The south probably describes the way Team 2 does things best... "Git 'er Dun." Funny. Motivated. A little gritty around the edges. What started off as a great group at training turned into a group with a great sense of humor as we hit the road and then became an incredibly fun, hardworking, and successful team on the road. In summary, we rock.
So much has happened in the last week that I will just summarize and give some highlights.
Sunday was the qualifier. We played it at a different course than the tournament course and had a rain delay as the three remaining groups on the course approached their final green. So they waited an hour for one chip and one or two putts. Once we were finally out of red alert, they got out there and finished only to find that we needed a playoff for the top spots for the tournament. It started with 5 guys for 4 spots and ended up with two guys battling it out through the first hole EIGHT TIMES in order to determine a winner. I felt really bad when the guy that lost came the next day to the practice round because he was an alternate, but didn't end up getting to play. This may not make too many people upset, but I had to be a rules official for a group with a player that feigned illness and told me my rulings were wrong even after they'd already been called into the head rules official. And he may have been cheating, but I have no proof. Jerk. It's times like these when the spoiled rich kids that tend to have the opportunity to play golf really come out and make me wonder how I could ever be interested in working in golf.
But then I follow groups with the most polite, well-behaved, wonderful kids I've ever met, despite being given everything their whole lives. I had quite a few great kiddos, all ones that I hope to see at other tournaments this summer.
The other great part of the week is the volunteers that come out for it. Most of them are over the age of 60, some with great stories and some with great health problems and a lack of understanding of the game. Some players don't like their balls to be searched for if they hit a provisional ball. Sometimes you wonder what's wrong with someone when they look at you like you're doing something wrong while they are the one standing on their golf cart's horn. Sometimes you don't want to be told that your job isn't real and that you don't do anything. And sometimes you just gotta laugh when the ball spotter volunteer is using his binoculars, spots a ball he thinks is coming his way, yells "oh shit!", and runs back into the woods while the ball bounces up the opposite side of the fairway. It happens and it's why we love what we do.
I laughed a ton this week, sweated more than I thought was possible, realized how much I love 12-18 year old and will never understand 60-75 year olds, and discovered that golf is a great sport and this job, while being incredibly demanding on my sleep schedule, body, and focus, is also incredibly rewarding and I hope that I will feel this way the whole summer.
And for now, as I lie in my Hilton Garden Inn bed that Delta is paying for in Pensacola, Florida, I am happy to have my first tournament under my belt and hoping I will actually make it back for my graduation on Saturday. And if not? Well, Delta better get my family down to see me in Sarasota this weekend.
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