Charles Howell III Blog Post

I found this on PGATOUR.com and found it to be a good read. He won over the weekend and is sure to be a formidable player this season.

Howell on his first blog and his off-season
Jan. 11, 2007

Editor's note: Charles Howell III, who won the 2002 Michelob Championship at Kingsmill, will be writing a monthly blog for PGATOUR.com this year. This is his first installment.

HONOLULU, Hawaii -- I've never done a blog before. I thought it would be fun, though, and I thought it might give you guys a peek into what we do. One of the things about golf is that it's such a long season. Part of the battle is to manage yourself and your time and your energy. I know what I do for a living most people do on vacation. If you play two practice rounds and four more in the tournament, though, that's six a week and that adds up over the course of the season. It's a lot of golf and it's a lot of energy. So maybe this blog will show you the other side of our lives.

The offseason always seems to fly by. My last tournament was the Chrysler Championship but I practiced a whole lot during the next two months. I worked with David Leadbetter there in Orlando. A lot of my time was spent working on the short game -- 100 yards and in. You're always trying to find ways to improve. I still say when you look at the top five players in the world, they've got the five best short games. So I spent a lot of time working on that, and between practice and seeing family for Thanksgiving and Christmas, the time just evaporates and now we're back in Hawaii.
I came over Saturday night and spent Sunday on the beach and by the pool. Then it was back to work on Monday. Monday's always like the first day of school. It's funny, even with all the practice and preparation you do in the offseason, you never really know what it will be like when you start playing. There was a feeling of nervousness, a little anxiety almost, on the first tee today. Those are the feelings you want to have, though. No golf that you can play at home mimics a tournament and gives you the same feelings. I am very happy with shooting 1 under today. It was windy, and it's the first tournament of the year. You never know what to expect. So I was happy.
I feel like the hard work I put in the last couple of months is going to pay off. I practiced between 5 to 7 hours a day. Some of that's hitting balls on the range and some of that's out playing. Whether it's four holes a day or nine holes or 10 holes, I always make sure that I play some each day so whatever I'm working on with David can get to the golf course and transfer over. I practiced Monday through Saturday, but I took Sundays off for the most part. I'm a big Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan, so a lot of our Sundays are spent watching the games. Rhonde Barber is one of my good friends, and I follow the team religiously.
Then there's working out -- the fitness side of it -- which is getting to be more and more of a necessity in golf. I have a gym at my house and I work out about an hour and 15 minutes each day. I have to do it first thing in the morning or else it doesn't get done. Then again, working out is like practicing. It sort of gets addicting as you see the results and how it helps your golf game. At the end of the day, the goal of any workout program is longevity -- to play an injury-free career for the most part. You see players like Vijay who are in their 40s still playing successfully and a large part of that is whether the guy is still fit. Vijay certainly is. Working out is also a good way to get away from the game. It helps you get rid of the stress. I like to go to movies, too. Obviously, not all the tournaments we play are in Hawaii where you have the beautiful beaches. So movies are a good way to escape. The last one I saw was "Blood Diamond," which I thought was fantastic. "Rocky" is probably next on my list.
I'm big into technology, too. We've got three computers in our house. My wife and I each travel with our own because we don't share the Internet well. Technology also helps me with my golf swing. We use video cameras a lot, and I've found this wireless 3-D sensor system that I've been fiddling around with. David has always thought of training aids and what-not, but anything in the technical side of things that can help us, we always go for, as well. I like any gadget or gizmo that can kind of get the point across of what I'm trying to do in the golf swing. Of course, today on the range, I was hitting balls with a strap around my legs, just above my knees, to help with my balance and alignment. That's the simple travel version. Technology's great, but we have to make something that can get to Hawaii as well!
This is going to be a fun year, and I look forward to sharing it with you. I don't talk a lot about my goals but I do have them. There are some obvious ones like making The Presidents Cup team. Playing in THE TOUR Championship -- particularly with the FedExCup playoffs -- is another goal. So check back on PGATOUR.com to see how I'm doing, and I'll write again next month.

Golf homes in San Diego

I am currently working on a way to keep golfers up to speed as to golf course properties for sale within San Diego County. While I am working on this I would like to hear from you.... The golfers!

Are you or have you ever thought of owning a home on or around a golf course?

If so, what is it you are looking for and how would you choose to obtain this information?

Would you like to browse for the homes on the site? Or do customized E-Mail reports work better? I hope you get the point. All input is appreciated.

My current website does not allow you the golfer to isolate golf homes. However it does have a pretty great way to find all homes for sale.

While I am working on this small dilemma please feel free to call me or send me your thoughts. As I build this blog and my website keep in mind that I am building them for you... The Golfers!

Have a great day and hit them straight.

Sean

Phil Wins, Duval plays well!

Congratulations have to go out today to Phil Mickelson on his first win this year. I mentioned in a previous post that I would most likely not be watching this event as I still consider it to be silly golf. Ok I'm busted, I watched the final round and found it quite enjoyable.

My heart went out to John Mallinger (and Escondido native) when Kevin Sutherland birdied the 18th to take second place alone. Congrats to both.

As I scrolled down the leader board one name really stuck out and I plan to watch his progress the rest of the year. When David Duval hit the tour i really didn't care for him. It was most likely the fact that I did not enjoy watching his as he was emotionless. However with time I have grown to like him and more importantly I am routing for him. he has not played well in past years however it seems as if he is re-dedicated and motivated to play well.

He has played in four events this years and made the cut in three. He played well this week posting a four under par for his four rounds. The double bogie's followed him this week as he put three of them on his cards. Better luck next week and the wees to follow.

For now, I will be watching to see how he does and pulling for his come back and eventual win.

Sean

Handicap Certification

I spent yesterday with my friend Bill Crossen down at Morgan Run in a Handicap certification class put on by the SCGA. Ray Tippet and Emily von Doehren with the SCGA did a great job training us and all others in the class. The purpose of the class is to get club members and delegates up to speed on the handicap system and also give us the tools and knowledge to pass the 100 question test. Bill is our clubs Handicap chairmen and I will be part of his committee. We now have 5 men certified to be chairmen in our men's club so our handicap committee will have vast knowledge of all handicapping issues.

I did learn a few things and I thought I would pass them on.
Regarding Amateur Status... NO CASH! Script up to $750 is fine cash is not. You can win prizes and even a car for a hole in one if it is during the course of the golfing round. If you go to a special event such as a free day at a driving range and you receive a prize for a challenge you can not accept it without jeopardizing your amateur status.

Your odds of shooting your handicap or better during a normal round of golf regardless of your handicap is basically 5:1 or 20%. If you do shoot your handicap or better there is a good chance you have a load of sand in you pocket and somewhere a greens keeper would like it back.

I have to run so I will re-visit this topic a little latter on.

Sean

What happened to Tiger?

With all of the hype that went into the Dubai Classic neither Ernie or Tiger could pull off the BIG win. I have not been paying much attention to any of the golf commentators but I can only imagine if Tiger had one. The endless debate as to weather the event should count against the winning streak or not.

Not much more to say for now.