Road to Nationals

I am in my final week of preparation for the Golf Channel Amateur Tour National Championship. I learned a lot from last year and I know it will help me in my preparation for this year. This year Nationals takes place in La Quinta, CA and we will be playing PGA West-Stadium, PGA West-Nicklaus Tournament, PGA West-Norman, Golf Club at La Quinta, SilverRock Resort, La Quinta-Mountain, and Mountain View Country Club. My only experience playing in Southern California was a few years ago when my parents and I took a John Jacobs Golf School in Palm Dessert. It was in December, so the heat was never a factor, but I know the heat will be a factor next week. Around this time of year the temperature in La Quinta is above 100 degree everyday. Luckily I think I will have an upper hand considering the heat doesn’t affect me to much. As far as I know there is little to no humidity as well as no wind, so I just have to stay patient, drink a lot of water and just be prepared. I played a Golf Channel tournament up in Sacramento last year and it was 100 degrees or close to it. Every time I stepped out of the golf cart it felt like my skin was burning because it was so hot. Hopefully it won’t be like that in La Quinta, but I guess if I expect it then it won’t be such a shock when I get there.

My preparation for the tournament is quite simple I guess. I want to focus solely on my swing Saturday and Sunday, work on my short game on Monday, and play nine or 18 holes Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Maybe hit the range on Friday just to keep my rythm going and my parents and I head down to La Quinta on Saturday, which will be my day off. Sunday I will play a practice round at Silver Rock resort and Monday I will play a practice round at PGA West Stadium course and the tournament starts on Tuesday. I know it sounds like a lot of golf, but I am a player who plays better the more I play. In the past when I have taken a few days off and gone back to the range I have “lost” my swing and I would have to build it back up. Thankfully I took three days off last week and went to the driving range last night and it went well. My swing felt good and I just have to keep that confidence with me through out the tournament. Confidence will be a big factor this year as it is with every tournament. I have to believe that I can do it and trust that I have worked hard and deserve to be there. One issue I had last year was that I focused too much on what the other players were doing which lead to a lack of confidence and my swing broke down which caused me to think about my swing instead of just trying to play. I know this year will be different and hopefully I will come home with a trophy. Which me luck!