Friday Night Lights

The best weather so far in 2011 fell on a Friday. Perfect time to end the week at the golf club. We sat gazing out at the work-in-progress first tee project at Lexington, admiring how well the course was coming along. Brian and Ellen Kenney, Dick Driscoll, and myself turned to our left and to our right, realizing how empty the club was for a beautiful Friday night. Almost summer like, well not quite, but pretty close. Hey its still April right?

I heard the 1970s were rocking at Lexington GC, a social scene that buzzed beyond the fairways and greens. Maybe, well definitely, some drinking, lots of late night stories, the girls, the boys, the bar, and you know what can happen from there. A lot of 'go getters'. So can we bring back some of the 70s lifestyle to LGC? We were visualizing a crowded porch with live music and outdoor heaters, lots of chatter, some dancing, and happiness; taking advantage of the nice property we own. Aggressive, but not too far fetched.

I wouldn't mind bringing my friends or a date to the club on a weekend night for a social scene. We already have great members in place, so we just have to make something happen. No better time to start than now. I am looking forward to many good times ahead this season. I tend to be a non-drinker, but I can guarantee you I will be happy to be part of the show.

Cheers to the first Friday Night at LGC in 2011.

Kurt

p.s. I recommend a garden salad with grilled chicken and feta. Bubba makes a good one!

Day 3 - Arnold Palmer Invitational Pro-Am @ Bay Hill

Here we are, pulling into the players parking lot at 7am, being directed to our space and given our badges for freedom to almost all areas on the property; driving range, clubhouse, putting green, and most of all inside the ropes. Yeah the small group of fans there were looking at me and Mike! Noticed girls walking around giggling wheres Ricky Fowler, wheres Ricky Fowler. He was nowhere to be seen. The grounds were fully set up for the tournament - ropes, signs, Golf Channel staging area, corporate tents, leaderboards, etc.

I watched Mike warm-up at the range and then I spent a lot of time hanging around the putting green with many of the pros such as Brad Faxon, Chad Campbell, Erik Compton, Boo Weekley, Alex Cejka, Jarrod Lyle, Sam Saunders, and a few others.

Again, perfect weather. Mike played great. He put the fear in Dicky Pride early on that he might lose. Mike was carrying the team for a while. He finished around 77. It led Dicky and his caddy (a monstrous 6'6' former Georgia Tech bball player who played with Dennis Scott and Kenny Anderson) to jar jokingly with Mike to rouse him up. Dicky joked, told stories, gave tips, and laughed it up through the entire round. I really appreciated his effort to be involved with the amateurs. I hear many pros do not take the time. Mike's group included Jim (friend of EMC), Mike (VP @ Royal Caribbean), and Dave (CEO of a luxury hotel marketing firm).

Bay Hill was in spectacular shape. Fast greens and deep rough. Dicky said he plays the deep rough with an open stance, open face, and takes a steeper swing path. During the day, I also ran by Johnny Miller, Michael Breed, Paul Goydos, and Arnold Palmer. I really noticed how the pros can get in the zone for 60 seconds to hit their shot and then can relax. Their lower bodies are very quiet. They generate a lot of swing speed but it looks effortless. Also, very good short games and very high levels of confidence. They love the competitiveness. Even a no-name amateur can get them fired up to play better.

It was a true pleasure being part of this weekend. If I'm lucky, I will be there again in the future!

Final Feedback on My Game:

1) Keep left shoulder slightly tilted up to stay behind ball on impact position, will help with height of shot

2) Best shots usually when failure rate was high - those 'expected failure' shots of high difficulty, so my mind goes into 'go for it' mode and i just 'LET IT HAPPEN' such a shot over a bunker lip or fescue or near a tree, etc. Need to translate this into more normal situations

3) Be confident, relax motion, and have no doubts

Time to play in Boston.

Take care,

Kurt

Day 2 - Pro Am Practice and Pairings Party

Today was the day that Mike and his team would pick their professional for the Pro-Am. A lot of anticipation...who would we be playing with? what lottery pick would the team get? First things first, I got to join the practice round at the New Course @ Grand Cypress. It was me, Mike, Jim (friend of EMC), and Patrick (litigation lawyer in Miami who is married to the Southeast sales mgr of Jet Blue). Judy, a travel analyst from EMC followed the group around.

It was another gorgeous day. Sunny and 80s. Now, the New Course is meant to resemble the Old Course at St. Andrews; wide fairways, no trees, fescue, double greens with heavy undulations, false fronts, deep streams, and pot bunkers. The 1st and 18th holes are very close replicas of the holes at St. Andrews. You could land a plane on the fairway. This was my first true links experience. I found reading greens to be most difficult. Mike and I were all square through 52 holes on the weekend (we called this would happen at the start of the week, coming to Orlando we were continuing a tied match last fall). Mike made a mistake on 17 and I birdied 18 with a spectacular 115 yard wedge shot to 5 feet tucked to a left corner pin over the creek. I'll take the victory after another classic Flionis-Murphy battle.

My golf swing was very mediocre. Many shots were going right and divots left, the MOST frustrating feedback. My best shots were when I loosened up my arms and shoulders and set wrists early; on my worst shots it felt like my swing was taking too long to develop. Wedge game was good again. My driver was good, irons and fairway woods were bad, and short game was average.

PRO-AM PAIRINGS PARTY
We arrived in style with sport coats, nice shoes, and slick hair. When we walked in, the place was very cool with pretty girls, small groups mingling, light music, hors d'oeuvre, ice luge by bacardi, and carving stations to a name few. In the far back corner of the function room was a tanned older man by the name Arnold Palmer, one of the greatest golfers to ever play the game and the host of the tournament. There were people from Tokyo and a line of other people waiting to speak with him and take pictures. A long story short, Judy pushed me to talk to Arnold and I did. I failed to come up with a good line, accept 'the course is in great shape, I'm from Jet Blue, thanks for having us...blah blah blah'. Anyway he looked at me briefly and then we turned for a picture. It was AWESOME.

The lottery draft for the professional was great too. All the teams listened to Arnie make a speech and then a computer generator starts picking team numbers. Each team has 30 seconds to make their selection, starting with 24 pros. Mike's team picked around 17th and got Dicky Pride, a 41-year old journeyman and member at Bay Hill. The locals told us we made a great pick. I wouldn't believe it until the next day...

Day 1 - 36 Hole Marathon

Mike and I arrived late Friday night to the luxurious Waldorf Astoria (within Walt Disney complex) and hit the hotel bar for a drink (me having my staple Guinness and Mike having his G&T). While watching March Madness, we ordered the best pork sliders I have ever had, even if I never had pork sliders before, they were unbelievable! As absurd as the prices were at Waldorf, the food was excellent and the price was right on a corporate card. On Saturday morning, I got a egg/cheese sandwich and an orange juice. Guess how much it cost? $25, ah ah choke, are you kidding me!? If any justice was had, the sandwich was enormous and filling.

Our first round of the day was at the Waldorf Astoria Golf Club, an immaculate 7,000 yard par-72 course right outside our hotel room. It was literally a half wedge from the balcony of our room. As usual, Mike and I set the stage for a big 54 hole match over the weekend, playing $3 Nassau with birdies, sandies, closest to pin on par 3s, and three putts. My first shot of the trip was a hybrid down the right side of the fairway on a straight away 364 yard par-4. I made a standard par to start. I followed with another par, then got wayward (missing mostly right, with a few hooks left...think i was setting my wrist angle too late) with my tee ball and made bogey, double, and bogey. My final score was 81 (+9). I went +7 on the four par-5s. The golf course had grass very much like the Northeast and the greens were beautiful (never a single bump on a putt). The greens were all heavily guarded by bunkers and pitched. I played a nice short game to manage my way around the course. Weather 85 and sunny. Match results, Flionis wins all around. Players partners = no others. Best holes of day: Mike eagles par-5 eighth, sticking long-iron within three feet and I went back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17, including a chip in on 17.

In the afternoon, we joined up with the Woburn legend Tommy Coleman and his son-in-law Jonathan. The golf course was Grande Pines GC, a par-72 7,000 yards. It was a nice golf course, but not as well conditioned as Waldorf. Mike took home the match by shooting 76. I had 81, highlighted by a very solid wedge game. My new Cleveland CG15 wedges are working very well inside 125 yards. I hit multiple shots tight to pins from wedge distance. Murphy had the shot of the day when he punched out of the woods from 130 yards and the ball settled within 15 feet of the hole and he sank the birdie putt. At first, we never thought he would find his tee shot and then he makes birdie. I couldn't match it! Tommy was a blast to play with, including many humorous remarks such as the first tee when he approached the Cornell golf team and said 'nice food you guys got up there'...made no sense to me...the kid responded in befuddlement, 'we do have nice cafeterias'.

For dinner, we ate at the Bull & Bear Steakhouse. I got a 28-day dry aged NY Sirloin (all natural). And the French Beignets were unreal, first time I've ever had em'. Probably top 3 meals I have ever had. Remind me to take you there next time we are in Orlando! So worth the money...

Living the life of rich and famous this weekend....Day 2 includes a Pro-Am practice round at Grand Cypress Resort - 830am shotgun, then followed by lunch, pool time, and the Pro-Am pairings party at Bay Hill...where I meet "THE KING"

Stay tuned

Orlando Bound

Spending March 18 - 21 here in Orlando.

Golf Schedule as follows:

March 19 - Waldorf Astoria Golf Club (Round 1) and Grande Pines at JW Marriott (Round 2)

March 20 - TBD

March 21 - Caddying for Mike in Arnold Palmer Invitational Pro-Am at Bay Hill

Blog to follow on events and travel.

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