Hey Y'all,
Great to be back and competing again in the States.
After a solid performance this week I feel like I am back and am putting the woes of the disappointment of missing the first two cuts of my season here in the USA, behind me! Having my friend and coach Mark Immelman show up today for the final round and help me warm up; and steer me in the right direction for a good round, meant a lot to me. I'll be spending Monday with Mark and will be working on my game. I feel like things are finally going in the right direction again.
I have also been experimenting with equipment lately namely regular shafts in my irons. Playing and practising with the regular shafts was taking the strain off my wrist and I was able to practice for longer periods. This week was the first time that I was able to play with stiff shafts in my irons and that showed me that there is improvement in my game and in my strength. In saying that, I still have a regular shaft in my Nike Sumo driver - for now anyway!
I am playing with the same brand of grip but have gone to a bigger size and find that it gives me more stability in my swing. Thanks to the guys at the ProShop in Durban who allowed me to experiment with Nike equipment. It certainly gave me a jump-start with my quest to find more forgiving equipment. I also have to thank the Reps from Nike and Titleist out here on the Nationwide Tour who have been so patient with me during my exprimental phrase. And Tom Hunt, you are a legend - thanks for all your help in the truck.
After making the cut this week and then a solid weekend with a Top 30 finish, I should now be in a fairly decent position to play the next few weeks. As I am a conditional player this year on the Nationwide Tour and having missed the first three events of the Nationwide tour due to my rehab; AND then not getting into the field in Louisiana; AND then missing the cut at the events in California and South Georgia, having had a fairly decent week this week was huge for me! Maybe one of the more challenging tournaments I have ever had to play in my career was this week. This was due to all the re-shuffle and conditional status requirements that I needed to fulfill in order to gain entry into the upcoming events. But I am just glad I managed to hang on and make the cut on Friday despite a shaky few holes when it all looked rather daunting.
Thanks to the new and old faces showing up this week at the Athens Regional Foundation Classic to support me.
