Lakeland Week 2 & book recommendation

Hi everyone,



After a relaxing weekend in Tampa (and taking in a Neil Diamond concert and a Tampa Bay Lightning game!) I teed it up at Imperial Lakes Country Club in a SunCoast tour event.



We were greeted with record low temperatures and windy conditions the first round (brrrr...). After a two over 38 on the front nine I limped in with 42 on the back to shoot 80. The wind over the last 4 holes produced 4 bogeys on my card. I knew I struck the ball too well that day, despite the conditions, to shoot a round that high. I was a bit fired up and ready for a comeback the next day.



Well, the next day was a comeback and I was able to harness my fire about my 1st round finish into a positive outcome. After a 1 over steady front nine (6 pars, 1 birdie, 2 bogeys) I finished with a one under 34 on the back. Highlights included birdies on 2 of my last 4 holes (a little revenge after the previous day's finish). An even par 72 put me in the mix for the final round.

I had a great pairing for the final round and had the opportunity to play with a solid Futures tour player and a current LPGA player and former US Women's Amateur Champion. My short game seemed to elude me, after being so strong the first 2 days, and I found myself 4 over after 14 holes. I was really hanging in there but two bogeys and one double bogey over the last 4 holes found me at 8 over par, 80.

It was really a good week for me. I feel like both rounds of 80 were the worst I could have shot and I learned so much from the experience this week. My ball striking over the past 4 events has improved dramatically; I am very pleased with my progress. Oh, and I did make a check which was great! You can check out full results by clicking here. I am excited and ready for Futures Qualifying this coming week!

I will be resting and doing some preparation over this weekend. You can follow results this week (we begin play on election day) at the Duramed Futures Tour website.

I wanted to share with you a book recommendation. I recently had the opportunity to re-connect with a college teammate, Bob Smiley. He is the author of a new book about Tiger Woods called Follow The Roar. Bob followed Tiger every hole of the 2008 season hoping to glean some wisdom from his play. The release date for the book is November 11th. Check it out!

Thanks for reading. More from Futures tour qualifying next week!

Mary

Lakeland Week 1 update

Hi everyone,

My first week in Lakeland is wrapping up. I competed in a SunCoast Series event at Huntington Hills, which is one of the courses we will compete on for Duramed Futures Tour qualifying. Check out full results.

I shot rounds of 77-79-77 to finish T27th. I have continued my streak of 8 rounds in a row under 80, which is definitely encouraging. What I thought I would do is tell you about my week in the Good, Better, How format. If you recall I used this way of analyzing my play in an earlier blog entry.

What was GOOD this week:

• Putting-I averaged 29.3 putts/round. Anything under 30 is pretty solid.
• Driving-I hit 85% of possible fairways this week.
• Up & Downs-I was able to get up and down for par 64% of the time and during the 1st round alone I got up and down 8 out of 11 times.
• Consistency-Made 14 pars each round. Really pleased with the steadiness.
• Decisiveness-Played briskly and assertively, with confidence. This has been a goal of mine.
• Transistion-Was pleased with my transistion back to Florida golf...bermuda grass and windy conditions are not typical during everyday play up north!

What I could have done BETTER:

• Over par holes- I had 2 doubles and 1 triple over the three rounds. Need to minimize my bad holes into bogey...no worse.
• Birdies- Not that you can control the putts falling in but I typically make a birdie or two per round.
• Greens in Regulation (GIR)-Averaged 38% over three rounds. This needs improvement!

HOW I will prepare for next week:

• Drills-Will continue to work on my ball striking to sharpen my irons.
• Putting-Will work on mechanics and distance control for long putts but also on specific drills to "make" putts. For example, I like the 8 birdie drill. Setup 8 tees around a cup anywhere from 3-20 feet. Going through your routine, see how many of these birdie opportunities you can make.

It was a good week and with a bit more polish (and less doubles/triples and more birdies!) I will be in good shape for this coming week for the SunCoast event at Imperial Lakes.

I also wanted to take an opportunity to introduce you to Tom Lynch. At the end of August, at the prompting of my mother, I decided to see Tom for a few lessons. He is located in Allentown, PA, my mom's hometown. We have been working together since then on my full-swing and short game and I am pleased with results I have seen in just a short time. I have been hitting the ball longer, stronger and definitely straighter. More of my misses are pin high or long of the green. Before seeing Tom Lynch my stroke average on the Futures tour was 80.63; my stroke average from the Albany, NY Futures event including the last 3 events (NE Open, MD Open, SunCoast-Huntington Hills) is 77.8. Very exciting! I am continuing to work with Tom Garner on my short game, putting and course management. I am fortunate to have such a great team!

That is all for now. I will be resting and practicing this weekend as well as enjoying a Neil Diamond concert and Tampa Bay Lightning game. I will tee it up again on Tuesday, October 28th so check the SunCoast Series website and look for an update from me next week!

Until then,

Mary

MD Open results

Hi everyone,



I had a solid 2 days at the Maryland Open finishing in a tie for 7th place (pros) and tie for 8th overall. I also finished "in the money."! Here are some more details:



I shot rounds of 77-79 over the 5,900 yds CC at Woodmore. In the first round I had 3 birdies shooting even par 37 on the front and 4 over 40 on the back. It was a pretty consistent day as I made nothing worse than bogey.



The second round featured 2 birdies, 4 bogeys and 2 triple bogeys. The triple bogeys were frustrating but in both cases I was able to learn something valuable so that I am prepared when I encounter a similiar situation in the future. I was pleased with my steadiness, despite the two holes, and was very pleased with playing the back nine in one over par after a triple on #12.



The course was in great shape and the greens were definitely speedier the second round. I had 34 putts the second day, which is above my norm of 30, as I think it took me the first few holes to adjust accordingly. To give you an idea I hit the first 4 greens in regulation but 3 putted 3 of them for bogey. Fortunately, I adjusted quickly and got back on track.



What I am truly encouraged about is my greens in regulation stat. I hit 8 greens in regulation the first round and 13 greens in regulation the 2nd round. This is a stat that I have really focused on in my practice and preparation and I am definitely seeing improvement!



A special thanks to my friend and caddie, Matt Aument. Matt has caddied for me in Gettysburg over the past two years and he made the short trip from the Baltimore area to caddie for me this week. His family also let me stay with them the evening before the first round so I wouldn't have to make the long trek from Arlington, VA. Love that DC traffic!

Also a special thanks to my dear friends, Elaine and Bart Jeffress. I enjoyed catching up with them and staying in their beautiful townhouse in Arlington, VA. It was also good to see my friend Andy Krauss, a co-worker from my Gainesville days.

I arrived in Jacksonville early this afternoon after some "eventful" travel (had some car trouble), but was thankful that I made the auto train so I didn't have to drive the long stretch from VA to FL. I have a week to get settled and get some practice in before I head to Lakeland for 3 weeks to play in the two SunCoast events and Futures tour qualifying. I will keep you updated!

Mary

New England Open Results

Hi Friends,

Just a quick note to let you know I finished T11th at the New England Women's Open on September 30th-October 1st. I shot 2 pretty solid rounds....77, 76. No birdies for two days, which is not like me, but made nothing worse than bogey in two rounds. Was certainly pleased with my consistency and pleased with averaging 30 putts over two days and hitting 8.5 greens. We played the beautiful Shelter Harbor GC in Charlestown, RI. What a beautiful golf course and so much fun to play (think links style rustic golf, with lots of natural rocks).

It was a wonderful 3 days in coastal RI and coastal CT (Mystic). I had an opportunity to stay with my dear friend, Gina Yoder, and do some local siteseeing in the area.

I am encouraged as I make my drive south! My next event is the Maryland Open, October 6-7th. More to report soon!

Mary

ps I hope the NEPGA will publish full results. I will put up a link as soon as they do.