Day 53: Speeding things up

HQ was nice and big this week!

I was in the starting tent again this morning and got to send off the top players of the day and a few of my favorite players. Our time par was 4:08 today and we were breaking four house yesterday so I did my best to light a fire under the players to get them moving around the golf course. I ran a few sand bottles out to the course and set up the scoring tents before I distributed lunches. Lunch distribution is still one of my favorite assignments. Everyone is so hungry by the time you get out to them that they are so excited to see you.

The clubhouse was an enormous old home that used to
be a working 6,000 acre ranch.

I spent the rest of the afternoon in HQ entering scorecards so that we could start the awards ceremony right away. I interviewed the winners after Michael took pictures. When I was saying goodbye to our Boys Division champ him mom complemented me on my manner in the starting tent. She said that I do a good job of being stern with the players, while still being nice about it.  She went on to say that I was the best started she's seen, thanked me for a great tournament and walked away. I was just tickled: it was such a sweet thing to say! 

After the interview I went inside to write the news story on the final round. I listened back to the interviews, checked our champions scorecard stats and then actually wrote the story. All in all, it took 15-20 minutes. I didn't think too much of the time because I was just trying to finish everything up and pack our equipment quickly. It wasn't until Rogers, our tournament director, complimented me on my increased golf knowledge in my one-on-one weekly review that I realizedy own growth. Just four weeks ago, I was taking an hour to write the story. There are still a few times that I have to ask Michael how to phrase something, but for the most part I am now able to run through the story and facts on my own. Starting the summer with zero golf knowledge and now being about to write a news story going out to local media sources and being posted on the AJGA website, I'm honestly really proud of myself. I still have a ton to learn, but I think I've finally turne the corner. 

For dinner we went to Tschida's host family's home and swam in their pool. It was a beautiful home and view and a great way to relax after a busy and successful week!

Not a bad view onto the golf course!