Spring Break 2010

It's just wonderful living in Arizona, as we have almost every climate within a 6 hour drive. With that, we took advantage of having the beach and a beautiful golf course in one package. For the kids spring break we spent a few days in La Jolla, California at the Torrey Pines Golf Course (home of the Buick Open and the 2008 U.S. Open).

The first day we spent exploring the Village of La Jolla. A very cute downtown, but the kids were more interested in the waves crashing on the rocks. They spent a lot of time getting eachothers pictures of the wave crashing behind them. There was also a cave in the rocks the kids walked through and they thought the seals and pelicans on the rocks were pretty cool.

The second day was spent entirely on the golf course. The kids played the north course at Torrey Pines first and then played the south course. A total of 36 holes in one day, minus one hole that was closed on the south course, so 35 holes. They did great!! Jack thought the south course had a lot of sand traps and rough. Alisa mentioned that the rough (thicker grass) at Torrey Pines was a lot harder than the rough in Arizona. She had to add two clubs to get the same distance as in Arizona rough. Another interesting point is the Marshals at Torrey Pines actually wanted you to drive down the fairway because they were very proud of their rough. They said that the North course gets 80-90 thousand rounds a year and the South course gets 70-80 thousand rounds a year; so, if everyone drove on the rough it woudn't be so "nice".

We also looked around at UC San Diego, which is just down the road from Torrey Pines.

The third day Jack played another 18 holes on the north course, shooting an impressive 3 over par. Jack said that "the Torrey Pines north course is his favorite course" he has ever played. While Jack played the north course, Alisa and mom explored some of the hiking trails by Torrey Pines. Just gorgeous.

The next great course the kids get to play is Troon North (rated one of the top 25 courses in the U.S.) for the Desert Junior Tour championship, May 3rd. Alisa is currently in 1st place for girls 8-11 years old. Jack is playing the boys 10-11 years old and is in 3rd place. They have a month to prepare. Anyone is welcome to watch the kids play, so hopefully we'll see ya there!!!

Winter Tour

After Pinehurst, the kids took a month break, as usual, to give them time to get used to the new school schedule and relax from all the hard work through the summer.

We realized after two years and the kids performance at Pinehurst that the kids old coach was a novice at teaching and decided it was time to step-it-up. So, in September, we hired a new coach for the kids, the 2009 Southwest Section PGA of America Teacher of the Year, Kent Chase. Kent is rated in the Top 50 coaches for U.S. Kids and the first to be named Master Teacher of Junior Golf by U.S. Kids. His credentials just keep going and going.

Kent had to make quite a few changes to the kids swing, especially Alisa. She's been a real trooper having to acclimate herself to all the changes and Kent has been patient, but persistent with her.

All the new changes have REALLY paid off; Jack has been shooting in the mid 70's for the first time and has placed first, twice in tournaments so far. Alisa is finally hitting the ball straight and much longer than before. Her confidence in herself has really improved in such a short time.

The family took a trip to California to Aunt Laurie's just after Christmas for the Rose Bowl (Ohio State WON). While we were there we met with Kent and LPGA pro's, and sisters, Danielle and Dina Ammaccapane. What an honor and a joy! Danielle has had 7 tour victories and is in the Top 50 money-makers in the history of the LPGA tour. Danielle wants to play with the kids the next time she's in Arizona, which will be very soon. I'll definitely update the blog after that.

U.S. Kids World Championship Update

We drove from Gatlinburg to Pinehurst on Monday (8/3) and checked into our condo for a little relaxation. Nice condo, but couldn't hook up with the internet.

The kids played a practice round on Tuesday and Wednesday; Alisa plays Talamore and Jack plays Little River. Talamore is a tough course. Very hilly and the greens are hard to read.

FIRST ROUND - First day jitters. Jack shot a 86 and Alisa shot a 98. They have the girls on EXTREMELY long holes.....410 yard par 5. Crazy for 10 year old girls.

SECOND ROUND - Alisa did much better, a beautiful 87. The Kids Golf people must have received enough complaints, plus the best score was 74, that they moved up 6 holes; all the par 5's and two par 4's. Jack had a nice day too, shooting a very nice 82, to include 4 birdies.

After the kids were done we drove to Pinehurst Village and stopped at a cool golf store called Old Sport & Gallery, run by Tom Stewart. It had a ton of old golf memorabilia from the time golf started until now. While we were there Jim Derr, the first commentator for CBS Sports for the Augusta Masters and commentated on golf for 35 years. Mr. Derr told us some great stories and what a icon to listen to. He told us a story about meeting Albert Einstein at Princeton and upon meeting him asked him if he played golf. Mr Einstein answered in a husky voice, "No, it's too complicated for me." Mr. Derr very impressive and a healthy 92 years old. I could have listened to his stories all night.

Round 3 is tomorrow morning and I'll try to update when we get internet service. Alisa tee's off at 7:40 AM and Jack's tee time hasn't been posted yet.

Pictures to come.......

Gatlinburg, Tennessee

We finally have internet access. YEA!!

Gatlinburg was beautiful. The cabin we had was great; two bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, full kitchen and living room with a view of the Smokey Mountains. I'll post a picture as soon as I can download the pictures.

The kids went on go-carts, did Hillbilly Golf and went to Dollywood. I believe their favorite was Dollywood.

My favorite was sitting on the back deck drinking a cup of coffee in the morning. Scott's was drinking a beer and smoking a cigar on the back deck.

Pictures to come.......

Dual Player of the Year

The kids have been very busy this summer playing both U.S. Kids Golf Tournaments and USJGAA (U.S. Jr Golf Association of Arizona) Tournaments.

Alisa captured Player of the Year for the US Kids Golf last year and Jack has been eyeing her trophy since. Scott and Ben Weir (the kids coach) have been working with both the kids and especially Jack so he can earn that trophy. Well, the work paid off.

U.S. Kids Golf is based on points earned at every tournament (20 pts for 1st place, 15 points for 2nd, 10 pts for 3rd). Then the last tournament of the summer, the Championship, is double points for each place. This year's Championship tournament was held at Orange Tree in Scottsdale. Scott had to work so we had Alex, a friend from Las Sendas Golf Club, caddy for Jack. Alex plays on the Red Mountain HS golf league and is currently looking at colleges in San Diego for golf.

The two did well and Jack came in first, adding 40 points to his current total of points, giving him first place overall.

Alisa took 1st place at all the U.S. Kids Golf tournaments this summer and didn't need to play the Championship to give her Player of the Year....it was already in the bag. Instead, Alisa played at the USJGAA Ping Masters Jr. Tournament. It was a two day tournament, with 3 girls in Alisa's age group. The first day all three girls tied. The second day it was a little tougher and Alisa lost by one stroke. After the tournament, we drove quickly to Orange Tree so Alisa could receive her trophy for Player of the Year for U.S. Kids Golf. So, it wasn't too bad of a day for her either.

In a few hours, we fly out to North Carolina for the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship in Pinehurst. The tournament doesn't start until August 5th, but we're leaving early to get a little vacation in at Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

I'll keep everyone updated on the kids status.