Matt Guyatt Golf – new website!

We’re delighted to announce the establishment of Matt’s all new website.

http://www.mattguyattgolf.com

All of Matts news and updates will be published at the new site, and this site maintained only as an archive.  Please head over to the new site, take a look around and look forward to new updates from Matt.  Y

Thanks for joining us here at Matt’s introductory site over the past year, and we look forward to continuing to share Matt’s journey with you at the new site.

Kind regards

Matt & Scott

Tsuruya Round 2

Disappointing day today. A perfect morning, overcast but no rain or wind met the morning field. By the time I was finishing my warm up the rain had started and by the time I had finished 5hrs later the rain was still coming down hard.

What a horrible day to have to play golf. It was also only between 13-17degrees as well. No excuses for the way I drove the ball though. In horrible conditions it was not good enough today and my lack of confidence with the driver transferred to my irons. I understand the conditions were bad to say the least but I just wasn’t up to speed today. I hung in there through great chipping and bunker play but when I bogied the 11th to go to 2 over it meant I needed 5 birdies in the closing 7 holes to make the cut.

I pushed and went at every flag but in the process I made a few bogies and a double after a bad lie in a bunker on 16. A disappointing day to end a couple of weeks up here. I haven’t had the results I was looking for in the first two weeks but I have some real positives to come out of this trip.

My putting from week one to this week improved, no three putts this week compared to 6 last week. I need to do some more work on the fast greens, as the ball breaks differently when you are putting on fast and true greens. My chipping was very solid and bunker play solid too, two key areas moving forward. I need to work on my driving, I don’t hit it that far so I need to be straight and these two weeks I have been very wayward, unlike me. Overall my game has been below the standards that I set for myself and well below what I know I am capable of. Why?? I will enjoy the challenge of figuring that out when I get home to Brissy.

Tsuruya Open Round 1

Freezing conditions greeted us this morning and because of the frost tee times were delayed by half an hour. Wow it was cold out there early! By the time I teed off at 8am it had warmed up a little and it wasn’t too bad.

I had certainly warmed up by the 13th hole, my fourth, when I got an absolute stinker of a lie in a fairway bunker on the left side. It is a really narrow driving hole but the bunkers are usually fine although mine on this occasion was ordinary with a very awkward stance. I got it up to the green but another horrendous lie in the rough meant time to take the medicine and make a bogie. After an early bogie from a misread on a putt on the 11th it was starting to look like last week.

I knew I was hitting it well and thought I just need to get through the tough 14th and then the course eases up a little, a little. Par up 14 and then 3 wood into the 15th, a par 5, and it looked to be all over the flag. Unfortunately it came up short and buried into the face of the bunker 1 foot short!! Great luck in the bunkers today!! I played an incredible bunker shot to even get it on the green but had to settle for par.

From there it was a case of what could have been, I played really nice all the way for the remaining 12 holes, racking up 12 pars in a row and just couldn’t buy a putt despite hitting some pure putts. I was probably guilty of hitting it pin high today, normally a good thing but with the pin locations today it meant I had alot of 15-25 foot putts for birdie that had 3-8feet of break in them. Tough to hole those although I hit a couple of cracking putts.

Birdie at the 8th, my 17th and then a par on the monster 489yard par four 9th meant 1 over for the day. Not great but not bad either. Two missed 4 and a half foot putts didn’t help but both were misread, not mis-putted. All in all not a bad day, I would have loved 5 under but it wasn’t to be. Tomorrow is the day!!

The highlight of my day was my first real taste of crowds over here. The 18th hole grandstand was nearly full when I played through there and it was cool fun to hit a good shot in there and have a 20 foot birdie putt. It was a really quick putt with plenty of borrow on it and so it was a nice experience to hit a great putt and hear the crowd getting louder as it crept to the hole and then the big sigh of “Ohh” when it lipped out. A nice warm round of applause as I tapped in….good fun. Walking off the green I spotted a little Japanese kid with his Dad so I went over and gave him signed ball, his face lit up and he yelled out a big “Arigato!!!” (thank you in Japanese) Awesome stuff.

Ok it’s time for some rest and relaxation before I watch the Lions cause a big upset at the Gabba!!! And a nice low round tomorrow!!

Tsuruya Open

Well the second week of the Japanese Tour has well and truly started and tomorrow is the first round. We have moved from Nagoya slightly south and west to the Osaka area. Practice this week has been cold and wet every day. It has been windy too which just makes it all the more enjoyable. Max temps of about 15 degrees and periods during the wind and rain where it has been verrrrry chilly!!

The course itself is in a little better shape than last weeks. It has a slightly different grass (Charlie) and it seems to do alot better in the cold conditions. I am also pleased to say that the greens are not as fast as last week either, which would be very hard to do. Even Ishikawa managed to putt one ball off a green during the final round last week!!!

Typically the par three’s here are strong with a 3 wood on one and then 4 and 5 irons into the other three. The Japanese Tour also thought it would be a good idea to turn the 9th into a par 4 instead of a par 5, so now we play it at 489yards which equates to 447m. Nice!! In practice I played it into the wind and rain and crushed a drive and a 3 wood and had a 30yard pitch to go!!! Good decision JGTO!!! To cap the hole off it has one of the most undulating greens on the course.

Anyway aside from the 9th hole I feel pretty good about the course…touch wood! I have been hitting it better every day and my putting has copped a serious workout and I think I am getting closer and closer there too. I certainly feel better than last week on the concrete of Token. I play at 7:30am tomorrow, which should be really toasty and I am planning to start well this week and play myself nicely into the week.

Happy Easter back home everyone and check in tomorrow night.

PS – First win for the Lions tomorrow night over the Saints!! Big Upset!!!

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Token Round 2

Well day 2 on tour and things were looking good. I woke feeling the best I have since arriving here from America. Upon arriving at the course things were also looking good as I was putting well and hit the ball the best I have since arriving and in fact it started to feel alot like it did at last years final stage of qualifying. Fantastic and I couldn’t wait to get out there and play!

The first hole is 475yard par 4 and I hit a great drive and a 3 hybrid to 30 feet and a great putt only to see it slide by. I stood on the 2nd tee confident and feeling great after a really solid start. I hit my drive only to see it sailing right, straight into the water!!! aghhhh, where did that come from, I hadn’t hit even one like that on the range….so a double bogie 6. I made a solid par on the 3rd and then 3 putted the 4th to be 3 over through 4 holes and had only really hit 1 poor shot. That was where the mental challenge was, throw the towel in and just get through the day or continue to believe in my earlier practice and believe that I am hitting it great and putting well. I chose the latter

So some 3 and a half hours later I walked off the 18th green after being 3 over through 4 with an even par round on one of the more difficult courses with very difficult greens running extremely fast. What a great confidence boost for me heading into next week. My overall game today was good and I am very happy with the effort.

I ended up well outside the cut of 1 over, missing by 8 but there is plenty to look forward to. I had 6 bogies this week, all of them were 3 putt bogies. Not one of them coming from a missed green where I didn’t get up and down. I will only get better on these greens the more I play on greens of this speed and as I continue to improve my ball striking the 3 putts will be less likely too as I will be closer to the hole. So take out the 3 putts and take out the double bogie I made when my ball hit a cart path and bounced some extra 50-60m out of bounds and all of a sudden I make the cut…..positive signs.

I thoroughly enjoyed my first event on tour and really look forward to next week hitting the ball the way I am and having got the nerves under control. Now I hope I have to figure out how to look forward to dealing with the nerves that are associated with figuring in a tournament!! Thanks for the support

Token Round 1

Well life on the Japanese Tour has officially started although I kind of wish it hadn’t. I had a tough day out there today on a difficult course.

My day started ok, despite being really nervous I managed to play two really solid opening holes and started with 2 pars. Number 12, my third today, is a par five and I hit my drive a little right just off the fairway but there are some big mounds there that kick your ball left usually back into the fairway. Mine though missed the mounds and found the cart path only to see it sail into the sky for an extra 50-60m straight over the out of bounds……great. That did nothing to ease my nerves at all. Par with the second ball and on I went.

The rest of the day I played really solid with only 2 chips required and a few putts from just off the fringe. The greens here are extremely fast and unfortunately I hit it in a couple of wrong spots on the greens – it’s not unlike Augusta in that aspect, you hit it in the wrong spot and it is very tough to even 2 putt. So 4 three putts later and I was in the clubhouse at +6 and felt as though I played ok having 13 pars. I had trouble on the uphill putts today feeling as though I had to “hit” the putts coming from the slow greens of Qld. Up here they are that quick even up hill that you can just stroke it. I spent another good hour and a half putting after the round working on that uphill speed and it is improving. It is just so different to putt on this compared to back home. So the challenge now is to have 13 pars tomorrow and make sure I hit it in the right places and make some birdies, 5 should do it.

Despite the disappointment of the day I really enjoyed being out there and experiencing it. I will grow from the experience and can’t wait for tomorrow. I do belong and have the ability to be out there that’s for sure, it’s just all new and I will get better and better at dealing with the nerves and start to be alot more relaxed out there. The biggest pressure out there today was the pressure I placed on myself, thinking about what people will think back home and sponsors etc if I fail. I have to forget about that and just do what I do.

A little story to finish, I was putting and had 3 balls lined up at the hole when this old dude walks past having just come from the 18th. He starts speaking to me in Japanese and then starts pointing to the ground and demonstrating where I should hit the putt to make it. As he got to the hole he points to the ground just right of the hole with his toe and continues to talk to me in Japanese. Luckily my caddy speaks Japanese and as this old guys laughs and walks away my caddy explained he was telling me to hit the putt at that spot “gently gently” at dropping speed and it will go in……the old dude happened to be the legend Isao Aoki. After that I went inside and was leaving the locker room and sitting on a couch near the exit was Ryo Ishikawa. As I got closer he sat up and reached out his hand to say hello. Nice young guy, I had never met him but he knew I was a new face on tour and made the gesture to say hi. I was impressed. I had a little chat to him about Augusta and then left. What a positive person he is under incredible pressure the media and country place on him.

Well I need a good one tomorrow but the good news is I have gone low before up here. Can’t wait for the challenge.

Token Practice Round

Welcome to the Japanese Tour Mr Guyatto!! I have finally arrived on tour and it does feel great!! Walking up to the clubhouse today on arrival it dawned on me that I had achieved something pretty cool and that I was going to really enjoy being on the inside of the ropes on a major tour.

Arriving at my locker for the week I was greeted by my new Callaway Staff bag. Now I have had some cool bags in the past but nothing in comparison to this one. I pity the caddy that has to lug this enormous bag around…but it is awesome. That was followed by a trip down to the Callaway Van to pick up a new set of clubs, balls, gloves, hats etc, it was like Christmas!! Not only that but they were asking me if that was all I needed or if there was anything else?? Amazing.

So after hitting a few balls on the range it was out onto the putting green where the Odyssey man arrived with a couple of new putters for me…no worries!! Finally I got onto the course to play a practice round. The course itself is very interesting and kind of looks like one of those American desert courses. It only has that appearance due to the fact that it has been dormant in the cold winter months up here. Somehow, paint I expect, the fairways are a lush green colour but everything else is brown. It makes for spectacular viewing and the course looks amazing. The owner of the course has no shortage of money and has added some amazing features to the course, huge beautiful flower beds(you’d love it Ros) and most notably the water hazard in between the 9th and 18th holes has about 6 or 7 real sailing boats anchored in it!! It looks amazing from the tees with one of the biggest clubhouses I have ever see in the background. The clubhouse would eat Indooroopilly’s and then ask “what’s for the main course!”

The course itself is tough, 1 over won here last year. If the wind gets up it can be brutal and the greens are not unlike Augusta in a way, big, undulating and very fast, quicker than Augusta I’d say. I hit one putt today from about 15 feet above the hole and barely breathed on it, when it missed the hole at barely holing speed it continued on and on and on until it went off the green some 30 feet away!! When the greens are like that you have to be right on top of hitting the ball in the right spots and missing it in the right spots too. Good fun and am really enjoying it and ready for the challenge. Another good day tomorrow spent fine tuning and putting and we’ll be ready to roll come Thursday.

Time to Start at Last!!

Well the waiting is finally over as I am about to start the Japanese Tour for 2011. It seems like and eternity ago that I got through the final qualifying back in early Dec. Since then Japan has been through a winter and obviously the tragedy of the earthquake and tsunami of last month and is continuing to suffer after shocks that have the nation in fear. Even yesterday there was 3 decent sized aftershocks and even one that I felt in Nagoya which is southwest of Tokyo by some hour and a half. It was a strange feeling as I was in my hotel room when all of a sudden the building started to sway like you were on a boat. I don’t do boats that well and so I started to feel a little sea sick until it stopped a few minutes later. Interesting times…. Life does go on up here though and people in this part of Japan are generally just getting on with life and going about their business, despite the fact that there is still a deep mourning going on for the north eastern part of the country.

Well as some of you know my preparation for here has been different. I have been working really hard with my coach Richard Harris back home and feel as though I am ready to make a start and see where we are at. The past week saw a change in my plans as I was offered a last minute trip to Augusta to spend a couple of days watching the Masters!! It was inspirational to say the least! The place is incredible and a must see for all you golfing tragics out there. TV does not do it justice and there is sheer surprise at just how hilly and how much slope the greens have. It is an amazing venue and to be there watching the Aussies play so well on the Friday with Jason Day’s 8 under being the real highlight and then getting back out on the course to experience Tiger Mania at the Masters, even though I am not a huge fan, was a day I won’t forget anytime soon that’s for sure!!

I spent some time catching up with the Aussie boys and it was great to see that they all still greeted me the same way saying “Gday Matty how’s it goin!” I certainly love being Australian even if Americans think we live on the smallest island in the world. The number of times I got asked “where are you from” to which I would answer “I’m from Brisbane, Australia” only to be followed up by their response of something like “Oh I have a friend in Australia he lives in Adelaide, you must know him, his name is ……!!” Very funny and I remember telling one person to their absolute shock that there is actually 2 million people in my city and that I didn’t know everyone!! Funny place America, to them their country is the only country, a big shame we didn’t get the win on Sunday at Augusta!! Awesome effort by the boys though!!

I got to catch up with Badds too which was great, meeting his wife and two little girls too. It was great to soak a little info out of Badds in regards to dealing with pressure and tour life away from home but also to see how dedicated and how hard he works at his game. It’s no wonder that he is having a great start to the year this year. He also invited me to the Tour Fellowship night on the Wednesday before the Masters which I went along to. It is kind of his church when on tour and they meet for bible study each Wednesday on the PGA Tour. This particular week not too many players were there which Badds said was normal being a major week, but I did get to meet 2 time Masters Champion Bernhard Langer which was a nice treat. He is an absolute gentleman and actually quite a funny guy. You wouldn’t think it seeing how intense he is on the course but he was actually quite quick witted an funny throughout the night. Good fun.

Well it’s time to head out to the course now to get my first taste of Tour Life here in Japan, and after spending the day yesterday in Tokyo getting a foreign alien card and bank account set up I can’t wait to go to the course today! Stay tuned for a course update and remember that you can follow the scores by going to the website www.jgto.org and clicking on the english button up on the top right of the screen. All the best and enjoy your own golf whenever you get the chance to next play!! Life is short, play hard!!

US Masters

Last week I played in the 4 day Pro Am at Royal Pines on the Gold Coast. I played ok shooting rounds of 72, 75, 70 and 73. It was another great week with our nights spend dining with the amateurs and once again I had a fantastic week.

The highlight of the week was being told by my amateur partner that he had bought 2 tickets on the Masters Tour. This means I am heading to America on Tuesday next week for the week of my life at the Masters!!! I am very very excited!!!

From there I will head to Japan for the first two events on the tour, hopefully fully motivated and excited and ready to perform straight up!! My first event is in Nagoya about an hour and a half from Tokyo(sth west) and then I head further south to the Osaka region for week two.

All the waiting and preparation is over, keep an eye on the site for updates and particularly my Masters updates!!!

Qld PGA Round 4

At least I was consistent this week, round 4 saw yet another up and down round with 4 bogies and 4 birdies for an even par 70. Not really the weekend I was looking for but the positives are that I didn’t shoot over par in any of the 4 rounds and still managed to shoot 5 under for the tournament despite really playing fairly average, particularly off the tee which is normally a strength. I was alot better off the tee today after a chat with my coach last night, which was pleasing. The other positive for the week was my putting. I have started using a new putting training aid in the last couple of weeks and it has already started to pay off with a really solid putting week. I was pleased that I only hit a handful of putts all week that didn’t start where I wanted to start them.

I have a few weeks now til the next event so I will be continuing to work hard on my game, my fitness and really working on being very ready come April when I head to Japan. I will be out at Indooroopilly practicing so hope to see you all there. As always thanks for the support everyone!!