Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! I am currently back in Minnesota. It is cold and there is way too much snow! I am enjoying my time with family and friends, but I am ready to get back to Charlotte and to be golfing again.
My golf game was really good before I left and everything is coming together! I will be in Minnesota until the 5th of January. I have a lot of business to take care of here in order to be ready for the season to start in mid February. I can start registering for tournaments on the 4th, which is very exciting. I am ready to start making my travel plans and getting all of that information set up.
I hope everyone stayed safe in the snow storm that Minnesota had. It was weird for me to be snowed-in! I never have that issue in North Carolina!

Happy Holidays!

Putting

I spent the whole last week focusing on my putting. From Tuesday to Saturday I spent a total of 19 hours on the putting green. I feel like I made some serious improvements on the range of 10-20 feet. When I was playing last week, I was not satisfied with that range and knew if I wanted to improve my game, I needed to make more of those putts. This coming week, the main focus will be on my chipping.
I feel like my game is improving every day. I am really enjoying the fact that I get to practice in December. I enjoy being out there every day and never feel burnt out. I am learning to balance practice time and playing, along with working out.
Vikings got another win! I am very excited to come home and see family and friends, although I am not looking forward to the cold!

Improvements!

My golf game is continually improving and is giving me more and more confidence. With the swing changes I am working on, I am getting more consistence in my shot making. My misses are a lot less off line and are much more managable. I am playing 5 rounds a week and practicing everyday. That is what it takes to make it to the next level. It is crazy to be able to do all this in December though, I have never had that option before! I love it!

One of the kids I played against in high school just won the PGA tour's Qualifying School. Congrats to Troy Merritt. That is an incredible accomplishment and I am very happy for him!

I will be coming home on the 22nd of December and staying until the 5th of January. I will be making some calls in the next week to set up meetings to discuss investment opportunities that will help me to chase my dream.

I am looking forward to coming home to see my family, but will be ready to get back here since my tour starts in the middle of February. We have our first 2 tournaments down in Hilton Head and Savannah. I am really looking forward to starting competition!

Cheers

Southern Hospitality

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

My Thanksgiving was very good! As I mentioned before, Andy Stehberger and his wife invited me to their family's Thanksgiving. Everyone was very nice and treated me very well. I also got a chance to play golf with Andy's family and friends on Friday.

Want to say Happy Birthday to my Dad. I won't mention his age but he was born in 1958.

My golf game is continually improving and it is making me pretty excited! After a couple days off and another Vikings victory, I am ready to get back at it. Less than 3 months until the first tournament, I have got to get this all put together!

The weather is still good here. We are expecting a little cold snap that would put the high around 50, which is still plenty warm to golf! Especially for a Minnesota Boy!

Cheers!

Thanksgiving!

As most of you know, I attended and played on the golf team at Saint John's University. Through that program, I have met a lot of people from around the country. The newest contact is a guy by the name of Andy Stehberger.
He lives down here in Charlotte and has been a blessing for me. He is helping me get acquainted with the area and also introducing me to people down here to help me get better connected. He took me to the Panthers-Dolphins game on Thursday night. It was the first outdoor pro football game I have been to so it was really fun. I am excited for when the Vikings come down here and wax the Panthers!
Andy and his wife also invited me to spend Thanksgiving with their family. I cannot begin to express how wonderful that is of them to do that (It will sure beat the Stove Top and Rotisserie Chicken I was planning on having!) .
This is just another example of the great support that people have shown me over the last couple of months. Without all of you, none of this would be possible for me!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Golf in November?!

Well, it is the middle of November and I played golf in 70 degree weather today! I could get used to this. I finalized a membership today at a great course that was designed by Hale Irwin. It is a very challenging track and is in great shape. It also has a great practice facility. I now have a place to hang my hat and get to work!

I am also a member at a gym down here. It is very important in the game of golf to stay in good physical shape. This is required to be able to perform at your full potential.

I have also been doing a lot of reading and listening to information regarding the mental aspect of the game. Someone once said "Golf is 90% mental and 10% physical". Being mentally tough for a 5 hour round is a hard thing to master. I am learning how to zone in when it is time to hit a shot and also how to become fully relaxed when I am walking in between them. I have some audio CD's by Bob Rotella, that are teaching me how to implement these things into my game. Another key aspect that he stresses is strong visualization. I don't think I have had to visualize so many things in my life as I have since I started his curriculum!

Besides the game itself, the other big aspect of becoming a professional golfer is being able to market yourself. Golf is not like all of the other professional sports in the sense that I did not receive a signing bonus or a long term contract. For me to chase my dream, it takes a lot of support. All of my golf related expenses are not covered by a billionaire team owner as they are in other sports. I am responsible for finding the means to fund all of my expenses. Most golfers, such as Rich Beem, partnered with members of their community to fund their dream. I am in the process of putting together a group of partners to help me reach my goal. Throughout the next few weeks, I will be spending half my time on the course and half my time reaching out to potential partners to join this group.

I want to thank everyone who has contributed gifts, as well as those that have committed to become a partner. It truly means the world to know you are behind me and believe in me.

Now that I am getting fully acclimated to Charlotte, check back often because my blog updates will be more frequent.

God Bless!

Hello from Charlotte

Hey Everyone,

It has been awhile since my last post. I am finally settled in the Charlotte area and I am already getting accustomed to it. The weather here is fantastic and I am already getting to play lots of golf. My apartment is in a nice gated community and the people are very friendly. This is the first time I have ever lived alone, so it is taking a little getting used to.

I had the opportunity to go over to Pinehurst, NC this week. Some guys from Hazeltine are members at a club called Forest Creek. It is an unbelievable place and the guys treated me very well. I got to play both courses there and they are both very fun. The club is only a couple miles from Pinehurst Resort, so we went over there and walked around Pinehurst No. 2. That is the course where they host a lot of majors and are holding the men's and women's U.S. Opens in 2014. I thought the area of Pinehurst was the best golf area I have ever been to, simply amazing.

I am going to play this afternoon with a SJU alumn. He has been very helpful in getting me accustom to the area. The weather is beautiful, so it should be a good day.

My agent, Jim Lehman's father passed away last week. I ask you to keep his family in your prayers as this is a very tough time for them.

That's all for now! Have a great week everyone!!

Adios!!!!

Well, the time is finally here. Friday morning my Dad and I will be leaving for Charlotte, North Carolina. Since he is coming, I will be able to bring a lot more of my personal stuff along. He will be taking the Trailblazer and pulling a trailer. This allows me to bring my bed, dresser, futon, and recliner, things I would have otherwise had to buy once I got down there.

I want to take this time to sincerely thank all the people who have shown me such support in the last couple weeks. Not only has it been family, but my hometown community as a whole has been incredible. This is definitely one of the perks of being from a small town where everyone is always so encouraging. To those that have made monetary contributions, called me, or took the time to sit and talk with me, it is very much appreciated.

Now that the time is here, I have realized a few things. I used to say that I would never miss this state, well that is not completely true. I have other hobbies besides golf (believe it or not). I like to hunt and fish in the time that I am not golfing. These are things that I will not be able to do quite as much anymore. I also love ice fishing...THAT I definitely won't be doing much anymore, besides maybe over Christmas. My family will be missed dearly. I have never been a long way away from them, so that will take some getting used to. Other than that, I am very excited.

Well, the next post I will be making will be from Charlotte. I will be arriving there on Saturday afternoon.

Hope everyone is doing great and thanks again!

See ya later Minnesota!!

The Itch!

With the weather starting to turn south up here, my mind is turning in the same direction. I am getting close to being ready to leave, with a only a couple final obligations to take care of.

I have been able to play a lot of golf lately and it is going very well. The swing changes I started in the beginning of the summer are starting to shine through and I am getting my swing to right where I want it to be. I hope all of you have had a great summer. I was able to be inside the ropes during the PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life for many reasons. I got to get real close to all the top players in the world for one, which was an awesome opportunity. I also got the chance to really analyze how they went about playing the game in a major championship setting. That was a priceless opportunity that not many people get, and for this I am very grateful.

The Tar Heel Tour has made an update on their website. It gives some information on the 2010 season, which was exciting for me to see. I have created a link to this update on my website under the "Schedule" section. Check it out!

Thank you to all those that have sent me letters and gifts, they are very much appreciated and will be put towards my dream!

Excitement is Building!

For you that are visiting this site for the first time, welcome!  Please take a look around at all the links, I am confident you will find some interesting pieces.

While the weather in Minnesota is brutal, my spirits are very high.  The excitement is building for my move to North Carolina and I am excited to start preparing for the 2010 Tar Heel Tournament.  As some of you know, I have spent the summer working at Hazeltine National Golf Club and I love it when the tee sheet is open and I get the opportunity to play.  With this weather, I have gotten to play a lot, including this afternoon.

After a rough start on the front nine (bogey, par, par, double bogey), I birdied the last three holes to finish even.  On the back, a slow and steady 38...I just could not get the putts to drop. 

It is late Friday night and I just got out of a meeting with my team of advisors.  I have a lot of money to raise but I am confident that with your assistance, I can get it done.     

Welcome to my Blog!

Thank you for visiting my blog! 

If you ask anyone who knows me well, they'll tell you that being a professional golfer has been a dream of mine for a very long time.  I accomplished this dream in September of 2009, when I signed with Medalist Management as a professional golfer.

I have started this blog so that family, friends and supporters are able to follow my progress.  I will be making regular updates, so please check back often.  I have many different links, so I hope you enjoy exploring my site.

Since I have now completed college, I am looking forward to devoting all my effort to my golf game and taking it to the next level.   In order to do this, I am going to need lots of support.  This support comes not only in monetary form, but also in e-mails, phone calls, thoughts and prayers.

Thanks again!