Harmony - Round One

Well, today was not so great. I ended up shooting a 76. I have to admit that there were some positives to today's round, though! I got out to the course extra early this morning to allow myself plenty of time to warm up and seemed to get into a good rythm. But after yesterday's exhaustive battle with my swing, I was still a bit more nervous than usual on the first tee. I managed to make two regulation pars on the first two holes, and even had a 10 foot opportunity for birdie! The third hole (#12) was a tough par 3. I hit a terrible block to the right and landed in the bunker. I hit a poor sand shot that hung up in the rough. Another poor chip and two putt later, I carded a double bogey on the hole. Ouch. I was proud that I managed to keep my composure. I hit fairways and greens until #18. Another blocked approach shot to the right cost me another shot. I made the turn at 3 over.

I finally had a birdie fall on #2! I missed another green on #4, and made a terrible chip, leaving myself a 10 footer to save par. I missed the putt to go back to 3 over par. I started hitting fairways & greens again, and made par on several tough holes. I hit a great drive on the last hole (#9), and had 150 yards slightly uphill to the pin. My shot started just right of the flag, and took an unlucky hop right into a green side bunker. I missed my putt for par to add one more stroke to my score...on the LAST hole.

I really did hit the ball MUCH better today, but still was never quite comfortable, so I put in a lot of practice time after the round. I hit balls to reinforce some confidence in my swing, but what I spent more time on was chipping and putting! I hit 13 greens today, but I only made ONE par save. Sure, I really struggled with the speed of the greens and didn't take advantage of my birdie opportunities, but my chipping was terrible. So I hit some shots around the practice green similar to those I encountered today. It was much better. I think I over analyze chipping on the course during tournament rounds. I get too technically focused instead of just seeing the shot and hitting it. Finally, I worked on putting. I mentioned yesterday that the greens are a bit inconsistent, and that really got to me today. I couldn't get the speed down and left so many birdie putts short! Hopefully, all this will help tomorrow's round go much better!

I tee off #10 tomorrow morning at 11:00 EST! Thank you for all of the encouragement, and I'll keep you updated!!!



Soli Deo Gloria