Great starts

What a great way to start a week, putting my three-footers at a 91.5% average over the day.  I’m not sure if it was the good condition of Heron Lakes’ greens or if I was just spot on for the day, but it felt as if I couldn’t miss this little guys.  I also was pretty spot on in my ten foot measurement game and sank five out of 25 putts from random distances up to 25 feet away from the hole.  All in all, it was a great Monday.

I did feel pretty rusty first thing, though.  That stuck around until about 9:30 AM, so I think it is not so much a good idea to completely take the weekend off.  Talking with Dr. K Anders Ericsson and Dr. Len Hill last week their advice on when to take off and when to train was to just follow what my body/energy level says I should do and if I’m tired, take a break and if I feel I need an entire day off, take it.  So, going with that advice, I think that it’s very important to rest and fully recover, but at the same time I’m not sure if two full days off of golf is the right way to do it.  So, this weekend, I think I will try and practice my putting stance/swing at home for about 30 minutes both Saturday and Sunday to keep as “fresh” as possible..

Back to today.  It was a perfect day.  Besides getting a PR for the day in my putting, a couple people came up and introduced themselves to me, saying they were following along on the plan, something that is always encouraging!  It’s always great to meet people too and hear about their experience with the game.  As of right now, I’m pretty much one of the least experienced golfers you will find on a course on any given day, and a bit of story sharing about swing woes or successes is a welcome break from my daily grind.  And, the weather couldn’t be beat (at least until about 6:30 when the clouds decided to empty at once completely drenching anyone outside).  It was in the low 70s and overcast all day, with a bit of a nice cool breeze, the kind of weather that will be sorely missed come mid-August..

Morgan was out filming too, which I think helps me concentrate on putting in a weird way.  When I’m alone, I tend to have moments in the day when my mind completely wonders and I go five or ten minutes without concentrating on what I am doing, but when he is out there, I find that the camera’s presence seems to keep me focussed on what I am supposed to be doing.  I’m not sure, but I also think that having a cameraman and camera following me will also help with the nerves a bit when it comes to competition time, but I guess we will just have to wait and see about that.

At one part of the morning, I bet Morgan a coke that I could sink six putts in a row (I had just made 18, so figured I was a shoe-in for a free coke).  He took the bet and as certain as I was that I was going to make them all, I shanked the second putt.  That, unlike the rest of the morn, was not a good sign for my future as a competitive golfer.  But, not to fret, learning to deal with stress is going to be part of The Plan and hopefully through numerous competitions in the coming years I will learn how to remain unchanged whether it is a practice round or a meaningful game/bet..

Tomorrow I hope to go somewhere new.  Perhaps Rose City Golf or Colwood, have not tried either of their putting greens out and I think it’s time for a couple days away from Heron’s amazing greens.