Colorado Open

In case you're wondering, it's true...the golf ball really does fly noticeably further at higher altitude! It was fun adjusting my club decisions based on the ball flying 10% further in the mile-high city last week. Though I'd visited Denver, CO before to go snowboarding on nearby mountains, that was my first experience playing and carrying my bag at that kind of altitude. I enjoyed the course, which was an interesting modern design with trees in the middle of some fairways and speedy slopes in the greens. Coming directly from a great ball striking performance in California, my play at Green Valley Ranch displayed much of the same characteristics. I hit the ball very well and made good decisions, but did not adjust well enough for the speed of the greens. Along with my focus on short game, I am also making a conscious effort to play more patiently. The more patient I am on the golf course, the quicker I detach from emotions that follow after good or bad shots, and the less I focus on results while playing which thereby helps me stay in the moment. I'm glad to be back in the South now to practice all that I've learned recently and to keep working on my process.

Brooke

 Nice view of the Rockies behind the Par 3, #13, at Green Valley Ranch golf course

An interesting feature of the course was how the designer placed trees in front of greens in the fairway. Not a problem on the Par 5, 2nd hole, here if you lay up to 100 yards.

 Another unique view from the fairway into a Par 4 green. Strategy is key as you have to lay up off the tee to 130-150 yards from the green.

 These strange contraptions were seen around course in random places and are apparently to trap any kind of biting fly.

What to do when waiting on a tee box for 20 minutes in a practice round... get to know the ginormous local bull frogs! And no, that is not my ball in the water.

I wonder if Colorado knows anything about frog-giggin'...

Shhh, don't tell the flight attendant I didn't turn my camera phone off before landing. If you've never flown into the Denver airport before, check out the picture below of the roof. It represents the mountain range, and the rings around some of the peaks signify the mountains in CO that reach above 14,000 feet.

 

Neat view of a dam (looks like a giant stair case to the lower right of the lake) while flying over Nevada.

Q-School

Last week was my first time entering the LPGA Qualifying Tournament known by many as "Q-School." I felt ready and was glad to have played both courses used in the 72-hole event several times, but I missed the cut at the end of the week by 2 shots. Though it is hard to describe the disappointment in not qualifying and continuing through the process, I know better than to leave focusing on any 2 of the shots I hit in the entire 72 holes. Instead, I review my performance from start to finish not to point to the cut line, but to learn what I need to improve to be at the top of the leaderboard. I kept a positive attitude through the rounds and tried not to think of results. I am proud of the decisions I made on each of the courses, with making simple pars my main course management goal. After some of my best ball-striking rounds there, I will be working hard to improve my short game on and around the greens. It was a wonderful experience that I know has better prepared me for events ahead and for entering the process next year. I learned an incredible amount about myself, course strategy, mental and physical skills in my 2 weeks in the desert; and I know I am surfacing from the experience a better player as a whole. I believe in my process and my work ethic, and I am very thankful for opportunities and those that support me! Score does not define me and I now look ahead to the challenge of adapting to changing conditions as I fly directly to Denver to play in the Colorado Open.

Thank you for following!

Brooke

 I had joked for months that rain follows me everywhere because so many of my tournaments had rain... Well in a desert that only receives 2"-3" of annual rainfall in the winter months, I practiced in one of the most bizarre storms I've ever experienced -which says a lot since I'm from Oklahoma! The bright sun was at my back in the pic below while I hit balls into a horizontal rain to an incredibly dark sky ahead of me with strong wind gusts and the most amazingly full double-layered rainbows I've ever seen. I wanted to find the pots of gold!

Driving range at 7am before one of the qualifying rounds.

This 26 foot tall statue downtown shows Palm Springs is proud of their "discovering" of Marilyn Monroe.