Myrtle Beach, SC

We arrived late Saturday night in myrtle beach SC, aka Golf Heaven!!! There are over 100 championship golf courses within 20 miles of coast, I've never seen anything like it. Our friend Corey who lives here in SC invited us to come spend the week with him playing all the golf we could handle and so far it has been great... Yesterday (Saturday) we went and played at Arrowhead Country Club his home course and only about a mile from where we're staying. It was one of the best kept golf courses I've played since I've left, and all the $115 round cost us was $5 to tip one of the cart kids! The greens were running at about a 12 (very very fast and true for those who aren't avid golfers) and the fairways not too far behind almost making me feel guilty hitting a wedge since I spin the ball a lot and take very big divots. Today we played a practice round at Crow Creek just north of here in North Carolina where we signed up to play a Mini tour event (a one day professional golf tournament as opposed to the four day events we normally play) which should be good to keep me sharp for next Monday and hopefully a good chance to win some money!! I had a good practice round today and look foreword to a good tournament tomorrow, the course sets up nice for me as its very long and keeping the driver in play in key! We plan on playing golf for the rest of the week here in Myrtle Beach and leaving on Friday to arrive at our next Hooters tour even just north of Atlanta Georgia. I am very excited with where my game is headed and cant believe how much I am improving as the days go on, already I feel like I am becoming a completely different player and every tournament I play should take me to a higher level! Ill try to steal the wireless card from Joe for long enough to let you know how I do tomorrow, and I hope to be posting more regularly to keep everyone up to date, its just hard if we are not at a wifi hot-spot and I don't have access to internet. Anyway thanks for checking in and wish me luck, also the pictures included are from Monday at Arrowhead...ill put more pics in tomorrow!

Still work to be done

Well its official, I have missed the Monday qualifier spot for the second week in a row. It's very disappointing to miss two weeks in a row as I just can't seem to get it done on the course, but as my best friend Brian says this is a marathon not a sprint and it's his words I have been playing in my head over and over since last week to help from getting too discouraged. Some highlights from the round however were a good start with a believe it or not great bogey (one shot worse than allowed for the hole for you non golfers) hitting my tee shot into a water hazard off the tee and recovering quite nicely. On the second hole a 554 yard par five I hit driver, then six iron onto the green and drained a ten footer for my first eagle in a professional event!!! This propelled me in the early parts of the round making par on the next three holes, and feeling like I could score very well. I have been working very hard on my ball-striking this past week and it seemed to pay off for most of the round. Also my wedges were once again much improved as I said I had been working non stop since I left trying to dial them in. Unfortunates however the rest of the round would prove to be very poor as my confidence is at a rare low lately. I have all the shots I need, and I know what I am supposed to do, I guess I just fear the bad and it seems to be keeping me from playing well. I need to work this week more on ball-striking but more than anything getting some confidence in myself and executing when I need to. Sorry to let everyone down, I assure you I will be playing the way I was born to soon, and one positive thing I can say this has created is the hunger to become better and the feeling that once I get in to a tournament all the boys on tour better be on their game!!!... I put a picture of me kicking the sand back in place after a bunker shot during a practice round, as I felt I spent too much time on the beach in my qualifier, and it showed my opinion of my poor round hehe

Friends on the Road

Well its been a busy week so far and I haven't had much time to post as I have been preparing for the Monday qualifier that took place yesterday. Time has started to fly since the season has begun, and my game is getting closer and closer to where it needs to be. It is so nice and at times hard for me to realize that I am able to put every ounce of energy into golf and improving, and I'm so excited to see where golf takes me. Another great side to the journey to the PGA tour that I am taking part in is making some really good friends on the road. This week for instance I had the greatest time hanging out with some friend pictured in one of my last posts, as well as this one. They are some of the funniest people on the planet and together the five of us never stop laughing. JR Munson (pictured in red and on the left playing x-box)from Kansas City, Kansas is the guy pictured in red. Let me tell ya he'll put a smile on your face that doesn't leave until well after he's gone, I cant imagine being on tour without him around, it wouldn't be the same. He's a welcome break from the stresses that surround life as a professional golfer trying to make a cut. Another one of the "fella's" is named Corey Mcalarney from Pennsylvania who now lives in South Carolina, and has been hanging out with me and Joe ever since Orlando event. In fact Joe Corey and myself were all paired together on Monday... What a fun group that was!! We also all played a practice round as a fivesome, what a blast! And last but far from least a guy I met this week because he was rooming with JR; from Janesville, Wisconsin Eric Birkholz (pictured in the green hat and white shirt, also in the center playing x-box). He has a wife and son back home whom he speaks very highly of, and I have to thank them for giving Eric his deserved shot on tour and allowing him the time away from home to tour with us. He's a real blast to be around, and always good for some laugh's. I feel so lucky to have met these guys and look foreword to hanging out with them the rest of the season.

Retired at 22???

Well lets face it, here I am 22 golfing every day, living in a motor home, staying in RV parks occationally and now IM into shuffle board!!! It would appear that without the mention of my age I am definitely retired!!! Well I've found this not to be the case but let me explain why: I woke up this morning at around 9:30 there, see, already way to late to be an old retired man as they are up at something like 5:30 or so. So then once IM up I decide I am going to take part in the $3 Wednesday pancake breakfast with all of the old folks, also a very retired person move, until I arrived and realized it was over at nine "why surely nobody could possibly want pancakes after nine, we've all been up for four hours at least, its almost lunchtime!!" one of the retires chuckled upon my arrival. So I skipped breakfast and headed for the "fitness room" What a joke that was, there was more square footage taken up by the massive bookshelves than any fitness equipment, clearly no intense exercise taking place in this community. Well eventually the dead man walking on the lone treadmill was finished with his strenuous 1mph 440 yard dash HAHA and I was ready to do my exercise. I always start out warming up at 4.5 mph walking to loosen the muscles and get my blood moving to my legs, it was a bad sign however when the machine started making awful sounds at this pace as if it were going to stop all together. Next after my warm-up I increase the speed to around 7mph which I sustain for about 15 minutes. Oh boy was that an adventure! I began to run at that speed and shortly after it sounded like a machine shop with metal crashing, gears grinding and a consistent THUD THUD THUD with every stride I took. Only a few seconds had passed before I started seeing curious eyes rounding the corner trying to see what was happening. I managed to finish my workout however I must have had 20 seniors come in to check on me LOL. It sure felt great to get some good exercise in, I need to stick to a normal routine... By the way I included some intense action photos of my first ever shuffle board match where Joe and I asked these old folks if they wanted to play us, stating that it was the first time we had ever played, they agreed and sounded pretty sure that they would teach us a thing or to, but we proceeded to demolish them two games in a row. They were good sports about it though and I could tell thoroughly enjoyed that we spent the time to play with them. I very much enjoy the time spent with the older generation as they just love to tell stories and are so excited when younger people give them the time of day, it seems to be a win-win situation. Its also neat that by the end of our stays we seem to be giving our names out to more and more people who hear our story and seem very interested in following us throughout our career. Thanks for taking the time to read my long babbling posts and remember I LOVE getting comments from everyone so keep them coming, also note that if you tried earlier to comment but had to sign up I changed it so anyone can, just leave your name or something please!!

First Professional Practice Round!...Results inside

Well we got our first practice round in as professional's on Sunday at Black Bear G.C. in Eustis FL. It is so nice showing up to play and finding familiar faces from ranking school to play with, what a difference it makes playing in a foursome of professionals. It 's so much better to play with good players I feel my game improving every time I put a club in my hands, I just cant wait to get into a tournament. Yes sadly that means I regret to inform everyone that I failed to make it in my first Monday qualifier this year. Despite playing great most of the day I wasn't able to take advantage of my good shots missing many short birdie putts on the tricky bermuda greens, add a few mental errors and the score wasn't where it needed to be. One thing that was really weird however was the fairways, I think the grass must grow much slower out here because the fairways are just COVERED in divots(for you non golfers that's the hole make when hitting a golfball off the grass) as more than half of the fairways I hit my ball came to rest in a divot. Now for the golfers: the break down of my round...On the front nine I used three wood most of the time off the tee as many of the par 4's are less than 420 yards as hitting full shots into these greens is very important being that they are very small and hard. I'm hitting my three wood about 285 yards giving me very comfortable yardages to the pins and it helps to hit 5 of 7 fairways. I also hit most of the greens giving myself six birdie chances inside of 8 feet(throwing darts), 3 of which were about 4' none of which I converted! That is not like me as putting is definitely one of my strengths, but everyone has there off days. With the chances I'm giving myself and the putting I am capable of I feel I can go very low. After making the turn I started off pounding a 350 yard drive on the long 460yd par four tenth(the tees were way back) surely setting myself up for a birdie and a confidence boost but again I found my ball in a deep divot and made bogey, followed by two more. This was a discouraging start to the back, but I managed to birdie the 13th and 16th to make up for some of the foolishness on 10,11, and 12. The thing that killed me was the lack of greens hit on the back nine. I practiced from the conclusion of my round until dark and got some of the putting problems worked out, and began striking the ball much better. In overview I would say that off the tee and around the greens I was very solid today, and it was definitely my strength for the round. On the other hand my weaknesses were some poor putting and a few bad breaks landing in divots that lead to some bad iron shots. Keep pulling for me I'm getting close and thanks again for your positive golf vibes and support... By the way I put some pictures of my practice round and a friend of mine from JR from Kansas City whom I met in ranking school. He's a big old boy with a bigger heart, and always good for some laughs!

We made it!!!

We finally arrived at our first tournament site for the 2006 NGA Hooters tour Michelob Ultra Classic in Eustis, FL. After locating the course and signing up for the Monday qualifier I was pleased and relieved to speak with the friendly pro shop staff and coordinate staying for the duration of the tournament in the golf course parking lot! Then after spending a few hours practicing at the tournament site Joe and I headed south for Lakeland and my Grandpa's house. I was very excited to see Him and Joanne again so soon after our stay in January during ranking school.


After settling in us three boys went out to dinner at a local restaurant called Smokey Bones where we enjoyed some great food and we were able to watch some very missed sports. I hope grandpa and Joanne know how much I appreciate there spending time with me and welcoming me into there home. It is very nice to again meet up with some family and have a normal bed a shower to use. Also I was happy they were able to be home for the arrival of my driver! For those of you who don't know I cracked the face of my driver the night before we left on the cross country drive, and I had to have it rushed into and out of the Cleveland golf tour department and drop-shipped to FL. The picture of me off the tee is the first swing with it in my hands again. It feels great!

The next morning Joe and I headed to Lone Palm Country Club on the other side of town. Grandpa set up with one of his clients a tee time at the private club which happens to be the best course in town! And was it ever nice... The greens were so fast and the surroundings so tropical it felt like I was on the jungle cruise at Disneyland. In fact I posted a picture of one of the locals cooling off in one of the many lakes(we did see a 12' alligator however I wasn't going to go up and take a picture of it). There wasn't a hole on the course that didn't have a lake, most of which had tropical islands with hundreds of exotic birds and plants in the middle. It was so incredible! Oh well I better be going, ill post again soon, and thanks for visiting my site!

Creative Gambling

In our first couple of rounds on the road Joe and I decided that taking money from one another didn't make sense as both of us are on a strict budget, and there are many other ways of making our practice competitive. The first round in San Antonio I suggested that we wager tasks to be done for or in the motor home, and what a great idea it has turned out to be. Our first round was a wager where the loser had to hold the smelly and sometimes messy end of the hose for emptying the black holding tank (let your imagination soar in determining what that holds) when we dump it again. I am glad to report that I came up on the winning end of that match, however we haven't had to dump it yet. The second round however was a different story, despite having Joe down almost all day he staged an impressive comeback with solid play on the last few holes to win the match (and a little help from some lets say "creative shots" on my end). The wager this time was to clean the disgusting front windshield or bug graveyard as it seemed to turn into driving cross country (not the most aerodynamic vehicle on the road) and what a task it was. Joe took some great pictures of me in action paying my debt... Yes I am airborne in an effort to reach the top of the windshield!!!

Southern Hospitality

Well as little Daniel Young (my best friends 2 1/2 year old) would say "What a night!" Well it started off as any other night would after arriving late to Payne's RV park just outside Mobile, AL the very polite southern woman who waited up for us checked us in and pointed us in the direction of our parking spot. We were just getting settled in and after setting up the jacks, leveling and extending the slide-out, Joe and I were busy surfing the internet on our laptops when we heard and felt a loud CRASH!!! After about 30 seconds of staring at each other and thoughts running through my head posing questions like: Did the jack system just blow? Did an axel snap in half? And most of all $,$$$.$$ How much?? We heard a soft knock on the door and found the same polite woman who had just checked us in looking a little shaken up, explaining to us that she forgot to run the credit card for the payment and in trying to come right to our door in the RV park golf cart to inform us and cart us back, she ran right into the retractable steps below the door! It shook the whole RV and scared us to death, but after returning to the office and paying, Joe came back in to find me on the floor laughing at the poor woman's run in with the steps. After about ten minutes of uncontrollable laughter we decided to deal with it in the morning, as the polite woman assured us that if there was any damage Mr. Payne himself would fix it tomorrow.

The next morning as promised Mr Payne arrived at the door and with the funniest southern accent began asking about what happened. After a few minutes under the steps and a half an oil can later the problem was fixed and we were good as new. The characters down here in the deep south may talk funny, and some even look funny, but the saying southern hospitality has new meaning to me, and its nice to meet so many kind and caring people. By the way I included a picture of the outside of the Motor Home in Payne's RV park with the slide-out extended, and the leveling jacks down. I forgot to do an outside shot for the previous "RV pictures" post. We plan on arriving to Orlando tonight and hopefully tomorrow will begin preparing for the Monday qualifier next week!

Golf at Cinco Ranch in Huston, TX

Well we just got settled in on what is now our fifth day on the road! We played another round today at Cinco Ranch Golf Course, a beautiful 6,950yd par 71 that was at times challenging but for the most part as far as Joe and I hit the ball a very playable layout. The round started off great as I was under par for almost all of the front nine, but after the brief stretch of normal play, the fact that I haven't been practicing set in. Although I didn't finish quite as well as I had hoped, I still put together a respectable collection of holes and was pleased with my round. Also I am very happy with the practice time I got in after the round, it feels like im getting my touch back without much difficulty, and will be ready to compete by the thirteenth. I put a few action shots from today's round along with the post, I especially like the tee shot Joe got just before impact... Ill have you know I smoked that one right down the middle, one of the best shots of the day :) Well tomorrow we hope to cross through Louisiana and Mississippi and stay the night in Alabama, should be a full day of driving so ill keep you posted...

Familiar faces

I am very happy to say that I was able to visit with some family today!!! Uncle Bruce, Karen, Shelly and Loren, thank you so much for taking the time out of your weekends to visit with me. It was very nice to see some familiar faces out on the road and nice to visit them at home for the first time, and what a house. It's a beautiful two story brick house in a great neighborhood with endless activities including multiple lakes and pathways to ride bikes, jog, fish, or just about anything you could think of, all in their immediate area. The best part however may have been the break from PBJ's and hot dogs! Finally a real meal!! Thank you so much to uncle Bruce and Karen for treating Joe and I to a wonderful Italian dinner at one of the nicest restaurants in town! It was a nice unexpected treat that I appreciate so much! Not only that but we were invited over the following morning for a equally good breakfast spread with all we could eat bacon, eggs, hash-browns, toast, fresh fruit, orange juice, and pastries. It was SOOOO good!! Well thanks again for your hospitality and great food and I hope to see all of you again soon.

San Antonio, TX first round

Here I am getting ready to tee off the first round of my new life... What a great course called Canyon Springs that EAGL runs (The management company for the course i used to work at) We had so much fun despite being paired with a couple of tools!

That There's an R V

I know Moogie and Brian can appreciate the title of this post haha. Well anyway for those of you who haven't already seen it here she is... My house on wheels. So far the motor home has been great. It has taken some time getting used to piloting her but for the most part we haven't taken too long to get used to it. Some of the specs are as follows: It is a Winnebago adventurer with all the amenities... It is 37' long and has a 25 foot long 2 1/2 foot slide-out. It has a side by side refrigerator, stove, oven, microwave, satellite TV, hydraulic leveling jacks, 2 TV's a DVD player, playstation 2, x-box, a large shower, 2 A/C units and much more.

Keeping my friends and family informed

Hey everyone, and welcome to Steve Harsha.blogspot.com. I decided that the best way for me to keep my friends and family up to date on my progress this year was online with my own web address. The way it works is pretty simple... I will be regularly posting pictures and comments from my adventures to come, to which all of you can comment on all you want... I hope to talk to everyone as often as possible however with such a busy road schedule ahead it will prove difficult, and sometimes impossible. Thanks so much for all of your love and support!!!!

Steve