Brian Quackenbush Golf

I finished 10th in the Tarheel Tour event at Rivertowne Golf Club in Mt. Pleasant, SC this week. Rivertowne really showed its teeth in the final round with a scoring average of 74.5 for the field. The course started out wet and long until the wind kicked up and dried things out in a hurry. The final nine holes were a bear. My final round 71 shot me up the leaderboard from 24th to 10th.

I’m very happy with my first full event of the year. This was a big field of 133 players - the expected norm on an expanded Tarheel Tour this year. Still, it was a week that could have been much better. The swing changes I’m working on produced a lot of great shots allowing me to make 15 birdies on the week - tied for the most in the field with the winner of the event. Unfortunately, when the swing changes “slipped” I hit some very poor shots as well. This cost me being in contention yesterday. Overall though, I feel like I’m getting fundamentally better every day and this is a good sign for the future.

I’m shuffling around my schedule to ease the early-season travel burden. Next week I will stay in West Palm Beach, FL and play a small tour two-day event instead of traveling all the way back to Charleston. The schedule change will also give me some extra time to work on my swing. The following week I’m back on the Tarheel Tour in the match play event Bluffton, SC.

The season is officially underway for me on the Tarheel Tour in Mount Pleasant, SC (just outside Charleston). The event is at Rivertowne Golf Club, one of the better courses we will play this year. I finished 4th at this event last year, so I was looking forward to coming back this week.

After two rounds I am in 24th place with one round to go. The course is very difficult with good length and firm, fast greens. When the wind kicks up, it’s a real bear. I’ve shot rounds of 74, 73 (3 over total).

I’m still working through the swing changes Jack Lumpkin suggested during the off season. Specifically, I’m working on lower body stability and making my swing plane a bit less vertical. They’re two concepts that are sometimes difficult to focus on at the same time and that reflects in my scoring. This week I’ve hit great shots and some…not so great shots. This is proven by the fact that I have the most birdies (11) of anybody in the event.

I’m thrilled with my putting. A small tweak to my setup a few weeks ago is allowing me to make some really good strokes. That’s obviously another factor in my birdie productivity.

The Tarheel Tour has expanded their field sizes this year which is great. This week the field is over 130 players resulting in larger purses. They’re doing a great job this week handling the larger fields with morning and afternoon double-tee starts.

I’ve used two Minor League Golf Tour one-day events this week to get ready for the season. I finished 9th in my first one at PGA National - Estates with a round of 71. It was a solid round. Nothing remarkable. Yesterday I shot a 68 at Atlantis Country Club and finished in a 3-way tie for first. Again, nothing remarkable. Just relatively solid play all around. The playoff, however, was another story.

The three of us started on 10, a 162 yard par 3. Both of the other players missed the green…one on the fringe. I hit it about 8 feet with a soft 7-iron. The player on the fringe made it from about 30 feet and I made my 8 footer to extend the playoff. Only 2 of us went to the 11th hole.

On 11, I hit a big drive and a sand wedge to 4 feet. The other player hit it to 3 feet. We both birdied to extend the playoff.

On 12, I hit a little 3-wood, utility club and a short pitch to 4 feet on the par 5. The other player had about 8 feet for birdie. We both made to extend the playoff another hole. At this point we had both birdied the first three holes.

We both made routine pars on 13.

On 14, he missed the green with his second shot. I hit a utility club and a pitching wedge to 20 feet. It was a big swinging putt, but I made it to finally close out the playoff and win the event.

To recap, I made 4 birdies in 5 holes in the playoff. The other player made 3. I didn’t miss a shot or a putt. We were 7 under combined for the 5 holes. This should have been on tape…it was that exciting.

I’ve got a few days off before the season really gets going at the Tarheel Tour event at Rivertowne GC in Charleson, SC. I played well at this course last year, so I’m excited about the event.

I’ve been in Aiken for the last 4 days trying to get in some work during some frigid weather. I guess it’s all relative though. I got used to 75 degrees every day in West Palm Beach, FL. I actually have it good compared to my friends in Fairfax, VA with temperatures forecasted to peek above freezing only a few times in the next week.

So, today I was practicing in two layers of long underwear in addition to my normal golf gear. Once I got past the cold, everything felt very good. I’m very, very happy with what I’m working on and can’t wait to get it on video when I head back to Florida in a few days. Something seemed to “click” in my last lesson with Jack and it feels like my lower body is moving properly. My divots look significantly better…not as “toe-deep” as they’ve been for a long time now. I’m slowly taking the hook out of my misses and hitting more solid, powerful shots.

I’m equally excited about my putting. Everything feels connected and in sync between my arms and torso. The putter is swinging on the proper path and releasing naturally. Obviously, this keeps my putts online, but it also makes it easier to get speed right.

I’m really starting to get excited about the season. My first event is scheduled for 2/20 on the Tarheel Tour, but I’m considering a few one-day events in West Palm before then.