Sky Zone!

Stella is now three is old!! I can’t even believe that she is three; time goes by way too fast.  As many of you know, she is an incredibly energetic child and I am always looking for activities where she can channel her energy while on the road… aka wear her down so mommy can have a little down time after a round of golf!   When the weather is bad and playing outside is not an option, our favorite place to go it SKY ZONE. 

We discovered SKY ZONE in Fort Myers this past winter. After a few rainy days, I was running out of things to do with Stella. She has always loved jumping on trampolines and I decided to look online for places where she could do just that.  Well, it was love at first sight! I cannot adequately convey to you how much she enjoys it.  We always purchase the one-hour package for her, thinking, as an adult, that she will be exhausted long before then and we will be able to leave… this is not the case! She could spend hours at this place and it is super fun for adults as well.  There are several options for things to do and she can jump from one activity to the next.  For older children, there is an option to play dodge ball with other kids, which looks really fun as well.  Stella usually opts for the basketball hoops and jumping into the foam-filled pit. 

Whenever I take the kids with me on a trip we always look for a SKY ZONE location at their site: www.skyzone.com.  We have been able to find one in most cities and it is a total lifesaver.  If you are traveling with your little ones and running out of things to do on a rainy day I highly recommend it!

The Places We Go…

 I am home once again and it has been so nice to have some time off after being away from the girls for two weeks. Unfortunately, I did not have a great week on the course at the LPGA’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, but life goes on and I continue to be incredibly motivated to play better golf and to achieve my goal.

This week I will start a monthly series on my blog to highlight a city that I really enjoyed visiting during my journey. I love travelling and I am lucky to have the opportunity to visit cities throughout the world… Golf has taken me to places I never even dreamed of and I love exploring and getting to know these great cities. 

The last event I played was in Rogers, Arkansas. When I told people I was playing in Arkansas, I heard the same response over and over… “Really? Oh!” implying that Arkansas isn’t a wonderful spot.  Well, they could not be more wrong.  I loved travelling to Arkansas and Rogers is located right next to Bentonville, the home of Walmart and a great city in its own right. The reasons why I love Arkansas are below and, if you ever have a chance to go, you should be excited about visiting as well:

 1.  The People: Let’s start with the people, because they are the heart of the place and could not be any nicer.  From the staff and volunteers at the golf course to all my pro-am partners, and especially my hosts, Michael and Gloria Morse, who where simply incredible (a lot of times LPGA players stay in private homes with a family instead of at hotels). Gloria cooked me delicious Mexican food all week and treated me like a queen. People in Arkansas seem always go out of their way to help you.

2.  Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art:  This place is extraordinary.  The Museum founded by Alice Walton, daughter of Sam Walton, founder of Walmart.  The museum opened in 2011 offers free admission and is incredibly beautiful with gorgeous architecture, stunning grounds, and trails. It exposes the community to incredible art and also provides a place to spend quality time with family while enjoying the beautiful outdoors. Right in front of the Museum the Walton family built a Children’s Museum and an outdoor area for families to come and enjoy outdoor concerts on the weekend.  It is so cool. To learn a little more about the Museum go to its website: http://crystalbridges.org

3.  Downtown Bentonville:  One night, a friend of mine, Chris Shephard, who lives in Bentonville with his family, took me out to dinner downtown. Chris, his wife Shauna, and their three kids Sabrina, Teagan and Logan watched me play during the week and then showed me around downtown Bentonville. We went to a lovely fish restaurant called Fresh Market, which brings fresh fish in daily. It was delicious and after that we went to the famous Bentonville Square to get ice cream. The ice cream store is located inside the Walmart Museum and right next to it is the site of the first Walton Store, where Walmart started. Ice cream for five people cost me $8. I could not believe it!  There is a hotel called 21 C Museum Hotel, also owned by the Walton family, which brings incredible art pieces and exhibitions into the hotel. SO AWESOME!  To find a little more about downtown Bentonville you can go to: http://www.downtownbentonville.org.

I loved my time in NW Arkansas, and thank the Morse and Shepard families for being such great hosts. I can’t wait to go back and I hope that if you have the chance to go, you enjoy it as much as I did.

Pantene Beautiful Lengths Event

 As I get amped up to tee off at the NW Arkansas Championship, I had the unique opportunity to join in a very heartwarming cause on Wednesday night when Procter & Gamble hosted the annual Pantene Beautiful Lengths event held at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion. This event collects ponytails from donors to make real-hair wigs for cancer patients, and on Wednesday alone they received more than 300 of them! People of all ages lined up to donate their hair -  families even did this together, supporting each other as each of them took their turn cutting off their pony tails to give to those who aren’t able to grow them.

I absolutely loved this event and the sense of community there, and the feeling of making a direct impact into someone's life was so incredible.  I certainly didn’t arrive in Arkansas planning to cut my hair, but after being inspired by so many of the people working at and taking part in the event, I knew I needed to join the cause. On top of this amazing experience, I also had the pleasant surprise of meeting U.S. Ski Team alpine racer and Olympic Gold (and bronze) Medalist Lindsey Vonn, who was extremely nice and so fun to meet. I love seeing other athletes support causes that are important to them, and get to know their fans and fellow supporters at events like this. I wish her so much luck in her career, and congratulate her on her two ESPY award nominations! I also loved the connection between this event and the tournament -  Beatriz Recari, an LPGA tour player, even cut off my pony tail!

I extend my biggest thank you to Pantene, Procter & Gamble, and the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship for the opportunity to take part in this rewarding event - this is definitely a cause I will hold close to my heart.

I can’t wait to see what else this tournament brings - thanks for all of your support!

Walmart NW Arkansas

This week, I have been extremely lucky to receive another sponsor’s exemption into the Walmart NW Arkansas. It is an incredible event with an extremely strong field, with 17 out of the top 20 players in the world playing this week. I feel so lucky to be here. I would like to thank Walmart and Octagon for giving me this opportunity; I'm really excited to play!

NW Arkansas has really embraced the LPGA and they put on an incredible event for us. It is a first class tournament all around. The course is in great shape. Greens are fast and the fairways are perfect. It is a great test of golf skill and I think it will take a good ball-striking week in order to play well. 

The tournament also contributes to various charitable causes in the area. One of them is the First Tee of NW Arkansas. As a national organization with local chapters, the First Tee’s main goal is to help kids develop core values such as confidence, respect, courtesy, responsibility, sportsmanship, judgment, honesty, integrity and perseverance through the game of golf. It is such a great program and I was fortunate to play with one of the First Tee students, Kelly, on Monday.  I was so impressed by her - she was incredibly polite, well-spoken and had a real passion for golf. It is obvious that the First Tee has had a very positive impact on her life and it is so nice to see how the game of golf can influence a young person’s life in such a positive way. If you would like to read more about the First Tee of NW Arkansas visit: www.thefirstteenwar.org/club/scripts/public/public.asp.

I can’t wait to tee it up on Friday and have a great week. I’ve been working hard and feel like my game has come a long way. I made my first cut last week shooting even par for the first two days. I feel like I left a lot of birdies out there so I hope to be able to capitalize on them this week.  Please follow me on www.lpga.com for scoring updates and I’ll be sure to share some anecdotes from the tournament here on the blog next week!  

Thanks for all your encouragement and support! It means the world to me!

Happy Father's Day

On Sunday is Father’s day and I am so bummed to be away from my family. I am lucky to have some amazing men in my life. My father, Lutz, my brother, Alex, and my father-in-law, Ned, are all amazing dads and I would like to wish them all a happy father’s day.  However, I want to take this opportunity to focus in and thank my husband, Adam.  Adam is by far my better half.  He is incredibly kind, smart and very funny.  He is my number one supporter and has been amazing throughout this crazy journey.

Going back to playing professional golf has created a lot of stress in our lives.  Having to move to Florida in the winter (well, maybe not such a bad thing considering the Boston winters), travelling two weeks out of every month for tournaments and my practice schedule has taken a toll and changed our family dynamic. Oh, and throw moving to a new house in Massachusetts on top of that!!!! It is INSANE.  I used to be the main caregiver for the kids, but Adam has had to fill in in my absence.  He has an incredibly busy schedule with the Red Sox, but not once has he told me that I could not do something.  He is my number one supporter and changes his schedule around all the time in order to make sure I do what I need to do in order to improve my golf game.

Adam is the kindest and most sympathetic person I have ever met.  He always puts his family’s, friends’ and co-workers’ needs and feelings above his own. He is kind to others without expecting anything in return and always 'wants to make others happy.  I admire him so much for that.  He never leaves a conversation without asking the person if they need anything or if there is anything he can do for them.

He is an incredible father to our two girls and always manages to make us laugh.  Seeing him with our daughters melts my heart every day.  I am definitely the crazy, loud, and disciplinarian one between the two of us. A lot of times he comes back from work just to read a book to Stella or tuck Luiza into bed and then goes right back to the office.

Marriage is hard work.  Like many couples we have our differences and our marriage is not perfect. However I am lucky to be able to say that the most stressful times always bring us closer together.  I love him with all my heart and I learn from him every day.  One of my best friends’ mothers once told me that we should marry the person, whom we would like our kids to resemble.  I can only hope that our girls are just like their dad…that would be an incredible gift.

My First LPGA Event!

First and foremost, I want to apologize for taking a hiatus from any sort of social media, including my blog, for almost two weeks. Life has been crazier than usual since we decided to move to a new house.  We are moving this week and getting all of our ducks in a row has been a challenge, BUT WE ARE MANAGING!

My most recent post was a preview of my first LPGA event at the ShopRite LPGA Classic.  First off, I need to thank Tim Erensen, tournament director, and Karen Gozzi, from ShopRite, for giving me a sponsor exemption.  THANK YOU for the amazing opportunity to play on the LPGA again.

I did not know how I was going to feel about going back to an LPGA Tour event. It had been a LONG time and many questions popped into my head.  Will I be so nervous that I won’t be able to stick the tee into the ground? How will my family life fit into a tour event?  Am I too old for this comeback?  I was very anxious about going into the week.  Well… I have to say that being back on the “big” tour was the most comfortable I have felt throughout this process. In a weird way I felt right at home.  I knew where everything was, what I was supposed to do, and whom to talk to if I needed a little help.  It was incredible!

Highlights of my week:

-Hanging out with Paul, our club Guru on Tour.  Paul always welcomes me with open arms and he was definitely Stella’s favorite. She loved going into the club repair van for her daily “candy” fix!!!

-Dinner and practice round with my dear friend Karrie Webb.  Most of my friends from the LPGA have retired. However Webby is still kicking major butt out there. So great to catch up and play with her. I just love watching her play and laugh about life.  Just love her.  

- Myrtle the Turtle.  I found a baby turtle on the course during the pro-am and we took it back to the house to show it to Stella. She was excited until I put it in her hand. That was it for her.  We released Myrtle back into the woods. We will never forget Myrtle the Turtle

-I missed the cut but I felt like I played very good golf.  The best golf I have played since I have been back. I need a lot more work but I know I can play and that my game is not too far off.

-The best part of all was having my family with me and realizing that my kids and hubby fit right into my life on tour.

Can’t wait for the next two weeks of tournaments!!! So much more to come!!!