It’s tournament season for the summer, and I
have one coming up at Bouregaurd Country Club in
DeRidder, Louisiana. It is a four ball tournament that
I will be playing with my girlfriend’s dad. This should
be fun.
I’m just kidding around. He is a great guy who I have
luckily got a chance to open up a friendship with on the
golf course, and the game has also helped me develop
one outside of the golf course as well. Normally, that
is the tough part – breaking the ice with the dad. But
luckily, he plays golf too, and it forces conversation
between shots.
This is my first competition based tournament since
I was about 12 years old. By the way, I’m 22. The last
was a junior club championship with about 8 other
guys my age. I didn’t do so well. I would love to test my
game now and hopefully, I can overcome the nerves
that my dad always talks about having over putts in the
tournaments that he plays in.
Jake used to always tell me that I had the killer instinct
and could just get that clutch hit in baseball when it
counted. Now that my body hasn’t allowed me to play
baseball any longer, I would love to get that opportunity
to stand over a few putts and drain them.
I am trying to keep up with my game enough to
hopefully qualify into the Louisiana State Amateur and
be somewhat of a competitor. I realize the chances of
winning that are next to zero, but that is the type of
competition and pressure that I would like, and I want
to know how I will react.
Speaking of pressure, WOW, did y’all see Jordan
Spieth sink the bunker shot on the playoff hole?
Incredible. He reminds us how good of a player he
really is under pressure. He is a great guy to watch and
see how he handles the pressure.
I have watched college athletes completely fall out of
the sport that they were playing because the difference
from a 88 mph fastball and a 94 mph fastball. Yes it is
harder to hit, but I would say nearly half the reason
that the newcomers fail is because they are beat before
they walk up to the plate.
Just being able to know that you can hit any shot on
the golf course can go a long way for anyone’s game.
Put yourself in tougher situations than normal. If you
have an extra ball or two and mess up on the first shot,
see what you can do on the next one. It makes a big
difference in the confidence of your next stroke in a
tough situation.
On a side note, I tried to tag along with Jake and
my grandpa on a fishing trip, but I should have slept
in a little longer. The boat motor wouldn’t crank. Jake
then proceeded to tell me that he has never had a good
fishing trip. He seems to be the bad luck charm around
the marina. Tell him I said so.
Shayne