Packing Up and Heading Out!

Well today was our last day of the tournament...and our last day of Rolex events for the summer! Hard to believe that both of the invitational events are done, but I am really excited to take part in a bunch of the Open events the rest of the summer. It is also hard to believe that we headed out of the South and moving on towards the North/Midwest...but definitely have to say that I am excited to head back to my neck of the woods!! :)

As for today, it began just like every other round...minus the fact that our team 4 friends had already taken off for Arkansas. I was on cooler duty this morning and spent my time adding ice to a bunch of coolers out on the course. It was an absolutely beautiful morning out on the course and, as soon as I get a chance, I have  some pictures to prove it! :)

After finishing coolers, I headed out on the course with my groups. It was a pretty uneventful day as I was roaming with a threesome of boys and then two twosomes of girls. The round absolutely flew by and, before I knew it, it was time to start breaking down the course and packing the trailer! I spent a couple of hours breaking down the course while the playoff took place to determine the Girls' Champion. This was much less eventful than the 7 hole playoff that occurred during our first week, but still really exciting to follow!

After the awards ceremony and all of that were wrapped up, I headed off to the Atlanta airport with three of the junior golfers in tow. It was a fun trip, but took almost twice as long as it should have....definitely learned why people stay off the roads on a Friday afternoon! :) Round trip, I spent about 3 hours making my way about 90 miles or so. There were points that I probably could have parked the truck and been moving just as fast!! haha

Speaking of the trucks, I thought I should update everyone that we will not be receiving that awesome new Yukon that everyone has been raving about! It sounds like we will have the two pick-up trucks for the entire summer. Kinda disappointing since we had been looking forward to it since training....but we will make do!

Once I got back from the airport, it was time to load up the last couple of things into the bed of the truck and grab some dinner. It didn't really happen nearly as quickly as I just made it out to be...but the important part is that we got Panera for dinner...and it is Friday....Panera Friday anyone?!??! :)

Other than that, I am spending my night packing everything up once again so that we can hit the road by 7 am tomorrow! We are headed for Ohio tomorrow and then I will be flying up to Michigan sometime on Sunday. I will explain more tomorrow (once I know more details!), but for tonight....it is time to fold laundry and head to bed! Enjoy one final 'goodnight' from Georgia!! :)

TOC: Part 3!

Today was the third round of the Rolex Tournament of Champions (TOC) and it was another fun-packed day!

I started off this morning by touching up the Rolex signage around the course. Colleen and I were able to tackle that project pretty quickly and join most of the staff for a quick, but well-deserved, sit-down breakfast.

We had two rounds of tee times throughout the day and I was a rules official during both waves. For the girls, I was responsible for 2 groups and for the boys' wave, I was responsible for 3 groups. There really wasn't anything too exciting during my time on the course. It was rather unfortunate that the girls didn't keep their hole-in-one streak going though! Each of the last two days, a different girl has gotten a hole-in-one on #3. It was quite the sight and would have been a really cool streak to continue.

Other than that, we had our normal breakdown after the rounds were over and then we all rushed back to our host families to get ready for the Player's Dinner this evening. This was a nice ceremony that recognized the male and female junior golfer that best represented the philanthropy and volunteer spirit that the USGA and AJGA promote. It was really inspirational to listen to what these juniors have done and the stories behind their upbringings.

With that, I am off to bed! We have the final round tomorrow and we are losing about half of our staff for the week! :( I am sure it will be a crazy day.....but hopefully we will be breaking our streak of packing the trailer in the rain!!!! :)

Short but Sweet...

It has been a really long day and I think I am starting to feel the effect of the really long days this week. So, this post is going to be real short!

This morning, my assignment was to help with equipment surveys. Basically, I spoke with each golfer and entered all of the different clubs/balls/gloves/clothes/bags/etc that each of the golfers use on a program on the Kindle. If you haven't caught on yet, I really enjoyed this task as I was able to interact with a lot of the juniors and really get to know some of them on a more individual basis.

Once I was done with the surveys, I roved the course for an hour or two helping out different rules officials who were watching more than one group on a red card. I then had the opportunity to work directly with the first two groups of girls that went off the first tee this afternoon. I had literally no problems this afternoon with rulings or timing....my first group was upwards of 25 minutes ahead of schedule at one point - that is nearly unheard of!

After my groups were done, it was time to start breaking down the course. I spent about an hour working on that before I headed down to our Care for the Course party. We worked on the driving range today and put sand in all of the divots. Just as we were finishing up, the ice cream truck showed up for the juniors and the staff! This was a nice reward at the end of a hot and long day!

After our ice cream break, it was back to cleaning up the course and preparing everything for tomorrow! We finally got everything done and left the course just before 9 tonight. Needless to say, we grabbed dinner to go and headed for home! I am off to bed as we have another early morning tomorrow....but then the formal Players' Dinner tomorrow night!! :)

Dance Moms and Swimming Olympic Trials!

Today was the first round of the tournament and it was definitely one crazy day!!

Due to the large number of competitors, we have a slightly different set up this week than we are typically used to. We have two separate waves of players out on the course and a two tee start within each wave. This means that we are all on the course multiple times throughout the day, but so far it really hasn't been as crazy as I thought it would be!

Today, I started off my morning by putting up tent tops, side panels, and putting out table skirts. I am pretty sure that this is the first time I have had that assignment all summer and it was nice to do something different! After those were finished up, I was able to take a couple of minutes and grab breakfast. I think that is the best part of our team this week - we have worked really hard every morning to get our assignments done...leaving time for almost everyone to sit down and actually eat....a luxury these days!! :)

After breakfast, it was time to hit the course and follow my two groups for the morning wave. It was a pretty uneventful round with all of my groups and it was great to watch these talented young ladies enjoy this course and what turned out to be a beautiful morning!

After finishing up with my groups, I only had a couple of hours left before I got off for the day. That's right! Camille and I were lucky enough to get off at 3 today...a solid 5 or so hours before everyone else! I spent those last few hours refilling coolers and bonding with all of the water and ice once again!

When 3 came around, Kiley came to pick Camille and I up and we headed back to our host family to enjoy a relaxing afternoon/evening. I spent a couple of hours watching the Swimming Olympic Trials and catching up on sleep before enjoying a nice dinner of noodles and beef stew that my host family made. It was great to eat something completely different...and I am sure that we will not be seeing that again for awhile!

Other than that, I have just been spending my time relaxing tonight - and catching up on Dance Moms! Gotta love how one TV show can make you feel like you are back in the real world again!!! Hope all is well! Miss everyone!!! :)

Me and My Best Friend "Mr. Water"

Today was the practice round for the Rolex Tournament of Champions. Normally, we have a shotgun and all of the players go out at one time to play their practice round. However, due to many circumstances, the players all teed off at tee times for their round today. The tee times started at 7:30 am and finally wrapped up at 12:50 pm. Needless to say, there were a lot of golfers one the course and it led to a long day for us as well!

This morning started when we headed out to the course about 5:30 (it was still pitch black outside) and headed on to the course to set everything up for the day. Kyle and I were in charge of checking all of the Rolex signage throughout the course. After that, we helped get some coolers out before enjoying a nice buffet breakfast before heading out on the course.

I headed out to the course about 7:30 am with a couple of cases of water and a bag of ice. That was just the beginning! I spent my entire day being a water rover and re-filling the 18 coolers on the course with ice and water. I wish I could even guess how much ice and water we went through today...I can guarantee you that it was more than you could ever imagine. Kiley and Kyle also had the same assignment, so we were able to split up the course into regions...which made everything a whole lot easier!

I finally put my last case of water back in the cart barn about 3:30 or so and it was weird to drive around without my trusty water cases the rest of the day! I will say that this is one of my favorite jobs though. I enjoy the fact that I get to interact with all of the players and parents throughout the day...it is a great way to build relationships that will continue throughout the week - and summer!

Once I was done with water, Camille and I teamed up to breakdown the course as the last group completed each hole. We spent our time putting lids on sand buckets, filling divots on the tee boxes/in the fairways, picking up tee markers, and other random tasks.

As soon as that last group was off the course, we were done with breakdown and it was time to head to the host hotel to meet up with the rest of the team. Tonight was the players' opportunity to register and receive their tournament gifts. They received some really cool stuff and I will see if I can get any pictures linked to here in the near future. After their registration, there was a quick meeting and all that stood between us and going home was a quick staff meeting! We finally left the hotel about 9 pm or so...it was definitely a long day and I am exhausted from being in the sun.

This week is going to be a long one in general, especially with the number of players in the field. I am scheduled to be done at 3 pm tomorrow...so I am hoping that everything goes according to plan and that I can enjoy a couple of extra hours to relax! It is rare to have both a day off and a short day all in one week...I am going to take advantage of it this time!! :)

Sit Back and Relax....

That is what I spent my entire day doing! :) Love it!!

Today was my day off for the week and I took full advantage of the fact that there are no beaches or large attractions within my travelling radius and spent the entire day getting stuff done and just hanging out.

I started off by sleeping until about 10:30 or so this morning - that is definitely the latest that I have slept all summer! Once I was up and done watching Dance Moms, I headed out to run some errands and pick up lunch. I basically spent the rest of my day just hanging out at my host family's house working on my computer, watching TV, and doing laundry/ironing/etc.

The best part of my day was definitely the fact that my host family invited our entire team over for dinner tonight. It is crazy to think that we have had two awesome, home-cooked meals (in houses) the last two nights! We are being spoiled (and enjoying every minute of it)! Everyone came over about 6:30 or so and everyone just left about 15 minutes ago or so (about 11 pm). It is so much fun to just hang out with everyone outside of work and enjoy talking, playing pool, and interacting with my host family.

In fact, Kiley, Camille, and I went on a tour of the local neighborhoods with the oldest child in my host family - Kayla. She was a great tour guide and pointed out a bunch of houses of celebrities that are nearby! Hopefully I will get some pictures up soon, but they were beautiful!

I am just getting back from quick trip to WalMart, and it is time for bed! The juniors start arriving for the tournament tomorrow and it is going to be one early morning (5 am to be exact)! Night all!

Short Day...Fun Night!

Today was our first day on the course for the Rolex Tournament of Champions in Alpharetta, Georgia this week!

We were lucky enough to start off our day with some sleeping in as we didn't have to be at the course until a little before 8. We started off the day by unloading the entire trailer and setting up both Tournament Headquarters (in the Pro Shop) and Operations Headquarters (in the cart barn). Once we had everything unloaded and situated, our team took a ride of the course to get a feel for the holes and the general layout. It was interesting to note that there were no bodies of water present and a WHOLE LOT of sand, especially after we have spent the last few weeks in Florida. This is definitely going to be a different type of golf than we have gotten used to!

Once we rode the course, we spent the rest of the morning and some of the afternoon putting up Rolex signage all around the course. This involved some heavy lifting, sand bag filling, transportation of very long Rolex signs, and other fun tasks! Luckily, after putting all of this up just a week ago, we had a much better idea of what to do and we were able to fly through the tasks. Once all of the signage was up, we finished out our day by putting up a couple of tents, staking some rebar, and painting the pairings box. While it was a busy day, it was nice to just worry about the signage and make sure that everything is prepped for tomorrow!

After we got done about 5, we headed back to our host families to shower and get ready to go eat at one of our teammate's house. Kyle's family lives not too far from where we are staying, so they were kind enough to have us all over for dinner and to hang out this evening. Thank you for all of the food and everything tonight....we had a ton of fun! :) Also, Sydney's family lives nearby too, so they were able to join us for dinner. It was really fun getting to meet their parents/siblings/family and enjoying some time with each other away from the golf course!

After dinner, I had the pleasure of picking up two teammates that we are gaining for the week. They are coming to us from Team 4 and I was able to shuttle them to their host houses for the week. It was quite an interesting drive, but I am glad that we made it and I am safely back in my bed! haha

With that, I am super excited that I have tomorrow (Sunday) off and I can't wait to spend it catching up on sleep, homework, errands, and all that fun stuff! I also hope to have the chance to catch up with people through Skype, phone calls, texts...you name it...before our crazy week starts! Hope everyone has a great night!

On the Road Again...

Greetings from Georgia!

As I mentioned last night, we were unable to make it to Orlando and, therefore, had a 14ish hour drive in front of us today!

We left Weston about 7 am and started our trek up the Atlantic Coast. The ride this morning was filled with a lot of sleeping and some sing alongs to Disney movies and other various songs we could find! Everything was going great and we were making really good time until it was time for lunch. 

We ran into Zaxby's to grab food to go and when we pulled out of the parking lot, we went the wrong direction. It wasn't that big of a deal, except it took us about 30 minutes to figure out that we were going the wrong way. So, after about an hour, we passed by Zaxby's once again and we were ready to hit the road! 

After lunch, I was able to get in a couple more short naps and then it was my turn to drive! I ended up driving from about 5-8, at which point we were right outside Atlanta. We quickly switched up our drivers and hit the road to finish up our longest road trip yet!

We finally arrived at the course for the week a little before 10 pm and our Tournament Director, Andrew, was there to greet us. He sent us off with a couple of courtesy cars and a set of directions to find our host family's houses for the week. I am living about 10 minutes from the course, along with Kiley and Camille (and a member of Team 4 - Colleen - who will join us tomorrow). My host family seems to be super awesome and I can't wait to get to know them better over the next week or so!

I will hopefully have the chance to tell you a bit more about the tournament tomorrow...but, for tonight, I am headed to bed! Night all!

Team 3 is now 3 for 3!

Well...another tournament has come and gone...and we have spent another evening/afternoon packing our trailer in the rain! I don't think many other AJGA intern teams can say that they have packed the trailer in these conditions 3 weeks in a row....guess there is always a first for everything!

I am going to give you the short run down of the day as it is already after midnight here and we are hitting the road at 6:30!

Because of the rain out yesterday, today's schedule was a bit different than we are used to! First off, we started the day with a 9 AM shotgun...nearly unheard of from what we have experienced! In order to ensure that at least some golf was played and accounted for today, we played two stipulated 9-hole rounds. Basically, the girls played the whole back nine, while the boys played the front. After a short break (and a 30 minute rain delay), we switched places to play the final 9 holes. We were actually really lucky and we were able to finish all 18 holes of golf! It was a crazy day but I think that we all learned a lot...and after this week, I think that Team 3 can handle just about anything that is thrown at us!

Our goal was to start driving towards Atlanta tonight and get as far as Orlando. However, due to the rain and late start, we weren't able to reach that goal and we are staying in Weston for one more night!

Even though we were kind of disappointed about our long drive tomorrow, our TD decided to take us to this really cool restaurant right by the Ft. Lauderdale airport. It is called Jaxson's. The best way that I could describe it is a Cracker Barrel mixed with a country fair. They sell old-fashioned candy and all of the decorations are mid 1900s as well. The most important part is that all of their food is jumbo sized! The burgers are all half-pound, the hot dog was a half-pound, and the JUNIOR ice cream cone that people got was a quarter pound of ice cream! We were amazed by the size of the food...and basically unable to eat it all! I will make sure to get pictures up soon!

With that, I am headed to bed. It is going to be an early morning and a long day in the car! If anyone is bored, feel free to text me! haha I feel like I may need something to keep me entertained! lol

Also, quick note...I am going to be in private housing once again this week! I will try to update as often and as soon as I can throughout the week!

REUNION!!

Ok...so I am breaking the trend...you are going to be lucky enough to hear from me twice in one day!!

This post is well worth it and was definitely the highlight of my day!

After I posted the last time, I found out that I would get to see some of our closest friends from Wichita this evening...while I am in Florida! :) It just happened that the Clouds flew into Ft. Lauderdale this afternoon and their drive to Marco Island would take them straight through my location in Weston. With a little planning, we were able to meet up at a WalMart not too far from where I am staying!

It was great to see a couple of familiar faces while I am out on the road! Thank you guys for stopping by and I hope that we can work something out when I am in Kansas City in July! Miss y'all and I hope that you have great weather and an awesome time at the beach over the next few days!! Enjoy it! :)

After meeting up with the Clouds, our Tournament Chairman this week took us out to eat at a restaurant called Wings Plus. It was really good and then we went as a team to get frozen yogurt...and they came through once again with dairy-free sorbet! Thank you to Dr. Heda for all of the food and treats this week! We have definitely been spoiled...guess it is back to the "real-life" when we leave tomorrow night!

Here is a picture of the team enjoying all of the froyo choices tonight.

I may be blogging tomorrow night from Orlando, depending on the weather of course! And soon, we will be right back where we started - Atlanta, Georgia! Stay tuned!

Rain Delay!

Well...here we are! It is currently 9:45 am here in Weston and we have been under a rain delay for just about 2 hours. It doesn't really look good right now, but hopefully we will make it back out there at some point! for now though, it is time to catch up on things that I have been trying to get done...get ready for some pictures at some point really soon!

As for my day, we started off early and Drew and I were responsible for the coolers this morning. Once those were all out, I was lucky enough to get to start the players on #10 tee. We were able to get the first 3 tee times off this morning before the rain delay hit...I will continue adding to this post throughout the day! Right now though, it is time to join everyone else and take a nap!

10:45 am - We are still sitting here and it is raining harder and harder! We will see how this goes...and apparently nap time is over....so much for getting a picture of this nap time! haha

12 Noon - We are still here....and it is starting to flood! Here is a nice picture looking at #s 9 and 18.

We have all started cheering for the rain to continue at this point....otherwise it is going to be a long, long day! Oh, and now Jake is entertaining us with his "rain dance." I think it may be getting close to nap time for Team 3 once again!

2:00 pm - We were just awoken from our slumber and headed back to the course. There is not going to be any golf played today, so after a quick breakdown of the course we will be done for the day!

4:00 pm - We finally made it back home and are showered and getting ready for tomorrow already! It is crazy to think that I won't be doing all of this at 11 tonight! haha

Well I am off to get ready for dinner. This has been one crazy day - but really refreshing as well! Hope everyone back home is enjoying the heat!! I sent that just for y'all! :)

Sweatshirt...in Florida...in June?! No way!

Well today was a nice breezy and cloudy day here in Weston! I am sure that the temperature was quite warm, but this was definitely the coldest I have been since we started travelling a couple of weeks ago!

Today was the first round of our tournament and I had my favorite morning assignment ever - setting the tees and checking hole locations! I love this assignment as I am set free on the course to just make sure that everything is in order before we start for the day! It is a great time to relax a bit and take in the scenery and sunrise in the peace and quiet! :)

After I finished my task, I finished up a few random things and then it was time to head out on the course with my 4 groups for the day! I had the first 4 groups of girls and I was actually pleasantly surprised by how well they kept up with the guys all day - I actually didn't have to give a red card!! Our time on the course was really uneventful and we were able to finish up the breakdown process before the social activity even began.

Our social activity for this week is known as SNAG Golf. Basically, there is a velcro suit and a bunch of tennis balls. The tennis balls stick to the velcro...meaning that the juniors had the opportunity to hit ""golf balls" at the AJGA staff members today! I was lucky enough to be taking the photos of the event...which was basically all of the fun without being hit at! haha I will say that Kyle, Jake and Curt were really good sports and let the juniors hit at them for about an hour or so! It was a great time and it was really fun to see all of the golfers having such a great time after the round as well! Definitely makes the long days on the course well worth it!

After SNAG golf was over, the communications staff members were the only ones that had anything left to finish. Luckily, we have a large headquarters this week, so the operations staff hung out in one room most of the afternoon....let's just say that we were all a little worn out and took full advantage of the downtime...here is some proof that Kiley compiled:

Tonight, Camille and my host family was nice enough to have the entire team over for a nice pasta dinner! It was great to eat some different foods and actually sit down and eat together! After spending nearly 3 full weeks on the road, this was the closest we have gotten to a home cooked meal in a long while! Everyone ended up hanging out here for a couple of hours before they all took off for the hotel. It was definitely a long day...but it looks like tomorrow could be much longer! Everyone please think positive thoughts and push the rain away from us!! It was so nice to be done early today...and it would be awesome to be done just as early tomorrow! :)

Day By the Pool?! Ok!!

So today was my day off for the week and let's just say that I was more than ready for it!

I was able to sleep in until about 9:30 and then spent my morning surfing the internet and catching up on my blogging posts. Since Sydney and I were both off today, I took a nice walk to the golf course (while getting a chance to catch up with Krystal!!!) and picked up one of the trucks so that we could go grab some lunch before they needed the trucks the rest of the day.

You could say that grabbing lunch was an adventure and it wouldn't be an exaggeration! I definitely have not learned the roads around here yet and I drove in a couple of circles before actually finding the hotel and Sydney. However, I eventually found her and we were able to go grab some Chipotle to bring back with us to the pool.

We returned the truck to the golf course and were able to take the golf cart back to my host family's house. After a quick lunch and being randomly followed by a couple of Jared's (the high school boy in the family) friends, it was time to hit the pool!

I am not sure that either Sydney nor I remember most of the time we spent in the pool as napping was definitely the number one activity of the afternoon! We both spent some time in the pool sleeping and then I moved to this giant lounge chair while she moved to the hammock. Before I knew it, it was 5 o'clock!

Other than that, I have spent my day just hanging out with the family and Sydney - which has been a ton of fun! Sydney and I are currently waiting for the rest of the team to be done with work so that we can all go grab dinner. I can't wait to hit the course tomorrow for Round 1, but I will say that this has been the most relaxing day in quite a few weeks....love it! :)

Another Long Day in Florida!

Today was another long day at the course as we were on site for about 13-14 hours preparing for our first day of competition. I started off my morning by finishing the hole locations that Curt, Kyle and I started yesterday. After we had finished that up, Drew and I worked on stake and rope for most of the day. We started by staking the putting green, the scoring tents just off of holes 9 and 18, and then the starting tees on holes 1 and 10. This process took us most of the morning and then a couple of hours after lunch as well.

After lunch, I was sent on a run to get product – 50 cases of water, a case of bananas, and a case of apples – from WalMart. This task is really fun, but it is also a pain to fit that much water in the back of one pickup truck! Once I returned to our site for the week, we unloaded all of the water and then it was back to the stake and rope project for me. At this point, the stakes were finally dry enough that I was able to put the rope on, which I worked on for a couple of hours.

By the time this was all done, it was almost 6 pm and we still had a couple last minute tasks to finish so that we would be ready for our qualifier tomorrow morning. Drew and I spent the rest of that time putting up banners around the course while Kyle, Camille, and Sydney finished up stenciling and other small projects.

Once we were done with all of that, it was finally time for some dinner! We grabbed some dinner at the Carolina Ale House and then it was time to head back to my host house. Once I got home, I was able to play with their adorable puppy for a little bit and now I am headed off to bed! It has been a super long day, but I am definitely looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow since it is my day off this week! 

Our Arrival in Weston!

Greetings from Weston, Florida!

We arrived at the course this afternoon after a couple hours of driving and a few scenic detours!

Today was a pretty laid back day due to the short hours and the work that we completed before dinner. 

When we arrived, we worked to unload some of the bigger items in the trailer and all of the communications equipment. After that, Kyle, Drew, and I headed out on the course with Curt and Dr. Heda, our tournament chairman for the week, to choose hole locations for all four rounds. While we were doing this, the remaining members of the operations staff and the communications staff worked to unpack more of the trailer, set up HQ, clean coolers, and various other tasks.

When we were done at the course, it was time for us to head to our housing for the week. Camille and I are staying with a family right on the golf course property, Kiley is staying with another family, and then the rest of the staff is staying at the host hotel. I am super excited for this opportunity and I can’t wait to get to know the Carver family over the next couple of days!

After getting situated at the house, we headed out to dinner with Dr. Heda and his son, who will be playing in the tournament this week. We went to a local pizza place and had some awesome wings and cheese pizza for dinner! After dinner, Dr. Heda also treated us to some ice cream from DQ. Tonight was definitely a great start to our week in Weston!!

With that, I am headed to bed for the night. I just found out that I have Monday off, so it is just one more day of work for me before I hit the beach! Can’t wait! J

I apologize for those that have been waiting...this is the first time that I have had access to the internet all week...but I will be uploading the posts that I have written the last few nights!

Team 3 is Officially 2 for 2!

Well, another tournament has come and gone! Tomorrow morning we head out for Weston, Florida and get ready to start our next tournament come Monday morning.

Today was the final round of the Rolex Girls Junior Championship at The Concession Golf Club here in Bradenton, Florida. This week was by far the fastest moving week that I have ever experienced and it is crazy to think about the number of people I have met and the experiences that I have had.

This morning, I had the pleasure of starting half of the field off of the 10th tee. This was really fun as these were the girls that I had gotten to know throughout the last week (and a couple over the last 2 weeks). We more than likely will not be seeing them again this summer, so it was a bittersweet moment for sure. However, the actual round went very well and, before I knew it, we were in the scoring tent! As the last groups trickled in, I learned that our leader shot a total of 18 under par through the 4 day event! This was an amazing feat and she broke many, many records along the way! While this was the main highlight of the day, there were still a couple of quick stories to share...

First, as you may have determined from the fact it was the final day, we had to pack up the trailer this afternoon. This is quite the task and can take us hours, especially when you consider the number of items that we must pull from the golf course as well. And,once again, Mother Nature decided to play games with Team 3. If you remember, last week we packed the trailer in about 3 hours as it was down pouring in monsoon-like fashion! I am pretty sure that we are the only team who can say that they have packed the trailer in the rain both weeks....what a great accomplishment! ;)

Today, it was absolutely beautiful outside....until we were just about to start break down on the back side..then this storm came out of nowhere and completely drenched everything - including me! This storm was actually bad enough that we were called inside and had to wait about 45 minutes until we were allowed to start packing outside again. This led to a major back-up and we ended up being at the course until just about 10 pm.

On the bright side of the rain delay, I met David Leadbetter in the cart barn at Concession. We were inside working on packing up some signage from the event and he just came up and introduced himself nonchalantly. It was really cool and I am sure our faces were priceless as we looked at each other trying to determine if it was really him! haha

But, it has definitely been a long day and I should probably finish my laundry/packing so that I can get some sleep tonight! Hope everyone is doing well and next time you hear from me, I will be in Weston, FL!!!

Brittany Lincicome too?!

Hey y'all!

I don't have anything super exciting to report today, but it is crazy to think that we just have one more day here at The Concession in Florida! Our last round tomorrow is looking to be record-breaking and I can't wait to report back with the final results!

Today was a typical day at the course with an early morning, but we did have a halfway early finishing time! The highlight of the day was the fact that Brittany Lincicome, another LPGA star, came out to talk with and greet the juniors after their round was complete. The girls were all super excited and Brittany was just as excited to talk with all of them as well!

Also, side note, I have had a couple of requests for my picture with Paula Creamer to be posted....it is on another camera, so I will post it as soon as I get it e-mailed to me! :)

After we left the course tonight, Camille, Jake, Kiley and I all decided to go find an Asian restaurant for dinner. They were all craving sushi so we found this little place on our way home. It was literally some of the best food that I have ever had! I ordered a fried rice/chicken dinner and it was the most rice I have ever eaten in one sitting. But, it was so good that there was no chance I was going to stop!

Other than that, it was a pretty normal and good day! I even got to spend some time catching up with friends randomly throughout the day...that is easily one of the best parts of my day! :) But, with that, I am headed over to eat some peanut butter ice cream pie with some of my teammates right now and then it is off to bed to prepare for our final round tomorrow!! Be on the lookout for pictures in the upcoming days as I took some at the course today and plan to take even more tomorrow! Hope everyone has a great night! :)

Sun, Food, Beach & Shopping....

makes for a great first day off in about 24 days!

Today began by sleeping until 9 am!!! It was amazing!!! And the best part was that I only woke up once and freaked out since I thought I was late to work...not too shabby!

Once I was up, I headed out to run a couple of errands that needed to be done and then came back to the apartment to make a couple of peanut butter ice cream pies for the team to eat tonight! They are soo easy to make and I looked forward to eating it all day! Once they were in the freezer, I headed out to start exploring and enjoy the Bradenton area for the rest of the day.

I started off by heading toward Siesta Keys, home of the #1 Beach in the US for the last 4ish years (or something like that)! It was absolutely gorgeous!! :) I picked up some Subway on my way, and stayed at the beach for about an hour enjoying my lunch, reading, taking some pictures, and walking around. I even spent a little time in the water and I was amazed by how warm the water was. After I left the beach, I headed towards St. Armand's Circle, which is basically just a roundabout that has a bunch of small shops and local restaurants. I walked around there for awhile window shopping and checking out the random assortment of goodies that were being sold.

At this point, I was ready to head back to the apartment and get ready for our Player's Banquet that was tonight at the course. When I got back to IMG (our housing for the week), I learned that there was a water main break and that there would be no water for the next hour or so. With that, I decided that today was the perfect day to load all of my pictures, put them on Facebook, and just generally catch up with some computer stuff that I never have time to do! Once that was all done and I was showered and ready to go, I headed back to The Concession and met up with the rest of our staff this week! It was great to see everyone after having been away for the day and to get to hang out with some of the juniors.

The highlight of the night was Paula Creamer. She not only spoke to the girls during the dinner, but she allowed to ask them a wide range of questions and even took pictures in the photo booth with a bunch of them! She was very gracious and patient, and I am super excited that I was able to be in a picture with her and get her autograph! :)

Overall, today was a very relaxing day and it was great to get away from the course for a couple of hours! The best part though was going back and interacting with our staff and all of the girls - definitely made me realize just how much I love my job this summer! :)

Another Tournament Has Hit the Ground Running!

Today was the first round of our tournament this week. Let's just begin by saying that we have the best of the best in terms of female golfers between the ages of 12 and 18 here in Florida with us this week! Today was just plain amazing as I got to watch all of the them play and just take in all of their amazing shots as well!

This morning started off early and Camille and I were responsible for all of the coolers and other "Operation Hydration" materials that were needed throughout the day. We spent some time driving out to all of the different holes to place ice in the coolers and ensure that there was plenty of water and fruit out on the course for the players and spectators. As soon as I was done with this, it was time to head out on the course with the two groups that I was following today. 

Nothing particularly exciting happened during the round, but I was fortunate to meet a lot of different college golf coaches from all around the country today! This was a cool experience and I hope to get to know even more of them as the week goes on! Once I was back in with my group, we spent the next couple of hours breaking down the golf course and completing other random tasks to prepare for Round #2 tomorrow!

While this was all going on, we were also hosting a cookout for the players and their parents in the clubhouse. During this time, the girls were all taking part in a Just Dance competition on the Wii. It was so fun to watch them all dance and to just see them having a ton of fun and relaxing even though we are at such a big event! :) 

Other than that, today was a pretty typical day out on the course and I am looking forward to tomorrow! I have my first day off since May 20th and I am super excited to have a little "Megan-time" and enjoy the local  beaches, shopping, and maybe some food somewhere in there too! Look forward to tomorrow's post as I hope to update you with all of the fun activities of the day....and some possible celebrities tomorrow night as well! Hope everyone is still having a great summer! :) 

Oh! So Alligators Are Like Squirrels?

I know I say this a lot...but WOW! Today was a very long and tiring day out at the golf course. Our morning started when we arrived about 6:30 or so and we finally finished everything up tonight about 8:30 or so. It was a long and hot 14 hours, but I think it was one of the most productive days of our summer so far!

When we arrived this morning, we began with our morning assignments as the players were beginning to arrive for their 9 am practice round. I had the task of roping off the putting green and tidying up that general area. Once that was finished, I helped Kyle move some coolers out onto the course and finish other various tasks.

One of  my main tasks was to help fill sand bags for both our tents and some special Rolex banners that we have up this week. This was a messy and grimy task, but Kyle and I were able to fill them all and move them throughout the course. Then, I was also assigned to stake and rope the other putting green. I headed out to this green and began to spray paint all of the rebar and pound them into the ground one at a time. As grueling as this can be (especially in this crazy hot Florida sun), I will say that it is one of my favorite tasks since I get to work on my own and just enjoy some "Megan-time" for awhile.

I also was able to help with registration after completing the rebar. This was a nice chance to sit in the air conditioning and re cooperate a bit before heading back outside to finish some more stake and rope projects. Stake and rope basically took up the rest of my afternoon - basically until a couple of hours before we left for the day. At this point, I was lucky enough to head out with Katie, our Assistant Tournament Director for the week and help mark the hole locations for tomorrow and other "break down" tasks on the golf course.

Basically, we spent most of the day today outside prepping things on the course for our first round tomorrow morning! I just found out that I am only following two groups, so that should be a great way to get to know the 6 players and their parents even better than I am used to! Can't wait to start and interact with all of these girls...they seem like a great group!

And finally, the title of this post. As we were driving home from dinner after we got off for the day, one of my teammates was asking about how the alligators got in the ponds on the golf course. We explained that they were here before we were and that we have built things all over their natural habitat. We also explained that they are able to cross roads and other obstacles to move towards water. After this explanation, she reasoned these explanations by one simple phrase: "Oh! So alligators are like squirrels?!" As lame as this may sound, it was probably the highlight (or at least the funniest part) of my entire day! All I can say is I love that girl....she keeps us all on our toes! :)

Drive to Tampa?! OK!

Well...today was another HOT day down in Florida! I can easily say that this was the hottest conditions that we have worked in all summer...and I am pretty sure that it is about to get even worse! I absolutely LOVE being warm, but sweating the minute you walk outside?! Not okay by me!!

Today, we spent most of our time finishing up tasks that need to be complete before the juniors arrive in the morning. We started off the morning by stenciling the golf course and putting down the different yardage markers. This was a ton of fun and a great way to start off the morning..not to mention that we got to see an alligator as well!

After stenciling was complete, Kyle and I headed out to run some errands for tournament product and other random odds and ends that we needed. What could have been a really easy trip quickly turned into a 2-3 hour affair. Let's just say that most WalMarts don't carry 90 cases of water and 60 cases of small G2 bottles on a regular basis! haha After rounding up what we could at WalMart, we headed to Target to get a couple of other things. We weren't able to get everything there either, so we headed to Staples to get one specific item. Then, we needed a video game for an activity one night at the course, so we headed to GameStop to pick that up. Then, we still needed stakes for course marking so we headed to Lowes. It was a crazy trip, but it was definitely nice to get away from the course for awhile, while still being super productive!

By the time we got back, it was time for lunch - and we went to SUBWAY!! :) I have never been so happy to eat a sub sandwich and enjoy one of my favorite restaurants! Once we got back to the course, it was time to unload those 90 cases of water and 28 cases of G2 that I mentioned earlier...that was one hot and exhausting activity! But, we got it done and I am happy to say that we shouldn't have to move it again!

Then, Kiley and I worked to put up the remaining banners and help finish up the course marking. I then got to go on my adventure for the day. I headed off to Tampa (about an hour away) to pick up two girls from Team 4, Rachel and Alyssa, who are joining us for the week! We are so excited for them to join us and for the help that they will be giving us over the next few days!

I can honestly say that I wasn't looking forward to driving by myself for an hour, but boy I was proven wrong! This view was AMAZING! There is no way to describe it, but basically I drove through the bay for the entire trip! The water was sooo blue and it was just an overall gorgeous sight! Also, I saw the Yankees Spring Training Stadium and Tropicana Field during my drive as well...always nice to throw in some sports highlights throughout my trips! :)

Once we got back to Bradenton, we grabbed some dinner and then it was time to head back and get ready for our practice round tomorrow! It is going to be one busy day and I can't wait to start meeting all of the girls who are here this week! I can already tell that it is going to be a blast! :)

Day 1 at The Concession Golf Club

All I can say is "WOW!" I know that I said this about our last course, but this is one of the most beautiful courses that I have ever seen! It is a very different set-up than Steelwood and is just what I would imagine for a golf course just off the coast in Florida. Every hole literally looks like it could be from a magazine....I can't wait to take some pictures and get them up!

This week, we are in Bradenton, Florida, at the Rolex Girls Junior Championship at The Concession Golf Club.  This is one of the biggest invitationals that AJGA hosts and there are some pretty spectacular guests in attendance - more about that in a minute!

We started off the day by dropping all of our clothes off at the dry cleaners to be washed for us during the day - never realized how happy I would be that I didn't have to do laundry at 10 or 11 pm some night this week! We then headed to grab some breakfast and then go check out the course. We arrived at the course about 10 am this morning and began by meeting some of the individuals that we will be working with from the club as well as taking a tour of their facilities...which are breathtaking!! After the tour, we headed out on the course to take a ride around and see each of the holes and get a feel for the different markings and assignments that we will be completing over the next day or two. At this point, we headed out to get lunch.

When we got back from lunch, Camille and I unloaded the entire trailer and started moving things down to our storage area while we waited for the guys and Kiley to get back from picking up our courtesy cars for the week. This was quite the task and we definitely got a workout carrying all of those things out of the trailer! At least some people were having fun at the pool and sending me pictures/texts all about it....you know who you are!!!!

After we unloaded the trailer, we started marking the course and placing some of our basic signage throughout the course. This took us a couple of hours and we still have more to finish tomorrow. About 6 o'clock, we were told that we were done for the day and that it was time to head out to dinner to celebrate one of the full-time staff member's birthday, which was today! We went to this really cool grill that was right on the bay and our table overlooked the water as the sun set. It was really pretty and a great change in pace from our normal pizza and sandwich shops!

Now, back to the two most exciting parts of the week! First off, I learned that I will have all day Wednesday off and access to a car to do whatever I want! I found a cute shopping area tonight on our way back from dinner, so I think that I may try to head over there at some point and maybe see what kind of beach I can find around here to go walk down! I am really excited to have some time to just relax and be by myself...nothing like a little rest and relaxation! :) We also learned that we have the opportunity to attend the Player's Dinner on Wednesday night, which is a sit-down, formal dinner. One of the main guests at this dinner is Paula Creamer and there is a chance that Morgan Pressel may be coming as well! For those of you who don't follow golf, these are two of the best golfers in the LPGA and they were both former champions of Rolex Girls Junior Championship. I think that this will be one of the coolest opportunities of the summer and I absolutely can't wait!

Other than that, today was another hot day in Florida, but I can't complain too much - at least we are somewhere sunny and warm!

We Have Arrived!

Well....today was the day. We left Alabama and headed back to the eastern time zone to spend the next couple of weeks in Florida!

This morning I was sooo excited that we would be spending some time in the Florida sun and catching some rays near the beach - the problem is that we have not seen anything but rain and clouds since about 10 this morning! :( I hope that the weather will take a turn for the better throughout the week!

Our day today was pretty dull as we spent from 7 am central time until about 7 pm eastern time making our way from Loxley, Alabama, to Bradenton, Florida! I started off my morning with a wonderful 2ish hour nap and then it was my turn to complete my 3 hours of driving time!! Sydney (Brunie) and I spent that 3 hours listening to Call Me Maybe come on the radio about 5 times or so, talking, and laughing at the pictures of great sleeping poses that were going on in the back seat of the truck. Let's just say that Team 3 really took advantage of all of the available nap time today! Here are just a few samples:

After my turn driving, it was time to grab lunch and then hit the road once again! I remember even less of the next three hours as it took everything in my power to partake in even 5 minutes of conversation.

Once we made it to Bradenton, we had to make a quick stop at WalMart to buy a couple of irons and ironing boards for the week, as well as change into our golf attire to prepare for our arrival to IMG Academies, where we will be staying this week. When we arrived on site, we found out that our rooms were not yet prepared, and they actually weren't expecting us at all! However, they were able to figure everything out and we now have 3 2-bedroom apartments to live in this week. They are not overly nice, but it is definitely something different and most importantly, we even have laundry in each of the apartments!!!

After settling in for a bit, we headed to Outback Steakhouse for a nice team dinner. It was great to just sit around as the 8 of us for a couple of hours and hang out. There isn't much time for this during the week, so it is looking like our travel days will be the ones that bring us closer together!

Tomorrow is a slight sleep-in morning as we don't have to leave until 8, but I think I will head to bed and try to get a decent amount of sleep before we hit high gear again tomorrow!

Goodnight from Florida! :)

WE DID IT!!

After a long and eventful week #1, I can officially say that we have survived and crowned a champion at our first event! And that is one great feeling!

I started off my day with an extra 5 minutes of sleep! We didn't have to leave until 5:25 this morning and, as crazy as it sounds, that 5 minutes made a HUGE difference. Once we arrived at the course, I completed my morning assignments and then headed to the 1st tee as I was the announcer/starter for the first 3 hours worth of tee times. I know that I say this every day, but this was SO much fun! I enjoyed getting to know each of the players and even having a bit of fun while getting to know their personalities. This is really cool as we will more than likely be seeing a lot of these kids over and over as we travel throughout the summer.

Once I was done with my 3 hours worth of tee times, I began to follow my three groups. These groups were awesome and I had basically no rulings and no red cards distributed today. I would have to say that I was much more bored today than either of the last two days....but that may not be a bad thing either! In one of my guys groups that I was following, a junior was 5 under par through 16 holes. While he faltered a bit at the very end, it was still exciting to follow him and watch as he made a run for the championship position.

After my groups were completed and I had completed my time in the scoring tent, Alexis and I went over some of the sponsorship requirements that I am responsible for. These tasks include prepping the Champions for their acceptance speeches, videotaping an interview of each champion, and taping the entire awards ceremony. While we were doing this, it cam to our attention that a playoff would be necessary to determine the female champion. I helped to shuttle the players to the first tee and was lucky enough to get to watch the entire playoff between the two -- all 7 holes! This was a great match-up between two really good players and they were both able to make pars all around until that 7th hole, where one girl tapped in for a bogey and the other made a 5 foot, massively breaking putt. It was sooo much fun to watch and to get to know their parents and other golfers better during that hour or so!

After the playoff was over and the awards ceremony completed, it was time for me to help pack up the trailer! This was a monstrous task, but we were able to complete it in about 3 hours...even with the torrential downpours, lightning, thunder, and mass chaos! haha

Lucky for us, our TD Greenie, decided that it was another night of Mellow Mushroom (that was 3 times if you were counting) and we headed out from the course. This dinner was a nice hang out time as this group of 12 people won't be working together again this summer. :( It is going to be hard not having Alexis, Greenie, Matt, and Kurtis with us come tomorrow....but we will be meeting up with almost all of them throughout the summer and it will be great to catch up and swap stories then!

But, with that, we are hitting the road for Florida in the morning so I had better get some sleep! Next time you hear from me, I will be in the Florida sun!! :) Night all!

We are almost done....WHAT?!!?!

Hard to believe that tomorrow is our final day at Steelwood. It feels like we have been here forever and, quite honestly, I don't really need to leave! The people we have met and worked with over the last 5-6 days are just plain awesome and I now understand exactly why a large number of AJGA staff members were jealous that we were headed to Alabama for the first week of our summer! :)

As for today, we had the second round. I spent my morning following three different groups of girls and dealing with a couple of situations that were thrown our way. While it was a struggle, we were able to get everyone through the course and I was ready to start my afternoon assignments around 12. During the afternoon, I spent my time driving around the course passing out iced towels, bananas, apples, and water to all of the players. This we honestly one of my favorite activities that I partook in all week. I was able to talk with almost every player that was on the course, interact with parents, and even speak with some of the college coaches for a bit. It is fun to hear about where everyone is from and how they found the AJGA.

After the round of golf was over, we hosted our Care For the Course party on the driving range where we worked with about 15 juniors to fill all of the divots that were made over the last few days. During this activity, I was on camera duty and was able to take a bunch of pictures of both the juniors and the AJGA staff members in attendance. After the party, we headed down with about 15 juniors to take part in a "Closest to the Pin Contest." While activities like this are usually fun, this one was taken to a whole new level! We began by hitting the ball off of the dock over a lake that is approximately 135 yards wide and the winner was able to stick  it within 7 feet of the pin. The juniors really seemed to enjoy the activities and it is just sooo much fun to spend some time off the course with all of them!

This is a shorter post than normal, but I am headed to bed. We have another 4:25 wake-up time tomorrow....wish us luck!! :)

Tournament Round #1 = Rain Delay #1

Well....today was quite a day! I am actually struggling to remember how the day started...

I believe we left the hotel at 5:20 this morning and headed out to Steelwood for the first official round of our tournament this week! When we arrived, I found myself running errands throughout the golf course to ensure that Volunteer Check-in was all ready and that other miscellaneous tasks were complete. Once check-in was up and running, I headed out with Matt (our Assistant Tournament Director this week) to ride along in his cart and observe his methods on the course as well as ask any questions that I may have.

By the time I was done riding with him, it was time for me to start following my groups! Today I was responsible for four groups and I found myself running (or driving) in circles most of the day trying to catch up and check in with all of the players and parents. Today was a long round as there are many long walks from green to tee and it is overall a very difficult course for the players.

Just as my groups finished up their round, it began to look like a storm may be rolling in. We were able to get another couple of groups in before our weather detector went off and we had to evacuate the golf course. We were able to get the remaining groups off of the course just before the rain really started. At this point, we only had players left on holes 16-18 and we were just hoping to get back out soon and finish up for the evening. However, Mother Nature had a very different idea. The short delay became a delay of 2 hours and 50 minutes that included torrential downpours, VERY high winds, and even hail that we upwards of golf ball size.

Luckily, Team 3 has an awesome staff and we were able to come up with some fun activities for the juniors during the second hour or so of the delay. We set up a putting obstacle course and the juniors partook in a competition for fruit snacks. Check out the AJGA picture page on Facebook for some of the pictures and other activities that we did!

We were finally able to get the players back on the course at 7 and they were all done with their remaining holes by 8 pm or so. We are all very glad that we were able to get the round in, even though it has created a really late night for us! After the round, we finished up our operations tasks and grabbed some pizza/sandwiches that were delivered to us at the course.

But, with that, I am off to bed! We have another 5:20 departure time tomorrow! Definitely time to get some sleep!!! Night!! :)

Here We Go!!

Tournament Day #1 is in the books and Round #1 is ready to go!

Today was a super busy and long (15 hours worth) day. But, it was great to be on the course and interacting with the parents, volunteers, spectators, and of course the juniors!

We started off the day by heading out of the hotel at 5:40 am. We headed straight to Steelwood and completed our morning assignments to prepare for the practice round, which was an 8 am shotgun. I started off the morning by preparing the coolers and then working with a couple of my teammates to deliver them to the various locations around the course. As we were finishing this project up, I jumped back to the pro shop to work volunteer check-in and help organize the send off for the players/volunteers. Once we got all of the juniors on the course, I was one of 4 POP (Pace of Play) Cops out on the course. Our job was to make sure that the players were moving at a reasonable speed and also talk to each of the groups about some important points that the AJGA is stressing this summer and at this tournament.

Once we had spoken with all of the groups, I spent the next 3 hours or so re-filling coolers with water and ice, and then adding Powerade to certain coolers once the Practice Round was completed. We had to continue filling all of the coolers as our Junior-Am shotgun started just 45 minutes after the juniors completed their practice round. This was a very crazy time of the day, but I am proud to say that we got everything done and I think things went off without a hitch!

Once the Junior-Am participants were out on the course, it was time for us to host Player Registration, the Player Meeting, and the Parent Meeting. These events are where the Juniors receive their tournament gifts and learn more about the different initiatives that are being introduced by the AJGA.

Once these meetings were over, many of the juniors left for the day and we were able to complete many of the random tasks that were needed to prepare for the reception this evening. I spent my afternoon helping with various tasks in HQ and setting up display tables for prizes and pictures in the reception hall.

Overall, today was a great day and I can't wait to watch my groups actually play some golf tomorrow! Hopefully the rain stays away and we are able to get everything in...but for now, I am off to get some sleep! Night y'all!

Qualifier #1 is in the Books!

Well...we did it! We survived our first real tournament round and made it out in one piece! This was easily one of the craziest days that we have had so far, and I have been told they will only get crazier! I am exhausted...so I am going to try to sum this up as quickly as possible....

Our morning began when we pulled out of the hotel at 5:45 am. We headed straight to the Qualifier Course and got straight to work. Different people completed a whole range of tasks from banner maintenance to placing coolers to putting up tents and all of the small tasks that must be done before a 100 player field shotgun can occur at 8 am. During this time, I was in charge of setting the tees, taking down any extra tees, checking hole locations, removing stakes from the fairway, and putting up a couple of random signs on the last 9 holes for the day. I began this task right when we got to the course and worked right up until the juniors were released onto the course at about 7:50...those two hours were definitely a whirlwind!

Once those tasks were complete, it was time to play some golf! I was the rules official for 4 groups today and it was once again great to work with the juniors and chat with all of their parents! Those juniors kept me on my toes with some of their rulings and made sure that there was never a dull moment. The parents and family members were great spectators and it is awesome to think about the number of people that I met just today alone! As well, it is important to mention how awesome the volunteers were. They are so excited to be here and all but one have been coming back year after year. Their dedication to the tournament and the program is amazing. I can't wait to work with all of them over the next 4 days! :)

After the tournament round was over, we headed in to complete scoring and then headed out to breakdown the course. Once again, this all took place so quickly that it is hard to remember what even happened....not to mention it feels like that happened weeks ago at this point! Once everything was broken down, we headed over to Steelwood to do our final preparations for the arrival of the juniors tomorrow morning! I spent most of my afternoon hammering about 30 pieces of rebar into the ground and then roping the area around the practice green. I am going to be very surprised if I can still move my arms in the morning! lol

We finally left the golf course about 7 pm and headed to Panera for a quick dinner before staff meeting. It was great to take some time and hang out before discussing tomorrow and what we like to refer to as "Big Monday." (We have a practice round for all players starting with a shotgun at 8 am and finishing at 12:45...then, by 1:30, we are starting our Junior-Am where a large number of sponsors come and play the course and have the opportunity to play with one of the juniors in the tournament...while that is going on, we will also be holding registration and the player's/parent's meetings...in other words, we won't be bored tomorrow!!) Once we were back at the hotel, we had our staff meeting and we have finally made it back up to our rooms and gotten everything packed and ironed for tomorrow. With that, I had better head to bed. I am struggling to type these last few sentences and I know that I will enjoy the "extra" sleep when my alarm goes off at 4:45 tomorrow morning! Night all!

Ready....Set.....

GO!

Well....we are ready to go...or at least I hope so!! Tomorrow is the Qualifier and our first official tournament round for the summer. I was just warned that my summer is going to fly by once tomorrow hits...and I can only imagine! We will have 5 tournament days every week and then 2 travel days....before we know it we are going to be in Colorado!

But first things first, it was a crazy busy day today! We began with another start time of 6:45 this morning as we headed out to Steelwood to complete some of the bigger tasks that needed to be finished before the practice round/Junior-Am on Monday morning. Myself, the assistant tournament director (Matt), and 3 of my teammates headed out on the course to set hole locations for all three tournament rounds and the Junior-Am. This took us all morning to complete while two others worked on putting up banners, cleaning coolers, and some other random tasks.

After we completed hole locations, it was time to head to lunch! Today we just ran down the street and ate a quick lunch at Arby's before we headed back to the course to finish up some projects at Steelwood. Back at Steelwood, we worked on putting up a couple more banners, finishing up our markings from yesterday and packing up the trailer to move to the qualifier course.

After all of this was done, we headed back to the qualifier course and worked for about 3 hours or so. In that time, 8 of us managed to construct and put out all of the trashcans/ recycling bins, put up the tents, put a bucket of sand on every tee box, fill 100+ plastic bottles with sand, unpack and fill 10 coolers with 3 1/2 cases of water, put up all of the banners/signage for the event, and pack/unpack/repack the trailer! It was an exhausting few hours but it was great to know that we got all of that done!

After finishing up for the day, we headed to Moe's, which is a "Mexican" restaurant that seems to be located in the Southeast-ish region. I had a great burrito and it was a nice change in pace in terms of food choices. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and had our staff meeting for the night. We received our assignments for tomorrow's qualifier and it looks like we are all going to have one busy day! I am super excited to get started though and I am sure that tomorrow's post will contain some fun stories from our first tournament day. It is hard to believe that we are actually ready for this...wish us luck!

But, with that, I am off to bed! My alarm at 4:45 am is going to come way too quickly! Have a great night!

Just Keep Marking, Marking, Marking....

That was the theme of the day!!

We started off today at 6:45 in the morning and headed over to the Qualifier Course. While we were there, we finished up our last couple of hazards and marked hole locations for Sunday's round. There were two groups that completed the holos, while the rest of the team worked on placing the AJGA stencils at 100, 150, 200, and 250 yards off the green on each of the holes. 

Once we completed these tasks, we headed off to Steelwood to begin marking our tournament course's hazards. This was a lot of work and took up A LOT of paint! We also got to see all kinds of nature today...alligators, 3 snakes (everyone's favorite :/), and lots and lots of mosquitoes! After marking for about 3 hours or so, it was time to head to lunch! Today we ate at Firehouse Subs, a great sandwich shop located not too far from our hotel. After lunch we headed back to the course to finish up the course markings and complete some other random tasks at the course. However, once we arrived, one of my teammates needed to go and get a bug bite checked out by the doctor. She and I headed out for a mini adventure and spent about an hour and a half or so at the doctor and filling prescriptions...we had a fun time (wish it was for a better reason) and enjoyed our quick break from the course. 

When we got back, the two of us were responsible for getting the tents and supplies out of the trailer to prepare for our next job. This turned into quite the maze and adventure as we worked our way through the hot trailer and just about got stuck multiple times! It was HOT and TIRING! But, the good news, we got it done! 

Once we had corralled all of the supplies, we headed down to number 18 and put up the scoring tent that we will be using after every round. This task was soo much easier than at training, as there were only two of us working on each tent! After tents, we headed back to our headquarters (HQ) for the week and helped the communications interns stuff some of the registration bags that the players will receive. After that, Comms was headed outside to take some pictures, so we decided to "help" them! It was fun to see what they do and enjoy some time on the dock and other picturesque locations around the clubhouse. 

Once everyone was done with their tasks, we headed out for the night and went to Cracker Barrel for dinner! It was great to have a "home-cooked" meal and enjoy time with the team! After that, we headed out for a bit of shopping before returning to the hotel for the night. My night was filled with catching up with family and friends...my favorite type of night! :) It is great to hear that everyone is having a great start to summer and really enjoying their internships, new businesses, and everything of the like! Keep it up and I can't wait to hear even more stories!! :)

So, with that, I have lots of pictures and I plan to take more tomorrow. However, it is way too late and I am more than ready for bed! I promise to upload some to Facebook or on here tomorrow....it WILL get done sooner rather than later!! Have a great night! :)