Brian Quackenbush Golf

I was surprised to learn that I now have an official World Golf Ranking - 1079. That’s high, but better than my status as of a few weeks ago - unranked. I found this out when my agent called to ask if I was competing in the British Open International Final Qualifying in Detroit in July. One of the benefits of being ranked is that you can enter International Final Qualifying in the US. So, you have a reasonable chance to make it into the British Open without having to travel overseas. The qualifier is a maximum of 120 players for a minimum of 12 spots.

So, being ranked has its benefits. Unfortunately, it looks like my ranking still isn’t high enough to really capitalize. I entered the qualifier today, one day before the deadline. As it stands now, I would be the 118th ranked entrant (remember, they only take the top 120 into the event). Since I’m not on the list yet, I assume they still need to put me and several other players on the list. Plus, they can still accept entries tomorrow. So, I’m guessing that I will be bumped outside the top 120. I will find out tomorrow.

While I was down at Sea Island for a lesson with Jack Lumpkin last week, I had a club fitting with Curtis Leggett, one of Sea Island’s highly qualified club fitters. We focused on finding a new utility and 3-wood, but also made sure the lofts and lies on my irons were right. They were relatively close to spec needing only a little tweaking. Generally we bent them toward a little more loft since all the use had bent them a little strong.

I came away with a recipe for a new utility and 3-wood from Titleist who got me the new clubs very quickly. After two days use the utility is showing some real promise. It carries about as far as my sonartec, but flies higher and lands softer. This is exactly what I was looking for in my ball flight. The jury is still out on the 3-wood…it seems to move more left than I was hoping for.

We also built a new putter with a one inch longer shaft. It’s the same MacGregor Bobby Grace M1 head…just a bit closer to the length Jack wants me to get to.

Curtis also tested my driver just to get a baseline. The stats looked good to him and confirmed to me that I’m getting the most out of my driver.

I played a pro-am event yesterday at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Lake Manassas, VA. It wasn’t until I arrived at the event that I learned it had a charitable theme. Proceeds from the event (over $300,000) go to several charities including Wounded Warriors and Capital Hospice. This was a great surprise. I’m happy the event was so successful for a few charities that really deserve the help.

It was my first time at Robert Trent Jones GC since the 2001 VA State Amateur. It was a challenging course then, but it was played in the mid-summer so the greens were not as fast as they could be. Yesterday the greens had some teeth. I was told they were rolling 14.5 on the stimpmeter. They were the fastest I can remember playing…and smooth. It was a privilege to get in a round on such a well-conditioned course.

I’m taking a bit more time to get my achilles 100%. My next event will be the US Open Sectional qualifier on June 4.

I was medalist at the US Open Local Qualifier in Sissonville, WV yesterday with a 4-under par 67. The top three advanced from this site to Sectional Qualifying on June 4th, so I will be competing in this event at Hawks Ridge in Ball Ground, GA.

I went back to Edgewood CC because I played there in 2004 at the Open qualifier and enjoyed the course. I remember the score wasn’t tremendously low to get through…I missed the playoff by one shot with a 73 (it used to be a par 72 course). Yesterday we had 43 players for 3 spots…about the same numbers as in 2004. The difference was that they had renovated the greens and extended a few holes since we last played. I enjoyed the course before and like it even more after the improvements. The greens, though not very fast, are very good. We got a ton of rain on Wednesday, so the course played long. I got off to a good start and birdied 3 of my first 7 holes. At the turn I was still 3 under and had burned the edge 3 times so felt like it should have been a little better. I coasted through the first few holes on the back and then made bogey on 15. I followed this up with an eagle on 16 and parred the last two.

I figured 4-under would be good enough but was still surprised at the scores. There were two 69’s and nobody else broke 70. I guess the course was playing harder than I thought.

This changes the schedule a bit since now I will play Sectional Qualifying instead of the Nationwide Tour qualifier in Raleigh on June 4th. I may also skip the May 29th Nationwide Qualifier in Chicago to give my achilles a chance to recover a bit. It’s an injury I sustained walking all the mountain courses over the last few weeks. I suspect it’s tendonitis or a micro tear and plan to get it checked when I get back to Aiken next week. Since the Sectional Qualifier is 36 holes in one day, it might be wise for me to take the time to take care of the injury now while I have the time.

I’m in Fairfax, VA for a few days and am playing a pro-am at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club on Monday. I will be riding in a cart, so with my injury it is a good substitute for the Nationwide Tour qualifier.

At just 6,048 yards from the back tees, you would think that Aiken Golf Club is a pushover. That is far from the case. The par 70 layout, especially the greens, make this little gem very challenging and one of my favorite courses. It’s open to the public, and located right in the heart of Aiken. If you haven’t had a chance to play this one yet, you should treat yourself to a round of “old style” golf. The first hole with a huge false front and roll-off areas on both sides sets the tone for the round. You need to place your approach shots well and putt the lights out to score here. Every hole on the course is unique and very memorable. The course, especially the greens, are in very good shape.

I’ve noticed a big difference between how most professionals practice and how most amateurs practice. It’s a difference of direction, focus and consistency. I see it all the time…most amateurs hit ball after ball until they either hit a few that feel and fly just right or they quit for the day, tired and frustrated. I don’t see much if any short game practice.

In contrast, a professional’s practice will be methodical and focused on achieving a goal with their technique. The ball flight is secondary to whether they achieve the fundamental they are working on for the day. The “good practicers” (yes, there are even some pros that practice incorrectly) will usually have a set amount of time or number of balls that they hit in a session…usually distributing shots between all their clubs in the same amounts every time. They split their practice at least evenly between full swing and short game, often with more time devoted to short game. You almost never see significant frustration with professionals because, again, they are working on achieiving a technique goal and not a perfect ball flight (though the good ball flight usually results from good technique).

So, if you want to play better golf, practice like a professional. Here’s how you do it:

• Find a credible golf instructor. Listen to only them - repeat - Listen to only them. Do not listen to your golf buddy, husband, wife, dog, most recently read golf magazine article, golf channel “tip” or anyone else except your instructor. If you have an idea or a feel, talk to your instructor before you do anything. Your instructor should become the only person with permission to change your technique.
• Always practice with a purpose. If there is something your instructor wants you to work on, work on only that. Where the ball goes is secondary compared to whether you are making progress on the fundamental your instructor wants you to work on.
• Practice 4-6 times per week as closely to the same way every time. Make your practice session as similar to your pre-game warmup as possible. It should be about 60-90 minutes long so you can use it for a warmup or for a basic practice session without wearing yourself out.
• Practice without ego or negative emotion. Remember, you’re working on a fundamental that your instructor told you about. It doesn’t matter where your shots go as long as you make progress on that fundamental. No negative emotion or getting down on yourself. No grumbling. No socializing. Give yourself 60-90 minutes of good, positive, focused practice and then be done with it. You will feel so much better after your practice sessions if you practice this way.
• Divide your practice time up effectively. If you have 90 minutes, spend 40 on putting, 30 on long game and 20 on short game. Find the mix that is best for you, but make sure that you put in the right amount of time on the shots that matter.

As an example, my core warmup/practice routine is this:

• 20 minutes - Stretch and warmup. While this isn’t part of the 60-90 minutes I’m referring to, it is still important and you should do it too.
• 20 minutes - 18 foot putts at the same hole from different angles. Pelz says that 18 feet is an average length putt during a typical round. My goal is to get a feel for the speed of the greens from my typical putt for the day. I try to get putts to the hole but not more than a putter length past.
• 30 minutes - Practice Tee. I hit balls in the following sequence:
1. 5 balls - short pitches with lob wedge just warming up the swing
2. 5 balls - 60 yard lob wedge just warming up the swing
3. 5 balls - full lob wedge just warming up the swing
4. 5 balls - full pitching wedge working on my swing key/fundamental for the day
5. 5 balls - full pitching wedge trying to hit it to a target
6. 5 balls - full 7 iron working on my swing key/fundamental for the day
7. 5 balls - full 7 iron trying to hit it to a target
8. 5 balls - full 4 iron working on my swing key/fundamental for the day
9. 5 balls - full 4 iron trying to hit it to a target
10. 5 balls - full driver working on my swing key/fundamental for the day
11. 5 balls - full driver trying to hit it to a target
12. 5 balls - 60 yard lob wedge trying to hit a target
13. 5 balls - short pitches at 5 different targets
• 8 minutes - different length long putts at different targets trying to get speed of greens
• 2 minutes - 12 short putts (about 2 feet) at the same hole from 4 different directions
• 10 minutes - chips from different lies and locations
• 10 minutes - go to first tee and get organized

I go through this and never judge the quality of my shots. I don’t get ticked off if I hit some bad or excited if it goes well. It’s just a way to work on some fundamentals and get warmed up for what I’m doing for the day. I do it the same way before every round and use this as the core of my practice sessions. This gets me keyed in on the fundamentals that I want in my head for the day, gets me a good feel for how the course is playing and gets me into hitting shots at targets.

If it’s strictly a practice day, I may change the order of what I do and will usually add a putting game to the session. I may also go through the entire session again after a break if there is something in my long game I want more work on. When I do a “two-a-day”, I always give myself a break between sessions…usually for lunch. The body and mind don’t do well with 3-5 straight hours of focused practice.

So, if you really want to improve, get with a good instructor and structure your practice sessions correctly. You should see very quick improvement and will get so much more satisfaction out of your practice.

I finished with an even-par 70 in today’s final round of the Fort Smith Classic on the Nationwide Tour. I got off to a good start making one birdie and burning the edge on the other 3 of my first 4 holes. That’s when I had a hiccup. I hit it left off the 14th tee and then got the club turned over in the rough with my second causing it to hook into the hazard. I followed up the resulting double bogey with a sloppy bogey on the next. From then on, I righted the ship and finished with 3 birdies and a bogey. It was definitely not my best round, but I held it together ok.

These last three weeks I feel like I’ve done some good things, but wasn’t playing my absolute best. I was generally keeping the ball in front of me, but wouldn’t say my ball striking was its best. I was putting well and making a lot of things I was supposed to…but didn’t feel like I made everything. I generally kept my mistakes to a minimum and felt comfortable the entire time. In the 10 tournament rounds, my stats were:

These are my actual stats…the ones posted on PGATour.com for the Nationwide Tour aren’t accurate. I think the people walking along with our groups may have made a mistake or two. What stands out is that my putting stats are at the top of the tour. Putts/GIR (”Putting Average” on the tour website) ranks 4th. Putts/Round ranks 2nd. I’m happy with where my game is at, but definitely see room for improvement.

I want to recognize Bobby Grace and Bob Evans from MacGregor golf for the fine products that I’ve putted with since 2001. They have always put a great putter in my hand. I’m currently using the M1 (been in my bag for about 2 years) and I’m very comfortable with it.

I got into contention in two of the events and it felt great. Throughout the first half of the second round this week, I was in the top 5 and scooted up to 2nd for a bit. That’s what we live for…the thrill of being in contention with a chance to win. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to be there at the end. This wasn’t due to a lack of comfort, it was because of improper execution. I simply didn’t have my best stuff for the entire week and it caught up to me both times. You definitely need to be playing at or near your best to win on this tour. I come away from this week knowing that I have the firepower to win when my game is on.

This week’s event was a good experience for the fans. It was a bit closer to a PGA Tour event with the best spectator seating and accomodations as well as crowd control. There were more spectators and a lot more volunteers…very similar to Athens with respect to the volunteers. A lot of the spectators were kids and it was fun to do a bit of autograph signing. It’s impossible to be upset with your round when a doe-eyed little kid shyly asks for you to autograph something.

I’m off for a week and looking forward to some quality downtime. I’m writing this from Fayetteville, AR where I have to spend the night since my flight doesn’t depart until tomorrow morning. Then, when I land in Raleigh, I pick up my car and drive 5 hours back to Aiken. I’m back in action on May 17th at the US Open Local qualifier in West Virginia.

Thanks to everyone who followed the website, emailed and called these past few weeks. It’s great to have everyone’s support.

I shot a 2 over 72 in today’s third round at the Nationwide Tour event in Fort Smith, AR. I didn’t hit as many fairways off the tee and had a couple bad shots magnified by bad breaks. I made four birdies and within 2 holes of each birdie had a bogey or double. It was hard getting some momentum and that reflected in my score.

So, I dropped a bunch of spots and am sitting on 52nd place, 4 shots out of the top 25. That will be my goal for tomorrow…fire a good enough round to get back into the top 25. I’m expecting that I will need 5 or 6 under tomorrow.

With storms forecast for the afternoon, we’re going double tee between 8:30 and 10:30. I’m off the 10th tee at 9:30 and hopefully will get it in before the storms hit.

I knew earlier this week that if I was playing on the weekend I would drop the Tarheel Tour event next week from my schedule. Actually, I guess I dropped it by default since the deadline was Wednesday. Perhaps I had a premonition…

Regardless, I have changed my schedule to take next week off after a long three weeks on the road. I haven’t had a reasonable competitive break since April 15th when I went down to Athens for the Nationwide qualifier there. After Sunday’s round, I will have played 12 competitive and 17 total rounds in 22 days. That’s a lot! I will enjoy that little bit of down time.

After two rounds in the Nationwide Tour event in Fort Smith, AR, I am at 5 under par and 6 shots back of the lead. I will be here on the weekend, so that’s nice. But, I had it going early today and unfortunately let it slip away with two bad swings. Starting at 4 under this morning, I birdied my first four holes to get to 8 under. I got a little cold after that and eventually made a bad swing on my 13th that led to a double bogey. Coming home, I made a bad swing on 7 and got a bad break when the wind shifted on 8 that cost me bogies on both holes.

While disappointed that I’m not a bit further up the leaderboard, I’m ok with how everything is going. Overall I’m hitting it pretty good and making a few putts. When play is finished, I expect to be around 20th place which isn’t bad heading into the weekend. Two good rounds should give me a shot at a good finish.

Click here for live scoring throughout the weekend.

In two days I’ve stayed in both the worst and the best hotel of my professional golf career. Last night I checked into the America’s Best Value on the advice of another player who said the rooms were all freshly renovated. That was about as far from accurate as possible. It was not a good room. The shower didn’t have any hot water. The internet connection that was supposed to work didn’t.

So, this morning I asked the player representatives at the Ft. Smith Classic if they could find me a different hotel in the area and they came up with the Marriott Courtyard. It’s brand new and beautiful. Everything (including the hot water) works. It’s laundry day, so I was excited to hear that the detergent and dryer sheets for the hotel’s guest laundry room were free. It’s a bit more expensive than my normal room, but I figure it makes up for last night. I could get used to this!

I got in my practice early this morning…just over 2 hours of good work. Morning practice was a good decision as it has been raining on and off since I left the course.

Another perk of this event is the free movies. The local theater is comping the players’ movie tickets all week. Again, I could get used to this!