PGA Tour West Coast Swing and 50 degrees in Boston (on 2/14) calls for...

An update! I have been practicing my swing at Brae Burn CC over the winter. Mostly working on staying connected throughout the swing, good rhythm, and repetition. The 'staying connected' part means I am focused on less disconnection between my arms and torso. As the arms get disconnected (extending away from torso or lifting up), the results of my ball flight are more volatile. You can check your connectedness by putting a golf glove under either of your armpits and see if it falls out during the swing. This will not be effective for everyone, but it does give you a sense how some of the best players play connected like Padraig Harrington and Vijay Singh. Also, related to 'connectedness', its important to keep a quiet lower body and be grounded. Most amateurs don't leverage the ground to gain power. You should be planting/pushing on the ground as opposed to lifting weight toward the sky.

Rhythm and repetition are essential to building a good swing. I play my best when I am in rhythm (a.k.a. good tempo). And repetition is what golf is all about. If you can repeat a swing that produces the same results, whether its a low or high ball flight or draw or fade, you will play well.

Its great to have a place to keep the swing going over the winter. I have never had a good place to go during the cold winter months. The facility has three practice nets and a putting green.

I'm preparing for a big year! I am going to compete on the Golf Channel Amateur Tour starting in April and then gear up for my usual majors on the MGA, USGA, and Lexington Golf Club circuits. I'm looking to get a little Bubba Watson in me this year...less mechanics and rigid practice session replaced my more imagination and creative shot practice.

My goal is to qualify for the Golf Channel Nationals in La Quinta, CA this September. Giddy up!

Keep up on your Vitamin D!

Kurt

Transition to New England Winter

I played a number of rounds in October and November at Lexington GC. The golf course remains playable and in good shape. The club is in the process of a major renovation to the first tee and outside porch on the clubhouse.

My desire to play many more rounds in the cold is limited. I think I'm getting more sour to cold play each year. I will consider playing if its above 40 degrees, however, I'm changing my strategy this year to practice indoors. In the past, I have never put in a consistent winter of practice to improve my game. So, this year its a change!

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I started working on my game at Big Sticks Golf in Burlington, MA off of Ray Ave. The facility is small and does not have short game areas or work out equipment. It does provide video options and virtual golf rounds. The head golf professional, Terry Felty, is available for lessons and walk by tips as you practice. My goal is to improve the consistency of my swing through repetitive drills. You do not get to see the ball flight unless using the virtual golf machine, that is similar to what you see on the Golf Channel's "Golf Fix" TV program.

For most, it may be boring and ineffective to hit balls into a net less than 10 feet in front of you. For me, i am focused on the 'smash' factor, i.e. ball contact, feedback. I've played long enough where I have a good feel despite the lack of visual ball flight. I will use the virtual golf equipment occasionally to see ball flight results.

During the first weekend, I spent most of my time hitting balls with either my left hand only or right hand only. My philosophy is that I will be a better player if I can execute shots with each hand individually. It will develop my consistency and feel for my golf swing.

Its $15 for all you want to hit (no video use). With video use, prices go to $30 and up.

No commitment to a membership is necessary, though, options are available.

Ciao,
Kurt

Flionis-Murphy Annual Four Ball Campaign - Norfolk County Classic

October 9-10: Norfolk County Classic @ Presidents GC in Quincy, MA
This event has been off our schedule for the last 4 years due to various conflicts. We were excited to have it back on our schedule and especially after a disappointing finish at the Dennis Four Ball.

We shot 73-68 = 141 (+1). The team birdie count was 7 and the bogey count was 8. You cannot afford to make more than a few bogeys in these events to have a chance. The winning team of Doug Clapp/Bob Malcolm shot 128 (-12).

Again, our issue was a slow start and lack of hitting greens. We played well on the final round, shooting 31 (-3) on our last nine holes. Round 2 was extra good because Mike and I got paired with Ryan Parker and Richie Stover, two former teammates of mine at Bentley. It made for a day full of good competition, laughs, and shared excitement. Parker and Stover were solid, shooting a bogey free 66. We couldn't catch them.

During Round 1, Mike made a birdie on the par-3 9th hole from above a left center pin placement. It was our last hole of the day and we needed a positive boost being +4 thru 17. Well this putt was the best putt I've seen in memory. Incredible, sharp downhill right to left from the fringe with me only in for bogey. Mike rolled it in at perfect speed. Wooooo, Don Small, PGA professional at Presidents, and Jim Fitzroy, President of Golf Course Superintendents of America, our playing partners were almost as excited as us. It was a pleasure playing with both Don and Jim, who shot 73 as well.

Other Highlights
>Weather was excellent for October, low 60s and sunny.
>I made birdie and par on the cornfields 15th, on the birdie i hit 3-wood to the peninsula and 4-iron on the green
>Hit the stick on the 6th hole, almost dunked it, from 85 yards to save par after hitting my tee shot into the fescue on the left side of the 8th hole
>Scores:

Bob Malcolm/Doug Clapp 65-63 128*
Frank Vana/RJ Foley 63-65 128

Herbie Aikens/Bob Mancini 67-62 129
Ryan Riley/Andrew Diraimo 64-67 131
Eric MacPhail/Doug Parigian 68-64 132
Kurt Flionis/Mike Murphy 73-68 141 (t38 of 76)
John Bradley/Steve McKinnon 84-79 163 (last place)

My advice to us is to get the ball on the green in regulation. Once we do that, we make birdies.

Big news for me: I officially made the debut with the Ping iSeries Craz-E putter! The first putter change since high school. I am very happy with the decision. I made a significant amount of putts in the 10-20 foot range.

This is the last tournament on the schedule for 2010. There will be additional blog entries about off-season plans, caddy comments, and maybe something else if I get creative.

Thanks for those who follow!

Live it up,
Kurt

Flionis-Murphy Annual Four Ball Campaign - Dennis Four Ball

Sept 18-19: Dennis Fourball at Dennis Highlands GC
Mike and I love this event. This was our fifth annual trip to Dennis where we play two days of golf, eat lots of food at Grumpy's (local breakfast place with some of the best muffins I've ever had, right up there with Gingerbread Man), walk to the beach, and enjoy a home cooked steak dinner with wine on Saturday evening. We always hope to play in the afternoon on Sunday so we can stay up later, sleep in a little, and have plenty time for Grumpy's.

This year we opened up the tournament with a horrendous round of 78 (+7) on a very scorable par-71 golf course. Weather was beautiful for this time of year, summer clothing. We didn't make a single birdie, struggling to find greens in regulations. With this type of score, our chances of playing in the afternoon were slim. Over our steak dinner, at approximately 730pm, Casey, Mike, and I put in bets for our projected tee times. I figured 830am. I made the call and was told we were teeing off at 12:50pm. What!? How was this possible? I had Mike call again 10 minutes later to confirm. I still don't understand. We got lucky. Cheers of joy and refills on the wine quickly followed that phone call. By the way, a late night here for us is 11pm.

Me being a morning person, I still got up by 8 o clock and walked to the beach barefoot. It was gorgeous. A few early birds with their dogs were walking. I did some yoga, stretching, and gazing at the boats. Perfect way to start a day.

Round 2 - Mike and I shot even par 71. We made our first birdie on the 9th hole, our 27th hole of the tournament. Wow, that's just bad. I hit a beautiful pitch to 2 feet on the par-5 18th (our 9th hole) to set up a birdie putt and Mike and I both looked at each other and said 'finally!'. Well, before I had a chance to be the birdie hero, Mike drained a putt from 40 plus feet for birdie. The one hole we birdie, we both do it!! I knew he was going to make it too. I had that feeling before he putt. We shot 3 under of the final nine, 4 under on the last ten. This would have been a great pace for the previous 26 holes. The difference was we started to hit greens and give ourselves chances. We were close to shooting 5 or 6 under on the last nine.

2-day total was 149, 19 shots off the winner. No winnings for us this year.

Other highlights:
>One of our playing partners on Sunday asked us if we wanted to take a hit of his reefa on the 16th tee and confirmed we were not DEA
>Teaching Mike some yoga moves in the front yard on Saturday afternoon
>No hot water on Saturday morning in the elephant shower (the strongest water pressure shower I've experience), I literally was shaking after trying to withstand the cold water, I felt like I would turn blue shortly if I didn't get out...Casey got the water fixed by the afternoon
>Multiple shanks hit by my partner
>Ordering an oatmeal waffle with fruit at Grumpy's
>Two days of awesome shorts weather (notable because its rained almost every year we have played)

2010 Mid-Amateur @ Dedham Golf and Polo

September 25 and 26 - Well, well, the time had come to compete in the 2010 Massachusetts Mid-Amateur Championship at Dedham Golf and Polo Club. I waited one month to set foot on competing against the best mid-amateurs in Massachusetts. I felt great about my chances in the prior week, then, confidence began to dwindle in the days before due to uncomfortable swing thoughts. Its like taking a big exam. On the days before, you don't want to cram everything in or exercise your mind trying to re-learn everything. My success in the CFA program was a result of my ability to trust the knowledge I had built over my study period and let myself share that knowledge through the exam. I've yet to apply this to my golf preparation. This time I got tense over multiple swing thoughts and lack of comfort with alignment. I didn't let my preparation come through on the golf course like I did on my CFA exams. My alignment may have been off a bit, but I put too much attention on it, making it a big issue for me come tournament day. On exam day, I didn't know every subject in and out, but I knew I had the tools to make the best of it and there was nothing stopping me from success.

My tension came through in my first round as I rarely allowed my good golf swing to come through. My tee shots were going left and right, my irons felt awkward, and my putting was mediocre at best. I shot 84, including 4 double bogeys and 1 triple bogey. I had 4 three putts. Only 1 birdie. The conditions were fair, overcast skies and temperatures in the 60s. Wind was light. The most interesting and embarrassing hole was the par-3 12th hole, my third hole. I was hitting an 8-iron off the tee and proceeded to hit a tree overhanging the tee box about 20 yards ahead of me. The ball was re-directed left into the woods near a large oak tree. I was left with a blocked out 105 yard shot from the woods on a 150 yard hole. I made a great up and down from short of the green to make 4. However, I don't think I ever recovered from the embarrassment. Come to find out (after the tournament), my boss at work (a member at Dedham) said he hits the tree over half the time on that tee shot and has been pushing to cut it down. Never get caught up in a past golf shot! You are only as good as your next shot! Dummy.

On Day 2, I had a major turnaround and proud of my ability to bounce back. Yes there is some relaxation of tension after putting myself in a hole. At the same time, my own expectations I put on myself is what yields the most pressure. I did not want to leave this event without putting up a better performance. I shot 71 with 3 birdies and no double bogeys. I hit 15 greens, drove the ball well, and was confident in my swings. Still had 3 three putts.

My improvement came from getting to the left side of my swing more aggressively. When you have tension, its difficult to get through to your left side in a free flowing release. I did that once I committed to my alignment and trusted my envisioned shot-line. Both days I cleared the 2nd hole's water hazard with a 3-wood. I didn't see one other player go for that. Despite the common belief of this play being too aggressive, I didn't feel that way. I went with what I felt most comfortable with and believed this play was the higher percentage shot for me, rather than hitting a hard 4-iron or laying off a hybrid. The hazard was 225 yards away. This is something for me to build on! Shot of the day was on the par-3 14th, playing 186. I stuck a 6-iron to 2-feet and sank the birdie. The ball strike was pure and the ball flight never left the flagstick.

Both days my Dad caddied for me. As always, its most special having him with me. We rise and fall together, which can be a disadvantage from a player-caddie standpoint. Nothing is sweeter than sharing success with my family. We optioned for a cart on Day 2 due to threatening rain forecast. Day 2 weather ended up okay for my morning wave, a few quick periods of rain; there was high winds (hit a 5-iron on the same par-3 I hit the tree on in round 1).

Enjoyed a great celebratory early dinner at Cheesecake Factory in the Atrium Mall with my Dad. We also watched some of the marquee amateurs Frank Vana, John Hadges, and Brian Higgins play a few holes. Great golf course and tournament. I missed the cut by 5 shots.

My playing partners were Michael Christian from Wampatuck and Michael Miele from Meadow Brook. Good guys.

I'm confident I'll be back next year and I will be in contention in the future.

Mistakes will happen, the key is to learn from there. Next up, Norfolk Four Ball!!

Ciao,
Kurt

GUEST BLOG! - Successful Mass Mid Am Qualifier @ Bass Rocks

*The views and opinions expressed within this post are those of Kurt's caddy and do not necessarily reflect the views of the blog owner*

When I had the opportunity to guest caddy for Kurt to lead him to his second consecutive successful Mid-Am qualification, I couldn't refuse.

Seeing as how I am not Kurt's primary caddy, the cast of characters he competes against never ceases to amaze me. Here are some notables:

- A carbon copy of George Costanza--if he gained 50lbs. Costanza hit a paper thin iron off of the 1st tee that went dead right.

- The hunchback of Notre Dame's grandfather--Quasimodo Sr...most likely a short game wizard.

- Jeff Daniels's character in Dumb and Dumber (Harry) after a cycle of steroids.

- A guy with a popped collar.

However, I'm sure none of these golfers looked as strange as the 20 handicap that was seen putting on the practice green amidst all of the scratch golfers. Hey, I needed to test out the putting surface while Kurt was in the pro shop, what can I say?

Kurt was paired up with Wade White, a +1 handicap from Wedgewood Pines and Tim Suitum, a sweet swinging lefty from Kettlebrook. Wade White chose not to show and my attempts to pose as the +1 handicap were going well until the starter saw me take a practice swing. Wade was one of many no shows, including Lexington's own Bob Green who balked after learning it was too hot out for pants. This meant 20 out of a mere 65 would make the cut.

Kurt started his round at Bass Rocks by (fittingly) hitting his drive into the rocks that ran through the middle of the first fairway. It was no Costanza shot by any means, but still not a great start. Luckily he got a playable (although difficult and downhill) lie and hit an excellent short iron to the front right corner of the green. His lengthy 2 putt to save par was the first of many. Kurt had 7 pars after 7 holes...and was +1 after 12.

However, things started to unravel after a promising start. For starters, he didn't hit a single par 3 in regulation. He had a great up and down on 2, but couldn't repeat the magic on 8, 13, or 17. Perhaps the turning point was when he missed his tap-in par attempt on 14--the longest par 4 on the course which he had played nicely up until the miscue.

On 15, Tim's Kettlebrook buddies showed up Miller Lites in hand to watch the final 4 holes (after shooting 105 and 112 each). Kurt impressed the gallery with a massive drive that left him 30 yards short on a 320 yard par 4. However, Kurt bogeyed after being duped by what he called a "false front". The implosion continued until the 18th, where Kurt made a sweet up and down to save par--including a testy 12 foot putt to card a 75 (+6). Not bad considering he had 5 consecutive bogeys.

Then came the waiting. About 20 Dedham hopefuls were camped out on the Bass Rocks porch Jack Finlayson style.

We watched some of the late afternoon notables tee off on 15. Ronald Laverdiere, who won the qualifier with a score of 70, hit the purest long iron I've seen in person outside of the Deutsche Bank Championship. Alistair Catto, sole proprietor of what is known as the crankshaft golf swing, was chopping around like a madman. However, Catto, sporting his trademark bucket hat and looking as clumsy as Kevin Wilzcewski trying to regrip a club, made an otherworldly up and down par on 18 to finish T2 at 72. Catto is definitely one of my favorite amateur golfers and a guy I am always routing for--there are many golfers who could learn a lot from his easy going demeanor.

Due to all of the no shows, the last golfer was playing by himself with an MGA official. After what seemed like an eternal final 4 holes for the man flying solo (which triggered a bit of roid rage from Jeff Daniels), the scores were in--75 was the cut. Kurt's putt on 18 was the difference. He's Dedham-bound.

Kurt would like to thank the following for helping him qualify for the Mid-Am finals in Dedham. His caddy. Steve Keegan's notes. Mike Keegan's beard. Congratulations to Dan Brennan for also qualifying. It is worth noting that Dan subsequently held a share of the 1st round lead at the turn in Dedham--a feat second only to Woburn CC pro Paul Barkhouse briefly having a share of the 1927 US Open lead before suffering from scoreboard shock.

The celebration began by sitting in rush hour traffic (which apparently starts at 2:30pm these days), Kurt participating in a Stag conference call from the car on his day off (shout out to Ryan Delaney) and eating grass-fed burgers at Wild Willy's.

Thanks to all who have read my first contribution to Kurt's blog. Stay tuned for my future contributions to this page including posts such as "Kurt's quest to fix my swing", "Weirdest characters at Lexington CC", and "10 Reasons why Kurt should quit Finance for a golf career"

Rainy rocky US Mid Am Qualifier

August 23 - I teed it up in the U.S. Mid Amateur Qualifier at Framingham CC with my Dad caddying. The weather was awful. It rained for 4 straight hours. In fact, officials were crossing the line in getting this tournament in. On the 13th green, the groundscrew had to squeege the green in between groups. When I got up to my approach shot on the green, I had to take relief from casual water! The official almost gave me a penalty for dropping the ball instead of placing it for relief. You always should ask to be safe!

Another unusual situation occurred on the par-5 12th hole when I was in between a few trees. I setup to play a low 4-iron shot. As I drove low through impact, the club made a low crack as it shaved off a rock i never saw. My 4-iron was officially damaged with a chip on the bottom of the club. Time for new irons! I have to earn them! The actual 4-iron shot ended up right were we wanted and I managed to save par; maybe I should hit rocks more often.

I finished with an 81, 9 bogeys and 9 pars. Not very good. This was a good chance to steal a spot in bad weather, when I usually excel. The cut line was 75. I put myself in a poor position off the bat with 5 bogeys on the first 7 holes.

My Dad is the best. He went the whole way without complaining about the weather despite carrying a wet bag with an umbrella, towels, clothes, food, etc. We look forward to the next event together! Thanks Dad.

Appreciate everything,
Kurt :)