I have had the amazing opportunity of playing in the Kalamazoo Country Club (KCC) Ladies Club Championship for the past three years. The first year (2019) I lost in the second round because I wasn’t playing up to my handicap. In the second year (2020) I played really well and won my flight! This year, my third year (2021), my goal was to win the whole event.
I had been playing well the weeks leading up to the tournament, but I didn’t want to be overconfident. As I pulled into the driveway on August 3rd, coffee in hand, my stomach was doing somersaults as it usually does before big events. I saw my friend pulling on her golf shoes which made me a bit nervous as she was also a very good golfer. I would be playing with her and another woman who played golf at Notre Dame while she was in college. It definitely wasn’t going to be a walk-in-the-park win.
Because I had stopped for coffee I didn’t leave myself very much time to warm up. Sometimes I think that works better for me as then I don’t overthink my swing. My friend hopped in the cart with me, and we drove to the first tee box.
I don’t remember much about my round as I was so focused on the current moment. I do remember that my driving was consistently long, straight, and down the middle. My putting was also very good that day and made up for any bad shots I had on a hole.
After the first day of the tournament, I was in second place overall. I had shot an 87 and felt really good about my score! Of course, I was only halfway there. I still had another day to play.
Next Tuesday, August 10th, I went through the same routine (I had a longer more warm-up this time around). I was in a foursome this time and loved everyone I was playing with! Knowing I was in second and trailing by 8 strokes… my goal was to play my best and know I played my heart out.
This time around I played even better! I shot an 82 and couldn’t be happier with myself as that was my new high score at KCC, my home course. At that moment, all I cared about was that I had played my best!
Going over to the leaderboard, I noticed something out of the ordinary. The girl who had been in first was showing a DQ where her score from today should’ve been. I had played with her that day and was very confused about what she could have done that got her disqualified. All of the other ladies were just as confused as I was.
When the girl finally came over to all of us, she explained that she had taken a free drop because she thought she got relief from the road, but instead there was an out-of-bounds stake that no one in our group saw. We all felt absolutely horrible for her, but she handled it calmly and maturely which I respected her for. Of course, because she was in the lead and no longer competing, the winner was whoever came in second… that was me!
It was an unfortunate way to win and I’d rather do it because I was the best player in the field, however, it was a learning opportunity for all of us involved and I’m grateful for the chance to play and fulfill my goal!