Paiute Round 3

Was a bit of a nightmare.  I felt good to start the day.  It was cold and windy, but nothing like last week's torture chamber on the Wasatch Tour.  I was in a spot without a lot of pressure, so I was ready to play.

I hit a bad drive on 1 that led to bogey.  I hit a few more bad shots on the front, but nothing that I couldn't recover from.  Excepting a few miscues, I hit the ball pretty decent all day, but I wasn't getting it close to the hole.  The conditions were tough, so I wasn't in a bad spot after nine holes.  That's when my poor short game came to haunt me.

My short game is normally a very strong part of my game.  My putting especially has made huge leaps in the last few years, and my chipping/pitching has always been strong.  From the start of this year, though, I've really had a hard time getting my touch back.  It cost me today.

I couldn't get up and down to save my life today.  When the wind is blowing hard, you need to rely on your pitching to save strokes.  Bad news when you're struggling with the wedges.

I grinded all the way around, but I wasn't able to save a decent round.  The oil started to leak more and more, and I lost control of it towards the end of the round.  It ended up costing me, and I finished in a tie for 7th. 

This is why I'm glad to be out of the horrible weather we've been having in Salt Lake.  I NEED time around the greens to get some touch back.  My technique seems to need a little tweaking too.  A lot of work for me around the greens the next little while.

My ball striking is getting pretty solid though.  To be honest, I was much more worried about that coming into this week than my short game.  There is always something to work on, and it sure seems to switch around a lot in this game.

Quite a frustrating day, but the week had a lot of positives to pull from.  I need to get back to playing consistent golf, and I know what to work on.

Luke Swilor