The next day is Wednesday. Things are getting serious now. All the players are getting their Gameface on. Also Wednesday is pro-am day on the tournament course. I was asked to play because I won the masters. The Pro-Am is a very important day spent playing golf with all those closely associated with the event, such as our sponsors, celebrities and other people close to the PGA. Some players do not like to play in the Pro-Am because it takes away from their prep time. I have always enjoyed it. Gives me a chance to relax and play for fun. Feels like just playing with your friends, which is a break from being serious all the time working on your game. And you get to meet some nice people that work closes with the game. We get to meet our sponsors and even celebrities sometimes. We tee-off at 09:00am and finish about 2:00pm. I have played in a lot of Pro-Am’s over the years.Usually I am just a no-name Pro that not many people know. But this one is different. Since I am just coming off a Masters Win. I am treated somewhat as a celebrity myself, and it is fun. I really had a good time. Also I hit the ball really good today in this Pro-Am. I have not played this well in at least 5 years when I was in the prime of my career. I am not sure why but it feels good to hit the golf ball and why it’s so fun. Golf if really fun for me now. First time in years I felt like this. The last few years it has been work. But now it is fun again. I cannot wait until tomorrow. After my practice round, I am so hyped up. That little voice in the back of my mind or that emotion or whatever the heck it is seems to be having fun all day. I hit a few balls after the range after my round and having so much fun. But I force myself to Stop and go to the hotel and take it easy. I get to the hotel and turn on the AC to cool off. I grab a beer and sit by the window and take a look at the view of New Orleans. Nice view, and I feel at peace. I feel confident. And I am ready to play tomorrow. I get a bite to eat, get cleaned up and go to bed. I fall asleep fast. I have dreams again about living in another place with a family. I do not really see any faces that I can remember, but it all seems so Natural and Peaceful.
It is Thursday, morning, which is always the first day of the tournament. Everyone plays for two days. After the second day there is a cutoff point. If your two days of score is not in the top percent, you miss the but and go home. And you get no money at all. So the goal is to make the cut. And then compete to win the tournament or play well enough to make good money. The higher up you are on the leaderboard, the more money you make.
Today is the day. This is the first tournament after my big win of the Masters a couple of weeks ago. I have seen things on the Internet and on TV that I am just a “One and Done” Masters Champion. People have said that I am just a mediocre player at the end of my career. To tell you the truth, I would have agreed with them in the past. I just got hot for that tournament and was able to play out of my head for four days and I had some lucky breaks. I know that my Game is not what it used to be. That's what I was thinking right after I won. But since I started practicing and playing a few days later and I have this new enthusiasm for the game, I feel that I may have a new feeling for the game and I am ready to make a run at improving my game and re-energizing my career. I am ready to show all the Nay Sayers that I am for real. I am so ready for this.
It is so funny after you win a major. I am getting attention that I never have had before. People in the Gallery asking me for autographs. TV is asking for Interviews and everyone congratulating me on my big win. nice, I could get used to this. Also, the way I am set for this tournament is different. Usually I get an early start on my tee time when there is very little people in the Gallery. Usually the have the more popular players tee off later when the crowds are bigger. They have me tee off at 10:45am which is pretty late. I work on the range for a while hitting a few balls. Then I work on putting and chipping and just getting ready for the tournament. Zack, my caddie is with me every step of the way. Finally we finish up and we are in the clubhouse ready to head out to the Tee Box. Zack asked me how I feel. “Great! I am so ready," I replied. Then I told him, that I appreciate how he has stuck with me the last few years, and I will make a commitment to work on my game and make both of us some money. He just laughed and said don’t worry about it.
Then it time to go to the first Tee for our Tee Off Time. As we walk out the door, I feel so confident. I am excited but I also feel calm and cool. Not too amped up, but ready to go out and have a good round. I feel like I am going to play well today. As we go out the door and walk to the first tee, a TV camera follows behind me as we walk past the crowds to the tee. “Wow this is Different," I say to myself. I guess when you win a masters you get a little more attention. As I walk to the tee a few people hold out their hands and I give them a little side “High Five." We make it to the Tee and shake hands with the officials and the other players and exchange Pleasantries. After playing on the tour for ten years, I am really not nervous on the first tee anymore. But sometimes just a few butterflies. Today, I am not nervous at all. I am so ready for this. I am playing with in a threesome with Dave Harrison and Anthony Marucci. I just feel like this is my day.
And then I start to look around after all the handshaking etc. I look down the fairway and I see all these people lined up on each side of the fairway. From the tee box all the way to the fairway. Just like I have seen a million times before. I look back at the players and the officials and there are people in the back of the tee box, just like I have seem a million times before. I look around and see all that is going on. I feel confused. All of a sudden I am terrified! That little voice or emotion that has been cheering me on the last few days, is absolutely freaking out. “Look all these people!” “My God." “I cannot hit a golf ball with all these people," that voice screams out in my head. At this point, I am so nervous I think I am going to throw up. I do not understand. I am never nervous like this. I know I have done this a many times as a professional golfer. But I truly feel like this is the very first time I have ever stepped up on the first tee of a professional golf tournament. I tell myself this, must be some weird emotion after winning my first major. My caddie Zack is busy getting ready and then he looks at me. I must have been as white as sheet.
“You OK Jim?," he asked. Somehow compose myself “yea, yea, I am fine," I replied. The starter starts to talk. “Ok guys we will get you started," he told us. “Ladies and Gentlemen, next on the Tee from Trenton New Jersey, Dave Harrison." Everyone claps and he tips his cap. I am like “Oh My God," I cannot believe I am here. He hit his drive right down the middle and the gallery claps and cheers. I see him hit and I am thinking “Wow! Look at that shot, look how far it is going." Then I start arguing with myself. “What do you mean, it is just a normal shot that a professional Golfer would hit?," I tell myself. I feel like I have two people in my brain at this point. One is the guy I know, professional golfer for ten years, then this emotion or voice or whatever the last few days which is so excited about golf is amazed to see a good professional golf shot. That other emotion is freaking out. And at this point it is my dominant emotion.
Then they introduce Anthony Marucci. “ Ladies and Gentlemen, from Detroit Michigan Anthony Maruccii. I am thinking, “My God, they are introducing our names." Anthony acknowledges the crowd and hits a good shot down the middle. “How did he do that?," I ask myself. Now it's my turn. I know I have to tee the ball up. I tee the ball up and stand back. “Ladies and Gentlemen, the 2014 Masters Champion from Orlando Florida, Jim Galloway." And the crowd gave a good cheer and applause. I do not know what to do. I am really scared. I just stand there not sure what to do. I look around and people are looking at me wondering why I am not addressing the ball. Then I realize, “OK, let's do this," I tell myself. I address the ball. I look and see people on the right side, the left side. I am thinking these people are crazy! If a player hits a screaming low duck hook or slice he could kill someone. I am so afraid I am going to take someone out on this tee shot. Everyone is looking forward to see this Masters Champion hit the Ball. I make a swing. I cold top the ball about 50 yards down the middle. “Uh Oh," I tell mysel
f. Everyone is confused on what to do. The Gallery usually will clap after a shot, but they all seem to be holding their breath. The other players, caddies and officials, all seem to be embarrassed for me. They know that I must be feeling bad. And no one is sure what to say. I just stand there looking at my ball. Then Anthony Marucci, who has been around for a long time, and a happy-go-lucky type of guy and a little bit of a clown, slaps me on the back as he is walking down the tee box and says pretty loud in a joking fun way “Not bad for a Masters Champion, right down the middle," he said smiling. Everyone laughs. He broke up the tension which was really nice of him. He really bailed me out of a tough situation. Everyone thinks I just have the post Major Champion Jitters. I get to my second shot. I have a long ways to go. I pull out my 3 wood and make a whack at it. I hit a low slicing banana ball about 170 in the right rough, almost hitting someone in gallery.
My swing did not feel like my swing. It was like I was just whacking at the ball, no idea what I am doing. I get to 3rd shot. I am still over 200 yard from the green. I hit a 4 wood and hit is left but in the fairway about 40 yards from the green. My Caddie Zack, tries to losing me up. “Hey chip it in, and it's easy par" he told me smiling. Ok my fourth shot 40 yard sand wedge. There is a sand trap between me and the green. If I can get up and down I will salvage a bogey. This 40 yard wedge shot has always been the strong part of my game. However I address the ball and I feel terrible. I have the feeling that this is the weak part of the game. That little emotion in the back of my head is freaking saying “this shot is my Nemesis, please don’t Shank it." I am so scared. I make a swing and I shank it! “Ok the wheels are coming off now," I tell myself. I am just on first hole one and things look bad. Now I am on the right side of the green. By some miracle I am able to get up and down for a double bogey.
Zack tells me that it is Ok we got the first hold over. “We got 71 holes to go, don't worry about this’, he said in a reassuring tone. Hole two, and hole three, more of the same. I doubled number 2 and tripled number 3. My swing feels and looks nothing at all like a professional Golf Swing. My swing looks like that I am a weekend golfer. I am hitting the balls like a duffer. It is really bad. The TV commentators are going over this and they are disturbed on what they are seeing. They are saying that this has to be more than nerves. They are wondering if I have some injury that is hindering my swing. Or is some medical condition going on with me such as a stroke or something. Because my swing has nothing to do with a professional Golfer. They discuss with Jerry Churchill and ask what he thinks is going on. He just said there is no telling. “Maybe, Jim is having a panic Attack. I have never seen anything like this. Maybe he will settle down," he says.
As we walked up hole number four tee box, my caddie Zack stops and pulls me to the side. He is angry. He grabbed with both of his hands by my front collar. He pulled me up to his face and looked at me in the eyes. “Pull yourself together!” You are swinging like an Idiot! What are you doing? Your back swing is going so far back you are almost hitting your left shoulder with the shaft. You are not swinging like a pro, you are just whacking at the ball like a weekend golfer. Get your shit together now!," he said intently. Then pushed me back. I was stunned. But I understood. I know that he is right. This is ridiculous. But I really feel that there is no hope. We get on the fourth tee box and the other two players hit. I tee the ball up and feel the same. I am still freaking out. That voice is in my head scared to death. I feel there is no way I can hit this ball. I take a practice swing and can barely swing. I am ready to quit now. I am thinking that maybe I can just fake a heart attack and get out of this mess. I take a deep breath and take another practice swing and then I hear a voice or a pair of voices simultaneously in my head. “Keep it Parallel Jim, Keep it Parallel." I step back take another practice swing and hear it again. Keep it Parallel Jim, Keep it Parallel. I recognize this sounds like Jerry Churchill , because he is the only one who ever told me this. He told me this at the Masters Post Party and Tuesday at the driving range. But I feel like I have heard it many times before, and why does it sound like someone else is saying it also with him at the same time. But then I notice I am relaxed. I make one more practice swing. I notice that my backswing is shorter now. I feel like I got my swing back. “I just need to keep my backswing parallel and swing smooth," I tell myself. I step up and address the ball. I hear it one more time, “Keep it Parallel Jim, Keep it Parallel." I swing and hit a perfect drive right down the middle. God that felt Good! That little happy voice perks up again. “Wow good shot," that little voice rang out in my head. My caddie Zack looks with a relieved look on his face. My second shot feels good and hit the ball on the green about ten feet to the hole. As we walk up to the green I feel so calm and relaxed and I make my birdie putt.
As the round continues I feel more confident and more like my normal self. I start to get my enthusiasm back and I am having fun again. That little voice in my head is cheering me on again. I still do not understand where that is coming from, but I am back on the right track again. I end up making 2 more birdies and the rest pars. So I shoot four over 76. Not bad considering the way I started. After the round, Zack is confused. He wants to ask me what that was all about the first few holes but he does not say anything. He probably thinks, I was freaking after playing my first round after winning the Masters. “Let's get out of here, go to the hotel and rest. Let’s get back here tomorrow, see if we can put together a good round and make the cut tomorrow," he told me.
“Sounds good to me," I replied. He is right. We need to get out of here, it has been a crazy day. I feel in control now and I am confident I am back to normal. However I am Pissed. I am not sure what happened today. I think I am loosing my Mind. After we validate our score cards we are walking to the clubhouse. I look over and I seen Jerry Churchill looking at me. He looks concerned. I give him the Evil Eye. I am not sure what is going on here. But it seems in some strange way he knows something. He seems to know what is going on with me. I am not happy about it. Finally I get back to the hotel and think about what happened today. I ask myself questions. “Why did I start out like that?” “Why did I feel like a different person swinging the golf club for the first three holes?” “ And where the hell did Jerry Churchill 's voice come from and why did that change things for me?” “And why did it sound like two voices talking simultaneously?” This is so confusing to me. Either this is some weird emotions I am going though after winning my first major. Or I am losing my mind. I was so exhausted that I went to bed early. I went to sleep fast, and I did not dream a thing.
The next day is Friday. I have never felt so relaxed on a golf course in my life. However, I seem to have a new emotion today. I am very determined to play a good round today. And that is what happened. I played great today. I hit the ball like a pro. and that little voice in my head was thrilled and golf was fun for me again. I shot lights out today with a 65. And with that, I made the cut by one stroke.
On the third round on Saturday I had same feeling. Relaxed and enthusiastic and I shot a 70. And on the final round on Sunday shot a 69. I finished in the top 25 on the leaderboard and I made a little money. Not bad considering the way things started. I just wonder what will the future hold for me. “This may be a crazy ride” I tell myself.
Chapter 6: Competitive Mode
I am playing this week in World Golf Championship Match Play in San Francisco. This is for the top 64 Players in the world last year. I am not in the top 64, but there were some drop outs this year, and I got an invitation since I am a Masters champion. I bet they are re-thinking my invite after my performance last week. But I bet my first opponent is happy about this.
This is a popular event. It different because it is “Match play." Match play is different than a normal golf tournament which called “Medal Play." In a normal “Medal Play” you play by score. Basically you are playing the course. Whoever has the best score wins the tournament. “Match Play” is different. You play head to head against one other player. If you win the first
hole then you are one up on him. If you win the second hole you are two up on him. So who ever wins the most holes in a round wins the match. Also it does not matter if you win the hole by one stroke or five strokes, just as long as you win the hole. This starts on Wednesday instead of Thursday like normal tournaments. If you lose a match then you go home. If you win your match you keep playing until you get beat or win it all. However the losers the semi-final matches play an 18-hole consolation match for third place.
After last week's tournament, I feel extremely different in my attitude. The last few weeks I have had this enthusiasm, confidence and having a lot of fun. Except for the first three holes at last week's tournament. I still have that feeling but now I seem to have this incredible burning desire to succeed. I feel so competitive and I want to destroy the the field in the rest of the tournaments that I will be playing. And since this is match play, this will play right into my emotions. Match Play is different. You are playing only against your opponent not the course or yourself. A good match Player is someone who is very competitive and feels he can't be beat. That's the way I feel now. My opponent is the enemy and my goal is to destroy him. Monday night I make it to San Francisco and Tuesday is practice day. I work with Zack on the range and a practice round. He comments that I seem so serious and quite. I just told him that I am focused and to hang on tight, it is going to be a wild ride. “No more crap like last week, I am going to destroy my opponents in this tournament," I told him confidently. He is like “Uh, OK." I am sure he is thinking that if do like last week, we will be going home early. I have a good day on the range and we play a practice round with Joe Hamilton and Bob Stoltz. I am hitting the ball great. I feel that I am in a killer mood. I look at Joe and Bob and think how I want to destroy them if I play them in this tournament. I feel that everyone is my enemy.
Golf In A Parallel Universe Page 6
