After a 4 ½ hour trip, Fischer arrived in Music City, where he spent the week preparing for the Nashville Golf Open pre-qualifier on June 26.
The extended time in Nashville allowed him to spend several days practicing on the course where he’ll compete.
“That can be huge,” Fischer said of becoming comfortable with the course prior to the qualifying tournament. “But, it all comes down to Monday. With golf you wake up different days and the swing feels different so it's important to have that comfort with the golf course.”
Fischer took a rare day off on Tuesday to recharge the batteries after a long stretch of practicing and competing.
He got back out on the course early on Wednesday.
Not knowing yet whether he’d be assigned to play at GreyStone Golf Club or Old Hickory Country Club, Fischer made plans to practice at both courses.
He kicked off his training at GreyStone with several hours of practice, both on the range and on the course. He returned to GreyStone on Thursday for a practice round
He spent Friday at Old Hickory then learned early on Saturday he had been assigned to play at GreyStone.
“When I got the email I was a little more comfortable because I played there and practiced,” Fischer said.
Fischer closed out the weekend with his official practice round at GreyStone on Sunday.
Spending the week on the road has its benefits as he now heads into Monday’s pre-qualifier with a familiarity of the course and even more confidence.
“I'll go in thinking I can birdie just about every hole out here,” he said. “There aren't many holes that I see as really challenging holes. There are spots you can get in trouble but I'm going to go out firing at the pins. It’s a ‘Green Light,’ as they kind of say. You go green light all the flags and aim at the pin and make some putts.”
Fischer spent the week working on his short iron game to put himself into position to leave makeable putts once he reaches the greens.
That’s what hurt him last week in St. Louis when he reached just seven of 18 greens in regulation.
“I was leaving a lot of shots short, not giving myself a chance at the green,” he said. “My greens in regulation statistics have been lower than what I would like. I missed a lot of greens, so going forward I want to make that a focus. The more greens you hit, the more opportunities you have to make birdies and less opportunity to make bogies. It’s a numbers game.”
Last week’s performance dropped Fischer’s GIR statistic to about 61-percent (11 out of 18). He’d like to improve that to 13 or 14 out of 18.
“That was kind of a fluke because I was feeling very comfortable with my short game,” he said. “I spent the week honing in on my wedges, trying to hit targets and pacing off shots with my laser. I was just really focused on the smaller irons and hitting greens.”
Fischer is scheduled to tee off at 2:00 p.m. on Monday.
Follow the Nashville Open qualifier here.
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