National Championship

After a fantastic meal at Outback steak house we discussed what we had achieved so far, i was still on cloud 9 after my finish. The whole team didn't really seem nervous at dinner just really relaxed and content. We knew what we had to do and all of us were so excited to get out there the next day. We knew Chico had some great players and we really had to bring our A games to beat them. We woke up relaxed and ready the next day despite having the same breakfast for 6 days we left for the course raring to go. The final was filmed extensively by the NCAA media staff and as we were filmed throughout warm up we felt like we were at a tour event.

As i walked to the first tee i felt an extreme sense of focus and calm and proceeded to smash my first tee shot miles down the first hole. I played the first few holes fantastically and i was 2 under through 6. I hit a great shot into 8 and converted for another birdie whilst my opponent was struggling at 3 over par. I birdied the 9th the par 5 to turn in 4 under par with a 7 shot lead. As i reached the 12th i looked at the scoring for the whole match and to my surprise we were up narrowly in all the games. I turned my focus off to my mistake and 3 putted the 13th. Despite playing extremely well all day i finished with a 3 putt for 70. Off to the media booth i went for an interview and a nervous wait, to see how the rest of the team were doing and to see if we could get the job done.

After my interview which you can see here. I watched my team mate Ben Vertz, he came up with a one shot lead and hit it onto the green 40 feet away. His first putt finished 9 feet short and his partner missed his mid range birdie attempt. So Ben had a 9 footer for us too take a two nil lead and be closer to that elusive National Championship. He took his time visualizing the putt see it drop in and he stepped up and rattled it straight in the middle what a way to go out as Senior.

As the nervous wait continued it was down to Columbian superstar Ricardo Celia to seal the deal he tapped in and gave us a clean sweep to know that we had won the national championship was an amazing feeling. We watched as Oscar and Ben sealed the victories for an astonishing victory of 5 nil against a great side from Chico. There were a few celebrations on the green afterwards and then we received our trophy.

The amazing thing after all the ceremonies was the fact that all of us felt that winning was really an anti climax, we all felt that the journey that got us there was were we found true happiness. Being able to put that much work in and have it pay off was really a fantastic feeling! But the fun came from the strive and not the end result.

The party began at the closing ceremony were all the national champions were congratulated!

The drinks were flowing afterwards despite having to leave at 530 am the next morning and we all managed to make our flight.

A wonderful week was made even more special by all the support we got from the university and the replay of te final can be seen on NCAA.com under mens golf! There also was a show on CBS which can be found online also

GO SHARKS!

National Championship Final

After a fantastic meal at Outback steak house we discussed what we had achieved so far, i was still on cloud 9 after my finish. The whole team didn't really seem nervous at dinner just really relaxed and content. We knew what we had to do and all of us were so excited to get out there the next day. We knew Chico had some great players and we really had to bring our A games to beat them. We woke up relaxed and ready the next day despite having the same breakfast for 6 days we left for the course raring to go. The final was filmed extensively by the NCAA media staff and as we were filmed throughout warm up we felt like we were at a tour event.

As i walked to the first tee i felt an extreme sense of focus and calm and proceeded to smash my first tee shot miles down the first hole. I played the first few holes fantastically and i was 2 under through 6. I hit a great shot into 8 and converted for another birdie whilst my opponent was struggling at 3 over par. I birdied the 9th the par 5 to turn in 4 under par with a 7 shot lead. As i reached the 12th i looked at the scoring for the whole match and to my surprise we were up narrowly in all the games. I turned my focus off to my mistake and 3 putted the 13th. Despite playing extremely well all day i finished with a 3 putt for 70. Off to the media booth i went for an interview and a nervous wait, to see how the rest of the team were doing and to see if we could get the job done.

After my interview which you can see here. I watched my team mate Ben Vertz, he came up with a one shot lead and hit it onto the green 40 feet away. His first putt finished 9 feet short and his partner missed his mid range birdie attempt. So Ben had a 9 footer for us too take a two nil lead and be closer to that elusive National Championship. He took his time visualizing the putt see it drop in and he stepped up and rattled it straight in the middle what a way to go out as Senior.

Prepared all year - National Championship

We headed to Louisville Kentucky at 7am on Saturday ready to play for the greatest prize in College sports a National Championship. This year was the spring sports festival which made our last round at Regionals even more satisfying. 6 team sports championships at one venue, this was certainly one that we would remember for years to come. Preparing for the event we took a day off to gather our thoughts, i made sure that as a team we all knew that what we did at regionals was simply a sign of what we could do, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary, an athlete in peak performance just shows what he is capable of with correct thinking it wasn't anything special just a sign our hours of grinding was paying off.

We all took a psychological edge to Louisville, in great team spirits this team enjoyed every minute of traveling. We all make jokes and just basically make the most of every minute of college golf (I can't believe how quick two years goes by). Getting to the hotel showed the severity of the preparations by the NCAA they had put a huge effort into looking after us, with Players Lounges, great food, and a fantastic Opening Ceremony.

The ceremony was at Churchill Downs where the Kentucky derby was held the week before. It was a great experience and the food was amazing. There were also fireworks and a talk from the head of NCAA, despite this all of us seemed preoccupied with thoughts of getting the competition under way.

As a team we breezed through the stroke play finishing in 2nd seed. With the first goal achieved it was onto the match play party time, with three europeans in the team we knew we had a great chance to have a run at winning the ultimate college title. With some great motivational talks from our coach we headed to the match play. The main focus was to play the golf course and not the player, shoot the lowest score you can and you'll be fine. The theme being that if there was a tie then all the scores would be added together and the lowest team score would advance, so shooting low was imperative. We breezed through the first match 4 -1 against USC Aiken. 

The next game proved to be the hardest fight we had to face to date. A great team from Central Oklahoma who had the National Individual champion. My match turned out to be one of the most incredible moments in my golfing career. After 6 holes i saw myself 2 over par and 4 shots behind as my opponent played very good golf at -2. I hit a great 8iron to 20 feet on the 8th and rolled the putt in. This triggered some momentum and i found myself playing Fearless golf. I hit a wedge to 2 feet on 10 and then holed a 10 footer on 11 for birdie after my opponent had just holed a 20 footer. I hit a great 3 iron onto the 240 par 3 and made a safe par to my opponents bogey. On 14 i holed it from 30 feet for birdie after a huge fist pump and celebration. I refocused and made a great par on 15. 17 proved to be the defining moment after a poor 3 wood in the right semi rough i hit a tree and found myself buried in the thick rough under trees, my opponent just short in 2 (par 5). I got a drop for a drain and then hit a phenomenal shot under the trees straight over the pin, to my disbelief it had go over the back of the green. My opponent chipped to 5 feet and i had a tough up and down for par. I said to coach Garret that i was due a holed chip, my short game had been so good and i said to him it was time to show off. I hit a fantastic chip and to my disbelief it dropped in the right edge of the cup. I let out a huge sign of emotion fist pumping and shouting COME ON!!, my opponent missed. Up the last with the lead i ripped a drive down the fairway, flushed a 4 iron on the green and was left with a 35 footer for birdie up a tier. I left the putt 5 feet short and my opponent was in for 4. I stood over the putt knowing it was vital for the team to put is in the National Championship. Like all big putts in golf the best way to deal with them is to stick to your routine exactly the same as what i always do. I buried the putt for a 69 and fist pumped my outstanding play. One point to Nova, my nervous wait started. 

My team mate Ben Vertz who battled all day had a very tricky up and down on the last for a halve and his putt just slipped by so the scores were one all. Our third group was Ricardo Celia who salvaged a phenomenal bunker shot to 12 feet and made a great par for a halve still one all. Oscar Lengden proved to be the most outstanding firing an unbelievable 66 to his opponents very good 72. Due to strokes we knew we had done it despite Ben Taylor shooting a phenomenal 68 he lost to a 66 from his opponent. 

What a feeling knowing my performance had a huge part in putting us in the National Championship. I proved to myself that never giving up and never giving in is the ultimate key. Playing the golf course and having that undying belief in yourself allows you to perform at the highest level when it matters the most.

We celebrated knowing that we were going to the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP final against Chico state on Saturday. 

WHAT A FEELING!

Regionals

We headed off to North Carolina for our South East Regional tournament. The chance to qualify for a National Championship is what we practice all year for and the thought of not going really is one that all of us wanted to avoid. Every tournament and practice session we are looking ahead to prepare for this one week where the stakes are the highest. Knowing the prospect of coming off a 37 shot victory we tried to use it as a way to refocus and use it as confidence that we knew we could play badly and still make it to nationals

The course Rock Barn was very similar to golf in England, with very similar damp weather conditions, a strategic game plan was vital. The course only demanded 3 drivers, the majority of tee shots were hit with hybrids and long irons. As a great iron player i looked forward to the chance to play and do well for the team. We woke up at 545 am on the first round raring to go, the course was extremely damp and we struggled to a 10 over 298. In complete shock the thoughts of not making nationals entered all of our heads and so we all headed to the practice tee to iron out our games to try to get us back on track the next day. Personally, my attitude was appalling the first round i shot +6 after being level par for 10 holes , bad shots led to bad shots because i was unable to get my emotions in check. The prospect of not making a lot of birdies was my first mental error, i forced and forced the whole way around the back 9, charging birdie putts and aggressive lines off the tees and into pins put together with poor reactions led to a frustrating round. Instead of playing for middle of the greens on the toughest holes i fired at the pins missed my target and suffered the consequences. My long game was great off the tee but my putter and iron game let me down due to poor mental strategy and emotional control. I knew straight after that my Tiger Woods attitude at the Masters this year was ineffective, like any good player i knew what to do.

Round 2 i headed out there aiming to shoot a solid round, i played really well all day hitting 14 greens after a couple of misplaced iron shots, a couple of three putts and some bad luck i signed for 75, i knew i had improved, oh and no clubs thrown. After shooting another poor 9 over the best team in the country looked completely devastated at the thought of being so dominant all year and at that time not being close to getting to the National Championship. Garret our coach was so upset and he even believed that we had blown it. We had a team meeting got our shit together and discussed the game plan. All of us got together as a team and discussed how we would approach the day and really fired each other up to focus on the process and let the results happen.

The next day we teed off at 8am in the rain and fog. I played very solidly through 9 holes with a even par 36. The next 9 would prove to be playing tougher yet i battled to a great -1 34. I knew the team were doing fairly well after Coach Garret walked me through a few of the tough holes. Coming up to the tough 590 par 5 14th i needed a birdie to keep my round going, i hit it into the fairway bunker 80 yards from the green in two. Then proceeded to hit a fantastic wedge shot to two feet and tapped in for my birdie. I played solid in hitting every green to shoot 71 and a great start for Nova. As the players came in i realized that we were doing amazing in extremely tough conditions. Oscar Lengden played fantastic for 68 -4. Ben Vertz hit it to 2 feet on the last to shoot 68 and Ben Taylor shot a -2 70 overall an absolutely amazing round of -11. We blew away the field and watched every congratulate us afterwards at such a fantastic feat. We waited for 2 hours nervously to realize we had made it to the national championship and spring sports festival in Louisville Kentucky. The bus ride was back to the airport was extremely sweet, all of us were over the moon at what we had achieved a simply astonishing performance. 

n Team                     Scores
   1 Georgia College          291  289  289    869    +5 
   2 Barry University         295  289  286    870    +6 
   3 Nova Southeastern U.     298  297  277    872    +8 
   4 UNC Pembroke             296  288  292    876   +12 
   5 South Carolina-Aiken     294  290  296    880   +16 
   6 Florida Tech             286  295  300    881   +17 
   7 North Alabama, U. of     298  293  292    883   +19 
   8 Georgia Southwestern     298  302  285    885   +21 
   9 Lynn University          288  298  300    886   +22 
  10 Florida Southern Col     297  293  298    888   +24 
  11 Rollins College          291  301  297    889   +25 
T 12 Armstrong Atlantic       297  295  298    890   +26 
T 12 Barton College           290  300  300    890   +26 
  14 West Florida, U. of      298  293  300    891   +27 
  15 Carson-Newman Coll.      296  304  292    892   +28 
  16 Eckerd College           295  295  305    895   +31 
  17 Wingate University       299  307  292    898   +34 
  18 Coker College            301  297  303    901   +37 
  19 Columbus State           301  297  304    902   +38 
  20 Valdosta St. U.          309  307  305    921   +57 

The next goal was to practice in order to focus on the National Championship we had a few days to prepare in which i focused on short game and putting. 

Conference Champions

Im writing this blog entry a little late due to the hectic schedule i have had in the last few weeks. 2 weeks ago we made the 4 hour bus ride to Bradenton Florida to compete in our annual SSC Conference Championship. As a team we played the practice round in a staggering 6 hours, we used the time to get a great game plan. One thing that sets us apart from the rest of the field is the way we pay attention to detail in our preparations. We looked at the course in depth noting the widest hitting areas off tees, where to be on the greens for certain pins. Green slopes, plan A and plan B routes to certain holes and most importantly where to miss the greens which would still leave a simple up and down. The key for the week was always going to be the team which managed their game well and cut out three putts and big numbers. The greens were so slick and slopey that it was vital to hit into areas where you could easily two putt


Round 1 i played fairly solidly hitting 13 greens shooting a 1 over 73, i thought i left a few out there but my coach quickly told me that was one of the best scores of the day. The 2nd round i started off great with 4 birdies in my opening 5 holes. The approach shots were great and the putts were dropping nicely. As the course toughened up i made a couple of bogeys but was very composed the whole day shooting a great 70 on one of the toughest courses in Florida. Despite my consistent play i lay one shot off the lead from team mate Oscar Lengden. In the afternoon as a team we shot -7 blowing the field away in the process.

We started a blustery last day with a 19 shot lead and our goal from our coach was to increase it to a 25 shot victory. Through 27 holes i was leading but Ben Taylor my team mate was charging 4 under through 9. 18 proved to be a huge lesson for me in course management trying to hit a ridiculous shot which had very little chance of coming off i walked off with an 8 and a hard lesson which i would have to learn from for the future. Playing smart is the most important trait a tournament golfer can have, big numbers ruin rounds and confidence in a heart beat and 5 on a tough hole is usually fine as it can be made up with a birdie in the next few holes.


I want to write a special congrats to my team mate Ben Taylor who shot an amazing 67 to win the individual title by one. The team ended up extending our lead to an amazing 37 shots, i finished 3rd individually and made the all conference team with 3 other team mates, Ben,Oscar and Ricardo. We looked forward to regionals and came away from the week very confident in our chances of making Nationals in Kentucky.


Things to improve on

• Par 5 Scoring Avg - Stop trying to smash drives on par 5s. Hit the fairway
• Approach shots into par 5s with woods and hybrid - Smoother swings producers shallower contact and higher trajectory
• Smarter targets into tough greens
• Driving accuracy (Driver)on par 4s and 5s

Conference

The past few weeks we have been preparing for Conference, our tournament this year is in Bradenton on the West coast of Florida. The course is famous its called Concession, and was designed by Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin. The name is after the famous three foot putt that jack conceeded that made Europe and the USA share the Ryder cup. I cant wait to get out there this weekend and play it, everyone i have spoke to has said its amazing.
The keys this week at conference is to treat it like every tournament. The teams that trust their games and play to their strengths will be the victors at the end of the week. Looking at Bubbas performance last week its important to think about the way that he won. He previously would have reacted so poorly to a bad shot that he finished off the round angry and be out of the tournamnet. There are a number of videos on youtube of Bubbas spoilt brat attitude, which got him no where in the game it was only until he realized he was getting in his own way that he turned the corner. We must also realize that this game is all about bouncing back learning from mistakes and then never making them again. Nicklaus spoke alot about this saying that he faced as much fear as everyone but he learnt how to deal with it, the story of the pitch mark against Ben Hogan in the US Open stating he was extremely nervous and embarrased to ask if he could repair he missed the putt and lost the open. Bubba has been in the mix of a number of majors up until now, for instance losing the playoff at the PGA Championship last year and another of other events. It just goes to show that sometimes it takes a few near misses with little emotion attached and to keep putting yourself in position and eventually you will walk through the door sometimes un noticed.  Even at the Masters he came in under the rader with some fantastic shot making, it must be said that even the greatest players in the peaks of their games still do not perform under fear, look at his tee shot on 17 and the 10th in the playoff. Its not your misses because you will always miss, its the reactions and the ability to still trust yourself. He managed to put himself back in the situation and Seve his way onto the green.

On the first extra play off hole he hit his worst shot of his tournament, he realized instead of getting angry, anxious or fearful but to get freerer and let out his shot making ability and hit a marvelous snap hook gap wedge to 10 feet. Louis should have put the situation out his mind on the 10th tee and played the golf course not the player, so often we think about the situation. It is so hard to do but with good quality questions we can learn to make great swings under stress, whats the smartest way to play this hole gives us images of someone who is in control of his game, obviously easy said than done but maybe the three wood was a defensive play if you play to play the course you aim to make par on number 10.

This week we will attempt to regain our conference title like we did last year. However we must make this tournament the same as any other playing the golf course the best we can. All pros manage to make all major events the highest priority because they feeel like they are not trying if they dont think every minute about the performance. This week is about finding the best way to manevour the ball around the golf course in the simplest way possible.

January Training

I've had a great last few days here in Florida. I have been getting some fantastic practice in and I'm really starting to see some great strides in my game. I have been working hard on my plan both technical and mental. The fitness is going well and I'm at my lightest ever weight so I'm very pleased about that.

I went to the PGA show on Saturday to meet a few friends and ultimately check out what is the great golfing exhibition in the world. I had the fantastic opportunity to meet Tiger Woods coach Sean Foley, and i actually picked his brain a little bit and he really seemed to like me and my friends. We spoke about the ball flight laws and his recent addition to Golf Digest about Tiger Woods attack angle with the driver. He told me to look at youtube on the D Plane which basically explains how the club path, face position and attack angle all effect what the ball does. I asked him if a player really needs to know the technicalities of this science and he said that an understanding and relating it to feels is very necessary because you can understand what the club is doing when you hit a certain shot. Sean was an absolute legend who was willing to give me his advice with pleasure so we all know Tiger is in great hands.

On another note the practice i have been doing as has been a lot on the golf course, I'm getting away from hitting too many balls. I realize that my swing changes are taking time and spending hours hitting balls isn't the most productive way to improve my game. I have been getting out on the course playing lots of golf and beating my team mates. College golf is so fun and you really get to play with some of the best amateurs around. I get to practice with my team mate Ben Taylor who i want to take the time to Congratulate on his selection for the Jones Cup. He is representing England in Georgia and i know he will do great. Also his recognition of outstanding play has meant he is in the running for the Palmer cup in June.

Hopefully and this would be absolutely fantastic i can hit the ground running these next few months and even potentially partner him in that that would be a dream come true.

My practice has involved a lot more short game training on the course with ben and also i have spent some time working on my wedges. Nailing down the distances and working on some different shots all with different trajectories.

My first tournament is coming up in the three weeks and i can't wait to get out there and enjoy playing again, oh and winning some trophies, the cabinet isn't full enough for my liking.

On a last note i just want to say that here at Nova we are now living by this philosophy every day.

"It is the journey that brings us happiness, not the final destination" 

Mitch Farrer