18. 7000+ Go Like Hell

Be honest with yourself. You have a few select movies that you always have to watch when they come on TV. You could be scrolling down the guide looking for a specific news program or to see if a random MLB game is happening, but your previous agenda for rotting away in your chair dissolves when you see one of your favorite films pop up in front of your eyes.

Since my hours of watching Kentucky basketball are finished until November, along with the fact that I can only watch Dodgers games past 10:00 off a site most likely centered in Latvia, a lot of my appointment television is over until the fall. I hope to not have a ton of evenings with abundant free time here in the coming months, but being able to unwind at night before going to bed has been and always will be therapeutic for me. I have a list of six movies where are an automatic channel switch whenever I see them on- Andy Dufresne’s escape to Zihuantanejo in The Shawshank Redemption, Matt Damon dancing to ABBA in The Martian, Christian Bale in any of The Dark Knight trilogy movies, and a movie which intertwines the talents of Damon and Bale together in Ford v. Ferrari. On the surface I enjoy all of these movies because they’re each entertaining in their own unique fashions… if I were to dig deeper on why they resonate with me it could have to do with the trope of justice being applied in different ways; Andy escaping Shawshank after 20 years of innocent incarceration, Mark Watney being rescued after being abandoned on another planet, and the Caped Crusader saving a city which may not deserve his heroics. Ken Miles, however, did not receive his metaphoric flowers at the end of Ford v. Ferrari. Believe it or not, I am not here to write about justice today. If you wish to have the movie spoiled, you’ve come to the wrong place. Go watch it yourself, it’s my second favorite movie for a reason.

There is a point of the movie I wish to highlight, though, as Carroll Shelby is leading his team at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Under the stipulation that if Ken Miles wins the race, he will have the chance to drive the GT40 at “Les 24 Heures de Le Mans,” the race Henry Ford II has had his eyes on to finally take down Enzo Ferrari after funding their race program for years. Shelby knows that Miles is the best American driver alive and that he is the only person capable of driving to win the famed French race, and he has rested his entire reputation (and company rights) upon Miles’ result at Daytona. Shelby’s entire operation is being undermined by an executive at Ford, Leo Beebe, because of a personal animus he has with Miles from their first interaction with each other. Beebe had wished to see Miles fail from the get-go, so he instructed Shelby that he is not allowed to push his GT40 past 6,000 rpm for the entirety of the race. With only a few minutes left in the race and Miles lagging behind a fellow Ford driver which is supported by Beebe, Shelby decides to jump the barrier to the track with his chalkboard to relay a message to his driver-

“7000 + GO LIKE HELL”

As he returns to the pit, head mechanic Phil Remington makes a single remark to Shelby to encapsulate all of the concerns of Ford, saying “she could come apart.” Shelby’s response is simple- “Only one way to find out.” Miles overtook the rest of the field and won at America’s raceway, punching his ticket to France and allowing Shelby to retain his role atop Shelby American.

To put it simply, I am ready to head north soon. I love the Sunshine State, I love my permanent tanlines, and I love the place I get to practice at every day. There are a lot of positives to being down here and I am very blessed to have a situation which allows me to save money, live on the cheap, and practice on the daily. I am very excited to start playing tournament golf consistently though. Monday was the first time I was able to get a club in my hands in a competitive scenario since December 1, meaning it was the first competitive round of the year, and hopefully the first of many to come. It was a definite home game getting to compete at the Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota, as well, meaning a comfortable start to the competition season. I think the game of golf rarely allows you to be totally confident in every facet of your game simultaneously, as I still have not mastered a few changes which I am attempting to solidify within my swing. I still have a tendency to miss my driver left and to hit some irons off the toe, meaning that I just need some more focused effort within these areas of my game. I hope that the first hole of my competitive season can act as a metaphor for how things will go this year, though, as I hit a mediocre drive left of the fairway, and proceeded to hit a hybrid from 245 yards to 30 feet short of the pin and roll in a putt for eagle. I cannot remember the last time I was -2 thru 1 in a competitive round of golf before Monday.

To summarize the round- I didn’t hit it my best with my driver, as I put a ball in the water on hole 9 en route to a double bogey to wash away my eagle. I struggled with the occasional left miss, but I was able to scrape it around in spots to keep myself in play for the rest of the round. I didn’t hit my irons well, as I only hit one green on four par 3’s throughout the round. However, I can say with confidence that the major projects which I have worked on this winter were able to shine through in my first competitive rep in nearly four months. My wedges felt solid, my pitching and chipping were iron-clad, and I had complete confidence in my ability to execute start line and speed with the putter in my hands. Being able to shoot -2 (70) without having my good stuff on a golf course which punishes misses feels like a small victory. I kept it in front of me, didn’t let a number of misses go off the map, and I simply scored well for how I was striking the ball. Few (zero) people make livings playing mini-tour events in Florida, but being able to turn a small profit on the day was a good shot of confidence and a small affirmation that I may have been embarking upon the correct path for the last four months.

With only give or take a month left down here in Sarasota, I’ve found a few things to be true not just for golf, but also for life- First, having a plan is important, but deciding to stick to it is paramount. When I was planning out my winter back in October at Mocha Lounge in Fort Wayne, I envisioned playing a tournament every Monday and to get a multi-round event each month. When I got down here and began to understand the importance of me showing up to work and getting my practice finished in the afternoon, I began to realize that there may be a more efficient usage of my time and treasure while I was down here for half the year. It took me four months to get a competitive rep not because I didn’t have a dollar to my name or because I didn’t have any Mondays free, but I knew that my time would be better applied if I decided to be productive in the development of the physical tools in my game instead of sharpening my competitive edge. I had to change my plan when it became obvious that I needed to take a different approach, and it wasn’t necessary fun to take the road less traveled.

This in turn brings me to my second point- it is more important to be decisive than it is to be correct. I can thank Mr. Quinn Griffing for pounding this into my head for the last 13 years of my life. Could there have been a more productive manner for me to have spent my time since December? The possibility of that is great, but spending time ruminating on that question does me no favors and will only sabotage the work I’ve accomplished recently. I would always rather make a committed swing with the wrong club than to pull the right club and not like the shot I’m hitting. If you’re focused on your target and you have a plan in mind, understanding that you’ve grown and thanking God for the opportunity to cultivate your mind, body, and spirit is more important than stressing over every detail of your process instead.

My last point brings me back to a gift I received from my parents when I graduated high school in 2018. I opened a box to see a premium scorecard holder with the Valpo Crusader on the front, my name on the back to stick out of my pocket, and a Payne Stewart quote on the interior-

“A bad attitude is worse than a poor golf swing.”

This is not a catch-all phrase to give me an excuse to not work on my game or to refine the mechanics of my swing, but instead a reminder that the whole process of improvement in life or golf can be spoiled if you approach it with the wrong mindset. Having the chance to play with my good friend TJ during our event this week was a chance I needed to be held accountable for my mental attitude, and receiving praise from him on how I carried myself and responded to adversity meant more to me than the numbers on the card or the dollar amount next to my name. In life and golf, your attitude is the glue which holds together your individual parts of whatever you’re attempting to accomplish. People who exhibit patience will be less caught up in the rollercoaster of emotions in life and will take more joy within the process of daily improvement. Paul tells us in Romans 5:3 that “Endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” Having your mind centered around the big picture of patience and gratitude within this game makes improvement easier and the game more fun to play.

With all of that being said, I feel like I’ve taken care of the ball, not taken any silly penalties, and slowly advanced the ball up the field since I’ve been in Florida. I’ve played by the parameters suggested by people whose opinion holds weight to me, and I’ve slowly developed my bank roll, my game, and my mind. If I keep the car at 5,000 rpm much longer, though, I’m afraid that I’ll never have the chance to fight for the checkered flag this season. Q-School is two months away, I’ve got US Open Local Qualifying in two weeks, and thousands of miles to travel in the coming months. We’re nearing the time to make the last few months worth the days spent to earn money and the chance to improve. The plan to lay low has been productive, but now it’s time to downshift and put the foot on the throttle.

She can definitely fall apart, but there’s only one way to find out. Let’s go racing.