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Folks, we might be trending in the right direction.
I’m not going to lie – in the couple of months since I pressed SUBMIT on my application for the 2026 U.S. Mid-Amateur application, I have had a lot of ambition and plans, and not quite as much follow-through as I hoped for.
In other words, I am like 99% of all golfers. We set targets for practice time and handicap-improvement and are lucky if we achieve a quarter of them. Life gets in the way of golf, as it should: there aren't millions of dollars riding on our next shots.
But in the month-and-a-few-days since I got serious about trying to do this thing, and with just under two months until the big day – a qualifier outside of Las Vegas on August 26 - I have seen some signs of progress, if not quite breakthroughs. Here is my latest self-assessment as I try to right the ship.
2026 U.S. Mid-Amateur preparation: progress report
Overall improvement:
- Current USGA Handicap Index: +1.4 (improvement of 1.2 strokes)
- 18-hole rounds since last check-in: 9
- Avg. score to par: +2.73 (improvement of .69 strokes)
- Lowest score: 66 (-6, over Memorial Day weekend)
- Even-par rounds or better 5 out of 9
Long game report
My Greens in Regulation average, by far the biggest predictor of success for me, sits at 10.48 per round (58.25%), down from my 2022 high of 11.61 (64.52%).
Stacking greens in regulation raises my scoring floor; historically, if I hit 13 or more greens in a round, I rarely shoot over par. So I need to continue making strides with my iron play.
Short game report
Putts-per-round is a paper-tiger statistic that can be skewed by several factors, but anecdotally, I have been encouraged to have fewer than 30 putts in five of my last 9 rounds. I have struggled with leaving putts short for years, but a recent adjustment has helped me. In order to keep the putter lower longer through impact, I am trying to feel like I am striking the ball with the upper half of the face of my putter. When I do it right, I am seeing the ball roll noticeably more smoothly and peter out short of the hole a little less often. I have even seen a few putts drop from outside of 20 feet. This feels like progress.
I wish I could say the same for my chipping, pitching and bunker play. Like 99.9% of all golfers, I under-cultivate these skills in my regular practice sessions. That has to change. I am feeling the rust on those short and mid-range pitch shots. From 40 to 70 yards – a range I try my hardest to avoid – I feel lost. Mixing in more short-game practice is priority #1 for the next month.
What’s next?
I keep thinking about that 66 I shot over Memorial Day Weekend – a good sign, because I tend to forget my good rounds. That day, I flashed the sort of golf that could get me over the line on August 26. The version of me that can make it to Lido for the 2026 U.S. Mid Amateur is in there somewhere.
As I try to summon that best version of my golf self, here are three things that I need to prioritize until I check in again in another few weeks.
Competitive reps. This is arguably both the trickiest part of the process and the most difficult. Luckily, I will get at least one competitive round under my belt just 11 days before the Mid-Am qualifier. On August 15, I will be trying to qualify for another tournament: the National Links Trust (NLT) Championship. That round will be at The Park in West Palm Beach, and will be a perfect warm-up – literally. If I play well enough to qualify for Octobers NLT Championship, August 26th will feel like a free roll of the dice. If I fall short, it will be a perfect acid-test against which to make final adjustments. Still, I would like to get in one or two more competitive rounds, but my schedule and family time may not permit it, which is fine.
Get archival. I have come up woefully short on my plans to comb the GolfPass archives for inspiration. I have barely made it into our Breaking Par series, but I will redouble my efforts on that front.
Feel the heat. I cannot escape the fact that I am going to have to walk 18 holes in potential 110-degree heat in Las Vegas in August. Luckily I am almost positive I will have a caddie (who will be allowed to drive my clubs around in a cart while I walk - lucky him!), but I will still have to find opportunities to walk a few rounds in the searing heat and humidity of Florida between now and then. I wish I could say I am going to hit the gym as well in order to try to shed some of my fatherly flab, but while I am an optimist, I am also a realist. For now, a few walking rounds in the heat will need to do.
For the lapses in time-management I have suffered over the last month (not to mention typically inopportune Florida thunderstorms cancelling a couple of practice sessions), I am pleased with my progress but also cognizant of the fact that it could be a house of cards, ready to collapse at any moment. The next month will be all about making sure that doesn't happen. Time to get after it.
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