What I Learned in 2009 #4

I can work harder

This year; thanks to a fire that sparked in my belly last November, I worked harder than I have ever before.  Due to my minimal status on the Can Tour and playing only 1 and 2 day events over the summer, I was given much more time at home in Ottawa to work on my game.

I spent many many hours working with my new coach on all aspects of my game.  The main focus for 2009 was to work on playing golf and not playing golf swing.  I conditioned myself to change my focus and it was great!  I made huge improvements in my swing and consistency as a ball striker.  All of my ball striking stats improved from 2008, and it was very motivating to see the results.

I worked very hard on my mental improvements both on and off the course.  Thanks in large part to an immersion into yoga, I felt an increased patience and focus when playing, practicing, when preparing my mind for a tournament.  The breath work I gained from yoga really helped me stay present and enjoy every moment of a competitive round of golf.

Physically, I made improvements in my strength and flexibility off the course.  This has paid dividends on my golf game by allowing me to get more out of my practice and getting my swing to the places it needs to be.

Having said all of this…it’s still not enough.  What I mean by this is not as negative as it sounds.  I work very hard; but when I look back and evaluate it, I can work harder.  There really are no limits to how hard I can and need to work if I want to have a great career.  The common trend with the top players is how hard and smart they work, none of them are there because of talent alone or by accident.

I keep track of all the hours of deliberate practice I put into my pursuit of mastery as a golfer. I firmly believe that mastery can be achieved after 10,000 hrs of pursuit, and I’m well on my way.  I set out goals for the year, month, and even day of how many hours I can put in.  I achieved many of my daily and monthly goals, but not my yearly goal for 2009.  This right here is why I feel I can work harder.  At the end of the day I ask myself the question, “did you work harder today than yesterday?”  Often times the answer is yes, but there are times where I have to be honest with myself and say no.

So…I can and will work harder in 2010!

What I learned in 2009 #3

Putting is everything

Much like I learned last year, putting still means everything on tour.  This year I gained a deeper knowledge of this truth.  Great putting turns solid ball striking into low scores as well as saving days of poor ball striking.

This year my putting was better but not how I had expected it to be.  My scoring averaged lowered but my putting average stayed the same as 2008.  A huge factor in this is that I three putted far less this year, but I made less crucial birdie putts.  Since my overall game has improved a great deal, I was in position to shoot many low rounds.  Unfortunately, I was capped from going lower than 3-4 under due to uninspired putting.

I will continue to work on my putting in my quest to be the best putter on the planet.  All the while I will continue to learn and re-learn that putting is everything and it will be the separating factor between a good career and a great career.

What I Learned in 2009 #2

I can win

I’ve always believed this but never actualized it.  Sure, I’ve won some junior golf tournaments and one college event, but never gained confidence from the wins.  My comfort zone was top 3 my entire amateur career, and I was very happy with those finishes, never too bummed about not winning but content with a good tournament.  As it turns out this attitude kept me from really being a great winner.

Luckily, things change when you turn pro.  What you did as an amateur means very little.  If you can’t win as a pro and handle the pressure of being in a position to win; simply put, you won’t make it very far.  So I needed to KNOW I could win, and urgently.

This year I learned a very important lesson, I learned that I can win!  How? Well, because I won a golf tournament.  Winning this event did huge things for my confidence and self belief.  I can always look back on that round of golf and the pressure I handled so well.  I birdie the last hole to win by one! I couldn’t have asked for a better scenario!  I will never forget that moment when I had to hit my wedge and give myself a chance to win.  I handled my inner demons and executed.  This will never be taken away from me and will always be in my memory bank when faced with similar situations in the future.

Having won a one round tournament has only pushed me to want to win 2,3, and 4 round events.  I desire to win because I now know what it feels like…
and I love that feeling.

I’m no longer afraid of winning.  I’m no longer afraid of leaving my comfort zone of high finishes and ‘good’ tournaments. I’ve gained more of a killer instinct.  I tee it up to win and that’s it.  Sure, the psychology and my focus does change when working back from the goal, but I still carry the desire to win with me because now I know I can win!

What I learned in 2009 #1

The game doesn’t owe me anything

Last year, I often felt that I was owed something from the game.  What I mean by this is that I felt that when working hard and paying my dues, I was supposed to see results right away.  I quickly realized that this is not true.  Golf doesn’t owe anything to anyone.

I started to grow wise to this knowledge when in Chile last November.  I was practicing after missing the cut and had a great talk with a good friend and veteran pro, Kent Fukushima.  Kent encouraged me to keep working hard but to remember that golf doesn’t owe me a thing.  Coming to this realization really helped me develop better patience on and off the course.  It was fitting that my last round of the year in Costa Rica was paired with Fuk and his encouragement really propelled me into 2009.

This year was a lesson in patience.  I upped my work ethic a great deal and felt confident about achieving my goals.  Upon working very hard and missing out on getting my card at Florida Q School, I was not at all discouraged.  I kept me head up and kept working hard towards BC Q School, all the while staying patient and continually reminding myself that I’m not owed a thing by the game.  This really has helped me get out of the “…but I worked so hard, I deserve better” mind set when dealing with bad rounds or tournaments.

In May, after going into Q School on an absolute high…I missed out on my card. Again, I wasn’t discouraged in the least.  I stayed positive and focused on working hard no matter what.  Throughout an up and down summer, I stayed patient and never felt entitled to great results because “I worked so hard”.

Come September, this mind set really helped me through Q School.  The patience I gained this year helped me play solid for those 4 days.  Even with my poor finish at Q School and my conditional card for 2010, my patience is still intact.  Golf doesn’t owe me anything and I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be in my career…and I’m 100% okay with that.

Reflecting on 2009

I sit here on a chilly December evening, looking back on my 2009.  Last year, I did this reflection in late September immediately removed from all competition.  It was great to reflect on my season…but it was 3 months too soon.  I’ve learned that I need some time to decompress, to take my mind completely off the game before coming back to it.  I’ve done this, and now I’m ready to look back on 2009 and allow this reflection to be my motivation for 2010.

Looking back over the year, I learned some new things along with gaining new perspective on things I’ve already known.  What stands out most about 2009 is how much I learned about myself.  After going through all the hardships of 2008 I was in a terrible place last November.  Going to South America was the best thing that happened to me in many years.  I grew wise to my own faults and the lies I was telling myself.  Those 3 weeks in the sun pushed me into 2009 with a renewed work ethic and confidence.  The goal was to let my time in South America snowball into a fantastic 2009.

2009 was fantastic!  It wasn’t exactly how I had planned it out, but it was great nonetheless and I wouldn’t have asked for it any other way.  I learned so much this year.  So much about myself and the game.  Over the coming days I will publish my insights into 2009 and all that it brought… I hope you enjoy it!

November update 2

It’s the last day of November and this is only my second update on my yoga/run challenge month!  I haven’t had much time to sit and reflect on what has been happening this month due in large part to my very busy work schedule.  Working two jobs for the past 6 weeks has been very difficult on my time management.  In short, I haven’t had much time to do anything outside of working.

I realized very quickly that maintaining this work schedule would be too much over the coming months home in Ottawa.  I’ve stepped back my work at the restaurant and I’m happy with my full time hours at lululemon.  Freeing up more time will allow me to put in the proper effort on hitting balls indoors and maintaining an intense fitness regiment.

As for the yoga/run challenge…it was great.  I averaged 3 classes a week for the month which in total is more yoga than I have done in my life leading up to November.  My flexibility has increased dramatically! I’m very happy with where I’m at, but still looking for improvements!  My cardio endurance has increased a great deal as well.  Thanks to the breathing techniques form yoga, I can run for a longer period of time and stay focused on the stride as opposed to getting caught up on how many minutes I have left to run.

The month was great but it certainly re-opened my eyes to the words of my trainer from back in ‘07; “there isn’t one sole way to go about getting in great shape, we need a combination of it all”.  This was very apparent when I worked out with him this past Thursday.  My muscle endurance fell off a great deal thanks to no time in the gym and too much time in a yoga classroom.

Looking back, the objective of the month was met, along with many things learned and re-learned about myself and my off course training.  From here on out, I’ll take 2 yoga classes a week, mostly yin classes to work on flexibility in the connective tissues of my muscles.  My gym routine will get back in motion along with a more diverse cardio routine.  I’m very excited to use the coming months to see just how fit I can get in preparation for the 2010 season, which kicks off on the Can Tour in April in Mexico!(more on that later…)

Novmember update 1

I hope this blog finds you well,

I’m 12 days into my November routine and things are going great!  The dive into nothing but yoga has been both very fun and very challenging.  Last week, after 4 straight days of yoga, my body and mind gave up on me and yoga was the last thing I wanted to do.  I wouldn’t have expected that to happen so quickly but surprisingly enough it did.

Looking back, I’m glad the burnout hit me so quickly because it’s forced me to dig deep already and stick this out no matter what.

I find that doing nothing but yoga is great but I still need to work on upping my core strength in order to get through some of the more intense classes and postures.  So the plan is been re-vamped slightly so that I’m still working on my core at the gym on the days I’m working through my running program.  This is all for the better because it’s forcing me to really increase my attention to a total fitness makeover.  After this month I’ll have laid a great foundation to work on building more strength throughout my swing in Dec-Jan.

Back to the present… I’ve done 2 classes so far this week, and hope to do 2 more.  I’m looking to keep up the 4 classes a week routine, just spreading them out a bit more.  So far, I’ve noticed a huge increase in my flexibility, I can get deeper into certain postures that have really challenged me in the past.  It’s great overcoming minor milestones with each class because it shows me that things are moving forward.

Ultimately the goal of this is to aid my journey toward greatness on the the golf course, and every step forward is very encouraging even if it’s in a yoga studio.  Mental and physical breakthroughs are just parlayed into motivation for the golf game work coming in Dec-Jan…very exciting stuff!

Off-season Fitness Plan

It’s November, my off-season is officially underway.  Part of paying my dues and grinding through the process of making it to the PGA Tour is working “real” jobs in the off-season.  This winter I’ll be working two jobs; one retail job at Lululemon and a serving job at Boston Pizza.

The job at Lulu has given me greater access to the yoga culture that I was introduced to this past January.  This leads me to my latest endeavor towards improvement as a golfer.

This November I will devote all of my fitness work towards yoga and focused run training.  I want to switch it up to see how my mind and body can benefit from a total change of pace.  Yoga has been amazing for my flexibility, core strength, and most importantly my mental strength.  I’m hoping that a concentrated effort with yoga over this month will  add to my growth as a player.

The running kick is an effort to increase my stamina and endurance.  I’ll be training with the help of the Podrunner Interval podcast with specific goals in mind.  If I commit mentally to reaching these endurance goals, it can only help my mind and body when it comes to staying strong over the course of 72 long holes in a tournament.

I’ll still lift once a week to maintain my muscle mass, but I’m not at all focused on increasing my strength through weight training but solely through yoga.

To keep myself engaged and keep my blog active, I’ll blog my way through this experience.  I’ll be open and honest about what I can notice happening throughout this process, stay tuned…

Video Update

DQ’d in Markham

As the title suggests, I was DQ’d for the first time ever in my golfing life this past Monday.  Not exactly the return to competition I was anticipating after Q school.

Monday was the first round of a 36 hole platinum event on the Great Lakes Tour.  Thanks to overnight and morning rains, the round was delayed and my tee time was pushed from 10:50 to 1:20.  I was actually quite happy with this since I have been battling a terrible cold since Sunday.  We played 5 holes before the horn was sounded and we had to come in and wait out some more weather passing through the area.

This is where my DQ fell.  When the horn sounded, my two other playing partners had already holed out and I was the only one left to putt.  We were all unsure as to whether the horn was signaling us to come off the course or hit our next shot and take shelter.  I erred the wrong way.  I made my par putt after the siren, which promptly disqualified me from the event.  5 holes in and I was playing well, it’s very unfortunate to say the least.

What’s more is the fact that the second round was cancelled due to an unplayable course.  I was in prime shape to post a solid first round which would have cashed me a nice check and moved me up the order of merit.

I held my place on the order of merit and need a great show at the year end tour championship next week to finish in the top 10.  This was one of my goals for the year on this tour.  Considering that I will only play 10 events compared to most others playing 15, this would be a respectable campaign out on the GLT.

The tour championship is in Brantford on the 6-7 of Oct.  I’m heading for a 4 day getaway to Calgary tomorrow.  I’m excited to head out there and spend some time with one of my closest friend and his family.  It’ll be a nice change of pace to not be in the same city as my golf clubs for a few days!