Back from Georgia...I feel a little like the citizens of Atlanta after General Sherman burned the city during the war of Yankee aggression. The theme continues concerning my play, with fairly good ball striking and poor scoring, particularly my putting. I played 2 tournaments in the greater Atlanta area, the first being at Chateau Elan I shot 82-77-74, good for a middle of the pack finish. I had a few terrible breaks the first day, and one on the second day that cost me a quadruple bogey on the 2nd hole. I played better the final day, and that carried over to the pro-am we played the day after the tournament when I shot 73 with 2 late 3 putts.

Leaving Chateau Elan and headed for Heron Bay, (about 30 miles south of Atlanta towards Macon) I was filled with confidence and ready to play well. I hit it solid during my practice round, but I did notice the greens were somewhat quick and a little inconsistent (some were super fast and others just quick) I made a nice up-n-down on the first hole from the greenside bunker, and felt good. I turned 2 over and putted horrible on the back. I started the back with a 4 putt on 10 and 3 putts on 11 and 13. I had just hit the first 4 greens on the back and was 4 over on those holes...unbelievable. It seemed that I was always above the hole on the fastest greens, and could not get it close with my first putt. My mechanics are off a little, and I will be working hard next week to fix that. I shot 77-74-79 at the event, again somewhere in the middle of the field. I missed only 7 fairways all week and averaged 13 greens hit per round. Certainly good enough to score well. I had ten 3 putts and a 4 putt which kills everything.

You can't dwell on poor play, but you must look at it with a critical eye and learn from it. I need better pace on my longer putts, and not try to make everything...particularly down hill, down grain putts. I also need to work on my putts between 6-8 feet. I missed many of those, mostly second putts for par after hitting a green. On the positive side, I played the par 5's better (3 under for the week) and with the exception of a few sloppy shots, kept the ball in play.

Putting is both a combination of confidence and mechanics, and I need a shot of both right now. I believe I am close to putting it together, and I am upbeat about things despite my scores. My next tournament is in Pinehurst next week, and I played well there last year, finishing 10th with scores of 70-69-70. Sometimes going back to a place you played well is just what the Doctor ordered. More after Whispering Woods.