Well, last week we headed up to Tiffin, Ohio to play Mohawk Country Club...expecting..who knows? None of us had ever seen the course and we couldn't miss any more days of schools so that means...no practice round! Oh joy. I wish we would have had that practice round. The thing about Mohawk is it is an old country club. This means two things. Number 1 - TREES! Number 2 - You need local knowledge to score. And exactly as I stated before, there were plenty of trees and plenty of shots I had no idea what to do on. The sight lines at this course were awful, the undulation was amazing (thank you, Donald Ross) and the wind was howling. These three things don't make for ideal scoring conditions. But excuses aside, we should have played better. After the first day, we sat in second place with a realistic chance of catching the first place team if we played well the second day. Junior Cory Palmer played very well the first day! He hit all 14 fairways, pretty studly.

So what can I say about Cory Palmer (left)? I have known him for 14 years. We went to elementary school together. He is one of the most purely talented golfers I know. He has more natural talent than I can ever dream of having. The boy loves cars, particularly his Acura (which is way too fast for me, it's scary). He is one of the funniest kids I know. He just does things out of the blue that would you never expect from him and it is hilarious. The guys on the team can attest to what I am talking about! Cory helped our Mount Vernon High School team set the school record for lowest team total back in high school! That was a fun day. Cory is the son to Georgie Palmer and the late, absolutely great Kerry Palmer. Kerry has since passed, but his memory lives on daily. We truly loved the guy and we know he is above looking down, laughing and smiling at us when we hit bad shots, thinking "I could show them boys how to hit that shot!" Cory is one of my best friends and a really talented guy. We are so privileged to have him on the team! I can't wait to see what our last year and half of golf together has in store for us!

The second day at Mohawk we didn't fair so well. It's such a tough game. I don't even understand why I play it sometimes. It's definitely not a game you want to play to boost your self esteem. One day, you feel like a tour pro, can't miss a shot. The next, it feels like you have never picked up a club....

On to our invitational at Chapel Hill Golf Course! (which is a great course with great rates - come out and play! - shameless plug - )

Ohio Dominican pretty much sealed the thing up after shooting 298 the first day. That's a solid score anywhere. But we had two solid scores 78 from Matty Crouch and 77 from myself! We were both hoping to play well the second day to secure a top 10 or all tournament team spot! Well, Matty succeeded, I did not. I finished 6th and Matt finished 5th! Pretty solid still! The weather was beautiful both days - a little windy but still shorts and a tee shirt, so no complaints! The course was in great shape as usual and the greens were slicker than snot! We finished 3rd, I believe, which was not so bad!

Looking back on our tournament, I think my game is taking a turn for the better. I talked to my swing coach, Mike O'Hara, and we talked about staying patient and staying positive. I feel like I am a bounce or a break here and there from going low! I just have to persevere through the hard times and always, always, always, stay positive! Golf is such a cruel and fickle game, yet I have a passion and drive for it like nothing else!

Until next time! (And to those who follow my blog, if anyone, I appreciate you guys reading so much! Thanks a lot!)