The Epson Tour started the 2024 season off with three weeks of golf down in Florida in March. This year I have full time status on the Epson tour and was looking forward to getting the season going. We started the Florida swing with two weeks in Orlando and then headed out to the east coast to play in Jacksonville. Going into the first few events I was anxious to get the season going and felt like I had done a lot of things well in the off-season to set me up for success. Unlike other off-seasons I was healthy all winter and was able to focus on making some technical changes in my swing. I felt very confident in what I had accomplished and looked forward to putting it together on course.
The first event of the year was the Florida Natural Charity Classic at Winter Haven Country Club. Standing up on that first tee on day one I was definitely more nervous than usual. It is funny how quickly the comfort in competitive rounds can fade and how much time it takes to get comfortable again. Throughout the week I struggled to feel comfortable on the golf course and found myself playing pretty tentative golf. I missed the cut but felt that I had struck the ball well in some tough conditions and thought there were lots of positives going into the next week. The second week of the swing was at Alaqua Country Club in Longwood, Florida. I thought this was a great golf course that set up well for my game. I had a pretty tough start to the event and again found myself feeling uncomfortable on the golf course, especially on the tee. I was happy to have a good bounce back round of -1 under and although it wasn’t good enough to make the cut it was a good confidence builder going into the final event of the swing.
Atlantic Beach Golf Club was probably my favourite event in the Florida swing. The golf course was absolutely mint and the staff there put on a first-class event. I still unfortunately wasn’t able to put it all together on the golf course. It was a frustrating week because I knew I had all the shots but was struggling to execute in tournament conditions. I really felt like I wasn’t able to get into the right frame of mind to have the competitive edge I needed. The start of the season didn’t go exactly as I had imagined but I’m glad to have the first few Epson events under my belt. My favourite part of the Florida Swing off course was spending some time away from course with the girls on tour. It has been nice to catch up with everyone after a long offseason.
I am looking forward to a few weeks in Palm Desert to work on my game before the next tournament in Beaumont, California at the end of April. Over the next few weeks, I am going to be playing lots of golf and working on getting as comfortable on the course as possible. I am also going to be putting in some extra time with a new mental coach to try and help improve my confidence and commitment on course. Although it was not the start I hoped for, it is a long season, and I am looking forward to getting better each week.