I told Lynn last night on the way home that I was going to post on the week at Kinderlou Forest on The Nationwide Tour. I would first like to thank everyone on this site for your support and encouragement before, during and after the event. I can't express what that means to me.
Overall I have come away from this event with many more postives than negatives. On the plus side I:
Shot a bogey free 68 in round 1 and saw my name near the top of the leaderboard
Was 1-under par through 47 holes and in great position to make a move
Gutted it out in round two after a bad start and needing to par 2 very tough finishing holes to make the cut (especially after missing an easy up-and-down followed by a three putt).
Never lost my composure and stayed positive the entire week. Nerves were never an issue.
Other than not being as long as many players out there, I can hit the ball with as much precision as they can.
Learned how these players prepare and practice before an event, especially what the caddies do in the practice rounds.
On the negative side:
My putting still needs much improvement, especially in the 5-15 foot range. The only difference between me and them is this area.
I need more precision around the greens. When I chip or pitch it to 4-6 feet on a tough shot they are inside 3 feet consistently. I need to step up my training program. Unfortunately I ran out of gas mentally and physically toward the end of each round. There is a huge difference between walking a tournament and using a cart, and I am in good shape. I did not stay within my game plan. Usually this is the best part of my game but the course and conditions got the best of me and I started to "press" a little. Trust me, you can get out of rhythm pretty quick on a 7700 yard course with 30 mph winds. I need to stay within my game. Steering is the number one malfunction in the golf swing and I was guilty at times. Always remember the club's target is lowpoint and the ball's target is the fairway or flag. Aim your machine and drive the clubhead through the ball!
I also learned some interesting things about tour stats, some of them don't mean that much. Driving Distance, for example, is only tested on 2 holes each round. Hit it perfect all day and miss one of these holes and your distance is lower. I played with Garrett Willis the last day and I hit it with him all day. He was 35th in distance and I was 65th, go figure.
Usually I would say that fairways are very important, but not on this course. There was no rough to speak of and many holes it was more advantageous to miss the fairway. Many of the holes had doglegs with fairways sloping away from the dogleg, this caused many balls to run through the fairway into the "rough". For the most part I hit it where I wanted to.
Greens in Regulation is a very important stat. However, when a hole is cut 3 or 4 paces from the edge of a green, your best play may end up on the fringe. I hit some really good iron shots that ended up just off the surface, but I was still putting with a good chance to make. In fact I had a couple of chips that were easier than if I had actually been on the green putting. On the last day I really tried to hit as many greens as I could. On the front 9 I hit 6 greens, one green I could not reach because of a poor drive, one green I hit the top of a bunker and it rolled back in, and one green I hit the exact shot I wanted, it hit the middle of the green and rolled off the back. So I played 8 of 9 holes exactly like I wanted to and shot 3 over par because....
PUTTING IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STAT ON TOUR!!! Every player I talked to said the same thing, everyone can hit the ball well, its the players that can get it in the hole who win. The real difference between my 68 on Thursday and my 79 on Sunday was putting. Sure the conditions were much worse on Sunday but I had 28 putts on Thursday and 34 on Sunday hitting fewer greens. In fact, the last three rounds I missed a lot of makeable putts that I made in round 1. Give me a 72 or 73 the final round and I would have been thrilled. I played like it, I just did not score like it.
I must have been good luck to other players because I played with the low round on Thursday (64), one of the low rounds on Saturday 68 and one of the low rounds on Sunday (72). What really separated these players was their ability to get the ball in the hole. There was no fear of missing, only the desire to make the putt. I really learned alot this week and had a great time doing it. It only makes me want it more.
The most important thing I learned this week is that there is no substitute for the love and support of your family and friends, during good times and bad. I certainly was blessed to have had this during the week, I will never foget the experience.
I told Lynn last night on the way home that I was going to post on the week at Kinderlou Forest on The Nationwide Tour. I would first like to thank everyone on this site for your support and encouragement before, during and after the event. I can't express what that means to me.
Overall I have come away from this event with many more postives than negatives. On the plus side I:
Shot a bogey free 68 in round 1 and saw my name near the top of the leaderboard
Was 1-under par through 47 holes and in great position to make a move
Gutted it out in round two after a bad start and needing to par 2 very tough finishing holes to make the cut (especially after missing an easy up-and-down followed by a three putt).
Never lost my composure and stayed positive the entire week. Nerves were never an issue.
Other than not being as long as many players out there, I can hit the ball with as much precision as they can.
Learned how these players prepare and practice before an event, especially what the caddies do in the practice rounds.
On the negative side:
My putting still needs much improvement, especially in the 5-15 foot range. The only difference between me and them is this area.
I need more precision around the greens. When I chip or pitch it to 4-6 feet on a tough shot they are inside 3 feet consistently. I need to step up my training program. Unfortunately I ran out of gas mentally and physically toward the end of each round. There is a huge difference between walking a tournament and using a cart, and I am in good shape. I did not stay within my game plan. Usually this is the best part of my game but the course and conditions got the best of me and I started to "press" a little. Trust me, you can get out of rhythm pretty quick on a 7700 yard course with 30 mph winds. I need to stay within my game. Steering is the number one malfunction in the golf swing and I was guilty at times. Always remember the club's target is lowpoint and the ball's target is the fairway or flag. Aim your machine and drive the clubhead through the ball!
I also learned some interesting things about tour stats, some of them don't mean that much. Driving Distance, for example, is only tested on 2 holes each round. Hit it perfect all day and miss one of these holes and your distance is lower. I played with Garrett Willis the last day and I hit it with him all day. He was 35th in distance and I was 65th, go figure.
Usually I would say that fairways are very important, but not on this course. There was no rough to speak of and many holes it was more advantageous to miss the fairway. Many of the holes had doglegs with fairways sloping away from the dogleg, this caused many balls to run through the fairway into the "rough". For the most part I hit it where I wanted to.
Greens in Regulation is a very important stat. However, when a hole is cut 3 or 4 paces from the edge of a green, your best play may end up on the fringe. I hit some really good iron shots that ended up just off the surface, but I was still putting with a good chance to make. In fact I had a couple of chips that were easier than if I had actually been on the green putting. On the last day I really tried to hit as many greens as I could. On the front 9 I hit 6 greens, one green I could not reach because of a poor drive, one green I hit the top of a bunker and it rolled back in, and one green I hit the exact shot I wanted, it hit the middle of the green and rolled off the back. So I played 8 of 9 holes exactly like I wanted to and shot 3 over par because....
PUTTING IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STAT ON TOUR!!! Every player I talked to said the same thing, everyone can hit the ball well, its the players that can get it in the hole who win. The real difference between my 68 on Thursday and my 79 on Sunday was putting. Sure the conditions were much worse on Sunday but I had 28 putts on Thursday and 34 on Sunday hitting fewer greens. In fact, the last three rounds I missed a lot of makeable putts that I made in round 1. Give me a 72 or 73 the final round and I would have been thrilled. I played like it, I just did not score like it.
I must have been good luck to other players because I played with the low round on Thursday (64), one of the low rounds on Saturday 68 and one of the low rounds on Sunday (72). What really separated these players was their ability to get the ball in the hole. There was no fear of missing, only the desire to make the putt. I really learned alot this week and had a great time doing it. It only makes me want it more.
The most important thing I learned this week is that there is no substitute for the love and support of your family and friends, during good times and bad. I certainly was blessed to have had this during the week, I will never foget the experience.
Thank you for sharing this experience with us...what an excellent post of your overall analysis, I liked that you stressed the positives. The putting stat is where it's at...if only we spent more time on the practice green than on the range. It must be so different in the heat of battle too... to trust that putter. Imagine if 5 foot and in was automatic.
Thanks again...and by the way when's the next tournament for you on the Nationwide?
Thank you for sharing this experience with us...what an excellent post of your overall analysis, I liked that you stressed the positives. The putting stat is where it's at...if only we spent more time on the practice green than on the range. It must be so different in the heat of battle too... to trust that putter. Imagine if 5 foot and in was automatic.
Thanks again...and by the way when's the next tournament for you on the Nationwide?
Unfortunately this was it for the year. We only have two events in the Georgia Section and I failed to qualify for the one this week. As Lynn said, it's time to go to work. I have other events throughout the year so I will keep you posted.
A terrifc report and great learning experience.
I followed Willis and Damron during a practice round a couple of years ago and Willis is very strong and hits it long. Great to see you could keep up with him.
Same old story - work on the short game if you want to improve your score.
Jeff, what a great recap of how you played. Should be required
reading for all who want to play the tour. Sure appreciate your
taking the time to present your thoughts and experience. I would
have shot a zillion under the conditions. You are on my hero list.
Donn Kerby
Shot a bogey free 68 in round 1 and saw my name near the top of the leaderboard
My putting still needs much improvement, especially in the 5-15 foot range. The only difference between me and them is this area.
I need to step up my training program. Unfortunately I ran out of gas mentally and physically toward the end of each round. There is a huge difference between walking a tournament and using a cart, and I am in good shape.
I did not stay within my game plan. Usually this is the best part of my game but the course and conditions got the best of me and I started to "press" a little. Trust me, you can get out of rhythm pretty quick on a 7700 yard course with 30 mph winds. I need to stay within my game.
Linear Mode
