I Guess I Didn’t Forget How To Play!

As I said before, I bailed on the WSOP this year when the cash games at 5/10nl and up completely sucked this year. I suppose I could have grinded the games all summer and made a few bucks, but to have the chance to play a lot of golf and be home with my family swayed me towards coming home to Portland, Oregon. The summers in Portland are arguably about as good as anywhere in the world. Reasonable humidity and high 70s to low 80s temperatures along with a membership to Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club make it tempting to just enjoy the summer on the golf course which is what I have decided to do.

The first week back out on the golf course (for those that are new to my blogs, I used to be a professional golfer before becoming a poker pro) I decided to spend entirely on the range and short game areas. I made some grip changes as well as changes to my swing plane that I thought would help me hit the ball a lot better. This week I decided to test out where I was at on the golf course after a week of practice and so far the results have been mixed. The swing changes allowed me to hit the ball much further and with a much more controlled ball flight. On the flip side, I had no idea where my misses would be and also struggled with adjusting to my new found length with my irons. In the 5 rounds I have played so far I shot 74,71,80,71, and 67. The 67 was pretty special because we played the golf course tipped out and in a stiff rain for a number of holes.

Something really clicked for me about 30 hours ago when I was standing on the 13th fairway yesterday. I blocked my tee shot right of the 13th fairway which is not where you want to miss the ball because you will be blocked out by the trees. I was 4 over par for the round and not feeling too happy about my game. But I realized why my timing was off as I was walking to my tee shot and made an on the fly adjustment. I found my ball in the tress and there was actually a gap in the trees if I could hit a towering 8 iron under one tree and over another. I pulled off the shot and hit it 20 feet over the top of the flag and made the putt for a birdie. I then hit a 315 yard drive on the par 5 and went for the green in two and stuffed it to 8 feet. I made the eagle! I then finished with 2 more birdies to shoot 5 under par for my last 6 holes to shoot a 71.

Today I was able to carry over the positive vibes and got on a bit of a tear. I birdied the 2nd hole, made bogey on 3, hit it in the water on 4 but saved a par with a miracle up and down. I hit a 4 iron on the par 3 5th from 217 yards to birdie range and made the putt. I made another bogey and came to a 475 yard par 4 with water left and right the whole way. It is one of the hardest holes I have ever played and hit a perfect drive and a 6 iron from 190 yards to 20 feet and drilled the putt! I made 4 more birdies by the 15th hole and wound up with a 67 on the day. While a 71 and a 67 is far from what I would describe as my best stuff, I think the stretch I had from the 13th hole to the 12th hole today is without a doubt the best golf I have ever played in my entire life. From the 13th hole yesterday until the 12th hole today, I was 9 under par on a golf course that has hosted a U.S. Amateur (won by Tiger) and the women's and senior's U.S. Open. I can definitely say that I have never played a better 18 holes given the difficulty of the golf course. Now of course it is not an official score of 9 under for 18 holes because it was part of 2 rounds of golf, but finding out that I am capable (after years away from the game for the most part) of that type of golf really excited me today.

I'm not going to get ahead of myself and think that maybe I should give the PGA Tour another run because I am at peace with the fact that I am probably just not good enough for the tour, but it was exciting nonetheless. When you play that type of golf the people playing with you always start saying stuff like, "Why don't you give try and play out on the tour. You can make it. Look at how you are playing?" But the thing is that while there is no question that the type of golf I just played would beat Tiger Woods 95 times out of a 100, there is a monumental difference between doing it a few times here and there and playing consistent top level golf day in and day out. I have never had that kind of consistency. I can be explosive from time to time, but that is a far cry from playing on the "show." I would like to start competing here and there though. I think that would be fun.

I think if poker goes legal here in the U.S., there is a good chance that I will have the peace of mind to play a lot more golf tournaments. Knowing poker could die at any minute and given the life changing sums of money I was making, I guess I never really felt comfortable taking a lot of time away from poker to play golf. I always said to people who would encourage me to play more golf, "Hey, if I had a contract telling me online poker will always be healthy for as long as I'm alive, I would definitely pursue my golf. But I gotta make hay while the sun shines and until it is legalized, I'm going to play it safe and work hard on it." And I am glad I did. I know a lot of other poker pros who were really good at struggling big time right now and I am able to play golf everyday without any worry. So while I am glad that I did what I did, it was always unsettling because there is no question my heart and soul belong with golf. Poker will always be 2nd place. That doesn't mean that I won't play a ton of poker over the years because I probably will, but let's just say I sure wish I could make the money I make with poker through golf. Unfortunately the odds of that ever happening are slim to none.

For all of the golfers out there, I hope you enjoy your summer and are able to get out on the golf course a ton!