Golf In A Parallel Universe (10 page)

Tuesday Morning. I made it back last night to my home on Orlando. Not much of a break with my schedule. Today I drive to the Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. It is about a two hour drive. What a nice change. Usually I have to fly or make a long drive to my tournaments. Nice to have one right in my backyard. I got my bags all packed last night. I eat some breakfast and get in my car and head to Ponte Vedra Beach Florida. I love to drive. Especially by myself on some type of road trip. It gives me a chance to be by myself, relax and just think about things.

As I am driving I feel a little tired from playing a 5 day match tournament. But it was fun and gratifying especially since I won. And I defeated the number one player in the world. I think about how I played in that Match Play tournament. I felt confident and I feel that my golf game is really coming together. I am having more fun playing golf than I ever have had in my life. Still every time I hit a golf ball, I hear that little enthusiastic voice in the back of my head just being thrilled. As I am driving I am thinking about that. It is not really so much really of a little voice but seems more of a second emotion. This has been going on the last few weeks since I won the Masters. At first I was really confused and thinking that I was going crazy. I just wrote it off as some weird emotion from winning my first major. But now I have forgot about it. But that little emotion or voice is always in the back of my mind when I am playing or thinking about golf. Now it is just part of me and I do not think much about it.

I continue to drive and I think about the last few weeks. I won the Masters. At the time of that tournament I was playing really well. I know I got on a real hot streak the last few holes and I ended up coming out of nowhere and winning it. But since then my golf game has come to a new level. I think it is because I am having so much fun and I have practiced so much the last few weeks at the range and my swing is developing. I think about the first tournament I played after the Masters at Zurich Classic of New Orleans. I think about how I had that strange panic attack the first few holes. I felt like that same little happy emotion was the same emotion that I had been hearing. But this time it was the opposite of being happy and having fun. That emotion was freaking out, and it affected me greatly until I got things back to normal. The really weird thing about that is I heard that voice from Jerry Churchill in tandem with another voice “Keep it Parallel Jim, Keep it Parallel.” I still do not understand where that came from. Sometimes I just think that I am losing my mind.

The rest of the tournament I played well. Then this last week I won the Match Play tournament in San Francisco. I beat the number one player in the world! As I am driving along I feel like my game is really developing to a new level. Now I am playing the Players Championship this week and I feel like I have a chance to make something happen. This tournament is a biggie. It is considered the 5th Major and everyone wants to play well in this tournament. So we will see how I do this week. I feel good about my chances.

Golf is on my mind when I am driving. But then I start to think about the other new thing in my life. Emily! First of all, I cannot believe she actually texted me and told me that she will be here next week. I am amazed that I am going to get to see her again next week after this tournament. As I drive along I think about how comfortable I felt around her when I was in New York. I felt that I have known her a long time. It was so strange to feel that way but it was so nice. I drive along thinking about all the scenarios on how this will go with her. Will I just see her one time? Will be a good time or a not so good time? I think of all the possibilities of how we may really hit it off and have some type of relationship. I think about all the possibilities. Seems that always happens to me when I meet someone who I hope to have a relationship with. Always think about all the great things that will happen. But my track record has not been so good in the Love Department over the years. And the life of a professional golfer does not give you a lot of time to get out and find someone and have a stable relationship. But I am excited about the possibilities with Emily. “Hey, I wonder if her parents are golf fans," I ask myself. They are not far away. I could arrange tickets for them to come out and watch the Players Championship this week. But then I start thinking that is not a very good idea. First of all, I do not really know Emily that well. And that would be bold move and probably uncomfortable for them. Besides that, I may play like and Idiot and not even make the cut. So I decide against that idea.

Before I know it. I am just about to Ponte Vedra Beach. I look at the time and I have been driving almost two hours. I realize most of the time I was driving, I was thinking about Emily. So finally I arrive at TPC Sawgrass about noon. My plan today is causal. First register, then hit a few balls at the range, chip and putt then go to my hotel and relax. So I get registered and get in the clubhouse and see a lot of the guys. Here, I have similar feelings that I had at Zurich Classic of New Orleans when I was coming off the Masters win and showing up as a winner. Today I got a lot of congratulations and talked about my win at the Match Play tournament last week. But it was not as much hype as coming out of the Masters. After the initial greeting with everyone it was back to business. Everyone pretty much has their game faces on this week. This tournament has the look and the feel of a major. So this is not just another weekly tournament on the tour. I hook up with Zack. “How you feeling big guy?," I asked him. “You must be tired of carrying that bag all last week." “Nope” he says. “When you play like you are playing now and winning, it’s nothing but fun," he replied. “Let's see if we can keep this streak going," I told him as I slapped him on the back. We both chuckle and walked over to the driving range. “Just a light day today. Don’t let me do too much, I need to give my body some rest” I told him. I am thinking if I do the same as I did the last two tournaments, hitting a million practice balls each day, because of that little enthusiastic emotion I have been having, I am going to wear myself out. I need to pace myself. Today is Tuesday, and tomorrow I will have my practice round, then Thursday it is game day. “Sounds good to me” Says Zack. So I hit some balls, and we practiced some chipping and putting to get used to the greens. I do seem to be more relaxed. There are a lot of club manufacturer reps here, just like all tournaments. But seems to be more here than normal. These guys follow the tour and they really get to know the players and the players get to know them. The reps know what the players preferences are and will always show the players what they have. It is big business. But it is not like they are pesky sales people. They are more like advisors to what they have. And most players love it. They get to try out new clubs for free. A lot of players are gadget guys. They like to tinker with all the new equipment. Try this putter, this wedge, drive
etc.
It is fun. Some players feel like a kid in a candy store. I am not really all that much on trying new equipment. And since I am on a roll right now, I Ain't changing nothing as far as equipment. But I do tinker around looking at some drivers. I know I need to add some distance to my drives. My distance is not where it should be as a professional golfer. I talk to some of the reps about some options. Lot’s of good stuff out there. But I tell them for now, I am holding pat on any club changes. But I plan to take a closer look later on. If I can add 15 hard to my drives it would help my game a lot.

I keep the promise to myself and call it a day about 4:00pm. I want so very desperately to hit some more balls. But I know if I do that, I will be here until 8:00pm. That little voice will just cheer me on, having fun hitting the golf ball. But I need some rest. So I go to my hotel and check in and get to my room about 4:30 and I relax. Usually I will hang out maybe drink a beer. And look out the window at the views and think about things. But not tonight. I grab a quick bite to eat. I am tired and sleep sounds good. I go to bed at 8:30pm. I crash and sleep like a rock.

Wednesday morning I get up at 8:00pm and I feel great. I have a practice round scheduled at 11:30am. I eat breakfast and head for the course. “Man, I feel good!," I tell myself. For some reason I just feel like this is my week. I hook up with Zack and we hit a few balls at the range. We also work on my chipping and putting. We pair up with a couple of players for our practice round. We have a good time. But we are all very focused. Everyone wants to be prepared for this tournament. I got a late start this week. I did not get here until Tuesday. Today is my first practice round and tomorrow is gameday. Zack has already walked the course this morning and knows every nook and cranny. That's what caddies do. They will do whatever it takes to get the player prepared. And Zack is the best at scouting out the course. He will have all the information about this course that will help us in competition. We went over his notes on every hole and made our plan of attack.

Zack has a unique skill as a caddie. He knows my game and has a lot of good strategic ideas on how the attack the course with my type of play. The last hole last week where he recommended me to layup on the par five at 18th hole was a good example of his thinking. He knows when it is good for me to be aggressive on a shot and when to play it smart. I am lucky to have Zack as my caddie.

I have this played course a few times over the years. I have played in some tournaments here and have been out here a few times just to play since I live so close. So I know this course pretty well. And the way I am playing, I feel pretty good about this tournament. We finish the practice round and I played well. That little voice or emotion is going strong as usual, and I am really having so much fun.

After we finish. I plan to go hit a few balls and head towards the driving range. There is a roped-off section on the way to the range which is set aside for the gallery to get autographs from the players. Every has tournament places so the crowd can mingle a little with the players and get autographs. And during the practice rounds it is more relaxed and he players are more approachable. Usually it is the top players that the autograph seekers are looking for. And some of those top players are very gracious. I have seen Cory McCullough and other top players stand in one place for over an hour giving autographs. Whereas others will not even acknowledge the autograph seekers. But most are somewhere in between and are gracious to the fans. As we are walking by this area a couple of players are there giving autographs. They are friends of mine and we joke with each other a bit. Then a few fans ask me for my autograph. Something I have not been asked for much over the years. But since I won the Masters I am recognized a little more than before. So we have about three or 4 players there signing autographs. And of course the crowd sees us and more people file in. So we got a little Autograph session going on. Most of the fans do not know me. They are just lining up to get autographs. It only last about 5 minutes and I gave a few autographs. People just lined up behind each other and when you finished the next one steps in holding up their paper, caps or whatever they have to be signed.

As I finish up one fan, this older couple comes up next. They are in their mid-sixties. The gentleman just smiled and stuck out his hand and shook my hand. “Good Luck this week Mr. Galloway," he told me smiling. And his wife did the same. I was expecting something to sign but then I realized they were not seeking an autographs. I just smiled and thanked them. “I will do my best," I replied. I thought they were very nice, and we chatted for a few seconds. He had a University of Nebraska football shirt on. “Hey, Go Cornhuskers!," I told him smiling. He just laughed and told me good luck again and it was nice meeting me and they took off. I thought it was a little unusual. It was like they made a point to see me. And the strange thing. I felt that I have seen them somewhere in the past. Eventually this little autograph session was over.

As I am heading towards the Driving Range, I run into Jerry Churchill . He is working the TV cast on this tournament this week. I still have some mixed feelings about this guy. But he seems be supporting me for some strange reason. Sometimes I think that he is a little wacky because he rambles on so much sometimes. But he is a legend of the game. I am lucky to have him in my corner. So I decide to be gracious and I really am happy to see him. He comes up and shakes my hand. “Congratulations on your win last week!," he told me enthusiastically. I could tell that he was really sincere, and my win seemed to really mean something to him. I thanked him for the congratulations and we chatted for a while.

We talked about this course and the conditions and lots of things in general. He talked about old times when he was playing and rambled on. One strange thing. It may be my imagination, but he seems like he wants to tell me something else. Something important. But he seems to be making himself hold that back. I really noticed it when we finished talking. It was like he wanted to say something else, but he decided not to.

After he left, I got a bit to eat and went to the range to hit some balls. I hit a few balls and I am so focused. I feel that competitive burning edge again. I am having fun as usual because that little voice in the back of my head is having so much fun. Every shot I hit, that voice seems to be thrilled. Not only am I have a lot of fun, I feel very determined. I am working on my power. “This is a long course. I need more yardage” I told Zack. “Maybe so” he says. “But this is not the time to tinker with your swing. Look at you. You are over swinging now to gain more power. You keep that up and you will mess up your whole swing. Just stick to what you have been doing and you will be fine. You can work on power later," he told me in a consulting tone. He’s right. If I start making changes on my swing now and try to get more distance, I will mess up my swing. “You're right buddy” I respond. “That's why I pay you the big bucks, so you can keep me grounded," I told him laughing. Finally we wrap things up. We make plans to meet in the morning, so we call it a day.