There's a First Time for Everything

Outside of Q-School last fall, I hadn't played an official event as a professional. This weekend served that opportunity for the very first time as Grey Rock Golf Club hosted The Austin Open. I got off to a good start chipping in for birdie on the opening hole. I was still dealing with some nerves in the opening stretch, but managed to recover well from my misses until a few bad breaks finally caught up with me and I finished round one with a disappointing 5 over par 75, which included a quadruple bogey 8 on the final hole. This was only half of the theatrics that Kevin Na showed us at TPC San Antonio on Thursday at the Valero Texas Open carding a 16 on the 9th hole, but needless to say I was very disappointed in myself.

I was a little out of sorts while preparing for the second and final Round. I was tied for 33rd place, 8 shots behind the leader, and worst of all, it was very windy. I have been known to play well in just about any condition (Cold, Wet, Rainy, Hot, Dry, Fast, etc.) but for some reason I just don't seem to perform well in the wind. So I spent a considerable amount of time on the range just hitting awkward shots that would stay low and not really aiming them at anything specific. I was just trying to feel myself hitting the ball solid, since this is more important than anything when playing in heavy winds.

By the end of the day, I had bettered my score by three shots shooting a two over par 72, which in comparison to the conditions was about six better as the course played to a stroke average three shots higher than day one. Only 19 of the 87 players in the field improved on their first round score in the final round.

I still felt as though I wouldn't crack the top ten and earn my first official paycheck as a golfer, however I was pleased at the grit I had shown on a windy golf course that isn't kind to someone missing their spots. As it would turn out, my 147 Total was good enough to tie for 7th place as many of the upper half of the field struggled to put it together in the afternoon. So, with my first official event as a professional comes my first official check from a golf tournament. In a very small way this is a childhood dream realized, and I am very proud, although it's just a stepping stone to where I want to be. You have to start somewhere, and there's a first time for everything...

The Austin Open will not be a Grind

The 2011 Austin Open will be held this weekend at Grey Rock Golf Club in Austin and I have been preparing for this event for a couple of months now. I started with my balky driver in February, trying to eliminate the weak fade. From there I focused on more solid iron play as well as an overall short game tune up. There have been many different methods and I've taken them all out on the golf course to see how they work in real situations.

If you watch golf on the PGA Tour, especially nowadays with players such as Bubba Watson and Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey, you'll see that there are many different ways to play this game. Although, what most people will tell you is that the best players in the world are the best because they can "grind".

Grinding is a term used very loosely in the golf world to describe someone who is struggling with their golf swing, or faced with a relatively difficult circumstance and they seem to dig deep, focus completely on the task at hand, and get it done. I've heard this term used most commonly after a player makes a good putt, usually to save a par. An observer might say, "Wow, he was really grinding on that one. He really wanted to make it..."

Another use for the term would be when you hear a Touring Pro say, "It's a real grind out here. There's so much talent, you really have to be on top of your game if you want to stick around." or someone might even say, "The US Open is really important to Phil Mickelson, he grinds for months in preparation for it..."

Regardless of how it's said I only hear the term grind one way, and I don't like it when it's used regarding golf. If golf is a grind for you, then you need to stop playing. Golf is supposed to be relaxing and I maintain that it is the single greatest game in the world. What an insult to call it a grind! A guy who sells office supplies to support his family of five and has to meet a quota every month in order to feed his children is grinding...With one week left to make his numbers he may have to stay in the office until 9:00 PM and get back early the next morning to make cold calls, get hung up on, etc. just in order to make his quota. Golf is definitely nothing like this for me, and I sincerely hope it's not like this for anybody, regardless of their level of talent.

First of all, God Bless the man who works hard and doesn't stop in order to provide for his family. Even if he is grinding, it's incredibly noble. However, my chosen career is professional golf, and right now I don't have a family that requires my support. So is what I do a grind? Most days, I wake up at 5:40 in the morning, get ready and rush out the door to work at The University of Texas Golf Club by 6:30. I work outside for what is essentially minimum wage, wind, rain, or shine until 1:30. Then I head to my car, change into nicer clothes and head to the practice area. I will spend an hour or so there working on a concept, whatever it may be. Then I head to the course to see if I can hit the same shots on the golf course with real greens, real bunkers, uneven lies, trees, and different wind directions. After leaving the course, I practice my chipping and putting with some of the best junior golfers I have ever seen, who are out there EVERY night working on their short games until it's dark. I drive home in the dark, just as I drove to work in the morning, eat dinner very late, and go straight to bed and do it all again the next day.

Some might describe this as a grind. "He's grinding away, running himself ragged in order to do what he loves..." To be short, those people are wrong. I love the game of golf, and I love every moment that I spend learning about my game, getting better, and helping others get better as well. Even on the days it really doesn't go my way, I'm still burning with desire to learn from that experience and do it better the next time. It may look as though I'm not having fun, but my brain is literally just too busy to smile. If I didn't love it so much, perhaps I wouldn't be as good, or I'd be selling office supplies. The point is I don't like the term "grind" when referring to golf. Grinding is something people would rather not do in order to make ends meet, and there's really no other way. This is the path I've chosen for myself, and I wouldn't have it any other way...