Back in the States

I have been back in the States now for a full week and it has certainly been great to be back. I have had the chance to catch up with most of my friends as well as meet some new ones. We have shared a couple drinks and a few laughs. Today was spent out at Lake Minnetonka for my mates birthday. His wife organised a little surprise for him and we all had a great day out there.
I have been practicing and playing everyday. My game feels nice and I have really enjoyed putting on the smooth bent grass greens. The next three days I have a couple games and a qualifier for the Minnesota Open. My goals are simple. I want to go out with a great attitude and play each shot with 100 percent focus and commitment. I look forward to the challenge.
Hope everyone is well. Keep an eye out for my next blog.

Reflection of the last 8 months

My time at home here in Australia has flown by. So much so that at times I didn't even realise exactly how much fun I was having. Not everything fell into place as I had planned on the golfing front but that's just fine, it's all part of my journey to getting to where I want to be. What I appreciate most about home is my family and friends. No matter where I go in the world or how long I am away coming home to as much love as I have can't be beaten. I will miss everyone while I am away, as I always do, and I will look forward to again being able to do the things we love when I am back home again.
Today I played at Indooroopilly golf club with Richie. We went out and played with a free mind and a carefree fun approach. I was just how I wanted to be on the course. I played an up and down round in tough conditions but I was happy with my days work. Richie provided some great feedback which suggested he thought the same thing. I have really appreciated that I have been able to spend some extended time with Rich. He knows me very well as a person and knows my golf swing down to every detail. His advice, be it on golfing or not, is priceless and I know we are on the track we want to be.
Tomorrow I will get up early and sneak in a little workout before one last little range session with Rich. It will be more a talk about things than anything and I have a little surprise gift I want to give him. After that I will head to work for my final shift at Dan Murphy's. I have really enjoyed my time working there, I have met some great people and have learned a lot about an industry that I previously knew very little about. Following work I will spend my last evening home with my family. Kaitlin is coming over for dinner and it will be great to have everyone together one last time.
I hope everyone is well. Keep an eye out for my next blog which will be coming from the US.

Super Caddy

Today I caddied for Rika Batibasaga a good friend of mine. He is competing in the Keperra Bowl which is a national selection event here in Australia. Rika is an exceptionally talented player whose ball striking matches some of the best touring professionals in the world. He opened the tournament with a 65 and followed it up today with a 73. He was a little off today and a couple of untidy mental lapses cost him a few shots. Even so, he has a great attitude and I can see him doing very well over the final two rounds.

Walking around with Rika today really enabled me to step outside and see clearly exactly the type of mindset and pictures I want to have when playing. Obviously, it is easier to do when caddying because you don't have to hit the shot. However, I feel that it is very achievable. After Rika had finished his round I went out to Indooroopilly and met up with some of the boys to play a few holes and then do some practice. I wanted to try to have a clear and positive thought process. I did a pretty good job. Even though I shot even par for ninee with 3 birdies, 3 bogies and 3 pars, I was really happy with my process and that's all I can control.

I mentioned that I have really been into a strict fitness program. After practice I wanted to get in a workout. I have been running a 5km route (amongst others) and my best time is 24 minutes. I really wanted to beat it this afternoon but I could only manage to equal it. All good though, I know I can keep improving. I think I can do 5km in 20 minutes with a bit of practice.

All in all a great day. Definitely better than work. Up early again tomorrow to work on my swing with Richard. Looking forward to that.

Sunday Pennants

Yesterday I caddied for my brother Adam in the Brisbane District Pennants. He plays for McLeod Country Club which is where I grew up playing a lot of my golf and still do when I'm home in Brisbane. The team was beaten by Virginia Golf Club but Adam played a nice match and managed to get a half. The match was tight all day, with no more than one hole separating he and his opponent at any one time. Losses at 15 and 16 put Adam one down with two to play. Both players made par on the long par 4 17th and they went to the last with Adam one down. In trouble off the tee Adam hit a great recovery shot to get to within 50 yards of the pin and then played and brilliant spinning pitch shot which finished two feet form the cup. He would tap in for par and a win on the hole. I was very proud of Adam he fought hard all day and had a great attitude.

Today is a public holiday here and I have had a bit of a sleep in. I plan on dinking around for a little bit before I get my day going. It will begin with a workout (7km rum, complete stretch, strengthening exercises). Following lunch I will head out to the course to do some practice and play nine holes. The sun is shining here in Brisbane so it should be a great day.

It has been a while since my last blog so I figured it was about time I jumped on and gave everyine a little bit of an update as to what I have been up to. Last I left I had just competed in the Australian 4ball championship at Royal pines where I wasn't pleased with my game. Since the event at Royal Pines I have continued to work on my game but I have adjusted my schedule slightly to give myself some time away from the game and put my mental outlook in a place where I want it to be.
Away from the course I have been working two part time jobs, the first at a local liqour store and the second at the pro shop at my local golf course. I have definately enjoyed working however, it definately makes me realise that playing golf for a living is much more enjoyable.
Fittness, is something I have really put a little extra attention to over the last 6 months or so. I have always been one to keep myself in shape but I have really committed myself to getting myself as strong and and in shape for golf as I can be. Along with the workout program I have with Ramsay McMaster I have also been running regularly. I try to run somewhere between 3and 5 times a week and I have a number of diferent routes I run in my local suburbs. They vary between 5 and 10 kilometers. I really enjoy running, I find it challenging as it requires mentall toughness to battle through. I also think it helps with my mental outlook on life. I have been improving on a consistant basis and have even had a few thoughts about possibly attempting a half or full marathon in the future (definately a long way off, but a possible goal nonetheless).
As far as my golf is concerned I have still been practicing and playing a good amount. My main focus has been to relax, take my time and enjoy the process. I have been seeing some great results on the practice tee and they are beginning to show on the course.
I am sure everyone tuned in to watch the Masters. I thought it was one of the most exciting I have ever seen. I just couldn't believe an Australian didn't end up with the green jacket. I know every Australian was heartbroken. Great to see that Jason Day played the way he did. Jason and I grew up playing together and he always worked hard and had exceptional talent. He deserved his result and I bet one day he does get that Jacket (I'll be rying to get it first, mind you).
Anyway, this probably has turned out to be a little too long but if you have made it this far I wish you a happy easter.

Training in Melbourne

I arrived back in Brisbane today with a rejouvinated motivation to work hard and continue the journey towards reaching my potential as a player. Working the previous three days with Ramsey McMaster and Ryan Lumsden was a fantastic experience and I was provided with a wealth of knowledge regarding how my body works in relation to specific movements in my golf swing. What made Ramsay and Ryan so great to work with was their great quality of communication. Everything was very well explained to me and provided understanding. Furthermore, I felt a relationship was developed.

From here I will now take what I have learned and the information/data back to my coaches and we will be able to draw up a plan of attack about how to improve. The next few months I dont have many tournaments to play in so I will have more time to be practicing in technique mode to get the things right. Lots of work in the gym will contribute to an improved technique. Ramsay said I had a bit of a head start as far as my body was concerned (I must give all the credit there to Jeramiah Hales who I worked with at Minnesota) however there are a couple areas that are weak and need correcting.

A special congratulations to my former teammate Clayton Rask who had a nice finish of the Nationwide tour last week. Lets hope he can get on a bit of a roll. I hope everyone is doing well.

Time to take a step back and assess.

There was little doubt that my performance at the QLD PGA was the worst golf I have played in well over two years. Rounds of 74, 76 meant I easily earned the weekend off. Since the tournament I have not touched my clubs and used the time to take a step away from the game. I have been working out very hard. I like the time to myself as I use it to ask myself the hard questions. It has been a while since I have asked these questions of myself and I feel it puts me back in alignment with how I want to be and furthmore on the right path towards achieving my goals. I plan to take the remainder of the week off before I head to Melbourne to do some work with Physiotherapist Ramsey McMaster and Golf Biomechanics expert Ryan Lumsden. Ramsey and Ryan work with world class golfers such as Lee Westwood, Henrick Stenson, Michael Sim as well as many others. My old coach at Minnesota Brad James came to me with the opportunity and I thought it would be one in which I could get a lot out of. I look forward to the experience and the opportunity to learn more about my golf game.

Hope everyone is well. Bye for now.

PGA Preparation

Today I took the day to drive up to Toowoomba with my good mates Rika Batibasaga and Brett Rankin to have a practice round at City golf club. My main goal for the day was to get a good look at the course and begin to develop a plan for the tournament which begins next Thursday. The course is a Par 70 and not at all overly long. For what it lacks in distance it makes up for in tightness. No doubt there is an importance on putting the ball in the fairway. If you can manage this then you will have a number of short irons and wedges into the greens which will provide an opportunity to attack. I definitely think I gained a good understanding of the way I want to approach the layout next week and now plan to go away and work on the things I feel will be important next week.

My preparation will continue tomorrow morning with and early rise and workout at 5:30, then off to Indooroopilly to play. In the afternoon I am going to do some work with My coach Richard Harris. We will work a little on technique then switch over to discuss strategy for next week and work a little on some of the shots I might need.

I want to give everyone up in Minneapolis a special hello and wish the gopher golf team the best of luck in their upcoming events this spring. I know the boys have been working hard and are focused on achieving some good things this semester. We will all be watching your progress fellas. Go get em.

Enjoying time at home

It has been  nearly a good couple weeks since my last blog so I thought that an update was needed. Today I played in the Saturday competition at Indooroopilly. Its only the second time I have played out there since the floods. The holes that are open are in great shape and the rough is long which makes the course play reasonably difficult. At least there is an importance placed apon hitting solid tee shots. I struggled with my ball striking today which unfortunately has been a trend over the last couple months. My focus is to remain patient with it and stay in the present as I work through it.

Thursday week is the QLD PGA which will be my first even since the Surfcoast knockout. Preparation is geared towards that and I am going to head to Towoomba with a friend next week to check out the course and do a little homework.

Pre season footy kicked off last night and it was the first time in five years I have watched Port Adelaide play live. Unfortunately, from what I saw last night it may turn out to be a tough year for the Power. They are young and inexperienced and to be honest just not up to standard on many levels. But I am the most loyal fan there is and I look forward to watching their progress all the way this year. Hell, if the Greenbay Packers can go win a superbowl then I reckon the Power can give it a good show this year.

I hope everyone is well wherever you might be.

Home in Brisbane

I touched down in Brisbane after nearly a three week stint on the road. I got in town about 5:30 on Australia day which gave me plenty of time to meet up with friends and have a few celebratory drinks.  We had a great evening and everyone was in top spirits even despite the devastation that has struck many of our closest friends. Today, I went down to some of our friends homes to help unload a few truck loads of villaboard that my old man had delivered for our friends whose homes were affected by the floods. It was the first time I had seen first hand inside homes that the waters reached. It is certainly crazy to see and until you see it with your own eyes its hard to imagine how such an event can happen and how much damage has occurred. I applaud everyone for battling on with a brave face and great attitude.

The Surf coast tournament in Tourquay the previous week was a little bit of a battle for me. After slipping to 5 over par through 11 holes in the first round I was able to salvage the round somewhat over the final 7 holes with a couple late birdies to finish with a 75, which I believe left me in about 90th position. For the most part I played solidly in the second round but dropped a couple late shots to finish with a 70 and put me at 1 over par at the end of the second days play. I would have to wait around all afternoon to see whether or not it would be good enough to make the cut. Unfortunately, I finished in a tie for 51st place which put me one shot and one player outside the cut line. A little difficult to swallow but sometimes that's the way things go in golf. I'm sure it wont be the last time it happens in my career.

As for now, I look forward to spending so time at home doing some practice and getting in the gym. I feel that I have plenty to work on after the last couple of weeks so I look forward to getting to it.

Hope everyone is doing well wherever you may be.

China/Flooded Brisbane

I have received a number of emails and facebook messages from people expressing the concerns regarding the floods in Brisbane. I want to say thanks very much for everyones concern and I have relayed your messages to my family in Brisbane. I have been away for a little over a week and won't be returning home until later in the month. I have been speaking constantly with my family and its definatley a very difficult time for many people. Everyone is pulling together to help out anyway that they can. Events like this really put the important things in life into a much clearer perspective. I know that at times I have been guilty of letting things that really don't carry that much importance in the big picture get me down. My thoughts are with the people who have been affected by the floods.

Last week I played in the final stage of the Oneasia tour school. The tournament was hosted by the Mission Hills golf club in Hainan, China. The course was quite open off the tee and had large contouring greens as its defence. It could play quite long but they moved the tees around so it didn't play to its full length of 7400yards. Overall my ball striking was poor and I had rounds of 77, 71, 75, 72 which left me outside the top 40. I'm no doubt disappointed with the way I played but I'm keeping a positive attitude and moving forward to the Surfcoast knockout, a new tournament on the Australasian tour this year which is held in Geelong just outside Melbourne. The event begins Thursday, I am heading down to Geelong tomorrow to meet up with Bronson LaCassie who I will be staying with during the week.

Keep an eye for my next blog.

Football provides a fun twist to practice

The other morning I was lying in bed when at 6am I received a text message from Richard (my coach) telling me that he was on his way around my place to talk about my golf. Sure enough Rich rocked up and we got to chatting and discussing various aspects of my game. He mentioned that he wanted to put a little twist to the way I practiced. He didn't give too much away but he said to meet him the following day at the local football oval with a sand wedge and one ball. My interest was immediately sparked as I love football and I am always interested in learning.

So the following day I met Rich at the football oval and he explained to me exactly what we were going to do and what the purpose of it was. I would perform a series of sprints chasing down a football and delivering it back to Rich in as short amount of time as possible. Following six chase downs I was then to hit on shot at a target about 50 yards away. We repeated this several times. The purpose was to see how my mind and body reacted under a stressful situation. I really enjoyed both the football and then the challenge of hitting a good shot following. I learned that I perform my best when I am reactive. Occasionally, I can take a little long over the ball and as a result I am not as reactive to my vision. Being put in a stressful situation forced me to act naturally. Now the goal is to take this natural, reactive process to the practice tee and the golf course.

We were on the oval for a little under an hour and I was active the whole time. Altogether, I probably only hit about 10-12 shots which just goes to show that you don't have to beat balls for hours on end to have a productive practice session. I think the key to successful practice is having a purpose. Rich tells me that tennis is next. Again I'm very excited to try this and learn more. Keep an eye out for more to follow.

Happy New Year to everyone.

Oneasia and Australian Qualifying Schools

I have just arrived home in Brisbane after a great week in Melbourne where I competed in the Final stage of the Australasian PGA Tour qualifying school. The tournament was held at the Peninsula golf club on the southern outskirts of Melbourne. It is a beautiful golf course which is not long but is very difficult as it is narrow and severely punishes and wayward shots. It is very typical of most of the sandbelt courses, which I consider to be no doubt the best in Australia but also as good as any in the world.

I got to Melbourne a few days before the tournament to prepare as I new the style of golf in Melbourne is very contrasting from the style I have been playing the last five years in the States. I was able to get a good look at the course and get comfortable with the new environment. Unfortunately ,I didn't play well at all the first two rounds shooting scores or 77 and 75. Wet and windy conditions made it difficult however, it wasn't an excuse for the way I played. The final two rounds were solid but missed putts lead to scores of 74 and 72 for a 10 over par total and a tie for 44th position.

Despite this I was able to obtain an Australasian PGA Tour card and I also advanced to the final stage of the Oneasia qualifying school which will be held at Mission Hills in Hainan, China early next month. So, plenty to look forward as I have never been to Asia before, its an experience I am very much looking forward to. This means I have plenty of work to be done on the game over the Christmas break.

I want to wish everyone the best over the holiday season and give all my great friends back in freezing Minnesota a special hello.

Preparation

Since the Australian PGA qaulifyer which concluded Tuesday morning, I have been going about preparation for the final stage of the Australasian Qaulifying school which will be held down in Melbourne in a little over a weeks time. I have met with my coach Richard Harris a couple of times to work on my swing a little. I really enjoy working with Richard. I have been working with Richard since I was 13 years old. He has seen my swing develop over the years and knows exactly what produces my best golf shots, so having his eye on me gives me confidence that I am doing the right things. I prefer not to be working a lot in technique mode however, recently I feel as though it has been getting a little loose here and there so some maintenance work was needed. I am focusing solely on technique mode when I am down the range and then trying to get out onto the course each day with complete focus on play mode. This has traditionally been a transition that has been difficult for me but I am continuing to improve.

Last Wednesday night I had the opportunity to meet with a number of my old teammates from Minnesota. Andrew Tank was in town on a recruiting trip for Iowa State so all the Australian gophers [Bronson LaCassie, Simon Nash, John Hempstock(adopted) and myself] went out to a pub in town for a casual dinner and drinks. It was great to see all those guys and catch up, we had a great evening telling stories of our time at the U.

A soaked sunny coast brings a tuesday morning finish for Aussie PGA Qualifying

What was meant to be a 6:57am Monday tee time at Wynnum golf club on the east side of Brisbane became a 3pm Tee time at Horton park golf club two hours north on the Sunshine coast. The change was brought about by heaving rain in the area over a period of about three days. While the rain never stopped it did ease to where we could at least get onto the course. However, conditions were difficult. All these things presented an interesting challenge to me during the qualifying process. However, I kept in the the front of my mind that these were all things that I could not control and it was important for me to stay in the present with a mindful approach.
Despite having a good mental attitude it wasn't my day on Monday and at the close of the days play I was sitting at 2 over par through 13 holes. I was back early this morning for a 6am restart which meant I was up at 3am and on the road at 3:45am. Again this presents a great challenge and an opportunity to practice. I played the last five holes well making one birdie and four pars to finish the round with a one over par score of 73. Not what I was looking for but as always I will find positives where I can as well as area that need improvement.
I had my brother looping for me on the first day which was great. He did a very good job especially given how wet it was, keeping my clubs dry was not an easy job and he did it exceptionally well. Also, during the long delay I had the chance to catch up with a number of guys who I grew up playing junior and amateur golf with and see what they had been up to over the past four and a half years while I was in school. It was great to exchange stories.
Next for me is the final stage of the Australasian PGA Tour qualifying school. I will be heading down to Melbourne later next week. In the meantime I will work on my game a little with my coach to prepare.

My first 6 months

Following graduating from the University of Minnesota in late may I elected to turn professional right away. During the summer months I played some events on the Dakotas Tour as well as one or two others here and there. I enjoyed the opportunity these mini tour events presented me as I was able to gain valuable experience and continue to learn about my own game as well as try to improve every time I was out there. If I was to be completely honest I wasn't at all happy with the  shape of my game during the summer but I did manage to put a few scores together and make the cut in all 6 of the events I played. It wasn't until the end of the season, in my final two events, before I could notch a couple of top tens (5th at the North Dakota Open and 7th at the Dakotas Tour Championship). Despite not being on top of my game, all in all I would say that I was pleased with my play out on the Dakotas Tour.

Next came the USPGA Tour Qualifying School. I prepared very well in the weeks leading up to the pre qualifying stage and went down to Dallas confident in my abilities to go through the process and play well. I did that and moved on to the first stage, which would be held at the Dayton Valley Country Club outside of Carson City, Nevada. Here, I  would strike the ball average but a consistent putter helped to produce some low scores (72, 69, 70, 68) and advance me through to the second stage, which was held at the TPC Craig Ranch in Dallas, Texas. Again, I prepared well and went into the tournament feeling good and despite playing some solid golf over the four days some missed putts at inopportune times led to scores of 71, 73, 73, 71 and an even par week. 6 shots shy of the advancing number.

Failing to qualify for the final stage was very disappointing knowing that I had put a great amount of preparation into the process of working towards my goal. However, I left Dallas not discouraged, rather with a level of belief that I do belong out there on tour and a new determination to to work hard every day on the process of becoming the best player that I can be.

First Blog

Hey everyone, I have decided that like a few of my mates chasing their dream as a professional golfer I am going to regularly write a blog to keep everyone up to date with where I am in the world and how things are going with me and my exciting new journey as a professional golfer. I intend to update it once or twice a week and I may include things to do with my golf or if there are other more exciting things going on at that particular time I may choose to write about that. Don't expect me to be as detailed as our good friend Victor Almstrom but I do think you'll enjoy a quick glance every now and again just to see how things are going. Keep an eye out for my next blog