This is part of a regular series that will chronicle Cameron Morfit's attempt to erase his handicap. If you have questions or comments for Cameron, send them to golfletters@golf.com.
After getting fitted for new clubs, taking lessons from GOLF Magazine Top 100 teachers on both coasts, hitting range balls with a stronger left-hand grip, about 10 sessions with my new personal trainer, a nutritional analysis, and a session with a renowned sports psychologist, it was time to see how the new me responded to playing in a tournament.
The new me shot 82 in the first round, chased by a crowd-pleasing 87 at the Boise City Championship.
How am I doing?
My best shot was a 135-yard 5-iron that ended up 10 feet behind the hole. I'd tell you about my worst one, but it'd be about a 143-way tie.
Yes, it was windy, two- to three-club windy, and cold, just above freezing on the first day. Still, I'd hoped to hit more quality shots.
And yet I finished, which was a victory in itself, and for the most part I didn't get mad. I briefly gave in to the anger at the beginning of round two, after I made a dreaded In-N-Out Burger (double-double), until I came to the realization that my angry guy can't play a lick of golf.
In my attempt to go from a 6 handicap to a scratch, the numbers say I am going the wrong way. I'd called Dr. Richard Coop, a professor at the University of North Carolina who has served as a mental coach to several PGA and LPGA players, the day before the tournament to get a little clarity of thought as I went into battle.
"When you get your scorecard, write OTE three times at the top," Coop said. The letters stand for Opportunity to Excel. Every time I hit my ball behind a tree or in a trap, or anytime things didn't go as planned, I was to take it as an OTE and try like hell to convert.
"You decide how to perceive every shot," Coop continued. "That's mental toughness."
The other big thought rattling around my brain came from a story Tom Lehman once told me. He was playing in his first Ryder Cup and nearly paralyzed with nerves when his partner, Corey Pavin, gave him the best advice he ever got: "Get committed and swing."
