Bob Hope - Round 1

Our first round was at  La Quinta Country Club. Starting on number 10, Kevin was able to get off to a great start at -3 thru 4 holes. He said he was still uncomfortable with the swing but he was able to keep the ball in play and rolled in some nice putts. Things caught up to us on the long par three 15th as he hit the tee shot right and made bogey. Another tee shot right on 16 into a water hazard lead to another bogey. One more tee shot right on 18 ended up against a tree. All we had was a pitch out to the fairway. From there, we missed the green and failed to get it up and down. The double bogey dropped us to one over thru nine holes. On the back nine, Kevin was able to keep the ball in play and did a great job getting it around in one under for an even par round 72.

After the round, we went straight to the range to try to figure it out again. Kevin's instructor followed us and watched every shot. He wants Kevin to shorten up his back swing and smooth out the transition. Kevin is just not able to think about a shorter backswing and hit solid golf shots consistently during competition. He is frustrated and we needed to find another way to accomplish this. We had a great session as Kevin went back to a feeling we worked on last summer (keeping his head still and driving with the lower body). Kevin felt that his head moving toward the target at the start of the downswing was the CAUSE of the club getting too long and not a RESULT of the club being too long. He started hitting solid shots more consistently and it also accomplished the shorter/tighter backswing with the smoother pace his instructor was looking for. Lack of daylight ended our session but I do believe we have found something Kevin can trust out in competition. He has worked extremely hard these past few days and I'm hoping he can start seeing the results.

We play Silver Rock tomorrow morning at 9:33. 

Bob Hope Classic - Practice Days

Rolling into town on Sunday, we checked into the hotel, showered, and went out to the host club at PGA West. The Bob Hope is a five day event that is played on four different golf courses. We hit some balls and then played the front nine on the Nicklaus Course. All the golf courses are up against a mountain and have some unbelievable views.

We woke up early on Monday and played 18 at La Quinta Country Club. This course is in the best shape. Everything was perfect. Kevin was still having issues with his swing but his instructor, Hugh Royer is flying in today. After the round, we went back to the host club and worked on the short game until Hugh arrived. After a big session on the range, we all went out and played nine holes on the Palmer course at PGA West. Kevin's swing is getting better and his shots are getting tighter. He is still not thrilled with it but we are seeing progress.

Tuesday morning we played 18 at Silver Rock. The hard work is starting to pay off. After a frustrating front nine, Kevin started to get a better feel and saw the results by the end of the round. After the round, we went back to PGA West and played the other nine holes on the Palmer Course that we did not see yesterday. Kevin is starting to trust the things he is working on and Hugh is excited with what he sees. Kevin and Hugh finished the day with short game practice and one more session on the range. I left them working and headed out on the Nicklaus Course to do some course work. The back nine of the Nicklaus is the only nine holes that Kevin has not played so I needed to check lines off the tees, check elevation changes, and do green work. By the time I finished, Kevin was done and heading to the gym for a workout. We have done a lot of work over the past few days and we are now ready to reap the benefits.

We tee off tomorrow at 10:45 at La Quinta.



 

Sony Open

Sorry....it has been a while since my last blog. Last week was such a whirlwind. As you all know by now, we missed the cut at the Sony Open. Kevin fought his swing from the time we arrived on the island all the way through the event. The fact that Waialae Country Club is one of the most difficult driving courses on the PGA Tour did not help our situation. As soon as Saturday's round was over, we all changed our flights and flew out of Hawaii on the red eye Saturday night. It was time to move on and get to Palm Springs as soon as possible. Kevin and I landed into Phoenix, AZ Sunday morning and drove four hours over to Palm Springs, CA. The Bob Hope is a five day event that begins on Wednesday and we play four different golf courses. We have two and a half days to get that done.

Thursday - Sony Open (Rained Out)

Round one has been CANCELLED. Second day in a row the golf course has been unplayable and all practice facilities are closed. Heading to the North Shore to Turtle Bay Resort for some practice. It will be a 45 - 60 minute drive but worth it. Kevin is looking forward to hitting some balls. His PGA Tour debut will have to wait one more day.

Washout Wednesday - Sony Open

Heavy rains and flash flooding caused the PGA Tour to cancel the Wednesday pro-am and close all the practice facilities for the day. Kevin's off site pro-am was also cancelled but he had to go for the luncheon and a meet and greet session with the amateurs. We made it back to the hotel around 3pm. Not sure what he will do now. Maybe a movie, shopping, or an early dinner. I'm glad his parents and Brittany are here to help keep him occupied for the day. It is a tough way to spend the day before his very first round on the PGA Tour. At least the pro-am functions kept him busy part of the day.

The forecast for tomorrow is not much better. We got lucky and drew an afternoon tee time for Thursday. This means we will not have to go out early to the golf course and wait out delays if the weather is bad. We will have the luxury of sleeping in and waiting the delays out in comfort of the hotel room.

As for me, Geraldine and I are thinking about an early dinner. Longtime friends, Rick Newsome and Beverly flew down from Victoria, Canada yesterday. Rick made plans to come to Hawaii as soon as Kevin locked up his card last year on the Nationwide Tour. Rick was actually my caddy from the days when I played on the Canadian Tour. We all went to dinner last night with Kevin and his family and had a great time exchanging stories from the "old days."

Here is a picture I downloaded off of PGATour.com  It shows the 10th and 18th fairways under water from all of the rain.

Sony Open - Monday Practice

Because of a Monday pro-am starting at 11am, we left for the golf course at 7am. Kevin spent a little extra time warming up on the range. He was still trying to find his timing/feel and did not want to take it to the course until it felt better. We played nine holes around 9am with Kevin Chappell and Gary Woodland. Kevin's ball striking improved as we went along and we spent most of our time chipping and bunker shots around the greens. After the round, we went to the range and Kevin continued to work on his swing. He mentioned to me that he is finally getting the feel back from the things he has worked on with his coach. When Kevin swings correctly, his ball flight flattens out (comes down) and the ball drives through the wind. We started to see that ball flight and he finished the session feeling much better about things. After a little lunch, Kevin came back out and we hit some putts, chips and bunker shots. Our practice day finished around 2pm when the rain moved in for the rest of the day.

Aloha

Geraldine and I arrived in Honolulu last night. My parents drove up from Florida to keep the kids and are now preparing for a major winter storm in North Carolina. It looks like we got out of there just in time.

Today, we had breakfast with Kevin and Brittany and then spent the morning walking along Waikiki Beach. I met Kevin back at the hotel at noon and we went out to the club for some practice. Since it is Sunday, we were not able to get out for a practice round until 2:30. We ended up playing the back nine with Tommy Gainey. Kevin spent most of the day getting his feel back after a long day of travel yesterday. He has worked hard over the "off season" with his swing coach, Hugh Royer, and he is very confident with what they are working on.

We got back to the hotel around 6:00. Geraldine and I went out for dinner and another walk along the beach. What a great place to start the year!!!