Golf Tips & Quips

Work Life

On June 12th of 2011, I started working for NIKE as a part time athlete(sales associate). As some of you may remember, I got married last April and moved to Phoenix, AZ from Miami, FL. I basically had to start over work wise and after my savings began to dwindle, I began searching for part time work. I had experience working in athletic retail so I decided to see if NIKE was hiring. As it would have it, they were and after a successful interview, I started training the very next day. In December, I was asked if I wanted to do a stretch position as the Footwear Coach, which would put me in charge of the entire footwear department, which accounts for the majority of the business. I accepted and if you take a look into my archives, you will notice that this also around the time my posts start to become less frequent.

The stretch position (which is kind of like a try-out period to see how I would perform) was supposed to last for three months, but I was offered the position full time after only a month and a half. I officially started the position on February 1st and because of my new responsibilities, I have not written a post since. As of this past Sunday, my position has changed again. I am now in charge of the Back Of House. This means that I am responsible for every item that comes into the store. I can't talk numbers, but trust me, there are a lot of units to keep track of. It will be a challenge, but I'm all about learning as much as possible about all facets of the company so that I can be a true asset.

Personal Life

My wife and I celebrated our one year anniversary on April 1st. We were married at The Scottsdale Cottonwoods Resort in Arizona, and as a part of the wedding package, couples receive a free night on their one anniversary. Of course we took advantage of this, and enjoyed the day at the pool and acted like tourist, visiting some of the local hot spots in the Old Town area.

Last month we took a trip to New Orleans with my wife's parents, her brother and his girlfriend, and The Doctor and his wife. New Orleans, or at least Bourbon St., is like Las Vegas for me. Two or three days is all you need. After that it is just sensory overload. But, if you are into people watching, this is the place for you. After living on South Beach, I thought I had seen it all, but New Orleans just may have topped it.

The plan was to get in at least one round of golf, but it rained a few days while we were there, so we opted to take advantage of the weather when it was good to see some of the sights. The food was so good and in a culture that has a strong European influence mixed with its own southern flare, any appetite is sure to be satisfied. The music scene is of course legendary and we sat in on a few jam sessions which we happened to stumble upon. Some of which were right there on the streets.

Golf Life

Despite being busy at work, I have been playing golf at least two times a week. If I'm not working then I'm golfing. Every time I play a round, I think of something I can write about, but after a round, I just want to get some rest before I go back into work. But I'm hoping to change that. Bryce reignited a fire I had for writing about the game and my progress and amazingly, I have been receiving comments despite the fact that I have not been active.

My game is improving. I am averaging around 81 per round which currently has me at an 8.7 on the handicap index, and after my last three rounds, I am on pace to be at an 8.2. I shot a new personal best of 75 at Viewpoint Golf Course and have shot sub 80 rounds several times so far this year. The challenge now is to play well enough to shoot par.

My biggest improvement has come with my putter. I am getting much better with my lag putts and have been able to drain some big 5-10 footers to save pars. While I am happy with my putting, I realize that it will be hard for me to shoot par if I don't continue to improve in other parts of my game. My focus over the next few months will be on my chipping. I'm driving the ball pretty well off the tee. I still revert to bad habits from time to time by coming over the top, but for the most part my misses have not been too detrimental. Another area that has improved is with my approach shots into the greens. My GIR percentage isn't where it needs to be, but my misses are now good misses.

This brings us to my chipping. If I can become more consistent with getting the ball to within tap in range, I will be giving myself a better chance to score well. Chipping actual used to be one of the stronger parts of my game, but I think I know I lost focus on that as I worked on my driver and irons.

Moving forward, I will be playing more golf and writing about it. It's hot again in the Valley Of The Sun, but that means cheaper tee times. I already made it through my first summer in the desert so I am well prepared to play in triple digit weather. Thank you to those of you who continued to leave comments here and on my Facebook page. That just lets me know that there are a lot of golfers like myself who are working hard to get better at this crazy game. This alone is encouragement for me to keep, keeping on. Feel free to tell me what you have been up to for the past couple of months. I feel like I have missed so much. Have a great round and always hit your target.