JAGolfore

Monday was the CDGA Mid-Amateur Championship at Lake Shore Country Club north of Chicago. The format was 18 hole qualifying round with the top 16 going to match play. I did not get the chance to play a practice round but I was able to get a green book from Golflogix. The green book was very helpful. I started my day on the tenth tee and it was a smooth start with a par. I was able to hit the first 5 greens in regulation with one 3 putt (lack of pace) and an eagle on a par 5. I got into trouble on 15 and 16 but made two nice bogey saving putts to save the round. I finished the front 9 one over and went to the first tee knowing that even par would get me into match play. A driver and wedge later I had a tap in birdie and was at that number. I was able to finish the round with one more bogey and a birdie and 6 straight pars to finish the round at even par 71, good enough for a T-9. The afternoon match play round started at 3:18 and I did not play the way I wanted to on the front 9 and found myself in a deep hole headed into the back 9. I was able to claw it back a little but ended up loosing my first match 5&3 and ending my chances for the title. On a side note a very good friend is in the championship round today so I wish him the best of luck and hope he can pull off the victory. Stats for the round, I hit 50% of my fairways, 61% of the greens and had 29 putts. I am now off until a local event June 5 & 6.

I am a member at a country club. My experience is that they should tailor your experience to you. If you do not want your clubs cleaned then they will learn this. 2. You would be surprised what is on the menu at a lot of clubs. Mine does offer grass fed (now we are in the Midwest as well). Look around, call and visit places. You will be surprised what you can find.

Congratulations on those chosen! Looking forward to following along!

Thank you! Hopefully many more events to come!

Yesterday was my 2nd tournament of the year but first since February. There were 82 guys for 11 spots and ties to get into the CDGA Mid-Amateur. It was a very poor weather day as it rained for 14 holes and was about 55*. The golf course was in very good shape and is a great layout. If you live in the Illinois area and want to play a fun golf course that will test your short game and putting come play Kankakee Elks. My round was very up and down, I started well with a birdie on my 2nd hole (started on 10), but I followed it with a 3 putt bogey. This was the them of the day as I did this 2 more times following birdies with a bogey. In the end I was able to hold the round together and finish at +2 and qualify for the championship May 17-19. I will be sure to post back here as there will be live scoring.

Downloaded.....looking forward to this!

I played in a few Indianapolis events last year because they were the only events around due to covid. I thought the tour was well run, not a ton of people, but everyone was very nice. And if you do the skins and contests you can walk away with some green.

Golf season is officially here. The one event in FL did not go as planned but it was fun to compete in Florida. I have my first tee time for the season up here on April 29th. I tee off at 9:21 in the CDGA Mid-Amateur qualifier. 86 guys for 11 spots and ties. I will put out a live link the day of the event on my Instagram page.

It has been a while since I have updated this. February was a busy month for work and I was not able to get the practice in that I wanted. I was able to get in 3 rounds of golf though and one was a tournament. Over all for the month I hit 770 balls in the garage and 655 putts. Totals for the winter through Feb are now, 5943 shots and 3983 putts. I also have invested in a putt out training aid and that alone is going to help us a lot come spring. I can tell my game is way ahead of where it normally is this time of year and I am looking forward to warmer weather and getting the chance to hit balls outside.

Thanks! @00sportsman

Thanks @Kenny B!

Thanks @MattF!

They feel great hitting them indoors. It will be nice to get them onto the course and see how they do. I am headed to FL to play this next weekend so I should have a good idea.

Time for another update. I am not going to be anywhere close to 10,000 balls hit or putts, but hopefully progress is being made as we have our first tournament of the year on Feb 15th in the Tampa area. I have hit over 3328 5' putts making 3269 of them so far. I have also hit over 5170 shots this winter on my skytrak. My swing feels really good and I have been able to hit outside a few times at heated driving ranges. I am really looking forward to the next 14 days as if I play well I should get about 90 holes of golf in and 72 of those being tournament rounds.

Here are some photos at address. 60* 54* 50* Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Ill try and get some today.

Just got my Sub70 JB wedges in! These are awesome! I can’t wait to try them on the course. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

With December now in the books I was able to get a little more practice in. I hit over 1900 balls, made 1570 of 1580 5' putts and was able to start getting back into shape. I expect January to be very similar. I have hit over 3900 balls so far this winter and over 2100 putts. I will be very interested in seeing how the game comes out of the winter. I should be able to play a round or two in Feb if not more than that.

When the game is headed south do not say a word unless they ask. Best to just stay quiet and let them figure it out. Maybe chuckle if they have a good club throw or two.

Once again here we are getting ready for another season of tournament golf. 2020 was a challenging year but we did come away with four wins and a top 10 in the Illinois State Mid-Amateur. I am looking forward to a few more events in 2021 and hopefully a few more wins! Schedule so far: Date Tournament Location Holes Score Feb 15 April 29 Gasparilla Invitational Qualifier CDGA Mid-Amateur Qualifier Tampa, FL Kankakee Elks 18 18 78 (+6) 74 (+2) *T-8 May 3 US Open Qualifying Country Club of Indianapolis 18 78 (+6) May 17-19 CDGA Mid-Amateur Championship Lake Shore CC 18-MP 71 (E) T-9 Lost 1st round of MP June 5-6 Naughton Open Lake of the Woods 36 77 - 77 (+10) June 17 Illinois State Amateur Qualifying U of I Orange Course 18 76 (+4) DNQ June 19-20 U of I Open U or I Orange Course 36 69 - 69 (-6) 1st July 7 US Amateur Qualifying Weibring Golf Club @ ISU 36 68 -76 (+2) DNQ T-11 July 24-25 Twin Cities Championship U of I & Lincolnshire 54 72-79-74 (+11) 7th Aug 4-8 SWNY-NWPA Men's Amateur Bartlet CC 18-MP 74 (+4) Lost in QtF Aug 23-24 Illinois State Mid-Amateur Championship Bloomington CC 54 72-79-72 (+10) T-22 Oct 9-10 UCC Club Championship Urbana CC 36 Oct 19 USGA Four Ball Qualifying Prairie View GC 18 As with 2020 this is subject to change, but these are in the plans as of right now. (MP events will have qualifying rounds in them to determine match play fields) *Qualified All photos and live score sites are posted to my instagram account - JoshAndersonGolf give it a follow!

Studies have shown that for amateurs distance is key to lower scores. Yes putting matters, but right now distance is king. I saw from some good sources on twitter the other day that hitting the ball 350 yards is better for your scoring than having every 12' and in putt be a gimmie. That was even for tour pros, so if I am doing anything it is getting longer. I have the super speed sticks and just purchased the Super Speed C Counterweight club to add in this winter.

One month in the books. I know I said full on Bryson would be nice, well a trip to the Dr. for a physical and that will not be happening. Good news is I am down 8 lbs. Now with my job I travel a lot and it is impossible to practice every day. But I was able to get some really good days in and workout almost every day. In November I was able to hit 1390 quality practice shots in the garage and hit almost 1000 5' putts. I hope December lets me practice a little more but I am on the road for work 10 of the next 12 days and then hopefully done for the year.

As the weather gets colder here in the Midwest I know most of us are looking for the next warm day to golf and some of the members hear have already moved to indoors. I wanted to share my goals for the winter season to come out playing my best next spring. I am fortunate enough, one to work from home normally and two, have an indoor space to hit balls and practice putting. Over the next 151 days (April 1, 2021) my goal is to hit 10,000 quality practice shots anywhere from 50 yards to 215 yards LW through 5 iron. And make 10,000 5 foot putts. This averages out to 67 shots a day and 67 putts a day. Some days I should be able to do this easily. Some days I will not be able to do any. It will be interesting to see how close we get to the 10,000 goal, and to see if they can all be quality shots, not just swinging to swing. I do plan to pick back up with the superspeed sticks again after the new year as I do not want to get into everything at once and over use my body. It would be nice to go full on Bryson, but that is not the level I am at.

How many of us will be playing winter golf and be able to use this watch all winter? I know I will probably get a couple of rounds in between now and March, but no more than 10.

Well the 2020 competitive golf season has come to a close here in Illinois for me. I paired up with a good friend to play in a 2 man better ball event this weekend and we had a great weekend. We shot 64 - 64 = 128 (-16) to win by two shots. We both played well at different times which is key in these events. I finished the weekend with 9 birdies and an eagle. Not a bad showing at all. It was really nice to get this team win and finish off 2020 on a good note. The season was for sure a weird one as to where and what to play. But we had one of the best years in terms of finishes. I ended up having 4 wins, 2 seconds and my worst finish was 10th (twice). The one being a T-10 in the Illinois State Mid-Amateur which makes me exempt for next years event! I am looking forward to playing more golf in 2021 and hopefully starting the season in Florida in February. I will be sure to do this again next year and that you all for following along. If you ever have questions or know of events let me know!