Pinehurst Update

The family arrived safely at Pinehurst! Unfortunately, they currently have no internet access (or computer) so they have hired a literary genius to keep their fans updated! : ) The Wednesday practice rounds went well for both Jack and Alisa, with Alisa shooting a fantastic 2 over par for 9 holes! The Wednesday night activities included a Parade for the tournament participants, in which Jack and Alisa had the honor of marching with the Arizona Flag, or shall I say the flag had the honor of being held by the cutest kids in professional golf (well - they will both be on the Pro tour soon, so I'll make take the liberty)!
The first round of the tournament began today and Jackie reports that Alisa caught a case of the first 'Big Tournament' jitters and shot a 48 for the day. However, that still places her at a respectable 47th place in the world for her division! Jack was able to play 10 holes before Mother Nature decided to call it a day for the kids and rain out the remaining 8 holes. So, Jack will have to play the final 8 holes tomorrow morning prior to playing the additional 18 he was scheduled to play tomorrow as well (If ever there was a time to give a kid a healthy energy drink!). We will hear more tomorrow about the second round of play and while we wait, we send our best wishes to Jack and Alisa for a wonderful second round!

End of the Summer 2008 Tour

The kids did an awesome job this summer. Both improved their score dramatically from the Winter season; Jack improved his 9-hole score by 8 strokes and Alisa reduced her 9-hole score by 10 strokes.

Their last tournament of the Summer Tour was worth double points. Jack came in 2nd overall for the season and Alisa captured 1st place. Although Alisa's friend, Anya, didn't play this last tournament, she did show up for the award presentation and they got their hugs in before we meet up with them at Pinehurst.

The picture above of the 3 boys includes Cade, who took 1st and Quinn, who took 3rd place, overall for the season. We'll be having dinner with Cade and his family on Tuesday evening when we arrive in Pinehurst.

We're heading off to Pinehurst, North Carolina tomorrow (Tuesday, July 29th). We have slowly been preparing the kids for the 3-hour time zone difference by waking them up earlier and earlier every morning. The last couple days they've had to wake up at 4:30 AM AZ time. As soon as they wake up they go hit balls and play a few holes of golf. The trouble is......it's still dark when they go play.

The kids coach, Ben Weir, will be coming with us on the Pinehurst trip and will be caddying for Jack during the tournament. Scott will caddy for Alisa.

Summer 2008

All the hard work is paying off. The kids have improved their scores by 10 strokes in one year FOR 9 HOLES. Last summer, their first tour, Jack averaged a 50 and Alisa averaged a 52, for nine holes. This summer Jack has averaged a 41 (with two 37's and a 39) and Alisa a 44 (with a 39 and 38).

At the World Qualifier in June, played at Lone Tree Golf Course, Alisa placed 2nd and Jack placed 5th, both of them shooting a 43 (they are twins). With those scores and placing in the top 5, both qualified for the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship in Pinehurst, NC. What an accomplishment!!

So, we've booked the flights and the hotels and on July 29th we're heading to Pinehurst. To help the kids do their best their coach, Ben Weir, is coming with us on the trip. The Championship is 3 consecutive days of tournaments starting on July 31st and ending August 2nd. It's a major event with Opening Ceremonies on July 30th.

Friday, July 25th, is the kids last tournament for the Summer and is the Summer Tour Championship. Points are doubled. Alisa is heading into the final tournament in first place and will be Player of the Year. Jack is currently in second place and needs to finish better than a couple of other players in order to maintain his position. Jack has been bugging us to play everyday; he's determined to do well.

We'll keep you upated!!

Spring 2008

The kids have been enjoying walking to the Country Club after school and practicing all spring. They've been hard at work hitting balls at the range, practicing chip shots and putting. Rain doesn't stop those two from going to hit balls.....O.K., it is Arizona, we may have had one day of rain where they had to sit in the clubhouse, life is rough.

Jack learned a new trick. If he tee's the ball up high, he can hit the tee from under the ball and the ball just drops. Sounds like hard work to me. Alisa, a left-hander, likes to try hitting the ball with her right hand. She doesn't do too bad, but we'll leave her as a lefty.

O.K., so they have a little fun at the club too, but they are kids and we want golf to be fun for them. On a good note, when I pick the kids up from the club I always get complements from other members that they are very well-behaved. That's nice to hear.

Jack and Alisa have become good friends with all the caddies at the club and have putting contests at the end of the day. Alisa seems to win most of them. I actually saw a dollar bill change hands.

It's nice to know all the members and the caddies at the club keep a close eye on the two of them. Scott and I have no worries.

Mexico Trip

In December of 2007 the family headed off to Playa del Carmen, Mexico for 10 days of pure paradise. Playa del Carmen is on the mainland of Mexico, across from the island of Cozumel. The beaches were a bit sparse due to the hurricane that had just hit a few months earlier, but it didn't affect our fun.

It was an awesome trip and I don't think we could have fit anymore activities into the 10 days. The boys went deep sea fishing catching a Mahi Mahi and an Ono. Afterwards, we went next door to a local beach front restaurant and they cooked the fish up for us. They were delicious and Mom didn't have to clean them at all!!

The kids and mom went swimming with the dolphins (dad had to film). Alisa squealed happily every time she got close to one of the dolphins. We also went to the ruins, which didn't last too long. Two 9 year-olds and ancient history just don't get along. We were also able to fit in some parasailing and snorkeling.

Oh, that's right, and golfing was included in the trip. I believe 3 rounds of golf were played during the trip. One of the golf courses the boys played was Mayakoba, a Greg Norman design and the home of the FedEx Cup. There were iguana's all over the golf course, plus a couple of alligators. We stayed away from them and took pictures from afar.

The kids were catered to at the resort (Occidental Allegro). They had activities for the kids everyday; from kayak races in the pool to dancing lessons on the deck. The resort photographers loved them and we ended up purchasing two discs of pictures.

It will definately be a vacation to remember.

Winter 2007 Tour

Both Jack and Alisa wanted to play in the Winter 2007 Tour with the U.S. Kids Golf. Since Jack still wanted to play football, he missed the first 2 tournaments. This put him behind in the point standings, still did fairly well. The boys competition is pretty tough since there's a lot of boys out there who want to be the next Tiger. Out of 18 boys, Jack finished 6th for total point standings for the Winter Tour. Even better, he reduced his average score by 5 shots. I don't think there's anyone out there that wouldn't be willing to take 5 strokes off our score in a matter of months.


Alisa played with four other girls throughout the Winter season. The end of the tour resulted in a tie with the point standings between the girls.

Summer of 2007

Jack is loving golf and wanting to hit the ball whenever he can. Alisa is seeing this excitement and wants to join in. We find a summer group lesson at a nearby golf course, Las Sendas, and sign both the kids up.

Alisa, still not sure about this golf thing, but hesitantly goes and ends up finding a friend. Now she loves it. It's a girl thing.

At the same time we ask the kids if they want to be part of a summer golf tour with U.S. Kids Golf for the state of Arizona. They both say yes and we sign them up. Their first tournament is in June with tournaments on a weekly basis throughout the summer, for a total of 8 tournaments at various golf courses in the Phoenix area.

The boys competition is tough. Over 13 boys in Jack's age group and most are very good and have been playing for over 3-4 years. Jack is hitting in the 50's for nine holes and not placing, but he never gets discouraged.

There aren't as many girls in Alisa's age group, only seven. Not all of them play in the tournaments, in fact, most times she's the only one and gets 1st place for the tournaments even though she's hitting in the 50's too. The medals are Alisa's encouragement. One of the girls Alisa played with, Anya, shared similar interests and they both hit it off well together. In between holes, Anya and Alisa would be seen doing cartwheels and handstands. Girls will be girls. At the end of the season, Alisa and Anya tied for point standings, but Anya won 1st place through a scorecard playoff. Ah, but they're still BFF's.

By the end of the 2007 Summer U.S. Kids Golf tour Jack placed 4th overall and Alisa placed 2nd. The kids had fun and want to continue. We talk with the Director of Golf at Las Sendas, Ben Weir, and feel the kids have advanced through group lessons and private lessons would be more beneficial; Ben agrees.

Let the improvement begin!!

BTW - Ben Weir has played on the PGA Tour for many years.

The Start of an Era

In October of 2006 the Snyder family took a trip to Las Vegas. We went to Circus Circus, the M&M Store, saw the Lions at MGM and played in the wave pool at our hotel, Mandalay Bay. So, what else can you do with two 8-year-olds in Las Vegas that's legal.....mmmm, how about golf!! We found a Callaway Golf Center just down the road from our hotel and scheduled the kids for some golf lessons for the first time.

The next thing we know the golf pro asks us to look at the video he just taped of the kids. He said, "Jack swings completely on plane and already has a professional swing." Alisa has great potential and Jack is on his way.

Once home we decide to get a second opinion on this "professional swing". Jackie's boss happens to have a cousin who is the Director of Golf for U.S. Kids Golf and will be in the area in a couple of weeks. We set up the appointment and let the kids swing away. Yup.....everything is confirmed.

We set Jack up with some group lessons (Alisa's not yet convinced she wants to play) at Augusta Ranch in January of 2007. That's the nice thing about living in Arizona; you can golf in the middle of winter. By lesson number 4 he's blowing away the other students and hitting the ball 100 yards. Not bad for a first timer.

Jack loves watching the ball fly and is completely HOOKED!! Even better, he loves trying to hit the ball at the pole that support the ball net and hearing the loud C-L-I-N-G!