Golfing with Glen, a Limited Liability Company

Golfing with Glen and 4E Sports, Inc!

2011-01-24T14:17:00.002-05:00

The New Year has brought many opportunities for me to seek but with more opportunities comes less time. There are many things you want to do … and then there are things you need to do. Due to these opportunities, I am going on an indefinite leave of absence from my professional golfing career. This means I will not be competing for a while, at least until the timing is more appropriate. Some people call it unfortunate news, but I feel that it’s fortunate because I am needed and that’s very fulfilling. To be needed is one of the greatest things I could ask for and I am immensely enjoying myself!

This is bittersweet news for me because I finally had the Hooters/NGA Tour lined up properly, but I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.

I do have some really exciting news to tell you about. The non-profit public charity 4E Sports, Inc., has recently been granted tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status! Now, we will be able to pursue our goals and further our mission. If you haven’t already visited the 4E Sports, Inc. web page, please do so by visiting www.4esports.org. You can also follow us on Facebook by searching for 4E Sports, Inc. or by following this link, www.facebook.com/4esports.

4E Sports, Inc. has some big plans in place as well as many ideas to pursue. We have about seven golf tournaments to conduct and put on as well as assisting in a many local fundraisers for other non-profits. The non-profit world is exciting to me because I see so many kids and families in need and now I will be able help more than ever.

Each of you has shown so much support as I developed Golfing with Glen, LLC, but now I personally ask each of you to continue that same support in this new venture with 4E Sports, Inc. public charity. I feel very strongly about this charity and know that it will benefit many people. I hope you will feel the same, too. You can feel comfortable supporting 4E Sports, Inc. by knowing that we are genuine people just trying to help others.

There are many opportunities available to help 4E Sports, Inc., all of which are located at www.4esports.org. We set up ways to contribute a one-time donation or by monthly/yearly “installments”. This is all made possible through PayPal which lets you donate or “subscribe” with your PayPal account or by any major credit card. Of course, we are glad to accept any monetary contribution via check/cash by mailing them to P.O. Box 997, Monticello, FL 32345.

I will continue to keep you updated on my career as a professional golfer as well as the progress we are making with our charity. I know this change of course comes as big news, but I hope I’ve conveyed how excited and happy I am with the new opportunities God’s given me!

Thanks again for all you do!

Glen

Change of plans...

2010-10-11T11:10:00.008-04:00

Hey everyone,
I recently found out that my exemption on the NGA/Hooters Tour has been moved to the Summer Series in North and South Carolina. It will begin March 1st and go all the way through the end of September. Although I won't be competing with the NGA/Hooters Tour this winter, I feel this is a better opportunity for me. It will be in a new environment and for a longer period of time, 7 months compared to 12 weeks. I will still go down south and compete in a few events for practice but will officially lose the "semi-pro" title and become a "full-time professional" come March. I hope you will share the excitement with me!

I took my dad to St. James Bay for his birthday to play a round on their championship style course. Dad had never played there before and I was excited to take him. If you have never played St. James Bay, it is a "preserve" with a lot of environmentally sensitive wetlands which requires you to play "spot" golf. We both played well and had an even better time. Dad liked the course so much, he said we ought to play in an event down there sometime.

I received an email on the way home from the round about a tournament the next Saturday. Hoping dad was really meaning what he said, I signed us up. It was a tournament put on by the Tallahassee and Carrabelle Lions Club for the Blind. The format was a four man scramble/best ball. We asked my Uncle Marty and our preacher, Bro. Daryl to come and compete with us.

We took off early Saturday morning and arrived ready to play. The course was in perfect condition, as usual, and the weather couldn't have been better. We played good, coming in 4th place and had a great time. It was a good day for golf with an even better cause!

The next day, I had the opportunity to play a round at Quitman Country Club in Quitman, Georgia. I was playing with Mr. Richard Finlayson and his son Timothy, "Timma" who is eleven years old. Mr. Finlayson is the principal at Aucilla Christian Academy where I went to school. When I was a senior, I was an aid for the K5 class. I made a pile of friends that year, many of which I still keep up with. They are all in the 5th grade now.

We had a great time playing as I knew we would. Timma has a great talent for golf which I hope he pursues. I was in the same situation he is in when I was eleven years old, just wanting to play golf! We all played good and plan on playing again soon. Speaking of my 5th grade buddies, my family was invited to watch Brandon and Tyler Slaughter play football in Perry last week. Brandon is in Timothy's class and Tyler is in the second grade. They both played real good. Brandon "sports" my brother, Matt's, high school football number, 35. After the game, we went and had some good BBQ at Goodmans in Perry. We are going to watch them again tonight! If you are looking for something to do on a Monday night, come down to Perry with me and watch the guys play! Go #35 and #8!

If you haven't had a chance to check out the new non-profit foundation I am working with, please visit them at www.4esports.org. The web site will tell you whatever you need to know, so I'll let you read what they do there rather than posting it here. Be sure to follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/4esports

Golfing with Glen also has had a few updates. The site is being updated more frequently now and the new Facebook page can be found at www.facebook.com/golfingwithglen

Thanks for all the support!

Glen

"There is an old saying: if a man comes home with sand in his cuffs and cockleburs in his pants, don't ask him what he shot." - Sam Snead

California!

2010-09-23T10:16:00.004-04:00

Hey Everyone,

Before I get started, this blog will only talk about the golfing side of my recent trip to Monterey, California. If you want to read my other blog about my trip without the golf, visit www.golfingwithglen.com under "Glen's Blogs" and labeled glenscaliforniatrip.blogspot.com

On Sunday, September 5th, Brittany and Mom took me to Valdosta “International” Airport in Valdosta, GA for a 12:00 pm flight to Atlanta, then on to Los Angeles. From LAX, I flew into Monterey, CA while the sun was setting. There’s nothing quite like a sunset on the Pacific Ocean from 30,000 feet! Uncle Dave picked me up from the airport at 8:45 pm (11:45 pm EST) and I began unwinding for the night.

I took the next day off, due to the jet lag and Aunt Jackie had just flown in from New York, too. So Tuesday is when my golfing started.

On Tuesday, Uncle Dave got me a tee time at noon at Poppy Hills Golf Course. On the way there, Aunt Jackie and I drove through some golf courses including one of my favorites, Spanish Bay, and then went by Pebble Beach. We stopped just long enough to take some pictures on 17 and 18 at Pebble, then went to my tee time.

I was paired with two guys and a girl who were all very good golfers. We had a blast. They were from California, but not from the Monterey area. The girl was of Japanese decent and asked me if I was from Australia because of my accent. That was a first for me! Usually it's Georgia, the Carolinas, Kentucky, or Tennessee.

Poppy Hills is an extremely well manicured course, so you hardly ever run into a bad lie. I hit some great shots and posted a 2 under, 70. It was weird having to get use to playing in a jacket again. It was about 55 and windy, and was nice not sweating through all my clothes! A sincere thanks goes out to Kregg Bush and Jesse for the invitation to play.

On Wednesday, I practiced a few hours at Rancho Canada (pronounced Ranch-o Can-yad-da). Ms. Mar Seidel and Aunt Jackie dropped me off at the very nice Spanish Style clubhouse and told me to text when I was through. I hit 200-300 balls and also worked on my putting. It was a great practice day for me.

Early Thursday morning, I went to Pacific Grove Golf Course to warm up before playing golf with Mr. Russ Weiss later that morning. Mr. Russ invited me to play at his club, Tehama Golf Club, which is a privately owned course by Clint Eastwood. This place was unbelievable! I usually don't include links to other sites on my blog, but you ought to check these out.

www.tehamagolflcub.com and www.tehama-carmel.com

Mr. Russ and I pulled under the clubhouse to park on their slate tile parking lot, only to be treated to a view that takes your breath away. Tehama, in my mind, looks like it was built on top of 4-5 mountains. So I said "Hit it straight or go home."

We got to the first tee box and hit our drives down toward the green. There were 5 deer just sitting around in the fairway, two of which were very nice bucks. I stood there thinking, “I'm glad Matt, Dixon, Caleb, and Cricket aren’t here with me!”

The greens at Tehama rolled about 13 on the Stimpmeter. That means it might be easier to putt on glass. It took a little while to get use to them, but it was awesome. I spun a few balls back off the greens, even with my Tour Grooves, but still managed to play well. I could probably sit here and talk about Tehama for an hour, but I'm afraid I may lose my readers’ interest.

A couple holes in particular created unique memories. One was a drivable Par 4 and both Mr. Russ and I drove it. Then a few holes later was a Par 4/5, 435 yards straight uphill. Now, let me redefine uphill…280 feet from the tee box to the green uphill. If it wasn't for Mr. Russ, my approach shot might have ended up back where I hit it from. He asked me what I was going to hit, I said, “7 iron,” and he said, “Use a 4”... glad I listened!

I ended up shooting a 76, which I was pleased with. A few individuals in California said I wouldn't break 80 on my first round at Tehama, but I did. Mr. Russ made a good point. If I would have put the camera down, I probably could have shot lower! It's hard to play golf with your left hand and snap pictures with your right!

Tehama was beautiful...everywhere from seeing a perfectly kept golf course on top of mountains, to Clint Eastwood's new 26,000 sq. ft. mansion overlooking the golf course, to 8 and 10 point bucks walking in front of me while I played, to the breathtaking view from the 18th green overlooking the Monterey Bay. But nothing is quite as good as the friendship that Mr. Russ and I have created over the last 2 years. Without him, Tehama and Del Monte (last year) wouldn't be in my golfing portfolio. A sincere thanks to Mr. Russ for the round of a lifetime! I look forward to playing golf with you again, soon!

On Friday, Aunt Jackie dropped me off at Laguna Seca to put a few hours in practicing for the weekend. I really like Laguna Seca. The driving range looks like it's cut into the top of a mountain. I spent a few hours out there and worked on what needed to be fixed.

On Saturday, I had a tee time at Rancho Canada at two in the afternoon. I played with two guys, Jeff and Yoshi. I started off slow, but after 4 birdies in a row, I was able to post a 64. Yoshi shot a 70, and Jeff shot a 80. Yoshi was my age, from Japan, and played college golf. It was fun going head to head with him.

After church on Sunday, I went back to Poppy Hills and met up with my friend, Spencer Kennedy. We hit some balls and putted for a while. I enjoy playing with Spencer. He is very knowledgeable about the game of golf and is a very good ball striker.

Since I had an afternoon tee time on Monday, Aunt Jackie and I went mountain climbing and cave exploring at the Pinnacles, before I played golf.

I had a 3:00 tee time at Blackhorse and Bayonet Golf Courses, which are the site of round two of the PGA Tour Q-School and some Nationwide events. Blackhorse was narrow and long with trees and Bayonet was links style, with bunkers everywhere and thick rough. Bayonet was VERY Long, 7100+ yards, with two 600+ yards, Par 5’s. I had a bad day driving, but still posted well. I focused on the good shots and prepared to correct the bad ones the next day.

On Tuesday, I was paired with two girls and a guy who play college golf. We played Black Horse but in a different way. We would all hit our shots, then play a shot from each others ball. So we really played 4 shots at a time. We all played eighteen holes real well, then played another 8 holes at Bayonet. That style practice was neat. We hit from every angle on the course and from multiple distances. After the practice on the course, I went to the range and hit a couple hundred more balls, then putted for a bit. Those two courses were so much fun to play.

I left for home on Wednesday night, not really wanting to leave a golfers paradise, but knew the time had come. I got a lot of good practice in California. I played on hills, canyons, lightning fast greens, 30+ MPH wind, and elevation changes that we don't have in Florida. I look forward to visiting the Golden Coast again, soon.

A special thanks to Uncle Dave and Aunt Jackie for taking care of everything while I was out there. All the many meals, miles, and time you devoted to me is greatly appreciated. Thanks again for your kindness!

To Mr. Russ and Ms. Marce, Mr. Bob and Ms. Mar, Ms. Jackie and Spencer, and all the crew at the low country boil on Carmel Beach, thanks for all the kind words and support. I enjoyed our time together and hope to see you again soon!

And finally, thanks to my family for the support during the trip and all the sacrifices made to make it happen.

Until next time,

Glen

"Hit it straight or go home." - My thoughts standing on the first tee at Tehama

NGA/Hooters Tour and California Bound!

2010-07-28T17:25:00.007-04:00

Hey everyone,

It's been a little over two months since my last update, so I have a few things to talk about. First, I have played in a few non-professional/charity tournaments over the last few weeks and had a blast with them. I really enjoy playing in those events because of the people you meet and being involved with the charities.

Second, I have posted my schedule for the year at www.golfingwithglen.com. I am extremely excited about all that is to come. As you can tell, it involves plenty of traveling but that's part of it. I'll go across the country and back in a matter of a few weeks. I ask if you know of anyone who may know of a form of assistance in these areas to please contact me.

Third, I am pleased to say that I will be starting the NGA/Hooters Tour on November 2nd in Orlando. This tour is a big step up in my career and I hope to continue on to the top. With new tours come new issues, $20,000+ issues. The costs are pretty high for this, but it is a necessary step in my career. Unfortunately, the high cost has caused me to stop competing until late September in efforts to save up and fund raise for the events. Having said that, I'll now tell you what I've been doing with the down time, besides practicing, of course!

I had to think about a way I could work, play golf, and see Brittany all in one day, not necessarily in that order. So, I started my own web developing and design company called Design on a Dime, LLC. I build web sites at night and during spare time and can still play golf when I need too. I'll be able to work from hotel rooms, California, or wherever I may be. For those who know about web design, you know I won't be paying for my winter series by this but it is an attempt to fund a part of it.

I have set up an office at our feed mill in town. I am working in it to localize all my ventures and to have a place for my design company. Come by and see me sometime, 700 East York Street, Monticello, FL.

I am leaving for California today and coming back on Thursday, September 16th. I am going to see my Aunt and Uncle and to practice on some of the toughest courses around. I will let you know how I do out there upon my return.

I will start with the blogs more frequently from now until the winter season starts then they will come after each event. I just wanted to let you all know I am still alive and well, playing golf and lovin' life!

Thanks to all my sponsors for hanging with me through the dry months!

Glen

"The best exercise for golfers is golfing." - Bobby Jones

2010-05-18T10:25:00.004-04:00

Last week I went to Lake Wales Country Club in Lake Wales, Florida, to compete in a one day event on the Moonlight Tour. It's also a course that holds the local qualifiers for larger tournaments, such as the US Open.

I was unable to play the course the day before, so I went at it blind. I tee'd off around 11 AM and ripped a drive 341 yards off the first tee. My ball striking was right on but my putting wasn't. It was a "dejavu" of Glen Arven, hitting all the greens and fairways but missing the putts.

I ended up shooting 74 and placing tied for 8th. Not bad, considering my putting wasn't there. I stayed around after I finished and practiced putting for about an hour. I started to move my hands a little forward, similar to Phil Mickelsons' putting stroke, to help get the stroke started. It seemed to help some.

The next day, I played in a "No Tour Affiliation, Sponsor Exempt" one day event. It's a new thing down south where I can play if I am exempted in.

The course was Lake Placid Golf Club in Lake Placid, Florida. I had an early tee time of 7:20 AM so I was up at 4 AM. I was excited about this event as was everyone else. They only let 40 golfers play, so I felt honored to be exempted in.

We played as two-somes so we flew through our round. The course was extremely nice and the greens rolled fast. It played a Par 71 and I shot a -2, 69. I left before the tournament was over to get to Tampa for some business and had the director call me as the results came in. As soon as I drove over the bridge in Clearwater, the director called me and said the second to the last group shot a 68 and beat me by one shot. I placed second and was in the money.

I putted better during the second round but still above last years average. I will continue to work on this as the rest of my game is where I like it. I may be going to Tampa to play "The Claw at USF" on the 25th. Then after that, most of my tours go on a summer break until the 1st of July. I will be looking for more events during this time. They will not be big events, just "maintainers" as I am saving every penny for the NGA/Hooters Tour in October. The Winter Series with the NGA/Hooters Tour will costs me somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000 depending on the number of events I will be competing in.

I hope you see the opportunity and excitement in all that is happening and will happen. Thanks again for all your support and words of encouragement. Thanks also goes to all my sponsors, especially Nature Bridges and JD James Corporation for all the assistance given!

Until next time,

Glen

"Nobody ever remembers who finished second at anything." - Jack Nicklaus

Sheriffs' Golf Tourney Article

2010-05-13T09:31:00.007-04:00

Below is the article from the Monticello News about the Sheriffs' Charity Golf Tournament I conducted.

The Second Annual Sheriffs’ Charity Golf Tournament was once again, a great success. This time, the tournament raised over $20,000 with contributions still coming in. Some of the charities benefiting from this event are the Florida Sheriffs Boys Ranch, American Cancer Society (Relay for Life), and the Jefferson County Senior Citizen Center.

The format was a best ball/scramble with four golfers on each team. The event attracted golfers from all over and many locals as well. With morning and afternoon tee times, the tournament had over one hundred golfers show up in support of the event.

“I was extremely pleased with our tournament. We have a great group of local supporters which always make things easier. I want to personally thank Sheriff David Hobbs and Cricket Edwards for letting me assist them in this event once again. Being able to help your hometown is something I enjoy being a apart of.” – Tournament Director and Organizer Glen Bishop

There was over $15,000 worth of Callaway equipment awarded for flight winners as well as a new Chevrolet Silverado, airline tickets, flat screen television, and a set of Callaway clubs for any Hole-in-ones, as well as many more prizes on the course. For placing in each flight, every golfer was awarded the below.

First place winners received a brand new Callaway Diablo driver, 3 wood, and a dozen balls. Second place winners received a new Callaway Diablo driver and a dozen balls. Third place received a Callaway Diablo Hybrid and a dozen balls. Fourth place won brand new Callaway stand bags, and fifth place won a Callaway Tour hat and glove.
That came to 24 Callaway Drivers, 12 Callaway 3 woods, 12 Callaway Hybrids, 12 Callaway stand bags, and 12 Callaway Tour hats and gloves, all given out at the charity event.

This year’s first flight winners were the defending champions, Skip McElhenny, Glen Harrelson, JJ Mahaffy and Thorton Davis of Team K-MC Sports. They posted an impressive -16, 56. Second place went to the Simpsons Nurseries team of Drew Culbreath, Chip Culbreath, Brian Searcy, and Buster “Corleone” shooting a -12, 60. The third place team of Chad Bass, Heath Bass, Derek Harden, and JT Surles posted a -12, 60 as well. Fourth place went to Stephen Greer, Scott Taylor, Bart Bosch and mike Walker of Reinhart Foods shooting a -12, 60 too. Fifth place went to the team of Davis Revell, Harold Malloy, Danny Phelps, and Michael Clark shooting a -11, 61.

The second flight winners were the team of Benny Bishop, Marty Bishop, Bubba Taylor and Terry Day posting a -11, 61. Second place went to the two man team of Roy Kinsey and Jim Weldon shooting a -8, 64. Third place winners were Demott Anderson, Bobby Plaines, Paul Majors, and Caldwell McCord. The fourth place team of Charley Jackson, Gerald Ikner, Tim Swords and Bill Watson of team FMB shot a -7, 65. The fifth place team of Bill Gunnells, Casey Gunnells, Phil Barker, and John Stephens shot a -4, 68.

The third flight winners were Dixon Hughes, Caleb Burnette, Kevin Aman, and Matt Bishop of team “Nut-All-Rise”. They posted an impressive -20, 52 with their handicap. Second place went to Mike Nichols, Greg Lindsey, Mike Mock, and Jessie Reagan shooting a -19, 53 with their handicap. The third place prize went to Chris Eades, OJ Sloan, Brown, and Paul Peebles, shooting a -18, 54 with their handicap. Fourth place went to Mary Beth Bishop, Steve Trocchio, Jerry Latimer, and Eric Stratton of Kinetic Performance 3 shooting a -18, 54 with their handicap. Fifth place went to Elbert Hartsfield, Casey Anderson, Benny Bishop, and Merle Zinch who shot a -17, 55 with their handicap. The “Keeping up the rear” last place trophy went to the team consisting of Angela Gray, Neil Wade, Johnny Abrams, and Nick Flynt shooting a -16, 56 with their handicap.

The long putt of the day was awarded to Marty Bishop on the second hole draining a tough 25 “footer” to win a new Odyssey White Hot putter. The long drive for the day was on the ninth hole and went to Drew Culbreath. He received a gift card to Edwin Watts Golf Shop of Tallahassee.

The morning golfers were treated with breakfast from Tupelos and all the golfers had lunch provided by the Brickhouse. Immediately following the event, all participants and volunteers were provided with a chicken, roasted potatoes, and green bean dinner provided by Johnstons Meat Locker. Once seated, the winners and awards were distributed.

“A special thanks goes to Hal Bennett of Johnstons Meat Locker. Hal donated the entire meal for this event from the tournament inception. He is always willing to help local charities and provides a great service. When you are going by Johnstons, stop in and tell Hal thanks for supporting our community.” – Sheriff David Hobbs

If you go to www.golfingwithglen.com and click on the "Glen's Blogs" tab, the actual article is uploaded for your viewing. Just click on "Sheriff Charity Tourney 10" There are also pictures from the event on my "Photos" tab. Check them out!

Thanks for all the support!

Glen

"A perfectly straight shot with a big club is a fluke" - Jack Nicklaus

A very successful event

2010-04-21T11:28:00.012-04:00

I recently competed in the Monday Qualifier for the South Georgia Classic with the Nationwide Tour. I had played three practice rounds and walked out all the distances on the course. Chad Bass donated his time and caddied for me in return for a steak dinner at Longhorns.

I had an early tee time, 8:00 AM, on Monday Morning. So I did the usual and woke up too early and anxiously awaited for my tee time. I picked up Chad and headed to Chick-fil-a. We arrived at the course and I did my usual warm up and putted a while.

At 8 o'clock I went to the box and tee'd off. To make a long story short, I played extremely well but could not make a putt. I hit 15 out of 18 greens which is 18% better than the current PGA Tour Professional Statistics and hit 12 out of 14 greens which is 9.5% better than the current PGA Tour Professional Statistics. I feel so good about those results. However, the reason I did not make the cut was my putting was not working for me. My usual putting average is 28 putts per round. My putts during the event was 39, which is terrible for me. Usually putting is the stronger part of my game, but it just didn't work for me Monday.

A lot of good came from this, though. I am confident that I have the ball striking ability to continue competing and improving. I played with a 28 year old who has played Nationwide Tour golf for 3 years along with 5 years of mini tour and Hooters Tour golf. I matched him shot for shot, except for the putts. My driving distance and iron accuracy was even with his and on occasion better. I am extremely excited about this and hope you can see that the ability to continue onward is there.

Please look at my events tab on www.golfingwithglen.com as some new big events have been added. I have also added some new pictures and other things to the site, so feel free to look around.

I am conducting the Sheriffs Tournament on May 1st at Jefferson Country Club. We still need individuals and teams. If you know of anyone who maybe interested, please let them know about it or contact me for more information.

On a sad note, it is with a heavy heart that I inform you that my little friend, Natalie Eades, lost her battle with cancer on March 26, 2010. She has finally earned her wings in Heaven and is experiencing her new life completely healed. I ask that you continue to remember her family in your prayers.

Again, thanks to all my sponsors and followers for the continual support!

Glen

"I have a tip that can take 5 strokes off of anyone's game: it's called an eraser." - Arnold Palmer

Golfing with Glen, a Limited Liability Company

2010-04-14T22:08:00.009-04:00

It's been a little while since my last update. However, I have been extremely busy with golf events, conducting tournaments and making my first company.

Golfing with Glen has now become a Limited Liability Company as of April 13. This is another big step for me in an effort to benefit financially to further my tournament exposure. If you have any questions about my company, please contact me.

I played in the Rotary's Annual Golf Tournament with Bobby and Ridgely Plaines and my dad. We ended up shooting a -15, 67 and winning the event. It was a fun day for a good cause. That was my last event to date.

I am now preparing for the South Georgia Classic Monday Qualifier at Glen Arven Country Club of Thomasville. The top 6 and ties will advance on to play in the actual event. I think there will be 144 golfers, so the odds are not in my favor, especially since this is my first large scale qualifier. But I am really excited about competing in this event. Regardless of the outcome, this will be a crucial step in maturing and the building up of my career. The tournament will be Monday, April 19. I will post more updates about this later.

I am conducting the Second Annual Sheriff's Charity Tournament on Saturday, May 1st. The tournament will be played at Jefferson Country Club in Monticello, Florida, with tee off times at 9 AM and 1 PM. I kindly ask for your help in spreading the word about the event to anyone who may be interested. Please email me if you need more information.

I have been practicing a lot lately. The last big round was at St. James Bay. I played well and posted another under par round. The last four rounds played were 67, 68, 71, 65. I am pleased about these scores and hope they continue on through Monday. I have switched to a belly putter made by Odyssey Golf for added stability. In my mind, three points of stability is better than two, so we'll see. My last four rounds, my average putts per round were 26, which is two strokes better than last years average. I hope it will continue to be a benefit.

I am still hoping to compete with the NGA/Hooters Tour during their Winter Series in Orlando from October to February. The expense is great, around $20,000 for 12 weeks of play, hence the creation of Golfing with Glen LLC. But the benefits outweigh the negatives, making the exposure and career maturing/building great to my future. This opportunity is crucial for the advancement of my career. It's one step closer to where I want to be.

I am pleased to say that I have three new sponsors since my last blog update. First, I will introduce my newest financial sponsors. JD James is a leading company in premium and custom grade architectural installation. Their web page is www.jdjamescorp.com. Secondly, Nature Bridges is a bridge and top-down construction company that specialize in environmentally sensitive areas. Their website is www.naturebridges.com. Both of these companies have nice websites with very interesting information. Please visit both of them, pass it on to your friends, and make sure you look at their galleries to see if they can help you in anyway. Just click on the images to the right to visit their sites.

Jennifer Ellis, LMT is now a physical sponsor for me. She handles muscular injuries, fybromyalgia, stress reduction, headaches, carpal tunnel syndrome, and is also a certified advanced sports massage therapist. She helps keep me loose as it is of mass importance to stay limber. With the increase in physical activity through workouts with KP3 and the 20 miles a week I now run, you can see how I may tighten up. Please contact her at 850-694-2204 or visit 180 South Cherry Street, Suite F, Monticello, Florida, and schedule a massage!

I appreciate everyone who keeps up with me and leaves kind remarks along the way. If you do not know, you can now follow me on Facebook or through email. I am constantly updating my website so even if you do not receive an email or update from me, please continue to visit and suggest new ideas.

Thanks again for all the support!

Glen

"The mind messes up more shots than the body" - Tommy Bolt

2010-03-18T10:54:00.006-04:00

Hey everyone,

Just a quick update on what is planned for the next few weeks. I am playing in a four man scramble on Saturday for the Rotary Club of Monticello. I will be competing with my dad and Mr. Bobby & Ridgely Plaines. It will be good for me to go out and play with no pressure and for a good cause.

I am glad to say that the funds may be available for me to try out for the South Georgia Classic held in Valdosta, Georgia for the Nationwide Tour. I will be competing in a one day Monday Qualifier at Glen Arven Country Club in Thomasville, Georgia to see if I can play in the event. It is a tough qualifier because you have over one hundred golfers competing for six places. They say the number to shoot is 68, so that's what I'll be practicing for. The qualifier is held on April 19. I will be posting more updates as it approaches.

I would like to say a special thanks to my sponsors, KP3, and Edwin Watts Golf of Tallahassee. Jerry and Steve of KP3 have graciously sacrificed many hours to make sure I stay in good physical condition and injury free. I hope to soon be able to give you some more information on this company as it begins to grow. If you would like to know more about it, please send me an email or call and I can tell you all I know and get you in touch with them.

Thanks is needed for the guys at Edwin Watts Golf Shop of Tallahassee for all the assistance in making sure all my new clubs were just right and everything was how I wanted them. They are also being the prize sponsor for the Second Annual Sheriff's Charity Golf Tournament this year. Much thanks is deserved for all the staff at Edwin Watts. If you would like more information on Edwin Watts, please visit my "Sponsors" page to see their address and contact information.

I am looking forward to updating you on the upcoming events as I am extremely excited about them. Please remember to visit www.golfingwithglen.com for updates and to follow me on Facebook. I also ask for you continual prayers for my friend Natalie. She still has a long road ahead but all things are possible through Christ!

Thanks for all the support, kind words, emails, and prayers!

Glen

"Many shots are spoiled at the last instant by efforts to add a few more yards." - Bobby Jones

My latest venture

2010-02-26T14:09:00.006-05:00

My last trip took me to Biloxi, Mississippi for about 6 days. I was competing in the Emerald Coast Golf Tours Winter Championship.

The area was new to me, so I went ahead to check the courses out once I got there. We played two courses in the Ocean Springs area. I am pleased to say that I played very well in the four rounds I competed in. Two of the four rounds I shot under par, and placed 4th and 8th in the two events. I am extremely happy how I played and how I placed.

I have the pleasure of informing everyone that after my last events, I will now be competing during the winter months with the NGA/Hooters Tour. The Hooters Tour takes place at the end of the year around Orlando. Between now and the start of the new tour, I will be competing in a few more events, such as Nationwide Monday Qualifiers, some more Moonlight, OGA, and Emerald Coast Tour events, but I will also be conducting the Second Annual Sheriff's Charity Golf Tourney in Jefferson County.

My schedule will be a little less busy for the next few months for preparation of the charity event. I will be posting more information regarding this event later on.

I will be saving every penny I can until the start of the Hooters Tour. It will be a lot more expensive but better prize money, visibility, and recognition. I am excited about this opportunity as it is a step in the right direction. I wish it was happening now, but a few extra months of practicing can't hurt at all.

I ask for your continued support since the amount of competition will be few as I prepare physically, mentally and financially.

Thanks again for your support!

Glen

"You swing your best when you have the fewest things to think about" - Bobby Jones

First Events of the Year!

2010-02-07T10:24:00.017-05:00

I went to Orlando to play in two one day events, one at Redtail near Sorrento, the other just down the road from Lake Mary at Timacuan. I left on Monday to try and get a practice round in at Redtail only to be greeted by a thunderstorm. They weren't allowing anyone to play due to the lightning but a friend of mine caught up with me and we road the course. Ben and I got a little wet but it was worth it to see the layout.

I headed back to my hotel to get everything ready for the next day. To make a long story short, it was another rough stay. I had a few personal issues with the room so I slept in my khaki pants, socks, and shirt for an extra layer of protection and used my arms for a pillow. A little nasty and damp but cheap, and it makes a good blog story!

After an interesting night, I did the usual breakfast of the champs...Denny's. I got my belly full and was ready for my 10:22 tee time.

Redtail is a longer course playing about 7200 yards from the tips and had a lot of hazards. It was designed so you would have to hit accurate tee shots due to the fairways running out or large bunkers dividing the holes. To make matters worse, it started storming, and I mean storming.

I had just put a new driver in my bag because I wasn't getting the distance with the other new one I received. I was a little worried about the way I would hit it, so I played more conservative than I usually do, and with the rain, I just wanted it to stay in play.

I played with Kyung Kim from the "One Asia" Tour and Andy Matthews from the Canadian Tour. Both were very good golfers and I was glad to have had the chance to compete and learn with them.

Throughout the round I became more comfortable with my new equipment and was gaining a lot of confidence. On one of the holes, I hit an iron shot a little short of the green and it plug in the bunker lip. That means it stuck in the side. I had to hit out of the bunker in the opposite direction to get it out. A little aggravating but it happens. Then on the very next hole, I hit a straight drive off the tee only to be greeted by a long 210 yards into the green. I drew back with my 3 iron and struck it solidly. It was b-lining for the hole until it struck the flag stick and deflected off the green into a near by hazard. Just a little unlucky I guess. If it would have been an inch and a half to the left or right I would have been sitting pretty and putting for birdie.

After those two unfortunate occurrences I ventured onward to complete my round with a 76. Being my first round with new gear, and the amount of rain we played in, I felt very good about it and about some of the shots I had hit. I think I placed about 21st out of 56.

After the round, I headed over to Timacuan to scout it out. It was too late to play so I just rode it. Timacuan is the course that PGA Professional Zach Johnston calls home. It is a unique course due to the layout with a lot of hazards, water lining the fairways, and island greens, just to name a few.

I checked it out, went back to my hotel, got some rest and woke up ready to play. After my Denny's breakfast I arrived at Timacuan an hour before my 10:37 tee time.

I was paired with a Hooters Tour member, Scott Boyd, and a OGA Tour member, Boki Lee. Once again, I enjoyed playing with them and learning what I could.

On the tee box, I hit a good drive and headed off for another round. I was playing very well considering the course was tough. It played 7100 yards long and we had some wind! It always seems to blow in your face and never with you. Upon arriving a the 16th hole, I was 2 over par. The fairway has palm trees lining it about 10 yards off the primary cut. I pulled my drive a little left and smack one of the palms solidly. We went down to it only to find it stuck in the tree about eleven feet off the ground. So, I had to claim an unplayable condition, take a stroke penalty, and drop within a club length for my third shot, so I thought. However I was called for a ruling infraction, due not properly identifying my ball, and was disqualified. The guys I was playing with and myself all knew that was my ball, but because I didn't properly remove and identify the ball, I broke a rule. I guess I was suppose to climb the tree and remove my ball or stand on the cart and get it. Upon talking to the rules committee, they said next time call them and they would bring a ladder. Hmmm. Well, now I know! But that's why I am doing what I'm doing, so I can learn the rules and the game of golf better, even if some are a little ridiculous. Lesson learned.

On the bright side, I was able to finish my round and shoot a 75. It didn't count but I was still very proud of it. That score would have placed about 9th out of about 70 people, put me in the money, and qualified me for a bigger event next month, but like I said, lesson learned.

I have certainly developed a better mindset for competitive golf this year. I am able to stay in the zone longer, block out distractions better, and rebound from bad holes/shots quicker than before. I am glad to be able to write this because this is a crucial tool I must obtain to keep advancing to the top. I am pleased to say that if I continue playing well, I will have the opportunity to join the Hooters Tour for their winter series next September. A big step up!

I'm not sure if I will compete with the the Moonlight Tour next week. I may go back down and play one or two more events if it is financially possible mainly because my next big event is the Emerald Coast Tour Winter Championship in Biloxi, Mississippi on February 16-22 and it is mighty expensive. It's a big tournament with a pile of golfers and people to be expected so I need to play. I will update my schedule after my decision this week.

I would like to say thanks to my parents once again for covering my last events and also want to say thanks to Mr. John Culbreath for the book "The Match" to read. I enjoy learning about how golf use to be before big corporate sponsors, fame and fortune, and when the top prize for the largest event was a five iron and $700 bucks!

Thanks to all my readers and followers for the emails, letters, and slaps on the back of support!

Until next time,

Your friend,

Glen

"It's funny, the more I practice, the luckier I get!" - Arnold Palmer

Finally!

2010-01-25T18:46:00.011-05:00

This is the email I have been waiting to send! I finally have all my clubs in hand and am heading to Winter Garden on Sunday!

My irons and wedges came in Monday, then the woods followed on Thursday. So I have had a little time to get use to them. I seem to be hitting them very well in my mind due to the short amount of practice time. All of my clubs are custom made just for me, so now the clubs work for me rather than me having to work the clubs.

My fitness sponsor, KP3, has been training me during my idle time. We have been working on strengthening my core and becoming more physically fit. They are helping me stay healthy so I hopefully won't have any injuries this year. Thanks to Jerry and Steve for the one on one training!

My first professional event for 2010 is going to be held at Winter Garden on West Orange Golf Course. I have never played this course, so I will be going down on Sunday to try it out. After Monday, my next event will be at Windermere in Orlando. I have played this one before and shot well, but I still will be practicing Monday afternoon on it. Then my final event for this trip will be at Timacuan in Lake Mary. Once again, I haven't played this one so Tuesday afternoon I will be scouting it out.

I will be staying at a Extended Stay hotel so I can cut some of my expenses. It isn't right on top of any of these courses but the distance is not an issue due to the money I save.

I have updated a few things on my site and will continue to keep you updated regularly. I hope to continue feeling your support as it is much needed now.

Thanks again everyone,

Glen

"Golf is so popular simply because it's the best game in the world at which to be bad" - A.A. Milne

January 7-9

2010-01-11T08:46:00.006-05:00

Hey everyone,

I have returned from my "business" trip to Orlando. I had to go and meet some people to make sure everything was in line and ready to go for this season. I made some good contacts and played a round while I was down there.

I went to Shingle Creek and started my usual warming up on the range and putting for a while. I then tee'd off on the first only to realize I was probably the only person playing in 21 degree weather and mist. So I hit one from each tee box. For those who do not quite understand that, there are multiple tee boxes on a hole for skill level. Shingle Creek had 3, ladies, men's, and pros. I played a ball from each one so I had three different shots from the tee and into the green.

I played well, hitting the ball very solid and straight. At the end of the round I went back to the putting green to work on what really matters.

I stayed with some of my sponsors in Orlando at the Fairfield Inn and Suites. A big thanks goes out to Anne Giger for the assistance with the hotels. I got to spend some good quality time with the "KP3 crew" in the evenings. I hope this friendship will remain strong as I continue on with my career.

I received a phone call from my sponsor, Edwin Watts Golf Shop, about my new clubs. The irons look like they should be here by the end of this week, but the wedges may take a little longer due to a massive amount of production and turn time. It is not a huge deal but I am ready to compete! I really appreciate the extra effort Edwin Watts Golf Shop puts into their services for me.

So, I will keep you updated and let you know as soon as I can about the time I will be receiving my new equipment.

Now for the important things. For many of you, the name Natalie Eades is very familiar, but for those who don't know who she is I will tell you. She is a very brave and strong little girl who is battling cancer. She is about to be 3 years old and has been battling cancer for more than a year now. She is in desperate need of your prayers, so I humbly ask that before you close my blog, please say a little prayer for Natalie. Prayer is powerful! Please remember her and the entire Eades family throughout the day.

If you would like more information on Natalie, please visit www.golfingwithglen.com and click on "Glen's Blog" and there is a link to a blog I saved for her. On that blog, you can also find directions to sign up to read what the family writes and updates about her condition.

Thank you all for the support I have received for the new year! I cannot wait to get competing again!

Your friend,

Glen

"Golf combines two favorite American pastimes: taking long walks and hitting things with a stick." - P.J. O'Rourke

2009 in review

2010-01-03T19:18:00.015-05:00

Hey Everyone,

I finally got everything ready to go for next season. I have ordered my new clubs and are having them custom made in Carlsbad, California. The only downside is that they will not be in until about mid-January. So I won't be competing until sometime after that. My projected start date is somewhere between January 18-20 in Orlando. There is nothing like breaking in a brand new set of clubs as soon as you get them!

I apologize for the lack of updates over the last few weeks, but they will come more often once I get started again. However, all this time off has brought some good news. I am now with Titleist and have a new sponsor, Edwin Watts Golf Shop. These two happenings have created a new spark in my career, and I am excited to go out and compete in the upcoming season for Titleist and Edwin Watts Golf!

Now, for my first year of competing as a professional in review. Below you will find a list of my total averages for the year as well as personal stats acquired along the way. These numbers were tracked and averaged by myself.

Total number of professional events - 12
Best finish - 2nd place, 69 (-3)
Average round score - 72.75 (+.3)
Average driving distance - 286 yards
Average fairway percentage - 64.28%
Average greens in regulation - 14/18 (77.77%)
Average putts per round - 29.50
Average birdies per round - 4.2
Average holes between eagles - 37

Top 10 moments for the year of 2009, in random order.
- Being able to wake up every morning and do what I love...golf.
- Making two hole-in-ones in California in the same round.
- Making a double eagle at St. James Bay with Brittany.
- Never placing higher than 12th in all my events. (Average 51 golfers)
- Playing golf in California on the world famous courses.
- Conducting my first tournament for Sheriff Hobbs and the Boys Ranch.
- Shooting my personal best 18 hole round of 63 (-9) at Quitman County Club.
- Shooting my personal and course 9 hole record of 29 (-7) at Palisades.
- Hitting a perfect first drive at Palisades to start my professional career.
- Being able to use my newly obtained profession to conduct my second tournament to benefit Natalie Eades and her family.

Although these personal accomplishments are important to me, I owe everyone of them to the good Lord. He gave me this talent and has blessed me in so many ways. One way He has blessed me is with each and every one of my supporters. The list is too long to type but you all know who I'm talking about. I have a great group backing me and I will remember each of you as I continue throughout my career.

For the year of 2010, I plan to take my golfing to the next level. I will increase my events played and try to qualify for higher status golf. To me, the future looks bright. I hope to soon be competing in televised events, also. I will continue to keep you updated on anything that happens with my career.

I want to thank you all again for everything you did for me last year. I humbly ask for your support and prayers as I continue on into 2010. I also ask for your prayers to continue for Natalie. She has no cancer cells as of now but is having a few complications and is postponing the transplant.

Please feel free to look around on www.golfingwithglen.com as I have updated some things. If you come across anything on my blogs, web page, or any other thing that you think could be improved, revised, or added please contact me and let me know. I would like for all my forms of communications to be as user friendly as possible.

Thanks again for everything!

God Bless,
Glen

"As you walk down the fairways of life you must smell the roses, for you only get to play one round" - Ben Hogan

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2009-12-18T10:22:00.005-05:00

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to give everyone a status update on what's going on.

I've had to drop the rest of the 2009 tournaments in attempt to save the funds needed for the clubs I will be required to purchase at the start of 2010. I will start to compete again on January 7, 2010. My schedule is up-to-date online and will continue competing after that.

I have done some recent upgrades to www.golfingwithglen.com including adding a new page called "My Gear" where you can see the actual clubs and balls I play with. I also added a new "friend" on my friends page. Please visit them and see what they are all about.

I am pleased to say that my friend, Natalie is doing better. I will leave out the details but just know that things are looking up. She is still in desperate need of your thoughts and prayers as the Eades family will once again spend Christmas at Shands Hospital in Gainesville, FL. Please remember to be thankful for everything we have been blessed with!

I will not be posting another blog until after Christmas so I hope each and everyone of you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Thanks for all the support you have given me throughout 2009!

Until next time,

Glen

"Golf is a lot of walking, broken up by disappointment and bad arithmetic." - Unknown

A little speed bump...

2009-11-29T20:22:00.011-05:00

Just wanted to give everyone all a heads up on what's happening.

My new site, golfingwithglen.com, has had a good bit of traffic so far. The last time I checked, there were 403 visits. The guest book is filling up and the response to the site has been great. I am continually adding new things and am still working the kinks out, but it has come a long way.

If you come upon any problems with the site or any suggestions, please send them to me. I want to make it as user friendly as I can.

It looks like I will be going to Orlando a little later than what my schedule says. The USGA has just put a new ruling into effect saying the grooves on the face of the clubs have to conform to certain measurements. Mine, as well as 99% of all touring professionals and amateurs, are no longer legal. I will have to purchase new clubs before January 1, 2010 or I will be unable to compete professionally. I personally feel this rule is unnecessary, however I must comply.

Now the really bad news. I have priced the new clubs along with the proper tweeking, bending, "pureing", and reshafting to come out right at $3,000. I think the club manufacturers are "gouging" a little bit. Due to the new requirement, I won't be competing in an effort to raise the money needed to purchase these new clubs before 2010.

I will continue to post weekly updates on how things are going. Please pass my new website to anyone who would be interested

Once again, thanks to everyone who has signed my guest book and visited my new site. Also, I posted another blog on Wednesday, so for those who were out of the office, just scroll past this blog and it is still available for your viewing.

Your friend,

Glen

www.golfingwithglen.com
benjaminglenbishop@gmail.com

"Golf is a game of endless predicaments" - Chi Chi Rodriguez

Golfing with Glen

2009-11-25T10:51:00.004-05:00

Hey everyone!

I think I finally have worked out most of the kinks at golfingwithglen.com. I really appreciate all the response I have already received. This will be the last time I email you this link. From now on, I will email you when I update my site and post a new blog. So you can just go to www.golfingwithglen.com and click on Glen's Blog to read the latest. I am trying to increase and maintain traffic to the site. I will also continue to have new items and photos posted on the site.

I have decided that I didn't want Natalie's benefit and information to be deleted, so I built another blog to preserve her information. It is located at golfingforacause.blogspot.com. It will also be on my site under the Blog tab. I feel that even if only one person goes to it, that's one more prayer closer to her complete healing.

Once again, thanks to everyone who has signed my guest book and visited my new site. I hope to make you all proud one day!

Your friend,

Glen

www.golfingwithglen.com
http://golfingforacause.blogspot.com
benjaminglenbishop@gmail.com

"Golf is a game of endless predicaments" - Chi Chi Rodriguez

New Website up and running!

2009-11-19T08:55:00.011-05:00

Hey everyone,

I have been working on making my own ".com" website due to the large amount of information I want to post. I just finished yesterday, so there are still a few glitches and still some work to be done. I have a link on the page where you can follow me on Facebook. Anyone who knows me knows I do not know a thing about Facebook, so it may be a while before I iron out the edges. If you visit the site, sign the guest book and email me if you come across any problems. If you use Facebook, find me and keep in touch.

My goal is to network myself into a larger group of people. I plan on going to the next level with my career and it takes lots of money and lots of friends. Some people say that it's just politics from here on out and I'm realizing that, too. It's all about who you know. Friends can take you a long way in life. I ask that you spread the word to anyone and everyone about the new site to help build me up for what's ahead. I am pleased to say that I have about 200 people I personally send my blog to and with this new site and integrating Facebook into it, I hope to triple that number.

I plan on hitting the tours pretty hard at the beginning of next year. I will play in a few before then, but the USGA just passed a new rule stating the grooves on your clubs now have to be a certain kind and way. Now all people who compete in USGA sanctioned events or professionally must compete with USGA approved clubs. Mine aren't, along with 99% of all professional golfers. I think it's a dumb rule, but they are trying to make fairway percentages go up because you won't be able to put as much spin on a ball from the rough. That's a lot of jiberish that means I have to buy new clubs. I'll be going to Tampa in December to get fitted for some new equipment. Since I will be getting use to new the clubs, I won't be competing hard through December.

Now for the important things. Natalie got some good news the other day! I don't fell as if it's my place to release this information publicly. You can read exactly what the family wrote on carepages. Now, I'm going to walk you through how to get there. It's free and I promise it's not hard. It will be well worth your time.

Go to www.carepages.com
Look on the left side and click "become a member now"
Fill in the needed information and submit
You will then be redirected to "My Dashboard"
Go to search, top right, and type in "OurNatalie" exactly.
Click the one that says "Carepage Website Name"
Now read about her and post some encouraging words!
That's it! Call or email me if you have any trouble.

I am going to create another blog just about Natalie's benefit. I will post the link later. I still have a lot of people wanting to know about how it went and things like that. My website also has pictures of the tournament and dinner, so I'll keep the information on the new blog.

Brittany and I are going to have another cupcake party tomorrow with Natalie. I'll deliver any words of encouragement to them from you. Just email them to me.

I would like to say thanks to all my dedicated supporters from last year. The many emails, phone calls and letters helped to get me where I am today.

Ok, here it is! http://www.golfingwithglen.com
Go to it and let me know what you think please.
I put it together myself in 18 hours so please forgive me for any issue you encounter.

Thanks again everyone!

Glen

"Forget your opponents; always play against par." - Sam Snead

Natalie's Benefit was a HUGE success!

2009-11-10T14:11:00.015-05:00

Last Saturday was the benefit for Natalie Eades and let me just say, it was great! We had a great turn out for the golf tournament as well as the dinner. The support from the community was felt by myself as well as the Eades family.

The day started off with the golf tournament at Jefferson Country Club. We could not have had better weather or group of golfers playing. The tournament was full with 72 golfers on 18 teams, but we still managed to finish before dark set in. The tournament winners, Schofill, Faglie, Herbert, and Folke, shot a 12 under par, 60. The second place team, Team Olive, shot an 8 under par, 64. The third place team of Gunnels, Barker, and Stephens also shot an 8 under par 64, but loss second place through regression.

The dinner was held at Malloy's Nursery and started at 5 Pm. Lois Ritter graciously donated the facility for the benefit dinner. The dinner consisted of rotisserie style chicken quarters, roasted potatoes, green beans, and rolls donated by Hal Bennett of Johnston's Meat Market. We also had a huge salad donated by Becky Stoutamire and Edward Strickland, and numerous homemade cakes and desserts donated by many friends and family.

There were many other items donated, which helped in making the evening the success that it was. One item in particular was a Ducks Unlimited 12 gauge shotgun made by Beretta, donated by Tommy Fountain. It was initially won in the raffle drawing by Dr. Mike Carney, who specified that if he won, the shotgun was to be put up for auction and sell to the highest bidder with the final amount donated back to the Eades family. When the bidding was finished, the gun was purchased by Sheriff David Hobbs for a sizable donation.

The cake auction was in itself an enormous success. We had many homemade cakes and pies donated, with one reaching a high bid of $200. The average cake brought $98 each.

During all the excitement, a slide show presentation on Natalie's life was prepared by Liz and Mary Beth Bishop. As a special treat for those who attended, we were able to have a live feed though a web cam to Natalie's hospital room. Her father, Jason, was here with us and talked to Natalie, so we were able to see her and say a few words. It was very moving to all who were there.

I need to thank Caleb and Lauren Burnette, Jimmy and Patty Townsend, Junior Tuten and Jason and Amanda Vickers for the use of their trailers and trucks to haul golf carts to the tournament. Also, thanks to Trucks and Trails of Thomasville for the use of ten golf carts for our event. The awards were donated by Sheriff David Hobbs and Property Appraiser Angela Gray for the winners of the tournament. Also, Traci Buzbee covered the operational costs of the dinner.

Special thanks to Dorothy Holden and Jennifer Pitts for all their hard work in decorating for the evening. A huge thanks to Cricket Edwards and Liz Bishop for the countless hours and sleepless nights spent making sure the benefit was perfect.

Now the part you have all been waiting for. With all the generosity from each and everyone of you, the benefit for Natalie was able to raise over $12,000, with donations still coming in! 100% of the funds raised has be given to the Eades family in support of Natalie's fight against cancer. Thank you so much to all who sent donations for her.

Although the benefit is over, I ask for your continual support and prayers for Natalie during these times. You can still donate to the family directly through me, as well as the special account for Natalie at Farmers and Merchants Bank.

The Wharf Express is also doing a fundraiser for Natalie this Sunday, November 15, at the Monticello News. Once again, 100% of the money raised is going to the Eades family. They are having catfish, grits, hush puppies and cole slaw for $7 a plate. Tickets can be purchased at the Monticello News or call 997-3568 for more information.

OK, now to explain the pictures. Yesterday, Brittany and I went to Shands to visit Natalie and her family. We wanted to deliver the great news personally and spend a little time playing with Natalie. Believe it or not, I actually made the cupcakes myself, under strict supervision from my mother. We took toppings of sprinkles, M&M's, and Dora the Explorer edible tops for her to decorate with. As you can see, she did a good job. Natalie wasn't feeling well when we first arrived, but after a few hours she got a little wound up. Brittany and I had such a good time, that we plan on going back next week for another cupcake decorating party.

As Brittany and I were leaving the hospital yesterday, I saw two older men sporting their WWII Veteran hats. It made me thankful that we have service men and women who go unrecognized for all their service and protection they have given us. I know it's a day late, but thank you to each and everyone of the people who have served and who are currently serving to protect and defend our country daily that we may life freely and in peace.

We've had a great time and are so thankful for everyone's generosity to help ease the stress and pain the Eades family goes through on a daily basis. Despite her bad days, Natalie is doing well but still needs your support. Donate when you can, visit and send cards if possible, but most importantly, continue to pray daily for Natalie...that we all can do!

Once again, a sincere thanks to everyone!

Your friend,

Glen

"A hero (Natalie) is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles." - Christopher Reeves

Change of plans!!!!

2009-11-04T14:58:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone,
We had a slight change of plans for the dinner Saturday. We are moving it to Malloys Nursery on Highway 19 north at 5PM. The tournament will stay at Jefferson, but the dinner is all that is moving. Sorry for the late notice. Thanks everyone and help spread the word.

Glen

Saturday is Natalie's benefit!

2009-11-02T13:29:00.004-05:00

Hey everyone,

First off, I would like to say thanks to everyone who has donated to the benefit for Natalie. It is such a great feeling knowing that there are that many people who want to help. Each and every one of you have helped in making this benefit a success so far.

At first I started out thinking we would have one hundred people at the dinner on Saturday, but I already have RSVP'd one hundred and twenty. So, now we are expecting close to three hundred people to show up in support for Natalie. The Monticello News was kind enough to put an article in the paper a few weeks ago about this benefit and it created a good response. Now, they are putting it on the front page of the Wednesday paper!

I ask everyone of you to please come to the dinner. It is not just for the golfers, it's for everyone. Give me a call before Thursday and let me know you're coming.

If you would like to donate or buy raffle tickets, please contact me personally at 850-508-4536.

If you would like an address to mail checks, I am using;
Glen Bishop
539 Seven Bridges Road
Monticello, FL 32344

If you would like to drop a check off or buy raffle tickets, you can go to Monticello Milling Company, 700 East York Street, Monticello FL.

Natalie is doing well but I ask that you continue to pray every day for her.

Thanks again to each and everyone of you,

Your friend,

Glen

"Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence." - Lin Yutang

Special Fundraising Golf Tournament

2009-10-13T10:26:00.015-04:00

Hey everyone,

When I returned from my trip to California, I came upon some bad news. We have friends that go to our church who are in their early 20's that have two little daughters, one named Natalie, and the other, Lexie. Natalie was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia in December of 2008. Through many months of treatment and having to relocated to Gainesville, Natalie's cancer went into remission and she was able to come home in May.

Everything was going well, Jason and Chelsea went back to work, Natalie went back to daycare, and Lexie was born in August. Jason and Chelsea took Natalie to her monthly checkup in Gainesville on September 21 only to find out that her platelet count had dropped well below the normal level. The doctor informed them that Natalie's cancer had returned. This time it meant Natalie would have to go through another round of chemo and then a bone marrow transplant, which meant relocation to Gainesville again.

Natalie has currently finished her chemo and is waiting for the cancer to go into remission again so she can proceed with her transplant. Jason and Chelsea are both jobless and have many expenses. With all the stress and many bills to pay, I personally ask each and everyone of you for your help. I will be conducting a golf tournament to be played on November 7, 2009, at 1 p.m. at Jefferson Country Club to raise funds for Natalie and her family. 100% of the funds raised will go to the Eades family during their long fight against cancer.

The format of the tournament will be a four man scramble, eighteen teams, with first, second, and third place recognition. After the tournament, there will be a dinner with a PowerPoint presentation that will show just a glimpse of what Natalie goes through during her fight. A homemade cake auction will also take place during the dinner.

The costs of the golf tournament will be $50 per person or $200 per team. Dinner is included at no charge; however, a donation is appreciated. RSVP for the tournament and dinner is required by 5 p.m. November 4.

The tournament will fill up quickly and I can't guarantee a spot without the entry fee. However, if you would like to help, there are many other ways.

Sponsorships for the tournament are available for $100, with recognition in the paper and on my Web site.

Donations to the tournament are much appreciated and can be made to: Glen Bishop's Charity Fund - for Natalie. As I said before, 100% of the funds raised will go to Natalie and her family.

I also ask everyone to pray daily for Natalie and all the other children who are fighting for their lives with every breath. We should appreciate how lucky we are to wake up every morning. God has blessed all of us with so much that we take advantage of daily.

If you have any questions, comments, donate to the tournament, participate, and/or come to the dinner, please contact me at 850-508-4536, or email me at benjaminglenbishop@gmail.com.

Checks can be mailed to:

Glen Bishop
539 Seven Bridges Road
Monticello, FL 32344

Or they can be dropped off at Capital City Bank, Jefferson County Sheriffs Office, or Monticello Milling Company.

I ask everyone to look down deep and do whatever they can to help this child in need. I know times are hard, but they could be worse. Like Brother David Walker said Sunday, "The storms in life only last a little while..."

Thank you all again so much!

Your friend,

Glen Bishop

"Once you choose hope, anything's possible." - Christopher Reeves

Touring the West!

2009-09-29T13:44:00.011-04:00

I have return from my venture out west, and let me tell you, it was such a blast!

This blog is going to tell you just about the golf, so the integrity of this site will remain on my professional career. I built another site that will tell you about the trip itself. I will include the link at the bottom of this blog.

Monterey, California is a golfer's paradise! The courses are in immaculate condition and the people are extremely nice. I was so lucky to have had the opportunity to play at such highly recognized places.

The first round I played was at Peter Hay's Par 3. Aunt Jackie and I headed to Pebble Beach to get to the course. Peter Hay is located about 50 yards from the Pebble Beach course in some of the most prestigious ground in the area. We started on that course because I had to ship my golf balls and cleats out to California to cut some weight off of my luggage.

I got on the tee and got going, playing in flat sole shoes and some Top-Flite XL 2000 golf balls Aunt Jackie had given me. I quickly found out how different the greens rolled and how to read them. These courses do not have grain in them, meaning your ball rolls on the top of the grass, rather than the blade. We have grainy greens in Florida, so our balls roll on the blade making a reasonably flat putt break more than you initially thought.

After playing a few holes, I was starting to figure the grass out. We came up on the eighth hole, only to be greeted by three deer standing right next to the tee box. I started snapping pictures right away. After the "distraction" walked away, I got on the box and prepared for my shot. I teed off and hit a great shot. I knew it was close! We walked uphill to the green and couldn't see the ball. Immediately, my heart quit beating. I glanced over the edge of the cup to see my ball laying there...my first Hole in One! You couldn't tell me anything! After a few pictures and phone calls, we started playing again. I got to the ninth tee box and got ready for my shot. I hit another good one, but this time I heard it hit the flag. I knew it was close, too. We walked up to the green, only to once again be unable to see the ball. I jokingly walk up to the cup, only to be surprised to see my ball sitting in the cup...again! I couldn't believe it! I have never made a Hole in One, but I had just made two in one round! I was so excited and Aunt Jackie got to see my first ever Hole in Ones!

After we left Peter Hay, we went to Pebble Beach so I could hit a few putts. After putting for a while, we went home.

The next day my equipment came in, so I was ready to play. We went to Monterey Pines Golf Course. It was a shorter course, but equally challenging. I played well and thoroughly enjoyed the round.

Sunday, Uncle Dave and I went to Laguna Seca to hit a few on their driving range. It was the most beautiful driving range I have ever seen. It was located on top of a mountain, with huge cliffs on both sides of the hitting area. We had a good time and took some good pictures of the range.

My next round was played at Poppy Hills Golf Course. It was extremely nice and with some help from Uncle Dave and his friend, Mr. Kregg Bush, I was able to play a complementary round. The course was a little foggy but still so picture perfect. There were deer all over the course and all around the greens. I played very well and shot a two under, seventy. The course has some of the highest and hardest scoring holes on the PGA Tour, so I was excited when I played well. Thanks again Uncle Dave and Mr. Kregg!

My next round was played in the afternoon at Spanish Bay with Spencer Kennedy, who also works at the course. Spanish Bay is a links-style course and plays pretty hard. I started off using poor course management, which made the first couple of holes very hard, but finally found a good grove and finished strong. Spencer was also able to work me in for a complementary round. Thanks so much to him, too!

My next golf venture was my lesson which took place at Spyglass Hill, with one of the 50 greatest golf teachers of all time, Laird Small. I started off warming up on the range and then headed over to the Academy's Teaching Facility. Mr. Small was a very nice guy who immediately saw a slight flaw in my swing. I hit a few balls for him, and then we went into the facility to check things out. I was put on a computer and was visually able to see where my swing was off. It was something very simple to fix and Mr. Small said I had a good swing, which he later said was very similar to the famous Ben Hogan and Sam Snead. He felt that since the issue of my swing was so small, I only needed one lesson from him and lots of practice when I got back to Florida. I felt very good about my lesson and even better about my swing and game. It was well worth the money and time.

The next day I was invited to play a round with a friend of Uncle Dave and Aunt Jackie. His name is Mr. Russ Weiss. We met at the oldest golf course west of the Mississippi River, Del Monte. I met up with Mr. Russ at the putting green and was warmly welcomed by him. It was nice because we were able to play by ourselves. We teed off and started the round playing good. We had an even better time talking and finding out about each other. Mr. Russ is an extremely nice guy who made the round very enjoyable. We sat down after the round for a hamburger at the Del Monte grill, and then Mr. Russ was kind enough to take me home. I'd like to say thanks to Mr. Russ for a great round of golf, a great meal, and hope to have the opportunity to play again with him, soon!

The last round I played was at Laguna Seca with Aunt Jackie, Spencer, and his mother, Jackie Kennedy. Spencer and I had our eyes opened when Aunt Jackie hit her first drive over three hundred yards and out drove both of us. You see, we drove down the fairway, but Aunt Jackie took the cart path and got some big time roll, where she ended up pin high! Laguna was very hilly and just a beautiful course. On the sixteenth hole, I hit a drive behind a tree and had to hit a wedge over it. It left perfectly and hit the green. When Spencer and I walked up to the green, we could not find the ball. I ended up looking in the hole and sure enough, there it was. I holed out for an eagle! We all ended up having a great time and played some good golf. It was such a pleasure meeting Spencer and Ms. Jackie and being able to play a great, final round of golf with them.

The trip to California was great, especially for my career. I was able to play on some of the most prestigious courses around, meet great people and just thoroughly enjoy the game of golf.

If you are interested, the blog about my trip is located at this address:

http://glenscaliforniatrip.blogspot.com/

Thanks, again to everyone who help make this trip a possibility. I could not have done all of this without each and everyone of you!

Glen

"Don't ever be too proud to take a lesson. I'm not." - Jack Nicklaus

California here I come!

2009-09-11T10:09:00.011-04:00

Only three days until I leave for California...hope ya'll are ready, Uncle Dave and Aunt Jackie!

This past week Mom and I went to the driving range at Cross Creek on Highway 90. She doesn't get to see me hit much, so I was glad she came. We ended up having a good time and I hit the ball well.

Dad and I went to Quitman Country Club to play a round since they've built the new back nine on the course. We ran into Timothy, Ricky, Mr. Finlayson, and Jack McWilliams, who was my golf coach in high school. I hadn't seen him in a quite a while and it was good to see him again. Dad and I played 36 holes and we both played well. I shot even par and he broke 80.

I've been going a lot to Seminole Golf Course in Tallahassee. I've been trying to get some practice on a faster course in preparation for California. I feel I've gotten some good quality practice in, and hopefully, it will carry over to next week.

I took last Thursday off from golf so I could be with the family to celebrate my granddad's 85th birthday. My mom's whole family was there....even Uncle Dave flew in from California. We all had a good time, and later that afternoon Pap-pap, Uncle Dave, Mom, Brittany and I shot skeet. Once again Pap-pap shot the best and then second place was no surprise with Brittany's dead eye! On Sunday, I took Uncle Dave back to the airport, and he took one of the pieces of my luggage with him. That saved me the cost of an extra bag since I'm carrying golf clubs on the trip. The airlines charge for everything now!

I'm very excited about my trip! You won't be hearing from me again until I return, but when I do, be expecting lots of pictures and a long blog.

Until next time,

Glen

Don't ever be too proud to take a lesson, I'm not. - Jack Nicklaus

A good week!

2009-08-23T20:44:00.010-04:00

It's been about two weeks since my last update. So to fill you in on everything that has been going on, I'll start with St. James Bay. While I was at St. George Island for a vacation, I was able to take two days to play the course. The facility now "comps" my rounds, meaning the rounds are completely free since I am a professional. This is great! One of my favorite courses now doesn't cost me anything to play, and I am capable of getting some quality practice in on a championship style course. I really appreciate the people at St. James Bay for helping me out this way.

I went early one morning to beat the crowd and was able to take my time and focus. I won't talk about the round because I have a lot to get in on this blog, but I tied the course record from the hardest tees by shooting a 68, -4. I was real excited! So the next day, I grabbed Brittany and headed back out there. Once again I played well, but only managed to shoot a 69, -3. Thank you to Brittany's parents for allowing me to stay with them at St. George Island and making it possible for me to play at St. James Bay.

After I had been back in town for a few days, I decided to take one more trip to St. James Bay before I went to Pensacola for the big tourney. Brittany and I left early Tuesday morning so we could be the first ones on the course. I didn't play as well, shooting a 73, +1, but got in some good practice.

I was very excited about the Pensacola Open because it was on the Pensacola Naval Base. The Naval Air Museum is there, along with a lot interesting things to visit. We were to play two days on AC Read golf course and then travel to Stonebrook for the final round.

I left early Wednesday morning to head west for the Pensacola Open. It was a three day event with big banquets at night. I was greeted on the interstate by lots of rain. Even though my practice round was wet, I was able to see the Blue Angels practicing overhead. I went to the first banquet to get my tee time and meet some of the players. After that I found my Red Roof Inn and was ready to get some rest.

The hotel is a whole different story. I had to change rooms three times. The bed wasn't even made in the first room, the locks didn't work in the second room, and the Internet didn't work in the third room.

Anyway, it was just getting started. I woke up early the next morning, hit the Denny's to get the day started off right, and then was greeted by what seemed like a hurricane. I got to the course and began my usual warm up. It was pouring rain. My tee time came and it was still pouring rain. So I completed my round without a break from the rain. The weather was horrible, but I tried my best. I shot a 75, +3, but felt very good about it considering the variables. I went to the banquet that night and made some good contacts with the people there. I also had some interesting food: Sushi, Fillet Mignon...the works!

The next day I played in even worse weather. It rained so hard! We teed off, but then on the 3rd hole, we had a rain delay. So we had to mark our balls and go inside for a while. When they finally released us to play again, we made it to the 11th hole, only to be greeted by another delay. The only reason we were stopped was because lightning was spotted, not because of the rain. So after a nice nap, we headed back to finish the round. Not! How about one more delay for the books. This time it was on the 17th. By this time we just wanted to finish the round. I ended up shooting a 78. It doesn't sound good, but considering it took us 9 hours instead of the usual 3 1/2 - 4 hours to play, I was pleased with the round. It was very hard to stay in your zone when you had that many delays and distractions. Still in contention for the tourney, I headed to the next course about 45 miles away.

Stonebrook is the home course to Boo Weekley, Bubba Watson, Ben Bates, and Joe Durant, all PGA Professionals. It's a very nice, very hard course on the north side of Pensacola. It plays long and fast, just the way I like it. A buddy and I stayed out late practicing around the greens and hitting approach shots to all the greens, because they were a little different than the AC Read course.

I had an early tee time of 7:21 to hopefully beat the weather. So at 4:30 am, I was sitting at the Waffle House, and at 5:30 am, I was warming up on the lighted driving range. We got to the tee box but were delayed because the fog hadn't risen yet. What's one more delay! So we finally got to tee off. I played the course very well and shot a 69, -3. I made a few stupid, mental errors and should have shot a little better, but I was happy. Shooting that low on the final day put me in second place on the Emerald Coast Tour and eighth place for the entire tournament. I was excited because my final round put me in the money.

I left the course to go to a black tie affair for the golfers afterwards. It was nice and elegant and I had a chance to speak in front of about 200 people about my sponsor, KP3. I headed home and got back to Monticello just in time to make a good friends' birthday party that night. So, needless to say, I've slept well these last few nights.

I am about three weeks away from my trip to California, and I am getting more excited every day. I am still doing odd jobs to raise the funds needed but cannot wait for the opportunity I have come upon. It will be different because it will be windy and cool in California, and I am use to good ol' humidity and heat.

I would like to thank KP3, Jerry Latimer and Steve Trocchio, for their help and apparel for the tournaments. I sported their logos proudly for all three days. I would also like to give my deepest condolences to the Latimer family for their recent loss of Jerry's Dad.

And last, but certainly not least, I want to thank my family for the full tournament sponsorship. I know it was so expensive this time but the experience and knowledge gained from this trip was priceless.

Let me know what you all think!

Glen

"It's a short course...played in the seven inches between your ears." - Mrs. Celano, (our tour director's mother) upon asking her if there was anything she could tell me about the course that would benefit me.

2009-08-07T10:49:00.010-04:00

This week I played in the Jefferson County High School Tigers First Annual Golf Tournament. My team consisted of Heath Bass, Chad Bass, Derek Harden, and myself. It was a four man scramble for eighteen holes held at Jefferson Country Club. The Tigers had Kenny Knox and David Jackson, two PGA Professionals playing and had a pretty good field of players.

My team started off making birdies on the first seven holes and then parring the next two. Then, two birdies, a par, three more birdies, an eagle, a par, and a birdie to finish it off. We posted a 29/28 (57) which equaled -15 for the round. We placed first, with Kenny Knoxs' team placing 2nd with a 59, -13.

We won some free golf at Seminole Country Club and Killearn Country Club in Tallahassee, season passes to all Jefferson High School athletics, and some Tiger apparel.

Last blog I told you about an interview my sponsor had with the Tallahassee Democrat. It was published on Monday, but I have the link for the web posting and pictures. The link is http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009908030316

The pictures for the article are http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=CD&Dato=20090731&Kategori=PHOTOS03&Lopenr=907310803&Ref=PH&GID=em7GHzEm46bHdvUHFMrEMq6Z0Or89ddF9q8r90xlNh0%3D

Check them out and let me know what you think. You might also recognize Olivia Sorensen in a few of them.

The article explains what KP3 means, its goals, and what they would like to accomplish. Their web page is still in the process of being built, but as soon as it's ready, I'll post it on my blog.

This week, KP3 tested my shoulders and all the little muscles on the inside to see how healthy they are, and if there are any weaknesses or problems in them. The results came back good. Yes, for once, I am somewhat healthy! Today they tested my legs, and the results came back great. Mr. Jerry said that they are some of the best results he has seen in a while. Most people forget how important the legs are in a golf swing. They provide stability and a solid foundation to create massive amounts of power. They help with maintaining form, and they need to be in great shape to walk the course. Besides, have you ever tried walking a round of golf on your hands?

Yesterday, Dad and I took off and headed to Wakulla to play a round. Now keep in mind, he just had knee surgery four weeks ago, so.... never mind, I won't even start. Anyway, we had a good time and believe it or not, Dad played a pretty good round, shooting 84. I played well, making a few birdies and an eagle. We had a good time and I'm glad we went.

Only thirty-nine days until I leave for California! Things are looking great so far. My gracious aunt and uncle are making the majority of this possible. I can't wait to see them! I am still trying to raise the remainder of the funds needed, but the ticket has been booked for the 15th of September, and I will return on the 26th. I am very excited!

I will be out of the area until next weekend, returning on the 15th or 16th. Don't worry, I will be practicing a lot at one of my favorite courses, St. James Bay. Brittany just finished her summer nursing class and her family and I are going vacationing for a few days. Then it seems like as soon as we get back, she's back in school again. Nevertheless, she will make an awesome nurse. Believe me, it seems like every time I go to see her, she makes sure my blood pressure and pulse are in line. Not only do I have a "personal trainer" with my sponsor, KP3, I have a personal nurse, too! She doesn't think so, but she is extremely smart and is doing very well so far in her career.

I really appreciate all the emails I receive from each and every one of you. Mom and I laugh at how soon I get responses after I've sent the blog out. Sometimes it's just a few minutes.

I have a great group of people backing me, and I am getting new email addresses sent to me weekly. Right now my blog group exceeds 150 people and Mary Beth and Brittany post it on their Facebook, so there is no telling how many they reach. I appreciate their support and advertising for me.

Until next time,

Glen

"There is no such thing as a natural touch, touch is something you create from hitting millions of golf balls" - Lee Trevino

2009-08-01T13:18:00.013-04:00

This past week I did my usual thing of practicing at Seminole Golf Course in Tallahassee and playing at Wildwood in Wakulla. When I was at Wildwood on Tuesday, I was paired with the Sopchoppy Southern Baptist Church pastor, Dr. Bill Jenkins and his wife, Linda. We played 18 holes together, and I finished below par. The Jenkins are super nice people, and I'm glad I was able to meet them. Here is a link to their church website: www.sopchoppysouthernbaptist.com

Thursday was my final junior day at Jefferson Country Club. I had 8 boys and was able to play 27 holes since there weren't a lot of boys that day. I was challenged by a few of them to play, but I didn't have my clubs. So I played with Timothy Finlayson's clubs. We all played from the red tees, and I shot a 33 with his clubs on 9 holes. Needless to say, I emerged victorious over the 6-12 year olds.

My Pebble Beach trip is in the process of being finalized. I'm still trying to raise the remainder of the funds needed, but it looks like it's going to all work out. I am going to take the utmost advantage of this opportunity and use the valuable information and instruction from this trip to advance my career by playing higher level golf at the beginning of next year.

I am playing in a one day tournament at Jefferson Country Club on Tuesday for the Jefferson County Tigers football team. It's just a four man team tournament, but I was asked to play and a fun tournament is good for me on occasion.

Wednesday, I will be going to my sponsor, KP3 for some performance testing to make sure I am in peak physical condition. The group was recently interviewed by the Tallahassee Democrat to advertise and publicize their business. I was asked to pose for a few pictures and answer some questions. The interview should be in the Monday issue of the Democrat. There will also be pictures posted on the Democrat's website.

I really appreciate all the support and emails I have already received in response to my trip. I think I have the best people in the world supporting me. Thanks again to each and every one of you.

Glen

"If you think it's hard to meet new people, try picking up the wrong golf ball" - Jack Lemmon

2009-07-23T20:10:00.010-04:00

I'm going to fill you in on all that's been happening with my golf career since my last blog. I'm going to try and give you the short version since it has been a while. My last blog was a month ago and I was talking about the 6-12 year old camp I have been helping out with. So far, it has been great.

All the little fellas have been a blast and some of them are actually pretty good. I put a picture of Brandon Hannon on the right. He is one of my kids in the camp. He is about 7 years old and unable to show me his full potential because of a broken collar bone. He can swing but not all the way yet. He's a sport model.

I only have one more Thursday with them, next week. I only hope they have had as much fun as I had with the game of golf.

I have been at full strength for about 4 weeks now and have been practicing pretty hard every day. This past Thursday I left early in morning to make a day of it and headed to Seminole Golf Course in Tallahassee to get warmed up. I still have a prepaid range deal with them so I can hit balls, chip and putt for a discounted rate. So I got good and warm and stretched out after hitting about 120 balls and putting for about 30 minutes. Then I headed south to Wakulla to play Wildwood Golf Course. On Tuesdays and Thursdays they let you play unlimited golf for twenty dollars. Can't beat that. So I played 36 holes.

I haven't played Wildwood since about 9th Grade of high school, so I didn't expect to play the first 18 that good. I ended up shooting 74, +2, which I felt was good, especially with two shanks out of the fairway. Don't ask, it's just a bad shot you'd love to forget...

On the second 18, I played a little less conservative and shot a 68, -4, dropping 6 strokes from earlier. But on both rounds, I had way too many putts. I average 28 putts per round, but today my average was around 31 putts. I don't want to blame the greens, but they were so slow and bumpy. Regardless, I played well and I was happy with that.

As if I hadn't played enough, I headed to St. James Bay in Carrabelle...the course I love to play. I caught the twilight rate and got rolling. I always seem to play well down there. I don't know if the course is better fit for me or what, but I love it. I played very well, shooting a 70, -2. I feel that is better than the 68 I shot earlier simply because the course plays so much tougher. To show how tough the course plays, the record from the back tees, the ones that are the hardest and I play from, is a 68. So after mom let me know she was cooking dinner, I figured it was best to call it a day. 54 holes, -4. That'll do.

Speaking of mom...funny story. Back in high school when I was playing in a district tournament at Wildwood, my Mom was following me. As we were coming up on the 15th hole, there was a 6 foot alligator laying next to the tee box. Mom calmly looked at my group and me and asked "is that an ornament or is that real?" It was real! So I just had to include the picture of the "Danger Stay Out- Snakes and Alligators" sign. Ahh, the wonderful memories you make!

As for my competitive side, I am going to try and play in the Pensacola Open in the middle of August. It's a fairly big three-day tourney, with the first place paying about $6,000. This tournament has been won by Gary Player, Boo Weekley, and some other pretty big names when they were in the stage of golf that I'm in now. I'm pretty excited about this one.

Then I hope to be playing in a two-day event in Panama City at Bay Point in early September.

The exciting news is I have come across the opportunity to possibility receive lessons at Pebble Beach in California. My Uncle and Aunt live close to Pebble Beach and have graciously offered to let me stay with them for the duration of my lessons. I will be paying for the flight through sky miles, so my only real costs are the lessons and the rounds of golf out there. These will be my first lessons ever since I'm self taught in the game of golf. Finding the right person for lessons is a big deal. I'm currently looking at a teacher who is ranked in the top 50 greatest of all time. I'm still doing more research to see if he's the right person for me. At this stage in my life, California is not too far away to learn from the best.

I am trying to raise the funds for this trip by doing some club repair and other odd things to pay for the $225 an hour lessons. The rate is a little steep, but I feel it will be well worth it. If possible, I hope to receive multiple lessons while I'm out there. My goal is to gain some of the best advice and tips available and practice them on some of America's best courses. Then as the Nationwide Tour comes to Miami, Florida, in October, I can be on the top of my game and hopefully qualify on that Monday for the opportunity to play for the $120,000 first prize. I decided to try this event in hopes to do well to carry the excitement through the winter months and be able to play in larger tournaments.

I hope I haven't bored you too much. I will try to post a little more often so they aren't as much to read at once. I really appreciate all the continual support from everyone and hope to make you all proud soon!

Also, I want to give you some more information on Glen's first official sponsor, KP3. As you can see in the picture on the right, they fixed me up with some shirts and had my hat embroidered. But the main thing is that these are the guys who keep me healthy and playing. They are great guys with a great program. I will tell you more in my next blog because I don't want to misquote anything, and I want to make sure I don't leave anything out. They are building a website and I will give you that address soon. I only hope to help them out as much as they have helped me.

Thanks again to everyone!

Let me know what you think!

Be sure to read the quote on the bottom. This one is so true!

Glen Bishop

"The only time my prayers are never answered are when I play golf" - Billy Graham

Church Charity Golf Tourney

2009-06-21T09:35:00.003-04:00

This Saturday I was invited to play in a church charity golf tournament in Cairo, Georgia. I was paired with Mike Knowles, Aaron Boyette, and Caleb Burnette. They are all contractors, builders, erectors, roofers, etc... Mr. Knowles' crew just finished replacing the roof on my mothers house, Aaron Boyette is a Contractor for Pro Steel Buildings of Tallahassee and Caleb Burnette is a hometown friend with a roofing business in Tallahassee. Mr. Knowles told me about his tournament when they were working on our roof. So, Caleb called and we headed over to Cairo.

We got there early for our 8 o'clock tee time and got warmed up. The format was a 4 man best ball with many little games during the round and opportunities for other prizes. We played very well as a team and Caleb played awesome as well. We ended up placing second overall with a fifty eight, but we had a great time with a lot of fun.

I played well, hitting my irons good and a few crucial shots. I also won the long drive contest, hitting my drive about 315 yards. It was refreshing to play good after all my shoulder problems and everything else. Caleb and I had such a good time we left Cairo and headed to Thomasville to play another eighteen holes and then hit some more range balls.

I had forgotten to inform everyone on how the Sheriffs Golf Tournament that I helped out with went. It was great. We raised over seven thousand dollars and had a great time. I really appreciate the Sheriff letting me help with the tournament because it introduced my name to the public as well as opening many doors in the golfing world for me. As of now, I am helping 6-12 year olds learn and play golf on Thursdays from 9-2 for about 6 weeks. It sort of like what the US Kids Golf Association does for young kids. The opportunities that I am coming into are great and the people I am meeting and playing with are benefiting me greatly.

I am hoping to head down south to Orlando here before long when the time is right to compete again. I have been practicing a lot lately and feeling good about my game.

I have also started regripping, reshafting, cutting down, and golf club repair at my house. I learned how to do it so I could cut down on some my expenses related to club repair. It is actually very fun and I enjoy it a lot.

I would like to thank Caleb, Aaron, and Mr. Mike for the opportunity to play in the tournament this weekend and Caleb again for the round at Country Oaks.

I would also like to thank Jerry Latimer at TOSPT for rehabbing me back to health and getting me back in the swing of things. Him and his partner, Steve Trocchio have developed a program called KP3 designed for injury prevention. Later on I will give everyone more information on them and their program. I personally have used the program and feel as if it was very beneficial and helpful in my golf career. Instances such as my shoulder can be prevented and that keeps you from falling off track on your career. It not just for golfers or pro athletes but for overall health of anyone physically active. As I stated before, I will have more info to give you later.

I would like to thank everyone for the continual support through everything especially my Aunt Jackie. Thanks Again Everyone!

Glen Bishop
539 Seven Bridges Road
Monticello, FL. 32344
850-508-4536
benjaminglenbishop@gmail.com

"Rhythm and Timing are the two things we must all have, yet no one knows how to teach them."
- Bobby Jones

Hidden Creek at Navarre Beach

2009-05-19T09:49:00.004-04:00

This week I went to Navarre Beach to play The Golf Club at Hidden Creek. I played it once before back in high school when Ridgely Plaines and I were in regionals. I think it was back in the 8th or 9th grade. It ended up raining real hard and we didn't advance past that.

Navarre Beach is on the east side of Pensacola Beach. It took me about 3 1/2 hours to get there. I stayed at the Days Inn next to the bridge. With this new tour, I receive a little discount off of the rooms so they are a little nicer than down south.

I left Wednesday for my practice round. I met up with some of my buddies and we started playing. We had a good round but the course had some water damage from earlier in the year so the greens were pretty rough but the course was beautiful. The course plays long, a little over 7000 yards and tight. The week before last, I had a piece of my driver fall off and USGA Rules say it is now illegal. So, I carried a different driver that I don't hit as good.

My tee time was early, 7:45 A.M. to be precise, so I got in early and hit the sack. I slept well and had a good breakfast at McDonalds. I arrived at the course and begun warming up. I was paired with one of my pals and two other guys. I ended up using my three wood most of the round except on three of the par 5's. I got to the eighth hole at two over par. It played 535 yards, one of the longer Par 5's on the course. I hit a perfect three wood of the tee and was in good position. The eighth has a pond to the left and in front of the green. Most people laid up but I hit my three wood high with a lot of carry. So, I tried for it and came up successful. The ball had flew the pond then landed just short of the green and rolled up the green about a foot and a half from the pin. I had a tap in eagle. So, I was back at even par and stayed there for a few more holes. I ended up shooting 74, 2 over par. The score doesn't show how well I played. I think that having to hit three wood off the tee made my second shots longer. I hit the greens but never really had a close putt for birdie. At the end of the first day, I was in 4th place behind a 73, 72, and 68. I had a few strokes to make up.

After the round I went over to Pensacola to practice at a course called Tiger Point. Its a very nice course that some Tour Pros play. I spent a couple hours over there and then caught some Zaxby's and went home. I got to bed early and got some good sleep. I was in the final group because I shot low so my tee time was later, about 9:00.

I got to the course and begun warming up as usual. I was excited about being paired in the top flight. So, we were off. I was even par after 6 holes with the other guys at one under, even, and 1 over. I hit my three wood in a fairway bunker on the 7th. The ball was way below my feet so I had to reach way down to hit it. I was about 230 yards out so I hit a hard three iron. On the downswing, I hit the sand real hard and had an abrupt stop. It jarred my shoulder real bad and caused my to have to shorten my swing and punch the ball the rest of the round so I could finish. I couldn't hardly swing but I didn't want to quit, so I finished the round by using a half swing and just toughing it out. I finished but way off from placing, so I headed home.

I went to the doctor over at TOSPT in Tallahassee and he said I had strained and possibly had a partial tear in my labrum and micro tears in my rotator cuff. Same exact thing I did to my right shoulder in baseball my Junior and Senior years of high school. However, the doctor said I had taken the right move by coming in and not trying to tough it out. It is not near as bad as my right shoulder and the doctors said with a little TLC and a few weeks off I should be good to go. So, I have to take a few weeks off which is fine with Matt's Graduation coming up and my 22nd birthday today. The Lord works in mysterious ways!

I really appreciate all the support from everyone. Love receiving the emails and letters.

Thanks to my folks once again for the sponsorship!

Benjamin "Glen" Bishop

850-508-4536, 850-997-4931

539 Seven Bridges Road, Monticello FL. 32344

benjaminglenbishop@gmail.com

"No matter what you shoot - the next day you have to go back to the first tee and begin all over again." - Peter Jacobsen

No cheap Hotel for me!

2009-04-26T10:59:00.003-04:00

This week I didn't have to go very far. We played at Summerbrooke Golf Course in Tallahassee, Florida. We had a fair turnout of about 24 players.

The Nationwide Tour had a tournament in Valdosta Georgia that I was thinking about trying to play in. They hold a Monday qualifier at a different location and this year one of them were at Glen Arven in Thomasville. I ended up not trying for it because I didn't feel as if I was on top of my game. They have about 144 people try for 7 spots. Pretty intense.

I had the honor of playing with 3 Nationwide Tour members during the Sumerbrooke Tourney. They only had partial exemption and were not invited to the Valdosta Tourney, so they played with us. One of them even was kind enough to jump my car off with his after I left my lights on during the first round.

Tuesday was a practice round. I played well but had to somewhat rush through the round because Matt had a baseball game at home.

On Wednesday, my tee time was at 8:38 in the morning. I got there my usual hour ahead of time, warmed up and felt good about the round. I ran into a little trouble off the tee on the first two holes, but recovered very nicely with an eagle on Hole #3. Back at even par, I continued to play well through the front nine. I had two bad tee shots on the back nine, giving me two double bogeys and finished strong to shoot 2-over 74.

The way it broke down at the end of the first round, I was in first place among the Emerald Coast Tour players. However, for the overall tournament field, I was tied for fourth place following Wednesday's round, behind the three Nationwide Tour members.

Instead of going to the banquet that night, I decided to hit about 500 balls and go to bed early.

I had one of the later tee times Thursday morning because of how high I finished on Wednesday. I did my usual routine prior to teeing off and felt good and ready to play. After the first seven holes, I was 1-under and second overall in the tournament. However, I caught a bad case of the snap/pull hooks. (For those who do not know this terminology, it's similar to when a right handed baseball player hits the ball very hard and foul down the third base line.)

That's a problem that's extremely hard to correct during play. Although the cause of it can be multiple things, I determined that my hands were getting too far ahead of my body. From the eighth hole on, I struggled with pulling the ball the rest of the round and for the those who know Summerbrooke, precision is a must. I made some great saves and some tough shots from bad areas, but wasn't able to keep my scores as low as I would've liked.

I ended up finishing the round and coming in 6th place overall, and in 3rd place for the Emerald Coast Tour. This is one of my highest finishes yet, and I am pleased that it has come this soon in my career. However, I am not satisfied with my second round this past week and will continue to work hard to correct it.

As of now, I have no tournament this week, which worked out well because Mr. David and I are holding our charity golf tournament Saturday, May 2. My next competitive tournament will be May 6-8 at the Holiday Golf Club in Panama City. I will also posts how my charity tournament went.

I have found out that leaving comments on the blog is not working so please send your comments to my email address listed below.

Thanks to everyone for the support and for the individual who sent a gift with no name or return address. To whomever you are, thanks.

Thanks to my family for covering the tournament costs last week!

Benjamin "Glen" Bishop
850-508-4536
benjaminglenbishop@gmail.com

Never, Never, Never Quit!
- Winston Churchill

Headed West!

2009-04-14T09:38:00.002-04:00

Last week I played a two day tournament in Destin, Florida at Emerald Bay. I went down a day early to get a practice round in and learn the area a little better since I'll be spending more time there.

I left early Tuesday morning and caught the interstate west. Everything was going good until I went through a construction zone around Marianna. A man pulled up eside me and rolled down his window saying my tire was going flat. Great! I pulled off under a bridge and since I was dressed to play golf in a couple of hours, i decided to call AAA. One thing lead to another and lets just say, ask my mom what she thinks of AAA right now. I ended up changing the tire and stopping at the next Walmart to get a new one. Little set back was all.

I arrived in Destin only to be greated by a wreck on 98 thathad traffic backed up for miles. I was thinking great, I already had to call and move my tee time back because of the tire! I ended up getting to the course and had a few minutes to warm up.

Emerald Bay had the most beautiful fairways I've played on in a while. I liked them so much I took pictures of them as I was playing. Just like the divots you see on TV, they stayed together rather than turning into dust. Much to my surprise though, the greens had been shaved down to low and then rolled to make them flat. They were hard as a rock. Well, I didn't feel like I played well so I was a little aggravated with everything. I left to go find my hotel, the Village Inn.

It was about 6 miles away on the far end of Destin. With it being spring break weekend and all, the roads were pretty crowded and restraunts were packed. I had found the hotel online for a real cheap rate and needless to say, a cheap hotel is what I got.

Without much sleep from all the party noise going on in the rooms beside and above me, I got up and went to McDonalds. I got to the course my usual hour ahead of time. My tee time was at 8:30 so it was still a little cool outside. I got warm and headed for the concrete greens.

Trying to master the greens was discouraging, and before I knew it I heard my name called for the box. I teed off, placing a fair drive about 285 down the right side. Here we go!

To make a long story short, my putting killed me. I had 40 putts the first round. My average is 26. If I would have putted like normal I would have led by 6 shots on the first day.

I was so upset after the round I grabbed a bite to eat and went back to the course. I putted on the green until I was tired. I ended up hitting a thousand putts and about 150 chips. I sat down for a second and went to the range. I ended up hitting about 300 balls there. I felt better about the next round, so I went to my room.

A little tired from the practicing and the round in the morning, I hit the sack about 8:30. Once again, don't expect much sleep during spring break week.

Same routine the next morning, McDonalds, then arrive an hour early to warm up. This was going to be a better day is what I told myself. I practiced hitting the ball below the hole so I'd have uphill putts rather than aiming at the stick.

To make another long story short, I ended up shaving 8 shots off my score and improving my putting by 8 shots. Still with 32 putts I felt disappointed.

Every golfer has bad rounds and I just had my first of many. I ended up placing 8th, maintaining my 12th and below record. I learned a lot from that round and will use it to make myself a better golfer.

I was suppose to play in Navarre this week but they had some water damage on the course so I'll be practicing for next week which will be Summerbrooke of Tallahassee. Yea no cheap hotel!

Thanks everyone for all the support!

Thanks Mr. Jerry Hicks for picking up my tab at Edwin Watts the other day!

Email Me!
Glen Bishop

Golf is the closest game to the game we call life. You get bad breaks from good shots, you get good breaks from bad shots, but you have to play the ball where it lies. - Bobby Jones

Back on Track!

2009-04-02T10:56:00.001-04:00

Hello Everyone!

As many of you know, I lost my granddad to a massive heart attack on March 3rd. This came as a shock to my family and has taken a little time to swallow. He was a great man with shoes no one else could fill. When we talked of golf, he'd say "I don't know much of it, but try your hardest and show 'em your good." He was always in support of my dreams and wanted the best for me.

So, starting April 8th, I will begin playing on a new tour called the Emerald Coast Golf Tour. I will start with a two day tourney in Destin. Most of the tournaments are around Panama City, Destin, Pensacola, and a few in Tallahassee. I am very excited to begin. They will consist of multiple day tourneys rather than the one a day I was competing in. I am still a member of the Moonlight Golf Tour and will still be competing in Orlando, too.

I recently played at St. James Bay in Carrabelle, Florida. I took my girlfriend, Brittany along and had a 11:00 tee time. I played the course a while back and shot 1 over 73. My goal was to beat that. So, off we went. I posted a 1 over, 37 on the front which I felt was not good. However, the highlight on the front nine was when Brittany found a new friend. (Look at the picture on the right side of the blog.) So I tightened down and started playing. I birdied the 12th, but the big turn of the day was the fifteenth. The Par 5 plays 522 yards with wetlands all over it (see picture on right). I hit a three wood and was 189 yards from the green. It was either bail right or go for it and if you know me, I went for it. Well, to make a long story short, I holed out and made my first Double Eagle, a 2 on a par 5. I had only hit a 3 wood, five iron...my most memorable shot! So, Brit and I started calling people, and I got so wound up in it, I bogeyed the next hole. My new goal was to shoot under 70, so I needed another birdie. I made par on 17 and made a hard earned birdie on 18. I did it, I shot 3 under 69. The club pro said it was the first double eagle on the course, and I had missed the course record from the back tees by one shot. Oh well...it was a big ego boost and just what I needed to get rolling again.

I am co-hosting a Charitable Golf Tourney for Sheriff David Hobbs on May 2nd. This will be the first tournament I have ever put on. It is a four man scramble, with three flights. It costs $75 per person. There will be lunch before and dinner afterwards. The first and second place from each flight will each receive a brand new driver from TaylorMade. We have great prizes, such as a new TaylorMade putter for longest putt, and for the lucky few who make a hole in one on 17, $15,000 in cash! All other par threes will have prizes including a LCD Flat Screen TV, a new set of Callaway Irons, and much more. We will be giving away 24 dozen TaylorMade Balls, and each participant will receive a goodie bag with everything from tees and balls, to a certificate for a free club from Warrior Golf. Lots of fun and prizes all for charity! There is a limited field however, so if you're interested call me at 850-508-4536. Also, anyone can come to the meal after the match. It's $10.00 and starts at 7 PM. RSVP by April 20th. Hope to see you there!

Thanks to Chris and Carrie Conlon for the money gift! Your gift made it possible for my most memorable round of golf yet! Thank you both so much!

Please email comments, questions, or anything else to me at:
benjaminglenbishop@gmail.com

Benjamin "Glen" Bishop
539 Seven Bridges Road
Monticello, FL 32344
850-508-4536

Of all the hazards in golf, fear is the worst.
-Sam Snead

A Short One...

2009-02-24T08:10:00.002-05:00

This week, my plans were to travel down to Orlando and play Palisades in Clermont and West Orange in Winter Garden. So, Saturday after we closed up the feed mill and I got a bite to eat with my folks, I headed south.

I stopped along the way at my usual exit, 341 on I-75, to get gas and some golf equipment for the week and then I went on to Ocoee.

Upon arrival, I wasn't feeling to hot so I went on to bed about 6:30 PM. I ended up sleeping until 7:30 AM. For those who have read these before, you know I get up at 4:30 before a tournament, so something was wrong. So, of course, I call mom, who was a little tired since she had to drop Matt, my brother, off at school earlier to go on his senior trip to Colorado. She said it sounded like I had the flu. So I stop at Walgreens and get some medicine, and head to the course. Upon arrival, I paid my fee's and went to the range.

It was cold, but I think I got too hot too quick and to save the details, I simply withdrew from the tournament and headed north. Mr. Frank was gracious enough to refund my money, and applaud my efforts. So, I am writing you today, Tuesday morning, still sick. So, no golf this week yet. As soon as I can get some strength back, I'll be playing again. However, I plan on practicing on Thursday with Caleb and Dixon at Quitman County Club, we got a course record to break.

Sorry no golf this week, but I'll post when I decide the next tournaments will be!
Thanks for all the support!

Special thanks goes out to Mr. Bill and Mrs. Nancy Ray for the gift that will cover a tournament cost for me! Thanks so much!

Benjamin "Glen" Bishop
850-508-4536
benjaminglenbishop@gmail.com

In golf, when we hit a foul ball, we've got to go out there and play it.

- Sam Snead, comparing golf to baseball

This Week in Glen's Life

2009-02-17T14:21:00.003-05:00

Last Saturday, I traveled down to Clermont to play Palisades again on Sunday. I stayed in my usual Red Roof Inn in Ocoee and had my usual Denny's.

Palisades is the first course I played Professionally and my personal favorite because of it's layout. It's an extremely fast and long course that plays just over 7000 yards from the back tees. On the right is me teeing off on the first at Palisades. Its a blurry picture because it was taken off my phone from the computer and Photoshop wouldn't clear it up any more.

I tee'd off at 10:07 and just like usual, started off with a long drive right down the middle. I felt good and was playing well. At the turn on nine, I was even par with nine straight pars. I call that a "boring" nine. We made the turn and I started off just like the front, parring the next 5 holes. The sixteenth hole was a long straight par 4 with a reachable pond on the right side by the green. I usually drive the ball down the left side and have a short iron to the green, however for some reason I pulled my drive out of bounds. I hit my second drive right where my first was suppose to go and then my pitching wedge plugged just short of the green. I ended up with a triple bogey. I ended up parring the last 3 holes to finish with a 3 over 75. I finished tied for 8th out of about 40. I had 17 pars and one triple bogey. Interesting round.

I went back to my hotel and got a fairs night sleep. My tee time was at 8:07 in the morning. Yee - haw. So I woke up at 4:00 and started getting ready. The course was called West Orange in Winter Garden. It was a precision players course with trees lining the fairways and postage stamp greens. We had a few folks drop out so we were paired in two-somes rather than the usual 3-4. So off we went. I hit a long cut drive down the right side of the faiway in good position to the green. I was 3 under after 8 holes and made the turn with a strong 33. We went on to ten and I parred the nest 3 holes. On thirteen, however I duffed a chip and bogey the hole. I'm not sure what happened, but I ended up bogey every hole there on out. It was a little depressing. I feel as if I just lost concentration and couldn't finish out the round. I finished again at 75 and oddly placed 8th again. Seems to be my number. I'm having trouble finishing out my rounds but I'm working daily on improving that problem. I know I can do it but it just takes time and lots of practice.

In all of my tournaments I have placed between 7th and 12th and have missed placing in the money by a shot 4 times. Like my Grandad Mr. Heedly said, "your nippin' at their heels-it'll come." I'll be playing again on Sunday the 22nd at Palisades again, then West Orange again on Monday the 23rd.

Thanks to everyone for the support!

Thanks to my family for the sponsorship last week!

Glen Bishop
benjaminglenbishop@gmail.com
bgbishop32@aol.com
850-508-4536

"The secret to golf is turning three shots into two." - Bobby Jones

Tournament on Friday, February 6th

2009-02-07T20:31:00.001-05:00

This week I went to Palisades at Clermont on Friday to compete in a one day tournament. With a little fire under my belt from a recent disqualification, I felt good about the round.

I arrived late Thursday afternoon and putted in the green for about 45 minutes and tried to start preparing mentally for the next morning. I went into Oralndo and stayed at my favorite Red Roof Inn and ate at my favorite place, Dennys.

I had a fair nights sleep but woke up a little stiff. Only to be greeted by thick ice all over my car and what seemed like -10 degrees fresh morning air, I had to use my debit card to scrape it off so I could find the Dennys. I ate a big breakfast and was on my way to Palisades.

I arrived at the course and did my usual warm up of stretching, warming up on the range, then off to the green.

I was pair with some unique individuals this time, one of which didn't speak English. I hit a long straight drive about 290 right down the middle. So off we went.

I ran into some trouble on the front nine, starting off the first six holes with four double bogeys. For those who don't know, that's terrible. I finished the front nine with a 47, eleven over par. I couldn't believe it. I can't remember the last time I shot that bad. After having a moment on the turn to collect my thoughts, I decided that I have come to far to give up on a round.

I cleared my mind and acted like I just started playing. I started number ten with a driver-3 wood, eagle. Only to be followed by 3 birdies, 2 pars, two more birdies, then a par. I finished the back nine at an amazing 7 under par, 29! I had shaved two strokes per hole off on the back nine and improved by 18 strokes. What a turn around!

The 29 beat my personal nine hole record, and I tied the Palisades 9 hole course record. I had played my game and "zoned" out. I was very proud of my 29, but upset about the 47. I practice hard every day to shoot the 29, not the 47. Lesson Learned!

I turned in a 76 that placed 11th out of about 74. I left for home please with the result but ready to work on the "cause" of the front nine. I wanted to beat the 80 I shot previously on that course and I did by 4, so I feel as if it was a success. Improving myself is my goal, and I met that this week.

I know it will all come together one day, now I know I can shoot a 29, but if I don't stay in my game, I can also shoot a 47.

I will be playing 3 days in a row starting next Sunday, the 15th. I am hopefully going to travel around and practice this week on some courses I haven't played yet. I put in a good days practice today, Saturday, and will continue working on the mental side of the game. One day I'll get it.

Thanks to Carrie and Chris Conlon for the Business Golf Shirts from Choice! Energy.
Thanks again to my family for the total costs sponsorship last week!

Your support is overwhelming!

Glen Bishop

"There are two types of golfers, the ones who keep their nerves in tack and win tournaments, and those who don't". - Harry Vardon

Week 3, Tournament 4

2009-01-26T20:16:00.000-05:00

I headed off a little south of Kissimmee to play at Kissimmee Oaks Golf Club on Sunday. It was the first of hopefully 3 stops this week.

I arrived in Kissimmee and just like always, drove out to the course to check everything out and see what little I could learn without playing it. I pull up to a beautiful course, surrounded by plenty of water, canals, preserves, and "wasteland". Immediately, I knew it wasn't going to be a driver day.

After a fair nights rest at the Red Roof Inn, I proceeded to McDonalds to start the morning off right. Having plenty of time to read, ponder, or just watch the people come in, I started to wake my mental game up. I guess waking up at 4:30 for a 10:52 tee time doesn't make much sense. What can I say, I get anxious. I arrived at the course and did my routine of getting a few pointers from Mr. Frank (the head of Moonlight Golf Tour), start stretching for about 15-20 minutes, hitting the range, the finish at the putting green because that's where the magic happens.

At 10:52 I was called to the tee box. We were playing in a foursome, instead of the usual threesomes because of the large turn out. I hit a long, solid drive about 305 in perfect condition, right down the middle, which set up a nice par to start off right.

Finishing a strong front nine at negative two, we headed off to the back. I ran into a little trouble off of 10's tee, pulling a drive out of bounds, but squeezed by with a bogey. A long putt on 11 gave me a testing 2nd putt, which lipped out for a tap in bogey. However, determined to regain focus, I hit a long drive on 12. Somehow it ended up in a waste bunker with the ball situated just right that I had to hit out to the side back to the fairway. Laying 2 in the fairway, I hit a 6 iron from 182 yards and holed out for a birdie. It looked like something off of TV. It hit perfectly and rolled right at the stick and then just disappeared. That will definitely get the adrenaline pumping.

Then up on the next tee box, an issue with a player arose, that ended up with him and another in the group being disqualified over a ruling. Whats bad about the whole thing was we had to about 40 minutes and I don't want to give excuses but I just became stiff and lost my concentration. I had trouble finishing out the round, so I went home with a 78. I came in the top ten but missed qualifying for the big tournament on Friday.

After the round there was a small banquet for us and we played a few holes with glow balls and fun stuff like that. It was a good way to meet some interesting people.

I went to the Jameson Inn near Tampa for my next nights stay, and found a Denny's nearby. I got some sleep and woke up the next morning ready to play.

Bridgewater was a course designed similar to St. Andrews. It had 15-18 foot deep bunkers, a minimum of 10,000 square feet greens and the entire course was rolled. With 3 200+ yard par 3's including on at 285, the course played especially hard since the entire course was rolled and played extremely fast. In simpler words, it was long, windy, and hard. I told Brittany earlier that breaking 80 was my goal.

The course had areas that were labeled as "environmentally protected and sensitive areas". To make a long story short, I hit a extremely long drive right down the middle of the fairway but the fairways were so hard that my ball ended up rolling through the fairway into one of these "sensitive" areas. We were told that if its within two club lengths of the stakes then you could play it as ground under repair, take a drop and hit it. There was a misunderstanding about the rule and I was disqualified. The way the ruling was approached (by a bystander, rather than a player) was not "proper" but those things happen. I was allowed to finish my round since the ruling was on the second hole. I shot another 78 and when I left I was in second place and would have qualified for the big event on Friday but the disqualification knocked me out of it. I am not sure how I finished and don't really want to know. I left before everyone was in. It was a lesson learned and I am a better golfer and person because of it now.

So, I withdrew from the third tournament and headed home. I needed a little time to comprehend what happened. If you would like to know more detail on the "ruling" and the long story, call me.

I won't play again until next Friday, February the 6th, at Palisades in Clermont (the course I played my first tournament on).

I would like to apologize to everyone who emails me and doesn't hear back from me for a while. I don't have the internet so everything gets taken care of on one night. Please forgive me. I'm working on that.

Also, many of you have called and emailed me saying that I should post how much my career is costing. That is an area that I don't want to publicly put on the blog. So, I am going to link a site to a very detailed "register" for those who are interested. If after you look at it you have more questions feel free to contact me and/or my mom, Liz Bishop (850-508-9459, lzbish@aol.com)
That link will be up before long. I will also email all of you letting you know when its there.

Once again, a huge thank you goes out to my family for the total costs sponsorship for last week.

Thanks for the many emails and calls of support!

Glen Bishop
benjaminglenbishop@gmail.com, bgbishop32@aol.com, 850-508-4536

"I never played a round when I didn't learn something new about the game"
- Ben Hogan

Here we go again! Week 2

2009-01-24T09:16:00.000-05:00

On the road again...

I headed off to Hunters Creek in Kissimmee last week. The course I played was rated in the top 75 in the country and was in one of the fancier places for the area. Forest Lake played almost 7300 yards from the tips and was rated at 75.1. For those who may not understand all the golf lingo, that means its extremely long and hard.

I left on Monday in the morning to get down there and play the course so I could learn it. I had to drive right by the entrance to Sea World and Disney World, through the Wide World of Sports, and it seemed like it took an hour just to go 10 miles. I got to the course only to be greeted by another batch of fancy vehicles and people waiting in the parking lot to offer you a warm rag to freshen up after your ride. Some of my friends on the tour were staying at the Ritz Carlton. It was pretty much on the course we were playing. That's a big hotel!

I walked into the pro shop to see if I could play and the man said there was a tournament going on for kids 12 and under. So I just putted and got a scorecard to scout out what part of the course I could. I left Hunters Creek and went off to find a hotel for the night.

I ended up staying at a Super 8 by the interstate. To make a long story short, they didn't even give you complimentary soap, but it was cheap, so I guess that's all that matters. I ended up riding around town to find a Denny's and to kill some time. I found a thirty-six hole "Championship" putt-putt course in Orlando. Oh yeah!

Well, I have decided that the person that designed the putt-putt course had ADHD REAL BAD! I shot 22 over par on the first eighteen, and 14 over on the second eighteen. I overheard some little two year old's dad saying his son shot 11 over par. I, a professional golfer, lost to a two year old! However, just ask Brittany, I am terrible at putt-putt.

So, after two horrific rounds of putt-putt, I headed back to the hotel.

The next morning, I left my "awesome" hotel and went to start my morning off right, at Denny's.
My tee time was at 10:52. There was only one problem, I think it was negative 30 and the wind was must have been blowing at least 120+ Mph. It was cold and miserable. I was wearing long johns, khakis, a thick shirt, a thick jacket, and a head hoody. I was so cold. Thank goodness for hot-hands and gloves. I looked like the little boy on The Christmas Story, "I can't put my arms down!"

I was called to the box, and teed off. I hit a very long, straight drive, about 295 right down the middle. It seemed as if every hole the wind was blowing in our faces making the holes play extremely long. With over 600 yard par 5's, 400+ par 4's, and 200+ par 3's, it was going to be a day of chipping and putting.

It was a rough round, mainly because of the weather, but we all had to play in the same conditions. I shot an 80 and came in tied for 8th out of 48. The winner shot 74, second was 76, and two guys tied for 6th with a 79. I missed placing by a stroke again.

I felt very good about my round although the score doesn't show. I learned how to keep the ball low under the wind very quick. I am learning so much every time I play. I am so glad that right now I have the opportunity to play and not worry about much beside just playing golf.

My parents sponsored me again last week and I am very thankful that for now they can help me out. Like I said in the last blog, golf is so expensive.

Next week on Monday the 26th, I will be playing at Kissimmee Oaks at Kissimmee and then Bridgewater near Tampa on the 27th. Depending financially, I may stay and play Wednesday at Forest Lake in Ocoee. I will be leaving on Sunday to "hopefully" play one of the courses and get a hotel.

I hope you all will continue to stay up to date with me. I really appreciate all the many emails, text, and phone calls of support. It helps a lot knowing that I have such a good group of people backing me. I'll do my best to not let you down!

Make sure you scroll to the bottom and take the poll!

Thanks Again!

Special thanks to Mr. William Wilson for the piles of advice on the phone!

Glen Bishop

"Golf is not, and never will be, a fair game" - Jack Nicklaus

The beginning of my professional golf career

2009-01-18T00:51:00.000-05:00

Hi folks,

First off, this blog is pretty long. It will explain what I'm actually doing and it's in depth. The next ones won't be as long. I'll just let you know how I did and what's going on.

As many of you know, I have officially started my professional golf career, as of Jan. 11. I decided to turn pro and take some time to pursue golf after finishing up at ABAC this past December. This year will be different - traveling all over the place, sleeping in different hotels every night and eating breakfast at every Denny's I can find. It's very stressful now trying to register for tournaments, find a place to stay, all while I'm driving around Orlando trying not to get in a wreck. Thank goodness for the people that invented the In-Car GPS!

I am playing on the Moonlight Golf Tour out of Orlando. They travel all around Orlando, even over to Tampa and a few other places. Most of their tournaments are one-day matches, but they do put on an occasional two-day event. At the end of every month, they have a big tournament that you have to qualify for. The prize money is a lot higher but the competition is at its peak.

My first tournament was in Clermont at Palisades Golf Resort on Sunday (Jan. 11). I went down the day before to find the course and find a place to stay. I pulled up at the course only to be met by Porsche's, Mercedes, BMW's, and Cadillacs in the parking lots. I wasn't at Jefferson Country Club any more. The course was beautiful and in immaculate condition. The Clermont area is extremely hilly for Orlando and the course is just as bad. I had a lot of blind shots of the tee and many approach shots to the green that were 20-30 feet above me.

On the first tee, the tour always records your first shot and posts it on the Web site for you to view later in the evening. So, my first ever professional golf tournament, in a place I've never been, on a course I've never played, you can imagine I was a touch on the nervous side. I blocked it out very well and placed a nice drive on the left side, about 290, off the fairway to start things off. I was 1 under after thirteen holes, but then ran into a little trouble closing out my round. I lost a little concentration and made some mental mistakes and finished up my round at 8 over, 80. Par was 72 which was also the number that won the tournament. I placed 12th out of 35. However, I felt very good about my round and saw the areas that needed improvements and what I needed to focus on during my future practices.

I went up the road to my next destination, which was Windermere Golf Course. I found the course and pulled in behind a Corvette through the gated entrance, only to be greeted by the Estates patrol in a golf cart. He turned his siren on and I pulled over. He said I didn't have the Windermere Estates Decal on my car. I just figured my 2000 Honda Civic with 160,000 miles and a little paint peel on the hood stood out from the $60,000 dollar vehicles lined up in every driveway. I told him I was a professional golfer just checking the course out and he became very apologetic and let me through. After that laugh, I ended up at the Red Roof Inn. I booked a room and, as I was filling out the frequent traveler card, under occupation I put professional golfer. The lady thought that was so neat and upgraded my little single bed and bath to the most expensive suite they had. It had a jacuzzi tub, heated tiles, 38 inch flat screen TV, the works! I thought to myself, I could get use to this! That will probably never happen again, but it was fun for the time being. I told Mom on the phone that night that my head wouldn't fit through the door and you couldn't tell me anything! She just laughed.

After a great nights rest, I went to Denny's to start the morning off right. Then off to Windermere. Having a better grasp on what I needed to do, I made my way to the first tee. I was paired with the person who had won the Windermere tournament the week before and an extremely good golfer from England. We started on the back nine because the front hadn't dried out yet. So, at 8:38 I was called to the tee box. The 10th hole's tee box is place behind a huge pond that takes about a 270 yard drive just to carry. It had waste bunkers on the left and out of bounds to the right. The previous Windermere tournament winner went first and put his drive out of bounds left. Then the golfer from England went next and put his drive in the pond. I couldn't believe it. I calmed down and stepped up to the box. The man recording me said, "Next to tee off, Glen Bishop". I was thinking "great", as if this isn't nerve racking enough. I took a breath and placed a 315 yard drive in perfect condition right down the middle. Here we go again.

On number 12, which was my 3rd hole since we started on the back nine, there was water on the right of the fairway and the left side of the fairway slanted over a little rise that you can't see past. I aimed at the edge of the water and drew my drive away from the pond, it was struck good, but the guy playing with me said to hit a provisional because there was out of bounds on the other side of the rise. So, I hit another one. Just a solid as the first and when I went to go see where they went, they were both out of bounds by about 8 inches. It was just an instance where not knowing the course hurt my score. Now I know not to hit driver on that hole. So, I took the long walk back and hit my fifth shot off the tee. I ended up making an 8 on the par four 12th. It took me a few holes to shake that hole but I did and posted 6 under for the next 10 holes, including a 3 inch tap-in eagle on the par 5, 1st hole. I had made eight "3's" on 9 holes.

I finishes my round at even par, 72, and placed 7th out of 54. I was very pleased with the round especially with the disastrous12th hole. The winner shot 67.

After talking to the man that puts the tournaments on, I decided to go home on a good note and practice on what needed to be fixed. He said if I played all the time, I would burn out on golf and not have the desire to play. He was right, and to be honest, I never imagined being so mentally tired after playing golf. This is a whole new level of competition for me. So, I headed home.

After thinking things through, I've decide to play about 2-3 days a week rather than 5-6 and practicing on the days I'm not competing. The lessons and experience I learned just in the two days I played are going to help me more than I could imagine. I now know what areas I need to practice on rather than just practicing golf. This will also help with the extremely high cost per day. Golf is an expensive sport!

I am very excited about my upcoming tournaments, and my future with this sport. I hope I haven't bored you too much and made you not want to ever read another blog by a Bishop. For you who this may be a first blog by a Bishop, they can tend to be long. I will be posting updates on my progress at least once a week if not more. I will also be building a Web site later on in the season when I start playing in bigger tournaments. Feel free to email or call me anytime.

My next tournament is at Hunters Ridge near Kissimmee. I will be leaving early on Monday, Jan. 19, to play the course and competing on Tuesday, the 20th. Then I will be returning late Tuesday night.

Thanks to everyone for the support!

Thanks to Dixon Hughes for the Prepaid American Express to help with my dinners and many Denny's Breakfasts!

A big thanks to my family for the total cost sponsorship for last week!

Glen Bishop

benjaminglenbishop@gmail.com

"I never exaggerate in golf, I just remember big."

- Chi Chi Rodriguez