Several months into living in our new home, I got the itch to take my toddler to the library and make him a book worm. Which is weird, because I've never been much of a reader of fiction. I read a LOT of news, devour books that might help me coach better, but I've not really ever been a reader for "fun." But as my son has grown and starts to play more independently, I want him to be around a mom who has her nose in a book rather than on a phone or tablet whenever we have idle time.
Plus, I've always been intimidated by libraries. I don't know why but they make me feel so inferior somehow. In college and for my graduate degree, I did everything I could to avoid having to search for actual books for research -- I just preferred journal articles that could be found online. I'm a little ashamed to admit that. This is not something I want my son to feel.
So for the first time since college, I have a library card. And we've been using it! The kiddo loves to pick out books from the shelves, and I love not having any sort of deadline or objective to my book selections.
I wish I had read for pleasure sooner, because it's been amazing the types of things I've learned that would have been applicable to my old life. Also, the mental task of staying present in the story strengthens focus and the ability to ignore distractions, something which is super useful on the course. As does the ability to push through to finish a book when it gets slow or difficult. It's a sin and a shame that I did not make this effort sooner.
Here have been some of my favorites from the past few months, and what I loved about them. (non-affiliate links provided)
The Martian, by Andy Weir. My first successful sci-fi read as an adult, this book infused me with a jolt of "can-do" positivism, and made me feel encouraged to really dig in and love what I do. Have yet to see the film version, since I wanted to read the book first.
Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn. This is one where sticking with it payed off with a great twist, even if I didn't love the ending.
Play Anything: The Pleasure of Limits, the Uses of Boredom, and the Secrets of Games, by Ian Bogost. I wasn't prepared for the philosophical treatise that this book was, but after chewing through it slowly and surely, I look at everything differently now. The mundane now has potential, and I have a much different attitude about both games and chores. Plus, he has a whole section about how golf is an "intentional interaction with nature" that I found incredibly enjoyable. What I gleaned from this book could take up an entire post in itself, which maybe I will do in the future.
Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead. This book was possibly the most profound of all of them so far. It's just an amazing read; difficult, but so meaningful.
Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? And Other Questions you Should Have Answers To When You Work In The White House, by Alyssa Mastromonaco. This was a birthday present from a college friend, and it's a great book for any young person working these days. Mastromonaco clearly kicked ass at her job and this book is full of fascinating stories and advice. I am so thankful my friend gave me this kind of book, as it really helped me to feel connected to the working world again.
Big Little Lies, Liane Moriarty. Really smart, really quick, and lots of fun things to talk about with all your girlfriends who might be reading it at the same time.
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Entering the Third Decade.
Somewhere along the way, I've lost myself.
That's what keeps echoing through my head. Sometime, after my sweet second baby was born and I turned 30, I became a stranger to myself. I don't recognize this person's appearance, don't trust her taste, and feel sorry that sometimes, in those rare quiet moments, she thinks in another 10 years she'll have nothing to her name.
It isn't to say that I'm unhappy. There are many days when, if I do say so myself, I make this motherhood thing look easy. My boys are the absolute sweetest. The baby finally is sleeping through the night. We celebrated our 5th anniversary and I still love my goober of a husband. I can manage to shower and, sometimes, even makeup. Today the boys rolled around on my bed together as I gave their little cheeks and tummies kisses, and I did all I could to drink that giggled-filled moment in.
Long days, short years.
But it's nagging me, this feeling of being a stranger.
A couple things happened after I turned 30:
1. we bought a mini van.
2. I chopped all my hair off.
3. I bought my first pair of orthopedic footwear.
The van was a long time coming; the old car needed an improvement worth more than the cost of trade-in for it to pass inspection, so we finally pulled the trigger. I had psyched myself up to accept the convenience-over-cool aspect, but am pleasantly surprised by how much I love it.
As for my new hair, I chopped about 15 inches off into a very short pixie cut. I don't know. Feelings are still mixed. I was swimming in all that hair, and the baby kept spitting up in it and pulling it. The weight of the ponytail was rubbing my scalp raw, and I just felt swamped by it all. So a big chop happened, and it's not the worst, but my husband does tease me about it a little more than I like.
The shoes are some birkenstocks, and I wish I had done it sooner. It's another thing that feels like my high school self is mocking me, but my 30 year old self loves the arch support. L-O-V-E-S it.
All these things are not throwing me into an identity crisis or anything, but I constantly feel like I'm mentally defending this evolution.
Furthermore, people keep asking me if I get to golf any lately.
Like, when would that happen?
That's what keeps echoing through my head. Sometime, after my sweet second baby was born and I turned 30, I became a stranger to myself. I don't recognize this person's appearance, don't trust her taste, and feel sorry that sometimes, in those rare quiet moments, she thinks in another 10 years she'll have nothing to her name.
It isn't to say that I'm unhappy. There are many days when, if I do say so myself, I make this motherhood thing look easy. My boys are the absolute sweetest. The baby finally is sleeping through the night. We celebrated our 5th anniversary and I still love my goober of a husband. I can manage to shower and, sometimes, even makeup. Today the boys rolled around on my bed together as I gave their little cheeks and tummies kisses, and I did all I could to drink that giggled-filled moment in.
Long days, short years.
But it's nagging me, this feeling of being a stranger.
A couple things happened after I turned 30:
1. we bought a mini van.
2. I chopped all my hair off.
3. I bought my first pair of orthopedic footwear.
The van was a long time coming; the old car needed an improvement worth more than the cost of trade-in for it to pass inspection, so we finally pulled the trigger. I had psyched myself up to accept the convenience-over-cool aspect, but am pleasantly surprised by how much I love it.
As for my new hair, I chopped about 15 inches off into a very short pixie cut. I don't know. Feelings are still mixed. I was swimming in all that hair, and the baby kept spitting up in it and pulling it. The weight of the ponytail was rubbing my scalp raw, and I just felt swamped by it all. So a big chop happened, and it's not the worst, but my husband does tease me about it a little more than I like.
The shoes are some birkenstocks, and I wish I had done it sooner. It's another thing that feels like my high school self is mocking me, but my 30 year old self loves the arch support. L-O-V-E-S it.
All these things are not throwing me into an identity crisis or anything, but I constantly feel like I'm mentally defending this evolution.
Furthermore, people keep asking me if I get to golf any lately.
Like, when would that happen?
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Round Reflection: Golfing Pregnant!
So last week, thanks to my sitter from the summer being home from school due to the terrible flooding in North Carolina from Hurricane Matthew, I got to golf for the first time in months.
And I had an INCREDIBLE time.
That's not to say I golfed my best. Far, far from it. Partly that's because I'm so out of practice. But it's mostly because I'm seven months pregnant.
Seven months. Third trimester. The home stretch. And I thought it would be fun to try to get my shoulders and hips to twist in opposition to each other several times in a row so I could bang a small white ball around with sticks in a park for a couple hours.
Seriously though, I had a blast. I chose a new course that I've never played before which was very pretty and incredibly playable. And I learned a lot about how the game has to be modified with a giant beach ball around your middle. I've decided to make the most of this round for the blog by spreading these lessons out (hey, I'm starved for rounds right now which means getting creative with content).
So the first lesson I learned is: mindset really matters.
Pictured here is my score card. On the very first hole, I made sure to write my golf mantra in big, bold letters: THERE ARE NO DIAPERS HERE.
An obvious statement, sure. But every golfer needs to have a personal reason why they are at the course, and this one is mine. Golf is my "me time," and my "me time" is precious and only getting more sparse. Plus, it's gotten me through some really tough patches in the past.
The other thing I wrote is, I GET TO PLAY GOLF.
The key words there are "get to."
If you really want to change your life, replace any sentence that is about "having to" do something to "getting to" do it. It immediately changes the task from an obligation to a privilege. It helps shift your thinking to being grateful for all the opportunities in life. I really tried instilling this ethic into my team when I was a coach, and I found that the best way to do it was to live it myself. And so I'm trying to do that as a parent, too.
You'll notice on my scorecard that I doubled and tripled the first two holes. That was pretty indicative of my day, and it actually took me about 14 holes to figure out how to manage my physical condition so I could play well. Despite that, I am so proud of the 98 I scored, because it took hard work to play while pregnant, and more importantly, I GOT TO PLAY!
And I had an INCREDIBLE time.
That's not to say I golfed my best. Far, far from it. Partly that's because I'm so out of practice. But it's mostly because I'm seven months pregnant.
Seven months. Third trimester. The home stretch. And I thought it would be fun to try to get my shoulders and hips to twist in opposition to each other several times in a row so I could bang a small white ball around with sticks in a park for a couple hours.
Seriously though, I had a blast. I chose a new course that I've never played before which was very pretty and incredibly playable. And I learned a lot about how the game has to be modified with a giant beach ball around your middle. I've decided to make the most of this round for the blog by spreading these lessons out (hey, I'm starved for rounds right now which means getting creative with content).
So the first lesson I learned is: mindset really matters.
Pictured here is my score card. On the very first hole, I made sure to write my golf mantra in big, bold letters: THERE ARE NO DIAPERS HERE.
An obvious statement, sure. But every golfer needs to have a personal reason why they are at the course, and this one is mine. Golf is my "me time," and my "me time" is precious and only getting more sparse. Plus, it's gotten me through some really tough patches in the past.
The other thing I wrote is, I GET TO PLAY GOLF.
The key words there are "get to."
If you really want to change your life, replace any sentence that is about "having to" do something to "getting to" do it. It immediately changes the task from an obligation to a privilege. It helps shift your thinking to being grateful for all the opportunities in life. I really tried instilling this ethic into my team when I was a coach, and I found that the best way to do it was to live it myself. And so I'm trying to do that as a parent, too.
You'll notice on my scorecard that I doubled and tripled the first two holes. That was pretty indicative of my day, and it actually took me about 14 holes to figure out how to manage my physical condition so I could play well. Despite that, I am so proud of the 98 I scored, because it took hard work to play while pregnant, and more importantly, I GOT TO PLAY!
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
I get to golf tomorrow thanks to hurricane Matthew, of all things
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| Photo: Nasa.gov |
The universe must have read my last post and done some shuffling for me.
I get to golf TOMORROW!
My baby sitter's university in North Carolina has been closed since hurricane Matthew, and so she's home this week.
I am very excited, but also trying hard not to forget that my fortune comes at the cost of many thousands of lives being upturned due to the catastrophic flooding in North Carolina. Flooding that is only getting worse in many places as rivers keep rising from water entering upstream. I can't imagine the panic and desperation those citizens must be experiencing as they've lost the comfort of their homes (or were trapped at home) and scrambled to safety.
So I've made sure to donate to flood relief, particularly the Food Bank of Eastern and Central North Carolina.
Because Matthew devastated Haiti as well, I've also made a donation to UNICEF for their relief efforts, too. It will take them much longer to recover from this crisis and conditions there make it an uphill battle. Giving money is the least I can do.
Karma certainly cannot be bought, but I am one to recognize that sometimes even small opportunities come at the cost of the suffering of others. In this case, that cost is extremely large. So I am thankful for this opportunity and promise the universe I won't squander it.
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
I have been gone, and not golfing
It has been weeks, nay, months, since my last round of golf. The league has finished for the year and I was unable to play in even one championship round. It was a combination of things, but mostly not having a baby sitter. We also had friends visit, or went out of town ourselves, or I had doctor's appointments for this growing baby.
The baby. It's HUGE already. Or I am, at least. He's so active in there that he might come out super tiny from all his calisthenics (he is insanely active). At first I didn't believe whomever told me that you get larger with your second pregnancy, but it is SO true. I didn't really gain a lot of weight early on like I did the first time, but I have truly popped this last month to the point where I think I'm as big now at only 7 months as I was when my first was "fully cooked." Oh well. My mindset about weight gain and pregnancy is that there is only so much you can control -- you can do everything "right" and still feel like you're doing wrong, or everything "wrong" and be just fine. And now that I've experienced a second pregnancy that has been so different from the first, I definitely know that for 40 weeks my body is doing what it needs to and I'm just along for the ride.
So much happened since my last post. The legendary Arnold Palmer passed away, and the Ryder Cup was won by the Americans in thrilling fashion. And like my actual golf game, life just kept me away from my laptop to comment.
I will say again, though, that anyone who watched the Olympics and also watched the Ryder Cup knows that match play would make the Olympics WAY better. The rivalry was intense and so much fun to witness.
The hardest part about not playing golf for so long is how guilty I feel about it, which is a weird thing to feel. It's like neglecting an old friend, saying you'll "call her soon," but not doing it. I was so happy for those few months this summer that I was getting to play not just occasionally, but weekly, but as soon as it became clear that life was taking back control, I felt so ashamed. Not to mention that I had such high hopes of being a competitor in my league, which didn't pan out at all.
So who knows if I'll get to play in this gorgeous fall weather? I certainly hope to. While I might take golf for granted, she doesn't ever turn her back on me and will always be there when I can make time.
The baby. It's HUGE already. Or I am, at least. He's so active in there that he might come out super tiny from all his calisthenics (he is insanely active). At first I didn't believe whomever told me that you get larger with your second pregnancy, but it is SO true. I didn't really gain a lot of weight early on like I did the first time, but I have truly popped this last month to the point where I think I'm as big now at only 7 months as I was when my first was "fully cooked." Oh well. My mindset about weight gain and pregnancy is that there is only so much you can control -- you can do everything "right" and still feel like you're doing wrong, or everything "wrong" and be just fine. And now that I've experienced a second pregnancy that has been so different from the first, I definitely know that for 40 weeks my body is doing what it needs to and I'm just along for the ride.
So much happened since my last post. The legendary Arnold Palmer passed away, and the Ryder Cup was won by the Americans in thrilling fashion. And like my actual golf game, life just kept me away from my laptop to comment.
I will say again, though, that anyone who watched the Olympics and also watched the Ryder Cup knows that match play would make the Olympics WAY better. The rivalry was intense and so much fun to witness.
The hardest part about not playing golf for so long is how guilty I feel about it, which is a weird thing to feel. It's like neglecting an old friend, saying you'll "call her soon," but not doing it. I was so happy for those few months this summer that I was getting to play not just occasionally, but weekly, but as soon as it became clear that life was taking back control, I felt so ashamed. Not to mention that I had such high hopes of being a competitor in my league, which didn't pan out at all.
So who knows if I'll get to play in this gorgeous fall weather? I certainly hope to. While I might take golf for granted, she doesn't ever turn her back on me and will always be there when I can make time.
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Tour Pro Kevin Na's baby is golf-ready!
Touring professional Kevin Na posted the cutest photo of his new daughter, Sophia, on Instagram recently. Isn't she adorable? Congrats, Kevin, and best of luck the rest of the season!
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Baby Names Inspired by Golf!
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| Isn't this a cute onesie? You can buy it! The link is at the end of my post. |
That's led me to making this list of golf names perfect for the baby born to golf-obsessed parents!
Ace - The golf term for a hole-in-one, it would be a great middle name for a first born.
Augusta - One of America's most beautiful and famous courses is Augusta National, the site of The Masters, one of golf's Majors. It would make a very pretty, classic name for a little girl as well!
Albatross - The golf term for a double-eagle, the nick names could be Ross or Albie. It's also the name of a sea-faring bird found near oceans, so there's that.
Andrew - St. Andrews, Scotland is the birthplace of golf, and the location for a sort of pilgrimage every golfer wants to take at some point in their life. But there's no need to really explain this name too much to the other parents you'll meet on the playground, as Andrew is a perfectly normal, distinguished name -- a bonus just in case the kiddo grows up and doesn't like golf (heaven forbid).
Annika - a sweet name which hits on the popular Scandinavian name trend which also happens to honor the legendary Annika Sorenstam (seriously, my golf idol).
Birdie - In golf, a birdie is one under par, and in life I think Birdie would be adorable for a little girl. I imagine a Lady Bird Johnson born to sporty, millennial parents.
Links - The oldest style of golf courses are links style, which are all over England and Scotland. I think Links makes a cool middle name, too, for the parent looking for something a little special.
Major - the four Majors in golf are the Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open, and the PGA Championship. While a bit boisterous, it might make a neat middle name.
Palmer - The golf legend Arnold Palmer has a long list of accomplishments. And don't forget the refreshing tea and lemonade combo named after him! If you're looking to honor one of golf's GOATs, I personally prefer his last name, Palmer, over his first.
Ryder - The Ryder Cup, a match play competition between America and Europe, is one of the most exciting golf events. As a name, Ryder also has a cool edge that will stand out, while still looking good on a work resume as an adult.
Torrey - Show your love for West Coast golf by naming your kid after Torrey Pines, one of the most beautiful municipal courses in America. I think it's cute for either a boy or girl!
And that's my list of my favorite names inspired by golf. I'm sneaking as many of them into our name conversations as possible. Would you ever name your kid after something in golf?
About the onesie in my graphic: I found it on ETSY! Browsing ETSY stores for baby items is one of my favorite time killers. This seller is LittleFroggySurfShop, and you can buy it here.
Monday, August 22, 2016
I kept my cool on a 3 hour accidental solo flight with a toddler (and I owe it to coaching golf)
Last week the kiddo and I piggy backed on a business trip my husband took, grabbing a ticket on the the first leg of his Southwest flight that happened to connect through my parent's city. The plan was that he would continue on to his destination, and then at the end of the week we'd reconnect again when he made his layover and we would all fly back home together. I was very excited to go home for a week and see family, especially on a week when I would be parenting on my own the entire time.
We felt very confident in this plan. We flew one month prior as a family to Colorado for vacation, and I had done a LOT of prep work to make that flight as painless as possible. We found that an early flight suited our style best, since we didn't want to bank on him needing to nap on a plane. In the wee hours of the morning, we got ourselves up and dressed, loaded the car, and then scooped him up in his jammies to snap him into his car seat. He is the type of kid who can adapt to an earlier wake up call easier than a belated nap, and this worked wonders for us. Pooped from the excitement of travel, he was passed out in my arms the minute we took off. Later in the flight, the seat we purchased for him would prove its worth when he woke up and needed space to wiggle and play.
So this time we thought we could replicate the same magic, even though it was a different airport and different carrier. Southwest doesn't assign seats, so we gambled that we would be able to reserve ourselves an entire row and decided not to purchase the extra seat since it was so last minute that the cost was just ridiculous. And if we did have to hold him, at least there would be two of us to help each other out in a pinch.
We woke up that morning at the first sound of the alarm, and whisked the wee one into the car for the 40 minute drive to the airport. We parked, took the bus to the terminal, and were just getting into a good travel groove when we got a rude awakening.
Southwest demands proof of a lap baby's age in order to issue a ticket. This has never happened to us any of the other times we've flown (which was several times before he even turned one) on any other carrier (again this was our first Southwest flight with him). They prefer a birth certificate but will take an immunization record.
Neither of which we had.
And the ticket agents and their supervisors wouldn't budge. So I was moved to a later flight to allow time to get the required documents. Unfortunately, however, my husband's flight had to be coordinated through his work's travel agent. This meant that we would be split up for the outbound flight.
Until this point, I had never flown with my child on my own, and I was about to do so with a not-yet-two-year-old who would have to be in my lap the entire time.
Since we hit rush hour heading home and back, the length of the drive tripled. But we finally made it back to the airport with a copy of his birth certificate. Keep in mind that at this point we had been up since 4:30 a.m. and would have been a third of the way into our flight. The baby slept in the car, which wasn't the plan either, but who could blame him. We, on the other hand, found the nearest drive through for coffee, which we don't even drink. I knew immediately I would have to rule out him napping on the flight and just tried to stay calm so that I would be my best toddler-wrangling self on a packed flight.
My husband's flight was later than ours so he saw us off. We paid for the upgrade to early boarding which got us on the plane first after anyone who needed special assistance. My plan was to take an aisle seat up front on the same row as a young boy traveling on his own who had a window seat, because I figured that would be a sure deterrent to anyone in their right mind, and maybe the kids would entertain each other.
I let the kiddo play around in the middle seat as the general boarding continued, and it seemed as if my plan would work. Then, at the very last minute, he climbed into my lap for a cuddle right as the very last person boarded. She wasted no time and settled in the center seat. There was exactly one more seat available but it was much further back between two large men, so I guess you pick your poison in that case.
Deep breath, I remember thinking. Deep breath, friendly face.
From coaching golf, I learned that I have the power to set the tone I want -- or at least the power to control the tone I set for myself. I can't always control others around me, but by staying calm and in the present, I can hope for at least positive interactions with others.
Of course, I would always want my team to play their best. That's obvious; we wanted low scores and knew we were capable of them. But the best golfers know that the game is full of uncontrollables. Maybe you'll hit a beautiful drive, but an outside agency will move it away from the fairway. Maybe it will be completely silent during your backswing but on your follow through your competitor sneezes. Maybe there's a freakish snap in the weather mid-round. Maybe, as happened to my team in the last tournament I coached, your team is one stroke off the lead in the final round and playing amazingly, but a big storm comes through forcing the event to be called, and you lose the biggest tournament of the year by one stroke.
Uncontrollables are all around, and what I learned from coaching golf is that I can either decide to be a victim or tell myself that I'm in power. I can tell myself how fortunate I am that this is the problem I am facing when there are so many others in the world who have it so much worse than me. The decision to be capable is almost more powerful than whether or not you actually are.
This is how I've tried to parent -- calm, present, grateful, and positive -- and sitting down on that plane I made myself make the choice to be that person with not only my child, but with every other traveler around me. It was a choice I would have to remind myself to make over and over again on the flight. I reminded myself to be grateful that this was a travel problem
And we got through it. He was about as good as one could hope a toddler would be. Cranky at times but not terrible. We were lucky that the two things I feared most did not happen: a huge toddler tantrum meltdown, and a huge diaper blow out. And honestly the rest of the flight was a blur, skipping around activity to activity and making small chat with my seat mates.
As the plane touched down a woman seated behind me told me I was "the best mom." She said that I "was totally in his groove" and "perfect for him." I'm not saying this to brag, rather it just felt so nice to hear those things after such a long travel day because it really did not feel like I was any of those things.
And before I get any more unintentionally preachy, I'll end it here. Thanks for reading about my experience sharing 17 inches of an airline seat for three hours with my toddler. I'd love to hear back from anyone with the similar experience of applying important life skills learned from one discipline to something seeimingly unrelated!
Saturday, August 20, 2016
CONGRATS, Inbee Park, on Olympic Gold!
Queen Bee, I almost forgot about you before this Olympics. Shame on me! Park in my opinion is a player with a game that isn't flashy, which always makes it fun to watch her win against other players whose game may have style, but are rocky in substance in comparison. Good for her for coming through this week to win all week long.
I genuinely enjoyed keeping up with the scores of women's golf's return to the Olympics, even if I thought the broadcast to be painstakingly dull (in comparison to usual televised golf).
After predicting Lydia Ko would medal, I'm glad to see she battled back to Silver after a rocky start. I kind of figured she would dominate all four days, but it was truly more exciting to see her dig in like she did and play so well under pressure.
On team USA, I was happy to see Stacy Lewis post some awesome scores as well and I was really rooting for her. I was sad for her that a medal didn't happen even after she came so close, missing a birdie on the 18th that would have forced a playoff for bronze. It was SO. CLOSE. Gerina Piller had a great week too, especially day two when she tied for second and it must have been tough to not medal being paired with the lead group.
Fingers crossed that the IOC keeps golf in at least through 2020. I'd like to see several things changed (not that they're asking me, but still), such as team golf.
As for me, the league championship is coming up but it's looking like I won't be able to get in two of the three necessary rounds in order to have my scores count. I'm sad, but it is what it is. I still have a week or two to try to solidify a baby sitter so I can at least play in one of them. The good news is that it seems like the summer heat is (relatively) breaking and the cooler weather of fall is (somewhat) flirting with us. So that should make it better to play with this growing bump of mine!
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| Photo: NBCOlympics.com |
After predicting Lydia Ko would medal, I'm glad to see she battled back to Silver after a rocky start. I kind of figured she would dominate all four days, but it was truly more exciting to see her dig in like she did and play so well under pressure.
On team USA, I was happy to see Stacy Lewis post some awesome scores as well and I was really rooting for her. I was sad for her that a medal didn't happen even after she came so close, missing a birdie on the 18th that would have forced a playoff for bronze. It was SO. CLOSE. Gerina Piller had a great week too, especially day two when she tied for second and it must have been tough to not medal being paired with the lead group.
Fingers crossed that the IOC keeps golf in at least through 2020. I'd like to see several things changed (not that they're asking me, but still), such as team golf.
As for me, the league championship is coming up but it's looking like I won't be able to get in two of the three necessary rounds in order to have my scores count. I'm sad, but it is what it is. I still have a week or two to try to solidify a baby sitter so I can at least play in one of them. The good news is that it seems like the summer heat is (relatively) breaking and the cooler weather of fall is (somewhat) flirting with us. So that should make it better to play with this growing bump of mine!
Thursday, August 18, 2016
My thoughts on a not-yet-finished Olympics
What are your thoughts on golf's return to the Olympics this year after 112 years? Mine are mixed. I very much want this to be something that works, but so far the whole thing just feels.... underwhelming. Here are my admittedly premature, and completely unsolicited, thoughts as I watch round two of the women's event (which in my opinion has been better than the men's, if I'm being honest).
Annika is awesome. Dear television, please use Annika Sorenstam more often for your Golf broadcasts. And have her do men's events too, she has actual experience on both tours. I just love her perspective, and she doesn't say anything stupid. For some reason the Olympic broadcast has been so much more boring than normal golf broadcasts, but Annika is helping me stay interested.
Ryder Reminder. Commercials for the Ryder Cup are all the evidence we need that Olympic Golf needs to be a team event, not just an individual event. There would be so much more drama and excitement!
2020 Sights. I think the whole event will have a better sense of spectator excitement in Japan, which has a much bigger golf fan base. And I hope they pick an existing course with some tradition to its name. Hopefully when the IOC reviews golf in 2017 they'll leave it in so we can test this hypothesis!
The least important critique. I hate to feel this shallow, because this is totally the least important thing about any sport, BUT: the team uniforms of all countries have been a complete disappointment. This is the Olympics! Where is the exuberance, the style, the pride and pageantry? Why is everyone dressed like they are on a zero budget high school golf team? If the sport is going to have the least exciting broadcast of any event, at the very least the fashion can be a little more flashy. The only highlights are the subtle "Svergie" vertical block print on team Sweden's uniforms (that you can barely see on TV, which is unfortunate) and Great Britain's attempt at a large graphic, which at least took a stab at being fun. Doesn't hurt that the golfer wearing it took gold in the men's event.
I'm rooting for Stacy Lewis to keep first, but things shook up so much that the final rounds will be exciting!
What are your thoughts? Who are you rooting for?
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| Great Britain golf uniform, worn by gold medalist Justin Rose. I may not be crazy about it, but at least they tried to have some pizazz. Photo: Telegraph.co.uk |
I'm rooting for Stacy Lewis to keep first, but things shook up so much that the final rounds will be exciting!
What are your thoughts? Who are you rooting for?
Friday, August 12, 2016
My New Role Model, Olympic Gold Medalist Kristin Armstrong
"Because I can."
That's what Kristen Armstrong said after winning her third Olympic gold medal in cycling.
The Olympics celebrates youth, and always manages to point out that an athlete is "old" if she's in her twenties or thirties. So it's probably tough for an elite athlete to have the narrative be about her age (Kristin turned 43 the day after her big win) instead of her epic ability. Somehow, Kristin Armstrong seems to own it, though, and I find her to be a total bad-ass because of it. She came out of retirement, recovered from hip surgeries, works a real day job, and is a mother on top of that. And oh yeah, she's been on top of the Olympic podium THREE CONSECUTIVE TIMES.
Maybe it's just me, but I don't see my thirties and forties as a scary time to slow down and accept aging. Even though some things aren't what they were like when I was in high school or college, I actually feel most things getting better with time, even after having one baby and another one being on the way. There's still a lot that I want to accomplish in my sport and I know I have the time to get there, if I can work for it.
She's just so inspiring for that reason. I keep having flashes of her image, collapsed near the finish line asking if she won, then in tears of joy and exhaustion as she held her son moments after the race.
I haven't been able to golf much lately (this week's reasoning being a lack of a baby sitter), so it means I got to go to my favorite indoor cycling class at the gym. With Armstrong as my inspiration, I think I got the best sweat I've gotten in a while. I'm desperately seeking a sitter so that I can play in the league championship next month though and hope to be back at it before this baby bump gets too much in the way.
Congrats, Kristin Armstrong!
That's what Kristen Armstrong said after winning her third Olympic gold medal in cycling.
Maybe it's just me, but I don't see my thirties and forties as a scary time to slow down and accept aging. Even though some things aren't what they were like when I was in high school or college, I actually feel most things getting better with time, even after having one baby and another one being on the way. There's still a lot that I want to accomplish in my sport and I know I have the time to get there, if I can work for it.
She's just so inspiring for that reason. I keep having flashes of her image, collapsed near the finish line asking if she won, then in tears of joy and exhaustion as she held her son moments after the race.
I haven't been able to golf much lately (this week's reasoning being a lack of a baby sitter), so it means I got to go to my favorite indoor cycling class at the gym. With Armstrong as my inspiration, I think I got the best sweat I've gotten in a while. I'm desperately seeking a sitter so that I can play in the league championship next month though and hope to be back at it before this baby bump gets too much in the way.
Congrats, Kristin Armstrong!
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Celebrate #NationalGolfMonth with the Perfect Summer Day at the golf course.
It's HOT, y'all. Hot enough to have me dreaming of how my younger self might have been able to spend some of these scorching days with no responsibilities to a toddler. It would have been at the course, doing some drills until nearly dizzy from heat and then immediately plunging into the pool with a cold drink!
Celebrate #NationalGolfMonth with the Perfect Summer Day at the golf course. #golfoutfit #golfstyle #putter #nikegolf #titleist #womensgolf by golfbecca featuring graphic t shirts
Friday, August 5, 2016
The Olympics are here! My Picks for the Golf Gold
I've always had a super soft spot for the Olympics. In middle school computer class we were asked to make a Power Point project and I did mine on the Olympics. I distinctly remember clipping around a photo of a figure skater (probably Tara Lapinksi), and making an animated slide transition where that clipping "twirled" around before a swipe to the next slide.
I also did a Photoshop project where I put my face on the body of a penguin. It was insanely weird.
Had it not been because of the reinstatement of golf in the games this year, I might have decided to just skip watching them all together -- as a way to opt out of my conflicting feelings about loving sports but not agreeing with how the modern games are a mess for host cities, and therefore detrimental to sports in general. Feel free to roll your eyes at me if you must, I'm used to that by now.
But like I said, golf pulled me back in this year, and I'm excited! Whether or not this is the best format for golf (like Matt Kuchar, I too would prefer team scoring!), it's a great opportunity for the game to be a part of this audience. The games start this weekend but golf will kick off next week.
While team format would be awesome, it will be individual stroke play. So here's my totally-amateur, non-invested picks for who will be on the podium at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
Ladies:
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| Photo: Wikipedia |
Lydia Ko, New Zealand - duh. She comes into the games as one of the most dominant players, male or female, on any tour right now, and is currently number one in earnings and the CME rankings.
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| photo: Wikipedia |
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| Photo: Solheimcupusa.com |
Men:
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| Photo: Skysports.com |
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| photo: PGA.com |
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| photo: telegraph.co.uk |
Who are your picks? How will you be enjoying the 2016 Olympics this year?
Friday, July 29, 2016
Helpful Golf Hint to Handle the Heat
life has gotten in the way of golf the past two weeks...and I just have to deal. I'll be back out there soon, and when I do I imagine it will be much harder given my bump is growing considerably.
In the mean time, I thought I would pass along a tip for handling the heat and staying hydrated AND to handle nausea related to pregnancy morning sickness. A fun double-whammy.
When the temperatures rise, it can be hard to keep up with the right amount of water one might need to keep hydration levels where they need to be. And with both pregnancies, I've dealt with a fair share of morning sickness. This second one has not been nearly as bad as my first, but both times around the same remedy worked wonders.
What's worked best for me for both issues might be a surprise: Pedialyte! Specifically, the Popsicle version has been my favorite, as it has satisfied the "cold, refreshing" element that I seek in the heat and doesn't have nearly the intense flavor as the liquid version. Unlike sports drinks, Pedialyte doesn't have a lot of the unnecessary stuff since it's geared towards children. If you think about it, it makes sense to drink it as a sports drink alternative as it's designed to efficiently re-hydrate children when they get sick and lose fluids. I've even known college football players to chug the stuff during their summer two-a-days because it's way better than a sports drink. I encouraged my players to drink it on the course when we were anticipating extreme heat, especially on our 36-hole days. Of course, some preferred to put it in a nondescript water bottle than to let their competitors know they were drinking a beverage meant for babies with diarrhea. College kids, amirite?
So on days when I know I'll be at risk of losing a lot of water in the heat, or when I've had to quell some nausea before heading off to the course, I'll grab one in lieu of a glass of hot coffee or tea in the morning with breakfast. It tends to keep my energy level up a little bit as the day heats up mid round, because I load up on electrolytes early. On very hot days I come home and have one after. Works wonders for me!
Hope that is a helpful hint for anyone looking to ward of dehydration! Have fun this weekend and I hope everyone who gets to play has a great round!
This is not a sponsored post, all opinions are my own. I am not qualified to make medical advice and this post should not be considered expert medical opinion. I earn nothing through links posted.
In the mean time, I thought I would pass along a tip for handling the heat and staying hydrated AND to handle nausea related to pregnancy morning sickness. A fun double-whammy.
When the temperatures rise, it can be hard to keep up with the right amount of water one might need to keep hydration levels where they need to be. And with both pregnancies, I've dealt with a fair share of morning sickness. This second one has not been nearly as bad as my first, but both times around the same remedy worked wonders.
What's worked best for me for both issues might be a surprise: Pedialyte! Specifically, the Popsicle version has been my favorite, as it has satisfied the "cold, refreshing" element that I seek in the heat and doesn't have nearly the intense flavor as the liquid version. Unlike sports drinks, Pedialyte doesn't have a lot of the unnecessary stuff since it's geared towards children. If you think about it, it makes sense to drink it as a sports drink alternative as it's designed to efficiently re-hydrate children when they get sick and lose fluids. I've even known college football players to chug the stuff during their summer two-a-days because it's way better than a sports drink. I encouraged my players to drink it on the course when we were anticipating extreme heat, especially on our 36-hole days. Of course, some preferred to put it in a nondescript water bottle than to let their competitors know they were drinking a beverage meant for babies with diarrhea. College kids, amirite?
So on days when I know I'll be at risk of losing a lot of water in the heat, or when I've had to quell some nausea before heading off to the course, I'll grab one in lieu of a glass of hot coffee or tea in the morning with breakfast. It tends to keep my energy level up a little bit as the day heats up mid round, because I load up on electrolytes early. On very hot days I come home and have one after. Works wonders for me!
Hope that is a helpful hint for anyone looking to ward of dehydration! Have fun this weekend and I hope everyone who gets to play has a great round!
This is not a sponsored post, all opinions are my own. I am not qualified to make medical advice and this post should not be considered expert medical opinion. I earn nothing through links posted.
Friday, July 22, 2016
Fairway Fashion: Rainy Day Bananas
Michelle Wie is one of my favorite golfers on the LPGA, and not just because she's a fabulous golfer to watch (I got to see her play at Pinehurst in 2014 when she won the Open). I love her sporty-island-bold style! It's totally worth following her instagram account (@themichellewie) to get inspired to have fun with your look and your game. A few months back she posted a photo of this funky new bag with bananas and bold colors. It's easy to grab her look with some fun new accessories that you can swap out once your mood changes. A cute case for your tees and stuff, a sparkly ball marker, a cell phone case, and a funky watch are all you need. Aa solid black rain suit, white shoes and a white visor are more of an investment, but will last season after season!
Saturday, July 16, 2016
Round Reflection with no title
I played Friday with a heart heavy from the news out of France about the attack in Nice. A round of golf has never felt so pointless. And it was a fast round because my brain was literally anywhere except on the course.
I know none of what happened in France is about me, and I typically remain silent after these tragedies. But they keep happening. At this point I've reflected and reflected, and reflected. Listening to the news on the way to the course, I finally had a cognizant thought summarizing my feelings about everything that keeps happening, and how these attacks seem to get worse and worse each time -- and it depressed me even further.
Vision 54 talks often about being in an ideal "PME" state to play golf. This means "Physical, Mental, and Emotional" state (there are other components too, the Technical, Social, and Spirit of the game). They are all interrelated. I was prepped for the physical state to be my biggest challenge this summer, being pregnant. But with all I was feeling about modern terrorism and the unfairness of tragedy, I was not in a good emotional or mental state, nor prepared to play that day. But there I was, doing something as silly as golfing.
All these sad thoughts were bouncing around my head and I was just going through the motions. Then on the sixth hole, ball on the tee, I stood in the Think Box, took a deep breath, and closed my eyes. A voice told me, "yes, golf is a trivial thing to do in a world of tragedy. But you're here right now. You only get so many choices in this life, and your choice today was a fortunate one. So honor this opportunity." I got through the rest of the round just fine, but again, I feel so silly even sharing this round reflection because it feels so undignified and insignificant compared to the terrible things happening in the world.
Golf usually provides me much solace from the mundane of the world, but there are times like these when it feels untimely and even pointless. Does anyone else feel this way sometimes?
I wish everyone a restful weekend, and I'm going to try to get my head right before next week.
I know none of what happened in France is about me, and I typically remain silent after these tragedies. But they keep happening. At this point I've reflected and reflected, and reflected. Listening to the news on the way to the course, I finally had a cognizant thought summarizing my feelings about everything that keeps happening, and how these attacks seem to get worse and worse each time -- and it depressed me even further.
Vision 54 talks often about being in an ideal "PME" state to play golf. This means "Physical, Mental, and Emotional" state (there are other components too, the Technical, Social, and Spirit of the game). They are all interrelated. I was prepped for the physical state to be my biggest challenge this summer, being pregnant. But with all I was feeling about modern terrorism and the unfairness of tragedy, I was not in a good emotional or mental state, nor prepared to play that day. But there I was, doing something as silly as golfing.
All these sad thoughts were bouncing around my head and I was just going through the motions. Then on the sixth hole, ball on the tee, I stood in the Think Box, took a deep breath, and closed my eyes. A voice told me, "yes, golf is a trivial thing to do in a world of tragedy. But you're here right now. You only get so many choices in this life, and your choice today was a fortunate one. So honor this opportunity." I got through the rest of the round just fine, but again, I feel so silly even sharing this round reflection because it feels so undignified and insignificant compared to the terrible things happening in the world.
Golf usually provides me much solace from the mundane of the world, but there are times like these when it feels untimely and even pointless. Does anyone else feel this way sometimes?
I wish everyone a restful weekend, and I'm going to try to get my head right before next week.
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
My first Nextgen tournament and I did not play that great.
Come one, come all, gather 'round as I share the horrible tale of the golfer who won two longest drive competitions and one closest to the pin competitions in a single tournament but still did not break 100.
Yeah. It was that kind of day. My heart always tries to keep things positive and I truly believe in looking at the bright side (which I will get to later in this post), but this was NOT a good round. I won't rehash hole-by-hole since it was 18 this time and not 9, but it bears some reflection.
Last weekend I was lucky enough to get away from home to play in a Nextgen City Tour tournament. Nextgen hosts events for 18-34 year old golfers of all skill levels. The format is best ball or scramble, and it's promoted as a way to play more, network, and have a good time. I found my team through the GolfMatch app. This is a mobile app that allows you to find people in your area to play with. I've been messaging the ladies I played with for a while and it worked out well that we all wanted to play this event.
So going into this weekend, I was excitedly nervous about two things: playing with people my age, and playing in a more robust environment than my weekly nine-hole league rounds. I was anxious about looking and playing like a good golfer, and not looking and playing like a pregnant hacker. Everything made me uncomfortable. I wondered if my clothes looked too baggy since I had to accommodate the bump. I wondered if it was dorky that I played with the Calloway Chromes that look like soccer balls (even though they make me happy). I wondered if the fact that I am a stay at home mom would make me a weirdo. So a lot was on my mind in addition to the pure excitement and joy to play golf.
This anxiety followed me the entire drive to the University of Maryland's golf course (which is seriously baller that they have one right on campus!), throughout my warm up (and because I was so early for fear they would move me up or something I warmed up for more than an hour which probably made me tired), and for the first nine holes on the course.
I was a huge ball of nerves. I couldn't tell if it was obvious that I was pregnant, but also when offered a beer by my playing partners couldn't decide if I wanted to tell them why I was declining. I ended up not telling them, and then the anxiety of whether that was awkward or not hung on my head for a while.
Nextgen fortunately has a triple-par score limit to keep pace of play, meaning you can't get more than a triple par on any hole. This is great for both pace of play and because it makes tournament golf accessible to newcomers. I took it for the first four holes -- on the first, I managed to putt in for an 8, but since it's a par 4 we gave me a 7. Then the next three I didn't even finish the hole, I just picked up, frustrated and embarrassed.
But I finally got my head right for the fifth hole, after a text exchange from my husband finally settled me down:
I just needed to be reminded my mantra: there are no diapers on the golf course! Suddenly I felt stupid for being so worried and decided I would make the best of the day despite the damage done. The score would be what it would be.
And just like that, I got a par on the next hole. That's not to say that things suddenly clicked and I was on fire, but there's something to be said about the attitude of gratitude. I might be playing like shit, but at least I didn't have to handle any literal shit while I was there. The rest of the day was a bit up and down, with only one more par and a lot of bogeys (and then some).
But, I did get a closest to the pin and not one but two longest drives. That felt pretty awesome.
"Does anyone want to keep their scorecard?" the organizer asked at the end of the round after scoring. "No," I said under my breath, "burn it."
I really enjoyed meeting the women I played with, and so I highly suggest the GolfMatch app to anyone looking to find new people to play with. Hopefully I'll get more rounds with them before the summer ends!
I can't say I really loved the Nextgen tournament environment, but I'm trying to keep myself from being too biased. When you play poorly, it's easy to think it's other people's fault. I dig what they're trying to do for young golfers and grow the game, but I can't decide if I'll ever play in one of their events again since I'm kind of embarrassed about how I played. Then there was the fact that my best ball partner did not get paired with me in the scoring system, so I came in dead last as an individual... which kinda felt like salt in a silly wound. But a few days later our team got a very nice email from the organizer thanking us for playing, apologizing and explaining for the scoring error, and inviting us to play again. That was very cool of him to do!
Now on to the good things: in a strange way I'm actually kind of grateful for having these competitive opportunities where I feel crazy uncomfortable and even fail a little bit. As a coach you gain great new perspective into the mental side of the game and I felt like I was getting really good at helping my players mentally through their nerves. But these types of experiences show me just how valuable it is to keep my competitive experiences fresh so that I can pass along this knowledge with a fair amount of credibility. My goal is to someday get back to coaching and I am grateful in a way for having the opportunity to break a little bit, so that I can grow and be stronger.
Yeah. It was that kind of day. My heart always tries to keep things positive and I truly believe in looking at the bright side (which I will get to later in this post), but this was NOT a good round. I won't rehash hole-by-hole since it was 18 this time and not 9, but it bears some reflection.
Last weekend I was lucky enough to get away from home to play in a Nextgen City Tour tournament. Nextgen hosts events for 18-34 year old golfers of all skill levels. The format is best ball or scramble, and it's promoted as a way to play more, network, and have a good time. I found my team through the GolfMatch app. This is a mobile app that allows you to find people in your area to play with. I've been messaging the ladies I played with for a while and it worked out well that we all wanted to play this event.
So going into this weekend, I was excitedly nervous about two things: playing with people my age, and playing in a more robust environment than my weekly nine-hole league rounds. I was anxious about looking and playing like a good golfer, and not looking and playing like a pregnant hacker. Everything made me uncomfortable. I wondered if my clothes looked too baggy since I had to accommodate the bump. I wondered if it was dorky that I played with the Calloway Chromes that look like soccer balls (even though they make me happy). I wondered if the fact that I am a stay at home mom would make me a weirdo. So a lot was on my mind in addition to the pure excitement and joy to play golf.
This anxiety followed me the entire drive to the University of Maryland's golf course (which is seriously baller that they have one right on campus!), throughout my warm up (and because I was so early for fear they would move me up or something I warmed up for more than an hour which probably made me tired), and for the first nine holes on the course.
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| The University of Maryland football stadium looms large behind the clubhouse. How cool is it that you can play a round in the morning and then go to a game later that day? |
I was a huge ball of nerves. I couldn't tell if it was obvious that I was pregnant, but also when offered a beer by my playing partners couldn't decide if I wanted to tell them why I was declining. I ended up not telling them, and then the anxiety of whether that was awkward or not hung on my head for a while.
Nextgen fortunately has a triple-par score limit to keep pace of play, meaning you can't get more than a triple par on any hole. This is great for both pace of play and because it makes tournament golf accessible to newcomers. I took it for the first four holes -- on the first, I managed to putt in for an 8, but since it's a par 4 we gave me a 7. Then the next three I didn't even finish the hole, I just picked up, frustrated and embarrassed.
But I finally got my head right for the fifth hole, after a text exchange from my husband finally settled me down:
And just like that, I got a par on the next hole. That's not to say that things suddenly clicked and I was on fire, but there's something to be said about the attitude of gratitude. I might be playing like shit, but at least I didn't have to handle any literal shit while I was there. The rest of the day was a bit up and down, with only one more par and a lot of bogeys (and then some).
But, I did get a closest to the pin and not one but two longest drives. That felt pretty awesome.
 |
| I have proof of it this time! |
"Does anyone want to keep their scorecard?" the organizer asked at the end of the round after scoring. "No," I said under my breath, "burn it."
I really enjoyed meeting the women I played with, and so I highly suggest the GolfMatch app to anyone looking to find new people to play with. Hopefully I'll get more rounds with them before the summer ends!
I can't say I really loved the Nextgen tournament environment, but I'm trying to keep myself from being too biased. When you play poorly, it's easy to think it's other people's fault. I dig what they're trying to do for young golfers and grow the game, but I can't decide if I'll ever play in one of their events again since I'm kind of embarrassed about how I played. Then there was the fact that my best ball partner did not get paired with me in the scoring system, so I came in dead last as an individual... which kinda felt like salt in a silly wound. But a few days later our team got a very nice email from the organizer thanking us for playing, apologizing and explaining for the scoring error, and inviting us to play again. That was very cool of him to do!
 |
| The University of Maryland course looking up the ninth hole to the clubhouse. |
Now on to the good things: in a strange way I'm actually kind of grateful for having these competitive opportunities where I feel crazy uncomfortable and even fail a little bit. As a coach you gain great new perspective into the mental side of the game and I felt like I was getting really good at helping my players mentally through their nerves. But these types of experiences show me just how valuable it is to keep my competitive experiences fresh so that I can pass along this knowledge with a fair amount of credibility. My goal is to someday get back to coaching and I am grateful in a way for having the opportunity to break a little bit, so that I can grow and be stronger.
Saturday, July 9, 2016
Round Reflections: The story of how my score swung nine strokes in two weeks
I've had the fortune of playing two weeks in a row and we're overdue for a recap. The original summer plan was to play only every other week to keep costs down (childcare makes a weekly round that much more expensive). But since I'm pregnant now (!), I'm kind of in a rush to golf more, as I don't know if I will wake up one day and just not feel it possible anymore. Pregnancy is like that. So make hay while the sun shines, so to speak.
So last week, fresh off our vacation from the mountains and two weeks from the previous round, and feeling bummed about the way I putted with a suddenly not-broken-but-not-100% putter, I had the BEST ROUND I've had all summer. I felt amazing. I swung with ease and scrambled well, and despite my putting debacle I had only one or two putts per hole. If not for a penalty stroke on the last hole (I lost the tee shot in some native grass, it was a beautiful hit but I was clearly aimed there), it would have been a round of almost all pars and only a few bogeys. I shot only seven over for the day with that triple on the last hole.
The weekly challenge last week was Odds Or Evens. After the round, a member of the clubhouse staff would draw from a hat whether the scores would be calculated from the odd number or even number holes. I waited anxiously all weekend to find out what the result would be, all the while praying they would be evens since I had so many pars on even holes. They drew odds. Of course I only bogeyed and tripled the odds! So that was a bummer. I am SO happy with the way I played though.
Well this past week, things just weren't clicking so consistently. The challenge this time was to play from the back tees. No big deal for me, honestly, as this is a small par three course. I usually take all my woods from the bag to keep things light. I was excited for this challenge, but it turned into a bit of a roller coaster that I'm still mulling over.
I got a par on the first hole (the first time I've ever pared it), and thought, today I will be unstoppable.
I got a bogey on the next hole and thought, well that's to be expected playing from the longer tees.
I took a penalty on the third for a tee shot that went OB. No biggie, I thought. Just keep swimming.
Fourth hole comes along and I crush the drive a little over 200 yards to reach the left edge of the green. It felt and sounded amazing. There was even a longest drive competition that I'm 99% sure I won (they haven't posted it on the site yet). Here I go I think, time for a chip-in!
Then I duffed the chip, and three putt for a double. Drive for show putt for dough, they say. Oh well, I thought, move on and do better, lots of golf to be had.
Fifth hole I think to hit the driver again, but I didn't get comfortable; I topped the shot. Then I over shot the green to the back bunker. Then I got extremely winded climbing up the hill to the green carrying a heavier-than-usual bag with a slightly-more-pregnant-than-previous-week belly. The sand shot shanked right but at least got to the green. Then I SIX PUTT, for a whopping nine.
Slow down and breathe, I thought. Bring that heart rate down. Move on.
Hit the next green but three putted when my second lips around the hole. Still an improvement, I thought, and moved on.
Hit the following green with the most beautiful draw my 3-wood has ever touched, and sink the par putt. Back at it, I think.
Hole 8 was played forward for pace of play reasons since the shot carries water. It was hot but a clear day and things felt like they were flying farther than usual because of the heat, so I went for it with my pitching wedge. It flew right on line. C'mon, I thought, be good! It cleared the water, hit the fringe, took a spin backwards, and trickled down the rocks into the water.
Then I shank my next shot from the drop zone into the water. Finally on the green in 5, I two putt for a seven.
Almost done, I thought, keep your head in it.
A honest bogey on the ninth let me walk off the course on a slightly higher note. Tired and wet from that awkward line of sweat I should now be expecting to only get worse every week between my sports bra and baby bump that is visible through my polo, I welcomed the AC of the clubhouse to add up my nightmare of a 44.
I really didn't play so terribly that I'm feeling bad about it, I am just worried that unless I can repeat the first of these two rounds for the rest of the month, that this one round will edge my handicap out of the A flight. I want to stay there so I can be eligible for the league championship, even though I haven't won any weeks yet so it's not like it's within grasp yet . And I'm also nervous that if I got winded so easily this week, it's only going to get worse from here as the bump continues to grow. They have push carts I can rent but I'm not sure that will be better, and if it does come to it this fall I might be able to argue for use of the motorized carts (this course is walking only with exception of physical handicaps). But I love walking and carrying my clubs.
Oh well. One week, one day, one round, one hole, one shot at a time.
For anyone interested, I'm due in December so I'm just into my second trimester. This is my second kid and this pregnancy has so far been MUCH easier than my first; I'm so thankful for that because it's made golfing easier. I don't intend this to be a pregnancy blog, but since it's a blog about being a mom golfer, and I'm golfing regularly while also growing weekly, it won't be ignored completely. I'd love to hear from any other women who golfed through their pregnancies and what they experienced!
So last week, fresh off our vacation from the mountains and two weeks from the previous round, and feeling bummed about the way I putted with a suddenly not-broken-but-not-100% putter, I had the BEST ROUND I've had all summer. I felt amazing. I swung with ease and scrambled well, and despite my putting debacle I had only one or two putts per hole. If not for a penalty stroke on the last hole (I lost the tee shot in some native grass, it was a beautiful hit but I was clearly aimed there), it would have been a round of almost all pars and only a few bogeys. I shot only seven over for the day with that triple on the last hole.
The weekly challenge last week was Odds Or Evens. After the round, a member of the clubhouse staff would draw from a hat whether the scores would be calculated from the odd number or even number holes. I waited anxiously all weekend to find out what the result would be, all the while praying they would be evens since I had so many pars on even holes. They drew odds. Of course I only bogeyed and tripled the odds! So that was a bummer. I am SO happy with the way I played though.
Well this past week, things just weren't clicking so consistently. The challenge this time was to play from the back tees. No big deal for me, honestly, as this is a small par three course. I usually take all my woods from the bag to keep things light. I was excited for this challenge, but it turned into a bit of a roller coaster that I'm still mulling over.
I got a par on the first hole (the first time I've ever pared it), and thought, today I will be unstoppable.
I got a bogey on the next hole and thought, well that's to be expected playing from the longer tees.
I took a penalty on the third for a tee shot that went OB. No biggie, I thought. Just keep swimming.
Fourth hole comes along and I crush the drive a little over 200 yards to reach the left edge of the green. It felt and sounded amazing. There was even a longest drive competition that I'm 99% sure I won (they haven't posted it on the site yet). Here I go I think, time for a chip-in!
Then I duffed the chip, and three putt for a double. Drive for show putt for dough, they say. Oh well, I thought, move on and do better, lots of golf to be had.
Fifth hole I think to hit the driver again, but I didn't get comfortable; I topped the shot. Then I over shot the green to the back bunker. Then I got extremely winded climbing up the hill to the green carrying a heavier-than-usual bag with a slightly-more-pregnant-than-previous-week belly. The sand shot shanked right but at least got to the green. Then I SIX PUTT, for a whopping nine.
Slow down and breathe, I thought. Bring that heart rate down. Move on.
Hit the next green but three putted when my second lips around the hole. Still an improvement, I thought, and moved on.
Hit the following green with the most beautiful draw my 3-wood has ever touched, and sink the par putt. Back at it, I think.
Hole 8 was played forward for pace of play reasons since the shot carries water. It was hot but a clear day and things felt like they were flying farther than usual because of the heat, so I went for it with my pitching wedge. It flew right on line. C'mon, I thought, be good! It cleared the water, hit the fringe, took a spin backwards, and trickled down the rocks into the water.
Then I shank my next shot from the drop zone into the water. Finally on the green in 5, I two putt for a seven.
Almost done, I thought, keep your head in it.
A honest bogey on the ninth let me walk off the course on a slightly higher note. Tired and wet from that awkward line of sweat I should now be expecting to only get worse every week between my sports bra and baby bump that is visible through my polo, I welcomed the AC of the clubhouse to add up my nightmare of a 44.
I really didn't play so terribly that I'm feeling bad about it, I am just worried that unless I can repeat the first of these two rounds for the rest of the month, that this one round will edge my handicap out of the A flight. I want to stay there so I can be eligible for the league championship, even though I haven't won any weeks yet so it's not like it's within grasp yet . And I'm also nervous that if I got winded so easily this week, it's only going to get worse from here as the bump continues to grow. They have push carts I can rent but I'm not sure that will be better, and if it does come to it this fall I might be able to argue for use of the motorized carts (this course is walking only with exception of physical handicaps). But I love walking and carrying my clubs.
Oh well. One week, one day, one round, one hole, one shot at a time.
For anyone interested, I'm due in December so I'm just into my second trimester. This is my second kid and this pregnancy has so far been MUCH easier than my first; I'm so thankful for that because it's made golfing easier. I don't intend this to be a pregnancy blog, but since it's a blog about being a mom golfer, and I'm golfing regularly while also growing weekly, it won't be ignored completely. I'd love to hear from any other women who golfed through their pregnancies and what they experienced!
Friday, July 1, 2016
Course Review: Golf Granby Ranch, Colorado
We took a much-needed family vacation last week to Granby, Colorado, where my parents own a condo at Granby Ranch. There is a golf course now that they can see from their window that I've always wanted to play, but I honestly think the last time I was there in the summer they hadn't even finished building out nine holes.
So golf was definitely on the agenda this time around. My dad, husband, and I played one afternoon this week, and I really enjoyed both playing with them as well as experiencing a fun Rocky Mountain golf experience. Here's my review of Golf Granby Ranch (complete with some awesomely amateur iPhone photos).
- View into the 16th green from the fairway at Granby Ranch.
Golf Granby Ranch is a fun mountain course that is challenging, but doesn't pull the kind of tricks on you that more robust courses do. In that way, it is an accessible course for groups of players with various abilities, although don't expect it to be a very fast round if you have some very new beginners in the group. More experienced players will also enjoy the fact that the course has enough challenge to make each good hole feel like a reward, even if it they are sandwiched between some slightly punishing holes. In short, a player doesn't need to know expert course management tricks to enjoy themselves, as long as they have good, or even basic, understanding of fundamentals.
- Granby Ranch golf course map. If there was a topographical rendering of the surrounding mountain, you would see how the front nine nestles into the valley along the Fraser River and the back nine was a little more carved along the mountainside.
What I loved is that the front and back nine are very different, which makes it almost like playing a whole new course after the turn. The front side in the valley by the Fraser River feels friendly and familiar and doesn't pack too many punches. This makes it all the more a shame that I didn't get in my par putts while I had the chance because the ninth hole climbs up from tee to green, and kept climbing through the turn. The back nine is carved into some very beautiful but challenging mountain vistas, complete with natural areas filled with brush, wildflowers and succulent plants, and blind tee shots where you feel like you're a million miles above sea level.
- View of the Granby Ranch golf clubhouse from the 8th tee box. the driving range is situated between here and the clubhouse, and the ninth hole can be seen on the left side climbing back up towards the clubhouse. The elevation keeps climbing up from there!
- Blind tee shot at Granby Ranch on the 13th hole. The hills were alive with the sound of three-putts.
My particular favorite stretch was along the 7th (a long par 5) and 8th (par 3) hole, where the gentle babbling of the river makes for a pleasant soundtrack and the valley narrows around the river with mountains on either side. I also loved the way trains would slowly pass by on the other side of those holes as they approached the town of Granby (I'll understand if you think that is a little nerdy, because it kind of is)-- and especially loved that they were quiet!
- On the front nine at Granby Ranch, a train winds through on the opposite side of the Fraser River. The trains don't make noise as they pass since they slow down as they approach the town. I might be a little nerdy, but I thought this was cool.
The rental situation was decent for a small, seasonal course. As my dad was waiting in line to pay before the round I snooped a little to see what the selection would be. I have rented some gnarly sets in the past and wanted to see if I could tell what the "premium" rental sets (which they rent for $35) would be. Their selection didn't look that wide, and the "standard" rental sets ($18) I could only describe as Frankenstein because of how the irons, woods, and drivers were from a variety of brands pieced together from older sets. Despite that, at least they were clean and in good condition (I rented once and the clubs were not only old and beaten up, but also filthy from years of use). Fortunately, they had three brand new sets of Strata clubs, including a women's set. Not sure what the lefty situation would be.
We played after 2 p.m. when the twilight rate kicked in but we knew we could get in a full round, and I thought that $60 per player was a fair value. We did not eat at the grill, but there is a nice deck overlooking the front nine that I can imagine would be great for a couple of beers and a burger after a round. Will have to check that out next time!
In case you were curious after reading my Father's Day post, I did manage to take several photos with my dad this time to prove that we did indeed play a fun round together!
- Mission Accomplished!
And I also wrangled my husband into some photos as well, and he was a good sport about it too.
- Aren't I quite the catch.
Thanks for reading my review of Golf Granby Ranch! We came home just in time for me to play with the league tomorrow, so hopefully I will have a good round to report back.
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