last day in Hawaii

Hi all,

I'm at the airport awaiting my overnight flight back to Minnesota...welcome to the glamorous life of a professional golfer.  This week has brought back lots of memories of the 22 years I did this full time and I must say, doing this now and then isn't bad, but I'm certainly not about to jump back into this full time. 

As I agonized over my round yesterday a funny thought came to me...I wondered what it was about competition that I loved, because as agonizing as yesterday's round was and considering I've done this for 30-some years, there must be something about it that energizes me.  To be honest, I couldn't really verbalize an answer at the time but it was an amusing thought as I grinded, stressed and struggled to make 2 FOOT PUTTS!

Today's round brought some answers to my enigmatic question of yesterday.  My practice paid off and I had fun and that was part of the answer to what I like about competing!  I like the challenge of it all and though it isn't always "fun" and easy, to see the pay-off means a lot.  Following yesterday's round I spent a good amount of time practicing putting and to my extreme satisfaction, it seemed to pay off!  My ball striking wasn't bad...with a 6 inch putt for birdie on hole #1, a 12 footer on 2 followed by a 8 foot birdie attempt on 3, I was riding a wave of confidence to start the round.  Though I didn't make all those putts (don't worry, I made the 6 incher), it set me up nicely for the remainder of the round.  Fortunately my putting got better and a better as the round continued...my ball striking didn't really keep up with that level, though it wasn't too bad considering how dreadful it was two days before that.  I think it's the satisfaction of overcoming the challenge that means a lot to me, at least that's the best I can come up with besides- I LOVE TO WIN and that is always driving me!

OK, I shot 74 (2 over par) today.  Kind of a struggle coming in but I had fun.  I made some amazing putts to salvage some potentially bad holes- team: think about the double bogey explanations I ask you for... I made some big putts to avoid having to go there!  So I finished in about the middle of the field, made a nice pay day and made some good strides in getting my game back in shape for the next tourney next month.

If you're interested in checking out more of The Legends Tour information about this tourney, click here, otherwise, I'm done for this event.  My next tournament will be in about a month...stay tuned for those updates!

Aloha and mahalo!

Martha

First round in the books

So today we played for real...wow, it's been a while since I've had that adrenaline flowing and of all parts of my game that suffered for it, my putting was very shaky today.  All week long I've felt good on the greens, so I've spent the bulk of my time working on my long game, which as I said yesterday, was in crisis mode!  After a very long practice session yesterday afternoon, a couple phone calls to Manuel for some ideas and an evening checking out my swing on video, I was pleased to get things back on track from tee to green.  I missed a short putt on about the 4th hole, then again on #7 and I spent the rest of the day as nervous as can be with each little one after that.  One more missed shorty on #10 and the rest of the day, putts that are always tap-ins for me became nerve-wracking grinders.  I used every mental game trick in the book to get myself through the round on the greens and was rewarded with a birdie putt that dropped on the last hole.

Overall, it was good to get back in some real competition.  My game still needs work, but that will come.  A score of 73 was an OK way to get back in it and that score, though not great, puts me somewhere in the top 1/3 of the field.  Another long practice session after the round was spent primarily on the greens.  Who knows, maybe tomorrow I'll make a bunch and work my way up the standings.

Anyway, one more round and then it's back to Minnesota.  I'll try to report what happens tomorrow at the airport, however it may be a day or so as I fly back overnight...ugh.   Once again, I'll accept any good luck wishes you'd like to send my way and hopefully tomorrow the nerves won't get the best of me and I'll put together a good finishing round...we'll see.

later~

Martha

Long days at Kapolei Golf Course

Greetings from paradise!  It's been a couple great days of practice and tomorrow we get going for real.  The weather has been tropical and a nice change from what I hear is going on in MN these days...I won't complain about being too hot as I'm sure it will fall on deaf ears!

I spent the last couple of days cramming my practice that I haven't had a chance to do these past months, into about 8 hours/day, and with mixed results.  Each day has brought a new challenge of what's working and what isn't...reminds me to tell my team where inconsistency and frustrations come from.  Today I played a match with some of my friends, and though I had some good shots and many that were playable, I ended the day on a note of extreme frustration and confusion.  After 15 months of very little practice and no competition, the pressure of this match was enough to bring out some very crazy shots, going in the wrong directions...yikes.  I haven't hit shots like that in a very long time!  So off to the driving range I went with video camera in hand and my pro's phone number at the ready.  After a phone consultation with Manuel de la Torre and a few more shots to try his suggestions, I think I have it figured out.  We'll see tomorrow.

My lack of confidence during play today challenged my mental toolbox of how to stay in the game when things were going awry as I scrolled through all the things I tell the team when things aren't going as planned, working to keep myself in the game as much as possible.  I was reminded how easy it is to know what to do, yet how challenging it is to actually do it!

So tonight I'll relax a little, do my visualization of what I want to accomplish in the round and go out tomorrow renewed and focused...I may go out a little early to get in some extra work before we start at 10:04, just in case.  I'll let you all know how it goes...if you want to send some good luck wishes my way, I'm open to all those I can get...can't hurt!!!

later~

Martha

Day 1 in paradise

OK, first day of practice at Kapolei Golf Course...the picture on the left is the group I practiced with today.  In the picture from left to right: Coach Nause, Sandra Haynie- LPGA Hall of Famer and World Golf Hall of Fame member; Cindy Miller- participant in the first Big Break for women on The Golf Channel; Val Skinner- multiple LPGA winner and current Golf Channel TV golf commentator.  

It was a fun group, though Sandra only played 9 holes.  Cindy, Val and I managed all 18 in a 5 hour round...play was very slow but I was just happy to be out in warm weather playing golf with my friends from the tour!  When we arrived at the course I realized I had played an LPGA tourney here before I retired, so it was fun to get back out and see the course from a more relaxed vantage point.  I've learned a lot since I retired and realize how fun it is to be a golf professional, paid to play golf...wish I'd had that revelation all those years ago when I was grinding away and not enjoying it so much!

An evening beach-side reminiscing about tour escapades with old friends topped off a great day.  So many memories, so little time! 


OK, that's it for the day...I'm already anticipating another fun day at the course tomorrow!

Arrival in Hawaii

Aloha from Waikiki Beach!

After 13 hours of travel, it's nice to finally arrive on the island of Oahu, departing Minnesota's recent chilly and gray weather to the warmth and humidity of the Pacific islands.  While I'm here competing in a Legend's Tour event, the Kinoshita Pearl Classic, I'll try to keep you all updated on my week of golf.  I'm looking forward to doing a little golf of my own after an intense fall season with the teams.  It will be interesting to be out there competing after not playing much golf of my own for a little over a year!  I'm looking forward to applying all the stuff I've been coaching and will let you all know how it goes.

I'm expecting lots of challenges and fun competing with my long time friends from the tour so stay tuned in the coming days for my updates.  So with the 5 hour time difference, it's time to settle in, get some rest, and try to reset my body's clock in order to get ready for tomorrow and the coming days of golf.

Until then~

Martha