After a very positive start to my season I found myself getting complacent and expecting only good golf. In reality that is just not how golf works. You have to continue to stay on top of each and every throw, round, and tournament. I was making simple errors and not connecting on my putts. I was still doing some very good things in my rounds but my mistakes outweighed the good. It became more of a mental battle to keep myself going and trusting that I could still play golf and keep pushing forward searching for the right game. I decided to change up my practice routine for a tournament to be a bit more vigorous, I planned on playing more than just 1 or 2 rounds on the courses. I wanted to get some more solid practice golf in an attempt to better myself. I still kept the philosophy of having no expectations, but with this added preparation I felt as if I was getting to such a good place in my game. I was playing from shots in practice that would better me in my tournament rounds. Sometimes you need a change of pace to reconnect yourself with your golf game.
The biggest things about understanding slumps is why they are happening in the first place. What are you doing different and how do you regain the focus? More often than not they are from lack of focus, you may feel the same but your focus isn't completely on the details when they need to be. For instance in Temple I continually put my upshots long of the basket, making it very difficult to score, for Nick Hyde, Texas States and Jonesboro I took extra time on my approaches to correct from those mistakes and get my approaches in the circle to give me more opportunities to score. Another focus issue I had was psyching myself out of putts on Chainstar's, now these baskets are not the best but it shouldn't effect my putting like it has, I need to step up and do my part and if something bad happens just take that in stride. A little bit of time on the practice green and getting my timing back in line helped incredibly and I found myself putting very well. I have a been having a few short misses lately but I might be attributing that to a bit of fatigue and I am excited to have a little bit more of a relaxing leading up to the GBO. What I hope someone takes out of this, is to trust your skill set, even when it feels so off and you are finding frustration, just stick to the basics and do the easy things great to build your confidence back up. Up your focus when you are in the moment and let things be easy.
I am very fortunate to have a great support system, I always feel as if I have people in my court and that makes it easier to keep pushing forward. I can't thank Tina, Dynamic Discs, Handeye Supply Co, BOOOM, The Nati, and Launchpad enough.
I know I still have a long way to go, but it was great having a handful of humbling moments to help me reset my focus and get me back to where I need to be. Thanks everyone for reading. Keep those PutterPants on and keep having the Most Fun!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4cUFgggQIE
Enjoy
