Talkin' bout practice...

Unlike Allen Iverson, I love to practice. I could spend all day at the driving range. Unfortunately, I'm a member at one of the few private clubs I can think of that doesn't have a driving range! Sure, there's a net with artificial mats, but that's really only effective for a pre-round warm up.

With my 36-hole club championship qualifier taking place this weekend and my game in the tank, I needed to put in some work!

I've spent the past few days working primarily on my short game, so I figured I would use Thursday and Friday to spend a little time tuning up everything.

After work, I walked nine holes, as much for the exercise as for the golf. My play was uninspired, starting with two mindless bogeys, then missing four consecutive make-able birdie putts, splitting the fairway with a 280 yard drive on our most difficult hole only to miss the green by 40 yards with an 7-iron, followed by two more missed greens, one of which I got up-and-down. It took me 39 blows and an hour-and-ten minutes to play nine. I was much happier about the latter.

Feeling as though I accomplished nothing, I spent about forty-five minutes chipping and putting before (getting in my car and) heading to the range. These are the type of practice days I love, but rarely get to do.

After an hour at the range, my confidence is began to return. I didn't try to reinvent the wheel and just worked on taking the club back slowly and finishing the golf swing. My tempo tends to gets muy rapido and throws my balance into shambles, so these two thoughts typically get me back on track.

Today will be my final day of practice for the qualifier. I'm probably going to walk another nine holes and spend about 30-45 minutes on my short game. In days past, I would probably putt until it was pitch dark, but "Married Matt" will be home for dinner & a movie around 7pm.

My tee time tomorrow is 10:08 and I was happy to see I'm paired with two guys I get along with and both of whom will walk (my preference). I'll probably head to the range at about 8am and plan to be at the club to chip & putt shortly after 9am.

Usually a two day score of 78-78 will qualify for the Championship Flight match play (top 16 finishers), but then you end up playing the defending champ or another high qualifier. I'm hoping to shoot 75-75, qualify above the middle of the pack, and see what happens from there.

Wish me luck!

Hitting the gym...

Monday was "Week 1, Day 1" of my new workout program. I'm not a gym rat, but I have spent plenty of time working out over the past several years for both golf and general fitness purposes.

However, passing into my mid-20s has brought on about 20 or so unwanted pounds. I'm currently 5'11" and 187 lbs and would like to start the 2010 golf season in the 165 - 170 pound range.

In doing research, I found that top athletes from all sports seem to turn to Athletes Performance in Arizona, Florida or Los Angeles for training. Their client list is like a who's who of the NFL, MLB and NBA, as well as many stars from other sports like Natalie Gulbis & Mia Hamm. Their "Core Performance" workouts are tailored to the sport you play and are designed to increase strength and flexibility while boosting energy and reducing pain. Their website is very cool and allows you to customize a workout based on your sport and how often you can workout. It does require a subscription, but you can get a 30-day-trial. After that it's $9.99 per month, but within a short period of time you'll have the workouts memorized, printed, or downloaded ;-)

The "movement prep" portion of their workout is my favorite and I use it to warm up before I play golf, as well as when I start my workouts in the gym. It's a series of core exercises and stretches designed to train your body for the movements in the golf swing. I'll probably go into more detail in a future post, if anyone is interested. You can also search around the Core Performance site and find samples of their golf exercises.

Following movement prep, I do a series of bodyweight exercises from to get further warmed up. After two circuits of squats, push ups, lunges and mountain climbers, I get into the meat of my workout (which is a pretty generic total body workout from Men's Health).

Superset 1 is 10 push-ups with my feet up on a bench for additional difficulty and to further strengthen my shoulders. I immediately transition into 12 reps (each leg) of step-ups on the same bench. After 30 seconds rest, I do it again, rest again, and complete a third superset.

Superset 2 is 1-leg RDL (Romanian Dead-Lift) for 8 reps per leg, followed by swiss ball mountain climbers for 10 reps per side. This is an awesome combo for golf as the 1-leg RDL really strengthens your lower back and doing it on one leg improves your overall balance. The mountain climbers are a great total core strengthener. If you haven't worked out much with a swiss ball, they will definitely be a challenge. I do a total of three supersets of this combo.

Superset 3 is the grand finale of my Monday workout and is 12 pull-ups followed by 20 wide-grip push-ups. I repeat the superset once. I will admit I had to use the weight assist for the pull-ups, which was a jab to my ego. I expect that as I lose a few pounds and get a bit stronger, this will change.

I hit the treadmill for a 15 minute interval session and then headed to the Precor stretch cage to finish up. All-in-all it took about 90 minutes and I was absolutely worn out by then end of it. I was really pleased that I kept my intensity level high for the whole workout, but know there will be plenty of days where that will be a challenge.

After this workout on Monday night, I played nine holes Tuesday evening. I was shocked at how sore I was and recommend not starting an intense workout plan on a day before you plan on playing any type of competitive round. Luckily this round was not competitive because I could barely take the club away!

I'm feeling better today and will be hitting the gym again tonight after some more (much needed) short game practice. My plan calls for me to go Monday, Wednesday & Friday and I'll be doing the Core Performance movement prep for golfers on a daily basis. I'll keep you updated on the progress...

Day 1 - Back to basics...

After two poorly played rounds this weekend, I viewed this Monday as a new beginning. In order to take my game to the next level, I need to get back in the gym and resume practicing.

I truly enjoy doing both, but finding the time is difficult. Usually by this time of the year, I've played enough that my game doesn't need as much work as it does in the beginning of the season. However, that has not been the case this year.

I have a pretty good work schedule for a golfer. I head into the office early and typically get off between 3:30 & 4:00pm. During the summer months, I could play every day of the week. Being a husband and a homeowner makes that a little bit difficult, but I try to take advantage of my schedule when I can.

Yesterday, instead of just heading to the club and playing as many holes as I could before dinner, I actually practiced! And I actually practiced the shots that can help you lower your score quickly: those from around the green. For over an hour I hit my bread-and-butter pitch and chip shots with my trusty 58* wedge. I gave myself different lies and tried to control my spin and trajectory. I also worked on some other shots that I use less frequently, like bump-and-run shots with my 4 & 6-irons and standard shots with my pitching wedge (which I usually over-complicate by using the 58* or 64* wedge!).

I love seeing the look on my playing partner or opponent's face after I put a little sauce on a pitch shot and check it up right next to the stick. However, for your average golfer seeking consistent results, using the standard bump-and-run is a much more effective and practical shot. It's nice to have the option to hit the shot you need, but I'm really going to try to focus on getting the ball on the ground as quickly as possible when it's the best option.

After my practice session, I hit the gym. I'm using the Core Performance program for golfers and I'll detail my workouts in future posts.

The Intro...

My goal in golf is simple. Like millions of golfers, I dream of shooting an even par round and eventually shooting under par. The focus of this blog will be my journey to get there. I probably won't be able to refrain from commenting on the current events in the world of golf, as well course and equipment reviews, but I'm going to try to keep the primary focus on my journey towards breaking par and eventually (hopefully) playing scratch golf. Perhaps it will help you on your own journey.

I'm sure you're dying to know more about me, so I'll give you a brief intro. I'm 27 years old and have been playing golf for as long as I can remember. In high school, I briefly flirted with the idea of trying out for the golf team, but instead tried out for the baseball team. I thought baseball would be more "cool" to play.

My high school baseball team was led by Yankees' slugger Mark Texeira and White Sox' pitcher Gavin Floyd. Due to LOFT (Lack Of F***ing Talent), I didn't make the team, yet never did reconsider trying out for the golf team and barely touched a club over the next several years.

When I was 19, I began working part-time at a retail golf store and this reinvigorated my love of the game. I worked within the golf business for several years, eventually running that same golf shop that hired me, before transitioning into the "real world". Oddly enough, once I was out of the golf business, I found that I had much more time to actually play golf.

Over the past four years, I have been playing about 2-3 times per week during golf season (March-November in Baltimore) and my handicap has gone from the 10-12 range to as low as a 4.3 index. My home course is Rolling Road Golf Club in Catonsville, MD, which is a par 70 track designed by Willie Park, Jr. (who also designed the North course at Olympia Fields & the Old course at Sunningdale, won two British Opens, and was the first professional to write a book on golf instruction). This is where I play 90% of the time and it serves as a great test for all areas of your game.

Recently, I stood on the 15th tee at Rolling Road even par for the day and proceeded to bogey three of the final four holes to shoot 73. I've shot 73 several times now and my low round in medal play competition is 74. However, I haven't been able to breakthrough that barrier.

That round got my juices flowing to take my game to the next level, but the play that has followed over the past few weeks has been less than inspiring. My handicap index is now 6.5 and I feel further away from even par than I have in quite some time.

However, I do have a plan! Project Under Par is my plan to take my game to the next level through fitness and practice. I won't shy away from seeking professional help and plan to make some swing changes once the competitive golf season comes to a close.