Subconcious

A player's subconcious never ignores a destructive thought. It's always listening. You don't have to achieve perfection in the thoughts you feed it. Everyone is human and everyone suffers occasional douts and worries. But you MUST make sure sure that the helpful thoughts dominate.

the pleasure of the game comes from chasing dreams

more than catching them.

the golfer's mind, by bob rotella

read it, curt!

"You must also find a balance in your life.  I know very few people who manage to keep their lives in an sort of rigid, systematic balance.  I smile when someone tells me he's got his life broken down into blocks:  eight hours sleep, eight hours for work, four hours for family, three hours for golf, and maybe an hour for working out.  Real people are always out of balance in some way.  Maybe one month they're so immersed in work that they don't find enough time for their families, their golf, their fitness.  But they recognize the imbalance and correct it the next month.  Maybe the period of imbalance is much longer---measured in years, rather than weeks, or months.  It's fine for an aspiring professional to devote five, seven, or ten years to improving his golf game and establishing himself on the Tour, almost to the exclusion of all else.  But a some point, the balance must be redressed."  Bob Rotella.

full contact golf at ridgecrest

with billy cafferelli, jerry elliott, dean oliver, lee campbell, bill thompson.  cell phones going off on every shot.  profanity at it's finest.  best preparation ever for a major championship.   made a six footer for birdie on the last hole, shot 66, with 8 birdies (with 3 fives on my card), and won $400.  elliott wanted to play that 'dot' game again.  reminded me of a time in palm springs when...........

work on eye position with putter.  when i miss short putts left, must get my eyes crooked to the line and take the putter back outside.

grip:  tour velvet, 58 round.

65 again

key continues to be a square stance, and connected right elbow and making sure that the right elbow does not 'fly' at the top.  minimizes motion at the top.  need to find some competitive situations.......

have gone to the regular proV1 from the X.  seems to perform a little better.  new X seems harder than the old.

another 65

golf is starting to feel easy again........

sweetbay

fear

If someone has a lot of fear on the golf course, it tells me he's spending a lot of time away from the golf course worrying about never being successful, worrying that he's working his tail off, putting in time and energy, and that he'll never be rewarded. He's fearful he wasn't destined to have great things happen to him. Bob Rotella, pg 95, The Golfer's Mind.

course setup for sw id am

  i played last night, and #3 was the ONLY bad hole location.  but here is what i think happened on sunday.  every player went off of the first hole and so everyone went through this same mental exercise:   #1 was a VERY difficult, fair RED flag.  but a tough, tough hole and a tough, tough start. #2 was a GREAT hole location, but visually intimidating, because from the fairway the flag looked like it was OFF the green to the right. #3 was 1-2 paces too far forward and a bad location, but more importantly a RED flag.    by now the players have seen two RED flags and both are brutal locations, they are INTIMIDATED and WARY AND TOTALLY $%^&*(ING CONVINCED that the entire course is going to be set up this tough and that the superintendent in nuts and my game is going to totally fall apart, and i'm going to be embarrassed with my score and i'm going to probably get back on drugs/alcohol, lose my job and be homeless and on the street!    so,NOW when the players get to #8, see another RED flag and anticipates another brutal location because past experience with RED right has been unfair on the front slope.  then #9, ANOTHER RED flag close to the trap that looks like it is almost in the fringe (but a GREAT location).  then on to #10 and ANOTHER RED, even though it is not front right, the scars from the RED flags on #1 and #3 still exist.  and memories of the #10 RED, right location in the past are haunting the player.  the next RED flag is #14 and again it is a good pin, but the player has memories of disaster when that pin is red and the ball running off the front left, so he goes PSYCHO again at the sight of the RED location.  #15 is a tough, fair location, but with a lot of slope. (i did not play #16 so don't know where it was, but my guess it was back against the slope which is fine).  #17 another good location that could have been RED.  #18 is another RED flag and a tough, fair spot.   in a nutshell:  a combination tough location on #1, a bad hole location on #3, and memories of past disasters with the SAME color of flag that you had on #8, #10, and #14, absolutely drove the field PSYCHO.   my only suggestion would just be to mix it up a little better.  6 tough, 6 medium, and 6 hard locations.  some 2-3 steps from the edge of the green, but not all and not all of the "traditional" locations.  confuse the player as to which is a tough location, which is not.  and maybe have all one color of flag for tournaments.  i believe that the color RED after the start, scared the players to death.   golf course is absolutely MAGNIFICENT right now, don't let this discourage you in ANY way.  no big deal, golfers are natural-born complainers.  i'm a GREAT example.......   thanks for EVERYTHING that you do, you and crew do a fabulous job.

better and better

65 again.  really trying to stay still with putter.

best ball striking ever

just keep stance a little closed and right elbow in close on the way back.....

keep right elbow connected

and close stance slightly.

update

14 June 05

 

So, I’m walking through Wal Mart and I see this 42” plasma flat screen, HD TV.  Perfect for my living room and just in time to watch the US Open, with the group that traditionally comes by our house during that weekend.  It is exactly the same price as the plane ticket to Aberdeen, Scotland to try and qualify for the British Senior Open in mid-July.  Laurie has been bugging me to buy the ticket and finally she asked me as I was looking at the TV, if I was going to wait until the plane ticket prices went up as an excuse to NOT go this again this year.  Talk about netting it out, I can’t accomplish anything by sitting on my butt in front of the TV at home.  I really don’t have the money for both of them, so I buy the ticket to Scotland.  Just have to watch the Open on a regular TV.  I’m going, and I’m determined to do well.

 

I’ve been working hard with Dave Bartels on my game since November and I feel that I’ve really made some progress.  I need to get out and see what I’ve got.  I feel better about the way I’m playing than I have in a long time.

 

So here’s the plan:  I’m going to try and qualify for the Senior US Open on 14 July, in Woodburn, OR, then leave for Scotland on 16 July. The qualifying is 19 July, and the tournament proper is 21-24 July.  If I get into the Senior US Open, it starts 28 July in Ohio.  Could make for an interesting July.

 

I will then play in the Monday qualifiers in Seattle and Pebble Beach in August, and who knows what after that.  I will pace myself for the Q-School in November and give that a go again.

 

I know many of you have wondered what I’ve been doing, and I appreciate your concern.  My life is wonderful; I’m healthy, happy, just taking a break from the competitive golf, working hard at the trucking business and trying and change/improve some parts of my golf game.  I’m getting all of  it done, and I haven’t given up on this process.

 

Thank you for all your concern and support.

 

Scott.

bartels @pierce park

better and better.  closed my stance with my driver and hit it really good.

65 tonight

five birdies in a row on the back, hit a lot of good shots:

wedge-putt #10, chip on #11, tee shot-pitch #12, tee shot and wedge to #13,  3 iron to #15, 8 iron from the rough on #16,  20 footer on #17, 7 iron at the hole on #1,  putts on #2,#3, and #4, then a rescue from 235 on #5, a chip in on #6 and a 40 foot bomb on #8,

and swing is feeling natural.

bought the ticket to scotland.  going to play well there.  determined to do so.

pga tour players putting between 10 and 15 feet make:
 
    28.03% if for birdie
    33.07% if for par
    35.02% if for bogey

okay, the turn helped a lot

great practice session.  turn, but don't get right hand too far from right shoulder, then turn back.

got closer to ball with putter, feels better.

 

scotch pines

decent yesterday, iron game was better and wedges were good.  didn't putt well. 

the feeling of the club being closer to my shoulder is starting to feel natural, i need to get with bartels and make sure i know what it looks like.  i don't feel like i'm turning at all but i'm hitting a lot of good shots and NO wild ones.

ordered jim hardy's "the plane truth" book, will be interested in reading it. 

sent my entry in for scotland, i'm committed to make that trip and ENJOY the travel.

scotch pines practice

another good day of practice.  the adjustment seems to be to get my right hand closer to my right shoulder at the top of the swing.  that cocks the club better and eliminates motion at the top.  then i can just turn back into the ball.  hit a lot of quality shots. 

went back to taylor made irons, and adams three wood.  hit mizuno irons with S300 shaft and they really felt good.  i may put an S300SL shaft in my adams irons.......

yakima

another solid day of driving, but lost a lot of irons to the right.  straight legs, bend from the waist and then feel that the club is laid off.   no focus on weight shift.

this is really working

closer to the ball, straight legs, good posture and flatter takeaway with a good wrist cock.  ball flight is consistent, distance control excellent.  just have to make sure that i'm not too open at address.