We arrived in Florida on Saturday at about 10:30 a.m. and hit the course to practice at 12:30. It was a pretty uneventful day as most of us were simply trying to get back into the "swing" of our swings. We practiced for about 4 hours then headed back to the hotel to get some much needed rest.

Sunday, we had a fun day. We had a class team game. Freshmen vs. Sophomores vs. Juniors. No one played well at all, but we got a great look at the Rollings Oaks course. Then it was off to the range for more practice.

At this point, I am really struggling with my swing, I can't seem to figure out what's wrong. I'm really hoping to figure out what's wrong by the first day of qualifiers. This is such a frustrating game...

Monday! The big day! Qualifiers round one! The weather was pretty good other than the fact that we had 30 mile per hour winds that seemed to be in our face every single hole. It was definitely some of the toughest conditions I have played in, in fair weather. Matt Crouch is leading after the first day followed by myself, then Mitch Justice followed by Cory Palmer. There was a separation after those scores and it seems that the last four guys will be fighting for that final spot over the next three days.

The night was filled with some fun antics. Good ol' Jimmy Nichols was dared to jump in the pool that is about 35 degrees and, of course, he came through in the clutch and jumped right in - 3 times. We then witnessed Cory Palmer kick the walkway ceiling to the pool with an overhead kick. It was quite impressive, I didn't know he could get his leg up that high! Overall, a fun day.

Tuesday! Day two of qualifiers! This was actually a fairly uneventful day. No one played very well and the course just seemed to have our number today. Everyone on the team was fairly disappointed in the condition of the course. I can attest to this truth. Last year, the course was in pristine shape and this year it is sub par. All of the locals attribute this to the bad "winter" that Florida has experienced this year. I suppose that's completely understandable, but these southern boys don't have a clue what winter is like! They were all shocked when we told them that the 4 feet of snow we received had just melted before we left. The weather today was probably the best we had all week. It was about 65 and fairly calm. The wind gets going here and it is very cold. No fun.

During the time off, we have enjoyed many trips to the gas station for 44 ounce soft drinks, donuts and slushies. Jim and I have also made nightly trips to the local Waffle House where we have met some interesting people. We made friends with one the waiters, Craig and a cook, Kimberly. It's interesting the conversations you get into at one in the morning with the crew at Waffle House. There has also been many dares to jump in the pool and Mitch and Jim are the only ones to do so far. I will NOT do this! I'm a little guy, get cold easily, and despise water even though I'm a good swimmer. Jumping in the pool sounds like a recipe for disaster for me. Jim said jumping in the water took the pain away from his ingrown toenail. Which leads to another point, we witnessed Jim perform emergency surgery on his ingrown toenail. It was absolutely disgusting, but Mitch Justice was there to coach him along and give him motivation which was nothing short of hysterical. It's been a fun trip so far!

Wednesday. Day three of qualifiers! Today was the day that the groups were split by score. We basically had 4 solid guys set on the team (Matt, myself, Cory and Mitch). The remainder of the team (Jim, Brad, Jon and Brandon) were competing for the fifth and final tournament spot. I played terrible today. I can't seem to get anything going the right way. As soon as I seem to get some momentum, I shoot myself in the foot and make a dumb mistake. It's a rough game. Cory passed me today as he played pretty well. The standing as of today are Matt, Cory, me, Mitch and Brad on the tournament team.

Thursday. Final day of qualifiers! Today, we played Rolling Oaks instead of Pine Barrens, which we had played the last 3 days. In my eyes, it is a harder course as there are more trees and I seem to find those quite a bit when I'm not hitting it well. Today was probably my best ball-striking day, but I putted like a blind man. The greens were exceptionally slow compared to Pine Barrens and I just never adjusted. Qualifiers ended with Matt winning, myself and Cory tying for second, Mitch filling up the four spot and Brad bringing up the rear.

Friday. Fun Day! This was probably my favorite day of the trip. I had a lot of fun playing with Cory and Jim in our class challenge. Even though we lost, I had a great time. I hit my most memorable shot of the trip, well two most memorable on holes 12 and 15. On 12, none of us hit a good drive - not a single one in the fairway. We were scrambling, so we picked a shot that left us the least yardage. We had a terrible angle under a tree and were 180 yards out to a tucked right pin. I hit the shot of the week, well up to that point, to 3 feet and Cory converted the birdie for us. On 15 (a 325-yard par 4), we needed something big to happen. Cory and Jim hit safe drives so I figured that I might as well swing for the fences and try to hit one on the green. I did it, 15 feet, we were looking at a huge eagle putt. Jim putts first, great line just a little too hard. I putt second, another great line just not hard enough. Cory steps up, I say to Jim, "He's going to make this one" and BOOM! He drains it. We went wild! Running and jumping, celebrating like we just won The Masters. It was fun time. This put us back in the hunt, but Jon Weaver, Brandon Wengerd and Mitch Justice edged us by one shot.

It was at this time we headed back to Ohio. I really don't recall much of the trip back because I actually slept about 13 out of the 15 hours. From what I saw it looked like the guys finally got the DVD player working. We couldn't figure it out on the way down. It turns out, the buttons were either wired awfully or just plain didn't work. Either way, something always seems to try to ruin our fun. The trip to Florida was fun, we grew as a team, played some fun yet stressful golf and watched The Waterboy about 12 times.

This entry's feature is our STUD freshman Matthew Crouch. I have known Matt since I was about 13 years old. We grew up together at ol' Hiawatha Golf Course. Matt won one of the biggest tournaments, the "Heart of Ohio", in Harpster, Ohio at Hickory Grove Golf Course. That is a BIG win at a BIG tournament! HUGE! Matt has really matured as a player through the last 2 - 3 years. I am so proud of how far he has come as a player and as a person.

Matt 's favorite player is Jim Furyk. He reminds me of Furyk in the way that their swings are both like metronomes, always on the screws. Undoubtedly, ball striking is Matt 's biggest strength in this game. Matt always seems to hit a draw possibly because that is his favorite shot shape. He works on his game all the time. He is always tinkering and trying to make things better which is a good trait to have. Matt admits that his weakest point in his game is wedge play. As simple as this sounds, Matt thinks that he can improve on his wedge play by "hitting more wedges". Simple resolutions for a simple kid.

Matt might as well be married as he has been with his girlfriend, Renay Bakley, since the third grade picnic. He is the oldest son of Tim and Cindy Crouch and the elder brother of Timothy Maxwell Crouch or "TT". He is an Integrated Mathematic Education major. Why anyone would choose a major dealing with mathematics is beyond me...then again I did get a 12 on the ACT in math. Anyways, Matt is a great kid, he has a great head on his shoulders, and I think he will have a great year. He will make waves in the AMC this year, I guarantee it.

This Wednesday marks our first trip to a tournament of the spring season. We make the trip to Kentucky to play Crooked Creek Golf Course. Hopefully, the weather holds out this time as last time was freezing cold and rainy. The course has a weird sort of grass that doesn't grow in until mid-summer, so hopefully it is in better shape this season! I am looking forward to playing some good golf and getting to see all the other guys from other teams!

Until next time....