Back to work - reluctantly!!!!

Hello again, I have enjoyed a much needed break from golf this past week. My lady, Rachael, whisked me off to Dublin for my 23rd birthday which was a brilliant little break. I got to meet up with a good mate of mine from college who lives there and was more than happy to show us about. Dublin is a great place, highly recommended to anyone. Thanks babe, I had a great time and just wait till your birthday!!!

Also, for my birthday, I took myself to Wentworth again to watch the PGA. I was fortunate enough to witness Luke Donald's hole in one (which happened before the tv cameras were on hand!). It was awesome and everyone went mad. Players that impressed me were Padraig Harrington, Monty (as always), Nick O'Hern and Nick Dougherty (very good ball striker). One thing I learned here was just how good the guys are at chipping and putting (anything that involves recovery). It all seems so clear to me now how bad I am at these areas. How good could I be if I was up-to-scratch in these areas? Lets try and find out! I think my mission is clearer now!

I have managed somewhat to refocus myself to my golf now. To be honest I have been quite negative and despondant towards it this past week and am having to really push for motivation at this stage. Obviously I know my motivation is being ready for my next test but to make myself 'go out there' has taken a lot more than it usually does.
On practical levels, I have thought hard about the technical aspects I feel are in need of improvement. I have whittled these down to mainly short game, particularly paying more attention to my pitching distances with my wedges and most importantly chipping and putting. My swing is ok, I had a lesson today and all I need work on right now is just my alignment and shortening my backswing slightly for more control. Everything else is great, I am swinging on a much better line, hence my 'higher quality of bad shot' of late.

I think the biggest things I am gonna focus on involve being on the golf course. I am going to work on creating a repeatable pre-shot routine which I'm hoping will help to keep me focused when the day comes as well attempting to break my negative thought patterns on the course. Man, this is gonna be hard but i'm gonna follow my bosses advice and take a notebook out with me next time I play and note down certain thoughts and reactions I have when I play. I very much need to learn the art of turning a negative into a positive so hopefully this will be stage one of the process. I only have 3 weeks, but I cant help but think that I won't snap out of this cycle unless I throw the best possible efforts into this that I can with regard to all parts of my game.

We'll see. I've gone back to the drawing board as they say, again!

God I hope its for the last time! I think the of dream of professional golf is currently slowly slipping away. I'll get this back but I can't deny my current change of attitude. Right now i'm running on stubbornness. That's why I won't quit. I can't quit. As Freddie Mercury said: 'I'll face it with a grin, I'm never giving in, On with the show' (altho perhaps in a slightly different context - lol).

Peace out peeps :)