One Putt for Par

I’ve been watching the new Golf Channel series Chasing The Dream which follows two guys trying to back into pro golf. Both stepped away from the game and now find some barriers to their success. One has a family and job, the other a general lack of money and time.

I’m not near their level at all, but I understand their situation. All of us want to get better at golf, but have trouble committing to it. To truly get better a golfer needs to dedicate a lot time to perfect their skill. A good consistent swing takes time on the range. Repetition brings consistency. When you have a job and family  who ever has enough time?

I practiced more this year than I ever have and I saw some improvement. With all the time I spent I didn’t cut my index in half, but lowered it a few points. If I wanted to be a scratch golfer I would have to spend more time than I have available. A good week for me is 10 hours of practice. To get to scratch it would have to be my full time job.

The golfers on Chasing The Dream are hoping they can get good enough to play on the PGA Tour. I respect the ambition and I hope they can do it.

Last Week: 128 pts

Yahoo Rank: 63%

Overall Pts: 606 pts

Pebble Beach, good. Long pro-am rounds, bad.  The past two weeks had more excitement than expected.  This week features the return of Tiger.

A List

The A list is fairly simple this week.  I swore off Phil before the season started (don’t sue me Phil). Some people will look at his record here and be tempted.  Might I remind you of his record at TPC Scottsdale?  There are only two I considered for the A list, Nick Watney, who gets the start, and Smokin’ Spencer Levin. I’m not expecting Levin to pull a Kyle Stanley, but I wouldn’t be surprised by a top 10.  He did finish T4 here last year.

B List

Have to say, I was surprised to find Tiger Woods on the B list.  His play isn’t back to Tiger standards, but I could easily see a top 5.  I’ll also give a start to Bryce Molder who is on a nice streak of top 15 finishes and had a T6 here in 2011. I like Hunter Mahan a lot but I worry that returning from Qatar last weekend will hurt his play.  He’s a good pick anyway and I’ll bench him along with defending champ DA Points.

C List

The C list is pretty sparse.  I’m starting the surprise rookie of 2012, John Huh. Maybe he’ll be the second surprise winner in a row. On the bench I am going with Aaron Baddley thanks to a T6 here last year.

Start: Nick Watney, Tiger Woods, Bryce Molder, John Huh

Bench: Spencer Levin, Hunter Mahan, DA Points, Aaron Baddley