Sunday, February 19, 2012

A New Golf Season....


Next weekend, I will play my inaugural 2012 event on The Golf Channel's Amateur Tour at one of my favorite courses ever - Farmlinks. I'm really looking forward to getting back on the competitive bandwagon, after a short winter break.  Last year was one of mixed results - while I finished in the top 25 at the AmTour's National Championship in La Quinta, CA, my play throughout the season was inconsistent. 
For those of you who are new to BCC, or have not heard of The Golf Channel's Amateur Tour, its a really cool thing, and I recommend you check it out.   Regardless of your skill level, it's an awesome way to enjoy some competition and play some "real golf" - something that lots of golfers (including me, before I joined) seldom if ever played.  Playing completely by the Rules of Golf ("playing it down", no gimmes, no mulligans) is vastly different than how most people play...don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing  the game filled with "do overs" - just saying that playing where you count every stroke and must make every putt is a lot of fun, and will really improve your game.
Anyway - with this being my 5th season to play on the "AmTour", I decided to make some changes in my approach this year. The way the tour works is that every couple of weeks there is a one day event (with 8-20 people in your flight), every couple of months there is a "Regional Major" (a two day event with 50-100 people in your flight), and then the season ending National Championship (with 150 people in your flight).  Although I have done well in the local events (winning a few here and there), I have placed reasonably well in only one major, and have set a goal to finish in the top 10 at Nationals in 2012.  I have decided to lessen the focus on local events this year (planning to play in 6-8 of them), and play in several "Majors", in hopes that this prepares me better for Nationals.
I will be writing more this year about my experiences on the AmTour, so please check back often to see how my plan works out.  Of course, no new season here at Bushwood would be complete without an edition of "What's in the Bag"...so here are the highlights:
  • The official ball of BCC is now the Titleist Pro v1x
  • We have also put a new driver in the bag, a Titleist 910D2, at 9.5 degrees - with a "real deal" MItsubishi Blue Board shaft
  • TaylorMade r9 3 Wood and two TM hybrids are in the mix (maybe replaced by RocketBallz , depending on the results of my upcoming testing)
  • Titleist AP2 irons, with KBZ "C Taper" shafts ( a nice Christmas gift !)
  • TP Mills "Hand Forged"  Trad 2 is now the putter of choice (strongly recommend checking out TP Mills gear - he was truly a visionary artist of the putting instrument, and his son David has continued his legacy..although David IS a bit of a flake).  
  • I've been experimenting with belly putters (see next weeks post on that...), so the jury is out on that...
  • Vokey wedges are back in the bag, after a year off...
Anyway, thanks for reading Bushwood Country Club, and please come back soon for more .... I'm hoping for a great golf season in 2012 for me and for all of BCC's readers...