Holiday Dinner

Thank you to everyone who joined us at Biaggi's on December 8th! We had a great time!

The opportunity to participate in the EWGA Championship Finals that were held at the beautiful Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, Virginia on October 14-15 was so much fun. Imagine a group of over 200 EWGA members having a wonderful time playing golf, making new friends, and renewing friendships with members from all over the United States, Canada, and Bermuda - that is what the EWGA Championship Finals is all about!

I was so surprised at Registration on Thursday when they told me I was now in the Third Flight - is this a good thing?? I was ecstatic to have some confirmation that my golf game was improving! At the players meeting we were all told that there would be no "drop zones" on the courses for the competition - this proved to be a big problem on the first day of competition. On hole #13 on Friday there were 7 groups backed up on the 135 yard par 3 - could it be because the shot required that you clear a civil war stone fence, then cross the creek without hitting into trees on the right or into the creek on the left before landing near or on the green? We waited one hour (yes, it says 1 hour!) before it was our turn to play. (Thank goodness I did par this hole on Friday!) After what was an 8-1/2 hour round of golf, we all got to have a very late lunch/dinner at the hotel.

My score had improved from my practice round on Wednesday, but was nothing to get excited about. I was in the middle of the pack for Third Flight. By the way, I started out this day finding out at 9:45 a.m. that my clubs had not been left off by the shuttle driver when I arrived at 8:30 a.m -- - having a tee time at 10:16 and finding out that my clubs could not be returned to the course for at least 45 minutes-- -- a bit of "panic" began to set in! Thank goodness the Pro at the club had the name "Scott Allen" -- - maybe that is one reason he took charge to help me so much! He put together a set of rental clubs, box of Callaway balls, a glove and even helped me pick out a pair of new golf shoes just so I could be on the Tee at my start time!!! 

The EWGA officials told me my options - any equipment you start with, I would have to use to complete the round unless they became damaged. Everyone was so helpful. They told me they could not believe how calm I was -- -- did I have any choice in this matter??? Scott Allen the Pro said normally Allen's do not tend to be calm. That would have been so true for my late husband who needed at least a couple beers before teeing off in any tournament! I realized that there really are some great people in this world who genuinely care about others! (Tee times ran 30 minutes late so my clubs showed up 1 minute before my required Tee time! No practice but I did have my own clubs!)

The second round on Saturday was changed to a "shotgun start" with a drop zone on hole #13. Fog delayed play from the 9:30 a.m. start to an actual start at 11:00. My game was not "up to par" which is a nice way to say that I saw parts of this course that I had never seen before! I did finish the round which was an accomplishment! The course was quite a challenge - a Troon course that was beautiful to play. The awards dinner that night was so much fun to see the new friends I had made and witness the trophies given out to all the winners.

Qualifying for the EWGA Championship Finals is a wonderful experience - this was my third time! I can hardly wait for next year! Do you want to make new friends, play fantastic golf courses, and challenge yourself at the game of golf - by all means sign up for the Chapter Championship next year! It is an experience you will treasure forever!

Thanks EWGAQC for the opportunity!