Troy University Athletics
Liz Balkcom Women's Golf Blog
2/28/2010 4:15:00 PM | Golf (W)
February 28, 2010
We Are Ready To Start the Spring Season
We started qualifiers for our first event several weeks ago. We played 108 holes of golf to see who will go to first tournament. Our line up is Sofia, Haley, Dez, Nikki and Kaley. I will be traveling as an individual.
Each of us has had luck both for and against us during this battle for the top five. Each of us had holes where we have gotten the worst break, and we also had holes where the “birds and squirrels” were looking out for us and gave us a break. But with every piece of luck, we each had skills and abilities that have showed through.
Our team as grown so much in these recent months, it is amazing to see what we do when we support each other.
Our team is made up of nine ladies. We spend a lot of time together, both on and off of the course and, because we spend so much time together, we act as though we are family. I grew up in a household full of women, where my dad was the only male, so I know what it is like to put a bunch women together.
We have become very family-like; we share our goals and desires for each other, we all fuss and bicker because we are all different but, at the end of the day, we are one. We are the Troy Women's Golf Team!
That is something that we have common, it is our bond to one another, it is what keeps us strong, when we don't get along; being one as a team is what makes us smile and laugh. Being a Troy Trojan is something that pulls us together daily, and makes better people.
Golf is a sport that challenges people who play it, but it is the sport that we try to conquer. Our first tournament is coming up this weekend, we are super excited and we are trying to channel our focus and energy into something that is greater than ourselves, we play for our team, for Troy.
We are traveling to Mobile to play in South Alabama's tournament. Our practice round is on Sunday. We will play 36 holes on Monday and finish the tournament with 18 holes on Tuesday.
We Broke 300 For The First Time!
So, we finished up our second tournament ...
We played in Bradenton, Fla., and stayed with a host family. We had a fabulous time and really grew as a team! We have a come a long way from my freshman year.
At the USF tournament, we broke 300 for the first time in years. Last year at conference we almost broke the mark, we shot an even 300, but we did it, WE finally broke 300.
On the first day we played 36 holes, and we shot 298 as a team! That is so exciting because that has been a team goal for us since I have been here at Troy.
We ended up coming in 7th place! We beat several conference teams, whoop whoop!
So here is the breakdown:
Sofia shot 76-75-73.
Kaley shot 84-78-75.
Haley shot 86-71-80.
Liz shot 79-82-77.
Dez shot 85-74-79.
Our team sends out a big, THANK YOU to the Haynes. They open up their home for us to feel so welcome. Thank you for making us feel so special. It can be hard staying in hotel rooms all the time.
At this tournament, we started doing what is called Team Warm Ups. This used to not be in our morning routine before we would go out and play but, as a team, we decided to use this as a team building exercise. So far it seems to bring us together, before we go out and play.
Even though golf is an individual sport, we play as a team. When we see each other out on the course, we encourage one another, to keep our heads high. We say words that motivate us to be better for each other.
On the course, anyone can hit one bad shot, it's what you do to recover that defines your character. But we just keep reminding each other to hang in there, you're not out of it, we got this!
So, for some people this is an individual game, but we play for our teammates. This year it has become very clear to each of us, you can never give up. So, as soon as we get out of the van in the morning, we come together and start the day off right, as a TEAM.
Looking For Better Results This Week
Hello to our fans,
If you followed our blogs last year, Danielle Skipper wrote all of the blogs for the Troy Women's Golf team. It was her senior year last year! So now that she has graduated I have taken over the blogging for our team.
Things you should know about me ... I am a junior this year at Troy, I have been playing golf for Troy for three years now and I love it, my major is communications and my minor is in art, I am from Macon, Georgia, and I am very outgoing and can be very outspoken about topics I am passionate about.
So let's kick off this season right!
We had our first event not too long ago, September 12-14. We flew out to Houston and drove about 1.5 hours to College Station, home of the Aggies and, on the 11th of September, we played our practice round. Things started off right, with perfect weather and a great course. Our new traveling team spent the day getting aquatinted with each other.
The weather turned around during our practice round, it started to rain heavily when we made the turn to go to the back nine. We stuck it out and played through the rain, but we were glad to make it back to the hotel. We changed and got prepared for the next day, the first round of the fall season.
We had a new member of the team traveling for the first time, Sofia Bjorkman, a freshman from Sweden. Also on the trip were Dez Zine and Kaley Branton, both seniors this year, and Haley Lawrence, a sophomore.
I cannot speak for everyone because I can only tell about my round, but things started off with such promise in the first round. I was hitting the ball well, but my putts were not falling. Trying to stay positive, I kept telling myself, hit them close and the putts will come. Instead, I hit a few shots offline, plus my putting still not shown up.
So, I took a few doubles and was still trying to stay positive. I pulled it back together, and made a few pars, and then the rain came in for the day and washed out the rest of our first round. When they called play for the day, I only had two holes left to play.
Haley had just finished with an 86. Sofia was on the last tee box, a par three, sitting at plus eight and Dez was left on the green at No. 7, which it was our 16th hole. Kaley was on the tee box of no. 7. With the constant rain, we went back to the hotel and finished up homework.
We were ready for the next day and we finished up our last few holes. Sofia pared the last hole to shoot 80. I finished up with a par and a birdie for a 84. Dez finished up with a 90 and Kaley came in with an 88.
Then we had more weather delays. They declared the course unplayable because Mother Nature was not letting up.
Once again we went back to the hotel and finished up our homework, and then we went and watched the Troy vs. Florida football game on the TV as a team and ate pizza. Our team was a little down about how we played, but we stayed positive and came up with new game plan, to attack the course with no mercy!
Sunday morning, our final round, we had on our all black uniforms with an attitude to win and to make up some strokes on the team just three strokes ahead. The weather was kinda clear for the first time in a while, but there were dark clouds in the air that seemed to linger around over the course.
The rules officials and coaches went to have a meeting, and the course was deemed unplayable because it was too wet. The course was not used to that much rain because they had been in drought before this weekend. So, they decided to wait until noon to see what the course looked like then but, even at the 12th hour it was found still too wet for play.
So the tournament was called with only round played.
No, we did not play to our abilities, but I can say we gave it a chance and we had the right attitudes. We came together as a team, we were supportive and helpful to each other, even when we had a lot of distractions going on. We learned that we may only get one chance, so to be ready to attack on the first day starting with the first hole!
We are now playing qualifiers for our second event, which is the first weekend in October. We are excited and are staying focused on our goals. We have a great team this year and I look forward to watching us grow and develop into better players.
October 1, 2009
October 14, 2009
