Join us as we take a tour on the PGA Tour with Parker McLachlin, a former Punahou athlete. McLachlin earned his PGA Tour card for this season. He joins Castle alum Dean Wilson as the only Hawai'i golfers on the PGA Tour. McLachlin, Waikoloa's touring pro, will write his impressions on events that he's just completed and tournaments that are upcoming on his calendar.

It has been crazy at home, even just trying to catch up on four weeks of mail. The time away is harder on the mind than body, I think. You've got to really find ways to keep it fresh and interesting or it gets old pretty quick. That's why you see guys like Tiger and Phil, who don't play more than three weeks in a row. It's hard to stay on that road that long and play at such a high level.

My wife, Kristy, was with me the whole time. We've been having a great time. We really had fun exploring Las Vegas last week. Family and friends came in. It was a really enjoyable week except for missing the weekend.

We usually try to do something Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday — go to a good restaurant or look around somewhere. Last week we went to a place at Wynn that sat out on a manufactured lake. It had something similar to the Bellagio water show. We sat there a couple hours and enjoyed the free entertainment. Once Thursday gets going, I'm usually in a grinding state of mind and not thinking about sightseeing.

This week's tournament (Fry's Electronics Open) is here in Scottsdale (Ariz.). It's easier to be home and sleep in my own bed. There are a few more distractions though, when you're trying to gear up for a tournament. You're not in a hotel routine, more in a home routine ... taking out the garbage, cleaning house, doing laundry. We've cooked every night. We eat out so much it's nice to eat at home, and amazing how good a home-cooked meal can taste.

I think I really need to just start being aggressive the next few weeks. Bottom line is, I need to go out and make some really good things happen. Obviously it's in me after the way I played a few weeks ago. I've had a nice tune-up the last couple days with (instructor) Peter Kostis here. I feel ready to "push-play" and take it low. The thing I like about him is he calls a spade a spade. He said basically the stats are telling him that I'm playing defensive, playing to not miss shots. We went out the last couple days and tried to get me in the mindset of swinging free and aggressively and thinking aggressively."

It always comes back to playing it one shot at a time. As cliche as it is, it's really the best motto to be successful. The purses are so big they give you a million reasons to care every single week, and try on every shot. So, it's not that much different now, just that the time frame is expiring and it's crunch time. I have to get after it.

Parker McLachlin can be reached at www.parkermclachlin.com.