Year's End Update

Happy Holidays, friends!

My first year as a professional golfer is in the books.   My season ended two weeks ago in Daytona Beach at the Final Stage of LPGA Q-School.  Although I gave it a good run, I did not come away with an LPGA card for 2014.  I shot 71-71-73-76-74, finishing T-65th out of 153 women and five shots away from earning a partial LPGA card.

Thanks to the help of a new team of coaches, I made great progress in my game before I arrived in Florida.  Both my swing and my mental approach saw drastic improvements, and my scores the first three rounds reflected this work.   Had I had more time to work on these changes, I believe I would have finished the tournament as strong as I started.  This is nothing to regret or lament.   Rather, the improvements that I saw only made me excited for what is to come in the 2014 Symetra Tour season.  I cannot wait to see where my game will be after a full year of work with these coaches. 

The upcoming off-season will be an important time for me.  A wonderful holiday break in Boise has given me a nice reminder of what seasons look like, but I am excited to return to the eternal sunshine of Arizona.  I plan to put in as much effort as possible in the next eight weeks so that I will be ready to show it all off when I tee it up in the first Symetra event of the year on February 21st.  Not only will I be working hard in the next few months, but I will be working smart under the guidance of my new instructors- and I believe this will be the difference maker. 

It is amazing to think that just one year ago I was collecting my degree in Lincoln.  Thank you all for your support and encouragement all year long! Cheers to another year of adventure ahead. 

Finally, what is a Dec post without some sort of list to sum everything up? To make this year's end official, here are a few of my favorite things:

FAVORITE BEACH: Lido Key in Sarasota, FL. This was the whitest, softest sand I have ever seen. It also helped that my host housing was a block away and I walked over every chance I could get.

FAVORITE JUNIOR CLINIC: The tournament director at the Symetra Classic in Charlotte, NC put on a Father/Daughter clinic. The little girls who showed up all decked out in pink with their proud dads in tow were as cute as it gets.

FAVORITE TOURIST STOP: The Biltmore Mansion in Asheville, NC was definitely the nicest home (read: castle) I saw this year. Nestled in the Smokey Mountains and known for the Biltmore, great food, and tons of breweries, Asheville is easily dubbed my favorite tour stop of the year.

FAVORITE TEE PRIZE: The Island Resort Championship in Harris, MI gave each player $200 in $2 bills just for showing up! They encouraged us to spend the money in the hotel/casino where the tournament was hosted or around town so they could track our economic impact. I saved most of my $2 bills to use in friendly wagers on the course- and I'm proud to say I still have quite a few of them!

FAVORITE MEAL: My friend Carly Werwie was paired with Mr. Han, the owner of a Japanese restaurant called The Secret Garden, in the pro-am for the Credit Union Classic in Syracuse, NY. Mr. Han invited some of us players for a gigantic sushi feast on the house. He ordered us least five different appetizers that were all incredible. I am still thinking about this meal.

FAVORITE HOST DOG: This honor goes to Jaxie the Husky pup. I got to know a lot of great dogs around the country thanks to many wonderful host families, but this little furball owned by Abby McNeley and Sean Beckham in Denver, CO stole my heart.

FAVORITE SUNSET: I stopped in Moab, UT to visit Arches National Park on a whim as I drove from Denver to Phoenix in September. My friend and I just happened to get to the park in time to climb up some of the red rocks and witness the sun setting over the arches on a warm fall night. My lame iPhone picture does not do the scene justice. This was the most gorgeous site I saw all year.

FAVORITE GOLF COURSE: This award is tied between Erin Hills in Wisconsin and Columbia Edgewater CC in Portland.

FAVORITE HOT DOG: First off, I apologize for not delivering on "Mad Dog's Hot Dog Blog" as promised. As it turns out, hot dogs were not all that appetizing week in and week out across America. However, I did experience some gems along the way. The year's best wiener award goes to the Coney Dog in Angola, IN. I don't know what exactly was on top of this dog (probably best that way), but it was delicious.