Balance is the Big Lesson

The lessons are many after finishing the final Grey Goose Gateway Tournament for 2006. The most important is balance---pacing myself. Too many tournaments tapped me out. That showed up in my results, especially this past weekend. I had two great rounds (67 and 69) but I couldn’t hold it in each of the last nine holes of the next two rounds. Then, one thing led to another. I was not a happy man!

The good news is that overall, I’ve had a great start to my pro career. Eighty per cent of the time, I made the cuts. Ditto for being in the top 20 or higher.

The downside is overplaying: I played almost 100 % more tournaments than Tiger this year, thirty five events in all:
-30/32GGGT (made 25 cuts)
-3 Nationwides (made 1 cut)
-1 charity event for Bell
-1 PGA Q-School, pre-Qualifier (made it)

It reminds me of my amateur days. Combined with school, our schedules were a grind. The summers were no different. By the time August rolled around, I could feel the toll on my body and mind. Many of my golf buddies felt the same.

Even though I am disappointed with my finish to the GGGT season, I feel good about my game. My putting is consistently reliable. My average with fairways in regulation is up. I can go low more and more often. My distance is competitive. I’m learning to be more patient. I’m trying to go for the singles and doubles rather than the home runs.

One of the headlines in today’s newspapers about Tiger’s sixth consecutive PGA victory in 10 weeks matches my feelings---Tiger’s “taking a nap”. That goes for me too.

I’ve got the next stage of PGA Q-School coming up. So, I want to be in good shape.