Tournaments Daily

So this is what exhaustion feels like? I have experienced a new type of tired... you know the kind where suddenly every word you speak becomes one, every thing your coworkers say becomes hilarious, and your body parts seem to serve various functions at whatever order they prefer. This was my second week on the road and after 7 events I could not be more thankful for the experience yet so even more thankful that its over!
It started Monday with a three hour drive to Bayville, VA for our second Drive, Chip, and Putt at an impeccable private club called Bayville Golf Club. We stayed busy and in the shade because of how stupid hot it got. But it was a fun day working with Liz at the driving range. It was also a super fun dinner at this bar and grill where I learned that Memphis bbq sauce equals vinegar. Yuck.

One of the most incredible clubhouses I've ever seen at Bayville!

I was stationed under that tent recording the scores that people out on the range in carts was reporting in to us. There's a grid we follow to see however far they drive the bar determines how many points they add up.

The next day we were up and out of the hotel before they were serving breakfast to get started another tournament at Northwest Golf Club.  But this wasn't just any tournament, this also had a DCP to follow. Every staffers nightmare, just as soon as you think you're done dealing with all of the kids you have to deal with twice as many for five more hours. But I got to work chipping this time and we almost made it through every single kid until the storm we had been holding out for all day finally rolled in and kept five girls from participating. Definitely frustrating but I'm glad we got to keep everyone safe. And I thought I was tired that night when I went to bed at 9:30... trust me it gets worse.

My station on the 10th tee at Northwest, where I got to see a mom and baby deer dart across the fairway!

Some of our tour usual's watching their friends compete at the chipping station.

Here was where players would have 3 chances to chip a ball onto our target like circles of points. We only had three golfers chip them in and we were surprised at the culprits that accomplished this!

We had another early riser at Laytonsville Golf Club, but we zipped right through this tournament. I don't know if I should give Slavy and all of our volunteers all the credit, but the day did go very well. We got to cruise right through the tournament and even got to play 9 holes that afternoon.

At this tournament I was able to register everyone for the day while watching everyone tee off of the first and tenth tee.

My job usually consists of me getting hit at. For the majority of tournaments I'm stationed on a hole watching where the golfers drive their golf ball. I'm usually on a hole where there is trouble and I'm there to help them find their ball and let them know how to go about playing their ball.

Wednesday was a perfect 75 degrees and sunny, it was hard not to be playing golf.

 

That night Clare and I were able to enjoy ourselves and go see the movie "Spy" right next to University of Maryland's campus. Which I have to say College Park is pretty neat, but they're definitely UofM crazy! The next day we had another early start and had a full field of golfers filling the course. This course had a really neat atmosphere: upbeat and ready to serve all of the junior golfers that made the course go round. A part of my job is being the person to announce the names of the juniors before they tee off. This is one of my favorite things to do because of the challenge of saying some very tricky names, and getting to interact with every player before they take on the course. It's pretty funny when you siblings playing together and they would rather beat each other up rather than the course. But again we had very difficult day of a tournament and then a DCP on top of that. It was a frustrating day to say the least, but it was one of those days that you can't say you didn't sign up for it. I got to work chipping again but this time it was with our Communications Director Eric. We scared off the rain again and got every players scorecard filled in and had to fight the temptation of stealing a few of those kids and taking them home with me because of how sweet they are.

This was the cute movie theatre we found in the heart of UofM.

University of Maryland Golf Course

The fist hole from the second tee. If you look in the background you can see the clubhouse.

Eric and one of our many Rickie Fowler look-a-like golfers.

Finally it was Friday in the office. It was a day where we all realized how tired we were and let it get the best of us. Bob wore a bee keeper bucket hat, Clare's advisor came into the office and thought my last name was Gouda, and no one could focus to save their life. But we got to try out some really great BBQ for a good cause at Mission BBQ. It's pretty big out here on the East Coast and I hope it makes its way to the Midwest. But I'm pretty sure I was more excited for the Cheerwine I found! Well it's finally the weekend and I'm recuperating and doing laundry. And I hate to admit it but I'm looking forward to a week in the office.

 

Sincerely,

Michelle 



First Week on the Road

Where to begin?! I had my first week of tournaments, this meaning I was on the road for 4 out of 5 days. Starting on Sunday we headed out to the Elk Ridge Club to play a really neat course until the last hole started raining.



Elk Ridge Club Clubhouse



I don't know if you can see it, but the dark part in the middle is a very
deep ridge that basically gave the hole two different greens.  

 

Monday we had our first tournament at the Suburban Club with 60 golfers. I have learned a lot from the entire experience, like no matter how many times you tell girls to hurry up they really can't. You will explain more rules to parents than juniors. Also, you can never be more surprised by the names you'll read.

Here is the beautiful course we got to chauffer juniors from hole to hole.



The incredible 16th hole

 



 At this tournament I was able to meet some really awesome volunteers that have already become my best friends. Ok not really but we're already on a nickname basis. We were able to go onto the next course by crossing the Bay Bridge, it was quite an adventure. Horrifying but unforgettable.


Pictures don't do this justice!



Harbourtowne Resort was our next stop and to call it beautiful would be an understatement. It was on the Chesapeake Bay and surrounded by marinas. The resort was old fashioned but worth the stay. The Pete Dye designed course gave you a run for your money; the shorter the hole the tougher the green. The longer the hole the more likely you were to lose your ball on your first or second shot. But I loved playing 9 holes with Jim Slavy: the man, the myth, the legend. Our prime pacemaker/volunteer rules official, the man that keeps the 007 alive.
I have fallen in love with St. Michaels, Maryland. Between the main street shops, killer crab cakes, and the water front location I can't wait to move into a old beach house.

Also, I'm still dying to get ice cream here!

But the net day at the tournament we were busy with finding lost balls and keeping kids out of trouble. It was an extraordinary course full of trouble for our juniors but they all made it out alive so all is well.


 

 

Wednesday we had a quick turn around in getting the van loaded and unloaded. And we had to get ready for our first Drive, Chip, and Putt competition in Richmond at the First Tee of Richmond. We had over 140 junior golfers competing in all three areas to qualify to move onto a bigger stage to win the opportunity to go to Augusta. I manned the putting green for about 8 hours and was so happy to see so many juniors involved in the game. But here were a few of my favorite mini golfers.

Stay on the lookout for this little Bubba Watson look-a-like named Luke Wyle. He was so excited when I asked him if he loved the left-handed Masters star! He lit up and immediately showed me his pink driver.

This little guy had the Rickie Fowler look down to his practice stroke routine.

Finally here was the mini me hat I aspire to have competing one day!



Finally this week we had a tournament in Annapolis at the US Naval Academy. I love love love Annapolis. It's a beautiful town even though we didn't see it until midnight. That's how crazy our Wednesday was. So Thursday we had over 90 kids playing at US Naval. It was jam packed to say the least, and it didn't help that we had a storm brewing on the holes furthest from the clubhouse. Which was where I happened to be when the call to stop play was called. It was a frustrating day, but I honestly enjoyed the way it turned out. I can't wait to visit Annapolis again and get the chance to play the course on a sunny day!

Friday rolled around and we were back in the office prepping for another full week! Which I hope to be able to come up for air and inform you guys on how it's going quicker than it took me to post this to avoid lengthy ones such as this. But I got to finish the week with babysitting the cutest little girl, Leona and her precious "puppy." This weekend I will be watching the US Open, playing golf, and celebrating my dad from Virginia.

Sincerely,

Michelle 

DC

Finally! I got to see some of DC! I mean I guess it was nice to see my best friend from high school too. I had an excuse to go to the nation's capitol to see Yusuf before he heads off for California as he visits his roommates from Butler here in Maryland. Well I fell in love with Georgetown, and found many new and exciting places to eat and shop. I wish I could move here... tomorrow. But here are a few snaps to sum up a really great day!

Sincerely,

Michelle 

"Normal" Week in the Office

This week has been one of those where you spend every day in the same room... but not one thing that occurs twice. Except for the many calls from relentless parents asking ridiculous questions, but that's another story Monday we worked on mailings which included packing 400 thick envelopes with goodies for our juniors. Taking five cars, two days, and 20 bins to deliver to the post office.

Clare couldn't have said it better!

 

Tuesday we learned a lot, and sometimes I feel as if I could rule the world with Blue Golf. Wednesday we got to get ready for Drive, Chip, and Putt. Thursday we geared up for our next week of tournaments non stop.

But Thursday night we got adventurous and ended up trying a new place to eat. To say it was an adventure getting there would be an understatement. But it was all worth it. The crab cake sandwich I had was phenomenal.

And then Friday happened. I don't know what was in there air but I have determined that our office needs a reality show. Jeremy had his Eagle Scout uniform on, and was rampant with his nerf gun.

Then there was Bob. This is all you need to see. Bob went on a Safari... enough said.

So that was a normal week in the office. Welcome to the Middle Atlantic Office on a good day!

 

Sincerely,

Michelle

P.S. I got to hold a baby at the end of the day!



Birthday Weekend

I'm 20!!! Which is a really weird thing for me. I remember growing up and hearing twenty-somethings sharing about how awesome their lives were. So I always assumed they were put together at this age. I thought living on their own, having some sort of a job, and driving a car meant you had accomplished great things in life. I have learned otherwise. Not to say being 20 isn't ideal, I'm so excited to have reached this milestone. Instead I'm saying I'm nowhere close to where I expected to be at this age... and that's perfectly fine with me. I've learned moving and living on my own can be tough, yet completely satisfactory. A lot of other things that should be marks of adulthood have proven to be more difficult than just swiping a card, yet not nearly as hard as television makes it out to be.
Anyway, getting over my lifetime revelation; here's how I brought in my 20th year. I got special breakfast in the office at staff meeting on my birthday because not only was it "Welcome Michelle to the World Day," it was also "National Donut Day."

I got to help with Golfzilla and Golfapotamus for Special Olympic athletes before the opening ceremony for the Maryland district. It was one of the most satisfactory thing I have done with golf clinics.
On Saturday I got to attend my first Major League Baseball game. The Cubs & Nationals did not disappoint, only surprised when the Cubs won. (Also if someone can guess how much a chicken sandwhich, fries, and a drink cost I will buy you a ticket because the ticket was 1/3 of how much my food cost).

Sunday I got to attend Immanuel Bible Church and The Foundry college ministry. Later that afternoon I got to play Springfield Country Club, which happens to be one of the best courses I've played yet. I'm excited to see what this "normal week in the office has in store."

MERLE RULES

These last two days have been full of "re-learning" rules to benefit our junior golfers on the course. We had a great man teaching us simple ways to explain the purpose of rules and their logical application. Merle Snider is an international traveler and our rules connoisseur. Along with former Judge Harrison we has a rules seminar and took our knowledge onto Augustine Golf Course.

 



Today we ventured off to the Potomac Golf Course. Across from the DC marina, caddy corner to the Jefferson Memorial, and always within sights of the Washington Monument. We were facilitating Drive, Chip, and Putt for the Paul Barry program for DC children that deserve the opportunity to learn about the game of golf. I was able to meet this incredible man and one of his many sidekicks, Ms Heston, that has been a part of DC's public education for 54 years! She has been there from the beginning with this program, recognizing the impact it has on her students, herself, and even us the MAPGA interns. She loves having students come from school one afternoon to try something out that they've never had the opportunity to do before, and fall in love with it. I'm so thankful for people like her and Mr. Barry, they're the reason the game of golf is so communal. They're the reason why I love the game. Because anyone can play, just sometimes opportunity is void. So today was very exciting and I loved the experience I had even if it did involve an hour and a half in a cold drizzle chasing balls in a golf cart. I know it meant so much more to the kids that fell in love with the game of golf.

Well enough mushy business. Tomorrow's my birthday and I will no longer be a teenager! So guess I'm getting old and I need to go to bed!

Sincerely,

Michelle

P.S. Today I experienced my first grocery store that had a parking garage... only in DC.

Trivia!

When we were staying in the Owing Mills hotel there were some very large football players from the Baltimore Ravens staying there as well. Clare was able to ride down in an elevator with Tramain Jacobs. If anyone comments what college team he played for in college, comment below and I'll be sure to bring you back a sweet souvenir from DC!

First Tournament

Monday June 1, along with the three other interns, we traveled up to Pikesville, MD to facilitate the Northern Chapter Championship. We had over 40 professionals from the northern half of our section come out to Woodholme CC. Learning new tricks with setting the tees, scoring, and spotting along with getting to meet some really cool people made it a really cool day. I love bragging about my internship and made it onto the international Facebook page for Alpha Gamma Delta. But was I kept humble on Twitter, caught snoozing in the back of our sprinter "Flo Jo" with Clare. It's fine though, I'm looking forward to the rest of this week getting more and more involved in the planning process. And today I got my schedule for the rest of the summer and I get to look forward to facilitating tourneys at courses like Ocean City G&YC, US Naval Academy GC, and University of Maryland GC. So get ready friends!