Hello everyone and thanks again for taking the time to read ‘Inside the Ropes’! I competed in two events since my last post. Both tournaments were at the Wekiva Golf Club, an older style very wooded type of golf course with tricky greens and lots of risk-reward type of opportunities.
I went out and shot 76 in the 1st event, a 1-day Moonlight qualifier for the NEXT! Tour. It was a solid field and to give you an idea of the challenge of the golf course, I finished tied for 11th. It was a perfect example of ‘you just never know in golf’, you just have to go out there and grind it out no matter what. I qualified for the NEXT! And went into the tournament with a pure ‘play box’ mentality, really being focused on getting over the ball and just swinging the club the way I know how. I shot 74 in the first round which included 4 birdies and a ball OB on a par 3. I thought I made a good swing with a rescue club and my ball just kept drifting what seemed to me as being against the wind. Couldn’t find it, so back to the tee and made par with my 2nd ball. The moral of the story is I came back strong with 2 birdies over the final 4 holes to bring it back to respectable. There is a reason you often see the top players on the major tours in the world bouncing back from bogey or double with a birdie or two in the holes that follow. The shot at hand is always in the present, not in the past!
I started round two feeling good and within striking distance of the leaders with a good round. I made it through the front nine at 2-over really feeling like I played so much better than that. I almost holed a bunker shot on 12 to get one back and then came to lucky 13 in the same position ready to make a move. That was where an old swing flaw came to the forefront. I pulled it inside and blocked my drive OB and wound up making triple on what should have been a simple hole. I followed that up with a similar swing on the 445 yard 14th, the tightest driving hole on the course, and also went OB. Made double and brought it in with a series of pars from that point on. Things were not meant to be and that series of events brought me to where I am now…
I’ve spent the last five days on the practice tee working on everything really, but focusing on my full swing and finding what works for me to make it better, especially over the long run. I’ve found some keys in unexpected places and can’t wait to get out there again today and see what develops. I am spending the next two weeks ‘training’ to get to where I want to be for the upcoming season. I’ll be back with another post in the next few days to share with you some of the keys I am talking about and some of the things I came across and what it is I am doing to get better, to prepare, and to continue moving in the proper direction!
Follow CPGA Professional Gary Bos as he chases his dream of playing on the PGA Tour. Check out regular updates on SirShanksAlot.com and Gary’s own website. Gary is the Playing Professional at the Grand Niagara Resort in Niagara Falls, Ontario.