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