Winter Warriors 9 has come to an end for the season and what an incredible finish it was. If you had told me it would have gone down like this at the begining of the season I would have laughed at you. If you would have told me how well I would have done I would have laughed at you.
Yes, it is true that after the week at Village Greens I had set myself up well to finish in the top 10. It was so great to be able to play with Rob Nichols and I learned so much playing in that one round with him. Well, lets now fast forward to the last four weeks. I needed one more round of -20 or better to ensure that all my rounds were at least -20. This was one of those unwritten goals, knowing full well it would be needed to reach the top 10. In the midst of the snow I was able to get to that goal playing with a local pro. Still there was no garuntee.
A week later it was up to Wyoming where I was paired with Courtney who was in the race for the lead in the women's division. They gave the ladies way more strokes than they should have and with a generous layout Courtney and I shot -32. This score propelled me back up the leader board to second place, right where I was after winning with Rob.
A week later at Expo I was able to go -25 with Jason. Not the best round and one that really cost me a good chance at the win. The good news is that I only lost ground to the people behind me.
In the final week I was fortunate enough to get paired with Eagle, one of the best young players in the state. I used to be able to beat him back in the day and then he got good and went pro a couple of years ago. If he hadn't gone pro he would have been able to win an Ameteur World Championship. He can throw the disc forever. It was a great pairing for me. And I got to play with Rob in the group as he was in first place. Rob and his partner started off great when Eagle and I struggled. Eagle and I eventually caught fire. Still loosing to Rob in the round and overall was sad, but I still feel like we put up a good fight. And shooting another -32 meant that my worst round used was -25 and I was solidly in second place overall.
What? Second place overall? How in the world did this happen? Well, it really has to go back to the things I have learned throughout the season. Looking back at the mid series post I can honestly say the refined nature of these three things has helped my game significantly.
1. Disc up and throw softer. Sure we all want to throw the disc further and it is really impressive when someone can throw a putter over 400'. Sometimes though it isn't about being impressive, it is just about throwing the disc that you can predict what it is going to do and making sure you aren't throwing it in such a way that it becomes unpredictable. 70% is that magic number above which accuracy goes way down. Accurate is way more important. Smaller smoother motions means more predictability, means more success.
2. Putting is still important. I have watched even the best of the best miss putts that they shouldn't miss. But you know someone is playing well when they are putting well. I am slightly concerned that as I transition back to playing by myself (not doubles) I will feel like my game is getting worse. But if I can keep putting well and keep improving that part of my game I am confident that my scores will continue to improve.
3. Playing as mush as I can is still a goal of mine moving forward and I am sure that it will help my game. If you are nto playing the muscles are slowly forgetting what to do. Playing will keep them in shape and keep the memory there so that they know what to do in a right situation.
I also want to make sure to thank the people that played with my mother this season and helped her, typically near the bottom of the Rec Women's Division, earn a 5th place finish in the Winter Warriors Women's Division. I am pretty sure my mom never thought it was possible but she simply went out to have fun and low and behold she ended up in 5th place.
Now it is on to the consideration of goals for the 2014 Tournament Season.
