Went out to Mangrove for 3 hours before it got a bit overly crowded so I went down to Treasure Island Golf to play “unlimited” amount of holes from 2PM to 6PM, it’s a par three course and nobody else was out there, perfect for training! 8,866 remain. Random Stat: shot a 37, 41 and 32 on my three rounds of par-3 golf (from about 80 yards, which proved to be a little much for me at this point)

January 31: Ended January on a good note, got in my first real practice of the Florida trip. Spent four hours at Mangrove Bay, found a gym to join and had a nice workout and then went back to Mangrove for two evening hours. 8,873 remain. Random Stat: Bermuda grass is a killer! I made only 40 percent of my lags to within 3 feet, my goal (and about what I usually hit) was 80 percent.

January 30: First day in Florida, I checked out a bunch of courses and then practiced for two hours at one called Mangrove Bay. It’s a city owned muni course, but had some nice spaces for chipping and pitching, so I think I’ll spend some time there. 8,879 remain. Random Stat: only lost one ball, not bad seeing as there were about 12 people chipping to the same area.

January 28: On the last day in Portland for about 4 weeks I went out to Heron for an hour and then over to Edgewater to try it out one last time and attempt to get my second subpar round of the week. I’m ready for Florida golfing! 8,881 remain. Random Stat: shot a 26 on the Mason Course, so got my goal!

January 27: What a beauty of a day! I did a “circuit” of sorts out at Heron, thought it would take just a couple hours to make it through 1 foot to 50 yards drills, but after 6 hours of putting I was stuck at 40 feet.. Will have to try again tomorrow! 8,886 remain. Random Stat: Made 13 5 footers in a row, but it took 45 minutes.

January 26: Not the best practice day by any means. I must refocus tomorrow and end the week on a good note. It was just a frustrating day. 8,892 remain. Random Stat: hit 61% of my chips to my success zone of 6 feet, my goal was 65%

January 25: The morning was occupied with an interview by photographer/videographer Jeremy Dunham. But, in the afternoon I made it out to Heron for three hours to play a bit on the Great Blue Course. It was a great day to be out, but my energy level was unfortunately low. 8,896 remain. Random Stat: shot 7 over for 27 holes of 50 yard golf, not too good, but was 1 over on the last 18 holes.

January 24: Some days are meant for hitting the grindstone and some are all about recovery. You never know what type of day you’re going to have until you get out there. Today was a recovery, I felt incredibly tired for some reason. So, only got in 2 hours before it made sense to hit the gym, go to a meeting and call it quits. 8,899 remain. Random Stat: I need to start keeping these in a better format, more of a thought than a stat.

January 23: Got up and out early to practice at Heron and then played nine holes on the Greenback course with fellow practicer Eric. Practiced and played well, it’s going to be a great last week before heading to St Petersburg this weekend. 8,901 remain. Random Stat: shot a 28 on 9-holes from about 50 yards.

January 21: Despite the rain I worked out at Heron for 4 hours before heading over to the Mason Course at CECC to check it out once more. I played well and was happy with my score, but have a much better number in mind for the near future! 8,905 remain. Random Stat: shot a 54 for 18 holes of “par 3″ golf from 50 yards out.

January 20: Spent the day out at Pumpkin with CS, we then had a nice 2 hour lesson. we went over and filmed everything and as far as I can tell I’m on the right path, just need to keep the bus moving along! 8,911 remain. Random stat: shot a 23 on my chip n putt game.

January 19: Started over at Colewood today, but it was so muddy there that after an hour I ended up heading to Heron Lakes. I think I spend too much time over at Heron, but it’s got what I need as far as a practice facility goes.. I worked on chipping some, trying to get all my chips to within 6 feet of the cup. 8,917 remain. Random Stat: Hit 59% of my chips to within 6 feet of the hole.

January 18: Spent the day at Heron Lakes working on a little bit of everything. It was a very rainy day, which gets me a bit excited about training in Florida.. I also spent an hour in the garage working on my swing. 8,922 remain. Random Stat: scored a 23 on the 9-hole chip n putt game, my goal was a 22.

January 17: Headed down to East Moreland today after a meeting with a videographer friend, both were good. Think I need to spend more time down there honing my pitching skills. Afterwords, I went out to Heron for some evening putting practice. 8,928 remain. Random Stat: It took 19 strokes to play my 9-hole putting game, my goal is 17.

January 16: Went out for a couple hours today to work on my pitching a bit. I realized that I need to turn my body into the shot first, a good realization. 8,933 remain. Random Stat: shot a 28 for 9 holes of 50 yard golf.

January 15: Nine month anniversary today! I went out to Pumpkin for a lesson with Christopher Smith today concerning bunker shots. It was my first time in te sand trap and I actually quite liked it! We worked on that and then went out on the course for some action practice. 8,935 remain. Random Stat: shot a 2 over 28 on 9 holes from 50 yards.

January 14: spent the day split between Heron Lakes and Columbia Edgewater. Was a good dry and warm winter day that felt like spring! Played the Mason Course over at CECC for my weekly “status” update and practiced my new pitching swing quite a bit. 8,940 remain. Random Stat: shot a 4 over 58 on the Mason Course par three (I play from 50 yards) 3 of those over shots were on one hole.

January 13: Met up with coach Christopher at Pumpkin Ridge today for a good swing lesson. We worked on hip movement, something that I had not totally grasped until today’s lesson, so it was a good one! I’ve got a lot to work on now, which is always a good thing for my training. 8,946 remain. Random stat: no stats today, sorry, but remember to start your swing with that leading hip.

January 11: The world was frozen, including the putting greens, so I spent two hours practicing form in the garage and then went down to East Moreland for two hours of pitching before a nice long workout and then won tickets to the Blazers game! 8,952 remain. Random stat: Blazers lost due to 34 percent field goal percentage.

January 10: Another great day of The Dan Plan. I spent six hours out at Heron, including palying 27 holes from 50 yards on the front nine of the Greenback course and a little friendly competition with a fellow practicer Eric. 8,956 remain. Random Stat: not good, but I shot 8 over on 27 50-yard holes, including 3 over on one hole.

January 9: Started off the week with an intense, albeit short, training session. I’m currently in one of those zones where you have tons of energy and want to work, so decided to skip my day off this week and instead go to Heron for a couple hours and then put in an hour of swinging after a nice jog. 8,962 remain. Random Stat: scored a Personal Record 20 on my 9-hole chip n putt game.

January 8: Went to Heron but it was frozen, so ended up down at East Moreland to hit some pitches for a couple hours. In the afternoon, went back to Heron to get some putting in, which is going almost too smooth these days… 8,965 remain. Random Stat: scored a horrid (I know I just said the putting was going smooth and it does feel really really good, but my score didn’t translate that) 21 on my 9-hole putting game, my goal is a 17.

January 7: Spent the day “testing out” Columbia Edgewater again. It’s really an ideal place for me to train and I hope to be there more often one day soon! I played the Mason course a few times and spent multiple hours on my mid-range pitching game. 8,969 remain. Random Stat: on 27 holes of par-3 golf, I shot a 82. One over my goal.

January 6: Went out to Pumpkin to Meet Christopher, but due to circumstances he could not make it. So, I practiced out there for about 4 hours until the head greenskeeper informed me that the practice area and course were actually closed due to the groung being frozen 5 inches down. oops! 8,975 remain. Random Stat: shot a 23 on my 9 hole chipping game, just missed my goal!

January 5: Spent 2.5 hours in the garage working on my “full” swing and then got frustrated with not being able to see the trajectory, so headed out to Heron despite the rain for 2.5 hours. The ball is flying well, just never the distance I want it to.. 8,979 remain. Rando Stat: shot a 22 on my 9-hole chip n putt game, which was my goal.

January 4: Went out to Heron and played a bit on the frozen tundra, mostly practicing with the sand wedge, but also putting a bit. And, I went out and played a few holes on the Green Back for the first time, I quite enjoyed it. 8,984 remain. Random stat: on 36 holes from 50 yards out I scored 5 over par (which is a 3 for each hole)

January 3: Back to work! It felt good to get outside and hit some balls. That said, I spent the morning in the garage because the grounds were frozen and the courses closed. Then, went to East Moreland to hit some 50-60 yard wedge shots. 8,989 remain. Random stat: I’m going to be sore tomorrow from getting back on the workout wagon!

January 2: What a long break! In some ways, that was too much time to take off, but in others it was great to get a bit of perspective on The Plan and life in general and now I’m READY for work. Went out to Heron Lakes for 3 hours today just to get my head back into the game. 8,994 remain. Random stat: scored a 22 on my chip n putt game, which was my goal for the day.

December 22: Was going to be a full day, but after an hour I got busy with packing and wrapping up things around Portland before my early AM flight tomorrow, so called it a successful end to the first 1,000 hours and decided to start my holiday! 8,997 remain.

December 21: It’s official, 1,000 hours today! It’s been a GREAT journey so far, I hope 2,000 is as good as the first! I put in five solid hours today, also being the shortest day of the year. 8,998 remain. Random stat: shot a 27 on 9 holes from 50 yards.

December 20: Due to inclemental weather, I stayed in the garage and worked on my swing for the first two hours of today and then went down to the LO FITT gym to do a timed circuit training exercise. Proud to say that I beat my old time by almost 3 minutes, but I was still behind Shawn Dailey, but then again he is the PT.. I’ll get him next time! Afterwords, headed to Heron for an hour before the shortest day of the year’s sun went down. 9,003 remain. Random Stat: played 15 holes from 40 yards and shot a 50 (par would have been 45).

December 18: Solid lesson with Christopher today out at Pumpkin. Went over why my putts have been starting left as well as why my pitches and chips have been slicing a bit. basically, it’s the same problem, and now that I know that I can work on it! We also played a few holes from about 40 yards and I did okay, lots of room to improve! 9,006 remain. Random Stat: I shot a 28 on 9-holes from 50 yards.

December 17: I feel like it would be broken-record esque for me to say it, but I can’t NOT say it, so.. I feel like this has been the best week of The Dan Plan so far. Put in 5 hours out at Heron, including playing the front nine of the Great Blue course with a couple regulars. 9,011 remain. Random Stat: shot a 33 on the front nine (from 50 yards out).

December 16: Started off at Heron Lakes for 2 hours and then went over to Columbia Edgewater to check it out and practiced for another 4 hours, including a par 3 game on their Mason Course. 9,016 remain. Random Stat: shot a 33 on the par 3 nine-hole course.

December 15: Plugging away out at Heron. The sun was out today making it quite the beautiful place to be. I put in 5 hours of practice, including a chipping ‘n putting game with a fellow practicer Eric. 9,022 remain. Random Stat: scored a 21 on the first 9-holes of our chip and putt game, a personal record.

December 14: Went out to Heron this morning but only lasted half an hour, the wind and rain really got to me, so I spent the rest of the afternoon in the garage working on my mechanics. I actually had a LOT of really great realizations, too, so it was a day well spent. 9,027 remain.

December 13: It was a mix of a day. On one hand, six hours out at Heron flew by, but on the other hand, I coulnd’t find my putting/pitching groove. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that the greens were amazingly slow. 9,031 remain. Random stat: shot a 22 on a nine-hole chipping and putting game against a fellow regular-practicer Eric.

December 12: Took a break from a busy day doing other things to work on mechanics for an hour in the garage today. I think I have the hook shot down, more or less, and the slice seems to come naturally, for better or worse! 9,037 remain.

December 10: Made a last push type of effort for today. It’s been a long week and I physically feel a bit beat up (feet ache, back’s sore, I crushed my shins on a table and they are swollen black n blue). Still, it was good and I pitched like NEVER before! All in all, this was the best week yet! 9,038 remain. Random stat: I miss-hit only 1 of 61 pitches from random spots, not bad if I say so myself.

December 9: Got to go out on the course and play a bit of real golf today and loved it! By “real golf” I, of course, mean that I played from about 35 yards out and really did more up-and-down style action. But, still, it was fun and I am excited to go back! 9,041 remain. Random stat: scored an 81 on 27 holes of 35-yard golf, that’s par for me and a great benchmark to work from!

December 8: Had meeting with Shawn, the Physical Therapist, in the afternoon down in Lake Oswego, so only got in two hours in the AM today and one before the rains hit and it got dark in the afternoon. Good news, my foot is not Plantar Fasciitis, but rather just an overused right foot. I’m very relieved by this! Fingers crossed for an injury free four years! 9,046 remain.

December 7: Spent the morning at Heron Lakes, 4.5 hours to be exact, working on the usual suspects of pitching and putting.. The string of great practices is up to about 7 in a row now. Not sure what I’m doing, but I hope the good days keep rolling! I also did some mechanics type work in the garage “swing room” for 1.5 hours. Nice day, and the rains held off until I was finished! 9,049 remain. Random stat: scored a 25, 27, and a 24 on my 9-hole games.

December 6: Dry and clear today, think it might be the last time for that for a while.. Spent 4 hours out at Heron, it was a good practice today, and then headed to the gym for an intense and long workout. 9,055 remain. Random stat: 73% of my five footers today.

December 5: Went out to see Christopher at Pumpkin today for a lesson. We filmed my pitching wedge swing and then went over which things have gotten better and what I should be working on this week. Tempo is getting there! Then, in the evening, I practiced my swing in the garage for a couple of hours. 9,059 remain. Random stat: scored a 26 on my 9-hole chipping game (with the new swing that CS had me do it wasn’t too bad.)

December 4: Spent the day working on my swing in the garage. It was going to be a two hour day, but I kept having good realizations and learning moments so two turned into five and it was one of the most productive days I’ve had in a while. 9,064 remain.

December 3: Was a nice sunny day to be out chipping and pitching, so I spent about five hours in the sun working on my short game (guess that’s not news to anyone). Progress is still slow, but there is a noticeable difference in my contact percentage. 9,069 remain. Random stat: got 23 of 30 of my 40 footers in at least two putts, not good enough to win myself an afternoon coffee..

December 2: Wasn’t raining out today, so I got to go practice at Heron without being loaded down with rain gear. Was actually a great day to learn, I felt like things were starting to make sense and started setting goals today, which I hope will help me get through the winter with as much learning as possible. 9,074 remain. Random stat: scored a 22 on my 9-hole chipping game

December 1: Between hitting for about an hour at Christopher’s Beaverton studio, practicing out at Heron and hitting at home, I managed to put in 5 hours and a good workout today. Was a day full of great realizations and steps in the right direction. 9,078 remain. Random stat: scored a 25 on my 9-hole chip and putt game, although my chipping was spot on, just missed some putts.

November 30: Tomorrow is December already…. Despite today’s torrential downpours I got in five hours of training. And, I did it in the comfort of my own swing room in the garage and putting area in the basement. not bad! 9,083 remain. Random stat: barely made it, but made five “perfect” pitches with my wedge in a row. By “perfect,” I just mean that they were solid contact and hit the center of the net.

November 29: Back to work. My foot kept me sidelined yesterday, but was feeling good enough to practice some today. Put in four hours out at Heron and then two in my new home “office” in the garage, there is a chipping mat and a net to do some wedge work with. 9,088 remain. Random stat: scored 17 out of 20 points on my 20′ game.

November 27: After a few days “off” (freezing weather had the courses closed) I got back out for some work today. Saw Christopher out at Pumpkin for a couple hours and then worked on slicing and hooking for a couple hours. Also set up a home chipping area in my garage, so I can start doing some work here when the weather is horrible. 9,094 remain. stats: just chipped and pitched.

November 24: The courses were all closed again today due to the freezing temps, so I went over to East Moreland and chipped for a couple hours before going down to see Shawn for a brutal workout. I’m ready for a good meal tomorrow! 9,098 remain. Random stat: not much to report, but my chipping is getting more and more solid, at least.

November 22: It was COLD out today. and, today it seemed to slow me down. All was fine and warm, but my fingers got to where they couldn’t move and it was a bit much, think the windchill was in the mid 20s with slushy sleet falling. Still, I got in 2 hours and then went back for 1 in the afternoon during a quick rain break. 9,100 remain. Random stat: scored a 23 on my 9-hole chip game

November 21: Started the week on one of the coldest days of the year, but that didn’t slow me down! Got in four hours of solid work out at Heron today. 9,103 remain. Random stat: scored a 24 on my 9-hole chip and putt game

November 19: Finished the week with a day out at Heron and then went over to Columbia Edgewater to talk with them a bit about using their facilities. Was a good, albeit COLD week. Can’t believe next week is Thanksgiving already! 9,107 remain. Random stat: got a new PR of 21 on my 9-hole chipping game.

November 18: Finally got a nice full day of prectice in, it’s been a while (at least it feels like that to me) since I was able to get in 6 hours in a day, there’s just not that much sun these days! Heron was nice. 9,112 remain. Random stat: scored a 24 on my 9-hole chip n putt

November 17: Today would have made a good ad for why to move to the desert, rainy as can be with 30 mph winds and about 40 degrees. The winter is here! I trained for 3 hours out at Heron before heading to the gym and then working on some things at home. 9,118 remain. Random stat: no stats today, sorry!

November 16: Was still nice and sunny out, I’m starting to like November! Trained for about 3.5 hours out at Heron and then headed over to Colwood for a 1.5 hour nightcap. Good day to really learn something. 9,121 remain. Random stat: got most of my 10-15 footers to withing 12 inches.

November 15: The days just aren’t as long as they used to be.. I got in five hours at Heron and a workout before heading home at 4:30 because it the sun was going to set before I could make it back out. 9,126 remain. Random stat: scored a 25 on my nine-hole chipping game, not so good!

November 14: Headed out to Pumpkin Ridge today to get in a little work to start the week right. I trained for about 3 hours, most of which were spent chipping, which is coming along nicely, albeit a bit slow.. 9,131 remain. Random stat: Unfortunately, I really didn’t keep stats today, just worked on my form.

November 13: Decided to go out on my “day off” today. Went to Heron for about 2 hours before calling it a day and going to the gym. 9,134 remain.

November 12: End of a good week. I worked out at Heron for four hours before heading in for a workout and then off to meet coach for a 6-month celebratory meal (it is actually going to be 7 months on Monday, we were a little late for our dinner..) 9,136 remain. Random stat: Scored a 17 out of 20 points on a 20-foot game.

November 11: CS and I had a lesson out at Pumpkin today and it was a cold one! but, luckily he had a new box of Nike stuff and it was mostly winter wear, so we’re all good. The lesson was nice, we went over a LOT of chipping aspects. 9,140 remain. Random stat: got 92% of my five-footers! automatic.

November 10: Started over at East Moreland today as I was meeting Shawn near there for a workout in the afternoon. Put in about 4.5 hours chipping and putting and then after the workout I headed up to Heron for 1.5 hours of evening action. A nice clear day and I made nice progress too! 9,144 remain. Random stat: scored a 24 on my 9-hole game.

November 9: I braved the rain for a while in the morning, went home to warm up, and then headed out to chip some more out at Heron. 9,150 remain. Random stat: scored a 22 on my 9-hole chipping game, getting better!

November 8: First full day of training with daylight savings went pretty well. I got in about 6 hours out at Heron in the AM, then over to the Edge gym for a workout before heading to Colwood for roughly 2 hours of chipping, including a little 9-hole par three game on the actual course (first time! each shot was only from about 20 yards out, but still..). 9,155 remain. Random stat: scored a 28 on the 9 hole game, making one “birdie” and two “bogeys.”

November 7: After a 1.5 hour session of Bikram yoga, I wasn’t feeling up for a long day out on the course, but still got out to Colwood for a couple hours. 9,163 remain. Not many stats to report, mostly worked on chipping..

November 5: I only got in four hours today before a workout and then ending the week a bit early because Marijke’s mom was in town, but they were a good four hours and I feel great about the week coming up. 9,165 remain. Random stat: scored a personal record 22 on a nine-hole chip and putt game. Goal is to get that to 18 on a regular basis.

November 4: Between a nice seven hour day out at Pumpkin and a bit of work at Heron, it was a welcomed change of pace to what has been tough practices as of late. I learned a lot during my lesson with Christopher Smith, too. 9,169 remain. Random stat: shot par on a nine-hole game that Christopher and I played, each hole was roughly 30 yards.

November 3: I spent the morning at East Moreland for some longer chipping practice before a meeting with the PT Shawn. The workout went well, but the golfing is still frustrating, I think I’m reaching my patience limit with the putting.. In the afternoon I went to Heron for a couple hours of mixed practice. 9,177 remain. Random stat of the day: got 55 percent of my 40 footers to my “target zone”

November 2: Got back into the groove today out at Heron for four hours and then over at Colwood for 2 hours. Not a bad day and the sun actually came out in the afternoon too. 9,183 remain. Random stat of the day: shot a 23 on nine-holes of a chip n putt game.

November 1: After a few days off, it took a while to get up to steam with my training out at Heron. I felt a bit awkward for the first four hours, but after my workout the final two hours of the day were feeling good. It was pouring out there! 9,189 remain. Daily average: 84%

October 28: I went to Heron this morning for a productive four hours, although my putting is just not where I want it, still. Then, headed over to Colwood for two hours and again, my putting wasn’t quite what I expect at this point, but it’s getting there. 9,195 remain. Daily average: (didn’t attempt the five-footers today, had plenty of other things to work on)

October 27: There was a bit of confusion as to which day I was meeting Christopher out at Pumpkin, so I ended up practicing solo out there today. Nothing lost, I put in 5 good hours of putting and chipping practice. My chips seem to get better daily, but I’ve hit a little rut in my putting, although I know I’m not in a hurry and tomorrow is a new day! 9,201 remain. Daily average: 72%

October 26: A good, good day! I got in 5.5 hours out at Heron without even realizing how much time had passed by and then after about a 45 minute break I went to Colwood for 1.5 hours to make it a, seemingly, rare 7 hour day! 9,206 remain. Daily average: 44% (I should have an excuse, but just wasn’t hitting them in from 5 feet today, my lags were great, though!)

October 25: I dropped Matt Roth off at the airport and then hit up Colwood for two hours before going to Newberg for a lunch with former coworkers. After a very tasty meal, I went to Heron Lakes for a stormy afternoon three hours. 9,213 remain. Daily average: 76%

October 24: Wow! what a wet day it was! I spent three hours out at Heron practicing, a couple hours drying off, two more hours practicing and then a couple more drying off! I am SO glad to have good rain gear. 9,218 remain. Daily average: 80%

October 22: In all honesty, it wasn’t the best training week I’ve had. The hours I got to put in were good, but there was a lot going on this week, so I didn’t get to spend the amount of time I would like to out on the course. All is not lost, though, because there is always next week! I spent four hours at Heron to wrap up the week. 9,223 remain. Daily average: 80% (At least I ended the week well!)

October 21: I met Christopher out at Pumpkin for a two hour lesson and then worked on what we talked about in my chipping game for about three hours. I am starting to get a grip on this whole “lofting” the ball concept and think I can make some good progress on my chipping game before our next lesson. 9,227 remain. Daily average: (just didn’t have time for five-footers, but I got 72% of my 40-footers to my target range)

October 20: A trip to East Moreland in the morning for three hours before meeting with Shawn for an intense workout and then two hours out at Heron made for a good night’s sleep! 9,232 remain. Daily average: 70%

October 19: Heron majorly sanded their greens today, so I got a look at what it would be like to putt on the beach. It’s surprisingly easy, actually! The ball carves a path and stay pretty straight. I also went to Colwood for two hours to try some non-sanded practice. 9,237 remain. Daily average: 64%

October 18: Back to work with me! After a weekend off, I went out to Heron this morning for four hours, hit the gym and then picked up a videographer from Baltimore, Matt Roth, who is filming The Dan Plan for the rest of the week. So, we started back at Heron for an afternoon hour of training that ended when the sun went down at 6:30pm. 9,242 remain. Daily average: 60%

October 15: Heron was looking good this morning while full of fog. The fall is officially in full effect and the leaves are starting to change, quite a scene! After four hours, I decided to go to the gym and then call it a week. I’ve learned a lot this week and am now going to let it settle in and process before hitting the greens again on Sunday. 9,247 remain. Daily average: Low… working on NOT pushing the ball, so missed so many I stopped counting.

October 14: Spent the morning over at Heron Lakes and then an hour at Colwood in the evening. It was a solid day, but my energy was a bit down all in all. 9,251 remain. Daily average: 69%

October 13: Today was a mixed day. I spent three hours down at Rose City before then heading to Redtail for the first time for an hour. Afterwords, I met Christopher over at Nike to bend my putter and then headed to the gym for a good workout. Didn’t have the energy to go back out, so called it an eve. 9,256 remain. daily average: 72%

October 12: Decided to go back to Colwood today and had a nice morning over there. They had just punched the chipping area, but I still got a lot of work in with the pitching wedge and sand wedge. My putting is okay, but tomorrow is another day with that. In the evening, I went out to Heron for a bit, but was feeling pretty beat so made it a shorter session. 9,260 remain. Daily average: 68%

October 11: It was hard to focus out there today at Heron Lakes. Not sure why, but it took about two hours to really get into the groove. Not sure I learned anything today, but if nothing else, I realized that regardless of how I feel I need to just push through while trying my best. I also went out to Colwood for an evening hour, where the greens were punched but still rolling well. 9,266 remain. Daily average: 68%

October 10: Went out to see Christopher today and he has a sand wedge for me to start playing with. It’s great to have a third club in my bag! The lesson and day was an excellent one. 9,272 remain. Daily average: 86%

October 8: It was a good week, but it ended with a bit of a fizzle.. Four hours out at Heron and a good workout over at the Edge was by far all I could muster up today. I don’t feel too bad, though, because I think I made a lot of progress this week. Now for a bit of rest. 9,277 remain. Daily average: 56% (energy and aim were off, I guess)

October 7: Was starting to feel like fall out there at Heron today. I got in five hours in the morning before going home to chop some firewood and then heading back out for an evening hour. I think I really learned a lot today about my putting and am excited about going out tomorrow to see if it sticks. 9,281 remain. Daily average: 76%

October 6: Five hours at East Moreland, one at Heron Lakes and an hour long workout with Shawn at LO F.I.T.T makes for a tired Dan.. It was a great day! 9,287 remain. Daily average: (didn’t do too many five footers becuase of the sanded greens out at East Moreland, but my chipping was good!)

October 5: Only got to work out at Heron in the morning because I had prior obligations in the afternoon with a friend downtown, but still got in four hours of really good work, I feel like I made some good progress today. 9,293 remain. Daily average: 70%

October 4: Back to work at Heron today. I put in five hours this morning and then one more after an afternoon workout. I’m doing a completely new putt swing right now and it’s killing my high percentage of shots made, but I think in the long run it will pay off for a more consistent putt, or at least I hope! 9,297 remain. Daily average: 65%

October 1: Was a bit of a shorter day today because Christopher and I had a conference call with Dr. Mark Guadagnoli in the afternoon and by the time I got home it was after five and had been a long week so I decided to eat dinner instead of going back out.. But, what a great week it was! 9,303 remain. Daily average: 80%

September 30: I met Christopher out at Pumpkin today and we worked on a LOT of things with my pitching and putting. It was an overwhelming, yet good, session and I stayed on for a while out there to practice and then went to Colwood to work on my game a bit more in the evening. All in all, I practiced for seven good hours today. 9,308 remain. Daily average: 88%

September 29: Spent five hours in the morning down at East Moreland practicing in their large chipping area then went to the Edge for a workout. In the evening I went to a park down the street and chipped for an hour while Marijke studied. Keep the sun coming! 9,315 remain. Daily average: 76%

September 28: Got up extra early today and was out at Heron by 7, just when the sun was getting high enough to practice. I did this so I could get in 3.5 hours before heading down to Langdon Farms to see the Portland State and University of Portland ladies compete. They played great! Afterwords, I saw Shawn for a workout and then went back to Heron for 2.5 hours to top off the day. 9,321 remain. Daily average: 60% (not sure what was going on, but my putting FELT great..)

September 27: What a beautiful day we had out there in Portland! It was actually quite hot, but a welcome blast of sun to keep me going. I worked mostly on my wedge work today and for about six hours out at Heron between the morning session and evening. I wanted to stay out later, but the it was completely dark by 7:40 today, I’m going to have to find a good lighted practice space for the coming months. 9,327 remain. Daily average: 36% (I used a “putter ball” for these today, it’s a putter with a ball on the bottom instead of a club, makes it a ton harder to hit the ball straight.)

September 26: I met Christopher out at Pumpkin for a lesson and boy it was an intense one. Not intense as in it was hard, but we went over a lot and I left realizing that I have a huge amount of homework for the coming weeks. We worked on my putting stance as well as everything about my chipping. It was good to be out there and have some facetime with my coach. 9,333 remain. Daily average: Didn’t keep stats, just worked on technique.

September 25: Although it was Saturday and I usually take it off, I really felt like going out and training so headed over to Heron for four hours this morning. It felt great to get some chips in and I was putting great, so glad I went! 9,338 remain. Daily average: 84%

September 24: I was only able to practice today for two hours out at Heron before heading over to meet with Christopher for a conference call with Dr. K Anders Ericsson and Dr. Len Hill. The call went well, as did my two hours of practice. It was good to have a bit of a short day becuase my entire body is a bit sore from the new workouts with Shawn. 9,342 remain. Daily average: I mostly chipped, so no numbers today

September 23: What a great day! I went out to East Moreland to battle the rain for the morning. It was good little introduction of things to come and with the raingear it actually wasn’t too bad, without it I’m not sure what I would do, though.. I put in six hours out there and then topped it off with an hour out at Heron. 9,344 remain. Daily average: 82%

September 22: What a difference a day makes. I felt really great out there at Heron today and could have trained all day, but had a workout with Shawn in the middle of the day down in Lake Oswego. Afterwords, I went back out to Heron for a couple evening hours. It was good to be back on track! 9,351 remain. Daily average: 79%

September 21: It was a tough day out at Colwood. I had to push myself hard to muster up a couple hours here and there, but after three different times going out there today I managed six hours total. My putting was not up to the level I typically like it to be, but my chipping was going well, so all-in-all I can’t complain about the day now that it is finished.. 9,357 remain. Daily average: 70%

September 20: Today was a discombobulated day, at least that’s how I felt out there. My energy was good, concentration was good, but I just didn’t feel comfortable over the ball all day. Not sure what was going on, but after five hours (3.5 in the AM and 1.5 in the PM) I decided to go for a workout and call it quits. 9,363 remain. Daily average: 69%

September 18: Felt much better today so decided to head out to Pumpkin on my day “off” for a bit. Christopher was out there and we played a little putting game along with a fellow golfer-in-training Eric. Christopher won, of course, but the scores are getting a lot closer these days.. I got in five hours, so it ended up being a good day to train. 9,368 remain. Daily average: 88% (the greens out at Pumpkin were quite impressive and the ball was rolling straight for me!)

September 17: Was only able to pull off two hours out at Heron today before a bit of food poisoning kicked in and I spent the rest of the day at home recovering. 9,373 remain. Daily average: 72%

September 16: Got to practice along side the PSU women’s team today out at Heron. It was good to have some other serious practicers around and I got to pick their coach’s brain about the types of drills they do. Was a good day. 9,375 remain. Daily average: 80%

September 15: Looks like the rains are coming back around, but at least this morning’s sessions out at Heron was nice and dry. I got in four hours before heading down to see Shawn down at the gym for our weekly workout instructions. 9,380 remain. Daily average: 72%

September 14: Nice weather is still here in Portland, so I got to enjoy a nice seven hour day out at Heron. My putting was on and I’m still working on the chipping, although it’s getting better too. 9,384 remain. Daily average: 76%

September 13: Let the good times keep on rolling. Went out to Heron for what was supposed to be 4 hours, but then my energy level and motivation was so good that I ended up staying for 6 hours. The weather was perfect again, greens still great, all was as good as you could ask for. 9,391 remain. Daily average: I didn’t putt any five-footers, but my 40 footers came in at 67% (to within a three-foot radius)

September 12: Was going to do two hours out at Heron today, but the weather was perfect, the greens were awesome and everyone seemed to be in a good mood, so I ended up working for four hours. I hope today was a small taste of the week to come, because it felt great out there in all aspects. 9,397 remain. Daily average: 78%

September 10: So close to ending the week with 600 total training hours, but I just couldn’t muster up the energy at the end of the day. I went to Heron for most of the morning and then over to Colewood to top it off. My putting was pretty good and I had a few realizations with the chipping that I think will be huge in the long run, that mainly being how to distribute your weight through a swing. 9,401 remain. Daily average: 64% (don’t let numbers fool ya, I played on mid-slope hole with tough greens and divot marks galore, so it was actually pretty good to get that percentage, or at least I was happy with it!)

September 9: Met up with CS out at Pumpkin today for a good putting/chipping lesson. I put in five hours of practice before getting overly frustrated with my pitching wedge and deciding it was time to call it quits and hit the gym. 9,406 remain. Daily average: 70%

September 8: A day can make a world of difference. I went to East Moreland (which I need to go to more often but am never excited about the drive down there) for 5.5 hours and then, after an afternoon break, went to Heron for 1.5 hours of chipping and a putting contest with a friend. 9,411 remain. Daily average: 62% (couldn’t hit them at East Moreland for some reason)

September 7: What a day! I could not, for the life of me, wake up out there. My concentration was good, but I was just purely tired and for no good reason. So, I only put in three hours before heading to the gym and then calling it a day. Guess there are good days and bad days and then days where you should just stay in bed an hour or two longer.. 9,418 remain. Daily average: 68%

September 6: I thought is would be overly crowded at Heron today, being Labor Day, but it was actually quite nice on the practice green. I was out there for 4.5 hours before heading in for a run and to let the afternoon crowd thin out a bit (colleges are back out practicing..) and then went back out for 1.5 hours to make it a good 6 hour start to the week. 9,421 remain. Daily average: 76%

September 5: It was a nice Sunday to be outside, so I went to Broadmoor for a few hours to get in some chipping and putting. My game’s going pretty well and I got a good practice in, so I have high hopes for this week. That said, there’s no telling how busy it will be out there during Labor Day tomorrow.. 9,427 remain. Daily average: 68%

September 3: To cap off a great week I went out to Heron today for a mix of chipping and putting practice. I spent five hours out there and then went for an hour long workout over at the Edge before heading home for my cognitive training. I was going to go back out for an evening hour but was physically exhausted so decided to call it a week. 9,430 remain. Daily average: 74%

September 2: chipped out at Heron for two hours in the morning before heading to Pumpkin for a lesson with Christopher. Lesson went well, I have a lot to work on this next week, which is great! Christopher and I played a nine-hole putting game, as we usually do, and he beat me by one stroke, much better than the 8 strokes he beat me by when we started.. 9,435 remain. Daily average: 72%

September 1: I can’t believe August is already over.. I only had a chance to put in three hours out at Heron this morning before heading down to see Shawn and Darren for my weekly meetings with them. Putting went really well again, things are still coming together in that respect. 9,441 remain. Daily average: 80%

August 31: Was another quality day spent out at Heron Lakes. I got in six hours of chipping and putting and my five-footers seemed like there was a magnet at the bottom of the cup.. 9,444 remain. Daily average: 86%

August 30: It’s pretty amazing how much faster a day goes by when you can use two clubs.. I split my time between the pitching wedge and the putter and before I realized it five hours had passed at Heron. I took a break to workout and grab lunch and then headed back out for two evening hours. 9,450 remain. Daily average: 73%

August 29: went out to see Christopher at Pumpkin for my first “swing” lesson and it went really well. I have a great feeling about the beginning of this new chapter for The Dan Plan! got in three hours of practice all in all today. 9,457 remain. Daily average: Didn’t keep any stats, but was hitting fairly well.

August 28: It was Saturday and I usually take it off, but since I didn’t do too much this Thursday I felt like I should head out for a bit. So, got in two hours out at Heron and then went and did my cognitive exercises and worked out. It was a nice and slow paced day. 9,460 remain. Daily average: 68%

August 27: In all honesty, this has been the toughest week thus far to concentrate. I’m not sure what was/is going on, but I’m pretty glad the week is over and I’m looking forward to my first swing lesson out at Pumpkin on Sunday! I put in five hours at Heron, but it was not the high quality practice that I usually can get in.. 9,462 remain. Daily average: 72%

August 25: between my meeting with the new physical therapist, Shawn, and with the cognitive therapist Darren and a lunch with a potential new videographer I only got in four hours of training today out at Heron. They were good hours, though, and I putted well. 9,467 remain. Daily average: 81%

August 24: Was a much better day today than yesterday. I was full of energy and the ball was rolling almost exactly where I wanted it.. My five-footers still aren’t where I want them, but everything else on the putting green is starting to add up. One issue I’ve had recently is my distance control, so going to get working on that fist thing tomorrow morn. In all, I got six hours at Heron and one out at Broadmoor. 9,471 remain. Daily average: 70%

August 23: Was set to have a long and intense training day but for some reason my entire body and mind was exhausted. For the life of me, I could not fully wake up so ended the session at four hours. Was going to nap and then go back out, but as the day went on I realized that I felt like I was coming down with something, so decided to work out and then call it a day in hopes of resting up for tomorrow. 9,478 remain. Daily average: 76%

August 22: You really can’t beat a Sunday spent out at Heron Lakes. It was very busy when I got out there, but then a bit of rain came and scared off most of the weekend warriors leaving the entire putting green to me.. Putting went well, I worked on my tempo a lot today and it’s starting to make more sense. 9,482 remain. Daily average: 70%

August 20: Wrapped up the week out at Heron this morning. Made it a short day as I was pretty beat from the past five days of training. I put in four hours total, but they were all spent putting well! 9,487 remain. Daily average: 72%

August 19: I got in five hours out at Heron before it started to get a bit overly busy and I my concentration was fading so took an afternoon break. Went out to Broadmoor for an afternoon hour to top of the day. Putting went pretty well at both places, I’m actually starting to gain some confidence in my putting skills.. 9,491 remain. Daily average: 70%

August 18: It wasn’t much of a golfing day, but I got a lot taken care of off of the greens. I spent two hours at Heron before going to meet with Shawn (the physical therapist now working with The Plan) for an physical evaluation, as well as my weekly meeting with Darren. Then, went back out to Heron for one more hour before calling it a day. 9,497 remain. Daily average: 68%

August 17: Tried to push my limits and see how long I could focus (and focus well) at one time and ended up calling it quits after six hours. I was getting a bit dazed, so went in for a while and then went back out to Heron in the evening, but could only muster one more hour. Great day all-in-all! 9,500 remain. Daily average: 69%

August 16: It was a bit toasty out there today so I got in four hours at Heron in the morning and then hid for a bit while the heat passed before heading back out to Heron for two very good evening hours. I added a metronome to my toolkit today and so spent a little while getting used to hitting at a slower tempo. 9,507 remain. Daily average: 68%

August 15: spent my four month Plan-iversary out at Pumpkin Ridge today. Christopher and I met and had a lesson about tempo and starting the ball on line. It was good to be out there and I feel like I got a good practice in for the five hours I was there. 9,513 remain. Daily average: 74%

August 13: Friday the 13th went well out at Heron. I spent 3.5 hours in the morning and then went to meet a friend for lunch and run some errands. Then, went out in the heat of the day for 1.5 hours before calling it a week! 9,518 remain. Daily average: 64% (still working on getting my 5-footers back to where they last month, not sure why…)

August 12: I was in the mood for a change of scenery, so went down to Rose City for a couple hours in the morning. It got a bit crowded, so I decided to try out East Moreland for the first time and glad I did, quite a nice practice area they have over there. Spent two hours there and then topped it off with two evening hours at old faithful, aka Heron Lakes. 9,523 remain. Daily average: 69%

August 11: Got out to Heron early to meet a friend for a bit of putting and stayed there for about 4.5 hours. Then headed down to see Darren for our weekly shindig. Talked with Shawn at their gym too about potentially being the new physical trainer of The Plan. Afterwords, went back out to Heron for 1.5 hours of evening work. 9,529 remain. Daily average: 61%

August 10: Dropped of Marijke at the airport early in the morn so stopped at Colewood for 3 hours on the way home. Their greens are fast! Worked there and then went to Broadmoor for an hour before heading to Heron to finish the day off with 2 hours out there. I need to go back to the basics and work on my 3 and 5 footers.. 9,535 remain. Daily average: 51% (not sure what’s going on, but it was a struggle to get anything within 6 feet in today.)

August 9: A good start to a good week. Spent 4 hours at Heron, took a lunch break while a Jrs’ tournament started and then went back out for two hours. Also got a workout in and did my daily cognitive training. It was actually a great day! 9,541 remain. Daily average: 71%

August 8: went out to Heron for two hours in the evening to get a jump start on this week. I’m starting to get my groove back and think that this is going to be a very good week of training. 9,547 remain. Daily average: worked mostly on chipping and lags..

August 6: Spent the morning and evening out at Heron, with a break down in Durham to see Darren. Seven hours in total today, most of them were spent feeling good about my game too.. 9,549 remain. Daily average: 62%

August 5: Back at Heron I had one of the tougest concentration days of the entire Plan so far. Guess it’s just getting back to a good routine, hopefully things will level out in a couple days and I’ll be back to normal. 9,556 remain. Daily average: 59%

August 4: Now in Boise, I went down to Warm Springs Golf Course in the Northeast corner of town to practice. It was a good course, but the practice greens were flatter than a pool table.. Spent three hours out there before heading back to Portland. 9,562 remain. Daily average: 64%

August 1: Between getting a flat fixed and visiting with friends I only managed to pull off three hours of practice in Denver. It was nice to get out and see what that city has to offer, though. Went to the Denver Public GC in downtown, I’d definitely go back to play! 9,565 remain. Daily average: 60%

July 30: Went back out to Field Club in Omaha for three hours and then went down to another golf course called Milts for two hours to try out a different practice area. The grass in Omaha is much thinner than what we have here in the Pacific Northwest. 9,568 remain. Daily average: 85% (was a VERY flat course and everything was dropping in!)

July 29: Found a good practice area about a mile from my brother’s house in Omaha called Field Club. Went out there for four hours to hit around and actually had a nice practice. 9,573 remain. Daily average: 75%

July 27: Hit Heron this morning for about 4 hours and then went down to see Darren for our weekly meeting (a day early because I’m heading out of town tomorrow) before going back out to Heron for a couple evening hours to play some competitive games with Jay and Shane. It was a good day and I putted pretty well. 9,577 remain. Daily average: 76%

July 26: Spent five hours this morning out at Heron Lakes working on a variety of different putts. Trying to get in a good bit of work before heading to Omaha on Wednesday to see my brother and his family. 9,583 remain. Daily average: 70%

July 25: Had a lesson with Christopher out at Pumpkin today. It was good to get out there and see him before I head out of town for a week, I’m looking forward to our next lesson when we go over how to actually start swinging a club. 9,588 remain. Daily average: skipped my five-footers to work on some longer putts today..

July 23: Three hours was about all I could muster up today out at Heron, think I pushed my limits this week, but it was worth it as it was a great week. And, I finally got over 80% on my five-footers! Daily average: 9,592 remain. Daily average: 82%

July 22: Between the morning and evening sessions I trained for 7 hours out at Heron Lakes today, it was about as close to perfect weather as you could ask for. Hopefully tomorrow is similar to today. 9,595 remain. Daily average: 72%

July 21: Got in 4.5 hours out at Heron before heading down to see Darren for out weekly cognitive training meeting. Afterwords, got in a workout and .5 hours of putting before calling it a good day and heading home. 9,602 remain. Daily average: 76.5%

July 20: Was a cold and rainy (summer) day down at Rose City for the first 4.5 hours and then 80 degrees and sunny at Heron Lakes for the afternoon 1.5 hours! crazy Portland weather.. 9,607 remain. Daily average: 70%

July 19: Spent the day at Heron (7 hours) and must admit it was a good one, especially when my lag putting is concerned. Not so efficient on my 5-footers, but I guess you can’t win them all! 9,613 remain. Daily average: 60%

July 18: Spent a nice little afternoon out at Pumpkin Ridge with coach. Had a one hour lesson and then put in three hours of practice before heading home to do some cognitive training. 9,620 remain. Daily average: 66%

July 16: Great end to a topsy-turvy week. Got in 6 hours down at Heron and then went for a workout and did my cognitive training. Called it a day after that and am looking forward to a relaxing Saturday before heading to see coach on Sunday. 9,624 remain. Daily average: 70%

July 15: What a difference a day can make. Felt great out there and didn’t want to leave Heron, but after six hours the sun was getting awefully bright. Worked on lags again and got my 40′ putts up to 55% from 37% just a few days ago. 9,630 remain. Daily average: 68%

July 14: Hit Heron early to get in five hours before my weekly meeting with Darren. The day went pretty well all in all, I have been really focussing on my lag putting this week and think that it’s coming along well. 9,636 remain. Daily average: 64%

July 13: Got out to Heron a bit late due to catching up on a bit of sleep, but once out there I put in a solid five hours morning. Decided that I needed to do a bit of meditative thinking in the evening instead of going back out, so called it a day at that. 9,641 remain. Daily average: 70%

July 12: Is it already mid July? Dropped my mother off at the airport this morning and then stopped by Colewood for a four hour morning on the way home. Went for a workout after that and then in the evening got in two hours out at Heron. It’s surprisingly nice and quiet out there after 7PM, will have to start doing that more often. 9,646 remain. Daily average: 69%

July 9: Was a good Friday out at Heron Lakes. Planned on getting in just four hours, but felt good (although wasn’t putting particularly well) so ended up putting/chipping for 6 hours. 9,652 remain. Daily average: 69%

July 8: Met Christopher out at Pumpkin for out weekly practice. Got there about two hours early and we worked on my game for two hours and then I stuck out the 100 degree day for another hour of chipping and putting. 9,658 remain. Daily average: 77%

July 7: Got out to Heron extra early to beat the heat, and so put in 6.5 hours. Then, headed down to see Darren for some cognitive training and he had me putt with distractions for 30 minutes, so makes it an even 7. 9,663 remain. Daily average: 76%

July 6: Back to Heron.. Went out there for six hours this morning for a good session, but one that reminded me that I have a lot of work to do. Felt good out there and got a lot of nice putts in, all-in-all. 9,670 remain. Daily average: 70.5%

July 5: I was amazed at how busy Heron Lakes was this morning, at least until I realized most people had the day off due to the Fourth being on Sunday.. Still, was a great day to be out putting and I got six hours in before heading in for a workout. Only chipped the ball about 20 times, there is still so much putting I need to do that it will be interesting to see how I can divy up the time in the coming months. 9,676 remain. Daily average: 65%

July 3: Got in three hours out at Heron Lakes before the Saturday crowds built up to the point where it’s impossible to practice. Was a great morning out there and my putting felt right on. I also got in about 25 minutes of chipping for the first time! 9,682 remain. Daily average: 77%

July 2: Went out to meet Christopher at the Nike golf facility (where they made my clubs) and then headed to Pumpkin for a lesson. Worked with CS for two hours and then did two hours of putting out there on my own. 9,685 remain. Daily average: 68%

July 1: Started the day off at Heron for about five hours. Was a nice and quiet morning where I had a chance to really focus on my work. In the afternoon, I braved the rains for an hour out at Broadmoor, where the greens are much tougher than Heron right now. 9,689 remain. Daily average: 68%

June 30: Went out to Heron Lakes for five hours and was putting very well, if I must say so myself. Today and yesterday I felt like I was making a lot of clutch 7-12 footers and my five-footers were falling pretty smoothly too. 9,695 remain. Daily average: 70%

June 29: Had an extended and quite good morning down at Rose City. Put in six hours in total before taking the afternoon a bit on the easy side. 9,700 remain. Daily average: 63.5%

June 28: Started as a sleepy Monday, but quickly turned into a good training session. Got in six hours out at Heron before a good workout down at Edge gym. Decided to top off the day with an evening hour out at Broadmoor. 9,706 remain. Daily average: 67%

June 25: Got in a nice 5.5 hour day out at Heron Lakes before my final workout before the weekend. Afterwords, worked on aim and swing mechanics for just under an hour to make it a good six hour day. 9,713 remain. Daily average: 66%

June 24: went out to Pumpkin Ridge for a lesson with CS today. Got there a couple hours early to practice and then we had an hour lesson. Afterwords, took the afternoon off to spend with Marijke, who had been out of town for two weeks. 9,719 remain. Daily average: 72.5% (number was good, but the new swing still doesn’t feel quite right. Lots to keep working on!)

June 23: Was an especially tough concentration day out at Heron Lakes. Also got a late start, so ended up calling it after three hours. Went for a workout and then down to see Darren. 9,722 remain. Daily average: 55%

June 22: Spent a great morning out at Heron Lakes, made it a five hour beginning to a nice sunny day. Went back out after lunch to Broadmoor for two hours, too. The new swing is making it a bit difficult, but it will come with time. 9,725 remain. Daily average: 61%

June 21: Had a productive morning learning my new putting swing down at Heron Lakes for four hours. Went for a workout and then headed back to Heron for one more hour in the evening. I was surprised that I did as well as I did considering how much I changed in my swing. 9,732 remain. Daily average: 68%

June 20: Had a lesson with CS out at Pumpkin today. Was a good lesson focussing on my mechanics. Much needed. Spent four hours out there in all, and then one more hour out at Broadmoor in the PM after the U.S. Open finished for five total. 9,737 remain. Daily average: *Worked on my swing all day, so did not putt any five footers, so have no percentage today..

June 18: Went down to Rose City for a four hour morning. Was going to go back out for an afternoon session, but was still having energy and concentration problems so decided to call it a week. Will start it back up Sunday out at Pumpkin Ridge. 9,742 remain. Daily average: 64%

June 17: Was planning on another seven hour day, but my concentration level had a different opinion about that. So, got in four solid hours before realizing it was time to break for the day. 9,746 remain. Daily average: 69%

June 16: Went out to Heron Lakes for a four hour morning before heading down to see Darren at the Synergy Training Center. Was going to go back out, but could not muster the right amount of concentration, so decided to rest up for the rest of the long week. 9,750 remain. Daily average: 66%

June 15: Another good day. Went out to Rose City for a 5.5 hour session in the morning, and then spent about 1.5 hours at Heron for the PM. Set a few personal records in my putting (in the 20′ game, 30′ game and 40′ game). also, got my first round of 5 footers in the 70+% range. 9,754 remain. Daily average: 67.5%

June 14: Heron for five hours this morning, a little workout break in the afternoon, and then back to Heron for two more hours, making it the longest day of training yet (I think there might have been one other day of seven hours, but perhaps not..) Was a great energy day too, and a lot of random people were expressing interest in the plan, always good! 9,761 remain. Daily average: 63%

June 13: Went to Pumpkin for a Sunday practice because the weather was so nice. why not.. Putted for just over 3 hours, including a little 9-hole match against one of Christopher’s other student. Was a good day, but my putting was off so I called it quits to rest up for the bootcamp week. 9,768 remain. Daily average: 56%

June 11: Cruising along out at Heron Lakes for 3.5 hours this morning. Afternoon workout and then off to Broadmoor for 1.5 hours. Was a good end to a nice week, and it looks like it’s the end of the rain for a bit! 9,771 remain. Daily average: 61%

June 10: Went out to see CS at Pumpkin for a lesson. Got there a couple hours early, had a two hour lesson where I got some new games to play, and then stayed for a couple hours playing those games. Great day. 9,776 remain. Daily average: 61%

June 9: Had a good day out at Heron Lakes this morning before heading to the gym and down to see Darren for our weekly meeting. Then, headed back out to Broadmoor for one more hour, making it five total. 9,782 remain. Daily average: 62%

June 8: Was an all but non-existant day, got in just two hours between Colewood and Heron Lakes before a strange exhaustion set in and I decided it was best to take care of other things for the remainder of the day. 9,787 remain. Daily average: 47%

June 7: Got a solid six hour session in at Heron Lakes this morning. Was thinking about going back out later, but after a workout and my cognitive exercises and dinner it was a little late and I was exhausted, so decided to call it a day. 9,789 remain. Daily average: 54.5%

June 4: Went to Heron for the AM practice. Went out a bit late and there was a “fleet week” tournament for the Navy, so called it a morning after 3 hours when the sailors started getting a bit drunk.. Went out to Broadmoor for two hours in the PM to make it a good five hour Friday. 9,795 remain. Daily average: 51%

June 3: Heron Lakes for four hours in the AM, seemed to be picking my groove back up, but it’s not fully there yet. Went back out to Heron with my brother, Matt, for an hour in the PM for a bit of putting competition with him. We tied. 9,800 remain. Daily average: 64%

June 2: Braved the torrential downpour of the morning for about 4 hours out at Heron Lakes. Got soaked, but had a new raincoat, so at least I found out that the coat works! Then went for a workout and down to see Darren for a meeting. On the way home, I stopped at Heron for one more hour to see if the day was getting better as far as putting is concerned, but it wasn’t so I called it a day. 9,805 remain. Daily average: 60%

June 1: Went out with my brother today, he was in town for the week, and played an 18-hole game with him. Gave him an 8 stroke handicap, but then only beat him by one, so I think I need to rethink my confidence in putting and head back out to the drawing board for a bit.. All in all, practiced for five hours at Braodmoor. 9,811 remain. Daily average: 41% (dismal performance due to poor concentration and a new stance CS showed me during out last meeting.)

May 29: Had a good long lesson with CS out at Pumpkin. Went out two hours early, had a two hour lesson and then stayed for an hour after, for five total. 9,816 remain. Daily average: 57%

May 28: Went to Heron first, but there was a tournament there, so ended up at Broadmoor for the morning. For some reason, I could not concentrate for the life of me and could only muster up two hours of practice time before calling it quits for the day. 9,821 remain. Daily average: a pour (no pun intended about the weather..) performance of 46%

May 27: Wanted a different view, so went to Rose City this morning. Did two hours there and it got so busy that I could not get a hole, so went to Broadmoor for the secon two hours. Also did an hour at home with a couple putting games for five total. 9,823 remain. Daily average: 63%

May 26: Short morning of two hours out at Heron Lakes, and then on to a workout and down to see Darren for a meeting. Went back out to Heron in the afternoon for an hour, but all in all it was a slow day in the golf world.. 9,828 remain. Daily average: 60%

May 25: Good Tuesday, went out for a full five hours to Heron for a productive morning and then, after a break, went out to Broadmoor for two hours in the rain to finish out the day. Felt energized today. 9,831 remain. Daily average: 61%

May 24: I felt better than I usually do on a typical Monday today, perhaps because I went out for a couple hours Sunday. Went to Heron Lakes for 4 hours and did all of the new games, including the five-foot putts. Then went for a workout and in the PM went to Colewood for the first time to check out a new course. Did one hour at Colewood. 9,838 remain. Daily average: 64%

May 23: Went out on a Sunday for the first time today. Just did a little two hours session, but it felt good and I liked changing things up a bit. 9,843 remain. Daily average: 49%

********* From this point on, the “daily average” percentage is now measuring five-foot putts. Everything before here was three-foot putts. ***********

May 21: The day started off tough, it was rainy and cold and I was tired. Almost called it a week after one hour, but then the rain stopped and I got a second wind. Putter for five hours, then went for a workout. In the afternoon, did one more hour at Broadmoor. 9,845 remain. Daily average: 89.22%

May 20: Went to Pumpkin Ridge for a lesson with CS. Practiced for a while before and after, all in all got in 6 hours. We changed my putting stance, so my average went down a bit for my 3 foot putts, but I hope the new stance will improve my game once it becomes natural. I start a five-foot game tomorrow. 9,851 remain. Daily average: 80.39%

May 19: Started filled with energy out at Heron Lakes, but that only lasted 2.5 hours before exhaustion weirdly set in. Went for a workout and down to see Darren for my weekly neuro building session and then back out for 2.5 hours at Braodmoor. 9,857 ramain. Daily average: 89.71%

May 18: Decided to change things up a bit so went out to Rose City golf club in the morning for four hours. Did amazingly in my 3-footers, got a new record of 97 out of 102 on the first round and pretty good on round two too. The rains came so I took a break and then went out to Broadmoor for two hours in the afternoon. 9,862 remain. Daily average: 92.16%

May 17: Four hours in the morning at Heron lakes, a workout just after noon and then back out to Heron for two hours in the eve. Did the three footers from three different holes thoughout the day, but at each one I felt like I could sink anything. 9,868 remain. Daily average: 91.50%

May 14: Did three hours out at Heron lakes with a bit of a later start (end of the week tiredness creeping in) and then went for a workout. In the afternoon, I could only muster up he energy to do one hour at Broadmoor. 9,874 remain. Daily average: 84.80%

May 13: Three hours in the AM out at Quail Valley and then a long meeting with Christopher including a conference call with Dr. Ericsson and Dr. Hill. Afterwords, went to the private side of Pumpkin Ridge for an hour of putting. 9,879 remain. Daily average: 84.31%

May 12: Four hours in the morning at Heron Lakes then off for a workout and down then down to meet Darren for a weekly meeting. In the afternoon I spent one hour back at Heron before being too beat to continue. 9,883 remain. Daily average: 86.17%

May 11: Putted for about two hours out at Heron before another high school tournament arrived, so went to Broadmoor for two hours to finish the morning. Was fairly exhausted again and it was hard to concentrate. Went back to Heron for two hours in the afternoon where I perked up and shot my best three-foot round yet, 96 of 102 balls. 9,888 remain. Daily average: 85.29%

May 10: Spent half the morning at Heron Lakes then a few highschools arrived for a tournament so went to Broadmoor for the res of the morning. Went for a workout and then back out to Broadmoor for another session. All in all it was the toughest day yet to maintain concentration and I also felt exhausted. 9,894 remain. Daily average: 74.93%

May 7: Spent a good five hour morning out at Heron Lakes. Shot well and felt fresh all morning long. Took a break at 1PM for lunch and a workout and then decided to call it a week because I felt saturated from a very busy five days. 9,900 remain. First hundred hours worked off! Daily average: 83.82%

May 6: went out to Pumpkin Ridge for a lesson with Christopher. spent three hours practicing beforehand, then a two hour lesson and then stuck around for two more hours after for a total of seven. We worked on my stance, especially my upper body. Was a good and non-rainy day. 9,905 remain. Daily average: 80.88%

May 5, 2010: Four hours in the AM at Heron lakes, then off to the Edge for a workout and then down to Durham to see Darren for a meeting.. One hour more in the PM working on the Pelz putting tutor. Had plenty of energy, but not enough to pull off 2 PM hours.. 9,912 remain. Daily average: 76.96%

May 4, 2010: Broadmoor in the AM for two hours, then felt exhausted so took a nap and then went back to Broadmoor for 4 hours in the afternoon. 9,917 remain. Daily average: 76.14%

May 3, 2010: Heron in the AM for five hours. Broadmoor in the PM for two. was a great day as far as energy level goes. Also worked out in the the middle of the day. 9,923 remain. Daily average: 78.43%

April 30, 2010: Heron Lakes in the AM and Broadmoor in the PM. Was pretty exhausted so only got in five hours, but putted better than ever before. 9,930 remain. Daily average: 87.25%

April 29, 2010: Pumpkin Ridge for a lesson in the AM, Broadmoor in the PM. Recieved a new club and shoes, thanks to Nike! Putted pretty well with the new gear. 9,935 remain. Daily average: 75.49%

April 28, 2010: Heron Lakes again in the AM and Broadmoor in the PM. Had a workout and meeting at the Synergy Training Center in the middle, so long day. It was pouring during the Broadmoor session too, but felt good today. 9,941 remain. Daily average: 75.16%

April 27, 2010: Heron Lakes in the AM for the first time. rainy morning, but it cleared up for a good four hour training session. Went to Broadmore in the PM for two hours. Back felt better and all in all it was a good training day. 9,947 remain. Daily average:78.43% (I had an exceptionally good morning practice.)

April 26, 2010: Broadmoor in the AM for four hours. Very sore back, made it hard to putt. Worked out at the Edge, then back to Broadmoor for two hours. Tough and rainy day. 9,953 remain. Daily average: 70.92%

April 23, 2010: Broadmoor in the AM for three hours. Long middle-of-the-day meeting, and then back to Broadmoor for 2 more hours. 9,959 remain. Daily average: 72.22%

April 22, 2010: Out at Pumpkin Ridge for four hours in the AM. two hours back at Broadmoor in the PM. 9,964 remain. Daily average: 61.27%* changed my stance today, which affected my results.

April 21, 2010: Four and a half hours in the morning, felt good but a little stiff back. Then 2.5 hours in the afternoon. 9,970 remain. Daily average: 73.20%

April 20, 2010. Four hours in the morning and then two hours in the afternoon. 9,977 remain. Daily average: 68.30%

April 19, 2010. Four hours in the morning and a workout at the Kor in the afternoon. 9,983 hours. Daily average is: 69.61%

April 16, 2010. Three hours in the morning, a workout in the middle of the day, and three hours in the evening. 9,987 hours. My daily average is: 67.32%

Day one for real, with coach: April 15, 2010.Met the coach at Pumpkin Ridge for a two and half hour lesson. Then went back out that evening for 2.5 more hours. 9,993 hours. Daily average: 63.73%

Day one: April 5, 2010. Went out and putted for two hours. Don’t have the “real” clubs yet, but it still counts as a start! So, down to 9,998 hours.

10,000 hours to go

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