The Ups and Downs
Another week, another tournament in the books!
Golf is a funny sport. Everyone who plays has said at some point that they "had it one day, then it was gone the next". This week was a lesson in learning to handle the game when it was "gone".
After returning from my top 3 finish in California, I spent a week preparing for this event. My swing coach was out of town, so I spent the majority of my time on the range each day practicing the skills we had last talked about. Things felt good and I was excited to compete again. However, with my mom being home in Georgia and Lex having to work, I was a touch sad to plan for taking on the week without a caddy.
I'll be honest. Day 1 was pretty rough. In the first couple of holes, I developed a whole new miss. A new miss in the middle of a tournament. Great timing haha. I stayed calm and relaxed, and I started going through all my "check points" that I have created with my coach. Unfortunately, none of them were working. Finally, after a very long and brutal starting 12 holes, I finally found something that seemed to work and allow me to manage the ball flight. I finished the final 6 holes at -2, and I had to force myself to see that as a "win" for the day. Despite the fact that the starting 12 holes were such a mess.
This was new for me. Since starting professional golf, I havn't had a moment where I experienced my game getting so far "off course". I didn't think I was capable of developing a new miss that was not only foreign to anything I was used to, but also being unable to self-correct in a timely manner. I knew the next two days were going to be a challenge. However, there's no better way to face a challenge than head-on. I took those last 6 holes from day one, reflected on what worked, and got ready to keep grinding.
The next two days were a lot of "skating by". I never could figure out a full-proof fix for my miss. Not my best, but I proved to myself that I could manage the "bad days" better than ever before. During my time as an amateur, my bad rounds would consistently turn into scores up in the mid and low 80's. However, in the final two days of this week's event, I kept the score in the mid 70's. Not scores that I am content with, but I see the growth. I know I am becoming a stronger golfer if I'm lowering the scores that result from my worst days as well as my best days.
Moreover, I can't give myself all the credit for the improvement on the last two days. I knew that I had to be both mechanically and mentally stronger if I didn't want to see a repeat of day 1. For mental, I decided my best idea would be finding a caddy. Thankfully, a friend that I made through golf since moving to Arizona was super kind and agreed to come caddy last minute. He'll tell you that he didn't do much, but I have officially decided that having someone with me is my biggest mental hack. I will pick my own clubs, read my own putts, but just having that person to talk with and make me smile while I'm playing makes an astronomical difference. It's great. Therefore, I'd like to give a special shout out to Micah for agreeing to clean my golf ball and tend the pins for hours. You're a real one! Truly a 5-star caddy for me this week.
Now that this week's competition is over, it's back to the grind! I will spend these next 10 days working with my coach, practicing, and preparing for my first WAPT event in Louisiana.
And as always, I cannot thank each of you enough for all the support. Whether it be in monetary gifts or the sweet messages, I am one very blessed girl. I pray God will continue to write my story and use me for His glory as I pursue my dream!
Comments