If you followed me for the last year, you know that I had some huge expectations for 2018 and that they were destroyed early on by a surgery and schedule conflicts. Well, the 2018 season is all but over now and that makes it time to look ahead to 2019 and some goal setting. Let me be clear on this one, first and foremost is going to be getting into some actual tournament play this season and using those tournaments to work towards one goal – reaching the USGA Mid-Amateur Tournament in Colorado. None of the local events for 2019 have been set up at this time, but I do plan on hitting the qualifiers for the WSGA Men’s Amateur (usually July) and the WSGA Men’s Mid-Amateur (Usually August) for sure. With the future of the tournament series that I signed up for this year in question for next year, I’m not sure what options I will have for playing out tournament play during the rest of the season, but I will see what can be arranged.
One option may be the casual tournament setup of the WSGA Winter Golf Series. The six tournament series usually kicks off in January and features various formats from stroke play to stableford scoring to even a scramble format. Many of these are team events, so I will have to try and find a playing partner for some of them – if you’re local and want to play, message me! Another part of me is really wanting to milk the Winter Golf Card that I purchased for The Golf Club At Echo Falls ($179.99 for unlimited play M-F and after noon S-S from October through February.) Either way, the key to making a move on the Mid-Am next year at any level is going to be getting consistent off the tee and even more consistent with my wedges.
Of course, there’s no predicting the future, which makes this once again a fluid plan. There aren’t any real opportunities between now and March to get into many tournament play scenarios, so I’ll just have to see how wet and how crazy this winter gets to see what sort of shape I can keep my game in. My plan at this point in time is to get a range session a week and 2 9 hole rounds a week beginning October 1st and continuing through February. I’m 100% geared up for a wet winter this season, though my Ionix Bag may need a weather-proofing or maybe an upgrade to the new Exo cart bag? I’ll keep the Ionix for dry weather carrying, but something a bit more substantial might be nice for rolling around on my ClickGear for the winter months.
All things said, if I am able to play as much as I am hoping, I should have about 45 rounds in (many will be nine holes I’m sure) and about 20 weeks of range sessions is as well. My goals for the off season are going to be mostly path to face related as this has been the biggest cause of my inaccuracies over the past few years. My ball flight tends to move from draw to hook pretty easily, so my aim is to pull that back to just a draw state over the colder months. Short game work will also be an emphasis over the winter as Echo Falls usually has some pretty stellar greens year round. I recently tested out a new putter model that is on my radar, the Wilson Staff “The Bean” model just set up a bit flatter for me and rolled the ball very well in store. In my on-again/off-again iron search, I’m still dead set on my FG 100’s, as the performance of them is still just stunning. I do think I am losing some playability in the longer clubs, but without a proper fitting, I don’t see myself making a move at this point.
That brings me to a Spring goal that I am hoping will be met prior to the official season starting – the completion of my Journey To 100. Currently, at the time I’m writing this, I am at 35% of my goal in just two months of work. If I keep up my second month pace, I should lose about 10 pounds a month, or be at goal weight near April of next year. At that point in time, I plan on getting fully fitted to something newer or even just having my FG100’s adjusted out to where they need to be for my new swing and new body. According to most fitting tools, I still play a standard to 1° upright setting at standard length with standard grip size. I’d love to see if that changes based on my weight loss, but I have a feeling it’s going to be pretty standard or close to it.
From there, I will have to do some homework over the winter to see if there is a good Men’s Club opportunity for next season or if finding something similar to the Pro Golf Club Series is possible. I was really bummed that I didn’t get a chance to really take part in it this season, but even more upset that, from the sounds of things, there won’t be a chance to play it at all next season. I know there are some other local events like the Cascade Golfer Cup Series and some local County Amateur opportunities that I could work in, but it won’t be the same as having an actual tournament schedule like I had hoped to set up this season. Anyways, let’s take this season one step at t time and see how great 2019 is going to be.
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