PGT Canlubang Recap

Written: November 11, 2011

            Another challenging week in the books.  It was a stern test of hanging in there mentally and through physical pains.  The mental test being that I haven’t found momentum in my game over the past 7 weeks since returning to playing form since the bulging disc in the back healed up.  The physical pain was something new.  This time, the pain came from the left middle finger, which extended down to the center of my palm.

Fishing in Montecito

Introducing Olga to the life in the house

Cocah Nes, Marco, Chuck, and I bonding

            It was difficult to swing as the pain felt like needles stuck in the hand everytime I made contact with the ball.  The driver swing was weak and same with the irons.  At least for the irons, I could drop the club down and let the weight of the club make contact on the ball and the ball would go the same distance.  With the driver, it required a lot more strength and since the left hand had barely a grip on the club, this wasn’t possible.

            With drives that carried 220 yards and with constant pain lingering in the left hand, it was up to will power to carry on and to find a way to score.  With two rounds in the books and a 4 over total (75-73), making the cut was a feat in itself.

            For the final round, Olga and her cousin Maanne were supportive in coming out to watch the day’s action.  With a bogey, birdie, birdie start and the ball striking looking as crisp as ever despite the intense pain, I felt that I not only could play through it, but could play through it shooting a good score.  But things after that point went south.  For whatever reason, the ball didn’t go the right spots and the little mistakes caused immediate bogeys and doubles.  The final score for the day was a 6 over par 78 for the final round. A 10 over par total was good for 36^th place.

Grabbing the hand and easing the pain

            I’m entirely grateful for Olga and Maanne to come out and support from the morning range session to the end of the round.  Upon leaving Canlubang, we went to Paseo in Nuvali to grab a bite in a Japanese restaurant.  Thanks to their company, it eased the disappointment of finishing the tournament in that fashion.

            In the coming days, only one strategy is needed and that is to both reset and rest the physical pain that’s lingering and do the same with the mental state.  Going 3 weeks in a row playing Caltagan, the Sabah Masters in Malaysia, then in Canlubang took a toll because of an inner battle against my own game through those golf rounds.  Things ought to turn around for the better with less worry and going back to playing the game with enjoyment.

Sabah Masters 3rd and Final Rounds

To leave you with a few pictures of the last two rounds... It didn't go as well as I continued to search for consistency with the ball striking. A 40th place finish after four days.  It will be best to accept and look forward. To stay into process and let the results follow.

Here's a list of a few of the top guys. Congratulations to good buddy Anthony Fernando for a strong finish, just one short of the win.

After the third round

Sutera Habour Golf Club .. 3rd - 6th November 2011

Final Results Report

Pos.	Player Name	Total (USD)	-Par+	Score	R1	R2	R3	R4
1	Wisut ARTJANAWAT (THA)	9,750.02	-2	278	72	68	72	66
2	Nicholas FUNG (MAS)	5,259.48	-1	279	70	68	72	69
2	Anthony FERNANDO (PHI)	5,259.48	-1	279	68	70	71	70
4	Rory HIE (INA)	2,760.73	+1	281	71	71	71	68
4	Tanatchan PUAKTES (THA)	2,760.73	+1	281	68	73	71	69

40

Carl SANTOS-OCAMPO (PHI)

456.96

+18

298

73

73

74

78

ASEAN Tour Sabah Masters 1st and 2nd Round

Written: November 4, 2011

            Two rounds are in the books here in Kota Kinabalu’s ASEAN Tour Sabah Masters.  Not having played a practice round prior to the start of event, I teed it up yesterday for the first round.  The good thing was that upon arrival two days ago on Wednesday evening, Quino, Jet, and Glenn accompanied me to check out the course.  Since it was 7:30pm and dark already, I thought we going to eat dinner at the clubhouse so I wondered why they told me to bring my golf clubs.  After the short shuttle ride from the hotel to the golf course, I noticed there were lights all over.  Sutera Golf Club has night golf!  We even asked to play a few holes which would have been great but they said they had closed the course already.  Instead, we spent quality time practicing our short games on the well-lit practice green.

            The following day on Thursday, it was time to tee it up, first off at 8am.  Unfamiliar with the course, reliance on the course guide was essential.  Thanks to the detail of yardages and slopes, it didn’t feel like I was losing out by missing a practice round.  The struggles on the first round came with the full swing.  I didn’t hit a single green on the front nine and shot 4 over par.  Finding my timing was very difficult but the good thing was that it didn’t get to my head and I remained calm.  After staying patient and finding the right swing thought that would get me through the round, it clicked on the back nine.  Hitting most of my fairways and 7 greens, I turned it around to shoot a 1 under 35, a total of 3 over 73.  The course played to a par 70 since two of the par 5’s were converted into extremely difficult par 4’s.

            For the second round today, Friday, I drew a later tee time of 8:54am.  The swing was a little better than yesterday for the most part, but there’s still some work to do.  The short game had its moments with some good shots around the green and a few holed putts especially on the back nine.  Nines of 39-34 to turn in another 73.  Tied for 12^th place, cleared the cut by 10 shots.

            Right after the round, Glenn, Quino, Jet and I got some good practice on the range and the putting green.  Tee time for the third round is at 8:20am.  The goal of making the cut: check.  On the range this afternoon, I found something that helped my ball striking tremendously.  Planning on taking it to the course and going low tomorrow folks!

            Time to get a good dinner in with the boys.  We’ll check out the mall this time.  Maybe some KFC or Kenny Rogers.

PGT Calatagan Recap

Written: October 28, 2011

            I’m going to leave it to the pictures and the videos we took in Calatagan to get a glimpse of the week which began with a morning drive on Monday.  Got two practice rounds in prior to the start of the tournament on Wednesday.  Shot rounds of 73-73 to make the cut comfortably.  On the last day, just couldn’t hold it together down the stretch and shot a 77 for a tied for 27^th place finish. 

            There is still a lot of work ahead in finding more consistency with the swing.  Hopefully it could come around soon.  Next tournament will be next week.  Flying to Kota Kinabalu for the ASEAN Tour Sabah Masters. Nov 3-6.  Enjoy the pictures and videos below 

Skipping balls through the water on our practice round

Since there's no driving range, these guys decided to hit it out to the ocean

View from outside our hotel room, our cars parked conveniently outside

Painting of the course map

Practice round buddies

Lago De Oro dining

Final results. Congrats to Jhonnel for a 3rd win of the year

24th Birthday Celebration

Written: October 22, 2011

            You get older during your birthday but birthdays never get old.  This birthday weekend was definitely one to remember.  It began on the day of my birthday, on a Friday, October 21, 2011.  24 years old! 

Golf in Country Club with Ryan Lam then for the evening, a Friday night date with Olga to watch the Sound of Music play in Resorts World.  Watching the Sound of Music brought back childhood memories with songs like “Hills are Alive” “16 going on 17” and “Favorite Things”.  When I was a kid, I would ask my parents to play the movie over and over again.  Something about the movie got a 4 year old like me fixated.  After the play, we grabbed a Japanese dinner at Resorts World then went to 7^th High.  I can’t quite remember when the night ended.  All I can say is that a birthday evening spent with your best of friends is a birthday well spent.

            That was just the first part. The following day on that Saturday evening, our Paras side of the family had our usual dinner in Magallanes.  Little did I know that Mamita quite the birthday dinner together.  Thanks to mom who advised her on what food to serve.  It consisted of some tender juicy rib eye steaks and for dessert, Haagen Daaz ice cream! Favorite flavors of strawberry and coffee.

            That wasn’t the only surprise though.  Tita Bernie came out of the kitchen after dinner taking out these chocolate cupcakes and get this – with Titleist golf balls on top of them!  Very creative and very thoughtful of them to do.  At that point, it really hit me that even though mom, dad, and Casey wasn’t there to celebrate, it was touching to find that there was the family spirit in Lolo, Mamita, titos, titas, and cousins.  Thanks to all the loved ones for making it so memorable.

 Check this video out, made this for mom

Yoga Fitness

Written: October 15, 2011

            There are two ways I know of how to stay fit.  One is to eat healthy and the other is to go to the gym.  By gym I mean the usual cardio workout, stretching, and weight lifting.  Recently, I was introduced to another form of fitness training thanks to Misha’s persuasion to go with Olga and her to join in her yoga class.

            This one and a half hour session was unlike any type of fitness workout I had ever been.  You needed only a mat and to follow the instructor explain the positions of each yoga pose.  The room was hot and I mean steaming hot.  36 degrees Celsius and extremely humid.  The sweat poured down the very minute I stepped in.  Now I knew why all the guys had their shirts off even before coming into the classroom.  I had mine off 5 minutes later. 

Much of the poses targeted both flexibility and core strength.  At the same time, the instructor teaches you breathing exercises as if you’re meditating.  It’s a whole sensual and calming experience on top of the workout itself.

Final verdict: Yoga is a great exercise for golf.  One may supplement their strength training in the gym with their core and flexibility training from Yoga.

            Check out videos over here.

            Here's a link which explains how golfers would benefit from yoga:

           http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/194