[cometgolfer]

Today I finished our annual three day Mens Club Championship. I went in with high confiidence after fine tuning my swing on the range and checking everything out on video. I had a choice of playing gross or net and chose gross because I wanted a true test. I've beaten the guys that won first/second/third today on informal Friday Skins matches, but this was a different ballgame. Unfortunately I can't post this in the Hole-ies/Pole-ies section because I didn't place. I PM'd the following to Yoda and he encouraged me to post it. Its not easy to post about personal disappointments. I really wanted that parking spot!

Yoda,

I didn't place. Our course was in excellent shape and the rough off the fairways was a three-club-rough on every hole due to the heavy rains we've had for the last two months. Had to be right on top of the ball to see it.

Learned a ton. Even though I was disappointed in my performance, I wouldn't trade the experience.

For example, the first day I was grouped with our club champ and a former mini-tour player. While the former champ was throwing his club on double bogies, I was congratulating everyone else while carding a triple. Very hard to have high expectations for yourself, play poorly and still honestly congratulate your fellow competitors on each hole. That chin gets very heavy and its hard to hold up sometimes.

A real character builder.

The things I've been working on at the range did not hold up to competitive pressure. Hence they are wrong. The menace of overacceleration stalked me for a day and a half until I settled my backstroke into an acquired motion pattern with a full finish. Not true acquired motion because of the extra pivot action, but keeping the feel of the right forearm level at the end of the stroke really helped. Only then did I experience good compression and a straight ball without losing any distance on all clubs.

My short game held up very well. Just a simple right forearm wedge putting stroke with a right shoulder rock down plane. I made good money on skins on birdie putts and chip-ins that didn't get covered.

I took notes each day after the round on what worked and what didn't.

I love competitive golf. What a great test. Next year I'll be ready.

Bagger,

As Yoda's post highlights..... congratulations for "putting yourself our there!" You'll come to really start looking forward to tournament golf and the unique challenges it presents. You'll also find yourself being much more "comfortable" in your club events the more you play them. Then it's on to "city" events, and then "state" events. (You should join the TGA at some point - the Texas Golf Association.... if you aren't already a member. They run most of the big state-wide events). Progressively your comfort-zone will "broaden" but the ONLY way it expands is by continuing to "put yourself out there in the arena!"

It is obvious that you have the PERFECT ATTITUDE for tournament golf and are the kind of player that I (and most other serious players I know) enjoy being paired with. You were patient, even-tempered, complimentary, gracious, etc. I assure you that your playing partners probably won't remember how you played or what you shot, but they WILL remember your attitude. That is the other benefit of playing tournament golf.... you meet lots of great indivuduals who share the same love of the game.

Congrats on the effort. Stay with it!

CG