Diana Davis
On the Road Again The sun is rising and the women’s golf team is headed for the van. The clubs are piled high in the back and seven of us file in to find our familiar seats. We are headed to Sea Trails Country Club to play our second tournament of the fall season. With four hours of drive time to spare, snacks are always in abundance and laughing never stops. We all have homework to finish but sometimes team bonding gets in the way. When we begin the trip we always try to keep the radio station on something we can all sing along too. It is our job though to keep the volume as low as possible and quietly whisper along the lyrics. We always try to see how long it will be until coach notices that we are listening to “our favorite” type of music. When he realizes we are silently dancing in the back of the van, it is immediately turned to National Public Radio, and the whines are unanimous.
Welcome to Sea Trails This was our host tournament, so the whole team stayed in a condo. This tournament is really nice because we can all stay together and the men’s golf team is in the condo next to ours. Marty Baker, our athletic trainer, comes along to help in every way he can. Marty is the most amazing chef, and we were lucky enough to have him graciously cook for us for two nights. He made a multiple course meal that had us stuffed to the brim. From the amazing ribs to the fruit pizza, we really appreciated him taking his time to cook for us.
It’s Game Time The first day of the tournament has arrived, and we wake up just as the sun is rising. We make sure to eat a good breakfast and hop in the van to drive to the course. We warm-up and prepare ourselves for the day ahead. Before every round, we make sure to give each other high fives and tell one another to “Kick some butt!” It is time to make some birdies and score low.
The Fist Pump Some people may think golf is boring with its soft clapping and “Quiet Please” signs. However, golf tournaments can be quite exciting. As a team, going into the last day, we were in the lead by 18 strokes. Five girls play and the best four scores count for the team total. We had to make sure that we held it together as a team in order to keep our lead. The way to score low is to make birdies, and throughout the weekend collectively, we did a good job. The putts were dropping and there were a few good fist pumps to go along with them.
Number One With ten teams competing in the tournament, we were able to hang onto the lead and win. We finished with a three-day total of 894 and we were really excited. On the way home we were treated to Cook Out milkshakes. Only the best for champions!
We are Family You make really good friends in high school, and you may keep in touch with some of them, but the girls on your team become your family. You see them everyday for practice and sometimes more than once a day. When we go on trips, sometimes we have to share a bed, and we learn to get to know each other quickly. Eight-hour van rides leave a lot of room for bonding and talking about anything that keeps us from being bored. Your team is your family at school, and you learn to lean on them in good times and bad. Your teammates will always be your lifelong friends.
Diana Davis is a sophomore women's golfer. She finished fourth in the tournament with a three-day score of 225 (73-78-74).