The Golfchick

That chick blabbing about anything golf related.

Category: Facebook

Royal and Awesome Contest Winners Announcement!

We had some fun photo entries over on The Golf Chick Facebook page for the Royal and Awesome golf attire contest! Thanks to all who played and voted! I also appreciate the likes, votes, emails and tweets about who should win. They may have influenced my decision, but ultimately, I just picked who I picked. I may have mentioned this was going to be an arbitrary, not mathematical, contest! :)

So, without further ado… here are the winners:

John Snider …… wins a pair of trousers! (Multiple entries that were all fun but my favorite was the cart in the muck! Don’t drink and drive, kids, don’t even putt.)

Steve Antilla ….. wins a pair of shorts! (Within inches of an ace. If we all had shorts for every one of those…!)

Fiona Payne ….. wins a cap! (Amazing 40′ putt, but to snap a photo and see the track on the green? Royally awesome!)

Congratulations to all! Email me at kristen (at) thegolfchick (dot) com and I we can sort out the fulfillment details. I hope when you receive them you’ll post pics back on the FB page or send them to me so I can share them. Thanks again for playing, and enjoy your new duds!

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When Will The Golf Chick Break 80? Pool Announcement and Progress Report

As my golf swing continues to progress, I started the pool about when I will break 80 over on my Golf Chick Facebook page last week and people are getting their votes in. There is an over/under for the less adventuresome but some people are also naming specific dates. I’ll tell you something – there will likely be a prize or two and it will be a lot harder to choose a winner from people who only picked over or under. Just saying. Wagering amongst one another is up to you and the laws that govern you (does that cover my ass?).

People who read this blog regularly will have an advantage because you’ll know the progress I’m making. Scores I’m shooting, how practice is going, how dedicated I am (or not) day to day, week to week, how I’m feeling about it all, etc. Some people are choosing the “over” in the pool, which I perceive as an underestimation of me – one I look forward to proving wrong. Perhaps they’re doing it on purpose to motivate me, but if you haven’t voted and are considering the same – here’s another clue: I’m plenty motivated now. That grenade has been jumped on. Pick a more winning date.

Golf Chick Break 80 pool

A couple people have chosen their own birthdays as my break 80 date, which I think is fantastic. I wish I could give that birthday gift – the first one is next week though! Zoinks! Plus, I should tell you potential pool participants that while I do manage to play during the week at times, I’m much more likely to play on weekends. By the way, if you don’t use Facebook, feel free to make your pick here in the comments of this post. If you are dropping by my FB page to make your pick, I’d love it if you would click its “like” button if you haven’t yet!

Quick answers and summary of progress: People have asked me on Facebook and Twitter about my progress. All my golf and swing progress is documented here on my blog. Quick review to date – best score before swing change: 82. Best score since swing change: 86, however that was too soon and I don’t feel it was my authentic new swing. I played 5 rounds with a flawed new swing and am now back to only practicing to get it more ingrained and it’s feeling better already (details below). I’m playing a scramble charity event this Friday (July 22) and plan to continue to grind away at the range after that. I will throw in a round from time to time to keep practice interesting. As I mentioned earlier, weekends are far more likely for such rounds to occur but some weekdays are possible.

Golf Swing Progress Update:

I had three amazing practice sessions the last three nights. I focused only on my irons and really had them working well. Getting back to the fundamentals after so many days on the course really made a difference and I was able to focus on how what I should be doing and feeling rather than the outcome of each shot on a course. I was striking the ball very well and more consistently than ever. Not just since I got my new swing but EVER. Which, according to Jay Lim, my swing coach, (and perhaps every other instructor) is precisely the objective. Consistent repeat-ability. I’m getting there and it feels amazing.

Golf Tip – From the Horse’s Mouth – Am to Am Translation

I’m sure it has been spoken and written countless times but something occurred to me on the range the past couple days that really made a difference for me and felt like a breakthrough. One of my weaknesses Jay has been coaching me on is how I lead with the hands or arms instead of the shoulders on the backswing. He keeps telling me the shoulders need to start the swing. If he explained why I don’t recall but the reason I just figured out on my own is that it makes it 10 times easier to keep my left arm straight(er) and control the steepness of my swing plane. Jay usually speaks my language very well, which is important in a student/swing coach relationship, but whatever he said or I read about consistency and leading with the shoulders did not really click for me until I came to this revelation two days ago and reinforced last night and tonight. I share it with you now in the hopes it might do the same for someone else. To put it the way it made sense in MY head: lead, almost push back, with the front shoulder to keep the arm “connected” in the swing. If I lead with my hands or club, the shoulders have a hard time keeping up and it’s almost impossible not to bend my left elbow. If I turn my shoulders first, it practically keeps itself straight! Then if I keep my plane (which I’m doing better by keeping my right knee bent), it’s much easier to contact the ball consistently because my arm doesn’t have to “figure out” where to go. It has already been there.

Romance in the Air

I am falling in love with my new golf swing so I need to name it now more than ever. You know, before I start calling it some cutesy name like “Cupcake” instead of a fierce name like a honey badger deserves. I’m considering Chuck, or Norris (not both – I can’t see myself loving Chuck Norris but he could be my swing’s namesake). I am so excited. I seriously cannot stop thinking about my swing and when I’ll be able to spend more time with it. It feels like new love. For a golf nerd. If you read this far, I bet you know just how I feel. Admit it.

UPDATE: I DID IT! July 11, 2015.

Took me long enough, but I finally broke 80! I shot 78 at Falcon Ridge golf course from the maroon tees (4440 yards). I normally play the gold tees there but we played with another couple and I decided to step up and play the forward tees since the woman was playing there and the guys were split, so rather than stop at four sets of tees… you know how that goes. Anyway, even though it’s exceptionally short, it’s still a challenging course and you have to make the shots. So it counts! 😛

78 scorecard

 

Then, less than a week later we went back and I played the gold tees (5279 – still short, but with a 124 slope that’s my spot). After breaking 80 from the forward tees, breaking 80 from here was my next goal. Guess what? NAILED IT! Shot a smooth 77 for a new personal best!

77 scorecard

Haven’t seen the 70’s again since, but my new goal is to break 80 at any other golf course. Then just try to keep it in the 70’s.

I’ve always been pretty chill on the golf course because, well, I’m “not good enough to get mad.” But now that I’ve seen and felt the 70’s, I find myself feeling more frustrated out there when I don’t play well. Maybe I need to look into meditation.

~May they all roll true.

Mesquite Amateur 2011 / Golf Chick Wrap Up Part 2

… Okay so where was I? Oh yes, after the night of the first Mesquite Amateur theme party, sound asleep in my room at the Casablanca, dreaming about a stellar round. In case you missed it, here is part one of the Mesquite Am wrap up. And now for another epic blog post.

Such a round did not materialize for me. Although we played the same course (Oasis Canyons) as I did during my practice round, it looked and felt entirely different. When I looked at the card and saw the red tees at 4739 yards and the golds at 5335, I assumed we would play the golds. My bad. The reds just did not suit my eye or my game. My visualization certainly didn’t involve hitting 5 iron off so many tees. I was all screwed up and I lost confidence throughout the day in all my clubs. After the round, I worked that out on the range, hitting another 100 balls while the rest of the ladies were eating, drinking and socializing.

Oh by the way – I neglected to get a photo with my playing partners Garnette and Susan that first day (although I did put Garnette’s shoes up on Facebook for the Golfchick’s best shoe contest). And while I don’t seem to have any pics of me in my golf attire that day, I did snap a close up of my top because it’s a cool Golf Chick logo shirt I wanted to share with you.

It’s not meant to be a pervy boob shot, I just wanted to make sure to get the lime green piping, the TGC logo with the bling around it and the swoosh on the button placket. I think it’s a very cute top!

Back in my room, I relaxed a bit, tweeted some more and started the shoe contest on Facebook. Throughout the week, people would take photos of great golf shoes they saw during their rounds and post them to The Golf Chick Facebook page. My favorite men’s and women’s shoe submissions would win a Daphne’s Head Cover for the person who submitted them – not necessarily the person wearing them. It was quite fun.

That night at the tent party, I was supposed to address the golfers about The Golf Chick group and giveaway some prizes but I got bumped for time. They did invite me up to make a brief announcement to the group that I would be doing the prize giveaway over by the pool after the dinner. Trouble with that is, people had plans and got lured by the casinos so we only had about 45 people show up. Oh well, more prize opps for them! That night I gave away a Callaway Golf GPS to one lucky winner and $250 in gift cards good at all the pro shops in Mesquite, so we had a lot of happy people. Plus we got to mingle a bit more with one antoher!

A quick shout out to my fellow Mesquite Amateur sponsors (shown on the screen in the pic): The presenting sponsor, Golf Mesquite Nevada, The City of Mesquite, NV, and The Mesquite Resort Association.

And oh yeah… the long drive competitions were held on the first day and they presented those awards that night. When we approached my drive on the marked hole, we were excited to see that I got to move the marker and put my name on it. There weren’t too many groups behind us so I hoped it would hold up but you never know. Incidentally, remember Jana from the Callaway demo day long drive in my last post? Her name was on the marker for her flight … about 30 yards in front of mine. At least we’re consistent. Next year I’m going to have a new swing and I will be hitting a lot further than this 200 yard crap so she better watch out.

Cuttin’ a Rug with the Canucks

After the prize giveaway, we turned loose on the casinos and lounges. I wanted to mingle with more people than a blackjack table would allow so I opted for the main lounge at the Casablanca. I arrived with a couple friends and there were several tables of golfers scattered around. I noticed a couple guys with some crazy fun energy and went and joined them at their table for a little while. Neil and Paul are brothers from Canada and they were a lot of fun. I brought them back to the table with my friends Rich and Bill. Before we knew it, all the golfers were sitting together and having a rollicking good time. Neil and I went out on the empty dance floor, where he then knelt down, removed my shoes and tossed them aside to the applause of the crowd. That was just the start of the dancing!

Tourney Day 2

On Wednesday, we played The Palms course, which is the oldest course in Mesquite and the site of my alltime record round of 82, which I shot there last year during the Mesquite Am. I had hoped for some more of that magic. Alas, it wasn’t to be. I shot the exact same score as the day before (101) which I figured would put me somewhere near the middle of the pack. Not good enough. However, it was a fun day with my playing partners. I rode with “Badass Vicki,” who is always up on stage when they need volunteers for entertainment or on the video reel doing something crazy. You can’t miss her and if you’ve been to a Mesquite Am you probably know who she is. In the other cart were Roxanne and Kathy, two terrific ladies. Incidentally, I played The Palms with Kathy last year when I shot my record round. This year, it was her turn. How awesome is that? In the pic Left to Right – Vicki, me, Roxanne, Kathy. Every one of us landed that green you see across the ravine. Sure it’s a big green but that’s a daunting carry in person. No birdies were made but two of us, including me, made par.

After the round, I did a little shopping at the Palms pro shop to spend my winnings from the long drive and got a really cute skort.  *Side note: That morning before the round I spent one of my certificates on a couple gloves since I left mine out on my bag in the hot car and it got all hard and gross.  This is exactly why I don’t leave my golf shoes in the car. If you don’t know this, hear me now. The heat and sun will remove the luster and shorten the lives of your leather goods including your awesome shoes.

Looks like I also paused in the pro shop to look at some shoes on my Facebook page and maybe tweet a little. Someone busted me and posted this pic of me tweeting on my own Facebook page. Thanks, Dana – you sneaky girl!

Cigars Under the Stars

That night at the tent party, volunteers (yup, including Badass Vicki – she is called that for her coffee company) took to the stage and entertained us with antics called out by the emcees. Pretty funny stuff.

I got up on stage and gave my Golf Chick spiel, shouted out my peeps and I think I gave away a prize or two. Then we headed over to the pool for the ever popular “Cigars Under the Stars” after-event. As a new non-smoker, this wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. Although I wouldn’t have inhaled, I refrained from smoking a cigar because I thought just the motion could undermine all my mental work. I do believe I caved in and chewed a straw or two, though! Hmm… I can’t be sure, but that looks like Neil (nutty canuck) might be getting a bit frisky with Ryan (loudmouth dude) there on the ground (front left). Cheeky! Well, the single malt had been flowing! And yes – more dancing ensued.

Last Day of Tournament

Since I hadn’t played well the first two days and didn’t have much chance of getting into the money, I made up my mind to relax, drink, take pictures and not care so much about the golf for our round at Casablanca Golf Club. I also figured that might even help my game. I had fun playing with Brittany, who was a hot little number from Florida and a great sport. She wore a super short skirt (pictured at right) just for my twitter followers. She was also super chill and a cool chick. I’m sure we’d hang out and play golf if we lived near each other. I started the day with a bloody mary but moved on to rum soon after that. I was actually having a decent round but didn’t know it. Brittany mentioned it to me on the last hole, so I proceeded to take an 11 there. Let’s just say it involved water and someone’s backyard and that my “good shot” on the entire hole went in the greenside bunker. With that 11, I shot 96. Thanks a lot, Brittany. I thought you were cool. Heh. My scored landed me smack in the middle of my flight for the tournament. Much better than last year’s DFL, but still disappointing. I like to play well and I like to make sure my peeps have a good time. I’m going to be working towards doing better in both areas for next year. And if you have any suggestions, please let me know what you’d like to see to make The Golf Chick portion of the event better for you!

This swing yielded me a green in regulation and I two putted for my par.

Final night’s festivities!

Back in the tent for the dinner party, all the flight winners were announced. I was happy to see so many of the Golf Chick participants in the money and some even moved onto the championship round the next day! Huge congratulations to Dana Boyette, who was the 1st runner up for low net overall! She was also the most active Golf Chick player in the shoe contest and on FB in general (she’s the one who snapped a pic of me tweeting!) and won herself a prize for all that activity. Thanks for being so fun, Dana, and well done! Those of us not in the championship round did, of course, find the dance floor yet again.

Congrats as well to Jim and Lepha Luttrall, who both won their flights as well as the Golf Chick Couples prize, which was this fabulous golf cart cover generously contributed by Golf Shield! Thanks very much to them. They currently have a buy one get one free promotion going on so if you’re interested you might want to check it out sooner than later!

You can see everyone’s final scores and all the Mesquite Am results on their website here, then clicking “event info” and “event results 2011.”

Also a big thanks to Daphne’s Headcovers and Crystal Golf for donating such great prizes for the Golf Chick participants! Daphne’s makes the most adorable headcovers I’ve ever seen – but none better than this custom job.  Crystal Golf makes colorful and fun golf balls with 70 compression for the real player, not just a novelty! My favorites are the peach and the ladybug balls.

Some more winnahs!

Big thanks to everyone who participated with The Golf Chick group of players at the 2011 Mesquite Amateur! I had a great time getting to know you and wish I could have spent more time with you all. I hope to see you all back for more fun next year, with more crazy side-prizes, good times, great giveaways and wonderful company, and bring some friends! Meanwhile… may they all roll true!

Hugs! Kristen

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All Set for the Mesquite Amateur!

Registration is closed and the numbers are in for the Mesquite Amateur golf tournament! Less than a week from today, 550 golfers and their guests will descend upon Mesquite Nevada for the 9th annual Mesquite Am!

Mesquite Am tent event

I’m told that’s more than we had last year (picture above from one of the nightly dinner event parties from the 2010 Mesquite Am).

So how many are participating in The Golf Chick tournament-within-the-tournament? Lucky number 69. Yes, 69 golfers (plus their guests) are going to have just a BIT more fun than the other 481 players. Haha.  Monday night in the tent, we will have reserved seating for our group (82 people) so we can meet, greet and mingle. We will also be selecting the lucky winner from the golfers to receive a Golf range finder! All the golf chick players will be receiving some bonus swag as well. Plus, we have some fabulous gifts to give away as prizes for certain accomplishments throughout the week as well as actual golf score results for just our group. (Follow along with me on Facebook and Twitter to participate in – and help decide – who wins and what for! You can also chime in to me in person in Mesquite but I’ll probably ask you to make it official on FB to make it easier to track.)

There are plenty of things going on for non-golfing guests to do as well, which you can see here.

It’s going to be a fabulously fun week and I can’t wait to see you all there! Luckily, I don’t have to wait long. Are you ready??? Some of you may know about how I came in DFL last year (in fabulous fashion, I might add). How mad will everyone be when I win it all this go around? I hope to find out!

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