Time Off

August 6, 2007

Hello Folks!
I’m currently on a plane right now flying back to San Diego for two weeks. I felt like I needed to make some changes, clear my mind and get a fresh start again. Let me catch you up with some events.
I started out playing on the Futures Tour, its been a rough start for myself out there. I have had some bad luck with my health. Going from a strained left foot that took a couple of weeks to fully heal, I ended up getting pink eye this past week so I am unable to wear contact lenses. Lets just say, it made for some interesting golf! And currently I just got slammed with a sinus infection.
Other then that my health hasn’t been better! Now on to the golf and the stories about life on tour.
This past week I was in Concord, NH. I applied for housing and was accepted. I knew I was goin to have a late arrival because I was driving up from Pennsylvania. I arrived at my housing around 3am in the morning, and a lady was there to let me in. As I entered through the sliding doors, my first thought was this is goin to be interesting. I followed her down a corridor, into an elevator and up to the fourth floor. The name of the floor was Health Services. NO WAY! I was in a hospital, on an empty floor with empty rooms…Ok so keeping an open mind, I followed her down the hall and into my room. Yeah, definitely not what I was expecting. It was a typical hospital room, with typical hospital beds, you know side rails, buttons to raise the bed up and down, and curtains around the bed to keep your privacy. Cold hospital floors, not to mention the plastic under the sheets which was the kicker! So I thanked the lady and set my bags down.
I was too tired to think about anything except sleep at this point. I figured I would set my alarm early and get out of this place as soon as I could. I crawled in the hospital bed, laying on the crinkled plastic and flimsy pillow I tried to get as comfortable as I could…I slept for 3 hours, and had to get up and leave. I couldn’t handle it anymore. I was in an empty hospital floor with creepy sounds. Basically I was in a horror movie.
-Attitude is a choice. Think positive thoughts daily, Believe in yourself.
Lefty

Start of my Season

The start of my season has begun. All the training, practicing, imagining, predicting… it is all over and time to step out on the course and let the season unravel. I started with the Canadian Tour out west in Vancouver BC. I played solid, it really was the best golf I have played yet, and so rewarding knowing a lot of my hard work is starting to pay off. Things really started to fall into place especially with my putting and driver which were my two biggest areas that needed improvement, well my drive was great, and my putting was amazing. I played a lot harder and better then the score showed, which happens. The course was in pristine shape, the holes were carved in between heavy tree lines and the greens were running 12 on the stimp meter. I finished top 30 with a bit of a hiccup on the 17th hole, however despite the score I was happy with my performance and please with where I was on my first tournament of the season. In addition to seeing the great sites on the course where the amazing sites of Vancouver, one of my favorite cities in Canada. I biked through Stanley Park, walked around Gas Town, and of course drank as much Tim Horton's coffee that I could. Before I knew it is was bye again to beautiful Canada and back to the states.

Back in San Diego for a week to unpack and repack my things, I was able to get in some good practice time and R&R. So then I was off to Chicago to play in my first Futures Tour event in Hammond, Il. Well unfortunately the day before leaving for Chicago I rolled my ankle during a hike in San Diego. I didn't think it was a big deal, it hurt a little bit but I just walked it off and figured it was a little sprain which would quickly go away. Well it actually got worse and I stayed off it during the days before the first round hoping again I would wake up before round one and it would be fine, well that wasn't the case. I tried to ignore the pain a play but it absolutely was affecting my swing, I wasn't able to follow through on my front foot so I was all arms and all over the place. I was about to Withdraw after the 12 ^th hole but I didn't want to quit in the middle of my round. Well I finished which I am happy about, I never quit mentally or physically, I did what I could at the time and withdrew after the round. I figured there was no chance of making the cut so it would be better to nurse myself back to 100% so I would be ready for the next tournament, the Canadian tour in Barrie, Ontario. So now I am Ontario and focusing on practicing and getting better and ready to brush the Hammond tournament off and get back on the right track.

The season has started so I will keep you updated with scores and more journals.

Ang

South African Tour Roundup

What a crazy month it has been transitioning back into life and training in San Diego. After stepping off the plane, jet-lagged, and all disoriented I decided to take a week off before getting back into training 100%. Now after my week has passed I am more then ready to get back into my routine knowing what I have ahead. I have starting working with my Coach Sheri Hayes, and training in the gym, and practicing obsessively. Enough about that though, let me catch you up with my travels throughout Africa and what you have missed. I do apologize for not updating you along the way but finding internet cafes proved much harder then I imagined.

I played a full 4 weeks in South Africa: Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Durban. It was an amazing experience and valuable to me in so many ways.

As far as the golf is concerned I only made two out of four cuts. I was able to put up some low scores, but I wasn't able to put them together. My first week was a struggle to get used to the weather. I finally figured out that carrying an umbrella would decrease the temperature a bit and keep me below melting. Freezing water bottles and wetting towels for my neck were just some of the necessities. I think it would be easier to situate yourself in a complete down pour then playing in that heat!

So onto week 2; it was a much nicer course called Waterkloof. Very open, very dry and we played the ball up. My caddie's name was Sergeant. He was amazing; he knew every inch of that golf course. We played alright the first two days, and made the cut. The final round came along, and I thought we were going to post red numbers for sure. I was confident, and I was rolling the ball really well on the greens. We came in shooting even. I was feeling great about that tournament. My game was finally coming together.

That brings us to week 3 and our road trip to Durban(located on the southeast coast). For those of you that are not familiar the geography of South Africa, Pretoria to Durban is 7 Hours. It was a debate about weather or not we were going to fly or drive. So we chose to drive, and I have to say the rest stops were pretty impressive with their built in the ground trampolines for the kids. I'm not sure where you'd end up if you fell through, but I tried it anyways. (pictures to follow).

So we arrived on the coast right on the beach of the Indian Ocean. It was beautiful, the waves were amazing and huge and the water was warm. The golf course was very challenging, with its tightly carved golf holes, adding more difficulty when the wind picked up. Sometimes it was a 4-5 club wind. I missed the cut, but was able to loop for a friend of mine on the final day. Durban was beautiful, we ventured out and bargained with the locals at the beach side markets and dined on the beach. Before we knew it we were back in the truck heading for Benoni.

Week 4, our last week in South Africa, our last time to tee it up. We stayed at this quaint little B&B 5 minutes from the golf course. The weather was hot, but at this time we were quite immune to it. It rained twice during our competition, which led to some events that I have never experienced before. It's the second round, and there's about to be a cut. I'm on the 17th hole, sitting at the cut line, and I have a 180 yard shot into the green and into the wind. So, I get into my routine, take the club back about to hit the sweetest five iron ever, and Hoooooooooooooooooooonk...the lightning horn goes off as soon as I'm starting my down swing. SHANK! awesome. Ok, I've never been that angry before on the golf course. I think there should be a rule to allow players to re-tee or re drop there shot. So now I'm in the clubhouse waiting for an hour. I realize now, I have to go out to my shot that has to flop over the bunker but under a tree. Hmmm. Well I ended up just making the cut and play the next day. :) But am still irritated about the lightning horn! ha.

Overall it was an amazing trip. I learned a lot about where I am right now as far as golf and fitness wise and what I need to work on before the season starts. I also learned so much about the culture in South Africa and saw some beautiful landscape and ate unique South African cuisine which I loved. I also met amazing people from all over the world. The trip was a success and I am planning on going next year for sure.

Countdown to Africa

Hello,

The countdown for Africa has come to an end with only one day left. These last two days have been a bit frantic trying to play as much as I can, fitting in last minute lessons, and trying to determine what I need to pack for this much anticipated month. I have had my shots, sunblock with extra SPF is packed, and the best mosquito repellent I can find. I am unsure about what is ahead which is exciting but also has caused me to worry a bit. I am comforted by the fact that I am going to be traveling with two close friends, South African native Sante Koch and my good friend Cuyler Hedley. I am extremely lucky to have them there to travel and play golf with.

This is the beginning of the year, my first competitive test, my chance to start this year with a great start. I am very pleased with my preparation, I know I couldn't have done any more. Now is the time to transfer everything I have learned from lessons, the repetition of practicing, and playing to a competitive environment, now I am ready to see how I fare on the course. I have been hitting the ball very well and my putting has just started to fall together; with more mental training then mechanics I have figured out my tempo and am gaining confidence. I have recently changed putters from a mallet to a blade and hopefully this decision will get me on the right track and keep my total putts low!

I will post pictures weekly, and keep you up to date on how the tournaments are going. You can also watch the scores at the Ladies South African website www.ladiesafricantour.com.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank a couple of very important people. First of all, Ron Cropley and the country club of Rancho Bernardo, my amazingly knowledgeable coach Sheri Hayes, Gina Conaway-website designer, Derek Messinger my trainer and my closest friends for all the support along the way and for keeping me level. I couldn't have done this, or prepared myself enough if it wasn't for these individuals. Thank you.

Talk to you when I hit African soil.

Until then... keep your divots shallow,

Ang

NEW Tour Journal

The year has started, I'm getting ready for a full season ahead and I couldn't me more excited. My residence is now in San Diego, California. It can't get much better then this. You can drive 30 minutes and cross the Mexican border, 10 minutes to the beach, or 2 hours to the mountains. Never have I lived in a place where you could surf and snowboard in the same day. Moving to California has been one of the best moves I have ever made; I am surrounded by so much beauty in nature as well as the amazing friends I have made. It is a great place to train and get ready for what lies ahead.

It's been a hectic month getting ready for the upcoming year, I have a packed schedule and I feel a bit overwhelmed but that feeling is overshadowed by excitement. I am practicing as much as I can, at least 5 hours a day and I have been seeing a swing coach regularly. My swing so far has been self taught and it has done well but I wanted to make it simple. A little more compact and stronger and that is what Sheri Hayes has done for me. She has helped incredibly and now I am much more confident in my swing and gaining alot more distance. Besides practicing and lifting to improve my strength I have been doing a lot of other work behind the scenes. It's definitely a full time job; hunting for flights, contacting potential sponsors, looking for accommodations, etc etc...the list goes on. I am so thankful to have a team of believers and supporters. I wouldn't be able to do it without them.

My next stop is Johannesburg, South Africa. I leave Feb 14 for the first stop on my long tour. With 24 days left I must only step up the training and work harder knowing it will pay off soon. I'm getting really excited to play golf across the world and explore a new country. I will be adding pictures and writing journals as I travel so please check back when you can to see the updates.