 Hey there! So this is Crystal FINALLY posting a blog. I guess I would have more motivation if more people read them... (hint hint!) :) I am working very hard this summer to bring my game to a new level and really feel like I am developing into the player that I want to be. I fail to remember a time that I have been so confident in my playing! Not cocky, just pumped and ready to hit the next shot! It is a great feeling when all of the pieces of your game begin to fall into place at the same time. Like the stars aligning, I feel something incredible taking form! I am getting ready for my first year of college and I have high hopes and big dreams! However, many are the plans of my heart, but God directs my steps. I do believe that my calling is to play as a touring professional. I want it more than anything. I know that the college facilities that I am about to have access to will lay out everything that I need on a silver platter and only require from me the will and the work! I have the first and am doing the second! Now, I am usually not into "golf gadgets", but I have made an extreme exception recently! I am a huge fan of Dave Pelz's books and agree with most every philosophy that he puts forth. (There is no two golfers or teachers who agree with every single tiny detail.) However, I was recently in a state matchplay tournament. The first day was seeding by stroke play. I played with the number one spot player from OU, who is a senior named Kendall. She is a nice girl and a good player. That day I was hitting the ball as good as any other time in my career. I didn't miss a fairway and didn't get into any trouble, believe it or not. I played a near perfect long game if not for the couple of greens that I barely missed; most still left me with a putt. Any way, as good as my long game was, that is how BAD my putting was! It shocked me! I am typically a good putter, as even on my bad days I don't have more than 2 or 3 three-putts. I am ashamed to say that I had a lot more than that... and my scoring average up to now this year has been a 71.8! I still shot 76 that day, but over half of my strokes were putts!!! I was baffled and desperate when my good friend, a college senior and great golfer at ORU (who I was actually splitting a room with that week to save money), offered to let me practice a while with the Dave Pelz Putting Tutor. This simple tool forces one to make a perfect stroke and repeat it without knocking off either of the metal balls on either side. (You can see what I mean at www.pelzgolf.com ) I stood on the green after my round for hours repeating my stroke. I had found that my putter face was slightly closed and I was swinging outside in. This forced me to not hit it solid, let alone accurately, and when you don't know where you are aiming, how on earth do you expect to get the speed? Needless to say, I continued to practice in the hotel that night and the next morning. (You don't even need a hole to practice with, although on the green it builds confidence to see them go in one after another. But think of the times when there is no room on the greens and you need to arm up that stroke before a tournament...) I went on to be so confident in my putting that week that I decreased my putts my TEN! I worked putted my way through the matchplay bracket and found myself in the quarter final against the favorite to win the tournament. She is 3 years older than me and has always been a player that I greatly respected, but never got to play with. I even saw her when state when I was a freshman in high school and she was a senior. She is known for her putting. Not only was she expected to win, but she is the number one player for Arkansas this year and had just won the Southern Amatuer Matchplay the week before. Jaws dropped when the fresh-out-of-high school, nearly college freshman won the match 3 and 2. She shook my hand after I made the last putt and gave me another reason to look up to her- she was a great sport. We were both under par so she had nothing to be angry at. I heard her tell someone later that I was putting really good... ironic? I think so. Anyway, in the semi-final I was matched against none other than my roommate for the week Christy, the girl who let me borrow her tool! We battled it out all day long- birdie after birdie. She ended up beating me 1 up through 18 holes, and she putted great. It was such a close match, however, that had I gotten 5 inches back on that course I would have won by being up about 4 holes. It was so fun! We hugged on the last green and I congratulated (and thanked) her, and left for home. I went straight to the computer and ordered my Dave Pelz Putting Tutor! :) It is a tiny bit on the pricy side (for me anyway- $50), but absolutely worth every penny! On my practice putting green at home, the first day that I had it, I attracted 3 large crowds as I was working with it and probably accidentally sold about 10! I have never been more confident in my putting. I am sorry this is so long, but I type very quickly and I when something this incredible is found, I believe it should be out in the open for some golfer who may be desperate like I was that day. I love it and will have it forever. In fact, I think that I will go in my living room and use it right now! Have a great day, and a great next round! Aim high, shoot low, and Gig'em! ALWAYS, Crystal <3
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Dave Pelz is a one of a kind and I have most of his books (I'm not sure how many he has). I've met him three times and I actually happen to have to shiny new Pelz/Ortiz Bobby Jones wedges which he co-designed. I'm looking forward to getting the stupid fat grips off them and putting something normal on them so I can accurately test them. 
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