[MYMcvBgl]

As I said before in my intro thread, quoted below, I would like to make a thread that tracks my progress back into the game off golf after my 5 year break that chronicles my progress towards a teenage dream of qualifying for the US Amateur by the age of 30. My intro thread lays this out in detail. I would love if anyone here at THP had feedback for me, as I feel it would help me with things I might be missing. If nothing more, I would like to do this for myself as a personal log of my progress towards my goals...along the way, maybe some of you will find a small level of interest/entertainment in me doing so.

I will post round-ups of my practice sessions, the notes I took away from them, brief descriptions of my rounds, and swing videos which I will analyze with apps on my iPhone. Basically, anything I do to help get my game back, I will post about it in here.

The quote below is long enough, and sums a lot about me and my plans up, but here are the qualifiers I plan to enter in 2013 (as stated below, I am giving myself this year to get my game "back together").

• US Amateur
• US Amateur Pub Links
• US Open

Intro thread, quoted:

Spoiler I guess it is about time I make an introduction thread here so you all can get to know a bit about me...

Where to start? I am now 26, graduated from OSU with a degree in Finance/Economics and work as a Financial Analyst. When I was 19-21, I was a scratch golfer. GHIN was as low as +2.something. I planned on golf being my career (teaching, not playing, I knew I didn't have what it took to play on tour). I planned to attend a golf academy, but then had second thoughts...if my parents were willing to pay for me to get my college degree, why not? So off I went to Ohio State. I started in Marketing, planning to try to land a job as a Sales Rep for a major OEM. Then, I decided to go the Finance route, and ended up studying Finance and Econ. I plan to get my CPA soon, and I'm still undecided on the MBA route - I am driven in my work, and I'm not sure it is a necessity for my career to progress how I want it to right now.

Back to golf. I am a very long player tee to green. I played in many tournaments as a junior, and with a lot of high level golfers, and I have yet to play with anyone "longer" than me. The "all over the place" days come as part of the territory with this. I am a very streaky player. I never had any desire to play college golf, I just wanted to party and have a good time during the "best years of my life". When I got to school, I slowly lost interest in the game...this was due to a combination of a few things 1) no money to play, as I had always had free golf back home through employment, high school team, etc. but no longer did away from home and, 2) no one to play with consistently. So, for five years, I played a max of 3 rounds a year. When I played I had highs and low, I remember mysteriously breaking par once, playing a few rounds that were "worse than any I could remember" and so on. These terrible rounds made it tough for me to love the game the way I once had. I am conditioned to play the game well, and to have fun I require that I play well. Nothing can ruin a day for me like a bad round...except maybe a stupid loss by the Buckeye football team. So, those five years passed, and here I am now. I have finally found my love for the game again and couldn't be happier about it. I am working my tail off to get my game back in full, and I am determined to deal with the bumps and bruises along the way. I had to do this before when I first picked a club up, I can do it again...this time around I am more well educated on golf as a whole and the mechanics of the golf swing, mine in specific.

I'll be honest, I regret not taking the career path of golf when I could have...in hind sight, it sure would be nice to spend my days at work at the course. However, I do have some old dreams I have not let go of. These dreams are why I am back in love. They are: 1) Qualify for the US Amateur by the time I turn 30. I set this one when I was much younger, and it is what I am working towards now. It is the means of my drive in the world of golf nowadays. I plan to create a thread tracking my progress towards this soon, and hope I can gain some moral support from the great people here at THP. 2) Make a name for myself in the Columbus and Ohio amateur scene, another goal I set when I was younger. I miss tournaments. I miss mentally planning an entire 18 holes in my head the night before a big tournament. I miss feeling like I might puke on the first tee, and I miss feeling like every shot was the most important one I'd ever hit. I miss the heat of knowing I was in it coming down the stretch, and having to grind. I miss making a solid swing and shot under pressure. I WILL accomplish these goals, I have no doubt, I just need to put in the work necessary to realize them...I am working on it currently (and have been for the past couple months), but I know I need to work harder and more often.

This is my first "golf season" back (damn Ohio weather, giving me "golf seasons" instead of "year round golf"). I plan to use this year to get things back in line, next year is when I will be entering back into amateur tournaments around Ohio, and Columbus, in specific. I feel this time is necessary to get my game back to where it needs to be, before I rush into things. I will enter in the US Open, US Amateur, and US Amateur Pub Links qualifiers next year as well. I will open a thread in the future to document this, maybe some of you will find interest in my quest.

If you have read this novel in full, I commend you. Most of all, I am glad to be a member at THP and really love this place. I hope I can make a positive impact here. If you have any questions, please ask away. Thanks for reading, and here is an official "hello" to you all.

My first day back after 5 years, at the indoor dome here in Columbus. My swing felt very foreign to me this day, 7 iron in video:



Yesterday, a couple of months in...but not with as much practice time in as I would've liked. Driver:



Again yesterday, with my Tour Striker Pro 7 iron:



I had good success with a workout forum log in the past, where it helped to motivate me, and I hope this will help to motivate me even more than I already am. As a result of my working out (which I haven't done since October of 2011 due to a wrist injury) I have lost a lot of flexibility, which I notice in my swing analysis videos...I am not getting a huge shoulder turn like I used to have. Still, I am getting great distance...hopefully I'll be even longer once I get the flexibility back. I plan to begin working out again now that my wrist is healthy, and doing a lot of stretching and yoga to help get me back to being as flexible as I once was.

If anyone decides to "follow" the thread, please feel free to throw out suggestions for what you would like to see. Thanks for reading.

[kanchouska]

good luck with everything... its gonna be a tough road

[MYMcvBgl]

good luck with everything... its gonna be a tough road

Absolutely, it will be hard as hell as the odds are stacked very against me. But, I'll never know unless I try...and if I am going to try, I am going to give it 100%.

[CGECngjA]

Good luck! Hope you reach your goals!

[onlineslotetes]

Good Luck Hart!

[Zebrabitch]

Good luck Hart. I took 7 years off after playing D1 golf and have been playing again for three year, it's a long road. I'm still not back to college days but I don't hit a quarter the balls I once did. Best of luck and can't wait to continue reading your progress.


Tapaway!

[MYMcvBgl]

Good luck! Hope you reach your goals!

Good Luck Hart!

Good luck Hart. I took 7 years off after playing D1 golf and have been playing again for three year, it's a long road. I'm still not back to college days but I don't hit a quarter the balls I once did. Best of luck and can't wait to continue reading your progress.


Tapaway!

Thanks guys! I won't lie, my first few rounds back this year have been shaky at time but with some real bright moments. I know I have a LONG way to go, to make ground up on the time and swing I lost, and then to improve on where I once was.

[HugoSimon]

Hey man good luck with everything and hope it works out for you!

[JosephEL]

Good luck, Hart! We're all pulling for you, man!

[MYMcvBgl]

'Preciate it Nate and JJ. First round of the thread will be Saturday with some friends flying in from out of town to visit. Unfortunately, my schedule is packed the next two days so I probably won't get a chance to work on things...I got to the range Monday and Tuesday though, thankfully.

This thread will force me to use the stat portion of the Golf Shot App, so I can easily post my post-round stuff up. It's a funny feeling to go out not knowing if I am going to break 80 with ease...first few rounds of the year have been 78, 83, 78. All were terrible rounds for the most part, getting up and down allowed them not to get SUPER out of control.

[MortgFinsJohnQ]

Can't fault you for chasing a goal man. If you do accomplish everything you want to that'll be an awesome journey.

[artenotreah]

Excited to follow along Hart, good luck and go get 'em!

[Ggskbpbz]

It's awesome that you are following your dream. I am pulling for you.

[MYMcvBgl]

Happy to see some people are looking forward to following along. For starters, anyone want to venture some points I should look at in my swing (per the videos in the original post)?

I am very good at noticing flaws in others swings, but in my own, it is a bit more difficult. I am so used to seeing it, it kind of just blurs together in my mind. Any input would be great...

Things I notice:

• Lack of full shoulder turn
• Right knee kicks in on downswing - not sure how concerned I am with this, need a head on view to see if my weight is shifting properly
• Weird outside move with club immediately as I take the club away, but it returns to plane quickly - again, not sure how concerned I am with this, but will look at it
• Quick tempo - I need to work with my Tour Tempo beat on my iPod at the range to get my tempo back to 24:8, but I am always very quick, with a FAST transition

Anything else sticking out to anyone? I would love to hear anything you see that I'm not.

[nicegirlflor]

Your story is so close to my own its scary lol. Save I'm couple years older and I'm planning competitive rounds this summer. Good luck will follow your progress

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[satthackacibe]

First off.....Ohio State.....really??? (sorry, hawkeye fan here).

I have/had a similar goal as you, except my top aspiration was simply making the cut at the Iowa Amateur Open. But hey, if things go well, a course I typically play nearby is an Amateur Public Links qualifier course. I say 'had' because I have a newborn son, and I'm still playing plenty of golf, but I'm doing a lot less traveling and competing this year. Perhaps next year I'll start traveling around for tournaments, and maybe next year I'll travel the 38 minutes it takes to get to the nearest driving range.

Still, I wish you luck. I know the many fine members of THP will be a support for you!

~Rock

[MYMcvBgl]

Your story is so close to my own its scary lol. Save I'm couple years older and I'm planning competitive rounds this summer. Good luck will follow your progress

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

First off.....Ohio State.....really??? (sorry, hawkeye fan here).

I have/had a similar goal as you, except my top aspiration was simply making the cut at the Iowa Amateur Open. But hey, if things go well, a course I typically play nearby is an Amateur Public Links qualifier course. I say 'had' because I have a newborn son, and I'm still playing plenty of golf, but I'm doing a lot less traveling and competing this year. Perhaps next year I'll start traveling around for tournaments, and maybe next year I'll travel the 38 minutes it takes to get to the nearest driving range.

Still, I wish you luck. I know the many fine members of THP will be a support for you!

~Rock

Thank you guys, and good luck to you both as well. It's a tough deal, but it's worth the time and work (if you have the time, that is).

Rock - I will be playing in the Ohio Amateur as well, and the amateur portion of the Ohio Open. Also plan to do some Columbus area amateur events, too.

[N95FzmMw]

Always good to see when players have a goal and use that goal as motivation to practice to get better and improve (aka the Morgan Cup participants). Good looking swing you still have there. Have you noticed any "feel" issues around the greens since coming back? That's usually the first thing to go...at least with me.

Check out some threads or posts from thepete. He's a Swedish player that plays tournament golf over there and has some really good tips and advise about what he's been doing with his own golf swing. He has been more than happy to give advice and comments on video that he sees or if you ask him to look at something. Great guy on the site.

[MYMcvBgl]

Always good to see when players have a goal and use that goal as motivation to practice to get better and improve (aka the Morgan Cup participants). Good looking swing you still have there. Have you noticed any "feel" issues around the greens since coming back? That's usually the first thing to go...at least with me.

Check out some threads or posts from thepete. He's a Swedish player that plays tournament golf over there and has some really good tips and advise about what he's been doing with his own golf swing. He has been more than happy to give advice and comments on video that he sees or if you ask him to look at something. Great guy on the site.

Thanks, dude. I have always had a naturally "good looking" swing, which makes it even more difficult to decipher the little things that cause it to get out of whack.

As for feel issues, my first round I had issues (chipping, not putting) and since then my chipping has actually saved by butt a lot of the time. I have been hitting some pretty impressive shots after leaving myself in terrible positions. My game from 100 yards and in though is where I see the huge drop off...I need to work on my visualization to help me to get it back to being a little more precise. That is what I do with chipping, and it seems to work.

I'm familiar with thepete (bright green pants in his avi, right?), I will check his threads out. Thanks for the tip.

[MYMcvBgl]

Thursday/Friday I was booked with work and a friend flying in from Boston to visit for the weekend. We went and played 18 yesterday, and my roommate joined as well.

I can tell I am progressing - I have really high moments on the course, and then some low ones as well. Front 9 was a 40, with a triple, double, and bogey in a 3 hole span. The other six holes I was 2 under.

1st hole: Bombed a drive down the right side, had 20 yards in to the a 355 yard par 4. Hit a miserable pitch, breezed the birdie putt by 6 feet past, made the comebacker for par.
2nd hole: 200 yard par 3, laid a 6 iron out to the right - about 20 yards right actually, with a terrible look at the hole. Hit a phenomenal lob over a bunker to the green, landed it barely on and on the slope, and let it release down the sideslope I wanted to use. Gave myself about 8 feet for par (couldn't have done better), and made it.
3rd hole: Bombed drive, 4 iron right of the green. Hit the pin on my chip, tap in birdie (par 5), moving me to 1 under.
4th hole: Perfect drive again, but it goes too far through the fairway and up a big slope in the rough. Hit my 60° from 97 off the steep upslope in the rough, somehow fly the entire damn green by 30 yards and end up in pine trees. I take an unplayable, get pissed and lose focus (because 2 good shots left me taking an unplayable). I made a triple on this hole, taking me to +2 on the day.
5th hole: Tough little strategic par 4. Play safe off the tee with a 5 iron, have a 6 iron in from 210 which I push right on a terrible swing. At this point, I couldn't get the last hole out of my mind, but I left myself dead here. Behind trees, with a bunker on the low path to the green. I have a hole in the trees above me that is about 3x3, literally, a very small gap. I tell my buddy "you're gonna wanna stay to watch this". I pulled it off, right through the gap, and put it on and run it to the fringe (greens were like lightening). I make a mess of it for a double. Now +4 on the day.
6th hole: Long par 5, hit a good drive that missed the fairway right, no worries bc I was going to lay up anyway. I end up chunking my 8 iron lay up and leaving myself behind a tree. Absolutely awfuls hot. From there I hit a punch cut under the tree, and it was perfect, I just didn't start it far enough left. I was short right with a lob over a bunker, which I hit well, but ran 12 feet past (it was a tough shot). I lipped the putt out for par and took bogey, and at this point, I am FUMING. +5.
7th hole: 203 par 3, put a 6 iron dead on line about 15 feet short. 2 putt par, still +5.
8th hole: Kill a drive leaving myself basically an up-and-down for birdie. The pitch releases a little more than I think it would've/should've, but I made the 12 footer for birdie. Back to +4.
9th hole: 3 wood off the tee, left center of the fairway. 8 iron pin high 18 feet left, 2 putt par.

So, less a bad break on a perfect drive + good second swing that lead to me losing my cool/focus and taking a triple...and letting that emotion carry into the next two holes for a double and a bogey...I played golf how I "used to". For this nine it was just a matter of me being better with damage control and keeping it together.

I'll post the back 9 after I get some breakfast. Teaser: I won $35 against a random teenager that we picked up at the turn. My buddy covered him for $5 a hole vs. me, haha.