July was a busy month for National Squad Member, Cameron Smith, who travelled to America in search of some warmer weather and good golf. Competing in two tournaments, Cam experienced mixed results before getting the chance to recharge the batteries at the Golf Australia National Camp. Cam s first tournament of the month, The Players Amateur, was held in South Carolina in early July. Here he posted rounds of 72, 76 and 75 (the fourth round was cut short due to storms) to finish on 7-over and tied for 45th. Despite Cam s results, it was a good week for the Aussies, with Daniel Nisbet claiming the title. The following week at the Porter Cup, held at Niagara Falls Country Club, was more encouraging for Cam. Finishing at 1-under and tied for 4th (71-67-63-63), he was the highest placed Australian finishing just ahead of fellow National Squad Members Brett Drewitt and Ryan McCarthy. From there, Cam flew to The Woodlands near Houston, Texas, to participate in the Golf Australia National Camp where he could fine tune his game. Given he has spent so much time at tournaments over the last couple of months, we asked Cam what he felt were the most important things to do to help keep sharp in the small amount of downtime he gets between competitions. 1. Practice I like quality more than quantity, sometimes only practicing for an hour can be better for your game then beating golf balls for hours on end. As long as it s all the right stuff. This is why I get a regular check up with my coach, so I know what to work on. But if something&aposs not broken don&apost fix it, this doesn&apost mean don&apost practice when you re playing well but just keep it simple while you can. Also find some drills that you think work for you, and do them to warm up. Sometimes this gets things back where they need to be. 2. Gym I think the only way you can be at your best is when you re at your best physically. I have found that over my competitive time, when I have played my best I have been fit. I don&apost think there is such a thing as being to fit, do it as much as you can without being silly. Once a day is good enough but you can&apost take the easy way out. And once you think it s times to get stronger don&apost hold back. Just do it, it&aposs only going to make you better. 3. Chilling out As much as it is important to practice you need to have some time to yourself, like read a book, listen to music or do some homework. Hanging out with people you love like family and friends is important as well. Personally I like to spend as much time with my friends as I can without making my golf suffer. This can be hard sometimes but you ve just got to think what&aposs more important for that certain period of time. Coming up in August Cam s final tournament in the USA is quite possibly the biggest. He, along with eight other Australians, will contest the US Amateur from August 13 19 at Cherry Hills Country Club in Colorado. Past winners of this event include Matt Kuchar (1997), Edoardo Molinari (2005) and Danny Lee (2008). Make sure you check out the MYGolf Facebook and Twitter during the event to see how Cam is going. After this event, Cam will return home for a much needed break!! From a golfing perspective, August will be very quiet for Cathleen, however her school exams are going to be keeping her very busy over the next couple of weeks. Best of luck to both Cathleen and Cam as they tackle two very different, but equally as challenging, tasks over the next month!!