Twice in the past week or so, an email from the Minnesota Golf Association has landed in my inbox. Both have said essentially the same thing: The deadline is approaching for the Players Championship and the Mid-Players. And, by the way, the State Amateur deadline isn’t all that far away either.

I’d really like to fancy myself as a good golfer. I really would. But I’m not a good golfer. I’m an above average and I’ve pretty much come to grips with that. There are good number of days when I shoot in the 70s, a few days a summer when I’m around par, but there will also be some days when I have to work hard to break 90. There will also be a bunch of days when something is off, I can’t string together good shots and I end up making easy bogey after easy bogey and finish with 83 or so. It happens.

That’s why I don’t really know whether I should try to qualify for anything. I didn’t try to qualify for anything last year and it has been at least two years since I played in the Mid-Am. I kind of want to change that a little bit. I have tried to qualify for state events in the past and I always seem to be good enough to just not make it. I’ve missed a playoff by one on a few occasions. I’ve missed by two a bunch of times. So what to do?

I won’t try for the true Players. That is just way too difficult and the young kids are just too good. But I sometimes wonder if the Mid-Players is possible.

A year ago, shooting 77 at a couple of spots was enough to get in. Obviously, I don’t know what the weather was like those days, but that’s not impossible for me.

I will probably try for the State Am if for no other reason than that one of the qualifying sites is the course I grew up on. It would be an excuse to go home, see my grandma and play out there.

But if I have more rounds like I did on Monday night, I don’t like my chances of moving on. It has been a while since I had more doubles than birdies in a round, but I pulled that off after work. The good news, however, was that I did get a full 18 holes in after leaving the office.

Round 18 featured two doubles. On No. 8, I tried to play it smart and hit 3-wood off of the tee. Then I hooked it off the planet. On No. 14, I made a mess of the right greenside bunker for another double.

I did make a birdie on 12 after a good 3-wood off the tee, a hybrid just short (hole was downwind) and a good wedge to 5 feet or so.

The update:

April totals: 15 birdies, 8 doubles. (199 holes)
Season totals: 18 birdies, 14 doubles (250 holes).