After the Brisbane Pro Am Swing, it was time to hit the road again head back down to the far north coast region and play in the Murwillumbah Pro Am (5th September), Grafton Pro Am (6th September) and Yamba Pro Am (7th and 8th September).
Murwillumbah Pro Am:
One of the finest courses on the far north coast, Murwillumbah GC was in awesome condition for the Pro Am with firm and fast greens and fairways like carpet. I started my round on the 2nd hole which was a long par 3 – not exactly an ideal start especially at 7am in the morning! My aim for the round was to get off to a good start and ride with the momentum from there. A few missed putts had me sitting at 1 over par after 8 holes and finally made a birdie at the par 5 11th to get back to even par. Unfortunately, another mental lapse during the round had cost me coming in to the closing holes and rather than thinking about the shot in front of me, I was chasing birdies and being too aggressive on some shots, ultimately signing for a 2 over par round and finish in a tie for 27th. Highly recommend playing Murwillumbah Golf Club, a hidden gem as I would call it!
Grafton Pro Am:
After a phone call with the coach as we debriefed on the round at Murwillumbah, we decided to focus on one thing and one thing only coming in to Grafton and that was: RHYTHM. Boy did that message from the coach work and make a big difference to how I felt over the ball. Such simplicity. Grafton Golf Course is a typical hilly country golf course with small greens and very tight fairways – a tough layout. Starting on the 9th hole, I got off to a good start making birdies on the 9th and 11th holes as they were both par 5s. Another birdie at the short par for 14th all of the sudden had me at 3 under par for the round after just 6 holes. From there, a few chances had slid by and a few solid up and downs for par saw me close out a bogey free round of 3 under par 69 and finish in a tie for 7th place. Crazy how 1 swing thought makes such a difference!
Yamba Pro Am:
One of my favourite events of the year has arrived! And I can certainly see why Trevor Beale has decided to make the move up there, such an awesome location and the golf course is just as good!
This Pro Am was a 2 day event that gave the locals a chance to play with a professional over the 2 days. Still having 1 swing thought in my head (RHYTHM), it was time to attack a testing layout. What is so unique about Yamba is you cannot see any other hole on the course except the hole you are playing.
Starting on the 14th hole in the first round, I got off to a very shaky start and found myself being 4 over after 6 holes due to a couple of unlucky breaks that I had no control over. Hanging in there, I was able to claw my way back to a reasonable score and with 3 birdies and a lone bogey coming in – I was satisfied with a 2 over par first round. It was time to shake things up in the 2nd round and I decided to focus more on course management and put myself in better positions and post a good score. And that I did. Starting on 16 (probably the hardest hole on the far north coast), I was able to par the first 3 holes which is where I came undone in the first round. 2 consecutive 3 putts on the 1st and 2nd hole was very uncharacteristic of me and another bogey at the 6th saw me at 3 over par. I knew I was striking the ball well, just the putts weren’t going in and I just had to stay patient as they had to drop eventually. With 6 holes to go, they finally dropped and I finished in style – birdie (10th), par (11th), par (12th), birdie (13th), eagle (14th, holed a 40ft putt!!) and a solid par on 15 saw me go 4 under the last 6 holes and post a 1 under par round. 1 over for 2 rounds saw me finish tied for 17th. A very strong finish to a frustrating round!
Overall, very happy with how my golf is trending at the moment. A few areas that need a bit of tidying up but a low round is certainly coming, I can feel it. As mentioned in last week’s article, I mentioned having to look after my body more by eating healthy and stretching etc. But this week, I found having to move hotels regularly to be quite challenging and draining and this is where the hydration levels need to be stepped up a notch. I have made it a goal to drink at least 3 full bottles of water a day to maintain mental strength as well as physical. Nothing more important than preparing yourself for good performance than being healthy and hydrated, rather than drained and mentally exhausted from all the travelling.