Two for Monday.

Or is that supposed to be two for Tuesday..  Well, anyway you look at it I have two different topics I would like to write about today.

First off, I had the opportunity to talk with a PGA Tour golfer, Scott Stallings.  It was my first time chatting with someone who has actually made it on tour and is currently playing in the big money events and it was an honor to get in touch and have him field a few questions about what it takes.

Scott had contacted me after finding the story and blog and was legitimately interested in The Dan Plan.  He has a similar type of internal drive, as anyone who makes the tour probably has, and seems to be both curious as to where this will lead and offered his advice and help along the way.  Again, it was an honor to hear this and my determination is through the roof after our conversation.

We talked about his path to the Tour, which started at about 3-years-old and his single minded determination to make it, which he did and is now playing his rookie year and doing well!  We also talked about the method in which I am approaching golf, moving from the hole out, and he agreed that it was the best way to approach learning the game.  You’ve got to know how to score before you can get your score down and nothing scores like the short game.

Scott said there were two types of practice guys, ones who beat a lot of balls and ones who play, he is of the player sort.  I’m not sure which I will be yet because there is so much mechanics to figure out on the range right now as well as countless holes to be played over the coming years.  I have a feeling that I will be a player as well once I can get my swing down.

I hope that this is the first of many conversations with Scott.  I have so many more questions about what it takes to make it and what it is like living on the road during the mini-tour years, but it was a great introduction and I can’t thank him enough!

The second topic is about playing through the bad days.  It was one of those mornings when your alarm goes off and your body says: “stay in bed!”  I woke up feeling tired, achy, and generally under the weather as if fighting off a bug.  But instead of reveling in my own sickness, I figured it was a perfect opportunity to get out and see how my body reacts when it was not 100 percent.  When you are on the road and competing for your livelihood, you can’t take a “sick day,” they won’t delay the tournament a day for the flu

I definitely felt week and tired for most of the day and a handful of my shots showed that weakness.  By the end of the day, I found my groove and managed to get my swing back, but started on a slower click.  I think what I learned about myself was that when my body is sick or fighting off something, I need to spend an extra hour before the round getting warmed up, because once I was warm I was basically back to normal.

All that, and the rains returned…  Which means I had the course to myself!