Okay, I’m no Sobe, and I’m very well aware of it. I do however work and play with Sobe, and am privileged to hear his tutelage on a regular basis. His advice along with some practice have transformed me into at a respectable Golden Tee player, capable of shooting -25 but also very capable of shooting -12. For those who have never met me, my name is Adam Kramer and I am the newer marketing associate at IT.
I played in my first live tournament before working at IT at the ’07 Midwest Regional event and I was B-A-D. Since joining IT I have played in three more events, and while my play as improved (kind of), I have never made a cut. The initial nervousness of playing with some of the best players in the world has slowly faded; yet my play hasn’t really improved.
In January, I played at the Frozen Open in Chicago and blew up on the 18th hole in my first qualifying game and may have well posted a DNF in the second it was so ugly. I played well early on but then came undone like Phil Mickelson in a major – sorry Lefty fans.
In any case, I hope to finally get over the hump at the Missouri Open this weekend and finally make the/a cut. No, I’ve never been really close, but this is my time and here’s why.
When playing in the tournaments, I never really gave myself a shot at qualifying. I took a lot of high risk shots, played reckless, and perhaps dove into one or two Bud Lights I could have done with out. I lacked confidence in my game, especially when playing alongside and watching the cream of the crop tear a course apart. As Sobe has taught me in the weeks leading up to the event – in a sweet North Carolina accent – “You don’t need 30′s to qualify, you need 20′s.”
So forget the course records and the desperate attempts to drive par-4’s where I will undoubtedly miss the eagle putt anyway. I’m going to play the way I would if somehow someone gave me a seat at the World Series of Poker. Don’t do anything stupid, take shots (not bombs) when you feel comfortable, and most importantly avoid the blowups.
This tournament is loaded with top players so I will probably need to shoot an average of –20 to –22 on all three qualifying courses. Still, I will not press or try “doomed” shots anymore. I am as confident as I have ever been in my trackball skillz and this is my time. Hopefully.
Can I do that? Absolutely. Will I?
To be continued…
