TPC Sawgrass - Winners

To round up the last tournament of the Fall semester we headed to Jacksonville to visit one of the most famous golf resorts in the world. Instead of playing the Stadium course we were playing the tougher Valley Course which made the Nationwide tour players look fairly average two weeks prior. After playing the practice round i quickly realized that hitting fairways was the key to scoring well around the valley, luckily i was swinging great and felt good about the way i was hitting it. Safety at pins and missing it on the correct sides were key strategic decisions needed. The rough was so thick if u missed a fairway it was often a good decision to take less club off the tee to make sure that accuracy off the tee was maximized giving myself a good chance of hitting the middle of the greens on the tough holes and firing at the pins on the easy holes.

The first day was playing tough early with wet and windy conditions beginning on the tough holes was a real struggle and pars were tough to come by. After opening up with a few bad holes i somehow steadied the ships with a couple of birdies. Despite this rain got hard and my tee shots didn't set me up to make solid pars on the tough closing holes. The next round i started fast with 3 birdies in 4 holes. Despite hitting a tough tee shot out of bounds i played very solid for a level par 72 on one of the toughest courses in Florida.

The last day i was paired with a great player Alex Carpenter from Abilene Christian he has won 10 times in Division two golf and is the only division two player to be picked for the Palmer cup team, he also played the pga tour event at Bay Hill last year.  It was good to play with such a good player and i learnt a lot and at the same time i beat him!

The course was playing tough very windy and cold which isn't ideal when you have a tight driving course with lots of water hazards. I played smart golf through the first 7 then faced 6 of the toughest holes i have ever played, i chose smart conservative strategy and it back fired. Some holes i took less club off the tee to maximize accuracy and then ended up having so much club into pins that really needed short irons into, even when i tried to hit middle of the greens it was often difficult to get it within two putt range. I managed to have a couple of birdies coming and finished with a solid round in very tough conditions. Im extremely pleased with how i handled myself in tough testing conditions something to gain a lot of positives from. 

Overall i finished the tournament in good position and I'm happy with how i played. There is still a lot of work to be done but the most important thing is to keep doing what I'm doing and keep playing in as many competitions as i can. Its easy after a few bad shots to look for things to change technique wise when planning how to improve however sometimes its better to make a few minor tweaks and to really just keep playing often we can fix it through feelings when we hit a particularly shots. A lot of my bad shots this week came from not committing to the shot 100 percent this is clearly under my control a hard thing to accomplish but when you do then golf seems very easy.

The 17th Green on the Stadium a huge target and looks like you can throw it on the green.

Weaknesses

Lag Putting - speed/green reading

Driving accuracy good in places still can improve

Par 5 scoring average 5.00


Strengths
Par 3 Greens in Regulation
Attitude throughout the tournament
Holing out inside 15 feet was great

Plan to Improve

Identifying shots that i could have saved through

• Better shot selections when i made a higher score than i should have
• Better Commitments to the shots (letting go)
• Poor focus or decision making
• Typical shot that caused problem (toe hook with the long clubs)

Work harder on lag putting/ green reading / speed

Improve short game lofted pitch shots and shots out of the rough

Continue to work hard on habits which create commitment on the course

NSU Shark Invitational

After the winds hit PGA National we set out to try to go one better than last year and win our home tournament. I went into the event with great preparation and was really excited to play one of the toughest courses on the PGA tour schedule. Our practice round was good jotting down the best way to play each hole, effectively picking the safest way to make the lowest score. Despite this, there really are no safe ways to play some holes at PGA, you just have to step up and hit a golf shot. The bear trap is famous on the PGA tour as the closing stretch of holes on the whole circuit.

My first round got off to a quick start, starting on the bear trap. I safely pared the 16th my first and then hit a 7 iron to 10 feet on 17 and holed the putt for a 2. The round was going ok until i reached the tough 12th where i hit it ob and salvaged a 6. I finished off with 77 (5 over par) very disappointing giving me a feeling of leaving plenty of shots out there way too many mistakes. The 2nd round i really couldnt get anything going and made a lot of little errors resulting in a 76 (4 over) at 9 over par i tied for 38th. I felt like i played superb in places and my lack of competition in recent months probably meant there was a little bit of rust there causing me to make some little errors that i might not have if id have been in competitive shape. Its all part of the process through playing over here in the states the benefits of playing round some fantastic courses against great fields every week really takes your game and your experience of playing golf to another level. 

Iv been working hard on my swing for last few days because we have some time off, the key is posture. Tightening the shoulder blades allows my arms to stay connected with my chest and so the swing is shorter and more in sync with my body

Weaknesses
Driving Accuracy 42% - led to poor accuracy out of semi rough
Wedge Play - not many up and down birdies from 140 and in
Short Game - not enough scrambles
Par 5 scoring avg

Strengths
Putting - some great streaks of putting missed 2 putts inside 6 feet all week
Iron play out of fw - only missed green 3 times after hitting fw
Sand saves - 70% for the week

Plan to improve
Work on extra time creating safety go to shot off tee - little fade
Consistent pre shot routine practise
Extra time spent on 60 - 140 yard shots (yardages)
More one ball short game practise

Onwards and upwards

The last three weeks have seen a whole lot of great things happen, i have made some unbelievable improvements in my game and I'm feeling as confident as ever it really feels like im improving each and every day out here in south Florida.

My Psychology work over the years has taught me that true real confidence comes from evidence not thoughts. For instance i know my putting is great because the Worlds top 10 players average just below me on my average putts per round, i'm holing more putts per gir (birdie putts) and i'm having less 3 putts than the worlds top 10 players. Obviously they are playing the toughest courses on the globe but it just shows how im making great progress

I took a trip for 5 days to the David Leadbetter academy at Champions Gate to see David for a check up on my game and the advice so far has shown some phenomenal improvements. He really does have a wealth of knowledge of the golf swing and i learnt so much from spending time with him and all the academy staff there. Not only this but i got to watch David coach Nick Price and Trevor Immelman for a whole day which was great, they both hit it so good and really are similar to us!! People theres no secret but hard grind in the right direction.

  

We started our next qualifying for PGA National and California trips and so far im leading the qualifying with a 74 and 71, Im playing solid just need to make more birdies with the short irons and wedges, and of course holing some nice putts.

What im working on in my game

Full Swing 

• Posture - Shoulder blades pulled down and tighter together
• Backswing - Synchronisation between arms and body - tighter arms to chest towel drill
• Width drill
• Through swing - body and arm connection through to the finish
• Keep spine angle throughout the swing - hook comes from sternum shifting forward

Pitching 

• Posture
• Set the club more on plane (feels more outside Fade)
• Turning chest and body through the shot hard
• Keep spine angle stay down through it longer

Tournament preparation starts for the NSU Shark Invitational next week, its three rounds at PGA National playing the HONDA Classic pins and tees a great experience and fantastic course

Until next time .....

Vince Lombardi ""Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all of the time. Winning is a 

habit."

Qualifying rounds 1 and 2

Im finally back in Florida to start the second year of my college career. So far since coming back we have had a lot of things going on in school and on the golf side of things too. For the first 10 days or so i have been working hard in the gym and on the golf course.

In our first few days back we had a meeting scheduled by our coach. The meeting was a complete shock to the university and the golf programs our coach announced he would be resigning. After explaining it was due to family issues we all understood his circumstances and were told that our assistant coach would take over

We went onto hear about the upcoming schedule and we did some team goal setting which really we should have done last year. Im a firm believer in that if you don't know where you want to go how are you going to get there. The best thing i learned was that at tournaments this year our team goal is to PREPARE LIKE CHAMPIONS and WALK LIKE WINNERS.

This past weekend we completed the first two rounds of our team qualifying for who gets the spot on the team for the first couple of tournaments. We are having two rounds at Grande Oaks our home course, two at Emerald Hills and one at PGA National where they hold the Honda Classic each year, so some great golf ahead.

Round 1 - 69 (-2) 

Round 2 - 73 (+2) 

So 142 for two rounds even par. Both rounds i scored solid for the way i actually hit it, i didn't hit many shots close to the flags to set up makeable birdie putts. My putting was great after listening to the Bob Rotella tapes in practise. My driving is getting there the things im working on in my swing will continue to improve as time goes on, so for now all I'm trying to do is get into each and every shot fully. FEARLESS SWINGS AT PRECISE TARGETS. 

Rest is over Time to start the Hard Work!!!

For the last three weeks i have been resting away from competition golf. I have had a great rest and i really feel ready to go now. Iv got another 3 months here at home and im going to use it wisely.

Today was a great day on the course in my opening competition back home at my home course i shot 66 which was great considering it was raining all day and windy. It was the first time for a while where i got it going being 4 under through 7. I let a couple of shots slip through the middle of the round, but more importantly despite hitting it bad on the back 9 i got it up and down from everywhere holing some great putts for par.

The key to putting is having a great mental routine. Trusting your first instinct with the line. Seeing the line of the putt. Looking at the Target and letting it go with confidence. If you do all that you can easily accept the misses. Oh and one last thing go to dinner with good putters, all the great putters remember every holed putt

Im know onto the process of working very hard leading up to my next couple of tournaments the Tilman trophy and the English Amateur.

Im not 100 percent happy with my swing. Im not quite getting a flush strike and controlling my distance well enough. Im going to work out where i need to work on in my swing and stick with that and hit some balls.

Home Sweet Home

I flew back to England for the summer on May 11th. After failing to get to nationals as a team i flew back after my finals ready for an English summer and some tournaments back home

First stop is the South East Links Championship at Royal St Georges and Royal Cinque Ports

The Open being at Royal St Georges in a few months it proved to be a brute off the back tees playing nearly 7400 yards.

What a great week!

Last week was a great week for golf progress!! Since coming over here i was struggling with my pitching technique, trying to change a few things and i regressed. Since sending the videos to my coach Hugh Marr, i have really experienced some great success with his advice and my pitching is great.

Im concentrating heavily on short game this semester, everyone says that its the difference that makes the difference and more than anything i want to have the ability to score great on days when you don't have your swing. Not only the help from Hugh, but also my friend David Leadbetter gave me a call to discuss my game. I told him the problems and over the phone he gave me some great advice which had an immediate effect. Thats probably why hes the best coach in the world!

More onto the golf, On wednesday we played a group game at TPC Eagle Trace, a fantastic course which held the Honda Classic a few years ago. The course is so tough, that Greg Norman walked off the course claiming it was too hard and that it made him lose his confidence. It was great to get out there and play, whilst preparing for competitions. On friday i had a good session with my coach here at NSU Kevin Marsh. We worked on my long irons knock down shots and our goal was to neutralize the flight stop the over draw i was getting. With a few impact drills i was hitting them with a more neutral flight so that was some good work.

On Saturday we played my favourite course in South Florida, Emerald Hills it is by far the toughest course i have ever played. Im not joking when i say its as hard as a major championship course. The greens are so slopey and quick that u have to be so accurate with shots into the green otherwise they will roll of the green into the water (like Jack Bartlett's 9 iron that at one point was 12 feet and spun back into the water on the 15th shots!) AUGUSTA STYLEE!

I played nice i just drove the ball not my best which lead to a couple of double bogeys. However my short game was good and my iron play was the best its been for some time.

This next week i hope to work even harder and make further gains as i lead up to my first few tournaments. Im focusing hard this week on mental game, course management and holing out (short putting)

Please Follow me on Twitter

Mitch Farrer

Planning, Planning, Planning

Recently my game has been a little rusty, with actually shooting a score on the course. This is only normal for using my off time to make some swing changes and to focus on the gym work. When i went back to England i had 2 physical screenings to see where my weaknesses are and to then set forward a plan for improving them (details below)

Main Weakness from Physical Screenings

My main focus is to improve my flexibility in my lower half. Strength is not really of high importance Im already strong enough. My hips, external and internal hip rotation was poor. My calves quads and hamstrings were also equally tight. A focused stretching routine using a foam roller and spiky ball is going to get me in better shape to able me to improve my golf swing to where i want it.

Further to fitness testing i also had my Statistics analyzed via a fantastic company www.Strokeaverage.com. The findings opened my eyes to the importance of this data, it really gives you great confidence when u see that your driving accuracy is as good as a top tour pro, and more importantly it gives you great insight into what u need to improve!

Improvements Needed

• Effective Greens in Regulation need to improve - At the moment averaging 10 greens a round
• Improve Putting 6-15 feet
• Improve par 5 scoring average through more fws hit off tee.

I have added some videos of my swing

Continued Short Game practise

As the start of the season is near, me and Jack Bartlett both are spending a lot of time working on our short games, hoping to get them technically superior to what they were last season. I know that distance and directional control is the most important aspect of golf. But i really enjoy practicing the short game, i love tinkering with my technique to improve the flight and spin of the shots

We also played a game of worst ball over 9 holes, its safe to say that game is the hardest form of practice! My overall goal for the year is to break 75 for 18 holes Worst Ball. So far 43 over 9holes is a bit far off the mark but it really is TOUGH. Its the most mentally challenging game you will ever play!

I like playing a lot of competitions to put our scoring games under pressure. A personal favorite is par 18. It was invented by Karl Morris! we also play it with bunkers and some pitching games to put the technique practise under the gun.

Bunker par 18 scores - if you score 22 or better u play with 2 balls

Me 1 Ball - 21

Jack 1 Ball - 20

Me and Jack 2 Balls - 25

Then onto the par 18 and we had scores of

Me 1 Ball - 18 (my lowest score ever)

Jack 1 Ball - 20

Both with 2 balls we scored 23 each

This type of practise has been great and i can really feel my short game getting really sharp, which is exactly what you need in preparation for tournament golf.

Im continuing to work on my golf swing, using the information from my coach Hugh Marr. At the moment im trying create more width and the top of my swing and to continue working on my takeaway, making sure it doesnt roll to the inside as this leads to a poor top of the backswing position.

My Friend here Jack Bartlett is a fantastic player, he is a senior here and graduates in May. He is hoping to make it on the European Tour just like me, he has had some great results since coming over to the US most notably a quarter finalist in British Am in 2009. We both love to practise our swings maybe a bit too much. Check Jacks work station out, his goal here is to feel like he swings towards his water bottle, his tendency is to get the club working under plane so this gives him a great feel.

Looking forward to tournaments now

Mitch Farrer

First Day back at Nova - SHORT GAME SHORT GAME SHORT GAME

Im finally back in the USA. After a great break back in England, im glad to be back in the great weather of South Florida. Today, i organized everything ready for classes and had a good session at the par 3 course.

This years short term goals are to focus on nailing the short game practice rather than hitting hundreds of chips, im getting into the one ball one chance method. In order to improve a performance during tournament golf we must make practice more difficult than the tournament, then the tournament rounds will seem easy. So a lot of testing on the short game is taken place during these early months to prepare me for the long season ahead.

Par 18 scores

1 Ball - 21

2 Balls - 23

Pelz Test

Short Bunker - 12 points

Long Chip - 14 points

10y Fw pitch - 15 points

Another very important plan of mine is to really focus on my putting attitude and routine. In the past i have been a great putter when i have focused on these areas, last semester i struggled with the flat stick because i wanted to improve so bad that i looked to other areas, i turned to the technical side and it didn't work. I do believe its vital to improve this area constantly but a great mental routine must be in place to see success.

Some more great practice tomorrow i love this place

Mitch Farrer