Joey D recaps the John Deere Classic

Joey D checking in from Florida today. Back home for a week to get things dialed in at the soon-to-be-open D1 Athletics GolfGym facility. Ryuji Imada is my only guy playing in this week's British Open, so I'm not making the trek across the pond and will be back on the road next week for the RBC Canadian Open.

Last time I wrote, inclement weather was the name of the game in Silvis. Massive amounts of rain washed out Friday's round, guys were back in action Saturday and it was another 36-hole effort on Sunday before Steve Stricker brought it home with his final round 64. My horse Pat Perez led our pack this week, reeling in a T30th finish and keeping all four rounds in the high 60s. Jason Dufner reeled in a T39th finish. Charlie Wi had a second round 69, but an opening round 73 did him in. Similar story for Jason Gore, who had a stellar second round 66, but after an opening round 75 it was too much to overcome. Chez Reavie went 74-69 and missed the cut as well.

All my guys kept their attitudes in check this week and did their best to handle the delay and weather woes. Unfortunately when the rest of the field goes low, one bad round paired with a great round isn't going to get the job done. Especially when the field was cut to sixty due to the inclement weather and the fact so many guys needed to catch the charter overseas for this week's British Open.

Filling in for me in Milwaukee this week is my friend and associate Jeff Wagner. Coach Wagner and I have worked together these past six years and he's well educated in the science of biomechanics, strength & conditioning and is a vault of information. My guys are in good hands with Coach Wagner this week. Dufner, Gore and Tom Pernice Jr. are my only guys in the field this week. Perez is off this week, in need of a little active rest as he works through his ankle rehab. Charlie and Chez are off as well.

D1 Athletics will open its doors in a matter of days or weeks, depending on how quickly we can tie up some of these loose ends. Words can't express my excitement for this new chapter I'm embarking upon. "Fix Your Body, Fix Your Swing" will be in stores early 2010 and now we have the facility ready to work in tandem with all we're teaching in the book.

Biomechanics is growing and golfers worldwide have come to realize how important fitness is in regards to their overall game. As a coach, that in itself is a dream come true. The facility will feature all of our GolfGym products and other tools we use in the trailers daily on the PGA Tour.

Besides our efforts to get D1's doors open, I'm actually looking forward to playing the role of 'spectator' this week and watching from outside the ropes. There are some things I'm not able to see on a daily or weekly basis and it'll be nice to appreciate this week from a different vantage point. As we enter mid-July, we're getting pretty close to this season wrapping up... making this a good time for you readers to do your homework regarding the FedExCup, the standings and trying to gain a solid understanding for our semi-new Playoffs system on the PGA Tour.

We have four events in August, highlighted by the PGA Championship in a few weeks and then the fall finish -- The Barclays, the Deutsche Bank Championship, the BWM Championship and The TOUR Championship. Not all players are automatically qualified for every event and that can shake continuity before the fall stretch. Some guys appreciate the break, while other feel the extra time off can break momentum.

This is a very interesting time of the season as guys on the bubble need to step up their game to secure a spot in the Playoffs, while others simply need to make some moves to they can hang on to their cards. Some exciting golf yet to be played and a great stretch of events for the fans. Hopefully all of you are fired up to see how everything shakes out.

More to come from South Florida this week as I'll be knee-deep in getting the D1 Athletics GolfGym facility ready for its grand opening. Tune back in later this week and I'll post some photos of the progress.

Joey D.