We all have goals on the course. Whether it’s breaking 100, 90, 80… playing with your boss, or competing in a big tournament… There are goals that stretch our comfort zone. Make us nervous, but give us something to strive for.

When you registered for Tangent, we captured those goals as it is our goal… to help you reach them.

<Side note> If you want to see what goals you set or change them → You can do so in your Tangent Settings → Golf Goals → Change Goals.

Earlier this year I set a lofty goal to compete in the US Mid Am.

If that sounds crazy, maybe because it is… but we all have our own golf goals and it’s all about the journey.

The best way to get ready to play in big tournaments… is to play in tournaments. There is no replacing the pressure and challenge of playing Tournament golf. My go to is the US Am Tour. I’ve played on some variation of the Golf Channel / US Am Tour for over a decade, with the exception of last year (2024) where I didn’t play much Tournament golf.

I expected some rust coming into 2025… I did not expect to struggle as much as I did.

Outside of the 67 that came out of nowhere, I struggled much of the year. Poor wedge play and poor putting kept me from being a serious contender in any of the events I played in as shown by filtering to my 2025 performance in Tournament Rounds in Tangent.

I had planned to practice more than I did going into the Mid Am events, but between travel and life… I did not get to… more on practice in a future Newsletter.

That meant I had to go into Mid Am season with my game as it stood. Keep in mind that this was extremely intimidating. I average 10-15 tournaments a year. However, I have never played against fields of this strength.

I would be going against elite former college golfers. A resumé I don’t quite have, but before making the dance… you have to qualify.

80 players for 8 spots at Sugar Tree Golf Club in Lipan, TX.

In lieu of a practice round, I heavily relied on Tangent’s Explore Mode to learn the course before I showed up to the qualifier on Sunday. I had a pretty good plan for how I was going to play the course.

I played well. In fact, I just missed qualifying by two shots. You can every shot on The Good Miss, but the beauty is summaries from Tangent tell me exactly what I need to work on.

I only had 1 three putt, but I had another three putt from the apron and I missed many good chances.

Add a penalty and multiple tee shots in the trees on the narrow Sugar Tree Golf Club and I was really close to making it through. I just have to drive and putt better.

I was encouraged. As nervous as I was, to shoot a 76 on a golf course I’d never seen in competition. That’s a win.

Lucky for me, the very next day was my US Mid Am Qualifier.

If I thought the competition in the Texas Mid Am was tough, the US Mid Am was a whole different level. I didn’t know quite what to expect. Was I going to get outdriven by 50 yards on every hole? Were these guys going to be stuffing wedges and draining every putt?

Not quite… but the field was very good. You can see my entire round on The Good Miss.

<Spoiler alert> I didn’t make it.

But I wasn’t as far off as I feared. After a really nervy start, I shot even par on the back 9… and -1 on the last 8… with a 3 putt on 18!

If’s and buts… I’m going to have a hard time talking a 77 down to a 68 (what it took to make the dance)… but here it goes.

First the low hanging fruit. I had 3 three putts. Just poor speed control.

I had a penalty going for it on a par 5. Still made par… shoulda been an easy birdie, but in a hazard by 6 inches.

In addition to the Tangent 4, I had 3 absolutely chunked wedges.

What this means for you: Nobody wants to hear the 19th hole sob story, however, armed with the data from Tangent… It tells me I can compete in these things. My ball striking in tough winds was better than an Elite Amateur (+3.5 handicap).

But… I putted very poorly and I made some mistakes.

I left the qualifier encouraged more than discouraged. If you watch the video, you’ll see just how close I was to shooting an under par round in a US Mid Am Qualifier.

Holy smokes. I didn’t achieve my goal this year. But I’ll be in another qualifier next year. This time with some experience under my belt. Stay tuned for how I'm using the improved drill section to work on my game.

📲 Subscribe to Tangent today to get more out of your golf. Tangent has the data to help you cut those fractions of a stroke that leads to wins, just like I plan to do to make the Mid Am.

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