Q School Recap

I’m sitting here on the outside looking in, yet again.  It’s very frustrating to have done what I did today.  I shot 77 today and in the end missed out on a card by 3 strokes.

Today was my chance to go out an play well and lock up a card…and I didn’t.  I’m disappointed and that’s it.  I’ve learned to not was my energy thinking about what could have been.  Right now, I’m evaluating my stats and my rounds and trying to figure out what went wrong this week.  The thing that sticks out the most is how few fairways and greens I hit this week.  Normally, this is the best part of my game.  My only thought is that trusting the changes I’ve made this off season was difficult over the course of 4 rounds.

It’s a bummer, but I’m far from discouraged!  I’m handling this better than any of the previous failed attempts at Q School.  My focus is on great practice over the weekend and the Monday Qualifier for the Times Colonist Open in Victoria.

I don’t have status on the Canadian Tour, but that doesn’t mean I can’t still work hard and play great golf this summer…it’ll just be a little more spread out where I’ll be playing.

I’ve dealt with much worse things in my life and I’ll be just fine in the wake of this poor round of golf, because that’s all it was… a poor round of golf.

Round 3 Recap

Round 3’s in the books and I managed to stay idle.  I shot 73 and still sit in T13, 1 stroke out of a conditional card and 6 strokes out of a full card.

One could look at it and say that today’s round was a decent round relative to the field…but today’s round really made me shake my head when it was all over.  I made so many dumb little mistakes today.  I had 4 penalty strokes and 3 putted twice.  Just wasting strokes away!

Today was really an internal struggle.  2008 Andrew showed up with the terribly timed poor swings.  2009 Andrew climbed back time and time again with patience and birdies at the right time.  The 3 putts were not acceptable but a little less frustrating given the poa annua greens taking the ball for some unwelcome bounces.

I’m frustrated that I didn’t make a move up the board, but I’m still very optimistic about tomorrow.  I finally struck the ball well today, hitting 13 greens.  With the exception of a loose drive and two irons into some water, the ball striking was solid.

My goal for tomorrow is to keep striking the ball solidly, find some more fairways, and trust my putter.  If I stay patient and trust my abilities, I will play well.  Like I’ve said all week, the goal is to play well.  I’ve played well all week with the exception of a few holes each round.  Here’s to hoping that tomorrow will be the first round of the week that comes together and I play well all day!

Round 2…

Well, today was a tough go around Morningstar.  I struggled with all aspects of my game, and it was certainly a huge test for my patience.

I shot 75 today.  Made 3 sloppy bogeys in the first 8 holes.  I turned it around between 9-14 where I never had a putt outside 12 feet for birdie.  I made 2 of them and burned the hole on 2 more.  The last 4 holes were terrible.  I feel back into the sloppy play from the first 8 and made 2 bogeys.  Needless to say, I was a little bummed after finishing as poorly as I did.

I fell back to T13 and sit 4 strokes back of a full card, and 2 strokes back of a conditional card.  I had some great practice after the round and feel like today was just a minor bump along the way.  I hope to go out tomorrow and stay patient and play well.

Round 1 Results

One round under the belt, and I’m happy with where I stand.  I shot 2 under today and sit T8, 3 strokes out of the lead.  The round was a great way to start this event.  I came out hot with 5 birdies in my first 8 holes, but cooled right off to 2 under.  My putter wasn’t there for me late in the round like I would have expected.

That being said, I’m very encouraged moving forward.  My confidence is still very high; and with every round I play, I’m learning to believe in myself more and more.  The goal was to play well, and I did.  The goal remains the same for tomorrows round.  I’m going out there to play well and that’s the only concern!

I tip it at 7:40 pst tomorrow.  I’ll tweet immediately following the round on how it went.  Follow along at twitter.com/andrewjensen

Victory Recap

I’m sitting here on my flight from Ottawa to Vancouver, allowing what happened on Wednesday to sink in a little bit more.  It’s amazing what some time to reflect and journal about a round of golf can do for the confidence!

Wednesday was a special day.  Winning a golf tournament is always exciting, regardless of the field, event or tour… we want to win.  That being said, going into the round and throughout the round, the thought of winning was never the intention.  The intention of the day was to play well.  I went into the round wanting to see if I could trust my recent work and play well in competition looking for a boost of confidence heading into Q School.

The day started a little suspect with a double from 100 yards on my second hole.  I didn’t lose focus though, I still knew I could play well.  I birdied the next hole and knew that more could come.  The day just kept moving in the right direction.  I was playing the course for the first time so I was conservatively hitting 3 wood off all the tees.  Luckily, all my short game work paid huge dividends.  I got up and down from inside 120 yards all day.  6 Birdies and a bogey later, I stood on the 18th tee at 3 under thinking I was near the top of the leader board.

I laid up to 130 yards on the par 5 and was faced with a difficult and exciting shot to a tucked pin.  The leader board behind the green was too hard to look away from.  I saw that 3 under had been posted and was leading, with only myself and 2 other guys left on the course who could match it.

What took place for my approach shot is something that will be great for future situations like this in my career.  I began to think ahead about what could happen with a birdie, par, and bogey.  I shook it off and did my routine, but still had some bad thoughts over the ball.  I had to back away and start the routine over again.  I threw myself back into the moment and the shot at hand and ignored the consequences.  I proceeded to hit the best shot to date of my short career.  I stuffed it to 3 and a half feet from the stick!  The putt was easy and my trust in the routine really helped me beat the nerves and roll it in.

The 2 other players couldn’t match my round and I won!  It was great to hold up the trophy at the end of the day.

My confidence got the exact boost it needed heading into Q School this coming Tuesday.  I’m going into the event focused on maintaining the same thoughts and intentions to play well, and to accept where that leaves me on the leader board.  I’m left to trust that my playing well will be enough for me to be smiling after the final round next Friday.

First Win!

That’s right, I won my first professional tournament on Wednesday!  I won the Great Lakes Tour event held in Newmarket, ON at Silver Lakes GC with a 4 under 68.  I’ll write a recap of the day on my plane ride to Victoria tomorrow.  I just wanted to post the exciting news!

What’s Now

It’s a rainy day here in Ottawa, and I’m enjoying having a day to rest and reflect on what’s taken place over the past few weeks, and also look ahead to what’s coming up in less than two weeks.

The past month’s been amazing.  My progress forward has been very encouraging.  I’ve been working very hard with my coach on a few different things.  The first thing has been my setup and plane of the club.  It’s been very difficult to make these changes after years of bad habits that have hurt my consistency under pressure.  That being said, we are only working on that on the practice tee.  When we’re on the course, the focus is playing golf, not golf swing.  This has been a challenge as well.  My knee jerk reaction to poor shots was to immediately analyze the swing and this took my focus off getting the ball in the hole.  All and all the work’s been very good and encouraging, and my consistency is drastically improving.

I’ve also been putting in lots of work with the flat stick.  I went on a Tomi Putting Machine and it was great for my stroke.  I’ve become aware of some flaws in the stroke and I’m working very hard on improving.  That being said, all the work on the stroke is without a hole.  When I work on the stroke that’s the only focus, not getting the ball in the hole.  When I practice with a hole, the only focus is the target and the stroke doesn’t matter.  This has been great work, that’s really paid off on the course.

I’m also playing more golf now than I would usually like too.  I’m focusing on my routine and thought management on the course, and that’s it.  I’m working on thinking in the think box, committing, and then playing in the play box. It’s been very productive.  After every round I evaluate my mental game and how I managed my thoughts and it has been a steady learning curve.

I’ll be playing another one round Great Lakes event on the 20th and I’m excited to go out there and play golf and manage my thoughts properly in and effort to prepare for the pressure of Q School on the 26th.  I’ll be flying out to BC on the 23rd and I couldn’t be more fired up!  My confidence is rising more every day and I can’t wait to go out there and do what I know I can do.

Expect a blog after my round on the 20th

It’s all about the process

Yesterday was my first event on the Great Lakes Tour.  Unfortunately, it was a less than stellar debut.  The weather was cold, wet, and windy…which are conditions that I’m actually very happy to compete in.  Pairing my comfort with the weather with the good vibes I had entering this event(after a long month of hard work back home in Ottawa) I went into the round expecting to play well.  Most importantly, I went into the round with the hope to find my feet again in competition after a month and a half away from it.

The first tee was awful!!!  I have no explanation for what happened, but I laid the sod over two consecutive 3 woods and dumped them both into the hazard in front of the tee.  I walked off the first hole with a quintuple bogey 9.  Frustrating, to say the least.

I chose to make the best of the blunder.  I told myself that if I made a 2 or a 9, my mental approach would have to be the same; I’d have to attack the next 17 holes with the same mindset or patience and focus and ultimately the ability to stay present.

This was a big victory for me mentally.  I didn’t let myself get concerned with what others would say or think about me playing yet another poor round, but focused on me and trying to hit great golf shots.  I played the next 17 holes well, not great but well.  I drove it well, hit a descent amount of greens, but struggled with my reads on the greens.  I played the next 17 at 2 over par, not stunning play, but play that re-assured me of the work thats been put in will pay off with patience.

So, I fired a 78 and finished well outside of the money.  But, that’s not what I’m concerning myself with.  I’m concerning myself with the process.  This round is just part of it.  I have to assess the day and take the positives and move forward, with my focus set on my next event, a one day great lakes event on the 12th of May.

If I keep moving in the right direction, this year WILL be the great year that I’m hoping for.

April Update

I hope this blog finds you well.  It’s been a while since my last entry and I apologize.

Things have been coming along great back home here in Ottawa.  I’ve been getting a lot of great work done in the gym and on the range.  The weather has finally turned the corner and the Canadian golf season is upon us.

Courses opened this week and I got my first local round in on Thursday at a course I’d never seen before.  I went out with some good friends and had a great time.  Highlight of the round was firing my first career course record!  I was very happy to finally accomplish this feat.  Now I’m encouraged to do it more often on more courses!!

I’m currently planning my tournaments for 2009 and I’m looking forward to getting back into competition.  The only thing dictating where and when I’ll start competing is the finances.  With the economic state and my poor play from last year, my sponsor hunt is getting a little challenging.  I’m not discouraged though!  I believe that my break will come.  I’m working so hard on my game so that I’ll make great use of the break(when it comes).

All and all, things are great here!  I’m loving being home.  It’s recharging my batteries and motivating me like never before.

I think my first event will be an 18 hole Great Lakes Tour event on April 28th.  I’ll keep you posted on how it goes and what will follow.

Q School Wrap Up

Well, Q School is finished, and I’m disappointed to have not gotten status back out on tour.  I played well today and shot another 2 under, 70.  This was only good for confidence since my second and third rounds really took me out of the race for a card.

This is not what I had worked toward nor expected.  It’s very humbling to work very hard for months in preparing for these four days and coming up short.  It’s a very different feeling than that of missing out last fall at Q School.  I’m not as defeated, discouraged, or depressed as I was in September, so that is progress in the right direction.

I learned a few important things this week about both my game and myself personally.  I learned that my game is SOOOOO good.  I’m making great strides of improvement with my abilities to play elite golf.  My stats were great this week, all and all my stats were better than all of last year, which is forward progress.  My mental game and my putting was solid, not great but solid enough to compete.

More importantly, I learned what is really holding me back.  When things got rough during the second round I was attacked with thoughts of “you did it again, you always do this, you always screw it up”.  Which looking back, was the thoughts to killed me all of 2008.  I tried to ignore them going into the third round but once the struggles came the same negative talk came.  Bottom line, I have to work hard on my self-belief, self-confidence, and self-talk on the golf course.  Failures happen, they don’t mean I’m a failure, I have to truly believe this if I’m to succeed as a pro golfer.

Today I went out with positive self talk and self belief as the sole objective, and it was a great experience.  I didn’t play perfect golf, I made mistakes, I left a lot out there, but not once did I let the negative talk get into my head and bring me down.  I’m very happy with todays round.

The fact that I succeeded today at a positive self-belief encourages me into knowing that I can get back out on tour.  I don’t really know what the path will look like next…and that’s okay.  Believe me, I’m still going to be working hard on getting better. This tournament just brought another thing to my attention that needs to be improved, so it’s not all lost.

Sometimes we have to take some steps backwards before we can go forward again…and I’m okay with that because at the end of the day, I’ll still be moving in the right direction

I have a long trip back home to Ottawa to think about what’s next.  I’ll write about what my future will hold when I have a better idea.  I do know one thing though, I need to get a regular job as soon as I get home.  Not the dream scenario but all part of the process!