Sept. 25, 2007
By Roberto Castro –
I know it’s been a while since I checked in, but I’ve spent the last three or four weeks sitting on the couch watching Celebreality, so there was really nothing to report on. Joking. Golf wise, it’s been a bit of a slow stretch, to be honest with you. I played in a Tarheel Tour event on a really easy course, shot 11-under for 3 days, and finished 19th. This course was interesting, in that in required basically NO thinking. Basically you just hit driver down the pipe, go for every pin, and try to ram every putt in. I decided that when playing courses like that, I almost have to change my routine in order to think less, and react more. This may make no sense, but why overcomplicate something simple? You may ask, why don’t you just play like that every time? And you may have a point, but on most courses you have more variables and options to consider, and thinking does help.
Read previous editions of Castro’s Summer of Golf
Fifth edition
Fourth edition
Third edition
Second edition
First edition
Then I went to Augusta to play in my first Hooters Tour event. I had to Monday qualify, which actually wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be, especially after a smooth 38 on the front, but I made four birdies on the back and shot 70 to get in on the number. I was totally hot-and-cold during the tournament, shooting 68-75-69-75. I was a bit disappointed with the week especially with my thinking. The goal is to pick a target, go through your routine and make a committed swing to that target, irrespective of the situation you’re in. I let the situation and outside thoughts and factors get me out of my routine.
Next week I went to Charleston for another Hooters event. I got the wrong end of the tee times the first day, and had to play in miserable weather for nine holes. On top of that, I hit it poorly, and putted worse. Bad combination, eh? 77. I made seven birdies for a 69 the second day, but missed the cut by two. I can choose to look at this one of two ways, the first being that I missed the cut in a Hooters event, that my game is in shambles, and that it’s the end of the world. The second is that I just didn’t have it that week, that I had made my previous eight cuts, and that a week home regrouping and working on the game will get my right back on track. At first I opted for the first attitude, but now I’m thinking the second is more productive.
Coach Heppler always talked about how his ex-players would go out on the Tour and let it “get on top of them.” History seems to repeat itself. After those last three poor weeks, I felt like it was getting on top of me. The first attitude I mentioned above is a perfect example of that. But as much as old Coach thinks we never listened to him, we did. When I turned pro, I wrote down some reminders I could re-read when things get tough. Reading those notes, and spending some time at home around supportive people, and I’ll be ready to hit the road stronger than before!
**The Notre Dame weekend was one I won’t soon forget. We saw a game at Wrigley on Friday afternoon, which was amazing. It was like the party of the year, and it happens 81 times a year!!! We went to a bar in Wrigleyville after the game (roughly 4 p.m.) and you would have thought it was two in the morning the way people were partying. Awesome. On game day I saw a package store open early for 80 eager Georgia Tech fans, an anxious bus ride to South Bend, a dominant performance by the Jackets, and an obnoxiously celebratory ride back to Chicago.
**I went to the Dave Matthews Concert in Piedmont Park. 60,000 people, biggest show in Atlanta history, madness.
**So many people had told me how Charleston is their favorite city, and now I can see why. It really is a cool area, but definitely somewhere I could not have gone to college. College of Charleston is like 75 percent girls, and two blocks from dozens of shops, restaurants, and bars. Something tells me I would have been slightly less productive in that environment.
**Apparently the US News College Rankings include alumni giving rate as one scoring criteria. So Georgia Tech really tries to get all alumni to donate, no matter how small the donation. I donated $20. I’m thinking that won’t get a whole building named after me, but at worst I’m expecting a classroom or lab to bear my name.
**It’s impossible to describe to someone who has not played full-time competitive golf how good Tiger Woods is, so I won’t try, but just trust me, we’re lucky to be around to watch it.
That’s all for now, see you at the Clemson game, GO JACKETS!
