Foggy starts

I usually take Saturday off, but since I only was able to practice for two hours yesterday (due to a conference call with Dr. K Anders Ericsson and Dr. Len Hill) I decided to head out this morning for a bit.  I put in four solid hours by noon and also ran into Dan Murphy out on the chipping area.  He is a golf coach and husband of the University of Portland’s golf coach Michelle Murphy.  Dan and I chatted for a bit about golf in general and then we both proceeded to practice out on the putting green.  I was hitting my chips well, but definitely need some more focus on my lag putting.  It seems like I am still hitting the ball well past my target, although if I really think about it my mishits are about five feet closer than they used to be.  Still, I want to focus on those this week and see if I can get my lags all to within three feet, or within five on a “miss-hit.”  That is my goal of the next couple of weeks.

It was fairly busy out there too, and foggy.  The fog was a great atmosphere for putting and practicing, but I’m not sure how you would drive into the fog, you honestly couldn’t see 100 yards ahead of you, so I guess you would just have to “know” your target and then hope you have luck on your side when trying to find your ball down the fairway.

I also heard from Dan O’Brien about a story he is writing on The Dan Plan.  (it’s a Dan Dan Dan day between the three of us!)  The story is great and I’m excited about the possibility of it heading to the Oregonian.  We will see soon if they run with it, I think Dan has a few quotes to add and then it will be ready for the presses.  I’m so consumed in The Plan that I don’t see why it would not be interesting enough for the newspaper to run with it, but it’s hard for me to tell what the average person thinks about what I am doing out here and whether it is really worthy of coverage.  Finger’s crossed it is, because it would be fun to have a bit more pressure on me that some public attention would bring.  It would help me learn to putt under pressure if people start coming out to see what this is all about.

As far as the conversation with the Drs., it went very well.  It was good to catch up with Dr. Hill and Dr. Ericsson and always a pleasure to hear their opinions about how The Plan is progressing thus far.  They both think (as far as I can tell) that Christopher and I are heading in the right direction and approaching golf the best way we can.  The only way to learn is to be out there practicing, and the ONLY way to practice is to practice with 100 percent focus.  That is the reoccuring theme when we talk with them, that deliberate practice is focussed practice working on what you need to improve.  I do this to the best of my knowledge, and am learning more about my ability to focus and increasing my mental and physical endurance a little every week.

Speaking of endurance, I think I’ve deserved a bit of relaxation now, so I am going to sit and read for a bit before building a fire pit in the back yard for my day “off.”