Photo Summary

Where I've been since May

First event of the summer

My roomate is also one of my coworkers! It's been great living with her.

Just one of the perks of living in Florida

The first DCP of the summer I got to work was at PGA Center for Learning in Port St. Lucie

I cannot tell you how many iguanas I've seen since being down here!

Stoneybrook Golf Club

Fore Smiles- a program that takes golf to children in the hospital.

The 8-foot gator I got to see while at Sandhill Crane Golf Course 

Glad I got to go home for a weekend to check up on my mom. She's a trooper!

Got to experience one of my favorite Fourth of July experiences: Symphony on the Prarie

Celebrating one of my favorite holidays with my best friend.

Trying to teach my sister the art of the candid photo

One of my favorite experiences this summer was getting to complete my teaching requirement at PGA National Golf Club. 

Summer Update

My summer is nearly over and I feel like I've finally settled in. The majority of my summer has been a lot of ups and downs. I'd be lying if I said this summer was perfect, but it has been full of a lot of new experiences, both good and bad, resulting in a summer I'll never forget. My summer began with heading to a state I'd never planned on living in, but yet had a faint dream of spending the rest of my life in. That dream has changed. As much as I have learned to like Florida, I don't think I could ever live here. Again, I don't hate it, but I guess my Midwestern roots can't grab hold of anything I'm used to and leaves me scrambling for something familiar. I have learned to appreciate the monotony of it all, so many cultures in one place has taken on a culture within itself. But I sure do miss some changes in elevation, bluegrass, and evenings that are cool enough to hang out on your back porch.
Regardless of my opinion of south Florida, my internship has been an incredible experience. A job that combines the opportunity to interact with junior golfers and PGA professionals while traveling all over south Florida has been an incredibly positive experience. It's reestablished my love for developing the game for the next generation of golf. Being able to meet and build relationships with PGA professionals that work in the golf capital of the US has been an incredible experience within the experience. Just a few of the many lessons I've learned  from my interactions with PGA pros this summer include:
- Keep track of those that offer to be a reference, you never know who/when you might be able to utilize their opinion of you in your future.
- Treat every interaction as a job interview. You never know.
- Tied in with the last point, the golf world is so small, everyone knows everyone, so be smart.
- When you try to make youth sports fair you eliminate the element of fun for the participants.
- Build a brand for yourself. Invest in various ways to make yourself stand apart, even if that means deviating from the prescribed PGA path towards success.
I wish I could record everything that I experience beacuse there have been some priceless pieces of advice given to me by coaches and parents alike. Also there has been a non-stop flow of hilarious moments, because let's face it when you work with 6-14 year olds five days of the week you're going to have plenty of stories to tell. Just a few of my favorite moments include:
- A kid deciding to lay face down in the middle of the fairway while his playing partner is watching me with a smirk on his face just waiting to see my reaction. (Did I mention this group already had two other groups waiting for them on the tee?)
- A player told another participant that he did not deserve a medal because beating the course is not possible. This player was 4 years old and was bent on getting a medal.
- Another players pants falling down on multiple occasions and despite the belt's efforts his hands served as suspenders for the majority of his round.
Ultimately kids are hilarious. I've also learned a lot of patience... with parents. Forget dance moms, golf moms/dads/grandparents are a whole other world. For all of those times I prayed for patience, thank you Lord, I'm getting plenty of practice. I've learned how to graciously tell a parent that blames all the other players for the three hour round they're complaining about is due to the fact their child is slower than molasses. I've also been able to frequently remind parents TEAM GOLF IS SUPPOSED TO BE FUN. I'd like to believe that whenever my children begin playing golf, no matter how big of a golf rockstar they are, I solemnly swear that I will not be overbearing and will only let my children play when and what they want to. Also I will read every email and piece of paper containing information regarding the event they are participating in. Because Lord knows, the answers are out
there, but why read it when you bug the snot out of the facilitator? That's what they're there for right?
I digress. But truthfully, it's been a treat to work with those I've been blessed to call coworkers. Working under this section's executive director and director of operations has been one of the greatest positives of this experience. I hope someday I get to work with or lead like them in the same setting.
But this summer hasn't come without its struggles. At the beginning of the summer I found out my mom has stage 0 breast cancer. Praise the Lord it is only precancerous, but not being able to be there for her procedure or radiation has been tough. But it's a true testament of my mom's testimony, seeing her strength, peace, and seeing all of those that love her pray for her during this trial. I'm so thankful for her example and the wisdom of the doctors that have taken such good care of her. I've also faced some of firsts of adulthood, including: dealing with a car accident, renting my own place back in Richmond, and considering my future occupation. All of these things have not been nearly as difficult as they could be and what a blessing to realize that. It's been such a sweet experience to find a church like the one I have. To sum up my experience there would be to say I have never experienced Christian hospitality in such a genuine and sweet way. From being involved in the college and career group I have true friendships resulting in my SoFlo being more difficult than originally planned. I could go on-and-on on just how great finding this body has been to my summer, but to sum it up, I do feel #blessed. Tacky I know, but seriously it's true.
My summer has been full of fun experiences at work, with my roommate, and discovering new places and things all over SoFlo. I only have three more weeks, but I hope to make the most of them. Don't worry pictures are soon to follow.

SFPGAS

I'm sure this acronym makes a lot of sense. Well let me elaborate, this summer I will be spending my summer in Palm Beach Florida. Better? Alright well I am excited to announce that I received an internship with the SOUTH FLORIDA PGA SECTION as a Junior Golf and Professional Section Tournament Inter for May through August. I got the call while on the quiet floor of the library while studying for a PGM exam the following day. Answering with a whisper was not ideal, but it was better than screaming like what I wanted to do. I'm excited to see all of the networking opportunities that could come out of being so close to PGA HQ. I'm ready to learn a lot and wear a ton of sunscreen! See you soon Florida!

Liep,
Goda

PGA Headquarters

So during my last couple weeks of my internship with MAPGA I was having a late night life story chat with Mike Aldrich the Player Development Regional Director who was usually helping us with setting up a DCP. He finally made it to the question, "What do you want to do with golf?" I said, "Well I like what I'm doing now, working for a section. But I don't know I guess I would like to teach golf to women in the Middle East." Mike was perplexed, "Why do you want to do that?" Honestly I had no idea. I've advanced my answer since then, I guess it's because as a female in a male dominated sport it seems easy for me to compare myself to the women in this culture that are considered less than men. I wouldn't even dare to say my circumstances are worse or even close to comparable as some of the women in these cultures. However, having similar causes like trying advance sports and those that are playing them led me to PGA Headquarters in West Palm Beach, Florida. When I told Mike this he was surprised and said well good luck with that. Maybe a week later Sandy Cross the Senior Director of Diversity & Inclusion for the PGA sent an email out explaining the PGA's continued participation in the Global Sports Mentoring Program. Created by Hilary Clinton and hosted by the US State Department and espnW, over a dozen sports organizations and corporations participate as mentors to many delegates that enter the program with a specific sport from a foreign country that they wish to leverage women in their culture through sport. They work with movers and shakers within these organizations to create an action plan that they will present at the end of their four weeks in the States and return to their country with ideas and new motivation with accountability to bring these plans to life. Mike and I were floored at the impeccable timing. It was definitely an act of God. When I got back to school I got in contact with Sandy Cross and determined that thanks to my unique aspirations it would be fantastic for me to visit even if it's just for a day. The best day we could determine for me to come would be October 2, aka last Friday.
I got in touch with my program's director, Kim Kincer, and she connected me with an EKU PGM alum Angela Shmelzer. Angela one of the few female EKU PGM grads not only works at PGA HQ as a player development program advisor but was in fact a mentor to the PGA's delegate and heavily involved in the program. Another awesome act of God. Things continued to fall into place. But when I made it to Florida I got to stay with Angela and her roommate another EKU grad. The day that followed was jam packed with me meeting incredible and influential people. It started early with a trip to the office and the building that I aspire to have my name in for one reason or another. It was then I got to meet Yasmian Alsharshani, the star of the show. This young lady is the delegate from Qatar and an avid golfer ready to make change happen in her home country for the better. She wore her traditional and bright pink lipstick. This fashionista was affluent and quick to befriend others that supported her mission. I got to meet another great woman before the first event on the calendar, Suzy Whaley, the current secretary of the PGA. The first female to possess this position and soon to become the first female president of the PGA. Full of energy, always smiling, and one of the fittest women I have ever met. As soon as she entered the room, she took control, not in a demanding manner by any means but her presence (while high above others) she was warm and so personal. I got to shake her hand one of the highlights of the day was her recognizing who I was and saying, "Oh you're the student [from EKU] that's interested in teaching? Yes I'm so excited to meet you, I've been able to read your resume and you seem to be very accomplished good for you." I was floored and said, "Well I'm very fortunate to have made so many great networks that have allowed to do what I've done." She complimented my humility and said you will do great things one day. I was so pleased to have heard her say that and I hope I get to talk to her more. We then moved into the order of the day with our Breakfast & Learn. This was introduced by Sandy, and so was I! I was introduced as a special guest and my desire to teach was my qualifying factor and I got to stand and wave. It was pretty cool. The next hour was mostly a panel of the two mentors, Angela and Rhona Aime (the only female in the C office); and the stars of the show Suzy and Yasmian. They answered questions concerning women and sports, their role within defining women in sports, and fun facts about themselves. I hope to post a transcript of the dialogue that occurred at another time. But the whole time all I could think of was the quote from the Representation Project, "You can't be what you can't see." (Which Suzy happens to be a fan of!) If you don't see the opportunity of being a female golfer in Qatar, then what's the purpose for pursuing it. If you don't see a female leader in the PGA why would you assume you deserve a position of some sort. The entire breakfast and learn was moderated by Emily Claypool the PR director of governmental affairs for the PGA and played a crucial role in relaying Yasmian's story to the public. It was after this presentation of some sort was over we moved to PGA National to the Fazio range for Suzy to run through a Get Golf Ready Program with Yasmian. It was instructional and good for Yasmian to see what this would look like for a group of women interested in playing golf. It was really good for me to listen to too because of the practical teaching ideas that were so practical I couldn't believe I hadn't learned them yet. It was here after an hour and a half in the 90 degree weather I was interviewed by the PGA... there was a camera and everything. I was asked questions like what interests me to do what I do, why do I love the game of golf, who has been a big influence in my life and others. I was complimented for my presence in front of the camera, which was encouraging. I was even able to discuss having an internship with PGA magazine or some other entity with the PGA for my PR minor with Emily. We then hurried back to HQ to do some more video recording and for more meetings to happen. The whole day the PGA media team was recording what Yasmain was doing and how Suzy was influencing her action plan. The team hoped to pitch it to Golf Channel and have it to use for the future to show what the PGA does. The day continued on with me seeing some familiar faces like Darrel Bock, Bob Baldassari and Priscilla Guay. The next meeting we headed into was working on Yasmian's action plan. This included the mentors, Sandy, Emily and I sitting in a meeting room discussing the action plan from the mission plan to practical tactics. I felt very influential in this process, I was able to give input and help clarify ideas. It was really encouraging to see the progress that was made and see just how big of a movement could occur in Qatar. Next Yasmian and I headed to a meeting with the PR  director of the PGA and learned that Yasmian is already very good with social media, but now needs to refine her story and getting it to more influential avenues. This was at 4 pm, I could not believe how fast the day had flown. I had no idea how incredible it would be meeting all of these people and learning about all the things I can do with the PGA some day. Getting to meet Yasmian was fantastic, I know she'll do fantastic things once she learns exactly what the next step is for advancing the game of golf in a culture so unique to her. Meeting Suzy and being encouraged by her example and her drive for the game of golf and all of those that love it as much as her. Meeting Angela and seeing the potential of all what a PGA Management student can accomplish. I wish I could've stayed longer and just flown back with Yasmian and help her teach all of the Get Golf Ready programs and setting up the Jr. Golf Leagues.
The main things I can take away from this weekend is:

• God's timing is impeccable and not about my comfort zone. I really didn't think I would be alright with going to a foreign country and teaching golf, but here we are!
• Opportunities for changing the game of golf for everyone is on the horizon and I can't wait to be a part of it!
• Finally, I have no idea what I'm going to do.

These last few months have made a huge impact on my life and I can't wait to do all kinds of great things within the PGA and across the world. But I honestly don't know what that looks like. I hope God brings clarity, in His own timing. But I'm thankful for all of it!

Back Home Again in Indiana

Summer is over, and I'm home again and not for long. I got home Friday and get to head back to Richmond today.
This last week I got to go back to one of my favorite golf courses, Stoney Creek at Wintergreen Resort for our Tour Championship. It was a fun two day tournament of our favorite (and least favorite) golfers. It was hard to say goodbye to some of our favorite golfers and volunteers ut it was a good ending to a great season.

Finally got a picture of all 3 of us!

Came home to this on mine and the other intern's car.

Not gonna lie, this was a highlight of our day. It's a train if you can't tell.

Wednesday was our final sub-regional DCP at Salisbury CC. Gotta brag though, we set up the range in record time! It went the smoothest yet and I got to see my favorite little girl golfer. It was that night we got to use some PF Chang's gift cards given to us by a parent just because she loves us.
Thursday was the final day in the office. I made a pretty awesome promotional video with the video we took from the Tour Championship. The night I headed to Mt. Hope to visit my favorite West Virginia family. Glad I got to see them on my way back home.

Definitely my favorite part of the drive!

Captain America joined us for dinner! (Oh and I got to see him tie his shoes for the first time!

I finally made it back home and got to celebrate the many August birthdays that happen in the Goda family. Saturday I got to play golf with my dad and as much as I hate to admit it... he beat me. Sunday I got to be at my home church and hear my favorite Pastor Kottke preach one more time. We had the Goda and Kottke clan at our house and had a big birthday bash. It was the perfect way to catch up over ice cream cake. Due to rain I didn't get to play with or watch my sister play golf. But it was fun catching up with family despite all the many doctor appointments I had. I even had time to go to the State Fair with Lydia and one of the Lough boys.

Seeing my pups was most certainly a highlight of my return!

It was fun celebrating my sis and cuz's birthday!

The college and young couple groups were able to get together and go to an Indian's game.

Not gonna lie, taking a younger friend to the fair lets you get away with going to fun places and little hands on the farm!

Power Pose

This is the end of my blog because the summer is over. But who knows, maybe next summer I had an even greater adventure and will need another blog to contain all the excitement.
Thanks for following along and please continue praying while this semester begins.

Sincerely,

Michelle Goda

Last Full Week

This week was full of a lot of lasts, but after watching the movie Paper Towns I am motivated to focus on all of the firsts that will come because of them. To summarize my summer would contain a lot of firsts. My first time living away from home while working for more than a week. The first time I had to find a church and attend all by myself. The first time I got to work a professional golf tournament. The first time I felt confident in giving a ruling on a golf course. The first time I went to DC & Arlington Cemetery all by myself. The firsts could go on forever but I'm alright with just saying that this summer has opened so many doors for me.
But to do my usual rundown of my week we should start with Monday which was my first shotgun I'd ever been a part of with the MAPGA. It was at Springfield CC which I was able to play earlier on in the summer. It was interesting to say the least. And if I thought pace of play was important before it was even more important now! But like a well oiled machine every player understood what we expected of them and every rules official rose to the challenge and shoved the kids from shot to shot and got it done in a reasonable time. The kids were exhausted by the end of it, we forgot how hilly it was and how long the course plays with the many elevation changes.
Tuesday we went to Stoneleigh GC. This was the cutest course we've been to yet. The clubhouse was an old home. The cart barn was literally an old red barn. And the view from the second tee was unforgettable. It was the highest point on the course and being amongst the Shenandoah Mountains made it out to be a breathtaking view, despite the hike to get up there. The hole played 200 yards straight up, and the stone wall in front of the green didn't help either. It was another exhausting course. But I'm glad I got to play the front 9 with my coworkers and two really great volunteers. I also had a blast dancing with my boss to Footloose and the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. Definitely and unforgettable day!
Wednesday was our last regular tour event. And I hate to say this but it was probably the worst event yet. If it hadn't been for communicating with a non-golfer to help us plan the tournament then sure it would've been a long day; but the tournament was pushed back 15 minutes to allow the play through that the course let on. Then we had to start all the kids on holes that could be used for a rules seminar! Hazards were rampant and our kids have a tendency to find them whether they want to or not. It was a mess, but we made do. When it was done we were thanked by many parents and even spoiled a little.
Then we headed to our intern dinner. Which was more or less our going away dinner to say thanks and goodbye to our co-workers and favorite volunteers. Rocky & Donna, Slavy & Fluff, Merle & Dianne, Skull, German & Susan, Pat, the entire office and John Madden (President of MAPGA) were all there. It was definitely  a great way to say goodbye. It was nice to go around the table and say a brief thing to each person in attendance. I was weirded out by Bob's description of our dancing duo and humbled by his downing my singing abilities. But I was very thankful for all the kind things that were said and realized that I have gotten so much more out of this summer than I asked for.
Thursday we had our first sub regional DCP and wasn't surprised by the amount of kids I didn't recognize despite the fact that I had seen them all! It was a long DCP because we didn't have very many no shows. River Bend was a great host course and John Madden didn't disappoint in being a great host. I even got to return to my favorite Irish pub that Grace and I visited last time we were in Great Falls.
Friday was my last full day in the office and I had my exit interview and I got to reflect on so many firsts that can come out of this. Including an opportunity with teaching golf to women in the Middle East. I don't know who I've mentioned this to, but this is a huge dream of mine. To introduce a gendered sport to a minority in a foreign country where just being a female is frowned upon, let alone playing a man's game. Sure I'm looking at it from an extreme standpoint but I really do want introduce the opportunity to so many women. Just be praying that something might come out of this.
Also please forgive me but I don't have any pictures for this week :)

Sincerely,

Michelle

P.S. I forgot to mention I finally got what I wanted, a Congressional putter cover! 

The Office

I know I've said this before and I'll say it again: If any office should have a television show it should be us. I spent a week in the office and have realized that we are too funny not to be shared with other humans. Any way this week wasn't exactly eventful so I'll spare the details. Because, I want to shout it from the rooftops just how much fun I had this weekend. We got to volunteer at the Quicken Loans National Tournament at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Manassas, VA. We worked on the driving range which consisted of changing out name plates, loading up all the many color coded bags of brands of golf balls, and drooling over the pros we were inches away from. Saturday started with the adventure of taking the shuttle to the course and meandering our way back to our post. We finally made it there to be next to Tiger, Ricky Barnes, and Rickie Fowler. We learned ways to mess with the masses of orange. We took Rickie's name plate and proceeded to walk all the way down to the end of the range and ponder over which stand we were gonna put it in. Then we had a revelation that oh you know what he's not even out here yet, then would walk all the way back to our tent. Saturday was just a day of getting starstruck and learning the ins and outs of our role in the tournament.
Sunday was the best day of my summer. We got there early enough to see the first tee times warming up on the range. This included Patrick Rodgers from Avon, IN with his Colts carry bag. We also got to be up close and personal to all of the leaders and the not so leaders but it was so neat. The secret ingredient to how awesome my day turned out happened to be the two other pros we got to work with. Two teaching instructors from The First Tee of Chesterfield made my day that much more interesting. They were very keen on watching the professionals routines on the range and seeing their swings and what their swing coaches had to say about it. They were able to get videos of Ernie Els, Justin Rose, and even Rickie Fowler (after talking to their agents of course). I got to wish many players good luck for their round to come and chat it up with some caddies (while they weren't peeing in the woods). I even got to give a lift to some really down to earth golfers like Tony Finau and bat my eyelashes at golfers like Ollie Schniederjans. We saw a lot of our MAPGA Junior Tour players behind the fence of the range and on the course observing or being a standard bearer. All-in-all it was an incredible day that I can't sum up even for myself to remember but I'll try to do my best with pictures and anything that pops up in my head.

Look Mom I'm on TV! I mean my mom sent me this picture because I told her to watch and look for me, but here we go! I'm pretty excited, but also you cannot miss me with my red hair. You'll never get me confused.

Ernie Els spends all of his time on the short range. He will spend hours here and only hit a couple of drives into the woods.

Ricky Barnes on the range.

It's all fun and games until the crowd gets mad at you for messing with them.

KJ Choi has the funniest warm up. He uses resistance bands to warm up and then hits for maybe 30 mins and he's all set.

Tony Finau and his really cool caddie, which I saved his life because I got a beetle off of his back!

Fedez-Castano (coolest accent)

This is Ed. He is a Britt. Therefor he is insanely obsessed with Justin Rose. He danced like a girl when he walked onto the range, he wouldn't move from his post behind Justin just so he could take it all in. And when Justin was finally finished on the range he was sure to take his name plate. Someone just had to give him the idea to grab some golf balls (jokes aside) and even his water bottle. Some day he will most likely baptize his children in the water Justin drank from... yeah he's crazy about Justin.

These were my rental friends, that became my real friends before the day was over. They made my day so much more entertaining than I ever expected.

Troy Merritt was the leader and winner after breaking the course record. He was a fun guy to watch and his Australian caddie made great conversation. Fun fact about him is that he plays with a very large silver chain necklace. And I watched Rickie's caddie smack him on the butt and Rickie didn't want to miss out so he was soon to follow and nearly knocked Troy over.  

Watching Rickie on hole 3 was pretty interesting because not only did I get to talk to him both days but I also got to run into a couple of my favorite golfers from our MAPGA Junior Tour which are featured in the bottom of this picture.

I also enjoyed watching Justin Rose on the range and seeing all the respect him and his caddie held with all of the other players. 

As much as I hate to admit it I enjoyed watching Tiger on the range. Despite the flying explicative, his swing left me in awe and being the biggest name in golf he always drew a crowd.

It was definitely my favorite day of my summer so far!

Sincerely,

Michelle