andrew scott jensen

I’m back in Starbucks, reflecting over the last few days. I have been sticking to the routine since I set out to make that adjustment.

I have run into yet another little snag now: golfing vs. practicing? (I know, my life is so rough right now, haha)

I have never been one to golf everyday of the week. Since I became a competitive golfer, the longest stretch of rounds played were in competition. I always used the time between rounds to work on my game.

I have played 5 casual rounds in the past 6 days. It is starting to take its toll on my game and mind.
When golf becomes casual, my mind slips and my focus fades, forcing my game to fade. Usually; whenever mistakes happen in a round, I log them and know what to work on on the practice range. Unfortunately, playing golf every day has forced me to work on those mistakes on the course, which then promotes…

you guessed it… more mistakes.

I have made a point to have no rounds planned until Saturday (which is a competitive skins game). Having this round to work towards each week will keep me focused on the practice range and minimizes the ‘casual’ rounds that become detrimental for my game.

Maybe I am playing golf more to fight the loneliness I am feeling. Golfing takes my mind away from everything for a few hours. Time on the range still allows me to think about all that I am missing out on with the life and love I left behind. It’s time for me to remember why I am doing this and overcome the loneliness and bust my butt to get better each day and climb the professional ladder as fast as I can.

My first tournament is 3 weeks away with the pre-qualifier for the Honda Classic in West Palm, Fla. I have 3 weeks to improve on the good things I am doing(driving, putting, course management) and improve on the not so good things(chipping, iron play).

Here’s to all the hard work to be put in over the next few weeks…

I find myself back in the local Starbucks with the soft and relaxing sounds of Jon Foreman’s latest solo work in my ears.  This is one of the nicest Starbucks I have been in, the patio here is fantastic.  I’m just hoping for some warmer Florida weather so that I can use the patio to it’s full potential.  Until then, I’m sitting in a very comfortable chair hugging the window to keep a close eye on my truck(can you really blame me?).

The weather here is turning around.  Today was close to the 80’s thanks to the blazing Florida sun.  I am using the turning of the weather as my motivation to make a turn for the better in my training routine.

Since getting down here my routine has been destroyed.  It is frustrating because I have always leaned on the strength of routine to keep me driven and focused.

Back home it was the same thing day in and day out for the 5 weeks leading up to my departure.  Hitting the gym at the same time each day, going to EFL at the same time each week, hitting balls at the Super Dome at the same time each week.  That routine was something that kept the fire burning for achieving my goals.

It has been a different story down here.  The only constant is when I wake up in the morning and the starter shifts I have at the golf course.  The rest of my days are the furthest thing from routine, and it is killing me.

My days have looked more like this for the past week or so: practice in the mornings(weather permitting), go for a run around Rosedale(weather permitting), work out(motivation permitting), watch MTV and the Disney Channel for hours each day.  There is something so mind draining about American television.  It just seems to suck me in. I can confidently say that I’ve seen ever episode of Hannah Montana ever aired.  It’s unbearable, but like a train wreck I can’t look away!
The turn in the weather today and the closing of the range(due to last nights rain) gave me some time to look inside and wade through the crap I’ve been watching and find my drive and motivation to make a routine and stick to it.  I’ve desiged a routine that I can stick to and will lead to improvements in my fitness,golf,nutrition,and use of spare time.

I never thought that the great routine I ingrained would have vanished as quickly as it did.  I am beginning to believe the challenge of creating a routine and sticking to it week in and week out on the road will certainly be difficult.  The key will be to create one that is flexible, leaving room or the unexpected.

Back home, there was very little that could have happened to throw off my routine.  I was rocked to the core at how quickly the unexpected changed my routine.  A great example of this was my car getting smashed into.  I would have never expected that, and consequently it messed up two days of my routine.  Lets just hope that the unexpected coming my way will be something good, like qualifying for a PGA or Nationwide event.  I would gladly allow my routine to be shaken for a week because of competing on that stage.

Here’s to tomorrow being the start of a great routine I can stick to.

I’m sitting here in the closest Starbucks I could find.  I have a feeling that these coffee shops will be my home away from home(or hotel) over the coming months.  I plan on coming here to look inside and try to put all my thoughts and emotions on page for you to read.

I started this blog to tell you what I am going through as a professional golfer. Its one thing to give updates on my day to day life on the road, but I feel more compelled to let people behind the scenes.  I want to let you know the emotional highs and lows that this experience will put me through.

So here goes…

One week into this journey I am yet to be ‘homesick’ but I’ve certainly had some rough patches.  The hardest thing is trying to wrap my mind around the distance and time between me and the people I love most.  I try not to think about, but sometimes it is inevitable and it is very depressing.  It gets hard when that depression and obvious loneliness forces me to look at my own life and my own heart and wonder if it will be strong enough to take this separation from familiarity.

Having so much time to myself is definitely a mixed blessing.  It forces me to reflect on everything imaginable; will I succeed? will that success change me? will it change my relationships? will I fail? will that failure change me or my relationships?

To be honest, it is not the failure that scares me.  Failure is safe and familiar and at times almost comforting.  Success is my biggest fear, it always has been and I am working on that through much prayer and reflection.  I realized this fear of mine a few years ago.  Thankfully God has done a great work in me since that realization and I am finally in a place where I am starting to embrace and even desire success more than failure.  That being said; it is still a work in progress, but I am ready for the challenge that this year will bring.

If this week is any indication, this year will be just as challenging for me spiritually as it will be for my golf game.  While typing this I realized something, no matter what happens this year and in the years to come; all the successes and failures, God won’t change.  If I am able to hold onto that truth this journey will be less and less frightening.

So…

This morning I woke up had my breakfast went and worked out in the garage of the house I’m staying at(sounds normal, right?)

what happened next was far from the norm… as I opened the garage door to go for a post workout run I had a rude awakening to say the least.

The passenger window of my truck was shattered!!! my brand new car not even a week into my season, was broken into. Luckily, all that they took was some cash I stupidly forgot in the car. Everything else was in the house so it is still intact.

I guess this is what I have to look forward to the rest of the year, maybe an alarm would be a wise investment.

now, I have to sit in the house all day and wait for someone to come by and repair the window. At least its a rainy day so I am not missing out on a lot of practice.

I still plan on playing my first round this afternoon, wish me luck

I’m here, after 24 hours of driving and 4 hours of sleeping.  I was a little excited, to get here, I went all day and night and got in at noon today.  And as you guessed it, I went right to the course to warm up and get in  a quick nine to shake off the rust.

I will be posting some pictures of the drive down, at least the daylight pictures I took.

…off to the hot tub

-andrew

Today was a huge day! I got a hold of  my new car, the car that will be getting me around North America to golf tournaments everywhere.  The great people at The Donnelly Automotive Group went above and beyond and sponsored me with a 2007 Chevy Trailblazer.  This SUV is amazing, so much more than what I expected.  This car will make my travel that much more comfortable and easier.

I can’t thank the people at Donnelly’s enough, for providing me this car.  Another huge thank you goes out to John Shea Insurance.  John has gone above and beyond and is insuring the car for me.

AMAZING!!

So many great things have happened since September, but this is by far the best thing.  I am leaving Sunday morning and I am looking forward to heading to Florida in style with this new truck.

keep looking back for some photos of my drive down to Fla.  I will post those up when I arrive on Monday.

-andrew

hey guys! as you can see i have changed the format of my blogging. this way is better if you the readers want to leave comments on my blogs, the old format wouldn’t allow that and really limited the communication between me and the readers.

business aside. I am leaving for Florida on Saturday for 3 months of practice in order to get ready to make a great runin my rookie year as a pro golfer.

I will make some more changes to this blog page to make it my own, but until then I hope this will do

-andrew