Delaney Shah
The last month has been filled with lots of golf, lots of learning, and even some fun surprises and trips. I ended up moving from Windermere to Winter Haven, which meant loading all my stuff in the car and unpacking again an finding a new place to practice and play. I played two more events at Stoneybrook East GC and Dubsdread GC. Both events were filled with good and bad rounds, with the biggest takeaway from both events being that I needed to hit more greens in order to give me a better chance to score.
My last event while I am in Florida was this past week at White Heron Golf Course in Davenport, Florida. My dad was flying in to watch me play which I was super excited about, but to my surprise when I went to pick him up from the airport was that he flew my swing coach down from Louisville to watch too. This was so exciting for me because we had been doing long distance lessons over FaceTime for 4 months, but now he could actually see me in person and see me compete under pressure.
I started off the tournament strong, shooting a first round of 2-under. This was my first round as a professional posting a red number, and it was super exciting to do it with my dad and coach there. I played really strong, starting the front nine a little shaky with back to back bogeys on holes 4 and 5, but birdies on 6, 7, 8, and 13 to finish with a 70. This put me in a 3-way tie for first. The biggest takeaway I had from the day was I hit more greens than any other round so far.
The second day was a lot windier, but I stuck with the game plan and posted a round of 1-over. The first hole I’ll admit there were some nerves, so I started with a double on the first, but quickly calmed down and made 3 birdies and 2 bogeys throughout the round. Managing the wind was hard at times because it was swirling and would gust at times, which makes committing to yardages tough.
The last day was new territory for me. I was only 2 back from the leader in second place and had the chance to finally place well and make some money. Despite how nervous I was, I handled the nerves well and started off with 5 straight pars and was actually tied for the lead at that point. The wind started to pick up more and more, and I had a few shots where my coach and I would talk out the yardage and pick a good club, and then when I hit the shot the wind would either stop or a huge gust would blow which really made it hard to judge yardages and stay consistent. I had a few of those shots finishing up the front nine, along with 2 bad chips that resulted in a bogey, double, par, double finish on the front nine. I calmed myself back down, and stuck with the key swing thoughts I had and was able to only make 2 bogeys on the back nine to shoot a 79. Although I was not happy with the round, it was hard to be too upset because I was hitting great shots and just not getting the greatest results. I ended up missing out on getting a check by 1 stroke which was really hard for me, but I tried to look back at the positives from that week. Knowing I had never been in contention to win a professional event and still maintaining my nerves and swing was a huge boost for me. Also, having my coach there gave us a lot of insight of what we can work on going forward and how my game changes under pressure.
Even though I am very disappointed with the results in my tournaments, I know deep down I have made tremendous progress and I am on the right path to success. I have gained a lot of confidence in my swings, and to be able to execute shots under pressure has solidified all the work I have been doing so far.
My time in Florida is coming to an end this week, and I’ll be moving back to Maryland. I have learned a lot about myself and my golf game down here, and I can’t wait to see what the summer schedule has in store for me. Thank you for your continued support and keep checking my schedule to see what I’ll be playing in in the next few months.